Book Recommendation: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life for my book club -- though we never did get around to having an official meeting. [Fail!]

If you have any interest in eating foods grown locally, this book is a must-read.

Barbara Kingsolver details how her family not only got by, but thrived only eating food from neighboring farms and their own backyard for an entire year.

While I don’t have the will power to survive off only locally grown foods – the book did influence my eating habits and inspired me to pay more attention to what I ingest.

I was already trying to eat organically whenever possible, but I learned from the book that all organically grown food isn’t necessarily labeled as such. Many small farmers meet and exceed organic standards, but simply can’t afford to get the organic certification from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Already a supporter of small, family businesses, I decided to buy as much produce as possible from farmers markets and local stores, as opposed to buying organic at the grocery store (or worse - processed, packaged food). As winter rapidly approaches, it’s getting harder, but not impossible. Just do a little Internet searching to find local farms in your area.

Another option is trying to grow your own vegetables. For the last two years, the fiancé and I grew as many crops as possible in any corner of a yard our parents would loan us. But now that we have our own house, we’re already planning to clear out some space for our own garden next spring.

For more information, recipes and stories of Kingsolver’s high and low points throughout the 356 days, definitely read the book!