Thursday, June 10, 2010

summer love



         There is something about this season that leads to nothing but love. From the farmers markets and fresh vegetables to the warmth of the sun bronzing our skin. Indeed, we all take on this glow that is simply irresistible, which probably leads to all those summer romances. I have found so much love in this season and sparked quite the summer romance. I can't tell you how excited I get each time I go to the farmer's markets in our town and see the huge bunches of kale, tubs of strawberries, squash, zucchini, and the fact that the blueberries are almost ready to be picked is almost too much. 
         This morning my mother and I stopped at our weekly thursday farmers market after one of the hardest ab workouts at pilates I have ever had. It opens at nine, just as our class finishes, so we always get to be some of the first their to buy our goods. I am especially intrigued by one stand there. It is a family from Lillington, NC, called Spahr Farms. It is an older couple who sell the largest bunches of kale I have ever seen for 1.25...I almost feel like I am stealing it after being so used to seeing the high price of 2.99 on heads of kale that do not even reach half the size of these. Just check out these luscious beauties...
              
               They also sell hydroponic lettuce, and all pesticide free tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cabbages of all kind, mustard greens, peppers, and just a beautiful array of fresh local vegetables. They also have pesticide and hormone free, free range eggs and honey! I was quite excited about finding the honey because I haven't been able to find a local raw source. And oh the benefits and just beautiful taste of fresh honey! I just find the man and woman who sell these absolutely adorable and I think she enjoyed my excitement about the honey because she responded with, "we weren't really planning on selling it, we just wanted the bees for pollination." The level of consciousness of these two people just amazes me and their amazing farming abilities that are so sustainable for the environment and great for you! 
            I just wanted to remind everyone how important it is to support local farmers and how many more benefits you get when eating locally. Our foods are shipped 100's of 1000's of miles before they get to us, not only causing them to lose valuable nutrients, but also putting a strain on our environment from more fuel consumption. You are doing your body a service, the environment, and your lovely local small farms.    
            
           If you want to take it another step, you could even think about planting your own garden. I will blog about my lovely garden soon and just the empowerment it gives you and the connection you feel to your food.
           So the summer is full of beautiful and fresh fruits and vegetables that could be right from your backyard. Take this opportunity to take the next step in your health. We all know that raw fruits and vegetables have the most nutrients and benefits for our bodies and the closer to the vine, the more ALIVE they are. So won't that give you more energy and make you more alive? Buy a plethora of produce and try out some new recipes, I'll be posting some things that I have been doing with this wonderful abundance. A big one is juicing, so here's a great juice recipe, it's my go to..

1 head kale (the king of greens, I might do a blog just about kale soon)
1 jalapeno (fires up your metabolism, reduces pain, and is great for blood flow)
1 lemon (antioxidants, body alkalizer, and it gives a great flavor!)
celery or cucumber to your content! (both are wonderful for hydration)

Just a note on green juices..
They are great when you are sick or feeling tired because they cause an exchange of toxins across membranes, which results in the systematic flushing of toxins out of the body. So they're really going to make you feel amazing, helping circulation, skin, digestive problems, obesity, bad breath....

SO START JUICING AND GETTING AWESOME BENEFITS WHILE THE VEGETABLES ARE ABUNDANT!

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