14-day Challenge: Eating Local Food and Alternatives
DAY 1: A failed beginning
5th，Oct.
Today, I start my challenge, only eating local food (produced within a 50km radius) and alternative proteins. Actually it is really a huge challenge for me because I am not a vegetarian, and I even cannot tolerate eating without meat for a whole day. However, this is also the reason why I choose this challenge as I am always into challenging myself.
Since it is Saturday, I got up late and bought a box of soy milk and a box of pasta from the supermarket downstairs my home. I was a little bit pleased because I found many kinds of food like this, which seemed not bad so that it would not be hard for me to buy and eat local food.
However, something terrible happened. When I was packing up the garbage after brunch, I found some small words printed on the back of the soy milk package, “ this is imported soy from xx country ”, which means it’s not local. Then, I checked the package of pasta, knowing that it is mixed with eggs. What’s worse, I just realized that I also bought a plastic bag from the supermarket, which is not necessary.
From that moment on, I realized that I had failed in eating local food for the first day and it is not that easy to buy the real local food as I imagined.
DAY 2: Learning and planning
6th，Oct.
After the first day of failure, I start to take this challenge seriously. First of all, I searched some information about alternative proteins because it confused me that “what are alternative proteins and why should we eat them?” Maybe you are having the same question. Now, let me tell you something about alternative proteins!
What are alternatives?
Alternatives are protein-rich ingredients sourced from plants, insects, fungi, or through tissue culture to replace conventional animal-based sources.
Why do we eat alternative proteins?
Alternative proteins can provide a substantial amount of protein but require less natural inputs to produce than the most common protein sources.
The evolving consumption on alternative proteins
Interest in alternative protein grew gradually since 2007 and accelerating over the past decade, especially in countries with economic wealth.
Three main factors contributed to this evolution:
Health, price and ethical considerations (such as where meat is sourced from and animal welfare)
Make my plan
In order to meet the challenge requirements rigorously, I have developed my diet plan for the next 13 days.
I drew a circle with a radius of 50km on the map centered on Milan, finding that Rho, Monza, Rozzano, Treviglio, Lodi, Crema, Pavia, Garlasco, Vigevano, Busto Arsizio and, definitely, Milano are inside the circle. Then, I just need to buy vegetables, fruits or any other ingredients within the range of these places.
DAY 3–6: New obstacle
7th，Oct. -10th，Oct.
A new trouble emerged after almost one-week challenge. I found that in the past few days, I always felt weak and sleepy, being hungry all day long even just after a meal. I doubted whether alternatives were really an effective substitute for meat. Then, I searched and downloaded a health app, called LIFESUM, which can help me calculate whether my daily nutritional intake meets the standard or not.
Take today’s dinner for instance, I found that the thing that differs a lot from the standard is protein intake, meaning that I should make a better diet plan which can provide me enough protein.
Also, what I have to complain is that it’s really hard to persist eating alternatives all 14 days because they taste really really BAD. I used to think that eating is one of the most enjoyable processes in my daily life, while temporarily every time when I eat, I just feel that I was a goat, grazing on the grass. To my surprise, some leaves are bitter to eat, while carrot and tomato, which used to be my most hated food, are now my favorites since they are both a little bit sweet and full of moisture.
Now, I deeply realize the essence to live a sustainable life since it is this difficult for me to eat alternatives even just for a week! I cannot imagine how can we live in a world where there is no meat at all, or even no alternatives!
DAY 7–12: Where there is an issue, there is a solution
11th，Oct. -16th，Oct.
There have been some turning points during the past week so I need to write something.
As I mentioned last time, in order to deal with the insufficient intake of protein, I have been to a few supermarkets near my home but found that it is not easy to find an ingredient which is not only a good alternative but also local.
Finally, with the help of my Italian classmate, I found a nice vegetable market in which there are many kinds of local ingredients. And this time, I bought a lot!
As for the bad taste, I have found a solution as well. After attempting in several days, I gradually found it becomes more and more in line with my taste using Chinese cooking methods and Chinese sauces (hope it’s not cheating).
DAY 13: My last dinner in this challenge
17th，Oct.
After 14 days challenge, I have basically mastered the amount of each ingredient I should eat in order to meet the requirements of nutritional intake for myself. At the last moment of this challenge, I cooked this tasty “Chinese pasta” for dinner as a reward for myself :)
Summary
This 2-week challenge is a very meaningful experience for me. Although it is not as easy as I thought in the beginning, I have finally overcome all the obstacles and many good habits have been cultivated, more than just mastering eating local food and alternatives. For instance, when I come into a supermarket to buy something, the first thing I will check is the label to find its production place. And now I am able to cook some simple meals while I was not able to cook anything before this challenge. On the overall, what touches me most is how crucial but difficult it is to live in a sustainable way. When eating is not as easy as ordering at a restaurant, it seems that I have still managed to save a lot not only in cost but also in products and waste generated.
