Summer Fun: Cave in to your Cravings!

Summer Fun: Cave in to your Cravings!

Picture a beautiful, very warm summer day, and you sitting down for lunch with a nice steaming hot bowl of soup. What is wrong with that picture??? It’s just not natural. I don’t often have salad for lunch, but it definitely sounds better in the summer than in the winter.

Did you ever notice how your cravings shift from time to time? One day you can’t get enough avocado, and another you just can’t get enough of those fresh peaches and strawberries. Since we now get so much of our produce year round, it’s getting harder to stay connected to those seasonal cravings. And with so many conflicting messages out there about the foods you have to avoid to manage your weight, we have leaned away from listening to our bodies because the experts must know what is best. Our body still knows, and it communicates through cravings. The word ‘cravings’ is not a bad word, or at least it doesn’t have to be. Being in tune with what our body needs, and acting based upon our natural instincts, is key to a healthy lifestyle.

To help you fill those summer cravings, try this super Easy Zucchini salad.

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What's the Deal with Farmers Markets

What's the Deal with Farmers Markets

Looking for something fun to do? Need a little variety in your meals? Want to find some foods that actually taste great and are good for you? Looking for a unique breakfast or lunch option? If any of these are true for you, make a trip to a local farmers market on the weekend. (For you Austinites, try the Austin Farmers Market on Saturday morning at 4th and Guadalupe.)

So why is it healthy to buy food from a local farmers market? Here are MY top five reasons:

5. Tastes great! Produce and meats from local sustainable farms and ranches have more flavor than their more conventional alternatives. If it's from a small local farm, chances are very high that it is going to be organic, whether certified or not. Some are what I call ‘beyond organic as the farmers' standards are usually higher than the US Government's definition of organic.

4. Seasonality - Throughout the year our food cravings change for many reasons, one of which is the season. Since we can get almost everything we want year round, it takes a little effort to get back to the seasonal eating our bodies were engineered for. Walking through a farmers market is a great way to reconnect, to your community as well as your body.

3. More nutrients - Buying produce from small sustainable farms is going to give you the biggest bang for the buck in nutrients. That leaves larger organic farms coming in second and conventionally grown alternatives third.

2. Less pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and no GMO - We are continually exposed to toxins every day, from our food, as well as water, lotions, soaps, etc. It all adds up and keeps our body working overtime, not to mention keeping us in a state of dis-ease. Buying produce and meat from the farmers market is one way to lessen the load.

1. Whole foods - what you find at the farmers market is more of the foods that our bodies recognize as food, and therefore can easily digest and give our bodies a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals. Taking a break from the artificial ingredients and highly processed foods we have grown to love because of their convenience is a healthy habit to incorporate into our routine.

Just can’t get there no matter how hard you try? There are many CSA and delivery options. Email me and I’ll help you find the one that is right for you. dianaoconnell@yahoo.com

My top 5, being a short summary, touches on some much larger topics, and barely even eludes to food politics. Any thoughts on what was left out?

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