Littering Annnnnnd???

Has anyone ever noticed how much our food is packaged? Seems to me that it is pretty ridiculous how much waste their is to everything store bought. Sure, sure we are recycling now and trying to reuse as much as possible. But imagine the impact local eating would have on the amount of garbage we have. Since we have been on the acreage we have really had to see how much waste our family is producing because we physically take runs to the dump and recycling depots. Excessive cardboard and plastic is used, i think, due to the shipping and handling aspect of food. It needs to be shipped so far and still look and taste fresh! Strange really? We could completely eliminate these problems if we bought locally and made much of our own food from scratch. Never really thought about it before. I mean, we have done what most do and jumped on the green band wagon. We try to use reusable grocery bags, we recycle, we compost, and we are trying to cut back on waste in general. But even 1 box of cereal (and i can't believe i am dissing cereal!) is bagged in thick plastic, enclosed in a HUGE cardboard box and has lord knows what in the ingredients to keep is "fresh". Bah! NOT giving yup cereal!!! (yet).
What is an alternative though? Eating homemade breakfast? Fresh, easy and a lot less packaging. Eggs; if your own has zero packaging. Toast; homemade bread; very little with the ingredient lists that can be produced locally. Bacon; from a butcher has that nice brown paper instead of plastic...
So anyways, trying my darndest to find out where the ingredients from some of our favorite items are coming from. You really get the run around from these big organizations. I will keep you all posted. Still trying to find a yummy whole wheat recipe that rises well, anyone? Also poking around with yeast free breads for August??? YIKES!

Snow Storms in March???

O.K. So what puts you more in the mood to start your garden than a spring snow storm. Gusting winds of up to 90km an hour, power out at our place for over six hours and snow covering the ground. What really gets my goat though is frozen water troughs. Ugh! thought i was home free of dragging 100 feet of hose in and out of the house so the horses won't dehydrate!
So seeds were postponed until today.
Again, snow. But we will tough it out because we are 100% Canadian and our children will not take no for an answer. Amber, my mother and our seven children set out to Bowden for an adventure in seed collection. The convenience of the location is astounding right off the highway (QE2). Alberta Nurseries and Seeds is well marked and so easy to find. We were greeted with outstanding service from a gentleman who had been working there for the past 16 years. The variety of seed is quite amazing. They do however sell more of a majority of seed shipped from other provinces and the U.S and then repackaged at their Nursery. That being said we bought all the brands we could that were actually produced in Bowden. They had many varieties of tomato, corn, and tons of flowers. One thing I wished they would have better labeled where it was coming from. Everything has their name on it, but for someone trying to eat locally it is difficult to see where it actually came from. We ended up having to ask which seeds were grown by the nursery. I am finding it very difficult to decipher where much of our food comes from. I remember watching a program on CBC that was outlining the way companies label their food and products. Loblaws (which is company that owns the Superstore, No Frills, chains) are very tricky in how the will state something is made in Canada or 100% Canadian, when really it was only packaged in Canada. Or perhaps one out of fifty ingredients are locally produced. Anyhow this had led me to my next challenge...finding out where some of my groceries are coming from! I think i would like to research 5 items that we use often; Post Shreddies cereal, Alymer canned tomatoes, Kraft Premium Plus Saltines, SunRipe Fruit Bars and DairyLand Classic Vanilla yogurt. Wow lets add ONE more thing to my growing list of to do's Lark?? Well better to be busy than idle...Right?

29 Miles to Seeds

Wow! Local seeds for my garden! The benefits are endless to having seed that has been produced in local soil. Alberta Nurseries and Seeds out of Bowden, Alberta, approximately 29 miles from our place. They are growers who do field trials to ensure all seed is hardy for our climate and can grow within our peak growing months. A producer who has been around since 1922, they have been able to specialize in certain species and have endless experience and knowledge about plants, trees and food production. I phoned for a catalogue the other day and spoke with a wonderful lady! She was very helpful and we got talking about the process of a 100 mile diet. She was most impressed with my ideas around food and children. We got a charge out of how children who get homemade cooking and baking always enjoy going to friend's house's to eat store bought cookies and Kraft Dinner. And vice versa, those who get store bought items generally hoover anything out of the oven! She felt compelled to tell me a quick story about when she was raising her young children. Her son went to school one day and she sent with him the usual lunch. When he returned home from school that day he let her know he did a trade and his friend wanted to know what that "brown" stuff in his sandwich. Minutes later, the friend's mother phoned and began to rant about how much her son LOVED the sandwich that had been traded, and could she please tell her what the "brown " stuff was! Well it took her a moment to realize it was Roast Beef from the night before that she had put in her son's sandwich... she quietly told this to the mother and was replied with "I guess I'll have to learn how to cook one of those!".
It is really a pleasure getting everyone's views/opinions and general thought on this project. We will be heading out this week for seeds. My girls are excited about helping pick out all the things they love! We have a greenhouse... just barely without a family feud! So we will be starting seeds soon! Can't wait!!

April 01= April Fools Day?

Am I Crazy? Perhaps this is some kind of delirium that i have chosen to take on. Since the idea struck about 2 months ago to do this 100 Mile Diet, I have many sleepless nights. Will we STARVE? Will my kids disown me for lack of Apple Juice and GOLDFISH crackers? I think I have to focus on the positives rather than the negatives, right? Like the taste of fresh rather than packaged. The benefits of no hormones in the beef we will be buying. The impact of community support that I know exsists. It just needs to be promoted. So i have decided to start journaling now, in April, because there is going to be so much preparation in order for it to run smoothly in August. Because I have three young children, I need to keep our meal plans very basic. I have found many recipes from other 100 mile dieters that sound wonderful. Like Mint Agrula Salad with Roasted Turnips, Yummy for Mommy but more than likely not appreciated from the rest of the family. Basic is best for the time in our lives. Lots of meat and potatoes, eggs, and fresh veggies. I am doing this mad project with a a friend who has the same values and morals that we do. She is a dear person who I respect so much. Amber has four children and a supportive hubby so I think we should make quite a team... Excited!!! Here's to a new adventure. One that I am sure will change our family's lives for the better!!!