The end
Considerations in conclusion of this challenge
Here we are at the end of these two weeks.
I must say that overall I am very satisfied with how this challenge went. I discovered many new and interesting things, and I learned to take care of myself even through food.
This path gave me the power to reflect a lot about nutrition. Very often we eat because we have to eat, but we don’t care what we have on the plate: the important thing is that it tastes good and fills our stomach.
Paying attention to the origin of the products, choosing the more “fresh” and seasonal ones, dedicating a little attention to what we cook has opened my eyes a little bit to today’s reality.
All the products that you buy at the supermarket are determined by economic convenience and by what the market dictates, very often there are products that come from far away just because the brand is famous or because consumers require that particular product. Sometimes, however, by reading the labels you might prefer a pack of cookies compared to another, paying attention to the origin and quality of the ingredients with which it is made.
My family goes shopping at Italmark. This chain of supermarkets is rather attentive to this factor, in fact it offers products in collaboration with local entities. For example, there are fresh cheese, ravioli, biscuits, fruit and vegetables
etc. that come from Bergamo, Brescia, ecc
Sometimes we choose products only for the brand they carry, why not try something new that is produced closer to us ?
Local product does not always mean higher price, in fact sometimes the price is lower because transport costs are lower.
During these two weeks I also had the pleasure of learning about new places where I could buy local products. It was very nice to be able to get in touch with people you can socialize with and who are proud of their work and tell you about their mission. It is pleasant to know who has worked with his hands what you are going to eat, be aware of the origin and authenticity of the products.
I am very happy with how my family reacted to this challenge. Everyone was interested in the topic and wanted to help me by actively participating. We tried new dishes together that we will surely cook again.
During several dinners we had the opportunity to talk together about this topic and to compare our opinions. The comparison with my dad was very interesting,who has been working in the world of meat production for many years. Talking to him I discovered that meat is the only product that is actually kept track of through the whole supply chain and presented to the consumer, the other products as I said before only keep track of the place of production and packaging without indicating the source of raw materials.
I am overall satisfied with how I have faced these two weeks. There have been difficulties but they have not weighed much on me. One of these happened last week. One day I left the university at 6.30 pm, I had a very bad headache but I had nothing to eat to be able to take medicine. Walking along the road towards the station I searched for something but I didn’t find any place that had a snack at km 0. So I had to take crackers made in Switzerland to take my medicine.
The second time (I partially broke my challenge) was Tuesday evening. It was my mom’s birthday and we went out to dinner to celebrate. We ate in a local trattoria and, not being able to eat meat, I decided to order pizzoccheri (pasta from Valtellina with cheese, potatoes and herbs from bergamo) and as a second polenta taragna (polenta and cheese produced in bergamo!). Unfortunately the dessert, tiramisù, was homemade but with non-Bergamo raw materials.
Surely some things I will continue to do even after these two weeks and I will try to be more careful with my choices!!
