Eating Well: Local, Sustainable, Organic

Buying fresh produce year-round for a special diet can be rather challenging. There was a time not so long ago that my oldest had 3 foods to eat safely, without any reactions.

Only 3. For a year and a half.

One of them was pears. It seemed like most of our "free" time was in search of organic pears & only certain varieties. We quickly learned what pear season was at each store for each variety, which stores had the specific varieties, exactly how long we could go between shopping trips and rationing the pears at home to make them last. We also got creative with using the over-ripe ones. Interesting tidbit that we learned is that pears rot from the inside out. Not good when they look & feel good from the outside.

Planning for this to possibly be a long term diet, we even bought & planted pear trees in our yard. We got 4 trees of different varieties that would cross pollinate and fruit from the beginning of the season to the end. 3 years later, we've actually got fruit on one of the trees. We'd almost, not quite... forgotten about the trees. After the 2nd season we'd given up on them fruiting. Now, they are a reminder of just how far my oldest's diet has improved. There are still plenty of challenges to face with the diet being free of so many things like gluten, corn, soy, nuts to name a few. When I'm feeling beat down or tired of having to do so much, I take a moment to be with the pear trees.

And give thanks that the menu has more than 3 foods. It's taken me an embarrassingly long time to embrace the diet needs without being resentful. I have let go of the negative feelings now and dive in with both hands to come up with new concoctions. They love to help create and enjoy the fruits of our labor. Through our growth we've gotten into supporting local, sustainable & organic farming. One of our Saturday morning routines is going to the local farmer's market. We also love when the Farm Stewardship has the annual farm tours in our area.

This link was shared with me & it looks like an amazing resource! Local Harvest