Resolution Month

This month, Ashley, Whitney and I are each going to take a week to focus on things we hope to work on in the upcoming year.

I am not consistent in making New Year's Resolutions, but I never think it's bad to spend some time reflecting and evaluating your life.  So, we each plan to look a little more deeply into the areas of Eat, Make, Pray, Nest and Play and resolve to make even small changes to better our lives.

So without further ado...

Resolution: Eat

This year, I resolve to buy much more local produce.  

Sometimes it just seems so easy when I am making a big grocery store run to buy all the produce I need at once.  And while it is convenient, it is often genetically modified, covered in pesticides and has traveled thousands of miles across the country to reach my plate.  A little convenience for me, a whole lot of negative impact on our planet and bodies.

So, I really hope to buy much more produce that was produced in my backyard (relatively speaking) this year.  We have so many great ways to do so in our city...we have a farmer's market open from early spring until December.  There is a wonderful market that has very inexpensive and locally grown produce year round (and it is only a mile or two from my house!)  And we have participated in a Community Supported Agriculture over the last few years, and I definitely plan to do so again this spring.  

I hope to have better success this year with our garden in our own backyard, as well.  Last year, our garden yielded some peppers, tomatoes and basil, but the crop was not as fruitful as we had hoped.  I am optimistic that our success with be a bit greater this year! 

There are lots of great resources out there for finding locally grown produce in your area.  

A website we have used each year to choose the CSA most appropriate for our family is the local harvest site.  It is very user friendly and helps you to get a very in depth look at each CSA you are evaluating.

If you are interested in finding a farmer's market in your area, you can easily search for on in your area here.  It is so much fun to connect with the farmer who is supplying your food and you can get so much more than just produce at a farmer's market.

We recently watched No Impact Man and he spent an entire year living in a way that he hoped would make no impact on the earth.  If he could sustain himself and his family on food grown locally in New York through the winter, I am sure I can make steps to buy more locally throughout the year! 

What do you hope to resolve in regards to your eating habits in 2011?  

Happy New Year!