The past week was the busiest I've had in a while. A confluence of meetings, social events and projects made for a series of late nights and early mornings— and even when I was thinking about food, cooking it became an afterthought. At home, and in my packed lunches, I managed to keep up with my local eating, but I had at least six events outside the home that involved meals. Meals that it would have been rude or severely inconvenient to pass up for a pyrex full of pre-cooked local kale and pork chop. Some of those non-local meals I ate unapologetically— the ones cooked by friends or family, or the well-deserved dinner out— while others, like the bland catered lunch meetings, I wish I could take back. This division really underscores my goals with the Eat Local Challenge: I never meant to make myself feel guilty for eating outside the home, but rather to make as many of my meal choices consciously as possible... and sometimes, schedules interfere with even that.

Unfortunately, this coming week looks just as busy as the last. I wish I could say that I was going to manage to carve out some time to make something really delectable, but I am seeing a lot of quick meals and eating out in my future, especially since I'll be traveling for a couple days this week. Still, when it comes to the food that comes into my house, I'll be keeping it local!