Whole Foods Market Eat Local Challenge

Are you ready to take on the Whole Foods Market Eat Local Challenge during the week of July 13 - 20? If you're up to the challenge, start checking out local foods from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee and some parts of Florida, homegrown local land. This is home for the foods you'll be eating next week if you accept the challenge. Not only will you be eating fresh foods that took a very short trip to your shopping bag, you'll be helping local farmers and economies as well. Register for the Eat Local Challenge on Saturday, July 11 at your local Whole Foods Market. At week's end, jot down your thoughts on the Whole Foods Market summary sheet, turn it in and you'll have a chance to win a $100 Whole Foods gift card!

Woodfire Grill Serves Locally Raised White Oak Pastures Beef At October 23 Dinner

A while ago, when Team MLA joined Whole Foods Market’s Eat Local Challenge, I was introduced to Will Harris's White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, GA, through the beautful flank steak I grilled (which was also delish). Tomorrow, October 23, Harris’s grass-fed beef will be the star of the show at Woodfire Grill’s four-course dinner, where guests will dine on three beef courses and cap the night with a delectable dessert. The White Oak Pastures dinner, which is the first in a series of dinners planned to benefit Slow Food Atlanta, costs $60 per person (excluding tax and gratuity) and $25 for wine pairings. Slow Food Atlanta will receive 10 percent of the evening's proceeds. Reserve your seating from 6 p.m. on; call 404-347-9055.

Woodfire Grill: 1782 Cheshire Bridge Road; 404-347-9055.

Ricky Sparkman from Sparkman's Cream Valley in Moultrie, GA is featured in the most recent slide show at Whole Story (Whole Foods Market's blog). I first found the milk during the Eat Local Challenge at the Buckhead Whole Foods Market. I completely agree that their milk is by far the best I've tasted. Their all-jersey cows are happy because they use no hormones and put comfort first. Sparkman's also bottles their milk in cornstarch containers that are biodegradable. Be sure to watch the slide show!

Reflections from Alisha Bess on the Eat Local Challenge

As you may remember reading, our office took the Eat Local Challenge two weeks ago. We each planned a dinner that used all local ingredients and shared with you (and our flickr friends) the outcome. Well, now we have a guest writer sharing her experience. Alisha Bess is from Whole Foods Market Buckhead and is responsible for organizing the second annual Eat Local Challenge. Below she shares why this challenge was important to her and her overall thoughts on Atlantans eating local...

"It all started last year when I read an article about how writers from a local newspaper decided to eat nothing but local foods for 1 week. After reading about their experiences I was inspired to take the challenge myself. As I started talking to my fellow Whole Foods Market Team Members, we not only decided to do it ourselves, but challenge customers to eat local as well. And thus the Eat Local Challenge was born. This was our 2nd year of the Eat Local Challenge and it was bigger and better. There were so many highlights to this year’s challenge that it’s hard to stay focused on just a few. First, of course, there’s the food. The number and variety of delicious food treasures across Georgia could keep the most advanced culinary mind tantalized for days. It was a pleasure for my team and I to compile recipes to help people along the challenge. Our own writings, in addition to recipes generously contributed from local chef/writer Virginia Willis and various local producers gave us more recipes than we could include!

"In addition to the amazing recipes, this year’s challenge showed me a community more engaged in the local food movement. The awareness of gas prices on food prices has really impacted pockets and awakened consumers’ minds about where food comes from. Not to mention the recent food recalls and the abundance of information about the down right scary things that occur in some food production has no longer made words like “irradiation,” “pesticides” or “animal byproduct” a mystery. Never before have I heard more people say “I already eat as much local as possible. Between Whole Foods and the farmer’s markets, this is where I do all my shopping.”
"Whole Foods Market has always been a big proponent of eating local and supporting the farmers and producers who put their hearts into making the most delicious foods around. And now it is starting to make sense to others. And by others, I mean the tons of other retailers who have jumped on the local bandwagon. Local is the new organic. And as we know, trends sell.

"So although we may not have had tons of people sign up for the challenge, we were able to engage and continue the conversation about the ease and importance of eating local. So to the Georgia newcomer, who has never been blessed with fresh pasta from Via Elisa, mouthwatering beef from Harris Family Heritage Beef, creamy chevre from Sweet Grass Dairy, sipped one of Georgia’s award-winning wines, or had peaches, tomatoes, squash or any other amazing Georgia foods-wake up and embrace what it really means to be Georgia-grown."

Local Tomatoes Make For A Sweet Ending

To end the week of eating local, my roommate and I decided on a menu with a theme of tomatoes. First let me say that the reason I had breakfast for dinner at the beginning of the challenge was because my roommate was out of town. She is the cook in the apartment and I am helpless without her (thanks, Sara!). We hit up the neighborhood Whole Foods Market after a long Sunday at the pool. Since the sun had drained most of our energy, we decided on something simple.

Caprese salad with heirloom tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil topped with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Via Elisa ricotta & spinach ravioli with tomato sauce.

The dinner table (aka our coffee table) spread includes fresh sundried tomato and basil bread from Whole Foods Market.

Vanilla Gelato Mio for our dessert!

Whole Foods Market angel food cake with vanilla Gelato Mio and fresh strawberries - yum!

For more photos of our team taking the Eat Local Challenge, visit our flickr page.

Caryn Gets Local

So it was my night to take the Eat Local Challenge, and I was a little stressed. I knew I had to keep it simple if this dish was gonna survive my usual scatter-brained cooking style. I arrived at Whole Foods Market on Roswell Road and my eyes immediatedly went straight for all the signs that screamed "local!" I didn't really come with a plan in mind so I have to say I was a little overwhelmed. After scanning the store, I picked a few of my favorite items, got some great advice from Whole Foods employees and headed home to start cookin'.

Yellow Corn from Suwannee Valley Farms in Bainbridge, Georgia (above).

Broccoli Crowns from Rawls Farms in Lexington, South Carolina and Vidalia sweet onion from Antioch Farms in Claxton, Georgia (above).

Ground Chuck Sirloin from White Oak Pastures in Buffington, Georgia.

Here are the steps to my rediculously simple meal:

• We started out by boiling the corn for about 20 minutes. Once they were on the plate we added season salt and touch of spray butter to taste.


• We shaped the ground chuck into hamburger patties (mixed in season salt) and threw them on our tiny Foreman grill along with some rings of our Vidalia onion. We flipped them every five minutes until cooked all the way through.


• I sliced the tops of the broccoli off and placed into a saucepan with a half cup of water. Put it over medium heat for about 15 minutes, tossing around occasionally. Once they were on the plate we added salt and pepper.

Our finished product....

All in all, I felt good about my local meal. It was nice to know I could step in to any Whole Foods Market location and have tons of options for local products. My selections made a great dinner and I was happy that it was health-concious too! Check these pics and the rest MLA's dining adventures at out Flickr page!

Dinner at Tanai's Place

As the Eat Local Challenge made its way to my kitchen, all I knew was that whatever I made would have to be simple or I would be so focused cooking that I would forget to take photos. So, I headed to my local Whole Foods Market with a few of my favorite recipes in mind.

When I got to the store, I picked an abnormally large sweet potato from Haynes & Sons Farm in Cullman, AL; corn on the cob from Branch Farms of South GA; and a beautiful grass-fed flank steak from White Oak Pastures in Buffington, GA. (Yes, I know I am missing my leafy green, but hey, whadaya gonna do. At least it’s all local, right?) After I sat everything out, I admired my selections (right).

On the menu: Grilled flank steak with cinnamon sweet potatoes, and corn on the cob. This is what you’ll need:
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 teaspoon rosemary
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive Oil Cooking Spray

First, I preheated the oven to 450 degrees and cut the potato thin slices. Next, I melted the butter in the microwave and mixed with the brown sugar. I spread the potato slices evenly in a 9 inch pan and drizzled with the sugar butter. Then, I sprinkled with nutmeg, cinnamon and a dash of salt. I covered with aluminum foil and baked for 40 minutes, uncovered and baked for an additional 10 minutes.

The next step was the steak. After rinsing, I pat it dry and sprinkled with sea salt, pepper and rosemary. Next, I rubbed to make sure the seasoning was even on the meat. Then, I set it aside to come to room temperature (important for grass-fed beef).

When the potatoes were nearly complete, I removed the husks from the corn and boiled in lightly salted water(with a dollop of butter) and preheated my handy-dandy indoor grill to its hottest temperature.

Cooking with grass-fed beef is different from grain-fed. Click here for more details. I sprayed the grill with olive oil cooking spray then grilled the meat for about 6 minutes on each side (for medium).

Here’s the finished product (below).

Serve and enjoy. Simple and delish! Check out more shot of our team's Eat Local Challenge progress on our flickr page. Good luck!

Breakfast for Dinner

As Meryl posted yesterday, our office is taking the Eat Local Challenge that Whole Foods Market Buckhead has issued. This challenge is more than just eating local for me seeing as I am not good at cooking. I went over the few things that I know how to make in my head and decided on French toast. I was able to find all the ingredients at Whole Foods on my way home from work. The French bread is made fresh each day at the Buckhead location I visited and the eggs are from Latta Family Farm in Hillsborough, NC. The milk comes from Sparkman's Cream Valley made in Colquitt County, GA and my special last minute find were blackberries from The Orchard in Cross Plains, TN.


Since I'm not a cook, I don't know how to give the recipe. It was something taught to me when I was growing up so I just play it by ear. No measurements. Here is quick run down: crack one egg for every two pieces of toast, add some milk (but not too much) and top the batter off with cinnamon. See picture below. Soak both sides of the bread in the batter and cook on the skillet, medium heat. Continue adding cinnamon as needed. When finished top with powdered sugar, fruit and syrup. I usually have more patience and time to cook this for dinner, but French toast is also good for breakfast - enjoy! For more photos of our team participating in the Eat Local Challenge, go to our flickr page! Feel free to share your pictures with us. Just tag them with "atlwfm" and we'll find 'em.