I eat meat. And when I say that, I mean quite often. Nearly every night, my roommate and I are usually grilling some sort of pork chop, broiling some sort of steak, or cutting up chicken for some sort of stir fry. When I received this assignment, I didn't know what I was going to do with myself. Eating my glorious corn-fed animals was out of the picture, and I couldn't just heat up some Chef Boyardee and call it good. I had to find some alternative, and instead of heading over to the Co-op or Huckleberry's, I ended up trying to find something that wouldn't (possibly) break my bank.
As I pondered where to search first, sitting upon my comfy, worn leather recliner, a bottle of beer to my side, my phone rang. On the other end was a good buddy of mine, asking if I wanted to come help him harvest his plot at the Community Garden. This was perfect: harvest his plot, acquire part of his plot. I agreed, and within ten minutes, I was getting out of the car at the garden, and pulling vegetables. The tomatoes were huge. The onions were enormous. I pulled enough carrots and squash to feed a small village. We left after harvesting half of the plot, and the backseat of his Accord was stacked with organic, non-treated vegetables. I was able to take however many items that I could fit in my two arms and carry up the stairs to my humble abode. I know this defeats the purpose of the assignment, with the going out and buying everything without corn products in it, but 1) it was free food and 2) these onions were not eating corn mush from their own trough. But I also see how this, and my whole week diet, are dependent on the time of year. For example, this style of Corn-Free eating is quite hard during winter, unless I get my veggies from some super market where who knows what the fertilizer was.
Saturday came around, and my buddy called me yet again, asking if I wanted to head to the Saturday Market downtown. Well of course I did, then I could actually find out how much my week of organic Vegan eating could cost me. The stands were full of fresh veggies and fruits; boxes overflowing with them. Then I found the pepper stands, and I was in my zone. My first purchase were a pound of Jalapeno's ($3.00) from this nice Elderly woman who even let me have a taste of a raw one before I gave her my money. Delicious. I moved on, walking from tent to tent, and found some Heirloom Sweet Onions laid out, looking gigantic. Grabbed a bundle of them ($3.75) and left. Next, I found some Mellow Star peppers, bought a pound of them ($3.50) and got another sample. And then I found myself a head of lettuce even ($4.00) I never really thought about shopping at this market, but I have realized how great it is. 
Vegetables are great to have and all, but I like myself a fair share of candy, and needed something for my sweet tooth. The fruit at this market was magnificent. Peaches bigger than my fist ($2.00), apples of all shades ($3.00) and some pineapple($5.00) that I definitely was not grown from around here. Well, I bought all three, but I am not eating the pineapple this week. I don't know what mysteries hide within that thing.
With my hands full of plastic bags, I walked back home, and laid everything out. Every fruit, every veggie looked damn good. But with each thing I looked at, a steak I had frozen in my freezer would have made it a lot better. But it is now Monday, Day 5 of this week long diet, and I honestly have been eating pretty well. Altogether, I spent $24.25 for the week out of my pocket, and still have enough food for another week and a half. I personally do not eat breakfast, but I have had a peach or an apple, and a salad for nearly every lunch, and have sauteed onions together with a variety of peppers for dinner every night. The problem with that is that I have been using seasonings that may or may not contain some sort of Corn-based product. Many of them have homemade labels on them, since they end up getting removed for God knows why. Oh well, I have not used too much. I should have went out to the Co-op or somewhere to pick up some other stuff, but well, it has been interesting to try out this Vegetarian sort of lifestyle. I enjoy it, but I know within a couple of days, I will be tearing open those Ziploc bags I have stocked in my freezer, thawing out some precious Winco pork and eating a ham steak full of corn. How about you? Will you go back to normal, or stay away from these corn products?
So the main thing I am noticing (both in your blog and the rest of the members of the group) is the reliance on vegetables. I can see why this seems like the obvious way to avoid corn, but what about other more common products. After all, i doubt anyone is going to strictly become a vegetarian over fear of corn. I found that there are still plenty of meat products to be found that do not contain corn. At the Co Op, i found meats that were guaranteed from grass grazing animals. Can you think of any other local spots you may find grass fed meat?
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