Healthy living

Cale helps us unpack our load

Today our first ever delivery from a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) arrived! CSAs work by community members paying a farmer in advance for a weekly delivery of local, organic fruits and veggies. I've been wanting to join a CSA for a couple of years, so when I found out that Ironwood Farms would be doing a drop off at my work, I jumped on the chance to join. The growing conditions haven't been the best, so there isn't too much diversity in the first delivery, but in weeks to come we can expect carrots, tomatoes, berries, tons of greens, peppers, root vegetables and much more. I can't wait! I realized how much I have to learn about local produce. Since getting home I have already googled 'how to eat a turnip' and 'can you eat the green tops of radishes'. I think we will be cooking a lot of soups and stews this summer! Maureen - I'll be emailing you tonight for your rhubarb muffin recipe!!

Wooden toy assortment

Eating local and organic is one step we are taking to try and live an all around healthier lifestyle with less of an impact on the earth. We are already quite environmentally conscious, but there are a few things that I have been wanted to change. I'm concerned about the amount of toxins in our environment - both because everything ultimately ends up in the water and living right on the shore you can't help but picture everything directly draining to the sea, but I also want to limit Caleb's exposure to toxins and chemicals. We try to keep less plastic toys in the house and go for wooden ones instead. I know that the standards are higher for children's toys nowadays, but we still hear of high lead levels and BPA, and since everything still goes into Caleb's mouth, I feel much better about avoiding plastics when I can. We are also trying to use more natural cleaning products, like baking soda and vinegar. I'm going to buy some borax this week to give that a try on the hard water stains in our tub. I'll post a before and after if it works! We are about to do a quick clean tonight before the big hockey game starts. GO BRUINS GO!!