So what did I make with all of my leafy greens...?

A big ol' salad of course! With all the goodness of being local and organic from Turtle Farms CSA.

J and I both loved the diversity of flavors from the different kinds of greens...some were peppery while others were sweet. It was nice to change it up from the basic spinach or romaine salad.

In fact, the sloppy Joe meat was local as well from Wallace Farms (yummy grass fed products).

How does Wallace Farms work? View this fun video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWM-l_3swEM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

(their jerky rocks!)

GOOD LUCK TO ALL THOSE RUNNING DAM TO DAM TOMORROW...INCLUDING MY DAD, SISTER-in-LAW and ALL THOSE IN THE CROSSFIT DSM ENDURANCE TEAM. PROUD OF YOU!

Until next time...

look good, feel good, do good

http://www.sarabconsulting.com/

Big City Burgers and Greens

I'm pretty excited to give this new Eat Village restaurant a try! Thought I would spread the word!

Big City Burgers and Greens is founded on the idea that food can be healthy, socially responsible and fun.
We purchase local meats and greens whenever possible to support our local farmers. We use organic, antibiotic and hormone free beef and free-range poultry and fry in 100% trans fat free canola oil. We are also proud to be one of Iowa’s first 100% compostable restaurants.
Our dine-in, call-ahead and online ordering options make dining with us easy too. We are conveniently located in the Capital Square Building in Downtown Des Moines, and offer lunch Monday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Our space is available for evening and weekend rentals, or we can cater your next event at your home, business or in the ‘burbs.
Check it out at: http://bigcityburgersandgreens.com/index.php

Until next time...
look good, feel good, do good
http://www.sarabconsulting.com/

Buy Fresh, Buy Local- on KCCI news tonight at 5

I am blessed with another opportunity to spread the word on living a healthy lifestyle!
Today on KCCI Channel 8 News I will be discussing

"Buying Fresh, Buying Local"

This is a topic I am very passionate about so I am excited to highlight it today on my blog. Agenda:

• Share a couple tasteful and seasonal recipes for using your purchased local produce.
• Highlight some benefits to buying fresh and local.
• Share how easy it is to find farm fresh, local foods.
• Resources to learn more.

Heirloom Tomato, Basil, & Mozzarella Salad
from Simply Recipes

Ingredients:

Heirloom tomatoes, sliced

fresh basil, leaves carefully chopped as not to bruise

fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced

extra virgin olive oil

balsalmic wine vinegar

sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Instructions:

Assemble the salad with slices of tomatoes, basil leaves, and mozzarella slices. Sprinkle extra virgin olive oil over the salad. Add a dash of vinegar and a very light sprinkling of sea salt and pepper.

Other popular recipes I have posted using local produce:

Portobello Mushroom & Chicken Ragu

Wilson's Apple Orchard

Rhubarb Crisp

Where does your food come from?

Apple Squash Soup

Benefits to buying fresh, buying local:
1. Helps strengthen the local economy - buying local foods helps support growers in Iowa, who are more likely to reinvest their revenue back into their own community. This builds and strengthens Iowa's communities.

2. Protecting the environment - local foods travel on average 45-65 miles while most food items found in the supermarket travel around 1500 miles. The added travel supermarket produce goes through increases pollution from the extra transportation, distribution, and packaging.

3. Protecting your family's health - You can get to know your local farmers and learn about their farming practices. This enable you to choose farmers who avoid or limit the use of pesticides, chemicals, hormones, antibiotics, or genetically modified seeds.

Also, you get max health benefits from fresh produce. When a tomatoes is allowed to ripen on the vine it gains valuable nutrients. Local produce is typically harvested within a day of it being purchased, since it has such a short distance to travel to make it to your plate. This 'on the vine' ripening allows the produce to retain higher nutritional value than those harvested, handled, and transported thousands of miles. Basically, an increase in travel means a decrease in nutrients.

4. It just tastes better! No one from Iowa can deny the sweet goodness of peaches and cream corn purchased from a farm stand on the side of the road. I challenge all my readers to purchase some local produce this week and share their fine food moment with the rest of us.

So easy to buy local:

According to an economic analysis of Iowa's farmers' markets, in 2004 Iowa had around 160 farmers’ markets, the highest per capita in the nation. Full report: www.leopold.iastate.edu/research/marketingfiles/marketsrfswg.pdf

Another wards....there is no excuse to NOT find one near you. To find a market.

I visited the Valley Junction Farmers Market last week:

scrumptious blueberries and scrumptious things made with blueberries

Timber Ridge Flax-fed Cattle

Another way to buy local is through a CSA or Community Supported Agriculture group. I visited Turtle Farms located in Granger, IA last week to learn more.
"A CSA Community supported agriculture (CSA) is a partnership between growers and consumers that seeks to recognize the importance of healthy food and the manner in which it is grown. Consumers (or CSA members) share costs of supporting the farm, including the risks. In turn, members receive locally grown, fresh, wholesome food grown in a sustainable and responsible manner by a farmer that they know." -from Turtle Farm's website

Turtle Farms was one of the first CSA's in Iowa. Angela (owner) and Ben (farm manager) are proud to grow all organic vegetables, fruits, and herbs.

you receive your "share" as a box of produce each week throughout the growing season


Angela and Ben gave J and I a tour

they grow everything from okra and bell peppers, to sweet potatoes and strawberries



getting ready to plant more veggies!

Other resources:
Find CSA's at http://www.localharvest.org/

Take your family for a fun filled day at Picket Fence Creamery

Find local grassfed meat at http://www.eatwild.com/

Greater Des Moines Buy Fresh, Buy Local

Until next time...

look good, feel good, do good

http://www.sarabconsulting.com/

A very busy weekend means a very big appetite....Slow Cooker Italian Beef...and purple potatoes?!

This past weekend was filled with fun!
The HyVee Triathlon started off the craziness with Emmerson's tri clinic on Friday.

She got her first experiences of swimming, biking, and running...all in one day.

The temperature topped 91F! Needless to say she was beat by the end of the day.

Unfortunately, her race Saturday morning was canceled do to the weather :(

J, Ron (brother-in-law), and I all set to race Sunday morning...more on this in a later post!

Sunday night was the Solon ladies track banquet. We finally got a chance to show off our State Champ trophy. It was bitter sweet as I said my good-bye's to the ladies and their families. I will miss Solon so much.
I have to give a quick thank you for all the amazing cards the girls wrote me...I told J if I ever have a bad day I am going to pull them out and read the kind words again.

Monday...

my parents were here and J and I put them to work!

But first...J started our hardworking day with a scrumptious breakfast piled high with spinach and red bell pepper

all day we weeded, mulched, planted, buried, scrubbed, swept and dusted.

poison-ivy proofing my body with tube socks and tights....Dad wasn't so lucky

Slow Cooker Italian Beef

another recipe from fellow crossfitter Katie

for dinner I prepared a crock pot recipe in the morning so it was ready when finished working that evening

I picked up some PURPLE potatoes at New Pioneer Coop. They were beautiful along side the white and red potatoes.

more color=more nutrients! ps.... all were organic as potatoes are on the "dirty dozen" list for foods with high amounts of fertilizers and pesticides

I also picked up a grass fed rump roast from Grass Run Farm
Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups beef broth

1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 bay leaf
few good shakes of Penzeys Italian Dressing

1 (5 pound) rump roast

Instructions:
Combine water and beef broth with salt, ground black pepper, oregano, basil, onion powder, parsley, garlic powder, bay leaf, and salad dressing mix in a saucepan. Stir well, and bring to a boil.
Place roast in slow cooker, and pour salad dressing mixture over the meat.
Cover, and cook on low for 10 to 12 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours. Add potatoes and carrots when about 4 hours remain (on low) or 2 hours remain on high)....periodically check roast with meat thermometer as some crock pots cook faster. If it is done before dinner time simply remove meat and place, covered in fridge till an hour before dinner and return to pot to heat up. Before serving, remove bay leaf, and shred meat with a fork.

Let shredded meat soak in juice for about 10-15minutes. Serve and enjoy!

This can be made into a sandwich topped with sauteed mushrooms and onions OR served with a side of potatoes and carrots.

Thanks for sharing Katie!

Until next time...

look good, feel good, do good

http://www.sarabconsulting.com/