To get the most benefit from fruits and vegetables, buy local and vine ripened. Produce starts losing nutrients the second it is picked. Imagine how much more you get for your buck when it isn’t picked green and gassed on the way to the grocers.
Fruits and veggies aren’t the only things that can be bought fresh and local. I found a local farm and bought a share of a cow. The cows are totally grass-fed, hormone and antibiotic free. I know where the farm is and have seen how they are cared for. The meat is delicious. It is nothing like any other beef that I have ever tasted. When I cook the ground beef, there isn’t a puddle of fat to drain off. There is just enough fat in it so I can cook it without having to add oil, but that is it. I can’t even describe the difference. I will address why there is such a drastic difference in a future post.
I found a local, organic blueberry farm and picked a load of bluberries. I was amazed at the difference between what I was eating straight off the bush compared to the anemic little blueberries that the store carries.
Local Harvest lists local stores, CSA’s, farms, grocery stores, and even restaurants that use local and organic.
When you join a CSA or shop at a local farmers market you benefit greatly from the improved nutrition in the produce but you are also helping the environment. It takes much less fuel to go from the farm down the road to your table than it does for it to travel from Chili or even the other side of the country.
Another big benefit to buying as local as you can, is keeping your money here, instead of sending your money to a company overseas.
If you can’t eat all that you would get in a CSA or meat share, then freeze your food. Frozen food does not lose nutrients like a room temperature or refrigerated item does. You can get a small deep freeze for a decent price if you don’t have the room in your regular freezer and items will keep longer in a deep freeze.
If you need information on how to freeze certain items, visit this site.
