Farm Fresh Fun

By: Cynthia Litman, Esq.

Pearl of the Post: A Local Heart

Celebrating a milestone birthday with friends around a table filled with a bounty of farm fresh food makes everyone comes alive and harvests the pearl "we are rooted to the earth." 

We are of this earth. Our bodies inhabited by our spirits draws life and nutrients from the air, soil and that which is produced from it. 

Mother Nature is the best chef offering amazing delights. The simpler food is in its form the greater our bodies feel in substance. 

I'm a hybrid eater - meaning in theory I am an au natural raw vegan foodie surviving on morning dew, but in reality I balance my palette with a morning green juice, a lunchtime not always organic burger and an afternoon cookie with a side of chips.  

Finding a community of woman who not only promote but live a healthier lifestyle inspires me daily to learn more and be more conscious of the food I purchase, consume and offer my family and friends. 

There's such a counter-food culture spearheaded by Joshua Rosenthal of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) and practiced by many women in my community. 

For those lacking the rather extensive holistic food facts, the basis is tuning into your own bodies and intuitively understanding what foods and nutrients your body needs (as well as everything else you may need). The more apt you are with understanding your cravings the more you'll naturally find the perfect recipe. Understanding the nutrients and minerals your body is craving is an art form. 

For my generation where processed foods were a mainstay and my parent's generation where it was all about TV dinners and convenience, the simple and old school farm fresh lifestyle got lost with the emergence of the industrial food system (think big companies and manufactured food products) and families working in offices versus on the farm. 

Larger companies (organic or not) can easily write off a mistake like tainted peanut butter, mad cow beef or ecoli laced spinach as a loss and move on. A loss of a large scale magnitude to a small family farm may be catastrophic. 

Food production is a delicate task and mistakes are bound to happen, who are you more likely to forgive? 

The trend as of late is to look beyond the branding, marketing and green-washing to understand, trace and learn the origin of the foods we consume by reading and decoding food labels, sourcing where the food is coming from, what chemicals are being used and methods employed to care take for animals on the food chain. 

Food literally becomes part of our bodies shining light upon the pearls - "you are what you eat" and Hippocrates "let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." 

Yet scientifically, we have yet to prove these food = health theories, said maybe for diabetes, obesity and cholesterol...

As parents, we are ultimately responsible for the health of our children. It seems so obvious that food plays a pivotal role. 

In our busy lives of just trying to keep pace with breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinners, I want to trust the companies and not have to become an expert of the food industry. Call me lazy, but I want a company to be mindful, responsible and do that work for me so we can trust that the food (or any product) they are offering for sale is as healthy, vibrant and as eco friendly as possible. 

We highly scrutinize "organic" food companies as to their standards (being certified organic is a costly and rigorous endeavor) as opposed to a pesticide laden household name brand which we are just so used to buying and eating. Supposedly, "local" and "seasonal" foods may be more important than "organic." Transition is never easy and comes in phases.  

Plus business is always business and the food industry is a multi-trillion dollar pie. Every single man, woman and child on the planet eats (notable exceptions).  

Who do you trust when you are putting your money where you and your family's mouths are?

A Sampling of the Farm Fresh Fiesta's Offerings

My friend and fellow Momtrepreneur, Janet Mermel, is an IIN certified Holistic Health Counselor and was the first in our town to step up and become a Farmigo Champion. Farmigo is a company central to the farm to table movement. They work with local farmers to provide produce directly from the farm and into communities. It's basically a weekly online farmer's market.

Seeing the community of women gather every week for our Farmigo food pickup is so comforting and knowing we are all bringing home the bacon (well not yet... their meat selection consists of chicken, beef and sausage) to our families is soul filling. 

I was fortunate to have an opportunity to host a Farmigo sponsored dinner party coinciding with my husband's 40th birthday. Twenty of our local friends gathered round our table to sample and hear about my husband's roots as well as the roots of the food. 

Over birthday wishes for peace and balance, we honored the farmers and their families for their work and dedication in bringing our dinner to the table. 

We are now intrinsically connected through food, stories and laughter and it feels so filling!!

Get to know Farmigo better (I'm still getting to know them!!). My favorite picks thus far are the Ricotta Cheese, Purple Carrots and Beef patties. Certain products are price competitive with those found in your supermarket, others a bit more or a bit less.

Related Mommas Pearls Content (I cover food a lot...)

Farmigo's Lulu, Jessica and Janet

Radio Shows: "Farm Fresh Fun" - Listen to Janet and Farmigo's Jessica Malcolm chat more about the farm to table movement and the differences between "organic" and "local".

"Eat for Life" - my chat with IIN Health Coach Melissa Halpern.

Blog Posts:  Food Fight 

Summer Feast - honoring seasonal foods and entertaining 

Other Content

"Nearing 40, With Grace?" - My take on aging covered in Your Bella Life.

Resource:

Wikipedia states that in 2012, US Consumers spent approx $1.8 trillion annually on food. 

Disclosure and Gratitude Note: I am so grateful to Jessica, Nancy and Lulu for stepping into our home and creating a sacred feast. Farmigo generously sponsored the dinner party with an appetizer, entree and dessert and by bringing Chef Nancy Campbell of Radiant Health NY to cook and delight us!! No monetary compensation was exchanged for the dinner party or this post. As always, the opinions expressed via Mommas Pearls are wholly and genuinely my own. You are invited to conduct your own research as to the origin of Food Facts and make the choices that are best for you and your family. 

Thank you for sampling Mommas Pearls and sharing the love!! :)