Well, I hope y'all aren't totally sick of me babbling about food yet. Even though I am following Paleo Plan right now, I am also getting newsletters and reading the blogs of people who follow the raw diet, the primal plan (very similar to Paleo), the "traditional cooking" gurus, and the "whole foods sans animal flesh" people. I'm a firm believer that a lot of these have very valid points, and that each individual is unique. You have to adapt and see what works for you and what doesn't. I'm not into "exclusionary" diets on principle. The foods I'm allowing myself to give up are because I firmly believe they are not good for me, as an individual, or it's very widely known that over consumption is harmful to everyone.
I have given up (with only slight setbacks) grains, sugar, legumes, and as much "processed" food as I can. I have NOT given up dairy, but I've cut it WAY down. I'm not doing this for weight loss purposes, so I eat a lot of fruit to combat the cravings for refined sugar. Bread / Pasta has actually been the easiest to give up, which surprises me a lot.
Now, ideally, all of these food gurus are pushing grass fed meat, pasture raised eggs, & raw milk if you can get it. (Illegal in many states unless you are part of a herd share). No GMO food, no preservatives, no MSG, no cruel animal treatment. They want you to get expensive water filtration systems, and go on expensive supplements of fermented cod liver oil and skate liver oil. You can make your own butter oil, which is also highly recommended. They want you soaking grains, fermenting things, sprouting, etc.
It's pretty overwhelming if you take it on all at once, trust me. And for me, who has very few applicable domestic skills, it's been a lot to take on even in seemingly small increments.
Now, a lot of you know that you can get all of this whole food fancy pants goodness by shopping at expensive grocery stores like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, but I thought I would spend some time giving you all resources for other options. Especially since those stores aren't really ALL that much better than the regular grocery stores.
FARMERS MARKETS:
My first suggestion, if you have the time and basic knowledge of fruits / veggies / meats is to hit your local farmers market. Chances are you are already aware of those in your area, but here's a link to search by zip code if you want: http://search.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/
For my fellow Indianapolis residents, Trader's Point Creamery has both a summer and winter farmer's market, and in the summer there are others that pop up in the area.
LOCAL CSA's and LOCAL DELIVERY
CSA's are another great way to get your produce super fresh for less money while ALSO supporting your local farms. Some CSA's will also deliver.
This is the best resource I have for looking on a national level: http://www.localharvest.org/
For Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky - I recommend Green Bean Delivery: http://www.greenbeandelivery.com/ I mean, what's better than fresh and locally grown? Fresh, locally grown and DELIVERED!
GOT RAW MILK?
Have you heard about all the benefits of drinking raw milk? Want to know where you can get it? Click on the embedded links to learn more. *I have not yet tried raw milk, nor am I endorsing it as safe and viable, I am simply providing information.
MISC SUGGESTIONS:
Look around your town/city for local farms, herd share / beef share programs, local butcher shops, etc. There are a ton of ways to get the most out of your food and your paycheck, and as I discover tricks and tips I'll keep sharing them here. Thanks for reading!
-Seph
P.S. I will be posting on Friday next week instead of Thursday, and most likely it will be based on my new routine tracking / schedule making of DOOM.
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