Trying to eat more vegetables but it doesn’t always work out? Do you want to get involved with eating more locally but not sure how to make it work with your lifestyle? Last week I was fortunate enough to pick up a beautiful box of fresh-from-the-farm fruits and vegetables from Marquita Farms. My friend and colleague, Stacey Earl (a fantastic trainer by the way!) was out of town last week and asked me if I wanted to pick up her CSA box. What is a CSA? It stands for Community Support Agriculture and it is an easy, wonderful way to add more produce to your diet and support small scale farmers.
Many farms offer CSAs, which mean they offer a certain number of “memberships” and that membership gives you a weekly box of whatever is growing on the farm. Depending on the farm there are certain delivery locations and every week you pick up a new box of goodies. The produce is usually picked within 24 hours of delivery and the money is going directly to the farmer.
I have always been hesitant to be a part of a CSA because I worried I would not like all the produce (I am a bit picky!) or I would not cook it all and I would end up wasting food. This week proved me wrong!
Here is what was in the box:
– One bunch of Swiss Chard
– One melon
– One basket of strawberries
– One bunch of onions
– One bag of potatoes
– One bunch of radishes
– Bag of Poblano Peppers
– Six Heirloom tomatoes
This is what I made over the week:
– Sauteed chard with vinegar and lemon juice until it is was wilted and topped that on some salads or ate as my vegetable at dinner
– A salad with radishes, tomatoes, goat cheese and topped with a salad dressing made with olive oil, vinegar, mustard and a tablespoon of olive tapenade.
– Sliced potatoes sautéed with onions and sun dried tomatoes
– Family and friends munched on the delicious fruit! As dessert
– Peppers still need to be prepared. Stacey suggests heating a pan at a high heat with some grapeseed oil and then quickly sautéing and munching on them like popcorn….I am looking forward to it!
Totally doable, delicious and wonderful knowing I was supporting hard working, small scale, organic farmers.
So what do you think? Could this work for any of you?