CHALLENGE: Clean eating from the corner market

Next week, I am challenging myself to shop only at one store--a little family-run place called Ken's Fruit Market, a mere half-mile from where we live.

Too often I hear or read of people who are hesitant to try clean eating because it requires "weird" ingredients, or things that can only be found at specialty grocery stores. My goal for the week, starting next Sunday the 16th, is to bust open that misconception by doing all of my clean-eating shopping at this no-frills corner market.

Ken's Fruit Market is not an organic grocer, a health food store, farmers' market, or co-op. It is, however, a local business run by, essentially, my neighbors. They stock quality produce, many canned foods and dry goods, and they have a fully operational meat counter with a delicious and not-always-mainstream selection.

For this week-long experiment, I will not rely on any health-food-store pantry acquisitions. I plan to create my week's worth of dinners using only what I buy at this local market, with the exception of my spice cabinet.

The recipes I will make all come from the January 2011 issue (Volume 4, Issue 1) of Clean Eating Magazine. The H will be out of town when I attempt this, giving me a chance to make things like curries and fish that he doesn't care for or cannot eat due to allergy. This will let me focus on my challenge of shopping at one store without altering the recipes to accommodate his needs.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I have a shopping list to make...