eating in snowy new england on a cold winter's day

I'm on a 3 day juice fast so FOOD is on my mind. How much we consume, how much we actually need, and how far of a distance it travels to get to us. Living in New England in the winter, it is impossible to be a total locavore but there are ways to increase your local intake.

Let's start with how much food we actually need in order to function. The general guideline for caloric intake is 1,700 to 2,200 for your average person. Of those calories here is the breakdown in terms of recommended types of foods that we need to consume are:

55-60% Carbohydrates (whole grains, breads, and vegetables, fruits)
20-30% Fats (oil, avocados, nuts..unsaturated is best)
10-20% Protein (eggs, milk, meat, poultry, fish)

So what does that mean in table terms? Using Calorie Count I put together a day of meals within the above recommendations. I then noted in parenthesis how local you can get in the winter in New England. Local items are in green.

BREAKFAST

Oatmeal
1/3 cup rolled oats (Grandy Oats, Maine Grown, Maine made)
2/3 cup water
3 tbs raisins (California)
2 tbs walnuts (California)
1 tbsp brown sugar (Hawaii)

green tea (China)
honey (Tendercrop sells Essex honey, Newburyport, MA or Ipswich)

SNACK
1 med apple (Newburyport, MA)

LUNCH
Avocado Salad of Nesteren with balsamic grilled chicken
Red Sail Leaf organic lettuce (Ipswich)
1 cucumber (Mexico)
1 organic tomato (Ipswich)
2 tbsp olive oil (Italy)
2 tbsp lemon juice (California..if you're lucky)
½ tsp salt (Maine sea salt) 8 olives (Spain)
1 small red bell pepper (although perhaps farther we'll give you the benefit of Mexico)
½ avocado (Mexico)
1 tsp mint (homegrown indoors)
10 oz boneless chicken breast (Tendercrop, Newburyport, MA)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (Italy)

DINNER
Wild Mushroom Ragout Pasta
2 tsp olive oil 1 onion (Ipswich)
3 cloves garlic (Purchased from local farm and stored for winter)
1 1/2 lb mushroom (wild mushrooms purchased at Tendercrop and dried)
1/4 cup chicken broth (made from locally raised chicken, Tendercrop, Newburyport, MA)
3/4 cup no-alcohol red wine (California)
2 tbsp tomato paste (tomatos purchased at local farm and canned)
3 tbsp parsley, 2 tsp sage, fresh 1 tsp rosemary, fresh 1 tsp marjoram (homegrown, fresh or dried)
1/2 tsp salt (Maine sea salt)
1/4 tsp pepper (Vietnam or India most likely)
1 lb whole-wheat pasta (mid-west grown wheat or is that wishful thinking?)
6 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated (Italy)

TREAT
Hot Chocolate
250 ml organic skim milk (New Hampshire)
1 tsp sugar (Hawaii)
5 tsp cocoa powder (West Africa, Brazil or Indonesia)

More about the farms mentioned...

Eastern Farm of New England at 143 High Street in Ipswich is currently producing Red Sail leaf lettuce, green & red oak leaf lettuce (cut fresh from the garden), carrots, red potatoes, sweet potatoes, white onions, and red onions. They also sell fresh eggs, and local honey. Best of all, it's all organic.

Tendercrop Farm of Newburyport offers some of their own produce as well as imported produce. They post signs that will tell you what is theirs. The farm uses IPM (Integrated Pest Management) so pesticides may be used.