A Gut Check Moment

Alright, I’m sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly of this project. Today was pretty ugly for a while.I REALLY wanted to quit this whole project, but I’m sticking in there. Thanks to everyone for their support and encouragement. Without all of you, I don’t think I’d make it.
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Week 1 Update + An Invitation to Dig In!

Well, I’ve lived through 7 whole days on this project! Last night I took advantage of the great weather to go out on my deck and record an update video. I tried to answer most of the frequently asked questions I’ve been getting. If I left anything off, please let me know and I’ll try to address them during the Week 2 update.

Dig In! at Blandford This Sunday
I also want to let everyone know that I’ll be stopping by the Dig In! event at Blandford Nature Center this Sunday. This is going to be a really fun event. From their website:

You’ll see real horse-drawn plows working the land, and have a chance to participate in projects to support our first youth and community-based growing season in 20 years. In addition to meeting our youth participants, you can learn all about our upcoming summer program on the farm, and ways you can get involved. Activities include planting seeds, spring ecology tours, lessons for kids connected to nature and food, hiking, picnic areas, and a Homestead Day in our historic buildings.

If you’d like to meet me in person, I’ll be volunteering from approximately 1-4:30pm.

I’m Going to be on Mitch Albom Tonight!

This is short notice, but I just found out I’m going to be interviewed on Mitch Albom’s radio show tonight. Ahh!!!! The good news is, Mitch is a really nice guy (he wrote Tuesdays With Morrie) so I don’t think he’ll ask me any scary questions. He also is really involved in the Detroit nonprofit community, so he knows how this whole fundraising thing works.

If anyone would like to listen, I’ll be on at 5:58 Eastern time on WJR AM 760 from Detroit. You can listen on the Internet at their Listen Live page.

Wish me luck!

Update: People have asked if this interview is available online. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find it. If anyone else has better luck, please let me know in the comments.

The interview went well. Mitch seemed much more interested in what I could possibly be eating than the fundraising aspect of this, which was a little disappointing, but overall I was happy with the interview.

Dandelions – The Dirty Truth

I had grand plans to make a video of me foraging for dandelions this weekend. Unfortunately, I only had time to go out on Saturday and the rain foiled my plans. I picked a good amount anyway and decided that I would share the muddy dandelion cleaning process with all of you.

I also had a chance to look up the nutritional information on dandelions. Did you know 1 cup of raw greens has 112% of the RDA of Vitamin A? Read more about the incredible, edible weed at NutritionData.com.

Rice, Beans & Mixed Greens in the Grand Rapids Press!

I’m excited and really happy to say that this little experiment was featured in the Grand Rapids press today. My thanks to Beth Loechler for interviewing me, and for Paul, the photographer who tromped through mud and rain to take the photo. Also, of course, thanks to Angela and Sarah for helping me find some wild leeks and for posing with me!

See the story here: Dollar-a-day dining shows difficulty of eating healthy on tight budget.