For the last three weeks we have spent part of our Sunday at the local Growers Market down the road from our house. It is great because it is close enough for us to walk to, and to be able to carry all our new purchases home without any worries. Plus Angus gets to come along with us, and he love, love, loves it. He is like a movie star, everyone wants to pat him and say hello!The first stop at the market is the stall with the home-baked dog biscuits, and the organic dog food. Appease the monster first, and then on our way to the things that we are interested in. Like fresh organic bread and homemade pasties, fairtrade coffee (not me, but the hubby, I have and always will be a tea girl), woodfired pizza, turkish bread that is made in front of your eyes and pretty much every kind of preserve you could want.
The place is fantastic, so many stalls, people, families, dogs everyone from our community has been drawn out of their homes and into this vibrant market, today there was even a fantastic piano accordian player. For us, we try to make a conscious decision to be really aware of the food that we are buying. We try to buy local produce, and when we can we like organic and even though it is few and far between in Australia, we like to buy Fairtrade whenever possible. We like things that are fresh and the great thing about the growers markets is that you can ask the people who grow the produce about the process, it makes me feel so much better about what I am eating.
Last year we watched the documentary Food Inc, and although we had been starting to change our habits before then, this doco really helped put things into perspective for us, and made us question what we were really eating and where it comes from.
I know that one thing that puts people off going down this route is the cost. Somewhere we have been taught, or it is largely assumed that it is more expensive to buy local and good fresh foods, but for the two of us we spend less that $100 a week on food, and we eat well. Salmon, steaks, chicken, vegies, pasta and we are saving money. Yes, it takes a little longer, I don't ever go to Coles or Woolworths, even though it is more convienent, the food just isn't the same. Yes, I have to go to about 4 or 5 different places, but it is worth it. I go to the fresh fruit and veg grocery, the IGA, the butcher, the fish shop, the bakery and the farmers market, but the quality is amazing and I would never go back. Plus cutting down on all the over processed junk has helped us loose weight and feel so much better! Mind you I still love my potato chips and chocolate, but that is ok!!
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