That's exactly what the Halsten family is doing. While the time frame of sticking it out for a year was arbitrary, they do have two rules for their change in lifestyle:
1. We can shop at any farmers markets or local farms whenever we want.
2. We can get "bits and pieces" twice a month. It must be organic, it must be very basic and something you cannot get at a farmers market or farm, and the total purchase must be less than $25.
Think about it. How many people are in your family? Could you plan your meals for the week around local produce, meats, fruits and grains? Think about breakfast without Rice Krispies or Coco Puffs or Quaker Instant Oatmeal. Shoot, what about your milk? Could you really do it? That one meal alone would kill us in this house! My son will *only* eat cereal for breakfast. My daughter, who loves fried eggs, is addicted to oatmeal for breakfast and will rarely eat anything else.
Yes, addicted. And maybe that one word is reason enough for me to rethink how we eat.
Could we live without chips? Soda? Sweet tea? Could I commit to making my own pasta from scratch? We don't eat a lot of rice but I have no idea how we'd buy it locally from a farmer's market. Maybe that would qualify as something under Rule #2. No Gatorade.
Based on that last paragraph of things that would be off-limits, I can already hear the cries of agony and desperation from a few people.
I think I could do this for the majority of our eating but there would definitely be struggles and angst. I couldn't do it 100% while working full-time though. The time required to make from scratch, can and pre-plan for the winter would leave me with no time for my kids or other housework and obligations.
Angie Halsten - you rule! Big time respect to you for managing it all.
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