Long after sweaters are stored away, books read and games played, the thrill of the holiday gifts can fade into an unmemorable blur (which may be due in part to mental fog from one too many Christmas cookies). But giving the gift of health keeps on giving—and can transform lives long after the chestnuts have roasted, the trees de-trimmed and partridges have flown the pear tree.

Instead of giving clutterfying gifts this year, why not inspire your friends or loved ones to start the new year off with a healthy diet by gifting our Organic Whey 1.5 pound box? Each box contains 2 12-ounce pouches of pure organic whey protein. The box is already discounted 20 percent, but when you buy during the holiday promotions, you get an extra 10 percent discount for a total deal of 30 percent off the retail price! The 1.5 pound boxes of Organic Whey protein are just $55 until December 25^th!

Why exactly is organic whey a great gift? Here are some of our favorite reasons:

1. Our whey comes from one source—Organic Valley cows. They’re not raised on large concentrated animal feed operations (CAFOs), but small often family-owned farms where cows graze openly on pastures and eat organic feed—never genetically modified corn or soy.
2. Our organic whey is USDA certified organic.
3. It tastes amazing!
4. There’s just one ingredient: whey. Our product does not include additional unnecessary ingredients like preservatives, additives, sugars or artificial sweeteners.
5. The Organic Whey is also the highest protein concentration in the natural or organic whey category—containing all essential amino acids.
6. It is higher in antioxidants than conventional brands too and contains the master antioxidant glutathione.
7. The purest dairy and clean processing method means you get a superior tasting whey product that is smooth and creamy every time—perfect for a pre or post workout smoothie or shake—making it the ideal gift for a health-enthusiast loved one or even for yourself!

As you may have guessed from the list above, our whey is not that giant, neon tub of protein powder with pictures of bodybuilders on it sold at vitamin shops in the mall. Yes, whey is a fantastic source of bio-available protein—which bodybuilders love—but everyone can benefit from it, not just athletes.

The market for organic whey is extremely limited in the U.S. Most whey proteins are processed with harsh chemical solvents and can include traces of heavy metals as a result. Conventionally raised cows produce dairy products that contain traces of antibiotics, growth hormones, genetically modified foods and other unnatural ingredients.

As the holidays can demand so much of our time, our workouts can diminish and our waistlines expand accordingly. And those healthy New Year’s resolutions? Why wait to start those resolutions, why not start now? Kick your health into high gear now to avoid the Santa belly, and share the benefits of organic nutrition under the tree this year and give the gift of The Organic Whey. Remember, this deal only lasts through Christmas! Happy Holidays!

Humans are not plants, yet we share a similar biological behavior in synthesizing vitamin D from
the sun. Aside from the cool factor of getting an important nutrient in this manner, absorbing
vitamin D is necessary for a number of reasons. And as the winter months creep in by way of
shortened and often cloud-covered days, our access to the health-giving sun’s rays diminishes,
robbing us of its benefits, mainly helping the body effectively utilize calcium. Bones rely on
calcium for growth and density; and calcium is essential for heart and nerve function among
many other roles in the human body. So if we’re not able to expose skin to sun for some 15
minutes each day, we must turn to our diet for vitamin D.

A number of products are fortified with vitamin D supplementation—most commonly milk and
orange juice. But you can also find it in energy bars, breads, cereals and other processed foods.
While these sources are certainly helpful, it’s always best to eat a well-balanced diet that contains
naturally occurring nutrients. And just as vitamin D’s most potent delivery method comes in a
most unique form, the strangeness continues with only a few foods naturally high in vitamin D.

We think of milk as containing vitamin D—and it does—but it’s added in. There are naturally
occurring levels of vitamin D in all dairy, but other dairy products like whey, cheese and yogurt
tend to have lower levels of D because they’re not made with fortified milk. Certainly organic
dairy is going to be more nutrient dense than conventional. A healthier animal can supply more
adequate nutrients not stripped out by harsh chemical drugs and food.

Mushrooms, particularly shiitakes, are an excellent source of vitamin D, especially when dried.
Mushrooms are fungus—technically not a vegetable—and have unique behaviors that include an
extraordinary ability to soak up lots of sunlight and retain vitamin D much like humans do.
Eggs are another naturally occurring source of vitamin D. While one egg will only provide about
ten percent of your daily D needs, it’s certainly an accessible addition to your diet during periods
with limited sun exposure.

A variety of fish are abundant in vitamin D, too: salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines, tuna,
catfish and cod liver oil. A small tin of sardines can provide 70 percent of your daily D needs!
Exercise caution when purchasing fish—especially tuna and salmon. Bluefin tuna is a critically
threatened species; and most salmon consumed in the U.S. is farm-raised, injected with
colorants, fed diets of hormones, genetically modified grains and other unappetizing
supplements. Instead, seek out wild-caught salmon, or opt for smaller fish like the mackerel and
herring, which are also a better choice because smaller fish have a lower risk of mercury
contamination.

Image by:  Doxi

What is it about the holidays that make us eat…so much? Certainly food is a celebration in and of itself, keeping us alive and nourished (and oh so tastily to boot), but is there anything worse than feeling like a stuffed turkey for hours (or days!) after eating one?

Perhaps it’s just simple mathematics (and let’s face it, most of us are no good at math!). The equation looks something like this: Lots of people gathered together for hours or days multiplied by lots of pre-food-food snacking on chips and dips and appetizing appetizers (which are usually enough to categorize as an entire meal) multiplied by a full-on succulent meal that’s so good you just have to have seconds and of course that gets doubled with too many delicious desserts, and you end up with a week’s worth of food in your belly in just a few hours. Ouch.

But don’t bust out the stretch pants just yet…try these tips for keeping yourself satisfied and full without the pains of indigestion or having to up your wardrobe size…

1. Eat ahead of time. It’s kind of like the rule about never grocery shopping when you’re hungry. Indeed your eyes are way bigger than your stomach, but you can trick them easily by being full before they set their sights on Grandma’s sweet potato pie or cousin Ruth’s incredible gingersnap cookies. Eat healthy foods before the big meal like a green salad, steamed veggies and whole grains that will keep you feeling full and satisfied for longer and you’ll find you’re less interested in over-eating.
2. Drink lots of water. Our bodies are funny, and we often confuse hunger with thirst. Staying properly hydrated can keep you from feeling hungry. Drinking during meals can actually upset your digestion and cause gas and bloating, but drinking several glasses of water an hour or two before a big meal can drastically reduce the chances of you overdoing it.
3. Go Slow. The French take hours to eat, and they eat some of the fattiest, richest foods on the planet yet have some of the healthiest citizens. Their trick is no trick, really. They eat slow, which allows for the body to know that it’s full. So even though they’re eating calorie-rich foods, they’re eating moderate amounts of them and allowing the body to digest over time rather than getting several hundred calories all at once. If that means you’re the last one at the table, so be it. But you may find that if you’re eating slowly others may slow down too.
4. Start Small. Our tendency can often be to fill every conceivable spot of a plate with food. And on holidays like Thanksgiving, it’s easy enough to do with so many yummy dishes. But rather than fully fill your plate, try starting with just a biteful or two of each dish, which may be enough for an entire meal.

Photo by Joe.

You’ve likely heard about genetically modified foods. They’re the stuff of science fiction—laboratory altered plant cells injected with foreign compounds not naturally occurring to allegedly make the plants better at resisting pests (and pesticides); they’re designed to grow hardier and faster crops so that we can feed the world, according to the companies behind the science like Monsanto, Cargill and Dow. Actually, it sounds kind of nice—if it were true. But the science is flawed with controversy from the adverse affects on soil, plants, and ecosystems and inability to improve crop yields, to a number of studies linking GMOs to serious human health risks.

The California Department of Health and Agriculture reports that nearly 80 percent of all processed food in the U.S. contain some sort of ingredient derived from GMOs. Most of the corn, soy and canola grown in the U.S. is now genetically modified, and unless you’re buying organic meat, dairy and egg products, you’re eating the genetically modified grains fed to those animals, too.

With no label laws currently in effect anywhere in the U.S., the only way to know that your food is GMO free is by purchasing organic. The term ‘natural’ is used often on products that appear to be healthy, but a recent report from the Cornucopia Institute found that several major cereal brands marketing their offerings as “natural” actually contained genetically modified ingredients. While technically legal, the World Health Organization defines genetically modified foods as undergoing alterations that would not occur naturally.

We were delighted to see Nature’s Path—the leading organic cereal brand—release this stunning infographic that shows just how genetically modified foods affect the U.S. food supply. Chances are, you’re eating them. Every day.  The recent rise in food allergies and sensitivities, asthma and other health problems have many people concerned that the source of these issues are directly correlated with the rise in genetically modified crops over the last ten years. Ninety three percent of soy and cotton grown in the U.S. is now GMO, 90 percent of canola and 86 percent of corn is also genetically modified.

Would you eat GMOs if you had the choice? Many Americans polled say they would prefer to have the choice—and the way to choose comes from a label that lets the shopper know their food is genetically modified. It has become such a contentious issue that from October 1^st-16^th, hundreds of concerned citizens, corporations and advocacy groups walked from New York City to Washington D.C. to bring awareness to the issue. With stops along the way, the Right2Know March held rallies at natural health food stores, toured organic farms and convened in Washington on World Food Day, demanding that the FDA begin a program that would require labeling of all genetically modified foods. You can join that petition at the JustLabelIt.org website. And if you live in California, help make it the first state to require labeling of all genetically modified foods by collecting signatures needed to get the issue on the 2012 ballot. Visit  the LabelGMOs.org website for more info.

Image: Millions Against Monsanto
http://www.flickr.com/photos/65421715@N02/6151143762/sizes/s/in/photostream/

Do you ever feel like you hear so much about something that you actually no longer hear it? These words or ideas can become background noise to our busy lives, and this is especially true when it comes to nutrients. Extra fiber, protein-rich, antioxidants, Omega-fatty acids…blah blah blah, right? Today’s food choices are littered with reminders of the nutrients added beyond those naturally occurring, and often just as vital. And even if we eat what we eat first and foremost because we like it, especially here in the U.S, if we have anything, it’s lot of choices to overwhelm us with how exactly we’re going to replenish our body’s daily nutritional needs.

Calcium is one such nutrient we hear a lot about that we may not really hear at all unless we’re a menopausal woman whose changing estrogen levels put us at risk of bone loss. But everyone needs calcium throughout all stages of life, and for a lot more reasons than you may think.

What’s the first food you think of when you read the word “calcium”? Chances are a glass of milk popped into your mind. And that’s true, dairy does contain calcium. Lots of other foods do, too. We’ll explore those in a bit, but first, what body part do you picture that glass of calcium-rich milk benefitting? I’m guessing a bone or skeleton appeared next in your mind’s eye. And that would also be correct. Calcium is critical for bone health and its value for older women cannot be overstated. But do you know what other important functions calcium performs in the body? And did you know that a deficiency may actually kill you?

Beyond strong bones and teeth, calcium is vital in blood clotting and wound healing, controlling blood pressure and nerve function; it produces enzymes and hormones necessary for digestion, energy and the metabolism of fat. Calcium works on cellular levels to move ions through membranes; it helps muscles contract, regulate tissue—including preventing gum disease—and it is crucial in reducing premature heart disease.

A deficiency in calcium can cause hypertension, deformity, nerve sensitivity, spasms, cramps, numbness and tingling in fingers, convulsions, lethargy, decreased appetite, abnormal heart rhythms and eventually death.

The recommended daily intake of calcium varies throughout our lives, but generally speaking, follow these daily guidelines for optimal health:

Children (1-10) 800 mg
Children (11-18) 1,000 mg
Adults (18+) 800 mg
Pregnant, lactating and postmenopausal women 1,200 mg

So, does a glass of milk do the trick? Yes and no. Dairy, including products like Organic Whey, is one of the richest naturally occurring sources of calcium, but take a look at some of these of other foods especially high in calcium that you can eat everyday:

Calcium Content per serving size

Vegetables

• Bok choy, cooked 330 mg
• Bean sprouts 320 mg
• Spinach, cooked 250 mg
• Collard greens, cooked 260 mg
• Mustard greens, cooked 450 mg
• Turnip greens, cooked 450 mg

Nuts

• Almonds 660 mg
• Chestnuts 600 mg
• Filberts 450 mg
• Walnuts 280 mg
• Sesame seeds 900 mg
• Sunflower seeds 260

Fish

• Raw oysters 300 mg
• Shrimp 130 mg
• Salmon with bones 490 mg
• Mackerel, canned with bones 680 mg
• Sardines, canned with bones 1000 mg

Grains

• Tapioca, dried 300 mg
• Brown rice, cooked 20 mg
• Quinoa, cooked 80 mg
• Corn meal, whole grain 50 mg
• Rye flour, dark 40 mg

Beans

• Garbanzo beans, cooked 340 mg
• Soybeans, cooked 450 mg
• Tofu 400 mg

What about fortified foods?

Bread, orange juice, cereals—these foods commonly contain added nutrients including calcium and vitamin D and can often contain far more than even a glass of milk. Like a supplement or vitamin, fortified foods commonly contain synthetic forms of calcium, all of which may not be absorbed by the body.

Image: Taylorkidd http://www.flickr.com/photos/kydd/4666234985/sizes/z/in/photostream/

This month we held our second Organic Give-A-Whey contest. Our fabulous fans wrote a haiku on what organic means to them. We loved the creativity of the haikus so much, we had to share the entries with you. Our grand prize winners Michael Odonnell and Julie Fields Macier, won a pouch of The Organic Whey, congratulations!

Stay tuned for our next Give-A-Whey, you never know when it will be!

Organic Give-A-Whey Haikus:

Julie Fields Macier

Stupid pesticides
Bad for me and the planet
Go Organic Go

Michael Odonnell

Kentucky tastes nice
But just whey ta minute and choose
Your tongue or your life

Michael Hairston

The Organic Whey is:
The best when it’s put to the test,
It tastes like sweet bliss
And “Whey” better than all the rest.

Laura Genton

No more chemicals
Or gene modification
For our health, our earth

Alexandria Fisher

Support local farms
Care for the environment
Love Community

Sean Hedderich

Buy conventional
From Fields of barren soil
Or choose organic

Foodalution

Dark moist and heady
Sweet soils fill my plate with love
Clean, healing light food

April Polichette

Organic is pure
Nothing unreal or phony
Replenishes health

Image: “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” by Hokusai (1823-9)

Source: http://haikuworldcup.blogspot.com/

If your kitchen isn’t the most frequented room in your house, then chances are it’s not as healthy (and delicious!) as it could be. But, when it’s warm and active with lots of organic, freshly prepared eats instead of the long lonely walk from freezer to microwave, an entire home can be transformed.

The more fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and organic meats and dairy you add to your diet, the less room you have for the processed ersatz junk. But, if you’re used to the frozen/canned/packaged-processed-stuff—which lasts indefinitely—the perishable fresh stuff can easily go bad before you have a chance to eat it. So where to start? Here are seven simple steps to creating a healthy kitchen.

1. Donate the junk. Yep. Think of it as your old security blanket that you had to part ways with eventually. It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t exactly helping you to hold onto it either. No matter how well stocked your kitchen is with fresh, healthy food, if there’s a bag of M & M’s hiding in the cupboard, you will find it. So save yourself the binge and guilt and make it a rite of passage into the new, healthy you by eliminating the temptations such as frozen pizzas, salty or sweet snacks, instant anything, and especially sodas—sweetened or diet.
2. Make a plan. A healthy kitchen is one where things work together: kale and avocado salad, mushroom and barley soup, roasted sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts. Spending a few minutes every week planning and calendaring your favorite recipes makes shopping and preparation inspired and delicious! There are so many cookbooks, websites, mobile phone apps and friends with great recipes to inspire you to get into your kitchen and cook. From the novice to the experts, we all can benefit from a great recipe.
3. Invest in a few good kitchen tools. It’s hard to prepare a healthy, yummy meal with a dull knife and the wrong cookware (you might cut yourself with that dull knife and burn up your delicious food in that thin pan!). Can’t afford a kitchen makeover? Check community boards like freecycle.org or neighborgoods.net, and even scour the thrift stores for some sturdy pots and pans, a good knife and wood cutting board (which helps keep that knife sharp!). Tell your friends and family about your new health goals and see if they have some extra utensils and cookware they can gift you.
4. Keep a list. An unbelievable amount of perfectly good food gets wasted every year, with nearly 100 billion tons of it ending up in landfills. Don’t throw your money away by letting fresh fruits and vegetables rot in your crisper. Try making a list of all your perishables and keeping it on your refrigerator door or on that calendar in the kitchen (where you calendared 2-3 meals you’re going to cook this week). This will help you remember to eat those strawberries, or that red leaf lettuce before they turn to mush.
5. Buy staples in bulk. One of the easiest excuses for ordering a pizza or scarfing down a Twix bar is that there’s “nothing to eat.” Keeping staples on hand is a great way to break that habit. Shop your local natural food store bulk section for whole grains such as brown rice, millet, barley and teff; and for beans and lentils; as well as nuts, seeds and unsulphured dried fruits. Store them in mason jars rather than in plastic bags so that you can clearly see what healthy foods you have available.
6. Prep. If cooking from scratch every night is intimidating or challenging, you can prepare lots ahead of time. Blanch or steam your veggies the day you buy them and then add those to soups, stir fries, casseroles, etc. Pick a grain or bean of the week and cook those ahead of time too, making several unique dishes during the week with enough for leftovers for lunch and or dinner the next day.
7. Invite friends. Like the French, who share long meals with friends and family, we eat less and enjoy a meal more if we’re surrounded with great company. Offer to cook for friends, family or neighbors once a week. Or make it a potluck where everyone brings a dish. Either way, you’ll feel the healthy warmth in your kitchen increase.

Photo: Nosha

Humans need protein in their diets. From our first sips of mother’s milk all the way through our hopefully long lives, the average adult requires anywhere from 40-50 grams of protein per day (and pregnant women can require more than 70 grams per day!). The symptoms of not having enough protein in our diets can include weakness, swelling, depression, abnormal heart rate and even death. And the effects of too much protein: kidney problems, inflammation conditions and even cancer. It’s a necessary balance indeed.

Protein builds muscles, bones, cartilage, skin and blood. We’d be bald and have no need for mani/pedis without protein. It repairs tissue, creates enzymes and hormones. Unlike some other nutrients, our bodies can’t store excess protein, so we need to replenish it regularly.

Protein is made up of chains of amino acids. There are 22 “standard” amino acids, of which nine cannot be produced in the body and therefore must come from food.  Our amino acid requirements change over time. As children, we often need higher levels of cysteine, tyrosine, taurine and arginine; and as we age, foods high in leucine and beta-alanine may be helpful.

Despite the well-known human protein requirements, we often seem to struggle with the question “which protein source is best?” Well, the answer is not exactly easy. With a world full of meat-eaters, vegans, and everything in between, we know that various sources of protein can satisfy our daily needs.

Animal products from red meat to fish, milk, eggs and even insects (a growing trend in low-impact but highly nutritious food), all contain protein. Vegetable proteins come from a number of sources, too: beans, nuts, legumes, grains, nutritional yeast, spirulina, blue green algae, and grasses like wheat and barley. The hemp seed is one of the most protein-rich foods available with one 100 gram serving containing as much as 50 grams of protein!

When people hear the term “whey” they often think about protein-drinking-iron-pumping-men-of-unusual-strength. And while that may be a not so off-base reality for some, there are plenty of regular-sized people who include whey, a dairy product, as part of their regular protein intake as well.

While there’s no denying that meat, eggs and dairy products contain lots of protein, they can also contain lots of saturated fat. And, if your animal products are not coming from an organic source, you’re likely getting genetically modified organisms, antibiotics, growth hormones and other questionable ingredients that the animals are routinely fed.

Fish has become the darling of the ‘heart healthy’, good fat protein sources. And this is also true. Wild caught fish can offer an abundance of benefits. But, like non-organically raised meat, pork or poultry, farmed fish can contain the addition of chemicals that pose notable health risks. And be careful, because the wild-caught fishing industry is now also overfishing some species vital to our ocean and river eco-systems. So if you are eating fish, choose sustainably caught options. The Monterey Bay Aquarium offers an easy guide to help you find the best fish options.

Plant proteins also offer another important dietary benefit: the addition of fiber. Because many Americans eat too much processed food, daily fiber requirements can fall short, leading to digestive issues and heart disease. Like protein, fiber is a macronutrient, meaning we need to get it—every day—and in rather large quantities.

Regardless of your dietary preferences, many experts agree that the “best” protein is a well-rounded variety. If you subscribe to that routine, you should find the benefits of a balanced protein diet provide you with many delicious and nutritious options, hopefully for years to come.

If you were raised in America, or most any other developed country, you most likely have seen a story about dairy farms that goes a little like this: A nice, somewhat weathered looking farmer rises at the crack of dawn. He quietly enters his barn where waking cows looking rested and happy greet him with a “moo.” He pulls up a stool, sits next to the cow and begins to press by hand, squeezing out pure, fresh, healthy milk that will soon be bottled and delivered your local store.

With the media attention corporate agriculture food giants have garnered recently you probably know this simply isn’t the case when it comes to the massive amounts of commercially produced dairy.

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are now the norm when it comes to livestock production, be it dairy cows, animals raised for meat or egg production. There are no real farmers to speak of, but rather supervisors and handlers that survey the seas of fur and feathers, pulling out lame or dead animals, and making sure the rest find their way to the food troughs, or onto the trucks headed to the slaughterhouse.

The numbers are staggering: More than 10 billion animals (not including marine life) just on American soil, tucked away in unmarked buildings off of highways (where rolling hills and barns used to sit) optimized to maximize profits and decrease expenses. But the hidden costs include a rise in harmful genetically modified animal feed, excessive antibiotic use leading to antibiotic-resistant bacteria entering our food supply, growth hormones linked to human health issues, and subsidies that reward the animal hoarding industry and make it more difficult for the family farmer—the few who still do rise at the crack of dawn to head into the barn—to afford to keep the farm.

Except, that’s not the whole story.

Enter the co-op. It’s a term you’ve probably heard applied to a few different paradigms, from housing and shopping to banking; it’s also a powerful tool in farming.

The most successful example of a farm co-op is probably Organic Valley, but there are many. (If you’ve ever shopped in a health food store, or purchased organic milk in your local supermarket, you may have seen the Organic Valley label.) The dairy cooperative works by uniting small farmers (much like the fictitious one mentioned above) and helping them to establish equity. Through a Board of Directors, the member farms have a voice in all aspects of governing the cooperative, which gives these small-scale farms some of the benefits of a big business while retaining all that’s good in a small farm: Healthier food, cleaner air, water and soil, and perhaps most significantly, a farmer who can stay in business despite the cheaper products produced on CAFOs.

By working together, farmers create selling power (Organic Valley has more than 1500 farms in their co-op), able to meet the demands of the nation’s largest supermarkets. And just like the nature of the co-op is to share equally and nurture the community, the end product—be it meat, dairy, spinach or celery—is typically of a higher quality as well.

Just like supporting your local produce farmers at farmers’ markets, supporting small dairy and meat farmers is a key contribution to your local economy, your environment and your own health. Make sure you seek out organic when buying from co-ops, especially with dairy products so that you avoid the toxic antibiotics, hormones and other chemicals routinely fed to conventionally raised animals. And yes, you can even start reverting back to the pastoral image of a farmer truly communing with his cows.

Image credit: http://www.organicvalley.coop/about-us/generation-organic/

As our bodies prepare for the change in seasons, so too do the seasonal offerings change in the marketplace. Summer’s ripe, juicy melons symbolic of the long lazy days, are replaced with cranberries and pumpkin pies spicing up the cool air.  We’ll set our clocks forward and back to accommodate the farmers feeding us with their cornucopia of delicious seasonal eats. So why then do we still demand summer fruits in the winter?

Historically, we’ve always eaten with the seasons. Aside from milk, eggs and meat, the rest of our diets were made up of wholesome, fresh fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes pushing up through the soil at different times throughout the year. But nowadays, walk into any supermarket and you’ll find year-round access to, well, everything—especially those out of season fruits that sit in perfect stacks in mid-December, flown in from faraway places like Chile or Argentina. While these may seem a bargain deal at the register, they take their toll in other ways. Just imagine what a ripe bunch of grapes or bananas must go through to get to your supermarket from deep in South America. All the excessive traveling is harsh on the environment, using lots of fossil fuels to reach us, and the freshness and nutrient density of those foods decrease every day between the field and your fork.

Try these five easy tips for maximizing the seasonal bounty for fresh and tasty foods:

Shop locally: The best way to know you’re getting the freshest and most nutritious local foods is to buy from regional growers. This can mean trading in a trip to the supermarket for a nearby farmer’s market, a CSA membership (community supported agriculture), or your very own yard! Local produce is always fresher, often tastier and can be less expensive than what’s available in the supermarket, too. You’ll benefit even more if the local produce you buy is organically grown. Organic food reduces your exposure to pesticides (and the farmer’s and the earth’s!) and contains more nutrients and flavor.

Be bold: So you’re kind of a picky eater. Aren’t we all? Be bold and try new foods; the more you experiment, you just might surprise yourself. After all, if you eat fresh whole foods at the peak of the season, when they taste their best, their flavors are a whole heck of a lot different than something that was picked green and ripened on a truck!  If melons aren’t in season, see what fun you can have with pears or a quince. Be open…it’s a delicious world.

Store it: If you simply can’t imagine a day without strawberries, then freeze or can them for the winter.  It’s easy to find a local class to learn how to make preserves, and if you just choose to freeze the berries, they can keep for months. (While they won’t be best eaten raw like fresh berries, you can add them to your morning smoothie or dessert recipes.)

Tune in: Although you may think you’re really in the mood for something out of season, you just may be hungry for something nutritious! If you’re craving cucumbers in winter, it may be your dry skin needing a silica boost. See if leeks or celery do the trick instead.

Reward: Making changes—especially to our diet—can be a little bit of a challenge, but making it fun by experimenting with exciting in-season foods is a great way to ease into healthy and delicious habits. Embrace the season’s freshest foods (which are also usually the cheapest!). Before you know it your friends might mistake you for a foodie. The simple secret: eating in-season, fresh, natural and organic food is the healthiest and most delicious reward there is.

Photo: faith goble