Hope not to disappoint anyone

I have decided that posting the following conversation can best summarize my current local state :)

Self: What is UP with how tired and moody you've been?

Self: Seriously! I have been meaning to talk to you about this. You are draggin' girl!

Self: School?

Self: Nope

Self: Lack of sleep?

Self: Nope

Self: Rain drops?

Self: Please, do you know who you are talking to? Check yo' diet!

Really, this conversation went on for a good couple of days. After analyzing my food log for the past month (really has it been a month?!) and wondering just how it is a girl can survive on such low amounts of protein I've changed up the challenge to accommodate for survival:

Keep:

1) 100% local fruits

2) 100% local vegetables

3) 100% local wheat/flour grains

Add:

1) Protein dense vegan substitutes (this includes all of those fun veggie meat & dairy alternatives)

Since the majority of my diet is fruits,veggies and grains the protein substitutes should only make up on average 20% of my daily food intake leaving me 80% local for the remainder of the challenge.

I hope this new rework of my challenge has not discouraged or found disappointment in anyone. If there are any vegans out there that have been able to master the protein challenge and still live an active lifestyle please let me know!

P.s. I want to thank Henry's Tempeh (local tempeh), you have been my protein lifeline up until now.

I bet you thought I was a goner! Quite the opposite my dear friends!

I have been to the depth of temptation and am now living in a world of over-abundance I never thought this challenge would see. The weekend was spent traveling to the 3 most tempting locations imaginable to a vegan-locavore:

1) Brother's house in Toronto where vegan girlfriend has their fridge portraying a spitting image of what mine might look like if I was given a vegan shopping spree. Don't think I didn't notice the homemade vegan lemon squares

SAFE!

2) My favourite vegan in the world's birthday party who has a vegan chef as a boyfriend! YEAH, I KNOW! AND he's Italian! Homemade pizza from scratch, BBQ sauce, vegan sausage and vegan mozzarella....on garlic bread crust! If he wasn't so wonderful as to make me my own little dough and sauce pizza I might have died a little inside.

PASSED!

3) Parents house in London which regularly stocks about 13% vegan and most often this consists of mangoes, avocados and bananas.....All brought to the perfect ripeness by my sweet mother. There was half a chocolate cake (non-vegan) that sat on the counter the entire time asking me to break every single moral I own.

I DID IT!!!!! :)

And now I'm back in Waterloo rolling in an over-abundance of vegetables I've never used in creative ways that make me laugh with excitement!

Day 11 and life couldn't be better :)

Today I met kohlrabi....actually he's been hanging out in my fridge for about two weeks and I haven't had the heart to cut up his sputnik physique until tonight at dinner. Was it worth it...HECK YES! Please, if you haven't tried this funny little delightful veggie give it a try. They come in purple and green so if you are looking for something to give your repetitive potato dishes some colour dice one of these up and throw it in to anything.....seriously :)

Day 3 Menu:

Cream of wheat with chopped apple and apple butter

Large spinach salad with strawberries, flax seed and maple syrup

Peanut butter sandwich on spelt bread

Asparagus with dill pickle potatoes

Rhubarb applesauce

6 Mint Medley Tea

Day 4 Menu:

Cream of Wheat with apple and maple syrup

Large spinach salad, local sprouts, strawberries and maple syrup

Potato salad with green onions, sunflower oil and fresh dill

Apple with peanut butter

Peanut butter sandwich on spelt bread

Kohlrabi, green onions, bok choy, tempeh, mustard pickles in sunflower oil with fresh herbs

Salted popcorn

Mmmmmm 6-Mint Medley tea....no caffeine but nothing could be more soothing after my first weekend of 'eating-out' shutdowns and last minute scavenges. I spent a delightful afternoon at Oakridge Acres in Ayr with dozens of fellow 100milers surrounded by rolling hills of farmland and complete with a tour via horse-led wagon. 'Pleasant surprise' would be an understatement at the selection of local vegan dishes I grinned over as I piled my plate high and nestled under the trees with good friends to discuss the finds we have discovered and how the challenge has been so far. Best of luck to all those met today and everyone who is following along!

Day 2 Menu:

Cream of wheat with apple butter and chopped apple chunks

100 mile potluck lunch (a medley of fresh fruits, vegetables, grains and herbs) 

Large spinach salad with strawberries, flax seeds and maple syrup

Spelt bread with peanut butter

(Late night prediction: Popcorn with maple syrup)

Special note: My friend Brad has started his own blog on his adventure living local as an omnivore. Please take the time to check it out and follow along:  http://bmoggach.blogspot.com/

Smile at a cow :) 

*6-Mint Medley Tea- Little City Farms

Here I Am!

End of day one and I am still smiling, jumping, side steppin' as much as I do any other day! Can't say the temptation and willing 'secret keepers' weren't a slight hurdle but as I sit here eating my maple popcorn (That's right! MAPLE popcorn) I feel a deep anticipation to see what new and exciting food concoctions will become new lifelong favourites. 

100% local, 100% unplanned menu for day 1

Goal: Survival  

Apple with peanut butter

2 Fresh baked spelt bread slices with peanut butter 

Big salad with various greens from the garden with strawberries and maple syrup (still on the lookout for dressing) 

Apple

Sliced potatoes & zucchini, onions and crumbled tempeh pan fried in sunflower oil with cranberries (I had a 'really?' face on too while I was making it but the end product was amazing!) 

And a new favourite - popcorn with maple syrup 

Tomorrow is the 100 Mile Diet kick-off potluck in Ayr and I am really looking forward to meeting with other locavores and comparing challenges, fears and enthusiasm as we set into day 2.

GO LIFE! 

xoxo