There are a myriad of reasons to eat local. Local food tastes better. Local food is better for the environment. Local food supports your economy. Local food will make you part of the cool crowd.
What I never expected from local food was that it makes things easier. I like cooking, but I do not like meal planning. There are too many possibilities. With aisles and aisles of groceries including dozens of different ethnic ingredients available I just don’t even know where to start.
Too many choices actually causes more stress for people. It’s one of the reasons I ask my preschooler ‘Do you want to wear your purple dress or your blue dress?’ instead of watching her tear every piece of clothing out of her dresser and throw them on the floor. At the very least it’s less stress for me.
Local food does the same for me; do you want to eat the cherry tomatoes or the asparagus? Or in the fall; the pumpkin or the sweet potato?
All I have to do is check out what’s available, either at the farmer’s market or from Wendy’s Mobile Market and fill my fridge. When it comes time to cook I just work with what I’ve got. Cherry tomatoes or asparagus? Last night, cherry tomatoes.