My "Share" of Organic Produce

I decided to make a change in our lives.

You know, when you're young, you believe that your health is always going to be with you. When I look at pictures of me in my youth, I can understand that mentality.  I was a very healthy young woman, I exercised as easily as breathing.  I avoided most bad food. I enjoyed the benefits of those activities.

However, as time goes by, you aren't quite as vigilant.

One chocolate milkshake, and you think it's no problem. One leads to two...because it tastes good.

I never ate french fries, potato chips, or onion rings...until I got married and my new husband wanted me to share in these wonderful gastronomic creations.

You guessed it, time goes by, weight begins to pile on, slowly.  Add a pregnancy or three to the mix and you begin to give yourself excuses for continuing to gain a little bit of weight.  Still more time goes by, and suddenly you are carrying enough weight to make you tired, grumpy, and wondering how in the world that healthy, young, vibrant girl turned into that tired and sickly looking woman in the mirror.

Before this insidious event, I'd always been one to be on the lookout for good food, nutritionally sound, and preferably organic in nature.  But, as with all families, life gets in the way, and all of a sudden you're not eating right, you're not feeling right, and it takes something to bang you over the head and say, "Hey, you idiot!  You've gotta change something in your life!"

For me, it was stepping on the bathroom scale.

Once you go organic, it's tough to go back!

We've had a wary relationship for the past number of years.  In my younger days, I never worried too much about my weight, but after having children, and then just that "getting older" phase, I discovered that it was no longer comfortable buttoning my jeans.  And when I DID get them buttoned there was a bit of a "muffin-top" going on.

So...what changed is that I decided to participate in an organic farm's co-op opportunity.  You purchase a seasonal "share" of organic produce and it is delivered to you once a week.  My brother-in-law's girlfriend works at the farm and we have been talking about her work (because I'm fascinated with gardening), and the concept of a weekly delivery of such good and nutritious produce.
I finally did everything I had to do, and now I am getting such delicious produce that I just have to share it with anyone who is interested.  I plan to use this blog to talk about "organic living" in general, and that will include things like gardening, food, recipes, health, exercise, wellness, etc.
Today I absolutely must share with you what I got in my bag of goodies!

Everything comes in its own goodie bag!  You just can't wait to open it!

Here we have some okra.

Easter Egg radishes (sorry about the focus...)

Yummy looking onions and garlic.

Here's a spaghetti squash that's so yellow it's almost the color of a pumpkin.  You can bet there is good beta carotene in there!

Fresh sweet basil.  One of my favs!

A huge bunch of arugula!

Now here's a new one for me...this is Mizuna, a Japanese mustard green that can be eaten raw or cooked.

Here's a more detailed picture of the Mizuna.  Crazy looking stuff.  I'll let you know what I think of it later this week.

Butternut squash

And an Armenian Cucumber.  Look at the size of that thing!

In my upcoming posts I will tell you just how I used these treasures! Stay tuned.  I promise, I'll show you how to use everything and I'll even include my very own "secret" recipes!  How's that for a promise?