Are you interested in a Slow Food lifestyle?

While we are in no way representative of: Slow Food International™ , or Slow Food USA™ , or any aspect of the “Slow-Food Movement”, we couldn’t have a discussion of slow and wholesome dining without mentioning “Slow - Food”.

Customers have asked

Many of our customers and associates strive to maintain a “Slow Food Lifestyle”. In our business, we are often asked questions about the Slow Food Movement, and if we are aware of it, or participate with any of their programs.

We participated in the 2004 Terra Madre,

In 2004 we were invited, through the Allan Savory Center for Holistic Management to participate in, the Terra Madre ; an international gathering, in Turin, Italy, of people throughout the world who have a vested interest in sustainable and regional food production as well as artisan foods.

What is the “Slow Food” movement?

Though the term “Slow Food Movement” has different meaning to different people, it is primarily a philosophy. The movement began in Italy and France in the 1990’s in response to a trend that certain Europeans perceived as a food crisis. Many saw cause for deep concern about the pervasive emergence of the fast food industry throughout Europe and the industrialization of their food supply.

Europeans take their food very seriously

The people of Europe still take their dining and cuisine very seriously, making the production, distribution, preparation, and consumption of food the fabric through which the strands of their very culture and economy are woven throughout day to day life.

This is in contrast to the U.S. food economy, culture, and lifestyle that so many Americans have grown accustomed to, which is mostly faceless and nameless, if not soul-less. In short, Slow Food is the philosophy and its implementation of those who want to maintain and preserve their own food culture, whether it is in Europe, Africa, Asia, or southern Colorado, and see it as a far healthier alternative to the overall industrialization of food.

Information, education, and connection

The Slow Food movement seeks to inform and educate people about the benefits of consciously connecting with the food that they consume on a daily basis, and having an awareness of its origin and quality, with superb enjoyment of its benefits and delights.

How can every day consumers consciously connect with their food?

By knowing where their food comes from! Many in the slow food movement enjoy purchasing local food from local producers and markets when and where they can. When buying as many regionally produced products as possible, one has the opportunity to experience and feel a part of the people, landscape, and the natural world that provides the food they consume, thus enabling a much deeper and meaningful connection to the Earth, than was previously known, through conscious intent.

How can I adopt a slow food lifestyle when my time is stretched so thin and my life is so fast-paced?

It’s easier than one might think, and in fact, by living a slow-food lifestyle, some have found that they reduce their stress load, because they are spending less money and more time at home with their families, while taking better care of their health.

With a little bit of planning, some deliberate shopping, and food storage capability, anyone can quickly and easily fix themselves a good, hearty, delicious and nutritious meal at any time from their own pantry.

With caches of frozen meat, dairy, vegetables, and good pre-made food, combined with stored roots, grains, beans, canned goods, oils, and herbs there is always access to a wide variety of foods to choose from to make a meal.

Shopping weekly or biweekly for fresh dairy, available produce, and perhaps good bread or tortillas, in combination with the stored food, provides the opportunity to conveniently prepare your own wonderful cuisine for a conscious and fulfilling eating experience on a daily basis, with minimal expenditure of time and effort.

Be willing to pay for quality

Expect to spend less money, but not to pay commercial prices for premium food! There is a reason that our food chain was industrialized to the point that it is. It’s cheaper! (However, that cheapness does not factor in many hidden societal, conomic, and environmental cost). Local producers who sell directly to the public do not have the ability, nor would you want them to if you are reading this, to operate at such a large scale that they could afford to have the small profit margins that the larger industrial food chain giants realize. The meat packers can generate revenue off of the byproducts from a steer, while those same byproducts, for the local processor, have to be permitted and paid to dispose of, as there is no local, industrial use for them.

So please know that the profit margins are very different between commercially raised, feedlot beef, and grass-fed beef. It costs more to raise antibiotic, hormone free, grass fed beef, than it does to raise beef on grain in a feed lot, in large concentrations, that’s why hormones and antibiotics became the industry standard.

You will still save money by eating at home, but please be willing to pay for quality; you wouldn’t expect to buy a BMW for the price of a Ford Taurus!

Sign up below to obtain a free E-Guide entitled: Slow and Wholesome Dining, to obtain useful information on how you can adopt slow food living priciples into your every day, busy life.

We're extremely busy too! But with just a little effort it is so easy to eat well, at home, most of the time, resulting feeling better and spending less.

In our guide we let you in on easy ways to have good food available all of the time, for quick and easy preparation, and incorporating the necessary steps into your busy lives.

Sign up here to receive free E-guide "Slow and Wholesome Dining"

"The closest and deepest connection that we have to the Earth and its life force is in the nourishment and nurturing that comes from the food that we take into our bodies daily.” Cathy McNeil

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