Articles archived for May 2011
Hi, y’all!
This is a guest post from my friend, Jeremy Day. I’ve enjoyed his writing for quite some time now and feel very honored that he’s sharing his thoughts on buying local produce with us.
I won’t keep you waiting. Give Jeremy a warm welcome!
Why Buy Local Produce – A Guide To Taking The Plunge
By Jeremy Day
So you’ve been thinking about buying local produce, but haven’t taken the plunge? To be honest, it can be difficult to eat all your food locally, if not downright impossible. But there are many reasons, and many ways to start buying and eating more local produce today.
First, the reasons…
1. When was the last time you ate something freshly picked off the plant? I can still remember the taste of the strawberries we used to grow on my parents property. They were so good and so full of flavor. If anything, this should be your biggest motivation for eating more local produce.
2. Buying local produce saves a lot on transportation costs. By some estimates, food will travel on average up to 1,500 miles before it gets on your plate. Imagine how much less we would really on oil if food didn’t have to travel that far.
3. Local produce has more nutrients in it. The longer it is off the vine, the more nutrients it will lose. The only exception to the rule is produce that is flash frozen. And if it’s frozen it is costing even more to keep it frozen when it is transported.
4. By getting to know the farmers that grow your food you are building a better sense of community. I think we can agree that we all benefit by being more knowledgeable about how food gets onto our plate, and into our bellies.
5. What might be the most important thing about buying local is keeping more dollars in your community. The more money that stays in your community the better off your community will be.
Now for some ways you can buy local…
1. You can buy direct from your farmer. Hopefully you have a farmer close by.
2. You can go through what is called a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program. The way these basically work is that you buy “shares” in a farm earlier in the year. As the farmer harvests his crops he will send the first fruits to those who own shares in his farm. You normally will receive a box every week of the freshest produce in your area.
3. If your area is lucky enough to have one you can also visit your local farmer’s market. This is a way to get an even larger variety of produce, and other things people are wanting to sell. Specifically you can get baked goods, honey, and other things you might not get directly from a single farm. And it will all be goods made from local products and as you may know, local honey can be helpful with allergies.
4. Food coops have become pretty popular as well. These are basically a store owned by everyone who has a share in it, and it basically cuts out the middleman. So you get the best local produce and products at a more reasonable cost.
5. Finally there are many delivery services popping up around the nation to have fresh local produce delivered to your door. These may cost a little more, but people sure love the convenience of getting local produce delivered to them.
So there you have it. All the reasons and ways for you to start buying more local produce today. Since summer is almost upon us this is a great time to start looking at all the local produce you have access to.
Just remember when buying local produce that you double check if it is organic or not. While the majority of it tends to be organic, you still have to ask.
In any case, have fun finding the best local produce in your area.
Jeremy writes about local business news at Lokolee.com. If you love supporting local business, then Lokolee is the place to be.
Thank you, Jeremy!
Okay, y’all. What do you think? Do you buy local produce? Chime in and make Jeremy feel welcome!
Photo Credit: Lori L. Stalteri
Hi, y’all!
How’ve ya been doing? I know you probably thought Raw Juice Girl “flew the coop” but I didn’t. I’ve just been busy as a little worker bee doing all sorts of cool stuff – including gardening and writing about gardening!
I’ve also been hunting for treasures (which I’ve found!) for unique container gardening. I’m so excited to be growing yummy goodies to eat. Not only is gardening fun and healthy exercise, it’s rawsome to be able to eat produce you’ve grown yourself.
First up, is an old wheelbarrow that was full of junk. I knew right away it was a treasure that could be filled with rich soil and that it would make a wonderful home for produce of some sort.
Now that I think about it, strawberries would have loved living here, but pepper plants it was: cayenne, jalapeño, and sweet bell peppers to be exact. 
Before
After
Note two things:
- The recycled trash can lid turned upside-down in order to lift the bottom and result in using less soil.
- That the wheelbarrow is now PINK – my all-time favorite color!
(I blogged about my “Pink Pepper Patch” here!)
Next up is an old shelf that was laying in someone’s yard and would have literally just rotted away to nothingness. I could envision a fantabulous raised garden bed and just had to have it!
Thanks to my sweet husband, with some scraps of thin plywood nailed on the back to make a bottom, I was in business….
Before
After
On each end of the above raised garden bed is yellow crooked neck squash (four plants on each end).
Along the back, is four cucumber plants.
Down the three center rows is tomatoes (green zebra striped and beefsteak). I’ve never grown green zebra striped tomatoes. I bought them from a lady down the road. They’re supposed to stay green even after they mature. Now, she also sold me some Ananas Noir tomatoes – more about that in a future post.
Squash Blooms Already!
Tomato Blooms!
(I blogged about How Gardening with Grandma as a Child Brings Writing Success Today HERE!)
Lastly is an old, rusty washtub. Oh, the joy! This beauty was lost in the weeds and it just spoke to me. Yep, it did. It said, “Michele, you need me. I’ll grow delicious spinach and basil for you!”
It won my heart over. (I blogged about the story: Grandma’s Washtub Transformed!)
Before
After
And so it grows….
What about you? Are you a gardener? Have you discovered the peace and joy of gardening? Do you love garden-fresh produce? Do you remember gardening as a child? What’s your favorite veggie or fruit? How has life been treating you? I’ve missed you so – fill me in!
Keep your eyes peeled for more gardening adventures!
Hi, y’all!
Hope you enjoyed my last post (on the health benefits of blackstrap molasses). It’s actually quite delicious in smoothies and oatmeal.
As I was weeding through emails tonight, I came across one from Diane Ferraro. Her email touched my heart. As a survivor of domestic violence – and someone who has found such significant healing and peace through yoga – I knew I had to share her message with y’all.
I’ve blogged about yoga several times before. And Diane’s email hit really close to home for me, as I’m a survivor of domestic violence myself. Yoga also helps me cope with living with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fibromyalgia. It truly grounds me….
Here’s the press release included in Diane’s email:
Contact: Diane Ferraro FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Office: 347.457.6823
Cell: 917.376.1302
Email: diane@littlefloweryoga.com
LITTLE FLOWER YOGA JOINS NATIONWIDE YOGATHON Raising Awareness and Prevention Efforts around Domestic Violence
April 29, 2011 New York, NY – Little Flower Yoga–a premiere resource for yoga
practitioners committed to serving children and families–is teaming up with Karma Krew, a volunteer-based non-profit organization, to raise awareness and prevention around domestic violence by participating in the “3rd Annual Peace by Peace Yogathon,” starting June 1, 2011.
Little Flower Yoga advocates for healthier lifestyles for children and their families by bringing yoga and mindfulness practices to classrooms, professional development trainings, and workshops reaching more than 500 children each week here in NY, and many more through an international team of yoga practitioners.
Little Flower Yoga is raising funds through their participation in the Yogathon to support Sanctuary for Families, a non-profit organization providing domestic violence victims and their children with comprehensive services including
education and awareness-building initiatives, clinical and legal services, economic empowerment programs, and shelter.
The impact on victims of domestic violence is far-reaching. Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is considered a significant public health problem in the United States as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.1 Children
are the most vulnerable casualties among this traumatized demographic of domestic violence victims, and often the hardest to reach. According to Futures Without Violence (formally Family Violence Prevention Fund), 15.5 million
children in the United States live in families in which partner violence occurred at least once in the past year, and seven million children live in
families in which severe partner violence occurred. And, according to the same
organization, in just one twenty-four hour period in 2010, 20,406 children were
living in a domestic violence shelter or transitional living program.2
“Parents and children who have suffered abuse have often had their spirit battered along with their bodies, and rebuilding their sense of trust,
self-worth and capacity for joy is a crucial component of their recovery,”
says Jennifer Cohen Harper, founder of Little Flower Yoga. “Yoga can be a wonderful gift to those who are recovering from abuse, and Little Flower Yoga is honored to partner with Sanctuary for Families to offer adults and children classes that they otherwise would not have access to.”
Yoga is widely credited for effectively reducing stress, improving concentration skills, and developing a healthy and holistic approach for personal development.
By offering yoga to children, Little Flower Yoga is providing a resource that children can use to help them as they navigate through some of the most challenging developmental stages they will ever face, and a tool they can access for the rest of their lives.
To learn more or become involved in this fundraiser with Little Flower Yoga
visit http://www.littlefloweryoga.
Yoga teachers and studio owners can sign up as ambassadors and hosts by May 1; yoga students may join the cause starting May 1st. Participation is simple and as a community we can make a tremendous impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors.
1. http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/
2. http://www.
###
If you would like more on this topic or to schedule an interview with Jennifer
Cohen Harper, contact Diane Ferraro at 347.457.6823 or
diane@littlefloweryoga.com and feel free to visit www.littlefloweryoga.com
What about you? Have you tried yoga? Does it bring you peace? Strength? Joy? Have you found healing through yoga?
Hi, y’all!
Glad you enjoyed my Berserk for Bazura post. How fun, huh? It’s super cool to have a good time while educating about the environment and sharing creative, awesome products!
But let’s get on with the yumilicious topic at hand: blackstrap molasses. 
Fun Fact!
“It is not often that a fateful tragedy occurs that centers around a food, but unfortunately, in 1919, one such event did occur. The event is referred to as the Great Molasses Flood and occurred when a molasses storage tank holding over two million gallons of molasses broke, and its sticky content came pouring throughout the city streets of Boston, Massachussetts, traveling as fast as 35 miles per hour and creating a thirty foot tidal wave of sweetener. Unfortunately, this was not a sweet matter as twenty-one people died and significant amounts of property was destroyed.” – WH Foods
That is SO wild to me. Can you even imagine a RIVER of molasses? I mean, a TIDAL WAVE?! Isn’t that just insane? And such a sad fate that people lost their lives. Gosh, the things we learn as we blog, eh?
So what about the goodies in blackstrap molasses? There’s quite a list of vitamins and minerals – nutrients galore!
Vitamins
- B2 (riboflavin)
- B3 (Niacin)
- B6 (folate)
- pantothenic acid
Minerals
- copper
- calcium
- iron
- manganese
- magnesium
- phosphorus
- potassium
- selenium
- sodium
- zinc
Health Benefits
So what actually comes from absorbing the above nutrients?
Just to get an idea…
According to WH Foods, energy levels may soar: “In addition to providing quickly assimilated carbohydrates, blackstrap molasses can increase your energy by helping to replenish your iron stores.”
And the calcium found in blackstrap molasses will help with strong bones, teeth, removing toxins from the colon, and so much more!
All this provided by just a couple of spoonsful says WH Foods: “Two teaspoons of blackstrap molasses will meet 11.8% of your daily needs for calcium.”
Other benefits may include ridding your body of free radicals, healthier joints and nervous system, and improved cholesterol levels.
“Look for blackstrap molasses that is unsulphured since not only does it not contain this processing chemical to which some people are sensitive, but it has a cleaner and more clarified taste. Blackstrap molasses made from organic sugar cane is also available in some markets.” – WH Foods
Check out my Blackstrap Smoothie recipe over at the Mainline Gardening blog.
What about you? Are you a molasses person? Do you drizzle it over your pancakes or bread? Do you splash some in your smoothies? How about stirring some in your oatmeal? Yum-O! Get sticky in the comments. Do tell!
Credits:
Photo: Wikepedia
