New Year's Real Food Resolutions

Rita O'Kelley, former Weston A. Price chapter leader, has written in this space before.  A few of the topics include: where to start on a real food diet and the short and skinny on sweets.

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Goal: Eat “In Season”

When I began my “real food” journey in 1999…. I let my Irish spontaneity take me into “all in” hyper drive. I read Nourishing Traditions and got rid of ¾ of the “food” in my pantry and fridge. I realized I needed to take small, manageable bites… what to keep, what to absolutely stop or discard, what to try later.

In 2011… one month at a time, my goal is to learn what foods are “in season” in Arkansas, and more specifically in and around Little Rock not California, Florida, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and beyond.

We go to the store and buy whatever we want (usually) and it is there; albeit tasteless, picked prematurely, shipped ridiculous distances, and subjected to harsh road trips and mishandling.

You think the airport “groping” is bad…just think what your fruits and vegetables have endured! Press “1” for locally grown! Read those labels… see where it was born and raised, country or city-fied…. Sprayed or au naturale….green or ripe….USA or foreigner.

If it isn’t fresh, locally grown or “in season” right now, I am going to ever-so-slowly discipline myself to set aside “wants” and plan. Eating what is “now” means winter and requires discipline. In Arkansas there is not much grown or harvested Nov/Dec/Jan/Feb.

It will teach me to put up food for the winter, learn about my farmers and area, and quit whining if I can’t eat blueberries in January… or chicken if I have not bought chickens when harvested locally. I bought chickens. Yea!

January: winter squash, potatoes and onions stored from prior months, lettuces, herbs and other “green” foods grown in greenhouses by Arkansas Natural Produce and other local farms.

Here is link to what is available by month (general rule) in Arkansas.

Good luck and good planning! One day at a time… one month at a time. “Eat Fresh”… to borrow that fast food restaurant’s slogan.

-Rita