This is part 2 in a longer series of how we are taking 7 months to assess our lifestyles & try to be more intentional with our time and resources. If you are just joining us, you can start your binge here and this will all make more sense.

When I say we jumped into this eating local experiment, I mean we jumped! Friday was when the plan formed, but we did not have anytime to do any research. All I researched before bed was a list of food that should be in season in our area, including: arugula, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, green beans, green onions, melons, nectarines, onions, peaches, peas, potatoes, snap peas, snow peas, strawberries, and tomatoes. That seemed like a reasonable list--I could created meals with all of those options, for sure! 

The next morning, we woke up and drove to the farmer's market. We had zero idea what we were doing on Saturday morning. No rules set. No cash from bank. No game plan. We circled the farmer's market once. William ran ahead and I trailed behind thinking about how we were nuts and going to starve. We are in the habit of buying exactly what we expect at the grocery store, so needless to say, I was surprised when the market's selection was more limited than my scribbled list.

After a minute to regroup, we faced the vendors again. This time picking out some lettuce, radishes, asparagus, strawberries, sirloin & ground beef. There were some heirloom tomatoes the size of my head for $5 a piece, but we settled for a more manageable size. We spent WAY more money than we were anticipating and walked away feeling just as confused.

Our bounty wouldn't last us a full seven days, but we had already spent our typical weekly grocery budget. I tried justifying it by thinking: we aren't eating out, so there is wiggle room in our budget. More importantly, the food we eat sustains our bodies, energy, and longevity! If we are going to spend money on anything, let it be life giving! That still didn't remove the lump swelling up in my throat. 

I had a fun outing planned with a friend, so William and our roommate went to the Dekalb Farmer's Market to scavenge for more food and that was (thankfully) a success! Everything was labeled where it was from & there was a much bigger selection of food items. They came home with corn meal, pancake mix, small potatoes, an onion, and some fresh bread.

We decided to start there next time (plus they are open all week long, so we aren't limited to a Saturday shopping schedule), then circle around to the weekly farmer's market. We still need to go to area grocery stores and see what local products are available.

A few observations (also known as problems) I discovered:

 1. It is still early in the year and we are infants in learning to eat seasonal foods. There were a lot of veggies that we just didn’t know what they were or how to prepare them! It feels almost embarrassing, but alas, our diets have been limited to typically grocery produce for so long. 
2. We have been international eaters for so long, getting exactly what we need for each recipe whenever we want it. So naturally,  it is going to take work to learn how to grocery shop in reverse (buy food, then plan meals).
3. Caffeine is not local. I'm addicted and I honestly may have to start napping at work because this cold turkey shit is killing me. 

On the positive side:
1. The food we did buy makes me really happy. It’s fresh & bold & delicious. Our bodies naturally crave healthy, whole foods (go figure), so just walking in the kitchen brings all my senses alive. 
2. It was also very fun to interact with the farmers today, thanking them for growing food that in turn will sustain our lives. That is no small task.
3. It feels good to think that our food wasn’t shipped around the world to end up in our bellies, or worse yet, our compost bin. Of course, one day of local shopping doesn't change anything. But we are excited to continue to build intentional eating into our weekly routine. 
4. These juicy, red strawberries are giving me life. I am rationing them out to last a few days, but honestly, I could have eaten the whole pint for dinner. 
5. We’ve done a lot more research tonight, have a list of local farms & restaurants (just in case), and a game plan going forward. We also found a few “I’m Local” stickers on products at Kroger earlier so that feels promising. We can do this, I'm sure! 

Week One Harvest: 
-lettuce
-radishes
-tomato
-asparagus
-sirloin & ground beef
-corn meal
-pancake mix
-cucumbers
-strawberries
-naan bread
-small yellow potatoes
Confession: we didn't have to buy as much this week because we still have food from last week's grocery store run. It seems silly to waster perfectly good food for the sake of this experiment, so these first few days will have some exceptions to our local diet. 

What We Ate Today:
Breakfast at Rising Son (totally unplanned as my brother & new sister in law were visiting and we decided on this adventure yesterday)
Lunch: Strawberries, duh
Dinner: Steak fajitas with colorful peppers & corn tortillas (because we already had it and it seems like a shame to waste food)
Dessert: Mayfield Ice cream because William told me it was local and I'm a sucker.