The good, the bad and the yummy!

 Food, food, food! I don’t know about you but I love food! All of it! The food that is good for you and the food that is not so good for you but all must be yummy. I try very hard to be good and succeed most of the time but then there are those times that only the bad yummy things will do. With that said I also know that there is a place for all foods in a person’s diet even those food items considered by most not the healthiest for you.

Sometimes like today that non-healthy food choice was not my fault. (Of course any excuse will do when you are looking for one.) A group, that my mother belongs to, is having a craft sale next weekend which I always try to send something for it. Since I seldom have time for crafts or sewing any more I always send food. I decided to make “Muddy Buddies” as they sold very well last year. Now I don’t know if you have ever heard of Muddy Buddies but pick up any Chex cereal box and the recipe will probably be there. These are one of those food items that one handful is never enough! Basically it is Chex cereal covered with melted chocolate and peanut butter then covered in powdered sugar. Who could ask for anything more yummy than anything covered with chocolate and peanut butter! Four batches later and the Muddy Buddies are all packed in quart jars tied with cute Christmas ribbons. And I am proud to say that I have only eaten one handful!  

 

Now while that was the bad food for the day there was also good food or maybe I should say good food to come. After a year of debate I signed up to start receiving a CSA box of fruits and vegetables. If you haven’t heard of this it would not surprise me. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. This is a way for you directly help the farmers in your area by buying local and what you get in return are the freshest fruit and vegetables directly from a farm. A lot of the farms are organic which means the cost is a little higher but not enough to make it cost prohibited. If you are a big farmer’s market person you will love these boxes. You pick how often the boxes come and what comes in them all delivered to your front door. How easy is that! No longer will there be excuses for not having any fruit or vegetables in my house. I will no longer have to stop at the store on my way to work because I have no fruit or need some sort of leafy green stuff for a salad for my lunch. I am so excited!

I live in a big farming community and there is nothing more yummy than fresh just picked fruit or vegetables from a roadside fruit stand. Now that roadside stand will be at my door. I will be getting farm fresh good for me food and helping my local economy by shopping local. The farmer’s markets may be gone since summer is over but you can still support your local farmers. If you are not sure if there are any CSA farms in your area Google will be glad to help you. Just type “CSA in wherever you live” and they will pop up. Not sure if they deliver in your area send them a quick email. I would bet that if they don’t they will know who does and will be delight to share that information with you.

Most of the smaller farms in the United States are struggling to hang on as prices for producing the food they grow goes up and the price they receive goes down. While I have a garden every year it is small and I know that I am not capable of producing all the food I enjoy eating so I am very depend on our farmers. Wouldn’t most of you be in that same spot if there were no farmers? Give some thought to helping your local farmers by purchasing a CSA box. Ask your local grocery store about stocking more local produce or shop the local farmers markets. Your local farmers will love having your support. Make supporting and buying from your local farmers’ one of your positively healthy choices every day!

 

 

Recipe for Muddy Buddies from Chex.com

http://www.chex.com/Recipes/RecipeView.aspx?RecipeId=45860&CategoryId=342

 

Curious about CSA, check out my local provider - Farm Fresh to You

http://www.farmfreshtoyou.com/

...the boys!

I have been at my “new job”, as I call it, for over five years but as much as I enjoy it there has always been something missing. In my old job I was surrounded by high school and college students. It was fun to watch them grow and change into adults. The chats were fun and uplifting, bringing back fond memories of my younger days. It was a time for me to share and help them grow but it also allowed me on some occasions to be a child myself. How I miss those days now that I am surrounded only by adults. But an amazing thing happened this fall at my “new job”. We hired some college students to work in our warehouse part time.

During our busy time I go from being a secretary to a warehouse worker. The warehouse manager is fun to work for and while the work is hard I have always felt I could count it as my strength training for the day. The dress code is shorts and a t-shirt which is far different than my secretary clothes of a skirt or slacks and high heels. It is light hearted work and my time in the warehouse has always been enjoyable. But this year there were boys, three of them all from the local colleges! How fun it has been to hear their stories and listen to the adventures. They tease each other, chat about school and the weekend. A buzz surrounds them and their enthusiasm is contiguous. All of us that work in the warehouse are mesmerized by them and the smiles they bring to work every day. I have told them numerous times how much they brighten my day and have added back one of the things I missed about my old job. Working with them has made me feel young again.

Is your live getting dull and old? Are you missing your younger days? Is your enthusiasm gone? Do you want to live longer and be more youthful? Then find a way to surround yourself with young people. Mentor a college student and share what you have learned over your life time from your job. Offer the man the booth at a college career day for your company. Volunteer to help with the youth or college group at your church. If you are looking for a part time job find one that will surround you with young people. Most importantly remember to bring with you an open mind and a willingness to try something new. Embrace their enthusiasm and let that youthful feeling rub off on you. Let the young person you help renew your life and make you feel young again. Make finding the younger you one of your positively healthy choices every day.