Are you incorporating vegetables from your garden or vegetables from a local produce stand into your daily diet? Do you know where your fruit and vegetables are grown? By eating farm-fresh, especially locally grown, produce you will experience what fruits and vegetables are suppose to taste like. I will not purchase produce from stores like Vons or Albertson’s. I would rather have one local peach than a pound of peaches grown elsewhere. Once you get use to the sweetness of locally grown fruit, there’s no going back to the fruit section in the big grocery stores. This summer I was able to pick my own apricots (one of my favorite summer fruits) from some of my friends’ trees. They were so sweet! I was even able to make a few pints of apricot jam for the winter time.

A study published last year in the Journal of HortScience stated that produce in today’s grocery stores have 5-40 percent fewer vitamins and minerals than they did in 1950. For example, in 1950 broccoli had 130 milligrams of calcium, whereas today it has 48 milligrams. One solution to this is buy local organic produce which will contain more nutrients. Our bodies will thank us!

By eating locally, we are supporting local businesses, a healthy planet, and a healthy economy. This month try to eat more local produce either from your own garden, the farmer’s markets, or a local produce stand. Try to eat more whole, organic, and minimally processed foods.

I am the coordinator of the Turnpike area food share. Each month we have about 20 folks that bring their extra eggs, avocadoes, lemons, oranges, and other produce to exchange for something they do not grow. It’s a great way to meet your neighbors and get local produce. Personally, I don’t have the space to have a large garden, but I am still able to grow many things in pots.  Right now I have many hot chilies and 2 bell peppers waiting to be picked. I love to watch the plants grow and bear produce. Consider planting something this month and watching it grow. The local nurseries are very helpful if you are a beginner. I challenge you to grow something this month and eat more from our local farmers.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 26th, 2010 at 4:36 pm and is filed under Healthy Eating. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.