I have decided to inflict unnecessary pain and suffering on my own life. I have created a Homesteader’s Food Challenge for people (like me) who like a challenge and want to reclaim their food in a drastic way.

Disclaimer: My intentions are not to make anyone feel guilty or bad because they are purchasing food from a grocery. I love groceries. I understand that this challenge is not possible for most. My purpose is to teach, encourage and excite those who are interested in growing their own food. This is as personal as it gets for me. I really want to see if I can grow everything that I eat.

Here’s the Challenge:

It is a joy to eat the food God has provided from the labor of our land.

Growing, processing, preserving and cooking my own food is nothing new to this blog. I’ve been at this game for years. BUT… I still eat some things I don’t grow. Things like:

Avocados (Be still my heart)
Lemons & Limes
Triscuits & Tortilla Chips
Supplemental Fruits & Veggies (when our garden is not in full production)
Nuts
Assorted baking supplies and spices (baking powder, vanilla, cocoa, dried spices, etc.)
Hummus & Beans
Organic Rice & Pasta
Nutella (Yes, I like eating pure joy)

I am going to forgo all of these things in order to eat only the products from my own hands for 101 days.

The Rules:

My Rules: [This is the how I am going to eat for the next 101 days] All food consumed must be Raised, Grown, Gathered, Killed, Picked, Trapped or otherwise obtained around here by my own hands.

“Plan B”: If you don’t have a garden, a cow, or a freezer full of lard, you can still play if you want! You can eat local, eat seasonally, or just eat real. If you live somewhere in America, you can probably find a farmers market or a CSA with some local food options. Many also sell meat & dairy in addition to fruits and veggies.

What I will be eating for the next 101 days:

Anything I grow (garden, herbs, fruit, veggies, roots)
Anything I raise (pigs, chickens, beef, rabbit, etc)
Anything I pick from its natural plant/tree around here (strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, apple, peach, etc)
Anything I collect from its natural habitat around here (walnuts, hickory nuts, any wild edibles)
Anything I (insert DH) hunted and shot (rabbit, deer, turkey)
Anything I (most likely DH again) trapped, caught, jigged, (crawdads, frogs, fish)
Anything I find in our world of woods and land deemed edible (wild berries, wild mushrooms, wild onions)
Anything that comes from my cows (milk, butter, cream, cheese, all raw dairy)
Eggs from our chickens & ducks

Just to clarify, I will be eating foods I grew and preserved in the past year (froze, canned, dried, etc), or food that was raised/ hunted here and is currently in the freezer.

Of course, my kids asked, “If we go to Walmart and ‘pick’ PopTarts off the shelves can we eat it?” No. It has to be growing in its natural habitat for it to qualify as a “labor of our hands.” Pop Tarts!? What’s wrong with my kids?

This whole eating plan may sound like a form of punishment, but I’m excited to give this whole “clean, real, homegrown, eat your yard” thing a run for its money. I have been thinking this whole experiment through and have decided on a few exceptions.

In order to survive the 101 days and still be a sane person who will not eat her 4 children, I have incorporated a couple considerations. I’m only proposing 5 exceptions.

The 5 Exceptions:

Coffee (I’m pretty sure you don’t want me to die)
Whole wheat berries & yeast (to make rolls, bread, buns, etc.)
Organic Maple Syrup (I do make my own, but I’m out)
Wine (priorities people)
Raw Apple Cider Vinegar

Salt and Pepper will also be allowed during the 101 days – The kids and I have decided that salt and pepper are not really “foods” but more minerals & no one wants us to become deficient in sodium, right?

The only other possible monkey wrench to my success in this experiment is going to be the limited occasions we eat away from home. We eat out most Saturday nights (sometimes at friends homes, sometimes at restaurants). I have been considering how to handle this quandary. I will not be eating any foods from restaurants. I will either pack a ‘sack dinner’ to take with me or eat before we go. I’m all in, man.

I considered eating at the restaurants (or friends homes) and just limiting myself to only eating foods (from the selection) that we grow (or raise) at our farm. My younger brother called me a cheater and said, “If you’re gonna do it – do it right. No restaurants, no friend’s food.”

Of course, he kept talking, because, he’s my brother.

Then he said: If you eat other food besides the food you raised, I’m not buying your book.

I said: I’m not writing a book.

He said: It doesn’t matter because I won’t buy it.

Me: [Forehead slap]

So, since my brother called me a cheater, I’m going to be scooting around the nearest 4 counties with a cooler and a bagged dinner in the back of my minivan.

In case you are wondering if I am dispensing this curse upon my entire family – No, not technically. My 2 oldest children think it sounds fun and they are voluntarily doing it with me. My 2 youngest will probably not survive in a world without pasta, rice & carbs, so they’ll be blowing the plan daily. Even though I’ll be adding organic carbs to their plates, they’ll still be eating from our “hands” for the most part. DH will eat whatever I feed him, so if he’s eating with me he’ll be eating mashed turnips.

Is this gonna be hard? Yes. Am I gonna starve? Maybe.

I’m up for the challenge. The garden is in full swing. The freezers are stocked with meat. Let’s do this thing!

READY – SET – EAT

THE HOMESTEADERS FOOD CHALLENGE

“It’s ON like Donkey Kong”

If you want to get real about your food, you should consider a membership to the blog.

Here’s a glimpse of the 101-Day Challenge:

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