29 Jul Get Ready for #bentarrowchallenge2018!

Have you heard?! We have decided that we are going to only eat food that we grew or that someone locally grew or produced for the whole month of August… and we want you to join us!  

We did this challenge two years ago and it is somewhat inspired by the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.  In the book, Barbara and her family take on a whole year of local food.

We have always wondered if we could do a whole year too and it’s been a topic of conversation often at our dinner table.

But, for now, a month is great and August in Indiana it s a great time to give it a go!

For the challenge we set a couple ground rules, just like Barbara’s family did.  These are our rules.  Yours may look different.

1. Local Food = The state we live in (Indiana… but, you can be from anywhere to play along!)
2. If eating out (rare for us), no chain restaurants permitted.  Locally sourced is desired.
3. You get a pass if you are invited to someone else’s home.  No one likes the picky guest.  (This is going to be extended to work travel too.  Claire has a few work conferences and can’t control what will be served.)
4. Freebie items to ensure good cooking and sanity:
   1. Oils and butter
   2. Salt, pepper and other spices
   3. Baking Needs: flour, sugar, yeast, etc. (Mainly for pasta and bread.)
   4. Lemons/limes
   5. Parmesan cheese

*Note: Other freebies that were considered were things like nuts, chocolate, grains, and beans.  ALL will be missed!

So, like I said, your rules may look different, and that is okay.  If you want to really hone into local and give yourself a 50 mile radius, great!  If you just want to try to do just meat and veggies, awesome!  Maybe it’s just at dinner, perfect!  You do what works for you.

Know that we are giving you a great shot at being successful, no matter what your rules are August is a great time for this challenge. Local produce is booming and any one who raised meat should have tons of options.  If you have a garden, it’s likely at it’s hight of production.

But also, seek out other products that you normally don’t look for locally.  Is there a local bakery for your bread? How about beer and wine? Does someone make fresh pasta?  Condiments like ketchup, barbecue sauce or mustard.  Could you even make these things instead of buying them?

We are hitting the ground running on Wednesday, August 1.  And, tonight we are sharing our favorite meal planning tips when eating locally on our newsletter, including our favorite meal planning template, so be sure you are on the list.

And, we want to see what you are cooking and finding locally.  Use #bentarrowchallenge2018 to show off on social media… and know that each week there are chances to win prizes for those who participate!

Sign up for the newsletter here.

And, be sure to follow along on Instagram and Facebook.