Exceptions

Some hard-core 100-mile dieters are absolute purists. I am going to make a few concessions for our first go at this. Let’s face it – some things just don’t grow within 100 miles of Cleveland but are kind of necessary. Therefore, those few things will be allowed. After all, this isn’t so much about depriving my family as it is about demonstrating that it’s relatively simple to eat local.

Here’s what we’ll be consuming from outside a 100-mile radius:
- Coffee
- Dark chocolate (I.can’t.live.without.chocolate.)
- Olive oil & balsamic vinegar (for cooking and salads)
- Bananas and avocados for Evan (his developing brain and body need the nutrients from these guys)
- Alcohol (although we’ll try to drink mostly local wines and Great Lakes beer, which is a Cleveland beer. I contacted Great Lakes and found out that their ingredients are from an international supply chain, but the company gets the produce for its restaurant from local growers and is growing local hops for one of their beers this fall.)

We’ll also make exceptions to the 100-mile diet when we occasionally eat out and go on vacation this summer (although we’ll try to choose local foods if available).

Any thoughts/suggestions/substitutions for the items above that we may be able to get locally?