ISO upside: More homegrown veg
As we settle into isolation (aka iso-life) in the Macedon Ranges, a few things are becoming clear. As a community, we're passionate about supporting our people and our local businesses. We're also good at knuckling down and becoming a little bit more self sufficient: over the last month we've seen seedlings and backyard chickens sell out everywhere, and veggie gardens expand. This is such an exciting reality for each of us working towards better environmental outcomes - as you likely know more home grown veg means more veg in our diets and that means significant impacts for our health, the planet and animal welfare.
Eating veg is likely to become more and more important:
Veg is inexpensive,
It's available (particularly when you grow it yourself), and
It's good for the planet, animals and our health
It's delicious!
Many of us now have time to overcome the biggest barrier to eating more veg……
TIME!
Time to discover recipes, experiment with different ingredients and flavours to find out what works for you and your family.
Let's take this stressful situation and turn into an opportunity to reset, get back to the basics and create some lasting healthy eating habits that are good for us, other animals and the earth.
How do we get started, you ask? Here are a few ideas:
make a choice to eat more veg + increase the number of meals per week that are plant based
focus on seasonal and local veg to use up garden produce, or if you are buying reduce food miles and support local farmers
create a meal plan to reduce food waste and contact with shops. A good meal plan should mean only one trip to the shops/delivery per week
consider what you can plant and grow (if you haven't already) and how you can SAFELY share food with people who need it
consider switching your milk to a plant-based milk. Oat milk is currently considered the best milk option in terms of sustainability and carbon footprint, but let’s be honest every type of plant based milk is better for the planet than dairy. Just be wary of the packaging - the long life boxes are no longer locally recycled, so either pick up your milk in the fresh section in a bottle or make your own. If you are a dairy lover, think about getting your milk from a local producer.
support local growers and suppliers through local farmer's markets and/or buy a local veg box
share simple veg recipes with neighbours and friends (and online here) to help everyone keep their costs down and stay healthy (the amount of junk food that has flown off the shelves is amazing + people may exercise less)
order vegetarian or vegan take-away and encourage local cafes/restaurants to serve more veg
invite your friends to join the VEG group. The more people, the more recipes!
post all your fabulous meals to our facebook group (even when they are not that fabulous!). the group name is Eat More Veg in the Macedon Ranges
email us and say hi, ask any questions, connect with like minded people
get involved in our activities or as a committee member (we are currently looking for a social media/ design guru in particular, but would love to hear from any interested people living in the area)
You can get in touch here: veg@mrsg.org.au
Happy ISO cooking!
Claire and the Veg Action Team
