Tag Archives: eating locally

What’s FRESH & LOCAL in September?

September 21, 2011

Written for “Healthy Updates from Valley Natural Foods,” (Burnsville, MN)

As September arrives on our doorsteps, we notice a change in the air and in what’s FRESH & LOCAL at Valley Natural Foods in Burnsville. We may still have a few fleeting days to savor our last bites of fresh cucumber, sweet corn and watermelon. Our supplies of ripe red local tomatoes and aromatic basil are winding down, to be upstaged by the arrival of all that thrives in cooler weather, including the nutrient-rich Brassica oleracea family of luscious greens, including broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale and kohlrabi.

All cousins to wild cabbage native to the wind-swept limestone sea cliffs of coastal England and Europe, these hardy Brassica veggies love our autumnal weather and offer the highest level of disease-fighting nutrients per serving of anything FRESH & LOCAL, not to mention naturally low in calories, fat and sodium. You can’t find a healthier return on your grocery dollars than serving these beautiful greens to your family.

Consider trying the eye-popping member of this cabbage family this month: lime green Romanesco delivered FRESH & LOCAL by Gardens of Eagan of Farmington.  Crunchy and nutty, this unique veggie offers a sweeter and milder flavor and a creamier texture than the white cauliflower. Serve it raw with a dip, steam and season with butter, salt and pepper or toss with a little olive oil and roast in the oven, just until the edges start to brown.

Take note of the imminent arrival of red and yellow onions and red, russet and Yukon gold potatoes, delivered FRESH & LOCAL by L&R Poultry and Produce, a family owned and operated woodland farm near Kenyon in Goodhue County.  This organic farm offers Valley Natural customers a wide variety of delicious, fresh earthly root crops in September. Expect a fall cornucopia of beets, carrots, radishes, rutabagas, radishes, turnips and the start of the winter squashes.

About mid-September, look for L&R’s popular “Speckled Hound” kabocha squash, a squatty round specimen with bluish gray speckled skin and tummy-warming sweet orange flesh on the inside. Originally hailing from Japan, kabocha squashes are increasingly becoming favorite dining companions in the U.S., as well as the budding stars of ornamental autumnal displays.  Rae Rusnak, farmer/owner of L&R Poultry and Produce, says that these stellar squashes can be enjoyed into March, if stored in a cool dry place. She advises laying out squashes on newspaper, paper bags or wood without touching one another for adequate air circulation and optimum winter preservation.

Check out my FRESH & LOCAL monthly series of blogs, demos and classes under CLASSES and Valley Natural Foods at 13750 County Road 11, Burnsville, MN 55337 or www.valleynaturalfoods.com (952.891-1212).

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Eating Healthy for You and the Earth

June 1, 2009

hands holding a green globeAuthor Michael Pollan recently inspired me when I heard him say, “What happens on our plates is the most profound effect that we have on the natural world.” Obviously what we eat makes a big difference to our wallets and our waistlines but we often don’t consider that our most profound engagement with nature is through the food we buy and eat. Our daily food choices impact our internal and external landscapes more than anything else we do.

The farther a food has traveled from its source, the less life force it offers. Locally-grown foods, unaltered by processing, satisfy you and your taste buds. Fresh raw vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and seeds are on the top of the list, ideally organic.  Wild-caught fish and free-range beef, pork, and poultry also offer sustenance. However, did you know that the United Nations has determined that livestock production is responsible for 20% of the greenhouse gases that are part of worldwide global warming, more than cars, planes, and all other forms of transportation put together? Also worth considering from the Environmental Defense Fund:  if every American replaced just one meal of chicken per week with vegetables, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than a half-million cars off U.S. roads.  You don’t need lots of variety or quantity at every meal to eat a balanced diet. It’s more important to eat variety throughout the week and across the seasons.

Also consider the garbage generated by your choices. Tons of food packaging sit on our earth and float in our precious water sources. Consider filtering your water if needed and hydrate your thirsty cells throughout each day from a glass or stainless steel container. The earth will breathe a sigh of relief when we commit to no more non-decaying plastic. Consider primarily eating foods that have a life cycle, decaying back into the earth just like our bodies and all of nature.

Earth and body-healthy foods do not harm those who are planting, raising, distributing, or selling them. Imagine a world where you know where your food comes from and all who come in contact with it. Not everyone can plant a garden and grow their own food, but you can support the farmers and gardeners around you.  Spring is the perfect time to venture out to local farmers’ markets, explore our many co-ops, and consider Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs). Invest up front in local farmers who deliver sustainably grown foods direct to you.

Drink in the life-sustaining energy of pure unaltered foods that are in colorful abundance all around you and check inside. Your body knows exactly what it needs for optimum health. Insist on delicious nourishing whole foods that are created with care from healthy plants and animals, are grown and harvested with methods that support our earth, and are produced and sold by people and companies with integrity. Offer gratitude for each healthy choice, and your body and the earth will continue to generously support you in return.

Published in Whispers of Spirit, June 2009. Whispers of Spirit

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Healthy Kitchen

May 2, 2009

“What happens on our plate is the most profound effect we have on our natural world.” Michael Pollan

Yellow tulips in kitchen window against evergreen

HEALTHY KITCHEN

HEALTHY EATING

HEALTHY YOU

HEALTHY EARTH

How many ways and for how long have you promised yourself that you will eat healthier? Are you frustrated that you can’t seem to find your way to all you imagine and desire for yourself? Is your kitchen encouraging and inspiring healthy eating or is it diminishing the health of yourself and your family as well as the health of the planet?

You have most likely heard, “You are what you eat.” Can you also believe “You are as healthy as your kitchen?” You and your family embody and reflect the energy of your kitchen. If all within your kitchen is pulsing with life force, you will embody and be a reflection of that empowering energy. As you nurture, honor, and feed your body what it truly needs and desires for optimum health, you also nurture and care for the health of the earth and our planet. What we eat makes a big difference to our waistlines, our wallets, and our planet.

loris-crate-barrel-21I use Beautiful Necessity Alignment to align your desire for a lifetime of healthy eating with your inner healing wisdom, your kitchen, and the conscious field of energy within and around you. This process starts with clarifying your desires and intentions for you, your body, and your health. I then take you on a deeply-relaxing guided tour of your kitchen so that you can see, feel, and sense all that is enhancing or diminishing your and your family’s health. This process results in a list of powerful action steps that is created from your own intuitive healing wisdom. I offer “Healthy Kitchen/ Healthy You” personalized coaching to artfully support you in bringing your inner wisdom fully grounded in your home and your life.

My health coaching program is based on a scientifically-researched model that reveals that action is the fourth step of six stages of change, starting with pre-contemplation and ending with changing for good. This process of changing for good takes clear intentions and practice over time in continually choosing to change long-established choices, habits and routines. One of the dramatic differences about my coaching is that I know how you can create your own radiant health inside and out. I also have the passion and the tools to support and applaud you as you choose one empowering successful step at a time.  How do I know this is all possible? Because I have chosen and recreated my own radiant health and emotional wellness from inside out and you can do the same.

Large group of foodsWITHIN ONE BEAUTIFUL NECESSITY ALIGNMENT SESSION, YOU WILL:

DISCOVER foods and household toxins in your kitchen that are diminishing your health and the health of the earth.

SEE and FEEL the foods that your body craves for radiant health, as well as the individualized foods that will support each member of your family.

BE INSPIRED towards creating a healthy kitchen.

IMAGINE eating intuitively based on ever-present inner wisdom.

VISUALIZE emotion-free eating and your radiant body at optimum weight without dieting.

RECEIVE new ideas to nourish and comfort yourself without food.

BEAUTIFUL NECESSITY ALIGNMENT SESSION $90/90 min. (phone or in person)

BEAUTIFUL NECESSITY ALIGNMENT “ACTION STEPS” REPORT $45

You may choose follow-up coaching after your initial Beautiful Necessity Alignment session or one of my personalized coaching packages to reclaim your true radiance and make optimum eating and health a reality in your life.

healthy-foods-in-open-refrigeratorFREE SAMPLE OF HEALTH COACHING: Review of your satisfaction with eight aspects of your health plus a little more depth on one area you would like to improve or we can focus the whole session on a health topic of your choice. You’ll be amazed at how you will benefit from our 30-minute phone conversation. See my CONTACT page or call me at 952.431.5586.

HEALTHY KITCHEN COACHING $66/hour (phone or two-hour minimum in your kitchen)

CLEARING & ORGANIZING IN YOUR KITCHEN $33/hour (two-hour minimum)

WITH 1 MONTH OF ONE-ON-ONE COACHING AND SUPPORT, YOU WILL:

1) Refine your intentions and choose inspiring healthy goals for yourself.

2) Start to cleanse, clean, and detox towards a healthy, earth-friendly kitchen that is aligned with your inner healing wisdom.

3) Start to create a kitchen that inspires and encourages healthy eating.

4) Gain new awareness and insights about your food choices.

5) Learn a simple technique to test individual foods and products that will tell you what your body needs and what it does not.

6) Start to clear toxic emotions and thoughts that keep you tied to emotional and habitual eating rather than using food as nourishment.

ONE-MONTH PHONE COACHING PACKAGE $132 prepay (four 30-minute sessions or two one-hour sessions)

TWO-MONTH PHONE COACHING PACKAGE $250 (eight 30-minutes sessions or four one-hour sessions; save $14)

hands holding a green globe

WITHIN 4 MONTHS OF ONE-ON-ONE COACHING AND SUPPORT,  YOU WILL:

1) Start to turn your health goals into new healthy eating habits and routines.

2) Continue to refine your kitchen as an earth healthy/body healthy space that is always working for you, supporting all you desire and visualize for your health.

3) Feel real health and emotional improvements as the energy within and around you transforms and uplifts you.

4) Experience effortless weight loss through healthier eating aligned with your body wisdom.

5) Receive deeper internal and external inspiration and encouragement for healthy eating.

6) Continue to release toxic emotions and thoughts that keep you tied to emotional and habitual eating.

FOUR-MONTH PHONE COACHING PACKAGE $500 prepay (16 30-minute weekly sessions or 8 one-hour sessions every other week)
Please use my CONTACT page or call me at 952.431.5586. All phone sessions and reports are payable in advance.
Free estimates and discounts on larger projects. Mileage fees may apply.  

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