“Frugavores make the most of what they have, supports best practices in farming, wastes nothing, and grows their own food when they can.”
Frugavore by Arabelle Forge
I picked this book up soon after it came to my department with a batch of new books. The coworker who shares the office with me is in charge of creating a Spring Garden Series every March through May. Every year she tries likes to update the collection with new books, which is great for me especially with regards to my 2012 goal of becoming a locavore and my life goal of living healthier. My family has always labeled me the most frugal of the bunch. In truth I believe I waste quite a bit, especially when I read a self-proclaimed frugal person’s blog and see some of the “resourcefulness” people are capable of. But it’s true I am more willing to use something till it’s broken beyond repair and squeeze the last bit of whatever till it has no more to give. So picking up this book I thought it would be a great weekend read. And I was not disappointed.
Arabella Forge’s Frugavore is an excellent primer for anyone looking to think differently about their consumption. It’s not a thick book so don’t expect her to cover every single thought or resource out there but she doesn’t point you on many great paths of discovery. She also breaks down a lot of the labels and subgroups that are making up the forever growing food movement. Before this book I had never heard of groups like ‘Slow Food’ (anti fast food), Localism (buy food produced locally), organic, biodynamic, and so on. I didn’t know the difference between some people who consider themselves locavores based on the environment impact and those who call themselves the same thing but do it for health reasons. She breaks the book down into different arenas like The Frugavore Kitchen, Stocking your Pantry, Veggie Patch, etc, and shares great recipes to help you take full advantage of personal gardens, community gardens, local farms and farmer markets.
The point of the book is to take a note from the past and see how efficient and frugal generations were before us and realize that they had a life full of wonderfully tasty food and wasted nothing. This book has inspired me in many ways to reconsider I approach my time in the kitchen and I’m so glad it was my first book on this new journey.