Community Supported Agriculture

Last summer my husband and I took a trip to visit some family in North Carolina. While we were there Aunt B (who is a healthy food/life loving lady after my own heart) took me to an enormous farmer's market and to her weekly CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) pick up. At this time I had no idea what a CSA was. We pulled into a gravel driveway and parked in front of a small "hole in the wall" building that most likely has had many purposes over the years. Although it was in major need of repairs it was fully functioning as a small grocery store of sorts. You could purchase the essentials; bulk herbs, spices, dry goods such as grains, nuts and dried fruit, eggs, milk in a glass bottle, produce and some other miscellaneous items. An elderly gentleman ran the store. He was also a CSA farmer.  He gave Aunt B a box full of beautiful produce and we were on our way.


I learned the idea behind CSA is that you buy a share in a local farm and in turn get local, seasonal and many times organic "farm to table" produce. Community members pledge to support a local farm by purchasing the shares early on in the season. This allows the farmers to have a lump sum of money up front so they can purchase seeds, green house materials and other needed items for the farm. It also ensures that the farm will have a guaranteed number of customers throughout the season. Each week the share holder goes to the farm and picks up a box of fruits, vegetables, eggs, etc. My pick up is 16-20 weeks depending on the growing season. I am sure the number of pick ups varies from farm to farm. It really is a genius idea. The concept is new to me, but apparently has been popular for over 20 years!


This is what my ONE person CSA fruit, vegetable and egg share looks like. 

Half dozen eggs, green onions, carrots, rhubarb, asparagus, broccoli, red leaf lettuce, kale, strawberries, basil, green beans and spinach. 

And yes, we actually go through all of this in one week! I plan our weekly meals around what is in the box.

If I went to the grocery store and bought the same organic produce I would probably spend $40-50. I figured that through the CSA all of this cost me about 20 bucks!

I think we can all agree that supporting small, local farms and local economy is the right thing to do. However, have you ever thought that buying grocery store produce could be the wrong thing to do? When you purchase produce from a large grocery store you lose the ability to know:


1. Where it came from. Other than the little sticker that tells you its from Mexico you have no idea where it is grown
2. Who the farmer is and if he/she participates in sustainable farming practices
3. If the farm workers are treated/paid fairly, etc.


Did you know that your produce also loses nutritional value when it is purchased from a traditional grocery store? Think about it...if is grown in another country or even another state that fruit or vegetable has to be harvested before it is at has reached its peak ripeness so it can travel across the country or world and arrive at your grocery store without being over-ripe. 


Check out these resources to learn more.


Food Miles: How far Your Food Travels has Serious Consequences 


To find a CSA in your area or to learn more about CSA click here


The moral of the story is to buy truly fresh, local, sustainable produce. It is good for small farms. It is good for the local economy. It is good for YOU!

-Shanny

Eating to Prevent Acne

I have struggled with acne since I was in 9th grade. Later in my teen years I got fed up and went to a very well known dermatologist in town because isn't that what you should do when you have skin problems? They told me I had hormonal acne, put me on prescriptions, and sent me out the door. I took the prescriptions for a few years. Then I started being really interested and concerned about everything that I was putting in my body including medications. I decided that the long term side effects and harm I was doing to my body wasn't worth it and I quit taking the prescriptions.  At this time I was already eating a pretty healthy, organic diet so I never thought diet could be what was causing it. For goodness sakes I bought wheat berries and grind my own flour to make homemade bread...what could be bad about that? A few months after all of the medications were out of my system my face went nuts and I discovered that I had worse skin as a 24 year old than I did as a 14 year old. After a few months of being really embarrassed of my terrible skin I went on a search bound and determined to find a natural way to solve my problem. I came across The Oil Cleansing Method and tired it for a few weeks. It didn't work. I tried expensive high quality face washes and spot treatments. They didn't work either. Discouraged and at the end of my rope I was ready to go back to the dermatologist.  I thought I would research the internet one last time because I really think the majority of our society's health problems can be solved naturally. When searching I found website after website recommending to cut out wheat, dairy and sugar from your diet to prevent acne. Since I had nothing to lose I went for it. I did a two day acne detox followed by a three day whole body cleanse to rid my body of all the garbage and toxins. In the picture below the top left picture was taken the day before I started the detox while I was still eating whatever I wanted. The bottom left picture was taken on the last day of the cleanse. You can see the within just five days my face started to heal dramatically with no new zits forming. After these five days I started to incorporate small amounts of dairy, wheat, and sugar individually to see what my body could tolerate. I found that for me dairy is the the biggest culprit followed by wheat and then sugar.  Even when I ate small amounts my face would break out again and have an even worse reaction than before since my body wasn't used to it. I vowed to cut them out for good because nothing is worth eating that makes me look and feel like crap. Plus I found that when I ate something I shouldn't it would take my skin just a couple days to react but almost two weeks to heal.  The picture to on the right is from yesterday after 3 weeks of being dairy, wheat, and sugar free. Below are some links that explain more about why dairy, wheat and sugar cause problems. You can get an idea of what I do eat from previous blog posts and am happy to answer any questions.


Skin Sinners-Foods that aggravate acne
Skin Savers- Foods to help reduce acne
How does food influence acne
Five foods that cause acne


After much contemplation of whether or not to post this... here is the before during and after picture.

I can't forget to mention that I no longer use harsh salicylic acid cleansers or have to wear a ton of makeup. In the morning exfoliate my face by scrubbing really good it with a soapy wash cloth. In the evening I was my face with a plain organic bar soap then rub 1/4 teaspoon of extra virgin organic coconut  oil over my face. I was freaked out about putting oil on my already super oily face too, but coconut oil has anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and antiseptic properties. It's amazing how well my pores absorb it. I don't even wake up with an oily face. Read more about coconut oil for health skin here.

Thanks for reading!

-Shanny

Black Bean Brownies

A few weeks ago while I was at Whole Foods wanted something sweet after drooling over their amazing bakery items. Unfortunately, I had to pull myself away since all of those yummy items have wheat and dairy in them which I no longer can have. I headed to the gluten free frozen bakery section to find something to satisfy my craving thinking that surely gluten free varieties would have options I could eat. After reading the label on every brownie, cheesecake, cookie and cupcake I almost cried. Although they didn't have wheat ingredients every single yummy thing had dairy and loads of sugar in it. I left very sad thinking that I would never be able to eat dessert again which is what I live for! Thankfully I found an amazing brownie recipe that is wheat, dairy and sugar free with an surprising main ingredient....black beans. I know, I thought the same thing when I read it."Beans in brownies? How could that ever taste good?" Since my options are very limited I took the chance and made a batch. Much to my surprise they were some of the best brownies I have ever ate and super easy to make!

Here is what you will need:

1 can Eden Organic black beans (Eden is the only company that offers beans in non-toxic BPA-free cans)
¾ cup Rapadura, coconut sugar OR 1/3 cup honey
2 Tbsp. coconut oil plus a little extra for the pan
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 eggs (local and free range are best)
1-½ Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 pinch sea salt
walnuts, previously soaked and drained

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2.  Drain and rinse beans very well then rinse again to make sure ALL of the bean liquid is gone. The last thing you want are brownies that actually tate like beans! 

3.  In your Vitamix or blender, add rinsed and drained beans, sweetner that you choose above, coconut oil, cocoa powder, eggs, vanilla and salt. 

4.  Blend until well mixed and smooth. The batter will be thin.
5.  Grease an a 8″x8″ baking dish with coconut oil.
6.  Pour batter into dish.
7.  Top with walnuts or other topping.

8. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top and sides are set, and the insides are just a little soft.

9.  Enjoy while it is still warm and oh so yummy!

Original recipe from Small Footprint Family

-Shanny