10 Reasons To Eat Local

Looking for a reason to get on the "eat local" bandwagon? Here's 10:

1. Local food tastes better! Why? Because it hasn't traveled as far and is fresher, also the food is picked when ripe.

2. Local food is better for you! Why? The closer your food is to the original source (ie the ground) the less time it took to get to you, and the less nutrients it lost en route.

3. Local food preserves genetic diversity! Why? Small farms often grow a variety of foods to provide a long harvest season.

4. Local food is safer! Why? Your local farmers aren't anonymous like the big companies are.

5. Local food supports local families! Why? Because you cut out more of the middlemen and keep local family farms in biz.

6. Local food builds communities! Why? Because you get to know your farmer, honoring a time honored tradition between farmer and consumer.

7. Local food preserves open spaces! Why? Think about it, the more farms you have locally the less industrial space is taken away from nature.

8. Local food keeps taxes down! Why? Farms give more in tax money than they take in services, so be keeping your farms close by you keep the tax dollars available for other things.

9. Local food benefits the environment and local wildlife! Why? Smaller farms tend to be better environmental stewards, they keep the soil fertile instead of stripping it of all nutrients. Also less travel for the produce means less emissions into the air.

10. Local food is an investment in the future! Why? By supporting local farms, you help keep them in business, ensuring their future success.

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Live in NYC? Here's how to spend a Saturday

Courtesy of my daily Daily Candy email...

Help Feed New York’s Needy
What: Buy a bag of fresh produce and leave it with us to donate to local charities and missions in need. Can’t make it? Help raise money for the Food Bank for New York City.
Why: No one should go hungry.
When: Sat., 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Where: Greenpoint Farmers Market, McCarren Park, Driggs Ave., b/t N. 12th St. & Union Ave.

CSA Fun

A friend recently went out of town and asked if I wanted her weekly CSA pickup so long as I volunteered for her shift in the park. I grabbed my Eco-Mama (and her cutiepie eco-baby) and headed to Williamsburg for some community fun & fresh food! Mission accomplished.

It was wonderful to see so many people heading out in the freezing cold temperatures to pick up their farm fresh fruits, vegetables and pastured eggs. The compost collection in a few feet away from the farm stand and boy was it packed. So great to see so many young people interested in taking steps towards a more involved society. Mariah and I split the goods and took turns warming up in nearby Urban Rustic (which supplied me with 2 hot cups of coffee to keep me warm). We had a great time connecting with our neighbors and each other.

Kevin and I cooked up some delicious potatoes and the best roasted carrots we've ever tasted! Next week we plan on using the Sage I scored (I stuck it in the freezer to be used at a later date) to make Sage & Brown Butter fresh pasta. Hmmmm yum.

Here's some pictures of my loot:

9 Reasons To Go Local

Locavore, locally sourced, local, we've heard it all....now here's 10 reasons going local is the way to go, or eat rather:

1. Food tastes better! It's newer and fresher!

2. Science says it's better for you, nutrients are lost over time, so the quicker it gets from farm to table the more nutrients are retained

3. It's safer, hopefully. Local farms are held more accountable because of their size, their names really do mean everything to them

4. Local food supports local farms and their families. The amount of traditional farmers in this country has dropped drastically and we've gotta get them back working the land! We don't want machines doing everything do we?

5. Local food builds your community spirit, you are aware of your actions and their impact

6. The more you support local farms, the more farm land will be preserved from being paved over.

7. Local food supports the environment by keeping fuel usage down for example

8. Supporting local farms is like investing in your future and the future of your community. By ensuring your local farms maintain their business against bigger, more machine driven farms.

9. Local farms sell to many places, but the most obvious is your local farmer's market! It's so meaningful buying directly from the farmer, they make more money by dealing with their consumers directly, they cut down on fuel, and like shouting I CARE ABOUT MY FOOD FUTURE to the world!

Support Local Farmers!

(Images: www.eatlocal.net)

Farmer's Market/Long Island

Here's a few more from your "mini-honeymoon" to Long Island a month ago. We had such a great time enjoying the outdoors, visiting farmer's markets and being together. We are planning our big trip right now and we're keeping the environment in mind, no matter where we end up going.

Farmer's Market

When Kevin and I were in Long Island a few weeks back we rode our bikes to this small farmer's market. And by farm I mean the backyard! All produce pictured came from the small backyard farm complete with bunnies hopping around. I love the 'Put $ in Slot'.
More to come tomorrow...

CSA Pickup: Moi!

A friend was out of town for the weekend, so she lovingly gave us her CSA (community supported agriculture) pickup that week. It included flowers, a dozen eggs and more fruit and veggies than I could carry! Needless to say I squashed a green heirloom tomato against my side while walking and it dribbled down my dress and leg, lovely! It was all worth it though once I got home, cleaned up and surveyed my goodies.

While Kevin and I are quite content shopping for local fruits and veggies in our neighborhood, I highly recommend this as a great way to support local farmers and get fresh and delicious food. If we couldn't get locally grown food so easily in our hood, I'd do this in a heartbeat! The experience of the CSA pickup is nice, you feel a part of something larger than yourself, you feel almost privileged, that you are in fact "allowed" to choose amazing looking fruits and veggies from the bins, at least that's how I felt. And it felt great!

Here are some photos to enjoy:

Eco Mama: The Dirty Dozen

THE DIRTY DOZEN.
no, not eggs, but foods, 12 of them! oh so dirrttyyy.
As I am preparing to feed Siena her first solid foods, I have been reading several articles in magazines, online and in books about foods and what to feed a little precious. This includes the following two books, as I find I abide by them pretty closely.(not fully, but closely) A breastfeeding book written by the woman who introduced La Leche league to Germany, 'Breastfeeding Naturally' by Hannah Lothrop and the book by the anthropop doctor Dr. W Zur Linden, 'A Child Is Born' published by the Rudolf Steiner Press. I am still not ready to fully introduce foods to Siena as she is 5 months old, and can't sit up on her own yet. She is beginning to show some interest in food, but not enough for me to feed her. (her two bottom teeth poked thru on wed/Thursday Sept 3/4th!) Even through the presence of teeth sometimes coincides with a baby wanting to eat, I want her to be able to sit up first. The two books I just mentioned suggest waiting until 6 months, and I totally agree. They also say organic is best all the way. So, hence I won't be taking the pediatrician's advice to begin solids at 5 months. (Pediatricians always seem to suggest feeding at 4 1/2- 5months) I have let her taste banana and apple, but not more than a pinkie fingernail portion...She makes a face like she ate a lemon, and her thrusting reflex is still in full effect so the food comes out more than goes in.

So, as I continue down my path of organic fruits and veggie consumption, I must draw attention to this list, as published in American Baby, Sept 2008, article "What to Buy Organic". These are the top items to watch out for, I mean, eat them organically! they are the most contaminated by pesticides. (think: skin on fruit/veggie, probably not safe as pesticides "lay" in the skin, like out skin protects our innards)
1. potatoes
2. apples
3. pears
4. sweet bell peppers
5.celery
6. nectarines
7. strawberries
8. cherries
9. lettuce
10. grapes (imported) 11. peaches
12. spinach

NOTE: the 2nd and 3rd items are the first fruits besides bananas that we start feeding babies!!! Take a big hint and buy buy buy ORGANIC.
The list is NOT LIMITED to those 12, but also contains these: MILK, PEANUT BUTTER, BABY FOOD, KETCHUP, BEEF. Also, always remember to pinch off the last inch of the banana, where the little black stem is, that is the portion which absorbs pesticides.
I also want to point out that I gave up on Whole Foods while I was pregnant because they had such a small selection of organic produce, I was appalled. They never had organic potatoes either! My sister agrees with their serious lack of organic produce and had noticed the potato thing too in Allston. (Boston). So see ya never Whole Paycheck! I am very happy to spend my hard earned money at the McCarren Park Farmers Market on Saturdays from 8am-3pm. And for that matter, Farmers Markets are the best. no check out lines, no aisles, just bins of freshly harvested produce and fruits. You're in the sunshine, you breath air under huge trees, you clamor over a bin of huge heirloom tomatoes, talk to the growers...its great. And Siena is always super content to take a stroll to the park. As I am to get some exercise and munch on some peaches and nectarines.
take care! eat well! and be happy
you Brooklyn Eco mama,
Mariah

Good Morning Farmers Market

My mom sent this delicious photos!

Union Square Serves It Up

I enjoy going to the Farmer's Market so much, even if I am just there to enjoy the sights...

Green Markets!

Walking through the Union Square farmers market is such an experience. Everywhere your eye can see fresh fruit and vegetables delight the eye and wet the palate. Ethically responsible meat and poultry is sold and local flowers dot the line of booths. Chefs all over New York City rush to the markets to gather fresh ingredients and locals stroll, snacking on the baked good offerings and fresh juices. It's like Mecca for locavores and organic foodies. I just started a new job merely a few blocks away and I can't wait to incorporate the farmers market into more of my weekly shopping routine. So, if you live in New York City, you can find local, organic and fresh food easily here at the market, in fact there are green markets all around the city. Look these up in your own hometown, frequent them, meet your farmers and connect to your food!

Website Spotlight: www.EatWellGuide.Org

Website Spotlight: EatWellGuide
You may have noticed a new green box on the bottom of Urban Branches where you can type in your zip code. Go ahead, you can stop reading to try it….
Ok, now that you’re back…you typed in your zip code you got to a page where you can select to see all of the food related organizations results. Those results are a well selected list of co-ops, butchers, farmers, restaurants, organizations, bakers, caterers, personal chefs, stores and online shops that cater to the sustainable, organic and local food markets. The site stresses their commitment to finding food vendors that don’t use hormones, antibiotics and is produced in ways that is healthy to the animals, the farmers/producers and the environment. All so you can live healthier and happier. How nice are they!

The sites additional resources include a ‘Hormone Free Dairy Map’ where you can find products sold in your state as well as the ‘Seasonal Food Guide’ to find out what’s grown in season in your state, making eating fresh that much more of a no brainer!
You can also add vendors that they will review and put up on their site.

They are partnered with SustainableTable which is a site I will review next. Stay tuned, but in the meantime, type that zip code in if you haven’t already…Stay tuned, but in the meantime, type that zip code in if you haven’t already…

www.eatwellguide.org

Definition: Locavore

Locavore- a person who tries to consume food grown, produced, processed (if needed) and distributed within a 100-mile radius. By doing this the consumer supports local agriculture and/or businesses and cuts down on the travel time thus cutting out the large amounts of fuel used to ship, drive or fly food around the country and around the world.
You can take part in this movement by purchasing locally produced goods, frequenting farmers markets, joining a CSA (community supported agriculture) that delivers you local farmed produce, dairy and sometimes flowers and eating what’s in season and grown locally (eating strawberries in December might be yummy, but I can bet they were shipped or flown in from far away where weather conditions allow them to grow during winter).

Locavore the word is said to have been coined in 2005 by a small group of women in San Francisco. Oxford American Dictionary declared ‘Locavore’ the Word of the Year last year! Yay!

So, find out what your state and cities around you produce locally, support those businesses and bam, you can call yourself a locavore! Easy as pie (made with locally and organically grown fruits of course!)

Go to www.localharvest.org and type in your zip code, state or city to find out what is available near you! Great site full of information! (Image:images.jupiterimages.com)