Produce - veggies come from the farm stand on Baydale Dr, farmer's markets, and occasionally Whole Foods or Grauls, w/ emphasis on local, then on organic. Fruit in the same order, but I still get some fruit from other continents because I haven't preserved any and I feel like my kids need the variety.
Meats (chicken, beef, pork)- Polyface, our raw milk farmer, Triple J, Cedar Run
Eggs My latest favorite for winter 2011 is the Amish Farmer's Market. The hens are rotationally grazed and the yolks are still yellow/orange, even in winter, and the price is very reasonable--$2-3/doz! You have to get the "free-range" ones--the others are regular caged eggs. There's also the b.b. bistro in Annapolis and Triple J Farm in the Mall farmer's market. The bb bistro hens are getting fresh green kitchen scraps, and the orange-ness of their eggs is to die for. Even pastured eggs get pale in the winter, but these ladies are clearly getting a wonderful diet, and it's worth the $6.50/dozen.
Seafood - A guy on the side of the road on Rt 2 in Severna park. He's there every weekend w/ local fresh caught live crabs, and has great prices. Local seafood markets, the guy at the Whole Foods farmer's market, Whole Foods or Grauls, but I try to stick w/ wild caught. Need to look more into what constitutes responsible seafood eating.
Fats -
- Lard - We use the fat off of the pork we buy, as well as buying just pork fat (called leaf lard) and we render it into lard. Great for use in sauteeing, pastries, baking, and non-raw fat uses (in other words, I don't put it on my salad :)
- Olive oil
- Butter - the cheapest good butter I can find is at whole foods. The best butter is from my own raw milk. I would say the most important thing to focus on is hormone free, followed by 100% grassfed, then raw if you can get it. To make butter from cream, just put it in a mixer on low (about 45 minutes) or a food processor on low or high (between 5-8 minutes). And you'll end up with a chunk of butter and a jar of buttermilk. Search youtube for how-to videos.
- I have vegetable oil I haven't used up yet, so I still use that, though I'm not sure if I'll be buying more.
- Apparently Coconut oil can be good for you, but I haven't looked much into the nutritional information or uses. Check out KellytheKitchenKop for more info.
Peanut Butter - we shell and roast unsalted peanuts, and put about 3 cups peanuts to 1/4 tsp salt, process for something in the range of 10 minutes on high, and voila! Peanut Butter! Again, youtube is great for how-to videos.
Household and Personal items (warning, there may be some TMI here!) -
Paper towels - we don't buy them. I have regular kitchen towels and wash cloths, and for really dirty things, I have a rag basket that I use for cleaning and a washing machine that works great :)
Napkins - we use linen ones--I got them on freecycle, so they don't have to be expensive, but you can also cut up old clothes, linens, etc for your daily use napkins.
Tissues - Did you know that my nose doesn't get sore when I have a cold now? Because I use a handkerchief instead of tissues. Keep a few around so you have some to use while laundering others.
Menstrual hygeine -
- The Diva Cup (there are other brands as well) is a must have for that time of the month. I LOVE mine :)
- Glad Rags make great cloth pads that you can buy at Whole Foods--I love them, and they are sooo much more comfortable than the plastic and paper variety. Luna Pads are another great brand, and they have the awesome LunaPanties, which I also adore.
Family Cloth (as opposed to baby cloth or mama cloth) is an option if you want to go without toilet paper. Yes, I said go without toilet paper. No, we don't currently do this, but I'm honestly not sure why not. Google it! Basically, whatever small pieces of old t-shirt, flannel, or whatever can be cut up and used instead of TP, and placed in a pail just like diapers.
