Where does your produce come from?

"Most produce in the US is picked 4 to 7 days before being placed on supermarket shelves, and is shipped for an average of 1500 miles before being sold. And this is when taking into account only US grown products! Those distances are substantially longer when we take into consideration produce imported from Mexico, Asia, Canada, South America, and other places."
- LocalHarvest

Now that we know loading up on fruits & veggies is extremely healthy for you, let's focus on the grocery store produce section.  The apples are shiny, the lettuce is firm, and the large variety is hard to resist.  Did you know that your produce travels, on average, 1,500 miles from where it's picked to your plate, when you buy from a grocery store?  Why is this something we should be cautious of?

• Shelf life: The type of preservatives loaded on your fruit & veggies to give it a longer shelf life is something to be concerned about.  Is it really normal for a tomato to be able to travel across the country (and yes, sometimes around the world), sit in the store for a few days, and still be able to look as fresh as it does a week or more after it has sat in your refrigerator? I don't think so.  When I grew up, we had a beautiful, large garden on the side of our house and the moment we picked a ripe tomato, I gave it about 5 days before it started to look iffy.  That shouldn't be any different from the produce you buy.  It's not normal for produce to not go bad 2 weeks after it's been picked.
• The further produce travels, the less nutritious (and yummy) it is. Most produce picked to be shipped across the country, to be sold in your grocery store, is picked prior to being ripe, which gives them less time to develop all of their vitamins & minerals.  And if you think produce is yummy from the grocery store, try a bite of a freshly picked fruit or vegetable.  You'll taste a world of a difference.
• To travel as far as produce does, we are wasting an absurd amount of natural resources that are only more harmful to the environment. "By adding transportation, processing and packaging to the food system equation, the fossil fuel and energy use of our current food system puts tremendous stress on the environment. For example, between production and transportation, growing 10% more produce for local consumption in Iowa would result in an annual savings ranging from 280,000 to 346,000 gallons of fuel, and an annual reduction in CO2 emissions ranging from 6.7 to 7.9 million pounds." (sustainabletable.org) How incredible just 10% makes!
• Buying within season: Something just doesn't seem right when you're able to buy a large batch of shiny, red strawberries mid January when you're dealing with 15" of snow on the roads.

What can you do to make sure you're getting the most fresh, and more importantly, nutritious produce you can? BUY LOCAL.  If you do your research, you can find some type of local farmer's market or Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) (for a yearly fee) where you can get the most recently picked, most nutritious, and, often times, organic produce.  Produce travels far  less to get to your local market (usually less than 90 miles) and you'll be getting the most nutritious, ripe, and in season produce you can find.  The benefits of supporting a local business is quite obvious as well.  If you do decide to join a CSA, you may even have the chance to meet your farmer and get to know exactly where your food is coming from, the process they use, and whether or not they are utilizing sustainable methods for production.

If you're not sure where your closest market is, check out Local Harvest & on the right side of the page, type in your zip code to find markets close to you.

I regulary go to our Saturday morning market to pick up produce. And the greatest thing is that it's so much cheaper! I bought the same amount of produce that I do each week at the grocery store and I spent $20.  That's about $20-30 less than what I normally spend. Not only am I eating more nutritious produce, I am also supporting local businesses & farmers, lowering the amount of natural resources used to transport & package these items, but I am also saving a ridiculous amount of money.

One of the best ways to also get the most nutritious produce is to plant your own garden, but for the items you can't grow yourself, support your local farmers!

-Lacey

Mexican Casserole

This is a recipe I improvised using the last of our ingredients in our house. I knew it would be a lot of food and it was super filling.  You could definitely add this into some soft tortillas or buy a natural tortilla chip to dip in.


Ingredients
3 cups uncooked long-grain rice & 7 1/2 cups of veggie broth (to cook rice) OR 2 cups quinoa & 4
   cups of veggie broth
5 potatoes, diced smaller than normal
3 Tablespoons vegan butter
2 cups corn
1/3 cup diced onion
Green onions to taste
1 clove garlic
3 cans of black beans
2 red peppers
1 diced tomato
1 bag vegan cheddar "cheese"
Texas Pete Hot Sauce (to taste)
Taco Seasoning (Cayenne Red Pepper, Chili Powder, Onion Powder, Ground Cumin- all to taste)
Cilantro to top casserole

Temporary photo until I put up my own. Borrowed from SFZ.

Directions
1. Cook rice or quinoa in vegetable broth.  This will take approximately 20-30 minutes so be sure to start this first.
2. Dice potatoes and add to a large skillet with butter. Stir frequently on medium-high heat until cooked.
3. Add Corn, onion, garlic, black beans, peppers, tomato, and taco seasonings when potatoes are fully cooked.
4. Add cooked rice to potatoes & veggies mixture. Stir, test for seasonings.  Add more if needed.
5. Add Texas Pete Hot sauce to taste
6. Get casserole dish.  Put a 2" layer of this mixture and top with vegan "cheese". Add another layer of mixture, top with "cheese". Repeat until whole mixture is used. Top whole casserole with "cheese" and cilantro.
7. Cook in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.


Let me know if you've made this & what substitutions you made (like refried beans, or any other veggies!)

I Say This Out of Love (Time To FOCUS)

Summer is winding down and it's time to get back into the grind of things.  I slacked on our honeymoon/family vacation.  I gained 6 pounds in 8 days.  I say all of this mostly for me, but I know some of you need to hear it, too.  Like the title says, I say this completely out of love, because when I was gaining weight and living my terrible lifestyle, I wish someone would have said this to me.  It's about being HEALTHY. Not SKINNY.

Did you know?:
In the 1960's, approximately 18% of a family's income was spent on groceries and less than 5% on medical expenses/health care.  Today, less than 9% of income is spent on groceries and over 16% on medical expenses/health care.

It's true.  You either pay the farmer or you pay the doctor.

With that said, what are you going to do?

• Will you open your mind to the possibility that the food you're buying is quite literally poisoning you, or will you give in to the immediate satisfaction of a greasy burger?  
• Will you regain self-control and proudly tell the world that YOU control your life or will you use the excuse "I could never do that, I just love [insert food] too much"?  
• Will you rejoice, knowing that you don't have to carry around pills, schedule doctor visits, or worry about the next lab result, or will you sit back and think that paying $300+ a month on medical expenses is "normal" & that "everyone does it"? 
• Will you raise your children in a culture that embraces a healthy lifestyle so they can live long, happy, and HEALTHY lives or will you teach them that food addiction is incurable & a normal part of society? 
• Will you stop lying to yourself, saying "the food I eat isn't that bad" or will you finally admit that you lost control?

I was fat. I lost control. I was poisoning myself. But I took control, lost some of the weight (so far), and rid myself of my terrible illness.

It's possible. STOP MAKING EXCUSES.  Money is not an issue, in fact, we cut our grocery bill almost in HALF when we included more raw foods.  We were buying twice the food we needed when we bought processed.  What a waste of money. Having kids doesn't matter. In fact, that should be more of a reason to change. Convenience is only what you make it.

Love yourself & respect your body.  If you do that, everything good will follow.

Now, for some heart-wrenching facts.

Via: Medical Coding

[[Remember: When you stop focusing losing weight on being "skinny", and "pretty", and trying to be like my "smaller friends", and switch your focus to living a HEALTHY LIFESTYLE, one that you, your friends, children, and loved ones can respect, that is when you truly find the motivation to change things.  Always do things for you, but aim to be an example that you want your children/loved ones to follow so they, too, can grow up without debilitating illnesses,chronic problems, and outrageous medical bills.]]

Here's to a fresh start, and a regular schedule (thank God). Time to kick myself in the butt & get going!
-Lacey