Update on Food

I came back from the west in February. I set my snow boots on South Carolina soil, and soon began gardening, applying a certain passion early in the season of my life -- performing a set of tasks that I knew would be a part of my life forever once I acquired land. Along with it came an obsession with local and quality food. At the outset of this blog, I declared my rules and preferences in food consumption. I would now like to update it.
1) Absolutely no consumption of any animals other than those who ate their natural diet (grass for cows, for instance). 99.9% of animals bought in grocery stores do not come close to meeting this more-than-reasonable expectation. A happy exception is most seafood.
2) Local produce and (where possible) dairy products and meat. Local means fresher and therefore tastier, not to mention the higher nutrition content (as a cyclist who is often unkind to his body, I have come to appreciate this truth: local food heals). More bang for your buck! You also keep your neighbors in business and your spent money stays in the community and makes it stronger. Also: any natural disaster, especially when it occurs in metropolitan areas, should teach us that no community should be as foolhardy as to rely on all of their food supply coming from thousands of miles away.
3) Eating lots of colors (including white) and not being afraid to "over-consume" fruit! And remember, foraging for wild fruit and greens is also okay (don't let the economy tell you otherwise ;)

Pescatarian

Salmon, snap peas, and sweet potato.

First, lemon, mozzarella, hot sauce, broiled over. Then, stir-fry snap-peas in coconut oil, with S&P. Finally, sweet potato with honey, cinnamon, and nutmeg stirred in. Healthy as it gets. 

So,

Should I have eaten that?

Oatmeal vs. Oatmeal

These two servings of oatmeal were eaten within a day or so of each other. The first was made from steel cut oats (most nutrition and lends far more texture than rolled oats) and contains a small amount of coconut oil and I used watered-down almond milk instead of water. It is tipped with natural peanut butter and honey. The second had brown sugar, dried fruit, and assorted nuts. 

So,

Should I have eaten that?

Cuddly Campstove Cuisine

So, a relatively simple meal. After a good hike into Arches National Park, we broke out the camp stove and began cracking eggs and pouring pancakes. Just your run-of-the-mill batter and eggs from relatively healthy chickens (thicker shells), nothing special. Oh, and hot apple cider! We had natural peanut butter to put on the pancakes too. And a little snow and occasional redrock dirt mixed in. 

So,

Should I have eaten that?

Back to Basics

Long ago, I got into the habit of eating some form of pasta, topped with organic (or, if not, locally-sourced) extra-virgin olive oil. Between the variety of pastas (including not just variance of shape, but of differing vegetable powders added in the recipe), and different spices I could infuse the oil with, I've never grown bored!

This pasta is high-fiber and high-protein (though it is all wheat, with a few flax seeds) and is covered in pepper-and-dill -weed-infused Hytop olive oil. The Tomato-basil-cheese bagel has cheaper honey-peanut-butter. Great healthy meal, with a bit of less-healthy indulgence.

So,

Shoul I have eaten that?

Waffle-Vana

This meal/snack/dessert came from a little gem in Provo, Utah. Along state street, you come to a little shop by the name of "Waffle Love" and you are intrigued. You step in, being instantly "sold" by the smell of the sweet leige waffles roasting on the irons. The concept of the store is beautifully simple: waffles (with a half dozen topping options) , drinking chocolate, and apple cider. All sourced as locally as possible, too! You can see all the ingredients they use right as you walk in. There is hipster art all over the walls, pen and paper art, and watercolors. 

This waffle you witness before you is made from a dough, harder and sweet on the outside, with almost a nectar-like chewy center. The topping is bonafide fresh-whipped 100% cream, paired with strawberries, all on a biodegradeable tray! The best waffle I've ever had in my life.

So. . . 

Should I have eaten that?