The two most common reasons why folks avoid shopping for buying local, Organic meat and veggies are because it is too expensive, and/or it takes too much effort.

I hear ya. Most of us grew up buying all of our food in one trip to the grocery store, and we are accustomed to being able to bargain shop fairly effectively. Today, often times the best prices on food can be found online, and groceries can be delivered right to your door without you leaving the house! Prioritizing local food purchasing can be tough

Why does buying local food matter? Does it really benefit my health that much? Does it really make that much of a difference?The answer that each of us honestly gives to those questions will dictate whether we are ready to prioritize buying locally produced food. It is usually more convenient to buy whatever we can find for the best price at the store, or even online and have delivered to our house. Changing habits to buy local food takes effort. And we only make lasting habit changes - especially ones that are less convenient - if we really believe something is worthwhile.

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. CSA Programs involve a farm selling a "share" of produce, meat, eggs, or other food products to a family for the season. This means that if you buy a CSA Share at a farm, they will now provide you with a share of the harvest throughout the season. 

About 10.6 million women in our country are currently taking birth control pills for contraceptive purposes, and many are unaware of the potential negative health consequences. I was one of them until a year or two ago, when I learned that there are in fact many ways in which the pill can impact your nutrient status and overall health. I wrote this post to share with you my newfound knowledge and tips on how to best support your health while on the pill or while coming off of it.

A common question! Especially considering the ridiculous amount of labels to consider when it comes to buying eggs.

Before I dig into each one with you, I encourage you to read last week's post on the pros and cons of relying on food labels. It is very important to understand the limitations of food certification labels, and when the best times to rely on them is.

So let's dissect egg labels with a couple rules of thumb:

Organic, non-gmo, cage free, free range, pastured raised, grass fed, grass finished, vegetarian fed... There are a LOT of ways to label food these days. It can be really overwhelming to keep up with what each of these means, and to distinguish between marketing mumbo-jumbo and legitimate quality standards.

It can also be very anxiety-inducing to stand at the egg section hovering between "cage free vegetarian fed" and "free range Omega-3 enriched". No one likes to be made to feel unintelligent like this - we all want to be able to efficiently buy our food AND have confidence in our choices.

So that's what I'd like to equip you with in the next series of posts: the information and peace of mind required to make excellent purchasing decisions that you understand and can stand behind.

If you are looking for an easy chicken dinner on the grill to complement the summer tomatoes and cucumbers that are coming out of your garden, farmer's market, CSA share, or your ears, this is the recipe for you.

This treat is hands down my new summer favorite. It is not the most photo-worthy recipe I’ve ever made.... okay ha ha, we've all had a laugh about the photo ;) but it is a cinch to make and is a fantastic option when you’re craving ice cream on a hot summer day.

Last weekend I had the privilege of inviting some friends over to watch a documentary on child slavery in the chocolate industry, discuss what we can do about it, and indulge in some delicious dark chocolate (well-sourced of course).

You may be reading this and thinking "Slavery in the chocolate industry?! How could this be and why don't I know about it??" I strongly encourage you to read on: familiarize yourself with the problem and learn some VERY practical ways you can ensure you do not support this injustice with your purchases.

Today I've got a pretty straightforward recipe for you - I'm sharing this because The Live & Eat Community Group meets next week. Each month I highlight a Food of the Month and this month is beets. We'll talk about why beets are so healthful and this month's meal plan features 3 different ways to prepare beets. Plus we're also talking about fermented foods and there are a couple of ways to ferment beets that we'll discuss - it will be a real beet extravaganza, and you're welcome to join us if you're into that.