The praises of a farmshare…

I call myself a bit of a farmshare evangelist. I spread the word and praises of my community supported agriculture (CSA) to everyone I know. If you don’t know, CSAs are farmers that grow crops for members of their communities who pay them to have them grown from a local resource. My farmer is Kelly, and I pay at the beginning of a season, then every Thursday to our front door is delivered a bounty of vegetables, picked the day before by my local farmer. A true locavore’s dream!
Every Thursday for us is what I call “Veggie Christmas”. You know that anxious anticipation on Christmas morning of “Ooh, what’s in the bag, or box?!” I have that every Thursday. “What was harvested for us this week?”
I do not buy any veggies at my weekly grocery trip and commit to eating what comes from the farmshare. This way the farmshare keeps us eating wide variety of vegetables. I encourage everyone to find one in their area and join, and to at least try it for a few months.
But if you don’t belong to a farmshare, here is a tip for you when trying to eat healthy from the store. More color equals more nutrients. So, when shopping each week, try to achieve the colors of the rainbow in your basket. Here are some examples:

• Red– Red bell peppers, tomatoes
• Orange– Butternut squash, carrots, oranges
• Yellow– Corn, yellow bell peppers, squash
• Green– Dark greens like collard, kale, spinach, lettuces, apples, cucumbers
• Blue– plums, blackberries, blueberries
• Purple– grapes, eggplant

This is a great one for the kids to help you shop with, having them pick what fits the color. Then, use them! Incorporate on each night's into dinner, but don’t forget your lunches (think red bell strips, zucchini strips, and carrots in a lunch).