Whole 30: Day 19 – Eat Local in Cayman
One of the biggest things eating real foods, Whole 30, and Paleo has taught me is the importance of eating local foods.
Local foods are fresher, last longer, support local farmers, have more nutrients than imported food items, and can sometimes be cheaper.
In the Cayman Islands, due to our climate and soil, we can’t possibly grow every produce out there so we do import quite a bit. However, in the last few years there has been an increase in the support of the produce we actually can and do grow locally, and more and more individuals are purchasing these items. Many have praised these local items and say not only do these local food items taste better, but last longer than the imported ones of its kind.
Currently, the Farmer’s Market at Camana Bay on Wednesdays, a few farmers that come back to Camana Bay on Saturdays, the Farmer’s Market by the Cricket Field and the Agricultural Grounds on Saturday mornings are the best places and times to meet with the farmers and purchase local food items.
Many of these farmers offer local items such as:
- Eggs
- Fruits (papayas, mangoes when in season, etc)
- Coconuts (fresh coconuts, coconut oil and water as well)
- Plantains, Butternut squash, Okra, Sweet Peppers, Tomatoes, Limes/Lemons, Long Green Beans
- Leafy Greens (Kale, Spicy Lettuce, Spring Salad Mix, Calaloo, Spinach, etc.)
- Fresh Lobster and Local Chickens
- Cayman Honey
- Fresh juices
- Cayman Pepper Jelly and Local jerk sauces
- And so much more!
Also, many grocery stores here in Cayman are catching on to the local movement as well! Foster’s, Kirk Market, and Hurley’s all have local produce of some sort and carry many of the produce and meat kind above regularly. Therefore, if you can’t make it to the Farmer’s Market or Agricultural Grounds, look for local items in the grocery stores.
Here’s a list of some Caymanian companies who produce awesome local products:
- Island Fresh – Cucumbers, Leafy Greens, Tomatoes, Sweet Peppers, etc.
- Healthy Alternatives – Mainly Coconut Oil
- Beach Bubbles – Cosmetics and Beauty Products (great lotions!)
- Cayman Scents – Handmade soaps and candles ht
- Cayman Pepper Patch– Cayman Pepper Jelly!
- Drink Fresh Juices – AMAZING fresh juices
- Got Eggs? – Great local eggs
- Cayman Honey – By Ottlo Walter (saw it in Kirk Market the other day!)
- Cayman Island’s Sauce Company
- Caribo’s Sausages – Sausage made locally!
This local post was inspired by my breakfast of local calaloo, local eggs with Niman Ranch Andouille sausage, local sweet peppers, onions, mushrooms, and coconut oil. I looked at my plate and was just in awe of how good the food looked and how flavorful it was. If it wasn’t for my wonderful mentor and partner in this wellness journey, Nicole Crance, who introduced me to local foods, I wouldn’t have been able to have that breakfast today.
Nikki has a deep passion for whole foods and their quality, as well as for fitness (she’s a Crossfit Coach at Crossfit Cayman – look out for a guest blog post by her in the upcoming weeks on her Crossfit and Health Journey :). Furthermore, Nikki wrote a great article on her blog in March about eating locally here in Cayman, and has given me permission to share the article with you all!
Please click the link here and take a read of her article! It’s very informative and inspiring.
I hope this blog (and Nikki’s) encouraged and inspired you to not only eat locally, but to think deeper about the quality of the food you are putting into your body. Don’t worry about transitioning everything to local or organic right now. The idea is to take one step at a time towards better health and food ingredients.
I CHALLENGE you this week to pick one local item from above, the Farmer’s market or grocery store, and then pick the regular/imported one of it’s kind. Taste them and compare! I can promise you that the local one will last longer and taste better in the end 🙂
And guess what? Tomorrow’s Saturday meaning that the Cayman Agricultural Grounds will have local farmers, and a couple farmers will be at Camana Bay selling some of the goodies above!
So, I’ll be there at Camana Bay tomorrow morning, will you? 🙂
Here’s to 19 days of local food, internal healing, and journeying together. 11 more days to go!
