Rules and Regulations...

Every season, new staff come in, and I'm the one who gets to bore them with things they are allowed to do, and things they're not! I would say for the most part, that the rules are fairly black and white; first aid kits must be brought to all lessons, helmets must be worn while running high ropes, facilitators must check in with teachers at the end of the day... you get the picture! Over the past couple of months, as I have been chatting about this diet with friends and coworkers, I have come to realize that with some, there is an expectation that every single thing I consume is going to be local Ontario ingredients. The "kitchen ladies", as they're affectionately called at work have been very quick to question my every move (they're like my second mom)! Clearly, this is not a black and white subject. In fact, there's a whole lot of grey that I should talk about. Simply put, the authors of "100 Mile Diet" were hardcore, if I'm allowed to use such a word. In order to publish this book, they took things to the extreme... readers wanted to see if they would break on things like coffee, chocolate, and other things like bananas that we take for granted will always be in our grocery stores.

Even Alisa and James admitted that this strict version of the diet would be difficult to maintain for years on end. Their recommendation was to eat as much local food as you could. And that is what I am trying to do. I have started keeping track of what I'm eating throughout a given week, and eventually I will find an organized way to post this info. But I am confident that over the course of time, the average will be above 80%. But in this culturally diverse country we live in, it would be foolish to give up things like sushi, thai curries, and naan.

So here are my rules (so far):

1. Overall, the meals that I eat at work and home will be local Ontario food. Exceptions will be

things like salt and pepper, mustard and salad dressing. But the vast majority of what I

eat will contain local ingredients.

2. If I am invited over to a friends house for dinner, I will eat what is served.

3. On occasion, I will still enjoy meals out at restaurants. I am hoping to eat out less, but if friends are going out for a night on the town (rare in Haliburton), I will join them.

4. As of now, I am still having the occasional beer. Hops are hard to come by in this country, but

I am buying beer that is brewed in Ontario.

5. I will still have the occasional piece of chocolate, but again, I am going to reduce drastically the

amount I have normally consumed. And the chocolate I do purchase will be organic and fair

trade.

In time, I would like to see if I can go for a stretch without beer, or without chocolate. But again, this diet is not meant to be the grade 7 teacher who keeps giving detentions for no apparent reason. I'm not out to punish myself! I'm simply trying to think about what I eat and where it comes from. And let me tell you, it's not easy right now.

As I am writing this, students and staff are upstairs enjoying a lovely roast beef dinner, with fresh bread and vegetables. I'm thinking about how I can change the way I cook potatoes tonight to make it more interesting! And I'm hungry!!

Feel free to give suggestions for other rules that you think might be pertinent!