Lessons learnt this week; Lunches at work have proved to be interesting. I have been taking leftovers most days, because at least I know what is in it and can tell that it is mostly local. I have not bought my lunch from the food-court that I used to frequent in 25 days. So far so good.
Kim stated last night that she now really loved this locavore lifestyle. We know exactly what is in our food and we feeling better for it. We went shopping on Saturday at Coles (the supermarket formally known as BiLo) and spent a grand total of $38. We found that after scrutinising every purchase, we walked out of there with so much less in our trolley than we would have normally bought before we took up the challenge. A few staples, like free range chicken, local milk for cheesemaking, spices (fair game), bread flour. This challenge makes you totally aware of the place of origin of all food stuffs, and what to look for in labelling. Made in Australia is simply not good enough, because it doesn’t give you any idea as to where all the ingredients come from. The label we are always looking for only if we can’t source local is ‘Product of Australia’. It is the only way to determine where on the planet the food was grown. We have noticed that quite often the state of origin is now being displayed in brackets, Product of Australia (VIC) for instance. It helps to narrow it down even further. Maybe more people are asking the hard question to the food retailers regarding where their food comes from?
Yesterday, we took another trip up to the cherry farm at Mt Gisborne as they only have two more days picking left to go. We bought 2kg for $24, which was a steal because our next stop was our local greengrocer at Bacchus Marsh and they were selling local cherries for $18 kg. Buying straight from the orchard certainly keeps the costs down, and cuts out the middle man. That way, you know that the producer has gotten a fair price for their produce.
Making; Plumcot Jam, Brinjal Pickles, Zucchini Chutney, Preserved Peaches and Plumcots, Bread, Yoghurt, Pitta chips.
Harvesting; Zucchini, Cherry tomatoes, cucumber, basil, spring onions, thyme, sage, mint in tea, eggplant, onions, garlic and an average of 5 eggs a day.
Anyway, on to this weeks menu;
Day 18 – Monday
Breakfast; Weetbix with milk from within zone. 50% local
Lunch; Sandwiches, cucumber & cheese. 100% local
Dinner; Bean Patties with stir fried vegetables. 60% local
Day 19 – Tuesday
Breakfast; Weetbix with milk from within zone. 50% local
Lunch; . Leftover Bean Patties with veg. 60% local
Dinner; Baked Fish with roasted root vegetables. 80% local
Day 20 – Wednesday
Breakfast; Weetbix with milk from within zone. 50% local
Lunch; Leftover Home made Chicken Noodle Soup from freezer. 50% local
Dinner; Omelettes. 100% local.
Day 21 – Thursday
Breakfast; Weetbix with milk from within zone. 50% local.
Lunch; Sandwiches, Bread & butter cucumbers. 100% local
Dinner; Takeaway Pizza treat. 0% local. Unfortunately this made me ill and gave me a bout of gastro. Lesson learnt not to get take-out.
Day 22 – Friday
Breakfast; Too sick to eat. Drank lots of water instead
Lunch; Dry bread. 100% local
Snack. 1 Nectarine, 1 Peach. 100% local
Dinner; Moroccan Chicken. Free range chook, my garden fresh zucchini, onions, garlic, local carrots. 100% local.
Day 23 – Saturday
Breakfast; Home made yoghurt with apricot jam plus 2 cups of mint tea. 100% local
Lunch; Bread roll with my garden fresh cucumber, lettuce, chicken loaf and home made Stilton cheese. 90% local
Dinner; Curry Zucchini Soup with home-made crusty bread. 100% local
Supper; Cheese board. Jindi Brie and Home-made Stilton with wafer crackers . 90% local.
Day 24 – Sunday
Breakfast; Crumpets with apricot jam. 2 cups of mint tea. 75% local.
Lunch; Bread roll with cucumber and chicken loaf. 75% local
Dinner; Roast Chicken (FR), with local potatoes, broccoli, carrots, and cabbage. Frozen peas, from AU. Gravy from pan juices, cornflour and gravy browning. 80% local
Day 25 – Monday
Breakfast; Weetbix with milk from within zone. 50% local
Lunch; Leftover Curry Zucchini Soup. 100% local
Dinner; Prawn & Chicken Pasta Salad. Frozen prawns from Thailand, chicken leftovers and locally made pasta (Kookaburra brand). Dressing made from French mustard and yoghurt. 75% local.
The maths comes in at 75.4% from 25 meals. Slowly getting better every week. We are very happy with our progress so far, and are still coming in at under $150 per fortnight for our food bill. The veggie patch is really being put to good use as is the stockpile cupboard for certain staples.
At the Jeff Jones market in Bacchus Marsh we picked up these lovely local fruits grown only 14km from our house.
Happy locavoring! I hope you are still going and doing your best. We love this lifestyle! Food really tastes like it aught to, and is nutritious to boot.
gav- just thought Id pass anote about ‘product of Oz. after my post last week on living earth choc coconut spread. Can mean one of three things. Made from local ingredients, made from mostly local but in Oz, or made from mostly imported ingredients but made in Oz.
http://www.ausbuy.com.au/articles_single.html?&tx_ttnews%5BpS%5D=1253196612&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=635&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=46&cHash=16e7b7cd67
Its as clear as mud. Nick Xen is onto it.
I kept seeing your posts about the 100-Mile Diet on my blogroll and never got around to reading any of them until now. I will definitely be going back to read your previous posts. This sounds like a brilliant concept. I will keep it in mind and perhaps map out a goal involving it. Our family went to the Farmer’s Market this Saturday after being reminded of the importance of local food while watching Food, Inc. This definitely sounds like a challenge, but an important, rewarding challenge. Thanks for sharing your experience of it with the blog world 🙂
As I live within your 100 miles I will endeavour to visit some of the places you have mentioned. The plumcots and the vinegar sound delish.
Will be trying them for sure.
@ Kelly
Thanks for the link. How misleading is that! I thought it was black and white and it really many shades of grey. Not happy Jan. Hope Nick fixes it.
@ Green Gal
Thanks for dropping by. Saw the farmers market pictures on your blog. Thought they were great. I have found a copy of Food Inc and it should arrive today. Looking forward to watching it.
@ Angela
The vinegar is great stuff. The lady who served us assumed that we were going to drink it for medicinal purposes. She was surprised when I said I was going to use it for pickles and chutneys! Well, each to their own. BTW get some plumcots fast, they only had 2 or 3 trees and will sell out fast.
Gav
that is awsum Gav…. It goes to show a few hours of research can go a long way to your goals… i am so excited for you with this challenge! Now that you have the resources at hand this appears to be a shoe-in for you to achieve.
All my Love
xxxx
Bout of gastro from take awya pizza is a hard way to learn a lesson! Gosh, hope you are feeling better now..
The fruit looks gorgeous and wow, local apple cider vinegar in refillable jar and Mother in it too!
Your blog posts lately have made me determined to get back to our local Farmers Market, and this Sunday I am not working for once, so cannot wait to go!