Celebrate Eat Local Month

August just so happens to be Eat Local Month. So, in honor of this wonderful occasion Allan and I enjoyed the following delightful salads for supper. Not all of the ingredients were local to MN, but some of the veggies were grown by our friends and in our own backyard.

A yummy summer salad

This salad was a mixture of baby lettuce, japanese cucumber, orange bell pepper, red onion, baby carrots, tomatoes, avocado, grilled chicken breast and long grain brown rice all drizzled with Annie's Lite Raspberry dressing (Maria) and Drew's All Natural Rosemary Balsamic dressing (Allan).

If you enjoyed my What It Means to Eat Clean post from earlier this week, you should check out my guest blog post on Wellness Daily: 5 Simple Ways to Clean Up Your Diet.

Are you participating in the Eat Local Challenge? If so, what fun things have you been eating lately?

Have a fabulous weekend!

The Rav4 Has Arrived!

Last night after work we received a call from the car dealership that the Toyota Rav4 that we ordered a month ago arrived! We picked it up last night in Golden Valley and could not be happier with our decision! I will try to post a pic of the black beauty later on tonight!

I'm sorry that I have not posted my eats for a few weeks. I have been staying Cooler 2 strict while integrating some raw foods and eliminating dairy and wheat flour. I found that dairy and wheat flour (even WW) tend to give me belly bloat, so I am trying to limit them as much as possible.

Here are my eats for the day:

Meal 1 - egg whites + chicken sausage + cinn raising sprouted wheat toast

Meal 2 - raw cashew coconut pudding + raspberries (from the farmer's market)

Meal 3 - chicken artichoke spinach pesto w/ brown rice penne + kale + raw orange miso dressing

Meal 4 - banana + raw almond butter (homemade)

Meal 5 - chicken burger + turkey bacon + butter crunch lettuce + green/yellow/purple beans

Last week I went to the Farmer's Market twice to pick up fresh produce and plan on going twice again this week to pick up any additional produce that we need to supplement our CSA share. The weather in MN is finally cooperating and the farmers have been able to start cranking out produce. I read last week that because of the cold and dry Spring/Summer that we have had, several farmers are over 2 weeks behind schedule on their crops. It's nice to see the weather warming up and the rain today to help them out!

Summer Goals

Thank you to everyone for the kind words on in regards to my before and after pics from the Competition. It was a little scary posting pictures of myself in a bikini for the world to see! I am really happy with the visible results that I had and the way that my clothes now fit. To celebrate my achievement, I even picked up a couple pairs of size 6 jeans and a skirt!!!



On to my summer goals. Yes, I know that the summer has been here for a while… but with the weather that we’ve had in Minnesota, it feels like the summer is just beginning. Besides, in reality, summer has only been here for 9 days. So, with the start of the summer, I would like to set some realistic goals for myself for the next MONTH. A month doesn’t seem like a long time, just 4 short weeks, but it definitely is enough time to make progress on some of my long-term goals.

Here are the things that I would like to accomplish in the month of July:

1. Eat clean 95% of the time (cheats will be wine, vodka/soda, or very dark chocolate)
2. Eat all of my meals on time (every 2-3 hours)
3. Workout 4 days per week
4. Vary the types of workouts that I do: yoga, circuit training, biking, running, walking, and heavy lifting
5. Embrace our organic CSA share (that should be getting more bountiful soon)
6. Visit the Farmer’s Market more often
7. Increase my Raw Food consumption and try to eat one raw meal every other day
8. Read Making The Cut by Jillian Michaels
9. Read an average of one Psalm per day, starting with Psalm 31 (I read 1–30 in the month of June)
10. Cut wheat flour out of my diet, as it gives me tummy bloat & headaches (stick to sprouted and grain-based complex carbs)
11. Embrace healthy fats like avocados, nut butters, and coconut oil
12. Get 8 hours of sleep every night
13. Start writing a Cookbook

Yes, you read that right. I have decided to write a Cookbook. I plan on filling the book with both recipes and organization/clean foodie tips, like I have on this blog. You may have noticed that I have not been posting as many recipes lately. This is because I have been busy in the Peters test kitchen experimenting with lots of different recipes, deciding which ones will make it into the book. Rest assured that recipes that do not make the cut will still be posted on my blog along with a few “sneak peak” recipes that do make it into the cookbook.

Do you have any suggestions of recipes that are currently on the blog that I should include in the cookbook? What are your favorites?

Community Supported Agriculture

I am really excited about joining a CSA this year. I considered joining last year, but did not make time to evaluate the different farm options and sign up. I am a member of Valley Natural Foods and they are having a CSA Day on March 28th where I plan on making my final decision.

For those of you who have not heard of CSA’s, here is a little background information. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Numerous farms offer subscriptions, or shares, of produce that can be purchased for the length of the growing season. Members of the CSA receive weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or one-time containers of veggies, fruit, flowers, eggs, dairy and/or meat. The selection of items varies on the chosen farm and the shares that are purchased.

A typical CSA share includes mostly veggies along with some fruit; additional items such as flowers or meat can be added on at an additional charge. The variety and quantity of vegetables are dependent on the farm, weather conditions, and share chosen.

Members are often referred to as “shareholders” or “subscribers” because with their investment they are taking on the risk associated with each growing season. Some farms even require that members work a few hours on the farm. Most farms offer member only events, potlucks, and demonstrations. Others offer cooking lessons and internships.

Many CSA farms offer local delivery to specific locations along with farm pick up. Customarily farm pick-up is less expensive than local pick-up. Oftentimes pick-up locations are at local co-ops, schools, community centers, and host homes. Some CSA farmers are even open to adding new drop off locations as long as a specific number of shares will be ordered from the location.


Typically, the Minnesota CSA season begins in Mid-May and runs through October (18 - 20 weeks). However, the length and breadth of the season is completely dependent on growing conditions – droughts, floods, pests – all determine crop yield.

The CSA’s that I am considering are sustainable and organic where a half-share of produce ranges from $275 to $470 per season - averaging out to $14.47 to $24.70 per week for fresh, organic produce. The price of each share varies by farm and is dictated by the variety and quantity of produce offered. 

For more information about CSA’s in your area check out the Local Harvest website.

The photos in this post are sample CSA boxes from Featherstone Farm.