The Food Revolution

You see all the advertisement and propaganda about "eat unprocessed foods," "buy local," "get more whole grains" - and on it goes.

So now you actually TRY to do that. Suddenly you start seeing that bottom line on your grocery bill and you're eyes bug out of your head. MANY of your hard earned nickels are now in those reusable canvas grocery bags in the forms of organic whole wheat flour, local vine-ripened tomatoes and free range chicken - all environmentally sound and healthy choices. But that's ALL you bought??

In an effort to try to improve our eating styles (and hopefully saving a bit of cash), I started making a few food items at home and growing our own veggies. I now bake my own whole wheat bread, make blueberry muffins from scratch (PERFECT for the lunch bag and packed full of delicious blueberries, and lots of whole grains!), and now I'm even attempting homemade granola bars (though Caleb calls me a hippy for doing it).

To make bread from scratch, which I have to do about every two weeks, I have to plan for almost three hours so that I can correctly put together the ingredients, and wait for two raising periods, and THEN bake it. The muffins I have down to less than an hour and I'm still working on the granola bars.

Is the time it takes to do these things worth it? I ask myself that a lot as I work my upper arms to knead the bread dough. I figure that for each loaf of bread, it cost me about $1.50 per loaf. So I am saving some cash. And I know there aren't any creepy chemicals - and I know where the bread came from - my own two hands.

I purchased a quart of strawberries from a local farmer today on my way home. They were $5.50 - over a dollar more expensive than the quart I bought two weeks ago from Shaw's. I thought to myself, "Holy cow is this really worth it???"

And then I took a bite. The deliciously sweet strawberry, with just the right amount of tartness, melted on my tongue. And all of a sudden, I knew. This IS worth it!

Every time I make toast out of my own bread, I think "Hey I made that" and it tastes delicious. When I take a bite of that homemade blueberry muffins packed with all the good things for your body, it makes me happy to know that I chose to eat something better for me than a doughnut. And I know that I have made a better choice for me and my family.

So is it worth it? I'm not going to get all preachy on you. But take into consideration all of the things that come into play. When you make choices that affect your grocery bill, you are also making choices for your health and the environment.

But if you do decide to start buying local, organic, or whatever, make changes a little at a time. Pick up a few staples here and there. You will spend more on each item (that's a unchangeable fact), but in the long run, breaking it up over time will seem a little less painful. After a while, you'll just get used to it, and incorporate it into your grocery budget.

Oh... and put down the Ring Dings. That's a good first start :)