Tis The Season
22 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
At home I serve the kind of food I know the story behind.~Michael Pollan
Can you hear it? No I haven’t jumped ahead 8 months and hear Jingle Bells. What I do hear is the emergence of fresh fruits and veggies, bursting forth in this glorious Spring, ready for the picking and eating.
Spring cleaning can also apply to your eating habits and what better time to make some changes and clean up your diet. In the next couple of weeks, farmers markets everywhere will be opening up and selling their first round of fresh produce.
Yes I know the grocery stores keep produce in stock year round but did you miss my words, “fresh produce”. Not put on a ship or trucked thousands of miles to a destination far, far away. These are your neighbors, your local farmers who are working hard to grow the best produce and bring it as close to your door as they can. And the taste, there is just no comparison between a red bell pepper grown in my North Carolina soil and one grown in Mexico.
So what is the issue in supporting our local farmers? I think the answer lies in convenience, it’s easy to stop by the grocery store and pick up what we need quickly. (Let me add a little sidebar here, yes grocery stores are doing a better job in buying more local produce so I didn’t want you to think I’m against grocery stores.)
To go to the farmers market requires a little more time and planning but the rewards are wonderful.
Last year it was my Saturday morning adventure, stocking up at the farmers market. What I quickly gained, besides the great food I bought, was a weekly relationship with all of the farmers and vendors at the market. I knew where their farms were, what they were planting, how they tended their crops and what I could look forward to next week. I got some great advice, good conversations and really got to know the people in my community. And most of all I got really fresh food!
This year my husband and I decided to join a CSA (community supported agriculture) where 5 farms have joined together to bring their best to their CSA members.
Plateful CSA consists of farmers who raise and harvest their own vegetables, fruits, meats and eggs while taking care of the Earth. Each week we pick up our share comprised of a meat, 1 dozen eggs, veggies and/or fruit. These farmers are part of our community also and we want to support them along with the farmers at the market.
What about the cost? Well I can tell you from my own experience that each Saturday I would spend approximately $20.00 at the farmers market and have at least two bags full of produce. The cost of our CSA share each week averages out to $35.00. For the total price of $55.00 per week we eat much healthier, keep our money in our community and help keep our family farms alive.
Now what are you waiting for?
Do something for yourself that will improve your eating habits, which in turn will improve your health while supporting farmers in your community. Join a CSA or make weekly trips to the farmers market, knowing that you are making a difference in yourself, your community and Mother Earth.
Spread the word, tell your friends about supporting local farmers and start your own “food story”. Get to know your farmers, how they raise the food that goes on your table while taking care of the Earth. The story makes the food taste so much better.
I would love to hear about your trips to your farmers market, the CSA you belong to or comments about your favorite local farmers. Bon appetit!
photo credit: Chiot’s Run via photopin cc
War Of Words
10 Apr 2012 6 Comments
in Good Energy
Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning.
Maya Angelou
I have been bombarded by words lately; beautiful ones, grammatically correct ones, encouraging ones, ugly ones and difficult ones. All of them affect me in different ways, ranging from loving the words to disagreeing with the words to embracing the words. Some of these words are mine, some are not but all have an impact on my life and the lives of others.
When we choose the words we want to say, do we think about the impact? More
Stepping Outside The Box
02 Apr 2012 2 Comments
in Making Simple Changes in Your Life
“I have created a life by stepping out of the box of people’s limitations. I call it zigging when others are zagging.” ~Oprah
You have spring cleaned your closet, put some of your past to rest and realigned the priorities in your life, so now what? What would happen if you “stepped outside the box” and did something that you really didn’t think you could do?
Sometimes when we do all of “life’s housekeeping” we stop the momentum in mid-stream, thinking that we are done, sitting back and waiting for good things to happen. But are we really done? Why did we create all of this space if not to pursue something we crave and never had the courage to do? More
Saying Goodbye
26 Mar 2012 4 Comments
Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending. ~Lazurus Long
Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened. ~Theodor Seuss Geisel
It’s almost over, done and finished. In the art of ending and our continued theme of “letting go” I’m finishing up a long standing volunteer board position. How does it feel? Good, sad and it’s time. More
Spring Cleaning Your Stuff
12 Mar 2012 6 Comments
in Making Simple Changes in Your Life
“Think about any attachments that are depleting your emotional reserves. Consider letting them go.”
~Oprah Winfrey
After last week’s post of letting go of the past to move forward with your life, I thought I would continue with that theme of “letting go” and talk about letting go of your stuff. It’s amazing how stuck we get when we are trying to let go of not only the past but the physical things that might be attached to that past. Case in point, a couple of my friends and readers of this blog were upset about the subject last week, as in, “Did you really have to write this now?” complimented with an eye roll or two. Yes, it’s hard as I said last week but the more you pursue letting go the easier it becomes. So let’s keep that ball rolling by seeing what physical stuff we can get rid of too. More
