Top 10 Questions To Ask @ Your Local Farmers Market

Top 10 Questions To Ask @ Your Local Farmers Market

Here is # 7 & 8… You will have to click to see the rest! 7. “How do you control weeds for your crops?” Organic farmers use all types of methods to suppress weeds but generally don’t require a completely weed-free field, and with good reason. As long as soil quality is high, even a weedier field will produce the same yields as a chemical field, according to research done by the Rodale Institute, an organic research farm near Kutztown, Pennsylvania. Organic methods include using cover crops, mulching, cultivation, and if it’s a smaller operation, even hand-weeding.

8. “How are bugs and pests controlled?” Biodiversity is a major part of organic farming. Farmers who install wildlife corridors and pollinator plantings, including meadows, will attract beneficial inspects into the field to prey on pests that like to eat crops. Bugs are only bad in processed foods. There are also organic-approved pest-control products on the market. If your farmer uses them, ask for the product name, and check to see if it’s on the OMRI list.

Organic Southwest Tortilla Soup Vitamix Style

Organic Southwest Tortilla Soup Vitamix Style

I love soups and bone broths because they’re an easy way to get in a lot of vegetables and high quality nutrients into your system FAST, and they are usually awesome leftover (whether they’ve been in the fridge or freezer). I am a huge fan of serving easy dinners on busy weeknights and there is nothing easier than defrosting some soup out of your very own freezer. I especially love this soup because it comes with so many “accessories.” You could certainly eat it plain but it is amazing how the flavor suddenly changes when you pile avocado, grated cheese, sour cream, and cilantro on top. We even sometimes toast tortillas (to make them crunchy like chips) and throw them in the mix as well.

Gone in 90 Seconds!

Gone in 90 Seconds!

What if a brief exercise of 90 seconds, made it less likely that this dessert would get stored as body fat? That is exactly one of the things Tim Ferriss explores in The 4-Hour Body. Brief Muscular Contractions a Few Minutes Before You Eat? So most of you probably know that after an intense workout, food calories are less likely to get stored as body fat. A simplistic explanation is that your muscles are depleted of glycogen and that a lot of the calories you eat at this time simply serve to refuel these depleted muscles. What I did not know was how little the stimulus needs to be in order for this to happen. Tim has found that this effect can happen in as little as 60-90 seconds. The proper activity done a few minutes before eating can encourage food calories to get shuttled into the muscle cells, before it has a chance to get stored as body fat.

Chocolate Cherry Green Machine

Chocolate Cherry Green Machine

I’m all about great tasting smoothies in my life. Smoothies with a spoon are the way to go. But the best way to thicken a smoothie? Avocado! I love adding avocado not just because of it’s consistency but also its added nutritional benefit. Avocados are a fantastic source of monounsaturated “good” fat (helps lower bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol), potassium, folate and fibre.