Eat Local Challenge Tips: Day 18- My Experiments with Food Truth- 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown
Join the Eat Local Challenge (Sept. 25 – Oct. 3) for a meal, a day or a week!
This is my second time doing an “extreme eat local challenge.” The first time I did it for 90 days and I was much more stringent- Hawaii Island only and NO condiment cheats! This time around I have expanded my geographic area to the State of Hawaii and am allowing minor cheats on oil, soy sauce, dressing in restaurants, etc… Today I am on Day 18 of my current Eat Local journey. Here are a few of my tips to help you get ready for the Eat Local Challenge.
1. Clean your Refrigerator
Starting with a good, clean fridge will help you be organized. Get rid of all that moldy stuff in the containers, eat what is edible, wipe the shelves.
2. Reconnaissance
Start in advance by scoping out the places you usually shop. When you put your eye to it, you will find locally grown food in your usual food store that you have never seen before. Taro in Foodland? Yes! Sweet Potatoes in Costco? Yes! Start to buy these things and put them in your nice clean fridge.
Now plan and map out some cool field trips that you want to take. An outing to the Farmers Market? A visit to a farm? A trip down a country road to a farm stand? A foray to the fish market? How can you incorporate these outings into other things you need to do? This may seem like extra work, but it will be worth it- you will meet some very cool people, eat some excellent food, and your life will be enriched.
3. Staples
They don’t call them staples for nothing! Begin to gather your basic staples, think starch: Taro, squash, sweet potato, breadfruit, corn, cassava. Then gather the next level: Milk, eggs and cheese. (We have Mountain Apple Brand milk at KTA on Hawaii Island. Do other islands have local milk?) I use goat cheese, I have not found a local cow’s milk cheese yet. Next are your oils and condiments: Locally produced macadamia nut and/or coconut oil and butter if you can find them. Local salt! Lemons, limes, tomatoes and herbs are your new best friends! They will be the basis for your dressings, salsas and sauces. In my experience, local veggies and fruits are pretty easy to find and can be grabbed as you go. You will also need to think about your proteins: not all fish is local- if you are shopping in the food store you will need to check if the fish is local. If you eat beef and chicken it will be a little research project to find local sources- which are definitely out there. Pork? Well…your cousin/uncle/friend the pig hunter is your source there.
4. Get Out Your Lunch Box
Still have that superman lunch box somewhere? Well, time to bust it out! If you can’t find it, a small cooler will work fine. Running out of the house to work without bringing ample food for the day is a big mistake when you are on an all local diet. However, if it is in your flow and your budget, you can eat out at a restaurant that is serving local food during Eat Local Challenge week. I usually pack a main course (squash, fish, greens), a major staple (like poi), and some snacks (fresh or dried bananas, mango.) A hard boiled egg is also a great thing to throw in the lunch box. Lack of preparation is the only reason for starving when you are eating 100% locally grown. If you are hungry it is probably because you didn’t shop, cook and pack food.
5. Fun Foods and Beverages
It’s not all about fruits and vegetables- find fun stuff! Honey, macadamia nut butter, cocoa, tropical fruits (all taken together, at times!) Since I have local milk, I make yogurt and custard, which I consider fun when mixed with any or all of the above.
There is also the interesting world of the local beverage. There is coffee, green and oolong tea, coffee cherry tea, mamaki tea, kokoolau tea, and honey mead. I keep hearing rumors of “My uncles lilikoi wine” or “My father’s jaboticaba wine,” but have yet to actually lay my hot little hands on any of these fine beverages.
