Hi, and welcome to the new Slow Food South Texas blog, The Lunchbox Harvest! My name is Jason Gonzalez and I am an unabashed foodie, fitness enthusiast, supporter of local and homemade goods, and your new blogger! I’m in my early-30s, married and work in education, but that barely scratches the surface of who I am. What really drives me is my love of food, fitness, and DIY which I plan to bring together in this blog so you can see how easy it is to take locally sourced products and create a healthy, homemade meal. Each month, you’ll read about me and my wife, aka The Bride, as well as stories of my family and fitness life. I will feature a local farm or business in the food industry so we can help grow the South Texas food community!
Let me start with a confession: I hated vegetables or anything deemed “adventurous.” This was not for lack of trying on my parents’ part; I grew up in a household that enjoyed cooking and sharing food, including those dastardly vegetables. Mom would always try and sneak in veggies, but like an owl in the night, I could pick an onion out of any meal. Then college happened and the more I dated, the more I realized I was kind of embarrassed to order food the way my selective palate preferred. So just like many men before me, I did something to impress a girl, I ate sushi. Granted, I loved seafood, but raw? Then the magic happened, I actually really liked this new, crazy food! Fast forward a little over a decade and now there isn’t much I won’t try; I believe in trying everything twice, because it may have been done wrong the first time.
Nowadays, The Bride and I focus on buying most of our produce and proteins from one of the many local farmers’ markets and try to make as many components of our dishes from scratch. We firmly believe in buying local and having more control over what goes into your body. As a fitness enthusiast, fueling my body properly has changed my performance in the gym as well as in any competitions I take part in. Don’t get me wrong, I still love eating food that wouldn’t be considered “healthy,” but the key is always moderation. It’s with this viewpoint that I will write this blog; I want you all to see where our local food comes from and what you can do with it at home. I’ll post pictures of the farmers and their farms as well as feature a meal using those products.
Thanks for taking a minute to read a little about me and keep an eye out for my next post when I visit a local ranch that has some amazing products!
