(editor note: we are pleased to welcome guest blogger, Kiran, who lives in the Bay Area and is taking the Penny-Wise Eat Local Challenge with her family.)
by Kiran
Our ELC got off to a rocky start due to the fact that I missed the Sunday Farmer's Market. Sunday was my son's 2nd birthday party so I wasn't able to make it out to shop for the week. Luckily I had quite a few local things already in my fridge and left over from the part. On Monday morning I took all of the leftover and spoiling strawberries we had and made a big pot of jam for the week. I also had a whole pint of cream from a local dairy, but no local butter, so I threw it in the Kitchenaid and made butter. So far this week for breakfast we've been having toast with jam everyday. I decided to take bread and coffee and some sugar/seasonings as exemptions. But I bought locally roasted fair trade coffee beans and locally made bread.
We are back on track now. I went to a Tuesday afternoon Farmer's Market and stocked up on everything. We have been eating a lot of local beef and eggs for protein and are thrilled to have so many wonderful spring fruits and vegetables available now.
Now we come to the matter of money. I have spent $90 so far, which includes the cost of the things I had left over from the birthday party. I am not finding it so difficult to stay within budget. The thing I miss the most are the convenience foods we use nearly everyday such as crackers for snacks for my son, frozen brown rice from Trader Joe's, rice and pasta in general, etc. I find that it takes more time to prepare food during this challenge, but it is fun! So far so good.
