Meghan - Further online resources for local food connections

Further to the "Where to get started" post the following websites are great ways to stay on top of local food topics and find local producers. 


BC Food Specialty Directory - http://www.bcspecialtyfood.ca
Vernon Food Action Society - http://foodaction.ca

Community food - http://www.communityfood.ca
Central Okanagan Food Policy Council - http://www.okanaganfood.com
BC Food Security Gateway - http://bcfoodsecuritygateway.ca
Kelowna Farmers Market - http://www.kelownafarmersandcraftersmarket.com
Urban Harvest - http://www.urbanharvest.ca
UBCO Preservation Farm and Research Initiative - http://www.preservationfarm.net

Meghan - 100 Mile Diet Experience recap

How do I recap all that I have learnt through this 100 mile experience…I have been exposed to both the 100 Mile Diet book by Alisa Smith and J.B MacKinnon and the Canadian Food Network's 100 Mile Challenge in the past but only took the information in passing as interesting but something that would not be feasible for me. So this experience was one that I jumped at trying with both feet.  It's funny, the changes that I have made have become so natural and my thinking process, so aware of food issues and the importance of local I can hardly go a day without mentioning it or questioning my choice or others close to me about their food choices. 


I had to go into the a larger supermarket the other day and I just confirmed for myself that no matter how beautified the store layout may be or how they are marketing certain products to me, I am not interested in simply picking up food because it looks good and the price is right. I want to know more and I especially do not want food that can't be recognized as food by my elders. I know I am echoing Michael Pollan here but I really believe this. 


I have been a "real" foodist for the last few years, questioning things that have to be manufactured in order to be eaten or have ingredients that you do not recognize as food or can even be read. But taking on the 100 mile diet has brought into focus first the abundance of food that we have (which I sort of new about but only during the main growing seasons) but also the very important steps of supporting our local economy and protecting our local environment. Having grown up around local apples all my life, I never questioned why you would enjoy apples during their peak seasons only and from where and how long I could get apples, I just knew this and would never go looking for an apple in May and June from another country because I wanted it. So why are other food products not the same because I honestly didn't know enough about them and they were always on the supermarket shelf when I wanted it. 


Eating local has encouraged me to read label more then before (as I would look at ingredients and nutrition information) seeking to understand where the products have come from and honestly choosing products that do not even have labels and packaging.  


Eating local has reconfirmed for me that everything in moderation is okay. As in rich butter and cheeses but if they are "natural" not due to labelling but due to actual content then that is okay for me.


Eating local has encouraged me to beware of what is in season and where I can get it. Building relationships and taking an interest in where our food comes from speaks volumes to understanding both our environment and the role that local food producers play in our economy.


Eating local has highlighted the need to spend money on things you believe in rather then buying what is convenient and accessible. As a student this is probably the hardest part of this challenge because money is not as readily available as it hopefully will be when I am working full time in a profession of my choice. But at the end of the day, I think about how important it is that I put fuel in my body that will enable me to succeed and if that means spending more money then that's a choice I am going to make. Don't get me wrong I have never been a ramen noodle person or kraft dinner eater, I am very fortunate that I have grown up in a family where we prepare food from scratch and eat whole grains, vegetables and fruit religiously. I am lucky that my food pantry and storage cellar have always had canned and fresh frozen food along with ancient grains and legumes that many people are just becoming familiar with, so I know I have a heads up. So I must move forward and encourage others to put their money where their mouth is and buy for your health, for your community and our planet.


I am sure I have missed many things in this reflection but nonetheless I have learnt so much and am very grateful for this experience and being able to share it with all of you.


Eat good food, preferably local and do not forget to taste what you are eating, as food is more then for sustenance it is an experience and one that should be shared.

Meghan - Friday, November 25th - Foodie Friday at UBCO

Today was the first Foodie Friday at UBCO. What is Foodie Friday you ask? Well it's an event put on by the Food Action Committee (FAC) at UBCO to increase awareness of food related issues and services on campus. The farmer's market that I attended back in Oct was organized by the Food Action Committee as well as hopefully many other both small and big events on campus around food issues. 

Foodie Friday at UBCO

Luckily for me having just completed by 100 mile diet, I had lots of resources (from having contacted local farms) as to where to find local dairy, vegetables and meat which we wanted to share with the campus community at our booth. Our goal was to increase the awareness of what local foods is at the very basic level which I personally feel we achieved. The Foodie Friday coordinator put together this great poster (right) where we listed what was in season when, so that people can become a bit more conscious of hopefully food choices they can make. We also used the great map that Amy created to help us defining the local area on a larger map so that we could show people our 100 mile diet radius and used this to tell people about the many possible food options within this area. We knew that although food is an important topic, we had to find a way to get people to come up to our booth and engage, so what better way then by offering food! We had wonderful food that was kindly donated by Urban Harvest, consisting of multicoloured carrots, different radishes (white, watermelon, and daikon), also some kale and we made a yogurt dip from local natural yogurt, garlic, salt and pepper. We also were partnered with the UBCO Preservation Farms project as we were collecting contact info of interested people in either a future CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and those interested in the FAC. 


Although this was a three hour event, the time flew by as many people were interested in both tasting the local food, hearing about where and how to access it but also lots of talk about how do we prepare this or what do we eat it with. I was so pleasantly surprised that so many students especially were concerned about food and are making choices to consume organic food when possible. This is the first steps but we would also explain how the consideration and incorporation of local food purchasing results in a positive impact and investment in our own community. Many had not thought of that but liked the idea. So many people came by and said how supportive they were of working towards better food options and access on campus and for those people we make sure to collect their names because we need more student like that when it come time for future events like this one but also the Farmer's Market. 


I must not forget to say that although many of the same messages came up in this experience as did the Farmer's Market booth I felt that many people were not hearing this for the first time. This was very exciting and a positive result giving hope to the fact that we are making progress and through increased events and discussion the importance of local food was starting to set in. Of course different locations will generate interest from different people but those that I saw at the Farmer's Market day chose to come out to that event, where as with our Foodie Friday we were located in the UNC at lunch time so our exposure was greater, which I felt made a difference.


I really enjoy doing these booths because I feel that I never give myself enough credit for what I know about local food. Through these experiences I see that I have the knowledge and can apply it in a way that can be explained to someone that is not familiar with the topic. I feel this is the best way to learn but also a great way to demonstrate your knowledge. I hope that in the future I can continue to engage our community on this issue as I feel strongly about local food and do feel that simple, basic changes can made a difference.

Meghan - Watermelon Radish "Fries"

So I had some watermelon radish left over after our Spring Valley Middle School presentation and I wanted to do something with it that would expand on the versatility of this vegetable. With all the remaining vegetables, I just roasted them up with olive oil and rosemary (which was tasty) but I wanted something different for this very vibrant coloured radish.

Here is a great recipe that I got from a friend but sadly I didn't have all the ingredients on hand to make it but did make a variation of these fries that were very yummy!

1.5 lbs watermelon radishes, scrubbed clean and removing the green outer layer
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala
sea salt (to taste)
1 lemon, zested and juiced

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Chop watermelon radishes into large matchsticks. 
In a bowl, add the rest of the ingredients to the matchsticks and mix well. Spread evenly into a 9 x 13 lined with parchment paper or larger roasting pan. 
Bake for 30- 40 minutes, turning 2-3 times, or until crisp on the outside and golden brown.

Meghan - Spring Valley Middle School

Today was our presentation at Spring Valley Middle school which I was very excited about. I am noticing how much I like and how easy it is talking about food and educating others on options and resources in our area so I was hoping this was going to be the same.  I knew in advance that we were going into a non-traditional classroom where the students may not be in rows of desks with notebooks in hand and I was prepared for that. We knew in advance that there would be a maximum of 10 students in the class for our presentation and as such we had prepared a draft outline of what we wanted to go through but really we were just going to hopefully have a conversation with the students about where food comes from, what food we have locally and about our experience eating within 100 miles. This morning before heading out to the presentation I cleaned, cut and organized our food samples we were taking so that it would be easy for everyone to just help themselves as they wished.

When we arrived in the classroom everyone was doing their own thing; some students doing homework in a loft area, others putting up art on a board, yet another cutting out wood pieces for a model that they are working on and lastly one just hanging out reading. We were met by the principal teacher and were given a tour/introduction to the students as they continued to work on their tasks as a way of warming them up to our presence and see that we are approachable the open to interacting with them. We started by telling them a bit about what we were there for and how most food that we get has to come a long way to get here. We then talked about what it means to eat locally and asked them what food they liked as a way of breaking the ice. Then we started talking about how different foods have a culturally connection to their areas based on what food is available to them. Some of the students pointed out that they like pizza and we explained how many of the components to make pizza can actually be found in our local area. This gave us a way to explain a bit more about local food, talk about foods that are found locally and then introduce our BC food map. We all broke off and talked to different students about what the map shows and how you can learn from it. The student I spoke to found it very interesting to see how many food options there was in the lower mainland but also that we are very lucky with the quantity and options we have here. He pointed out how it must be hard from people that live in the areas where there was only one or two "commodities" (from looking at the map) and this gave me a great opportunity to talk about food deserts and how challenging it can be for some communities to access local food. We also talked about how we each can have a different definition of local and that it doesn't need to be the 100 miles that we used for our challenge but that having an awareness of where your food comes from is important. We talked briefly about food miles explaining that the distance from production to consumption can be a long ways and how sometimes it's better to buy something locally, even if it costs more because it is better for the enviroment and our local economy.

We then had a little tasting of the food that we had brought into the class. We explained what it was, when it's grown and how it can be prepared. Amy's small apples went over well and they started with those because they were familiar but with the encouragement of their teachers, the principal (who had dropped in) and us we were able to get all the students to try at least one but in most cases they tastes them all. They started to tell us a bit about the bistro they run and what they have learned from the experience. They shared that they had been on a field trip to a farm and they found it interesting and we were given a tour of their mini greenhouse grow operation where they have herbs and kale that they use in their food in the bistro or just enjoy during the day when they are hungry. The student I was talking to told me that he often forgets to take his iron pills in the morning and feels very low energy during the day and he like that he can just wonder into the "garden" and have some kale which helps him feel better (I left so good about this because some of the kale plants from my parents yard we had dug up and given to this class along with parsley and mint.

We were invited to come and see the bistro they run for the school, where they make up a few different options for meals and snacks. They were very proud to show us how and what they do in their bistro and you could clearly see that they were working well as a team to make a product that they supported. Everyone had their role and knew what to do without being asked so that was neat to see. They wanted us to taste their quinoa salad that they made along with a few dessert loafs which were all very tasty and we were happy to try.

Overall the class was attentive and interested in what we were presenting. I feel that bringing food in was a great way of engaging the students with different food options that they would normally not have eaten. I also feel that we all learned something from this experience, them about eating locally and us about how much students of this age do actually know about food. I feel that with awareness like we did through this class, it could make it possible for more dialogue about local food both in their homes and with friends. I know this experience has certainly done that for me.

Celebrate food... from field to table quiz

I found this great website, Celebrate food... from field to table, that has a little 15 question quiz that you can test your knowledge of where in Canada our food comes from. 


Test you knowledge and learn something new: http://www.celebratefood.ca/en/game

I reviewed these and pulled out a few of the questions to have ready for our Spring Valley Middle School presentation if things were getting challenging and we needed material to stimulate the class with. Let's hope they are not needed.

Meghan - Preparing for Spring Valley Middle School presentation

So in preparation for our visit to Spring Valley Middle School on Wed. Nov 16th I needed to find some local produce. Given that there was not a Farmer's Market the weekend before our presentation I decided to check out Urban Harvest's warehouse sale on Saturdays from 9am - 1 pm at their distribution centre on 806 Crowley Ave. (right next to Okanagan Street Food in the North End industrial area).


I was so pleasantly surprised by the feel of the space, the quality of the produce and the diversity of goods, it really felt like a little fruit stand or market. The week prior to their warehouse sale they list on their website the food items that will be for sale that week and which farms they come from. This made it a bit easier for me to pick out which items to buy that were within our 100 miles for the presentation and tasting. Although most of their produce is locally base with a few exceptions (bananas, avocados etc). On their website they sometimes explain what the items are or how it's used if it's something different.  They also tell a bit about the farmers where the produce is coming from along with linking you to their website if they have one.


I had such a great time finding really near and different gems. I had to limit myself for buying everything I wanted for this event so as to not saturate the students we were presenting to. The final produces that I decided to buy were celeriac (celery root), watermelon radish, white radish and sunchokes. For our presentations we kept everything raw. 


Celeriac (celery root) is a ugly looking root vegetable which can be eaten raw or cooked.  It taste like a very strong celery which can be added to salads, boiled, braised, sauteed or baked. So lots of options for this vegetable and it's available most of the winter months.

Watermelon radish

Watermelon radish is a large root vegetable that is related to the turnip family. It has a crisp texture and a mild peppery flavour. This radish is the size of a soft ball or small watermelon with an outside colour of light green. The inner flesh is what makes it so attractive with a bright red to magenta colour. This radish can be cooked or served raw. Great on salads but also can be sauteed, braised or roasted. In the US it's a spring radish but in BC it appears to be available more in the fall.


White radish is a round radish the size of a small apple or orange. Its taste is a milder pepper flavour then the traditional red radishes and as such many people eat them like an apple. This radish can be cooked or served raw. It is available in the summer and fall seasons.


Sunchokes (Jerusalem artichoke) are in the sunflower family and has nothing to do with artichokes. They have brown lumpy skin (reminding you of gingerroot). The white flesh is nutty, sweet and crunchy which makes it great both raw or cooked. They are available from October to March in most areas.

So those are the produce items along with some apples that Amy has that we will be taking into the classroom. I was hoping for some coloured carrots but no such luck this week, so as you can see these are lesser known produces but non the less it's food so hopefully that will go over well.


Also in preparation for this presentation I was able to find a great BC food map for us to distribute to the students to help them see what we have available both in the valley but all over the province in the way of food options. 


Sources: BC Food map - BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation (http://www.aitc.ca/bc/uploads/bc-food-map.pdf)
Watermelon radish picture - Urban Harvest (http://www.urbanharvest.ca/item/14819/)

Meghan - Friday, Oct 28, 2011 - UBCO Farmer's Market

Today was the first (of hopefully many) Farmers Markets at the UBCO campus. There were many vendors with all sorts of interesting, local and tasty foods. Along with many interested and engaged students, facility and staff that were coming by to check out the event. I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to run a booth as a way of engaging the campus community and educating them on our project of eating within 100 miles. 

The variety of just basic knowledge on what eating local was, all the way up to understanding what the 100 mile diet actually looks like was diverse. I had people come by the booth and say what do you mean by "eating local" or "what is local food" for which it was a wonderful opportunity to answer that question for them and share our experience. I also had many people that were very familiar with eating local or within 100 miles and understood the principal and they would sharing their experience and their practices. Many people asked abut price, access and choices available which were great questions and I took them through what I had learn. I explained what grows in our area and where they could find these items. Many were surprised by the choices that we actually have around fruits and vegetables even dairy and eggs. Admittedly grains was still a bit of a challenge to find and I explained that but also guided them towards where you can find those things. Price came up in a few cases where people, especially students, commented that they could not afford to make the choices they would like because of their limited budget but would love to buy more local in the future. I explained to them that if they just choose one thing and make that their local purchase that it is still a step and if you simply budget for it then eventually you will find that you can add more things that are local.  Many students commented that they are making efforts to be socially conscious of their food choices and as such really embraced the idea of local food also because of the impact on our local economy.


Through many of the discussions people mentioned that they would like to start a garden but didn't have the space for it living in residence or in an apartment. The discussion often moved to ways that they could do that, such as putting potted plants on their deck for herbs, tomatoes, lettuce, peppers etc but also how they could engage through community gardens. I was pleasantly surprised how many people were interested in ways that they could connect to the earth and slow down the pace of their hectic lives and gardening and eating more fresh local food was a way that they would like to start doing that. 


I feel that this event was a huge success, for the campus community and vendors, because I saw many people (myself included), caring bags of veggies etc and because people were talking and learning about food and where it comes from. The vendor in the booth next to me had to call her family member to bring more supplies and a friend of mine with a booth was planning on going to the Kelowna Farmer's Market the next day but ended up selling out of many things. I would say that's a good sign of success.


For my part, I felt the day was time well spent because I spoke to many people about our experiences which helped to educate people a bit more about the importance of local food and what it means to our community. I hope to be part of future Farmer's Markets on campus in some capacity. 

Meghan - What was local food for my grandmothers growing up?

After my Day 2 post, Mary asked that I should talk to my grandparents about what it was like for them growing up and where their food came from, so on our next dinner night this week I took the opportunity and I had no idea where the topic was going to go, if they were going to remember or had even sort of payed attention while they were growing up. To my surprise my maternal grandmother told me all sorts of interesting things that I had never heard her talk about before and when I mentioned it to my mother, she indicated it was new to her also. So I must have just asked the question that had maybe never truly been asked for her to share before or maybe it was just my sincere interest that brought all the details of her childhood food sources back to life. 

Chickpeas in pods

Enough suspense already eh! My maternal grandmother grew up in Southern Saskatchewan and she told me that they had a huge garden where they grew; beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini and squash and I suspect much more. They had a cow to meet their dairy supply, which my grandmother started to share how her mother (my great grandmother) would have made yogurt. They also had chickens and even turkeys. My grandmother said that they had so many turkeys that they would sell them off to the neighbours and towns people. I guess my great grandmother was very good at raising turkeys. I asked my grandmother if they grew any of their own lentils or other grains for which she could not recall but given that Canada grows a significant amount of lentils I am sure they were not that hard to come by. My grandmother told me that they used to grow chickpeas and for a special treat her father would roast them over the fire for them to enjoy and it tasted amazing. Oh they sounded so good as she was describing this because I love chickpeas and I only which we could get them locally and then experience that warm toasted sort of taste that sounds amazing. I bet they would taste so much better then the dried chickpeas that I often enjoy as a snack. Don't get me wrong I love them, but this would elevate it to a new level. I will have to see if around here we could grow chickpeas and get on that. I had not given much thought to if they grew in pods like other beans but they do and just need to be harvested from small bushes just the same as soy beans (which I have brown in our yard, although that was several years ago). According to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, Canada is one of the major exporters of chickpeas. Now that I know this I am going to be doing more research and find out how I can buy "local" (ie Canadian) chickpeas rather then from Turkey or Myanmar. Who knew we grew so much chickpeas!


I asked my paternal grandmother about the food she ate growing up and her response was very different from my maternal grandmother's. First I must way that there is 10 years difference between them with my paternal grandmother being in her 90s and my material grandmother in her 80s, so different times but also different locations. My paternal grandmother grew up just east of the Saskatchewan border in Alberta, first in a very small town and then they moved in Saskatoon. She is the second youngest of eight girls so her main memories about food was that she ate whatever her older siblings didn't want to eat which sometimes left her with not a lot of food. She does not recall having a garden or vegetables often at the dinner table but does remember a lot of potatoes and porridge as staples as a young girl. They had a neighbour, a bachelor, that worked his own land and often would bring by some of his harvest to my grandmother's family as my great grandfather was not around and their land did not produce anything. When they moved to the city, she recalls having exposure to more and different vegetables but sadly nothing sticks out in her mind other then her enjoyment of parsnips and turnips. Sadly I feel I may have started asking these questions too late but never the less, I will keep asking the questions in hope that each time she will remember a bit more and then I can piece together a bigger picture of what her local food looked like growing up in the prairies the 20s and 30s.  


I have yet to hear from my material grandfather so he is the next on my list to ask and I am sure his stories will be interesting as he was out on the open range with their grazing livestock for a large part of his growing up years and not at "home" having dinner with his family being the eldest boy. 


Source: Government of Saskatchewan website (http://www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/Default.aspx?DN=e698460c-7eb1-4615-87ed-695f31e5483f)

Meghan - Week 2 follow up

Okay so it's been almost a week since the official challenge of eating local has ended. I do not feel that much has changed in the way of what I am cooking at home, and how I am eating. Now that may be because I still have tons of veggies, grains, cheese and nuts so I either didn't eat enough last week or I over purchased not knowing what I would want or how much I would eat. Either way I feel like I am still eating almost 100% local, with a few minor exceptions like I am using some non local food from my freezer. 

Tomatoes ripening

In the spirit of fall clean up, my parents where bringing in all the squash and tomatoes from the garden and as many of you know a large portion of the tomatoes where still green. So other then fried green tomatoes what do you do with them... I don't know where or who told my mother to keep the tomatoes on their vines but she did and as such we setup a storage space in the cold room where we are going to hang the tomatoes on their vines from until they ripen (see picture). Over the next few weeks as they turn red we will still be able to enjoy fresh local tomatoes from our garden and I think that's a great thing!


My roommate just picked up this great veggie slicer which makes zucchini or cucumber and I bet other things into noodles. I wish I had had this last week because I can't get over how great it tastes and how much you do not even notice that it's not pasta. I cut up other veggies, added it to my home made tomato sauce that I had canned earlier in the season and used some asiago cheese to add some protein. My first non 100 mile food that has been added back into my diet has been bananas but only for in my green smoothies as I have not had the interest to go into a grocery store and have to make purchases the conventional way.

Meghan - Day 7

Today is the last day of our challenge, I am sort of sad. I think this is going to be a gradual change as I still have local products that I am going to continue to use and lots of people that I would still like to talk to about their experience with growing and producing locally. 

Spelt pasta with chicken cacciatore and veggies 

I started out with some of the rye bread that I bought from Quail Farm's along with some honey from Okanagan Honey this morning. Also had some grapes and an Aura apple. Lunch consisted of cheese, hazel nuts, celery and carrots. Dinner was chicken cacciatore with carrots, celery, garlic, spinach and home made tomato sauce along with the spelt pasta that I purchased from Quail Farm's. Very tasty and the only difference from what I would do normally is have some olive oil in the pan while sautéing the veggies. I can see what a difference that makes though, my veggies became more dehydrated this way then sautéed and I felt like the tomato sauce was trying to revive them a bit. Nonetheless it tasted great and looks good too! For a night snack I had an Ambrosia apple and some pumpkin seeds.

Herbs from the garden

I helped my mother a bit with cleaning and sorting of her herbs from the garden today. They all had to be washed and any unhealthy bits had to be taken off so they could be either dried or put in the freezer. She had basil, parsley, mint, oregano, thyme, rosemary and chives which you can see in the picture took up a large part of the kitchen island. It's a big job prepping them all but it's better then seeing them go to waste.

Spelt berries (kernels) cooked

I also prepped some food for Tuesday, which is my long day at school, which will include my spelt berries (kernels). I am used to cooking with wheat berry (which can be found as hard wheat berry or soft wheat berry) which is just the kernel that flour is made from. We use it in salads all summer as a source of grain and protein to help keep you full longer and healthy. So it was an easy step fro me to try spelt berry. I brought 1.5 cups to boil in 3 cups of water and then let it simmer for 45 mins or until they are soft. The shell cracks off and you see the white fetish and you know it's done. It has a bit of a nutty taste but if you eat quinoa you will find this taste to be mild. Something to think about adding to our pantry and now that you know it can be found locally then all the more reason to try it!

Today I met my fruit and veggie requirements, my grain requirements, meat requirements but only made part of my dairy requirement.

Meghan - Day 6

Today is oatmeal day and it's so good. I can't believe how different these fresh oats taste compared to the stuff I normally by at the store. I am so happy I found these and that I get to enjoy them. My only concern is that most mornings I just do not have enough time to cook and eat oatmeal. Oatmeal is not something you can't eat fast, it's a slow meal but does sustain you for a while after so a great option when you have time. I was going to use the fresh apple sauce but really felt like blueberries so added that to my oats. I have to say I missed having cinnamon but that's okay, I can have that next time.

Oatmeal with hazel nuts

I went to the Farmer's Market this morning. Talked to lots of interesting people. Picked up some spelt kernels (berries) which I am going to cook up like rice and add them to a salad and or have with my stir fry. I also bought some beef from Vale Farms in Lumby.

I learnt something very important about fresh eggs today while being at the market. So I have been hard boiling them and I guess that making hard boil eggs is not advisable with fresh eggs, because they are very hard to peel and the inside membrane is hard to remove. I experienced both of these challenges, and I just assumed that it was because I had not cooked them long enough or something. But I guess fresh eggs need to sit for at least 5-6 weeks before they become good to hard boil. Fresh eggs are meant to be cracked and cooked. Important lesson. Now I don't have the space to save eggs for several weeks so as easy as it would be to keep buying fresh eggs which I would love to do, I am going to have to give up some fridge space if that's what I want to do.

Bought some rye bread that was grown and made in Vernon at Quail Farm's which is the same place that I got my spelt pasta from. I had that for a snack today with some local honey from Okanagan Honey in Kelowna which was really tasty. 

Brussels sprouts grown on long thick stalks - who knew!

Lunch was on the go so had some hazel nuts, an egg, cucumber, celery, carrots and an Aura apple. Sadly dinner was not within 100 miles because I was out celebrating my material grandmother and my paternal grandfather's birthdays, they both turn 93 years old. It was a bit weird eating rice, didn't realize how much I missed it.

Today I met my fruit and veggie requirements, my grain requirements (hurray!), some meat alternative requirements but didn't make the dairy requirements.

Meghan - Day 5

Today I was at home, so took the time to make a nice brunch and prepped for the next few days. I had originally wanted to make an omelette but realizing that it would stick to the pan, so I decided to go with a scrambled eggs instead. I added broccoli, peppers, onion, tomato sauce, spinach and some cheese after it came off the stove. I had another pizza crust so cut it up into smaller pieces and put a few on the grill to toast them up. Also BBQ some chicken breasts (which I will use later in my cacciatore) and some potatoes with onion and rosemary.

Had a good size breakfast/lunch with the toast, eggs and veggies and the potatoes and onions. Had a snack of grapes and a pear this afternoon before I headed out to pick more grapes to put in the freezer before they completely wilt away.

The picking of the grapes was not hard but it was the sorting, cleaning and then pulling them from the stems that took way to much time. I wanted to flash freeze them on cookie sheets and then will put them in bags after they are frozen so we can eat them as a snack or put them in smoothies later.  I also took some of the kale from the garden and blanched that in hot water for all of maybe a minute before removing it into ice cool water to stop the cooking. I then took the kale and put them in muffin tins so they will freeze into little pucks so they can be added to tomato sauce or soups of just sauteed in a pan, whatever you feel like. By not fully cooking them I am still getting all the nutrition value of being fresh but can store it for longer by being frozen. Also gathered from the garden some herb and put those in freezer bags, so that I can add them to soup, stews or can defrost then chop up and roast with other veggies. I am thinking well into the winter so by doing this now, I can have on hand and not need to buy produce that's coming from far away.

For dinner I really didn't feel like cooking so had some of the potatoes and onion, BBQ chicken breast on salad (lettuce, greens from the celery, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, cucumber) with some purple beats. For a bed time snack, I had a few hazel nuts but I don't know if this cut it for enough food today, will know if I wake up hungry eh. For today I met my fruits and veggie requirements, some dairy and some meat and only half of the grain requirement. I think tomorrow morning, oatmeal and apple sauce is calling me.

Meghan - Day 4

Leftover pizza - tastes great

This morning I woke up hungry! Not the best way to wake up in the morning but it did get me out of bed and going faster given that it was 6:30am. I was going to have any normal breakfast of a hard boiled egg but I know that was not going to cut it so I had some left over pizza for breakfast. I know doesn't sound that great but I was in a hurry and had to eat something along with my egg. It did sustain me though until I had lunch 5 hours later. 

Today is another long full day at school so had make up a salad the night before with lettuce, greens from the celery, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, and goat feta, also had a slice of pizza too. I also had carrots, celery and an Ambrosia for my snack which I actually ate most of along with my lunch, mostly because it had been so long and it would be another several hours before I would be out of my lab class and able to eat again. After class I was hungry again and also feeling a bit off as I had not had enough protein; only the egg in the morning, a bit of cheese on both slices of pizza and the bit of feta on my salad, so definitely not enough. Came home and a few slices of cheese along with my dinner of leftover pizza and salad. 

Mary's colourful beans

My evening snack, as I didn't want to wake up hungry again was some hazel nuts, some local sunflower seeds and grapes that came from a friend's parents yard. The sunflower seeds actually came from the UBCO Preservation Farm and Research Initiative, my roommate works on the team and has had the sunflower heads drying on our living room table for the last few days so it was great to finally taste them once she had harvested them all. I can't get over how they taste so much better then the dried ones we are use to. Fresh is always better but these taste so nice. Definitely recommend trying some if you even have the opportunity or of course plant some in your yard, their sunny heads are sure to make you smile and when they are finished you can eat them, all around good for your health.

Also wanted to share that Mary gave us some lovely beans from her garden and a few that her son had dried (another source of protein, wonderful). They look so tasty I have set them up to soak overnight so can cook with them tomorrow. Also Mary gave us a jar of her canned tomatoes, they look so yummy. I will split them between the three of us tomorrow so everyone can enjoy.

 

Mary's canned tomatoes

Meghan - Day 3

Today is Day 3 for our challenge and so far I have to say things have been going well. Still have not met my grain requirements each day but hopefully starting today that will change. Started the morning our with another hard boiled egg, a pear and some mint tea (which was mint that I dried from our garden). Then I was off to the Farmer's Market to meet Amy and hunt around for other sources which I had been told about. Sadly the bread producer that I had been told about by two friends was not at the market on Wednesday so Amy was not able to buy any bread but we did get to chat briefly with Wolf from Green Croft Gardens who had both oats and whole wheat flour! Hurray! I bought some oats but had to be realistic about if I was going to have the time to make anything out of the flour, so declined on that. Both of these along with buckwheat flour, rye and spelt were from Wolfgang's Grain and Flour in Enderby. We also talked to a friend a mine at the market and he told us how to make our own butter which may be very cool but we need to find some whipping cream to do that. He said you can make the butter the old fashion way by putting it in a bottle and shaking it until you see the water and the cream separate. This does require time and a strong arm so if you do not have either it can be done in a mix master as well. Just whip it up past the soft peaks and let it go until you see the water and the cream start to separate, add a bit of salt and or any herbs for flavour. As I have not come across any local whipping cream yet, still no butter but interesting to learn and would be neat to try it.

Lunch was at school on the run again before starting work. I had made up a salad with lettuce, greens from the celery, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, squash seeds and goat feta from Carmelis which I bought at the Okanagan Grocery on Gordon. I do not understand why when we get celery at other locations then from the farmer themselves that they remove the greens. I want to know what they do with it as I really enjoyed having it to put in my salad along with my lettuce and spinach. It's just like when you put the greens from the beats in your salad, so tasty but not done that often. I wish I could see more of that but I guess what this tells me is I just need to keep buying from the farmer and cut out the middle person. Snack during the day was some cheese and an Aura apple.

Homemade 100 mile veggie pizza

Dinner was late, which by the time I got home, prepped and was sitting to eat it was over an hour later. I am not complaining just that eating at 8pm is not ideal for you to sleep well. Anyway, for dinner I made up a pizza with the pizza crust that I had picked up at the Farmer's Market on Sat. On my pizza I put the tomato sauce that I canned last year (as I am still trying to use it up having done such a big batch), zucchini for my parents garden, bell peppers, spinach and mini tomatoes all from the market. Along with cheese from D Dutchman Dairy. I did it up in the oven and it smelt so good I wanted to eat the whole thing but I restrained myself so that I could have it for lunch and dinner the next day. For today, I met the fruit and veggie requirements, dairy requirements, most of the grain requirements but not any of the meat or alternative requirements.

Meghan - Day 2

Today I started by leaning on the food that I prepared on Monday as I had a long and busy day at school. Breakfast was a hard boiled egg, and another purple smoothly on the way out the door. I know I should have enough time to sit and eat but I am not a morning person so I tend to sleep until the last possible minute. So I eat on the run. On Friday I hope to make a slow breakfast and sit and relax while enjoying the morning, fingers crossed. I had made up a salad the day before and had shredded the chicken breast so that along with my grilled zucchini, tomatoes from my patio container garden, cucumber from the Farmer's Market and my roasted squash seeds I would have something to sustain me midday when hunger starts to set it. My goal is never to get to the point when I am so hungry though that I need to eat and as such I have lots of small meals throughout the day normally. I sort of believe in the 6 small meals a day philosophy but that's really hard to do when you have to pack food for 8 hours and haul it around with you all day.

Lunch on the go

Anyway, the salad for lunch along with some cheese and an apple for the mid morning snack had me set, plus I knew we were going to be having a great healthy snack during our seminar presentation in the afternoon so I may be able to get all my small meals in for the day. During our seminar, we offered the class, some colourful local carrots, celery, broccoli, Ambrosia apples (story to come below), some D Dutchman Dairy cheddar cheese from Sicamous which I have found at Jimmy's Fresh Meat Market, Choices and Natures Fare. There was also rice crackers and bean dip which I had to pass on but looked good and appeared to be enjoyed by all. Great work team for putting together such a thorough snack and thinking of everyones dietary needs.

On Tuesday nights I visit my maternal grandparents for dinner before I go to class again, so it was hard to call them up (at 84 & 93 years of age) and say, you must provide me with food within 100 miles but they had heard from the grapevine that I was doing this so we did have local potatoes, turnips and a parsley, mint and green onion salad that was local and the chicken was free range organic but I don't think it was local. But as Juliana pointed out, the original rules for the 100 mile diet as laid out by the book say that if you are invited out, you can eat was is served, so luckily there are only two times this week (which had been set a long time before we decided to do this diet) that I will have to eat what is served.

After class was finished I had a little snack of hazel nuts before bed. I am noticing that when you have to do something with your food source so that you can eat it, that you tend to eat less of that product, which is what I am finding with having to crack the hazel nuts myself. Maybe it's just the time that it takes for each action which gives your body a chance to say "hey, I am satisfied" or not, but it is something to think about, conscious eating which I wonder how many of us actually do. For today, I met the fruit and veggie requirements again, meat and dairy for sure but still no grain. Going to the Farmer's Market in the morning so hopefully I can find something.

So on a side note, I though I would share the story of the Ambrosia apple to you, on the off chance that maybe you have not heard of it or even tried the apple (which I can not recommend highly enough).  Ambrosia is what they call a chance seeding as it's a fluke of nature. This random shoot surfaced in Cawston BC in the orchard of Wilf and Sally Mennell. Year after year, pickers would see this apple as different and eat it for themselves, even though pickers tend to not eat apples often. Noticing its popularity, the Mennell's propagated trees for testing and patented the variety to ensure that it could be developed as a new product. Ambrosia is now grown not only in British Columbia, but in other parts of Canada as well as in the US, Italy, Chile and New Zealand. The Mennell's named the variety Ambrosia, meaning "food of the gods", for its honeyed sweetness and juicy crunch. Ambrosia is bi-coloured with a luminous pink/red blush over a creamy background. It is low in acidity, a honey like aroma, crispy and yet juicy at the same time. It is also a slow browning apple after cutting making it great for lunches, salads and cheese plates. Ambrosia are available now through April and can be bought at many vendors around town. If they do not have it ask the produce manager to bring it in.

Source: Ambrosia Organic Growers (http://www.organicambrosiaapple.ca/)

Meghan - Day 1

So today is day 1 of our week long challenge. At this point, with my fridge plum full, I think I could stretch this out longer as I don't think I am going to eat all this in just one week but we will see how the week goes both from a health stand point (am I going to be hungry all the time) and from a financial one (am I going to be broke). Today was not a school day so I think that made it easier but at the same time, allocating enough time to actually put full meals together and thinking about the rest of the week seemed to take more time than normal. I am thinking that's because I have chicken as my protein instead of quinoa and chicken needs a few more minutes and a level of awareness of food safe practices (which I do have) to cook and consume.

Breakfast smoothly

Lunch on the go

For breakfast I didn't want to completely steer myself away from a green smoothly but I did need to find a few more things to put in it as I could not use almonds, chia, hemp seeds (all sources of protein), banana or orange juice. Thus my green smoothly turned out to be more purple/brown, which I know doesn't sound that appetizing, but it ended up pretty good all things considering. I added tomatoes, carrot, celery, kale, apple, pear, yogurt, blue berries (frozen from the summer which we bought locally) and water.  The new additions to my smoothly were the yogurt and the tomatoes so that changed the consistency a bit and of course the colour. It was not the same as having a banana in it but it served its purpose. I also had a hard boiled egg (which is my norm for breakfast) from Okanagan Hill Farm just up on Dilworth Mountain. Lunch was on the go while working on my seminar project with my team. It consisted of another hard boiled egg (I don't normally do two in one day but had little option for protein), some Gouda cheese from Jerseyland Organics in Grand Forks (same company as the yogurt I bought from Lakeview Market) which I picked up at the Farmer's Market, carrots, celery, tomatoes and an apple (Aura Golden Gala to be precise, one of my favourite local varieties - its a white/golden apple but super crunchy and it's in season now and you can get it at the Farmer's Market from Gambell Farms or at their fruit stand in Winfield).

BBQ chicken breasts, zucchini and salad

In the afternoon a fired up the BBQ and cooked up some local Okanangan chicken breast which I purchased at Johnny's Fresh Meats, zucchini from my parents garden, also had beats from the Farmers Market and a big salad. I wanted to dress or favour the chicken a bit so I cut some oregano and thyme from my patio container garden and added that after I took the chicken off the BBQ (as before would have just burnt it). I was challenged by not having olive oil and or balsamic vinegar to put on my zucchini and also noticed the chicken sticking to the grill a bit more than normal. Still tasted good in the end though.  At the same time I prepped my lunch and breakfast for the next day as I am at school from 8-4, so long day and need to have enough food on me to not go hungry. After work (which is in the evening) I cracked into some hazel nuts for a snack and had a local pear that I picked up at the packinghouse on Cement Ave.

Overall, the day felt like a normal food day. I didn't eat anything that I would not normally eat, just did without a few things. Met all my fruit and veggie requirements, dairy and meat requirements just not the grains yet. I do have pizza crust for Wednesday's dinner but hopefully by that time will have found some oats or other grains too.

MEGHAN - Day 0

This weekend was prep weekend for the week of eating within our 100 miles. I have to say I am a bit nervous, not so much because I am giving up things I enjoy but more so that I am going to have to plan more then I usually do for my meals. Don't get me wrong I eat healthy foods just not things that require a lot of advanced thought. 

Toasted pumpkin seeds

So on Friday I started by toasting the squash and pumpkin seeds I have been gathering, as I need a source of protein and I love nuts on my salads. They are so easy to do up and it helps to create (almost) zero waste from your squash or pumpkin. 

On Saturday it was farmers market day. Always so interesting to talk to the growers and see the passion they have for what they produce first hand (also great way to find what they make with their harvests and get ideas for how to cook with it). Gather so many great things; lettuce, spinach, bell peppers, green onions, carrots, beats, parsnips, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes just to name the vegetables. Also collected some local cheese, eggs, nuts, spelt pasta and pizza dough. I have apples, pears, tomato sauce, canned peaches, apple sauce, potatoes, garlic, green beans, zucchini and squash coming from my garden along with lots of herbs to make it all taste great. I have local honey that I consume already and have dried fruit for a snack that I did up earlier in the fall. I hunted around to a few of the smaller grocers and meat markets like Lakeview Market where I found yogurt, Okanagan Grocery where I found cheese (and if I wanted flour could get it there too), Johnny's Market for local chicken, and Choices for more cheese (concerned a bit about having enough protein, can you tell). I am used to having legumes in my diet so having to replace that with more cheese and meats.

Vegetables from the Farmer Market

So once I got home, fridge space became a bit of a challenge. I cleaned and chopped what I could in advance, so that it will be easy to pull meals together with limited time. Started to meal plan, which as I said is not something I normally do or give much thought to. 

Still on the hunt for butter, as I don't know how to saute in a dry pan, might need to use the BBQ a bit more or else roast things in the oven. 

I need to print out the Canadian Food Guide chart and put it next to the fridge or I am bound to forget to insure I meet all the food groups. Looking at it, I don't think I meet this very well on "normal" days so should be interesting to see if I can improve upon that.

Meghan

Welcome

Hello Everyone,

A big welcome to our new blog. A place where we will be reflecting on our 100 mile diet challenge in Kelowna and hopefully finding some new local food sources along the way.

Just a little back story if you have come upon this page organically. We are attending UBC's Okanagan campus in the wonderful Okanagan Valley. We have created this blog for our Geography of Food Systems' course to see how easy it is or isn't to find locally produces food within a 100 mile radius.  We are jumping in with both feet having done a minimal amount of pre-research for our one week of consuming locally. Our goal is see what we can find without having done extensive research, seeing how easy it is but also with an effort to see what we can do without, all while following the Canadian Food Guide requirements for basic nutrition. During and after our one week of consuming only within a 100 mile radius, we will seek out what we felt we were missing and also see what we have that we didn't know existed within our local area and gather this together as a sort of starting place for others that are making an effort to eat locally.

With all that said, if you know of any local food producers or growers for which we can access food within our 100 mile radius, please let us know! We are hoping to have a map up soon so we can get a clear picture of what communities fall into our area but until then the basic landmarks are Sicamous to the North, Nelson to the South East, Osoyoos (but actually we do go into the US) to the South, Princeton to the South West, Merritt to the West and Kamloops to the North West.

That's all for now. Please check in often as we reflect on our experiences and start creating a list of producers and growers in our area.

Until next time, eat well and local!