We're still here!

Hello blog-readers (if there are really any of you out there!!!)...

It is now February, quite a long time since my last post, and our local eating over the winter months has not been anywhere near the level it was during the warmer months. As people who tend to be hard on themselves to begin with, Eric and I have probably procrastinated from writing here as it exposes yet more of our flaws and shows the world we are not as perfect as we'd like to be! (Darn it!)

We will also soon be adding a new little one to our family, and that has frankly impacted my eating habits and preferences just a little bit too! (Some days I am at the whims of my hormone-directed food cravings!!!)

Having started out our journey into eating more locally last spring, we didn't plan lots of extra time and energy into canning and preserving things for winter. So mainly our winter local eating has consisted of frozen meats and cheeses, homemade freezer jam and tomatoes, and maybe a few other frozen veggies like green beans. I also still try to shop for locally baked bread (West Side Bakery makes fantastic bread!)

I guess the biggest change this winter has been in awareness. When we go to the grocery store, we look at where food is from. If we can find apples from Pennsylvania, we are sure going to buy them over apples from Australia. Australia!!!! We haven't been buying produce grown out of the US, and we've really just tried to pay attention to how far our food travels, even if it isn't all from Ohio this winter.

We're also concerned with buying food grown sustainably, and organically when possible, so it is sometimes a struggle to balance the urge to buy things that are "healthy" for the environment distance-wise, while finding food that is "healthy" for our bodies with less chemical contamination.

So, that is where we are right now. I'm missing the community and fresh smells of the farmer's market, and looking forward to taking the kids to the market this summer!! There is just something about doing your shopping outdoors, and buying direct from the grower that can't even come close to being matched by any supermarket. Only a few more months to go!!!