You’re driving and you get stuck in traffic, or you’re shopping and the check out takes twice as long as normal.  Finally, you arrive home, and then it hits you.  You’re hungry, really hungry.  That’s when you have less than 45 seconds to get a snack or some food to eat.  What will you do?  What will you choose? In less than 45 seconds you will eat just about anything in your path.  Unfortunately, the food and readily available items in your home cabinet may be the least beneficial.  Cookies, candy, crackers, chips and fast foods may take off the edge of feeling those hunger pains, but the effects of these vary from raising your blood sugar levels, to clearly no nutritional value to weight gain and so on.  By choosing one of these fake foods (as I call them) you have lost the opportunity to nourish your body and give it what it really craves, superfoods!

So what kind of options could you have chosen?  Now given the opportunity to look at it in a new perspective here are some suggestions.  Of course having cut up carrots, celery or other vegetables is an option but after a while even those don’t sound so inviting.  Here’s a quick list and a short and easy recipe to make.

1. A Hard-boiled Egg- an egg is a superfood.  Eggs are a great source of protein, plus A, D and E. Make a few at the  beginning of the week, this will make it easier when you only have a few seconds left.
2. Apple or Banana slices with fresh Almond Butter- we like to buy fresh ground Almond Butter at the local health food store.  Almonds are alkaline and are very filling, another good source of protein and essential fats.
3. Green Drink-keep a green drink or protein drink powder available.  These are easy to mix with tea, or milk and it will immediately make you feel nourished and give you extra time to make a meal.  (check your local health food store for one without sugar, artificial sweeteners etc)
4. Avocado- great since it is filling, a good fat, fights off the bad belly fat.  Besides being packed with the good fats, and vitamin E it’s also know to help lower cholesterol.
5. Granola- Here’s a quick recipe that the whole family can enjoy:  Do the following on a Sunday evening to last during the busy week ahead.

½ Cup of Organic Raw Walnuts

½ Cup of Organic Raw Almonds

½ Cup of Organic Raw Sunflower Seeds

½ Cup of Organic Raw Pumpkin Seeds

Mix all the nuts and seeds together in a bowl and cover them with spring water.  Put a towel or lid over and let sit on the counter for 6 hours.

Then rinse the nuts and seeds, put them into a blender add some cinnamon for taste (1/2 tsp. or more)

Chop the mixture until you get the consistency of granola cereal.

Then add some organic Raisins.

Add your Organic Milk or (almond /rice milk) then enjoy.

Option:  add fresh fruit to the top like Organic Berries, Banana,

Keep the mixture in the refrigerator and enjoy the rest of the week.

By soaking the nuts you have activated the enzymes, the nuts are soft, they’re not processed and you have a healthy snack waiting for you.  This is a great for anytime and for any age…especially those pregnant moms or nursing moms.

So the next time you have 45 seconds or less choose a food or snack that your body craves and needs…Superfoods!

Some of you may be wondering what is a CSA and is it something you should be a part of.  Well, here are a few of those questions answered.  Then maybe you could tell me if you would like to be a part of one.

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.  A CSA group coordinates with local & regional farmers to bring high quality, locally grown, organic produce into their community weekly or bi-weekly.  A typical season runs from June until the end of October or even into November.  This enables the farmer to give you a nice selection of seasonal fruits and vegetables.  Some CSA’s are able to offer their community (members) organic eggs, cheese and other specialties.

As some of you know there are farmers markets, but what you may not know is where that food is coming from.  Just because it’s local does not mean it is any healthier than what you purchase in the stores (it just didn’t travel as far).  Unfortunately there are local farms that use heavy amounts of pesticides, or even GMO (genetically modified organisms).  Both have been linked to countless health problems, not to mention the impact on the environment.

The difference you will find in a CSA is that there is an established relationship with the coordinators and the farmers to bring the best produce using the highest standards in farming.  By becoming a member you allow the farmer to purchase seeds in advance, the farmer grows the food specifically for those members in the group.  Many times the farmer will grow items that you request.  Eating organic & local produce is not only healthy for you and your family but it also cuts down on pollution, cost, environmental waste and one of the best features is the fruits and vegetables are picked that morning and delivered to your CSA location and ready for you to pick up and enjoy.

Living in Jersey and being a part of a CSA for the last ten years has given me the opportunity to connect with local families as well having some of the best tasting fruits and vegetables.  Jersey is known for its corn, but unfortunately in the US 90% of the corn is GMO and now approximately 40% of corn this year will be going to create Ethanol (fuel).  I refuse to serve my family GMO products and having a farmer provide organically grown corn on the cob that tastes amazing is worth every penny!

So what do you think?  Is this something you can see yourself being a part of?  Well, I thought about it and decided to start one!  This will be my first time running a CSA…but after talking to the farmers I know it is the right thing to do for my family and community.  I just hope to see you there.

Check out the tab for the West Essex CSA for more details.

I decided to start a CSA aka farmers food co-op and I am excited to be more in control of where my food is coming from for my family.  Having watched the recent unfolding of the exploding watermelons and learning that in the US both grapes and kiwis also use the same growth hormone fueled me even more to get this local CSA off the ground.  Not to mention last years problems with eggs and this years concern over cucumbers.

What’s trending now in the world of organics is:  Knowing Where Your Food is Coming From!  Do you know?

As with anything else starting something takes time and my time has been spent developing this CSA and my site took a back seat for the last two weeks or more.  However, I am excited for our upcoming deliveries of organic vegetables, fruits and eggs.  Even though I will have all this organic produce it is still very important to clean it properly.  I have found in my research that using a fruit and vegetable wash really helps, especially if you are purchasing store bought produce!  I have used a few produce cleaners and I believe one with citric acid seems to work the best.  Citric acid helps take off some of the waxes that are used on fruits and it may reduce some of the pesticides.  Washing your produce with a green cleaner will also help to eliminate bacteria.

I have tried a few of these cleaners and I suggest you do the same if you are eating fruits and vegetables…  Here is one company that you may like Eat Cleaner.

There is a list of reasons as to why your fruits and vegetables may be contaminated with bacteria and there are no indications of which fruits and vegetables may be contaminated  so it is in your best interest to take a few minutes and do a few of these steps listed below.

Here are a few recommendations for taking care of your fruits and vegetables:

• Wash your hands for 20 seconds with warm water and soap before and after preparing fresh produce.
• Cut away any damaged or bruised areas before preparing or eating.
• Gently rub produce while holding under plain running water.
• Wash produce BEFORE you peel it, so dirt and bacteria aren’t transferred from the knife onto the fruit or vegetable.
• Use a clean vegetable brush to scrub firm produce, like melons and cucumbers.
• Dry produce with a clean cloth or paper towel to further reduce bacteria that may be present.
• Throw away the outermost leaves of lettuce or cabbage.

My first recommendation would be to buy organic and preferably belong to a CSA in your area so that you know where your food is coming from and who is growing it and what practices they use.

If you are buying store bought then take a look at my list of the top dirty dozen.

Item and the  Number of Different Pesticides!

Celery……  64

Peaches…..63

Strawberries…. 59

Blueberries…..52

Leafy Greens…..51

Bell Peppers…..49

Spinach…..48

Apples…..42

Cherries…..42

Potatoes…..37

Grapes…..34

Nectarines…..33

OK….now that I just wrote that I am starting to get annoyed!  You should be to.