foodgonewild » eat local

Eat Local Challenge = Challenged no more

Courtney — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:51:24 +0000

I hate quitting. I am extremely stubborn and when faced with a challenge I pretty much take it to the next level. I started the Eat Local Challenge because I wanted to learn more about central Texas farms (and wanting to show my support), how to eat seasonally and expand my limited culinary skills. But there was something I didn’t really think of when starting this challenge: nutrition. I call myself a very healthy and responsible vegan. October is my 2 year vegan anniversary and I have taken a lot of pride in the fact that my doctor as well as my blood work has told me I am in excellent health. All my levels are amazing and since going vegan I have increased my energy and I just feel better. I play competitive soccer 2-3 times a week and I noticed a huge improvement within the past 2 years. My diet has been very balanced with protein, good carbs and good fats and supplements. I eat a ton of fruits and vegetables, oats and seeds and get my extra protein from soy and beans (yes, I know about soy and trust me when I say I am taking the initiative in limiting it now). Recently I added coconut oil and hemp to my diet as well (total superfoods).

Forget boredom with the eat local challenge, I started feeling like crap. It really started last Thursday and I blamed it on the constant Austin rain (weird, I know) but then after several days of no energy, complete exhaustion and not being able to concentrate on anything, I realized that my diet has been lacking. I wasn’t getting my normal nutrition and I definitely wasn’t eating enough. How could I be with a limited number of veggies, some olive oil and coffee every day? I decided during the day on Monday that I had to quit the challenge. I had a soccer game right after work and I played worse than I have in years. I came home and made tofu scramble and went to bed.

However, I don’t feel defeated. I definitely learned a lot and my weekly trip to the farmers market will continue. I will still buy local over non-local if available and will tailor my meals to include as much seasonal produce as possible. And I’ll keep you posted with my attempts to make homemade granola, pasta and pretty much anything else I would rather make from scratch than buying in a box.

I think the Eat Local Challenge is awesome though and would be lot healthier if I either wasn’t vegan or lived in an area that some of these proteins were grown locally.

Incredibly bored and tired: ELC Day 12

Courtney — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:15:54 +0000

I love food. I talk about it all day. It gets brought up in every conversation. Lately I have been surprising myself with the delicious meals I have been making but I am using the same ingredients pretty much every time. Salads are Bibb lettuce, sprouts, tomatoes and cucumbers. Everything else is make from okra, squash, potatoes, green beans, black-eyed peas, mushrooms, and sometimes eggplant with rice. There is no quinoa, pasta, bread, tofu, fruit, beans, or coconut.

Saturday farmers market finds: portabellos, red bell peppers, okra, acorn squash, yellow squash, zucchini, tomatoes, prickly pear (Matt went this time and picked some up and we both agree we don’t like it the taste.)
Wheatsville local finds: olive oil, green beans, broccoli microgreens, bibb lettuce

And I’m not feeling that great. I don’t know if it’s the weather or lack of something in my diet but if it continues I will have to modify the challenge quite a bit. I know I have been eating very healthy but I am exhausted, I can’t concentrate and I have no energy. I have a soccer game today that I am dreading. Is it my diet? What should I do?

This challenge would be a lot easier if I weren’t vegan.

October Eat Local Challenge starts tomorrow… but without tofu?

Courtney — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:06:06 +0000

I have been checking the Eat Local Challenge site every day for updates but they haven’t posted anything since the “save the date” post. But I am starting tomorrow as planned and here are my rules/exceptions:

local = 150 mile radius
exceptions:

garlic
coffee (fair trade only)
tea
Texmati rice (checking to see how far away this is grown but definitely in Texas)
soy milk (because my coffee has to be beige)
spices
olive oil (however I have some Texas oil that was made in Carrizo Springs – 196 mi.)

Here is the part about tofu. Matt went to the Austin Farmers Market on Saturday and found some tofu but didn’t ask the guy anything about it. So I will be going there this Saturday in hopes of finding him and getting some info. I was going to list Banyan Foods tofu as an exception but I had a weird experience today. I called them to ask where they get their soybeans from and the guy on the phone told me he wasn’t allowed to tell me. I told him I wanted to know because I wanted my tofu to come from as close to Austin as possible and since Banyan is in Houston I was hoping that they used Texas soybeans at least. Side note, I am having a hard time finding Texas soybean information and this is something I found (however from 2007):

(photo no longer available for some reason – but it showed a drastic decrease in soybean harvesting in Texas)

So a definite decline but really not a lot of info. Anyway, the Banyan guy says all he can tell me is that their soybeans are non-GMO and grown in the mid-west. Grown in the US but not grown in Texas. I asked him why he can’t tell me where they get them and he doesn’t even know, just that he was instructed to not disclose that information. Monsanto, anyone?

Eat Local Challenge – Day -10

Courtney — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 03:59:53 +0000

I call this “Day -10″ because while I was slated to start my personal 100-mile diet today, September 21, last week I found out that there is an official Eat Local Challenge that happens in October. So my month-long 100-mile diet is really about 40 days. I unfortunately haven’t had time to do any research other than finding out that I can buy olive oil that is produced in Wimberly, TX (28 miles) so I am really jumping into this pretty unprepared with the thought that it will force me to learn about this quicker than my 2-job schedule will allow. So it’s Monday morning and I am foodless until tonight. I usually don’t really eat during the day anyway so I should be fine along with the fact that I ate everything in site this weekend in preparation (including vegan wedding cake that was not wheat free but I didn’t care and am paying for it now). Matt, my husband, was sweet enough to take a trip to the Austin Farmers Market on Saturday while I was at work to purchase some local squash, okra and mushrooms which will make up my dinner tonight. Did I mention I don’t know how to cook without a recipe? This should be interesting.