First challenge

I went into a butcher today in Taupo (one of 2 local butchers besides the supermarkets). I wanted to get some items for dinner over the next couple of days seeing as stores will be shut tomorrow for Good Friday.

Me to the butcher “Can you please tell me where did this pork come from?”
Butcher “From here”
Me “Sorry, I meant where was it raised?”
Butcher – with a look that clearly said this was the stupidest question he had heard all day “I don’t know, from all over NZ?”

Hmmmm, an interesting and possibly frustrating start to this challenge.

The 100km challenge

There are some things that I tend to hold important to me but I haven’t really invested time in ensuring that what I deem important is what I practice. Hence the 100km challenge.

While sitting on a bus up to Auckland this plan started to form. I LOVE my food but feel it’s important to know the providence of what I eat and ensure that what I choose to eat is good for me and can be eaten without concern as to how it got to me. Yes, I still eat crappy food but for the most part what I spend my money on shows and should support what I hold as being important to me.

What is important to me continues to grow from my time in the UK. This started with learning about and switching to a preference for supporting free range farmed chickens instead of incredibly cheap chicken that had been intensively farmed. Not only was the taste so much better but I could feel better about what my money was supporting. This now also continues to extend to where I choose to spend my money in other areas of my life.

Since moving back to NZ another concern that has become evident to me is our isolation from the rest of the world. With this comes the importing of goods that we possibly don’t need. Surely if we eat seasonally and source locally then we could not only eat more healthily but ensure that our food miles are less as well as support our local producers/economy. Hence the 100km challenge.

The core criteria are:
1. The majority of my weekly main meals must consist of seasonal elements and
2. Seasonal elements must be sourced within a 100 kilometer radius of Taupo

What I plan to do with my blog is to outline the issues, concerns and successes that I have trying to implement this challenge. Can I successfully stick to these 2 core criteria. It should be interesting especially trying to figure out what to make with changing seasonal elements. I tend to stick to the products I know as I know how to cook these! What the heck do I do with a swede?

Bring on the challenge.