What am I talking about? Who eats office supplies? I do! I know, I know––it’s not the norm. But it’s one of the perks that comes with my work as a freelance food and health writer (with a memoir in the works), a cookbook author (with a new cookbook in the works), cooking instructor, blogger, and someone who plays with food, writes cookbook and product reviews and tests and develops recipes. When I’m buying food for my job, I can write it off as business expense (a deduction).(This works if you itemize your deductions, keep all of your receipts, and they’re legit, which mine are!)

On a weekly or monthly basis, I’m reading and reviewing cookbooks, creating, testing or tweaking recipes for upcoming cooking classes, cookbooks, magazine articles, and the like. Years ago I coined the term, because it seemed so fitting and fun! I have to shop for non-edible office supplies––but the edibles are my favorites to hunt for (and gather) at local farmers’ markets, Trader Joe’s, Sprouts, a Whole Foods Market, or a fish market or butcher shop.

Since I often shoot pictures of what I buy, cook, and eat the food for that counts too! It’s an expense required for the running the business, product development, marketing, and promotion. The write offs help offset some of the many unpaid hours I put in.

Yesterday was a day to shop for such supplies. I’d used up what I had in my fridge after getting back from a fabulously fun three and a half days at PrimalCon Oxnard in California (my fifth one, and counting!). I needed more materials for recipes I wanted to test, tweak, and photograph this week. So I went to my local Farmer’s Market for the return of former pharmacist turned organic farmer, Bob McClendon of McClendon’s Select Citrus. They sell more than just citrus. Here is one of his winter or spring selections (our seasons for food are totally different from most).

I bought some lovely purple eggplants to cook in my counter top griddler (Tony Federico, author of Paleo Grilling: A Modern Caveman’s Guide to Cooking with Fire, pardon my use of the waffle-iron type “grill” right now). I bought a small amount of okra (to roast) with herbs and spices, fresh parsley (to mix with fresh mint for paleo pesto) and cilantro to add to guacamole and salads. I want to photograph as much of this as I can and use some of the shots to promote my work.

I went to Trader Joe’s (photo right) and Fresh & Easy (also photo right). The bacon, butter, and veggies really are “all in the line of duty!” (I have some amazingly fun duties!) I promise to share the recipes with you in my new book! 😉

I rarely go to Fresh & Easy but I wanted to try a line of eggs from The Happy Egg Co. Since Celia Petersen of Chile Acres wasn’t back at the market (I led a handful of cooking classes for her gifted students before she retired from teaching), I thought I’d try something other than the omega-3 eggs I usually buy as a back up or for cooking and baking.(Celia, I hope you’re back at the market next week!)

Happy eggs? They come from farms that allow the hens to run freely, jump (do chickens really jump??) and play (I think chickens play!) outdoors in the open air.

I’m pretty happy and healthier when I’m free ranging on a hiking or walking trail in the great outdoors or playing in a pool during an aqua fit class, so why wouldn’t my food be?

I’m assuming the hens are also given access to bugs, worms, and grubs that they can turn into long chain omega-3s that we human’s can’t get from kale, flax or hemp seeds. (The conversion rate of LNA into EPA and DHA is very low in humans and lower still if they’re eating a lot of omega 6 fatty acids, which most modern people are). We’re best off getting EPA and DHA from oily, deep ocean fish, 100% grassfed meats, pasture-raised eggs and dairy (with the fat intact), and fish oi (although this isn’t as good as whole food sources).

The other eggs are for baking (low-carb stuff) and recipe testing Angeled Eggs (better than the devilish kind!). I have designs on the fish, olive oil, and unsweetened nut milk too. The almond milk will go into some low-carb, ketogenic (MCT-rich) chocolate milk and hot cocoa! Recipe to follow on my blog…at some point.

If you’re running a business, you’ve got your usual office supplies and perhaps even some unusual ones, like me. I know what I make with them will taste good; the question is ill my photos do them justice? If so, you’ll see them. If not, well, back to the table.

Subscribe to my blog to find out!

Okay, back to some of my other work.