AMY - Short Report

                Eating foods grown and produced within 100 miles of your home sounds like a simple enough task. I mean, of the food one already consumes how much of it really comes from outside of this range? Well, for me it was almost everything. Taking on challenges, especially dietary ones, in the middle of a busy lifestyle can be a very challenging mission. However, the importance of eating local food is very high. I wanted to take on this challenge in a manageable way, but a way that would highly increase my awareness of local food, my interpretation of what is good food, and perhaps even improve my health. These are the reasons which pushed me to take on a short version of the 100 mile challenge for this term project. I was happy to have Juliana and Meghan to work with for this project, as support is always helpful!

                The first one or two days of this challenge were the hardest for me for a couple reasons. Firstly, I was not as well-prepared as I should have been, partly due to the small amount of time between having the idea, and carrying it out and partly due to general ignorance. Secondly, I am by no means a chef, although I can cook certain meals in the kitchen, combining ingredients without a recipe is something I can have trouble with. In the beginning, the problem was that I was focusing on what I could not eat rather then what I could eat. I was looking at the challenge the wrong way; I focused on making versions of foods that I know. After a couple days I realized this was not the best way to go about eating local foods, I had to change what I knew about food in order to create delicious meals. 

Mid-week, I started to look up meal ideas with the ingredients I had found on allrecipes which was an effective way to begin for me. Although most of the recipes I found still had to be tweaked or altered I began to really settle into a groove of cooking partially from a recipe and partially from my own skills. While I was doing the challenge, I was watching the food network documentary on Mission BC’s 100 mile project to supplement my learning. It was by their day 4 and my day 3 that “honey, wine, and wheat becomes the top priority” of those families and myself. This is the first day I made my own bread/biscuits. I think it was also one of the days I was most proud of my accomplishments, because not only did they fix my carb cravings, they actually tasted really good! I also collected local honey and wine, as did the families in Mission BC. 

 

By the last few days I had really become experimental and innovative, really stepping outside of my comfort zone of food. I made my own pasta noodles, which I will admit did not turn out magnificently, but were still edible. I made stew which was one of my favourite meals, and egg salad sliders. Most of my meals ideas were created by myself but also partially from allrecipes, Juliana and Meghan, and the 100 mile website.

When challenge week ended, I was definatly proud, educated and also quite releived. I liked being able to eat with my family again, and have sauces and breads again, and be able to eat meals at restaurants. However, I learned so much from this experience, that I cannot see myself ever going back to my “pre-challenge” diet. Although currently I enjoy the occasional banana and chocolate bar, I have knowledge of where that food comes from and the amount of chemicals potentially in it from pesticides or preservatives, so I do not have these foods frequently. I have kept some of the ties I created to farmers in the area, such as eggs. All of my eggs now come fresh every few days from a farm about 2 miles from my house, owned by a family friend. I found local organic cheese to taste much better than what I was eating before, as well as vegetables.

One of the most rewarding parts of this challenge was not only the pride in myself and alteration of my own eating habit but showing other people how much better local food can taste. I would often share my meals or part of my meals with friends or family so they could see how flavours and combinations can really mesh well, especially with local foods. I know that I increased awareness, my ability to see food for its good qualities and flavours, and I believe my health as well. This means overall, mission completed!

Eating locally is not a limitation; it is a way of thinking – a mindset. Benefits of local food definitely outweigh the challenges. The taste and texture of local food, the locally circulating economic flow, the decrease of food miles, increased skills in the kitchen, the community/family ties and the personal health are just some of the reasons to try eating local food. Challenges would be lack of availability with familiar foods especially, time consuming meals and snacks, smaller selection of foods in stores and or restaurants, winter time or food deserts, picky eaters and sometimes price point. Local food is a movement, it’s happening all over the world and the central Okanagan is a fantastic place to be a part of this movement. If the reasons above are not enough for you to try local eating or the 100 mile challenge, than just do it as a challenge to yourself, your family or your community.

AMY - Spring Valley School

As Juliana mentioned, the class we visited at Spring Valley Middle School was no ordinary classroom, it had a variety of hands on activities in order to properly educate these students according to their interests and abilities. I was pleased to notice they had a small herb and petite veggie garden in a room labeled “office”. I love that the students had incorporated some food into their learning experience in the classroom.

Our presentation was extremely casual and relaxed, to better suit the students. We helped them decipher and read a map that Meghan found which visually showed which food can be grown where in British Columbia. We also fed them a snack, consisting of watermelon radish, white radish, Jerusalem artichoke, celeriac (or celery root) and small sweet apples. At first the students all gravitated towards the apples, because they were familiar. However, with some bribing we were able to get some of the kids to try the other vegetables as well. We talked about what these foods were, and why the kids hadn’t heard of them or seen them before.

One of my favourite conversations included what the kids currently liked to eat – their favourite foods. I helped them think about which foods in their diet now are or could be locally produced. Also about what food, such as McDonalds (a common favourite) is not grown within 100 miles.

The bistro was really interesting to see, as Juliana mentioned the students run a lunch time bistro right out of their school and they sell a huge variety of foods. The classroom teacher is trying hard to keep the food healthy, homemade, and if possible, local which is fantastic. When a couple of the students were making food such as burgers, we talked a bit about which of the ingredients used would have to be cut out if they were eating locally, and what they could add instead. Some of the students were shocked to realize how much food they consume isn’t local at all and how far it has to be shipped.

It was a stimulating experience talking to this classroom, and the teachers. I believe that the students learned something about what it means to eat local and why we were trying to raise awareness. However I think they learned the best from seeing and touching and eating the foods, as well as when we talked about which foods are or aren’t local. They are really interesting kids, and like Juliana mentioned we learned a lot from them as well. Such as the level of knowledge students their age have about food, and why food matters to them. When they showed us their bistro we were able to eat some quinoa salad they make which was delicious and had mint and herbs from their “office garden”!

Overall it was defiantly an experience to remember, and I am glad we were able to share our experience doing the 100 mile diet and raise some awareness about local food.

AMY - Reflection

Well, if you told me a week ago about all the delicious, wonderful things I would be eating on this challenge I probably would have called you a liar. Fresh veggie sauce, smoothies, buttermilk buns, roasted chestnuts, local wine, cheese and apples are some of the best things I have eaten, not just in the past week. I have also been watching the 100 Mile challenge for mission BC, as kind of supplemental learning throughout the experience. I was able to keep pretty close matching their 100 days to my 7, to conclude with the final episode today. I know that their experience was much longer, took a lot more effort and was more of a learning experience than mine, but they also had support from James and Alisa, as well as one another. I would defiantly do this challenge again, perhaps for 100 days, down the road. However I don't think I am in a great position to do so now. Local food can be more expensive, especially if you buy organic, and it takes a lot longer to cook from scratch than from a box. I did not expect my family and friends to do this 7 day challenge with me, but the fact that they weren’t made the experience a lot harder. I always had to think ahead, instead of getting hungry at 5 and making dinner for 6, I pre thought almost all of my meals a day or two days in advance to make sure the chicken was thawed, or I had fresh veggies or cheese or other ingredients I would need. 

In the films there was one family, the Peter’s, who I feel I most identify with. Sherida Peters had some cooking experience going into the challenge, but was pushed out of her shell and out of her comfort zone in order to meet the challenge requirements and put a good meal on the table all the time. I also had some previous cooking skills, and I consider myself a pretty good cook - for specific meals. Trying new things is hard, especially cooking new things without a recipe. I had to do this with almost everything I made. Although the website I previously mentioned was helpful in looking up meals by ingredient, I frequently discovered the recipes shown had ingredients that I hadn't found locally.

I thought the Weremchuck-Williams did extremely well on the challenge, by diving right into the idea of 'where does this food come from?' I know the exact location of most of my food, the eggs, the tomatoes, blueberries, carrots, onions, potatoes and more. If I did this challenge again I would love to be able to spend more time on it, look at the sources of all my food and try making more on my own. Visiting places like bee ranches, orchards, farms, and other local food providers could have made this more rewarding. 

The things I found out that I did not like about the challenge were the people who did not accept what I was trying to accomplish. Some people were very discouraging, and it was hard to bounce back from that. Other people would say things like "that is not possible", when I was asking about things like bread. I think overall, if we were to really succeed with eating local food, the community would really need to come together and all provide support for one another. Local meals are healthy, and very very tasting! It's not a limit on what you can eat, it's a healthy alteration of your lifestyle. I really think people need to know where their food comes from and be ok with that. If you're food is out of your garden, perfect you know exactly how it got on your plate and you won't take it for granted when you buy an apple in January. If the food you eat is packaged processed food, how can you really know how it was made and what it went through to get on your plate? Ergo how can you appreciate it and know what health affects it may be causing you? If you know where you're coffee beans are grown and where they are ground to be turned into powder, than I feel it's alright to have that, so long as you're trying to be more local. This idea also cam acrross in the 100 Mile diet 100 day mission BC challenege when a lot of families signed up for 50% local or 80% local. This is trying to eat more local, learning about where your food comes from while still enjoying the things you might miss on the challenge. I think 50-80% depending on the season would be a fantastic goal for my future, and although I don't plan on regulating it or blogging about it in the near future, I know that these 7 days have procided a strong learning curve for me, and like most of the families in Mission, I know I won't go back to eating the same diet as a week ago, and I am happy to report, I did not cheat once!! I was able to eat ONLY 100% food grown and produced within 100 miles of here shown on my map for all 7 days. And I know that in the future, I will have more respect for the food I eat, I will cook more and I will have increased knowledge of how food is grown and how local it is.

AMY - Day 7

I can't believe it's day 7! I feel good, maybe because the challenge is almost over, or maybe because I have been eating fresh local meals, or maybe because I have learned a lot about where my food comes from, or perhaps because I have improved my skills in the kitchen?

Could be all of the above. Today I had a smoothie for breakfast, and put in a few frozen cherries from our tree this time to mix it up. I had an apple and cheese for a snack, and for lunch I made quiche! I looked a few recipes to get an idea of what to do, but none of them used 100% local ingredients that I had in my kitchen, so I ended up winging it. They stuck to the pan quite a bit, despite me covering the edges in flour beforehand! Apart from being a bit tough to get out of the pan they were really good! The shell was not as flaky as you would expect, but I liked the taste of whole wheat in them.

For dinner I had spelt noodles with fresh pasta sauce. I put the rest of the canned tomatoes with green onion, lots of basil, some parsley, onion, peppers, garlic and fresh tomatoes in a blender, and added this mixture to some bbq'd chicken I had heating in a pot. I grated the last of my mozzarella with some fresh cheddar and put in on the dish. It was so good! The sauce does not taste like my usual pasta sauce, but it was very good because of how fresh it was and I could add the exact ingredients I wanted to.

I plan to have a final snack or frozen blueberries later on, and in the next few days I will incorporate "non-local" food back into my diet. There are 2 main things I have been craving, and those are tea and chocolate. The tea is something I have a lot, especially on a cold evening and I have somewhat replaced it with warm chestnuts and wine, but tea is one of my favourite things! And chocolate, I have only been craving because my family has been eating it right in front of me! Ah it was so hard not to just grab a piece and be done with it, but  I was able to resist, and I feel like it will taste even better the next time I have some, which will probably be within the next couple of days.

Overall, this experience was extremely worth it, and I would recommend doing 100 mile meals or taking the challenge for a few days, or a year! Knowing where you're food comes from and how it's grown, and even who is responsible for growing/producing it is really important!

AMY - Day 6

I cannot believe day 7 is almost upon us! Although a week is a short time, I feel like I have learned so much already and it's opened my eyes to how much more we all have to learn about our food, where it comes from and how it's grown!

Today I had two small breakfasts, I had apples and cheese, and blueberries and yogurt. For lunch I had what I call, 'fresh egg salad sliders'. I had the usual buttermilk buns rolled in oats, which I paired with egg salad. For the egg salad I boiled 2 eggs, sliced them, paired them with chopped pepper, onion, leek, and fresh white cheddar. and ate the egg on the bun to complete the 'slider' idea. And of course put some kale on the side for nutrition and aesthetics I got every kind of food group in this meal, and I was pretty proud of it.

For dinner tonight I tried a similar thing to yesterday, I was out all afternoon so before I left I put the beans and tomatoes from Mary, potatoes,onions, leek, chicken, carrots, wine, rosemary and water into the croc pot and let it cook for a while. I made some more fresh buns and had this for dinner. This included everything except enough dairy. However, I will probably have another snack this evening, apples and cheese or blueberries or roasted chestnuts and wine... mmm.

I am excited for tomorrow, and I know that some of my habits and all of my knowledge will carry on past tomorrow.

AMY - Day 5

Day 5 was really good, I ate well today! I had oatmeal with blueberries and milk for breakfast, (which was all food groups again), and I am learning that not every food group has to be separate, for example quinoa (not that I found it locally but in general), has a lot of great things for you like protein and it's more of a carb as well! Anyways, for lunch I again had snack foods, apples, cheese, peppers, roasted chestnuts. I find with the dense buns that I only need a little bit of grains to be full, like 2 or 3 buns with dinner maybe and that fills me right up. For dinner I had a thick stew, I put beans, chicken, potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, a splash of wine, rosemary and water in a croc pot this morning and it cooked while I was away all day, the perfect solution! Today was probably my favourite meal yet! (Although those chicken skewers were pretty good as well). I made the same style of buns when I got home, but cooked them on a lower heat, and rolled them in oats before putting them in the oven! They were really good! My dinner came out a lot more flavourful than I expected, usually I see chicken broth and spices in this kind of recipe but since I made mine up it didn't include these things. Which means my goal of the day can be checked off! Also, since I lacked with bread at lunch, but had extra cheese and vice-versa in dinner I would say that my meals today did pretty well in relation to the Canadian Food Guide! This weekend I want to try and make something new, perhaps like Julianas quiche or a pizza like Meghan.

I have been using All Recipes to look up common recipes with whatever ingredients I desire! It's a pretty cool system, if you have a few foods in the fridge to use up but don't know what dish to make with them this will generate common or popular recipes with the foods you choose!

AMY - Map

Here is my, approximate, 100 mile map which I made on day 0 but I have forgot to post it online! So this is the area we are working with.

AMY - Day 4

Wow I cannot believe it is day four already! I feel like I have a lot to still discover. This morning I had oatmeal, with honey, milk and blueberries in it. It was reaally good with the frozen blueberries! They added so much flavour! This meal gave me something from each food group, as oats do have some protein. Lunch was again a snack lunch, I had chopped apple with cheese, "jingle bell" peppers, roasted chestnuts and the biscuits from yesterday! So I nailed every food group again.

This evening I attempted to fix up some pasta for dinner, I cooked the noodles that I had made, however I believe I did not roll and cut these noddles thin enough, so they were slightly uncooked in the center, which was unfortunate but it still tasted pretty good! I made sauce from chopped tomatoes, carrot, some kale, some basil, and garlic. I boiled chicken, and mixed it with the sauce and heated it all up together. I grated a bunch of cheese, including mozzarella and dill cheddar and put it on the noodles under the sauce for the gooey texture. Overall, the meal was pretty successful! Don't mind the nearly empty glass of wine... the meal took a while to cook. :)

Today I got a fair amount of cooking experience, just like the Mission BC families had in episode four, where they reach and pass the halfway point. Some of the people who have not done much or any cooking, get to experience the kitchen! Although I am no foreigner to the kitchen, I have regular meals which I cook, none of which I am able to do while on this diet so I have done a lot of experimenting and new recipes. Previously, I have relied a lot on rice or quinoa, and sauces. Now I can not use these ingredients, and have learned to cook more with fresh ingredients like vegetables and fresh chicken. The other difficulty cooking is finding protein, I have been vegetarian previously, and a couple years ago decided to include chicken and turkey in my diet once again. However, these are the only meats that I eat, making protein slightly harder to find for me. Though I have realized how many ways one can eat chicken, and it has only been a minor issue in my diet this week!

I completed my goals from yesterday, I cooked fresh pasta (next time I will cut it smaller) and I decided what to do with those beans! Tomorrow I plan to make a stew in my crock pot! Which is my big goal for tomorrow. Today I was out all day, and didn't eat until close to 8pm. Usually I have dinner at about 6, so I was pretty hungry! Tomorrow my goal is to make a delicious stew or thick soup which I couple perhaps eat with spelt noodles. Many more adventures in the kitchen to come!

AMY - Day 3

This morning I again made a smoothie for breakfast, and it was very tasty! I added more blueberries this time for a slightly thicker shake. With this I got lots of fruit, and dairy products but no grains or protein. After class today I went to various locations in Kelowna in order to find my groceries to complete my dietary needs for consumption. I went to Johnny's Meat Market for chicken and cheeses, the farmers market supplied me with oats and flour (made in Enderby by Wolfgang's Grain and Flour) and vegetables like kale and peppers. Meghan was kind enough to provide me with a variety of herbs from her garden to take home as well. I than went to Choices to pick up some milk, but the only local milk they had available was butter milk from d'dutchmens dairy. I had hoped to go to a honey farm, to see how they collect the honey from bee's, however the one I planned on visiting was closed, or too busy today so I went to the Jammery instead. The honey they have there is local, from Keremeos. I asked about the honey because I noticed tons of variety on the shelves. They had the regular, runny honey, as well as creamed honey, and a variety of flavours like Ice Wine, Blueberry, Strawberry and Peach.There fruity varieties are all made from local fruit concentrates! I was able to try a sample of the Ice Wine flavour, and it was very sweet and tasty. I also learned that honey does not go bad, as bacteria cannot enter the substance and thus it is great for cuts and scrapes! I also went to Arrowleaf Cellars, a local vineyard and winery very close to my house. This is a small business which is family owned, and I got to sample a couple types, and purchased a white and a red from the First Crush collection. Mission completed! I got everything on my list from yesterday, although I have to do something with this wheat...

For lunch I had snack foods, I had apples with cheese, some red wine and roasted chestnuts! This met every requirement except grains. After looking for an extended period of time for some recipe of bread that had no yeast, no baking powder or soda and no butter, I gave up and decided to conduct an experiment. I mixed my whole wheat flour with some buttermilk and honey and made a thick dough. I then rolled this into small, flat shaped balls and put them in the oven for 15 minutes or so. They came out warm and smelling good, they smelled a lot like plain wheat, but they buttermilk and honey really added flavour! They were also very dense but very satisfying and definitely a whole lot of grain servings to check off my Canadian food guide today. I also am in the process of making my own pasta, whole wheat egg noodles to be precise. I have made the dough, and rolled and cut about half of it into pasta strips to make into a meal later on.

For dinner today I was feeling pretty confident in my experimental abilities, from the chestnut roasting to biscuits and pasta noodles. So I made breaded chicken skewers. I sliced up the chicken and put it in a mixture of flour and oats, than into buttermilk, and back into the flour and oats. I than stuck it on skewers of rosemary stems from the herbs I got, with a combination of local peppers and onions to add flavour as well, I than stuck some herbs into the chicken for more flavour. I put this breaded chicken and veggie skewer combo in the oven to bake, and proceeded to warm up some of my biscuits from earlier. I put cheddar cheese with the biscuits, and layed some kale down under my fresh chicken skewers to give the meal some aesthetics (and more veggies), paired the dish with a lovely white wine and was happy as a clam! Dinner included food from every group, and a fair amount of it all, so it was very successful!

Overall, today was full of experiments and trials, and lucky for me they all turned out well. I feel like I am really improving on cooking skills, as I am pushed out of my comfort zone for nearly every meal. Tomorrow my goal is to make pasta noodles! And hopefully decide how to consume those delicious looking beans!

- Amy

AMY - Day 2

Today is day 2! Finding and preparing meals is getting easier now that I have a couple days under my belt. Although not all of my idea's turn out quite the way I want them to. This morning I attempted to make potatoes, hashbrown style, with onions and eggs and tomatoes and cheese. However, I was in a bit of a hurry and by accident, didn't fully cook the potatoes! I still ate the breakfast, but the potatoes were still slightly raw in the middle, not my most successful meal. This met my fruit and veggies, protein and some dairy needs for a good meal, but again no grains!

For lunch I had snacks during my classes as I had no breaks throughout the day. I brought some pasta leftovers, an apple, concord grapes, a bunch of cracked hazelnuts and chopped up carrots! I also had the amazing snack consisting of cheese, apples, celery, and wonderfully coloured carrots brought in by today's seminar group in Food Systems class. I also got some lovely beans from Mary and family, (of which many are currently soaking!), which I intend to use within the next day or two. So lunch provided me with every food group, but lacking slightly in the grains.

For dinner I again used up leftovers of yesterday, adding more milk and lots of cheese and baking it in the oven until nice and golden brown on top. And my desert/snack of the day was the most delicious! I put a bunch of frozen blueberries in a bowl and simple dolloped yogurt on top of them. The yogurt started to freeze slightly and became a similar consistency to the frozen blue berries, it tasted like blue berry ice cream! Dinner and snack were very well spread in relation to the Canadian food guide.

I have a grocery list for tomorrow, which I really hope to complete. If I am able to get everything I desire on the list, I will not need to eat eggs with nearly every meal any longer, and will be meeting my grain requirements for each day! In the second episode of the 100 Mile diet challenge in Mission BC, the participators find need for salt, honey, wine and wheat. Salt is something we have decided to let go, as it is in so many foods, and can not be found within 100 miles. Honey, Wine, and Wheat or grains are all on my list tomorrow, and hopefully I will be able to find these things! 

- Amy

AMY - Day 1

Today was the first day of our 7 day long 100 mile food challenge! This morning I began by picking tomatoes from my garden for breakfast. I cooked these in a 'non-stick' saucepan with eggs and lots of cheese to make an omelet. I also made a smoothie, using yogurt, milk, concord grapes and frozen blueberries from the summer. Toast would have made this breakfast much better, as I do not particularly like eggs taste on their own. However, I have yet to get bread which is 100% local so I powered through. The smoothie was actually quite delicious  and I plan to have it again. Breakfast included protein, lots of vegetables and lots of dairy.

For lunch I had a variety of things. I brought concord grapes, apples, yogurt, and a variety of nuts includeing hazelnuts, a couple chestnut and heart nuts. While attempting to crack these shells, I have discovered our nut cracker is in need of replacement. I pinched my hand or fingers about the same amount of times that I actually got the shell of a nut. In this meal I had lots of fruit, protein and dairy but again no grains.

Dinner was probably my favorite and most experimental meal today. I cooked spelt flour noodles in a pot of water and added potatoes and carrots, which I got from Gambel farms in Lake Country. When cooked, I put these in a dish with a mixture of onions, garlic, an egg and milk and topped it with cheese. I also had some fresh carrot on the side. This was my most successful meal, and I plan to repeat it or something similar. It had lots of grain, some protein, veggies, and dairy. And as desert/snack I had a bowl of frozen blueberries.




I have been watching the documentary on Mission BC's 100 mile challenge, and have found many similarities already. The first day is hard, because you realize what you can't have which you normally would have. I also plan on taking some of their ideas, such as the potato patties or hash-browns for breakfast. The hardest part of the day was watching other people eat and cook food, which was perhaps better tasting than mine and not be able to have it. Overall, today I did well on my food groups, I had enough vegetables/fruit, enough milk, and enough 'meat' products but I was missing about 4 or 5 servings of grains!

The Canadian Food Guide
Which I am using as a source of information
 to help measure my success.

AMY - Day 0

Today is our last day of eating "non-local" foods for one week! I am excited to begin tomorrow, but I feel very under-prepared as well. Yesterday I attended the farmers market, went to Choices market and Farmers market, and purchased a variety of goods. Including spelt pasta noodles from Vernon, organic yogurt and two types of cheese, two varieties of apples, concord grapes, milk and chestnuts. This adds to hazelnuts, tomatoes and garlic from my garden, eggs from a family friend, and frozen blueberries and cherries from the summer. Although this is a fair list of food, certain thing are lacking. Such as meat, butter and other cooking ingredients like spices and more grains such as bread. I am having troubles deciding how to turn these ingredients into meals which have all the required food groups. I believe Monday will be a challenge especially as I figure out what to make. I will attempt to collect more ingredients tomorrow as well at returning to the farmers market on Wednesday.

Although I am nervous about starting this project, I have already learned so much about local food! Most of the local food I found was also organic, and from smaller businesses which was really rewarding to see. I was pleased to talk with the farmers who had grown this food, and be able to ask them about the product and their farm! I also visited Sunshine Farms booth, which was especially interesting due to the field trip our class took to this particular farm.

Hopefully I will be able to complete my food groups soon, and eat delicious local and balanced meals all week long. However, I have noticed that even before beginning this diet I do not always get all food groups. Meat is the food group which I most commonly miss, followed by milk products. I am interested to see if this changes within the next week!

- Amy