Moral Options for Can’t Live Without Items

By now you all know that my New Year’s resolution this year is to eat only local, organic items or find the closest, most sustainable options.

For the most part we are on track but I’ve been keeping a list of the items that I’ve been buying. I’d like to share my “must have” list with you and some places and brands where I’ve found good alternatives. Here is my can’t live without list of non-local items:

• Coconut oil and flakes – Wilderness Family Naturals has great quality, sustainably harvested and minimally refined or non-refined coconut oil and coconut flakes.
• Peanut butter and peanuts – I’ve been getting this from PCC by grinding my own from fresh roasted peanuts using their machine. I know Azure Standard carries fresh peanuts and you can grind your own if you have a really good blender like a Vitamix.
• Olive oil and olives – I’ve been getting Napa Naturals organic olive oil either at PCC or through Azure Standard.
• Lemons – I planted an improved Meyer lemon tree in a pot that can come indoors in the winter and I planted a Yuzu that can go in ground in Seattle. The yuzu tastes like a cross between a mandarin orange and lime and I bought mine from Rockridge Orchard at the UW farmer’s market last spring. Both trees are too young to fruit yet. In the meantime I bought a case of organic lemons last winter and preserved them in salt, juiced them to freeze in ice cube trays and froze the zest to use in recipes. I’ve also been substituting lemon verbena, lemon balm and french sorrel in pastas and cold salads where appropriate.
• Cod liver oil – This is a huge part of supplementing our diet. I buy naturally fermented cod liver oil that still has the critical vitamins A&D intact. I get mine through Green Pasture’s.
• Juice Plus and Azomite – This is the whole foods supplement we take. The azomite is a mineral that I bought through Peaceful Valley Farm Supply. I put it in my garden and in my drinking water.
• Chocolate – I buy raw organic chocolate from Wilderness Family Naturals. I’ve also bought cocoa nibs and bars from Theo Chocolate.
• Coffee – I get my coffee either from PCC or from Small COG Coffee who delivers fair trade, small batch fresh roasted coffees by bicycle – you can’t get coffee any more sustainable then that!
• Vanilla, salt and other spices – I buy from PCC or Azure Standard. I try to use the vanilla bean whenever possible over the extracts to take the least processed and most flavorful route but for baked goods I just use extract. I use Redmond sea salt which is from Utah.
• Pepper – This fall Rockridge Orchards will have pepper corns by special order. They are at many local farmer’s markets so watch for them.
• Honey – I buy the raw honey from the farmer’s market which we eat mostly on toast and biscuits but I use it in my whole wheat bread as well.
• Evaporated cane juice, powdered sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup – I buy through Azure Standard. The evaporated cane juice I sometimes buy at Costco when I go to pick up supplies for my infant reflux and colic store.
• Baking powder, baking soda, soy sauce, dish soap, hand soap and laundry detergent – I buy through Azure Standard.
• Vinegar – after a failed attempt to make my own apple cider vinegar last winter (which is still sitting in my garage) I’ve come to the conclusion that I should just buy my vinegar from Rockridge Orchards. It’s amazing, organic and local. What was I thinking?
• Tea – we don’t drink much tea but if you did you could buy a plant from Rockridge Orchards at the farmer’s market. In fact, just about anything I haven’t already mentioned that can be grown you should ask Wayne about. He probably grows it!

By paying more for the sweeteners we use I’ve found that I use much less of them – and that is a good thing for everyone in the household.

How about you? What non-local items can you not live without? And what great sources have you found for them?