Ingredients:

2 cups green beans
1 can or cup of red kidney beans
1 cup pinto beans or navy beans
1 cup black eye peas
1 can or cup of garbanzo beans
1 medium diced onion
½ med. Green pepper, diced
2 TBSP Olive oil
¼ cup Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar
1 stevia packet (optional)
1-2 TBSP of Lemon juice
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp Celtic Sea salt

Drain the following cans of beans: combine beans.  Add dressing.  Bean salad will keep for days in refrigerator.

Snacks:
Fruit Kabobs & Greek Yogurt
Soy Crisps & Natural Peanut Butter
Almonds – Portion into 1/4 cup baggies and keep in tupperware & Fruit (below)
Baby Carrots & Celery – serve with Teddie’s Peanut Butter OR Laughing Cow Cheese Wedges
Apples, Bananas, Clementines, Pears served with Date Balls

Grains:
Arnolds Selects – Great for sandwiches
Joseph’s Wraps – Spread natural peanut butter and roll-up a banana
Cliff Bars – Great for back-up protein/fiber snack
Quinoa Salad – Click here for recipe

Proteins:
Spicy Black Bean Burgers
Al Fresco Sausages
Natural Peanut Butter
Babybel Cheese
Laughing Cow Cheese
1/4 cup Almonds or Mixed Nuts

In a CSA, keyword being community, the growers and consumers provide mutual support in the production of food. Many farms would have an extremely difficult time covering costs of the farm operation without CSA members. Members are often referred to as “share-holders,” and typically pay upfront before the season begins. Although, many farms allow payment plans. Commitment to a CSA truly builds a more local agricultural system for your community. What’s another benefit? Well, I did forget to mention members receive the freshest produce a on a weekly basis. So, if you want to partner with a farm this year and receive more delicious and nutrient dense foods all season long, check out www.SEMAPonline.org to find a CSA near you.

I was inspired by this paragraph from the book, Farms of Tomorrow:

“Since our existence is primarily dependent on farming, we cannot entrust this essential activity solely to the farming population–just 2% of Americans. As farming becomes more and more remote from the life of the average person, it becomes less and less able to provide us with clean, healthy, lifegiving food or a clean, healthy, lifegiving environment. A small minority of farmers, laden with debt and overburdened with responsibility, cannot possibly meet the needs of all the people. More and more people are coming to recognize this, and they are becoming ready to share agricultural responsibilities with the active farmers.” (1)

Tips for building and keeping strong bones:

• Increase your Beans and leafy greens – Kale, Brussels, Swiss Chard, Collards
• Join a Local Farm CSA to get more nutrients from your produce.
• Cut back on salt. Salt causes more calcium to be lost in the urine.
• Limit coffee to not more than 2 cups per day.
• Get the majority of your protein from vegetable sources.
• Get plenty of calcium and vitamin D. You may need to add a calcium supplement. Let DLN evaluate your diet.
• Establish regular exercise into your daily routine.
• Weight-bearing exercises – Yoga, Jogging, Nature walking,  & Zumba

Calcium Sources:

The Facts:

• The average American consumes more than 130 pounds of sugar annually
• Sugar = Low energy levels, More Cravings, Immune suppression and now HIGH CHOLESTEROL, HEART DISEASE & CANCER!!!!

1. Here is a downloadable guide for choosing what to buy organic from the Dirty Dozen:
The EWG’s Shopper’s Guide

2. The Northeast Organic Farming Association has a Massachusetts chapter that welcomes anyone who cares about food. They list several opportunites for individuals to get involved with local farms and programs.
NOFA Website

3. Bay State Organic are the organic certifiers for the Northest United States. They provide a list of growers and processors that are certified organic.
Bay State Organics Website

4. The Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership, a community partnership working to support our region’s farms. They list events, local seminars, farms and markets that are available in our community.
SEMAP Website

5. There is now a guide to NON-GMO products. You can download a free copy to print or download the APP!
True Food Shopper’s Guide

5 Things to do with Kale
1. Breakfast:  Scrambled Eggs and Chopped Kale
2. Lunch:       Hearty Kale Salad
3. Snack:       Kale Chips
4. Side:         Salsa-Braised Kale
5. Soup:        Kale and White Bean Soup

1. Lawton’s Family Farm – Foxboro
2. U.S. Wellness Meats- Deliver
3. Jordan Farm- South Dartmouth
4. John Crow Farm Products – Groton
5. Whole Foods – Hingham
6. River Rock Farm – Westport
7. Hardwick Beef – Deliver & Harvest Co-op Markets
8. High Meadows Farm – Hubbardston

Why grass-fed??

• Lower in Fat.  The graph below shows grass-fed beef can have the same amount of fat as skinless chicken breast[1]

• Lower in calories. Fat has 9 calories per gram, compared with only 4 calories for protein and carbohydrates, so as an example, a 6-ounce steak from a grass-fed cow can have 100 fewer calories. You could actually save 17,733 calories a year. HOLY COW!

Egg Salad
2 Eggs, hard-boiled
2 tsp Whole plain CABOT Greek yogurt
½ tsp Dijon mustard
1-2 Arnold’s Whole Wheat Flatbun
Handful of baby spinach
1 cup of baby carrots
Pepper to taste

Chop eggs, then mix yogurt and mustard into eggs. Add pepper to taste. Spread onto an Arnold’s Whole Wheat Flatbun with baby spinach. Serve with baby carrots. This could be for one or two serving depending on your goals.

2.     Bring a Burger
1 Morningstar Spicy Black Bean Burger
1 Arnold’s Whole Wheat Flatbun
1 slice of avocado
1 tsp of Dijon mustard
1 cup of frozen vegetables

Cook burger as instructions on package Place burger on bun, and then add avocado slice and mustard. Serve vegetables on the side.

3.     Freezer Back-up

1 Frozen Kashi entrée
1 cup of Frozen Vegetables

Mix entrée and vegetables in your favorite large bowl to keep at work.
 

4.     Homemade Soup Portions
Carrot Ginger Soup (serving 1 – 2 cups)
5 large carrots, sliced
4 celery ribs, sliced
1/2 escarole bunch, sliced
1 can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups of quinoa, uncooked
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water (use less if you’d like a thicker soup)
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp olive oil
dash cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Place broth, water, curry, oil, and cayenne and carrots into large pot over medium heat. Cook for 5 -10 minutes until carrots are tender. Then, add celery, beans, escarole, quinoa, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, then simmer for 10 – 15 minutes. Enjoy!

5.     Leftover Rice Bowl
Sausage and Snap Bowl
½ cup Leftover Brown Rice, mixed with garlic and 1 tsp olive oil
1 Al Fresco Chicken Sausage (Chorizo or Jalapeno)
1 package of Frozen Sugar Snap Peas

Cook snap peas as directed. Stir sausage into rice, then add snap peas. Stir all ingredients, then enjoy.

5 Things to do with Kale:
1. Breakfast:  Scrambled Eggs and Chopped Kale
2. Lunch:       Hearty Kale Salad
3. Snack:       Kale Chips
4. Side:         Salsa-Braised Kale
5. Soup:        Kale and White Bean Soup