Locally Grown.

A few months ago, I really didn't have a preference whether or not my produce was organic or not. I didn't care if it was grown on a local farm or if it was shipped here from South America. As long as it was cheap and attractive, it was going in my shopping cart.

Then, The Daily Green began circulating their research on the dirty dozen - a list of the top 12 fruits and vegetables that are most impacted by the chemicals and pesticides used by larger farms abroad. The list includes:

1. apples
2. celery
3. strawberries
4. peaches
5. spinach
6. nectarines
7. grapes
8. sweet bell peppers
9. potatoes
10. blueberries
11. lettuce
12. kale and collard greens

I was pretty convinced that I would make it a point to buy the dirty dozen organic. So I did, and secretly began patting myself on the back. But just as I patted, I realized, what about local farms in New Jersey? Should I be considering them for some of this produce also? And so control-freak, analytical, make-everything-a-mock-trial questionnaire Marilyn, began research on locally grown foods. And here is what I found. Local foods:

1. are fresher and last longer
2. are seasonal and taste better
3. have less environmental impact
4. preserve green space and farmland
5. promote food safety
6. support your local economy
7. promote variety
8. create community
9. don't contain harmful chemicals and pesticides

In Middlesex County alone there are at least eight local farms. The website www.visitnjfarms.org lists them by county. And so this weekend we decided to take a stab at Giamerese Farms, a farm we visit annually for pumpkin picking. Success! The kids loved picking (and eating) their own strawberries. In fact, I couldn't get one of the guilty culprits to stop eating...take a guess who?

 

Lo Positivo

We all have our strengths and our weaknesses. It's human nature and I suppose why we're not Jesus. Finance and politics are most certainly my weaknesses. It may be partially because I never cared much for math or social studies classes in middle school...or high school for that matter. 

Even today, I embarrassingly admit to be a bit clueless about where we stand as a nation with regards to our economy and politics. My daily news is centered around my children these days - what they have or have not eaten, new games they've played, new things they've learned...both good and bad. They are my Wall Street Journal. I know I should know more about our nation's news, but I don't. I know the basics. The headlines. Just enough where I officially qualify as not living under a rock. I also know enough that our economy has still not recovered fully. Money.cnn.com reported today, "We're starting to get very worried about going back to a recession."

My father always said, "La vida puede tener positivo y negativo. Tienes que buscar lo positivo." (Life can have both positives and negatives. You must look for the positives.) This is so engrained into my being that I am an optimist by nature. Through this journey of motherhood, through these tumbles of healthy living, I'm learning this saying to be ever true.

And so it has been with switching over to buying organic. Over the past month I have transitioned a bulk of our diet to organic, milk, produce, and meat whenever possible. Maybe its all in my mind, but I swear the food tastes better. Positivo. Plus, knowing its chemical and preservative free is beneficial to our health has given me a sublime peace of mind. Positivo. But this change in diet came with a hefty price tag. The milk alone is almost twice as much. Negativo. The produce is more expensive and forget about the meat. Negativo. Negativo. I tell myself, 

"This is worth the investment. We're investing in our health, which means less medical care in the long run. The small investment now will significantly outweigh the medical benefits and our general well being now and in the future."

But what about families that have been severely impacted with our weakened economy. My heart goes out to homes that are struggling to make ends meet on a daily basis. I think to some degree, we have all been impacted by the economy. But for some, it has more than just impacted their life. It's changed their life. They've lost. Lost employment. Healthcare. Insurance. A home. A car. For these families, spending an extra $2 for organic milk is not an option. 

Our family has been blessed to this day in that hubby and I are both employed and have full medical benefits. And with that blessing, I feel a sense of responsibility and need to learn how to buy organic more affordably. So while I still don't have a clear answer on how to go about doing so, it has become my personal mission. It is my way of "looking for the positive" in this situation. Perhaps it means finding opportunities to buy in bulk and sharing with my neighbor, or finding a local farm where I can purchase direct rather than paying a mark up at the supermarket, or maybe even planting my own mini garden. 

As I learn how to crawl through this journey towards a holistic walk, it is my hope that in the process I will learn how to make buying organic foods a bit more affordably for our home and for our little economy.

In the Beginning...

Sipping on hot cocoa, sweetened with artificial chocolate and marshmallows and chomping on a small chocolate chip scone, one might surmise, well she doesn't sound very holistic now does she? But you see, that's the incredible thing. You see, in my mind I concocted this brilliant idea to begin an online journal, this blog, to document healthier eating habits for myself as a self motivator to help me change my unhealthy eating habits. Unhealthy being an understatement. But what began as a dietary mission for me has transformed into a different thing altogether. A journey. A pathway of health not simply with better food choices for me, but a different way of looking at life for the sake of my future, my children, and my husband. A journey...A holistic journey. This journey began three weeks ago when I began penciling down some of my regular food choices. Donuts for breakfast, candy bars for snacks, fast food for lunch...you get the idea. But one incredible thing happened one week after I began journaling. And that one incident will have forever changed how I view my family, our health, and our environment. So yes, I have a lot of growing to do, hence the artificial chocolate and marshmallows, but I am seeing how each day I am slowly transforming. In fact, I'm writing this as I wait for my children's organic apples to finish baking so that I can later mash them into a yummy, healthy, homemade applesauce that they'll enjoy. And who needs more motivation that that?