WEEK 25: All Things Local

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This has been a great week for local fare. There's just something about summertime that makes good things really good.

FOOD DESCRIPTION
Both boys continue to eat really well this week and were both little piggies early in the week. A few snacks seemed to be affected by some teething the past few days, but no little boy passes up some yummy ice cream with Pappy, that's for sure.

PROCESS
Eating locally wasn't much of a process this week, but more of a fun experience.

• Grass-fed Beef I've recently started trying to buy grass-fed beef for our family. If you haven't seen Food, Inc. yet, you must stop reading this and watch it now! But, as a quick summary of only a single aspect of my recent food overhaul, I've chosen to buy grass-fed, pastured beef when at all possible for the following reasons.

1. Standard beef today is fed corn and dead chicken carcasses, resulting in poor quality of meat.
2. Feeding corn causes health issues such as e-coli which causes them to give animals antibiotics and chemicals which collect in the fat. 
3. Most of our beef today is from cows that are factory farmed and packed together so tightly they can't move and stuck in their own excrement. Yes, that's right and I don't think I even need to go into why you don't want to eat meat from that animal. 
4. I choose grass-fed meats from animals allowed to roam pastures. These animals are healthy and provide healthy, nourishing meats for my family. U.S Wellness Meats is a good online source. Trader Joes, Whole Foods, and other whole food stores offer grass-fed alternatives as well as local farms. Click on the Eat Local link on the right column sidebar of this site. If you can't find grass-fed, at least opt for organic as it is free of chemicals.

 This is my purchase that I picked up at my local farmer's market this week sitting in my trunk just before I put it in my cooler to bring home to the freezer. See below for the contents.

• Ice Cream We went with the grandparents to a local store this weekend. They just recently started selling all-natural, locally-made ice cream. Pappy bought some strawberry to share and the boys only left him a couple of bites. I'm hoping to make some homemade ice cream from real cream and honey this summer.

WHAT I LEARNED
Buying quality, locally-grown produce is becoming easier and easier every day. I was able to buy a sampler pack of grass-fed beef including a chuck roast, rump roast, 2 New York strips, a filet mignon, 3 lbs. ground beef, brisket, and stew meat with just the click of a button on a local farmer's website and a quick trip to the farmer's market of my choice on the day of my choosing to pay and pick it up. They even included 2 bars of their uhomemade soap in my package.

REACTION
I haven't tried any of the beef yet, but it's safely in my freezer, just waiting for my meal planning. I can say that my reaction to the price was one of delight. As a comparison, we recently purchased grass-fed brisket from a chain store for $7.99/lb. The one in this pack was $4.99/lb. I don't think I need to even say, but the boys loved, loved, loved some strawberry ice cream at the Nolensville Feed Mill with Pappy.

SUMMARY
Live it up! Enjoy summer. It comes and goes so quickly and even though it's really hot, get out. Enjoy the lake, the shade trees, the pool, the ice cream, and of course the sound of the crickets and flashing lights of the lightning bugs at night. I'm sitting out here right now in the dark and loving every minute of it!

Please share your thoughts or ideas!
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