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#WIAW: A Focus On Local Eats

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Is it only Wednesday? This week is dragging but at least the food I’ve been munching on has been tasty. I am on week two of my local foods challenge and so far it’s going really well. I’m at about 47% local due to picking up a few treat items the other night but I have no fear that I’ll be back up to 50%+ next week with my organics box delivery which is almost all locally sourced produce.

Now onto the food!

Breakfast: Love Grown Foods Oatmeal with a local juicy peach, Forage cashew milk, Date Lady syrup and cinnamon.

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The internet buzz about Love Grown Foods oatmeal won and I picked up a packaged of their oats this week. The verdict? It was so good! I picked up the Super Oats Nuts & Seeds and it is filled with Gluten-free oats, chia seeds, almonds, quinoa flakes, amaranth flakes, pumpkin seeds, walnuts and flaxseed. I topped it with a local juicy peach from our organics box and a few of my other favorite toppings. It was a simply, filling and delicious breakfast.

Lunch: Loaded Baked Potato Fries with Shiitake Mushroom Bacon

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I made Neil and I these loaded baked french fry bowls for lunch on Sunday. All of the produce which included potatoes, cucumber, onion, bell pepper, tomato and shiitake mushrooms were all locally sourced. To make the shiitake bacon I sauteed them with coconut aminos and a little (vegan) bacon salt. I also topped our fries with tahini sauce and za’taar.

Snack Time! 

2015_08_9_WIAW-1My favorite snack right now is Nu Culture “cheese” (based in The Dalles, OR) on  stoned wheat crackers and a seltzer. These cheeses are so good! If you follow me on instagram you might remember the bacon chipotle flavor I tried a few weeks ago. This time we tried the garden herbs and it was also super good. It’s creamy, tangy and just a nice treat.

Dessert (why yes I did skip dinner because it was too ugly to share)

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Lastly, it’s all about the coconut ice cream. We were in Sellwood (PDX) yesterday for a doctors appointment and dinner. We came across a new ice cream cart at the Sellwood food cart pod and not only did it have sorbet but they also had coconut “ice cream”. We sampled each flavor and decided to share the coconut and strawberry coconut between the four of us. It was super creamy and flavorful. Edith has declared that she doesn’t want to share again that she needs to have her own of the “white one”. Check it out of you are in Sellwood or honestly head down and make a special trip. 

What have you been eating this week? Any fun new food finds or recipes? 

 

How Local Can You Go? | Local Food Challenge + Giveaway

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Eating local is something that is pretty important in our house. We make an effort to purchase locally produced products and locally grown produce and we are lucky that we have so many great farmers markets in the area and that the grocery stores we frequent the most such as Whole Foods has so many locally produced products and fruits and veggies.  For the month of August we [our family] are putting even a greater focus on eating locally and we are participating in the Oregon Food Bank Local Food Challenge. 

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The Local Food Challenge is an opportunity for you spend one month really focusing on where your food comes from and to track how much you spend while you do it. Here are a few things to think about before and during the challenge:

  • Local food supports the local economy: Money spent on local food stays close to home and is reinvested in the community.
  • It’s easier on the environment: From helping to maintain farmland and open spaces to reducing the carbon footprint.
  • Locally grown food is full of flavor: Food grown nearby is less likely to have lost nutrient value since the time between harvest and market is shorter.
  • It builds community: Shopping at a farmers market can encourage you to explore the neighborhood, make new friends or reconnect with old ones.

I would say in July we probably only spent about 25% of our monthly grocery budget on local products/produce. So for the month of August we are taking the Oregon Food Bank Local Food Challenge and we are challenging ourselves to spend 50% of our food budget locally. It might be a bit of a lofty goal but I think ultimately it will force us to eat more whole foods and shop the farmers markets and farm stands around us more often. 

Don’t worry you don’t have to have a lofty as a goal as us. You can participate in the Local Food Challenge  with goal to dedicate at least 10% of your food budget on foodsgrown, raised, or caught within 200 miles of where you live. For the average person that’s just $5/week. We’re excited to join Oregon Food Bank for the Local Food Challenge , a month long initiative to eat locally August 1-31. Register today and make a commitment to eat local!

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*Giveaway*

To make shopping locally easier Whole Foods is kindly offering a $50 Gift Card for one lucky RWT reader. Also if you are local to Portland don’t forget to check out one of the Whole Foods Meet The Makers events going on this month. 

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