We got our first box from the CSA this week!

Look at all of those great veggies! We eat a lot of veggies around here and I am really hoping that between the garden and the CSA we won't have to buy any veggies from the store this summer. That will help the grocery bill!

Now is the time to join a CSA for 2008

Joining a CSA is a great way to eat organically and keep costs down. CSA stands for community supported agriculture. What you do is buy a share of the harvest - and then you get a weekly box of veggies from the farm. Here are some links to find out more information and to find a CSA in your area - http://www.localharvest.org/csa/; http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csa.shtml; and if you live locally here in the Twin Cities, here is a link to a list of the CSA's in our area - http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/csa.html.

There are many different options to consider when joining a CSA. Last year we joined late and were limited by who still had openings - many CSA's sell out early. We had an alright experience last year but we are switching CSA's this year. This is the one we are going with this year - http://www.harmonyvalleyfarm.com/. The reasons that Harmony Farm appeals to us are it has a longer season - 30 weeks instead of 17, (since we eat 52 weeks out of the year, I'd like to find a CSA to provide fresh organic veggies as many of those 52 weeks as possible) the list of the veggies that they grow are mostly ones that my family enjoys eating (while it was fun trying some new veggies last year - it would have been nice to have more old favorites) and they offer a monthly payment plan - where the money can be taken right out of your checking account every month.

Great finds at the Dollar Store

Look what I found at the Big Dollar Store yesterday. Andy loves the Imagine Tomato Soup. I have never tried the Crispy Chicken Coating Mix - but guess what? For a dollar I will! For those of you local - they have tons of both of these products at the Big Dollar Store on Robert Street (not Dollar Tree - also on Robert). This is not the first time I have found organic and/or gluten free products at this dollar store.

Hansen's Organic Juice Slam

I try to limit the amount of juice we drink - but these are nice for the lunch box. They come in several flavors and are all organic and 100% juice - and they don't look too different from what the other kids are drinking.

Barbara's Brown Rice Crisps

A substitute for Rice Krispies. They are very tasty.

Ricera Rice Yogurt

Here's a yogurt for those of you who also are avoiding soy. I just picked these up and haven't tasted them yet. I only bought these 3 - following my old rule of not buying more of one (or one of each flavor) until you know if you like it. I haven't tried it yet - after we have tried it I will come back and edit this post and give you my opinion. This is the first non-soy gfcf yogurt I've seen.

An affordable way to buy Organic

Since I have gone back to get my Master's in Holistic Health and Nutrition Education I have become even more determined to only buy organic foods. I have always grown an organic garden and preserved my extras for winter - but it's not enough. I would buy organic when convienent, but if it wasn't there - I thought fresh fruit was still best. I can't believe I was so naive - the stuff I'm learning about how many pesticides are put on these plants - and how deep it penetrates - you cannot wash it off - scary.

Anyway I have started buying all organic and my grocery bill has really gone up - even with the garden right now. So I had to do a paper for school on where to buy organic in my area - a tool for my professional toolbox that I will use with clients. As I was researching this, I stumbled across CSA's (Community Supported Agriculture). I had heard of CSA's before but for some crazy reason thought they were only out in CA. Well - there are a ton of them right here in my area - and some still have openings for this year.

What you do is buy a share of the harvest and get weekly deliveries. Most of them have several delivery spots around the metro area - some deliver right to your door - and some you have to drive out to the farm to pick up. Some have financial assistance if you can't afford it and some will let you trade some labor for part of the cost. Many of them have activities on the farm that you can come to.

And some of them offer eggs and meat - and I even found one that offers baked goods - including some that are gluten free and casien free.

The costs of the ones I looked into appeared to run right around $500 for a box big enough for 2 adults and 1 small child. The number of weeks they deliver is between 16 and 22 (this is only based on the ones I found). That's like $28 a week.

Anyway - I thought I would share the idea in case there were others out there like me who want to buy organic but wish it were more affordable. Here is a link to a website where you can put in your zip or state and see what's in your area: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

Even if they are all full in your area for this year - you might want to investigate them and get on a list for next year.

I'm going to put all of the ones for my area in a spreadsheet so my future clients can compare based on what works best for their family.

Hope that helps someone!

EnviroKidz Rice Bars

Another pic from Jennifer. I posted a picture of just the peanut butter earlier - Andy doesn't like the berry flavor. These are the only two flavors that are GFCF - the chocolate ones contain dairy.

EnviroKidz Rice Bars

These are the peanut butter flavor - the berry flavor is also GFCF.

College Farm Organic FunPops

A not so bad for you lollipop!

San-J Organic Tamari Wheat Free Soy Sauce

Regular soy sauce is not GFCF. I use this in a lot of recipes.

Walnut Acres Fruit Squeezies

These are applesauce in a tube.

Soy Dream Vanilla Milk Singles

These are good for the lunch box and when we go places. They come with straws attached like juice boxes. They also come in chocolate flavor. Be careful - Rice Dream brand looks similar but is not GFCF - it contains gluten from barley.

Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal

Note that it says Gluten Free on top. They also make one that just says Wheat Free - I bought the wrong one by accident once - the Wheat Free is not Gluten Free - it has barley in it like Rice Krispies and most commercial cereals do.

EnviroKidz Gorilla Munch Cereal

Andy's daycare is peanut free so he cannot have Panda Puffs there - Gorilla Munch is similar but not peanut butter flavored. Andy eats it either mixed with Panda Puffs or only when Panda Puffs are not available.

EnviroKidz Panda Puffs Cereal

Andy's absolute favorite cereal. They are peanut butter flavored. Andy likes to eat them dry as a snack as well as with milk for breakfast.

EnviroKidz Animal Cookies

Only the Vanilla Flavor is GFCF!