We all could eat more vegetables. It’s hard – I get it. If you’re wanting to increase vegetable consumption in your household, there are a couple tricks to try. The first is to plan your meals ahead of time and plan what vegetable you are having with your meal or how to sneak more veggies in. Making tacos? Plan for tomato, avocado, spinach, onion and peppers. Load up where you can.
Another trick is to buy veggies when you shop. Sometimes seeing that pepper in the fridge or bag of greens makes me think about incorporating them into snacks (like green smoothies) or meals.
Perhaps the easiest way to increase vegetable consumption is to keep it fresh.
Try a CSA!
A CSA – meaning community supported agriculture – includes a box of fresh fruits, veggies and/or herbs each week. Getting a box of fresh produce, including interesting varieties you’ve never seen before, can propel you to find new recipes, learn to cook new vegetables and inevitably will increase vegetable consumption. Most people will find ways to use their produce because they’ve paid for it and don’t want it to go to waste. Buying from a local CSA also means you are getting local produce.
What’s the Deal with CSA’s?
CSA boxes have grown in popularity in recent years and what makes them great is that they often come from organic (or mostly organic) farms. You’re getting great, fresh produce from sustainable practices. The idea of a CSA is that you pay in the winter or springtime, like buying shares in the company. Then, as produce starts maturing, the yield is split between shareholders.
This means you carry much of the risk of the farm. If the season is wet or if there’s a disaster that affects the crops, you might not get much. Sometimes your investment brings you a yield well worth the cost. Other times you don’t get as much as you’d expect for the money.
The benefit of a CSA is multi-faceted.
1) You know where you’re food is coming from.
2) You have an opportunity to work at the farm and further invest yourself in that farm and their work.
3) You get freshly picked vegetables (and sometimes fruits and herbs too) from local sources.
4) You vote for quality in the food system with your dollars. Local, organic veggies are thought to be more nutritious than conventional.
5) You get chemical-free food for your family.
6) You get exposed to new varieties, recipes and may develop new healthy preferences.
Want to Join a CSA?
If you’re liking the sounds of joining a CSA, you may find comfort that different farms offer different options, like small boxes or every other week pickups. Most of us should be able to find an affordable option and remember that although you’re paying it all up front, your box will save you money every week on groceries.
To find CSA’s in your area, use the web. Here is one resource that talks about CSA’s and has a search function for farms in your state or specific area. Take note that the idea of a CSA has expanded to include other things, like meat, medicinal herbs and fruit. Some farms have add-on’s like eggs to purchase.
Have you ever purchased (or thought of purchasing) a CSA share? What was your experience?
{Photo Credit: casebeer}