CSA Box Review! Farm Fresh to You vs. Abundant Harvest

Last year I discovered the wonderful world of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Boxes.  I tried out the boxes from Underwood Family Farms, a local farm which I love so much.  If you live nearby, or even anywhere in the greater LA area, you've got to visit sometime!  There is so much for families of little ones to do there.  Over the summer we went blueberry picking at their farm in Somis - such a wonderful memory maker for my kids.  I got into a great habit of basing our weekly dinner menu on the contents of the box.  My life got a little crazy this past year and  I had let the planning go to the wayside.  I knew I wanted to get back into CSA Boxes for a number of reasons: they force me to cook more veggies, we end up having some new and exciting dishes, my kids have a ton of fun opening the boxes & naming all of the produce (and eating more too since they are involved!), and we are supporting local farmers.  Underwood Family Farms has a great CSA program which you can sign up for here.  You also get a free season pass to Underwood for being a current CSA subscriber!  This time I wanted to try some different CSA Box services.  I chose Farm Fresh to You, and Abundant Harvest, both local services of organically grown produce. 

Farm Fresh to You
I first tried Farm Fresh to You.  Immediately intriguing is the fact that they deliver to your doorstep!  How convenient!  Every other Wednesday morning I opened my door to a fresh shipment of goodies.  One time I even discovered the box there late Tuesday night.  I like that you have the ability to substitute produce.  I do not like radishes.  So, I can put in a request to sub radishes if they are on the shipment list.  It was very easy to set that up through their website.  Their website is very user friendly.  You can set up vacation requests and change your shipment schedule very easily.  You can do weekly & every other week and can change your schedule- just be sure to do it in enough time to allow them to process your request.  I also like the variety of box choices they offer; large, small, mixed, snack pack, veggies only, fruit only and more!  They update their website with box contents by noon every Thursday, providing more than adequate time to do some meal planning and prep for the following week.  We participated in one of their farm events one weekend, which was a great experience.  We got a tour of the farm, strolled through orange orchards, enjoyed a family picnic, and they had activities for the kids.  They also have a wonderful referral program. For everyone you refer, you get a free box, and the new customer gets $5 off their first box.  If you try Farm Fresh, please use the code 6164 and my name, Karen Gauthier as the referral to save your $5.

Here is a picture of the "More Mixed LA" Box, $44 from 9/12/12:

Abundant Harvest
I first heard about Abundant Harvest from a farmer at a local farmer's market.  I was thrilled to discover they have a delivery site very close to me (and very convenient to pick up for my weekly schedule)!  They also do home delivery for an added $10 fee.  It is important to note that you need to check with them ahead of time to see if you are within the delivery radius of one of their delivery sites.  I e-mailed them to confirm that we are indeed within the radius.  They responded via e-mail very quickly. I was a little confused when I signed up - there ended up being a charge of $30 for the reusable plastic crate your produce comes in and that you turn in every week.  Somehow I missed that detail - but I also have a habit of reading through things a little too quick sometimes!  In the long run though, I don't think this is a huge deal & that crate comes in pretty handy!  The large box through Abundant Harvest ($46) ends up being around the same price as the large box through Farm Fresh to You ($44) when it's delivered.  I'm not going to fret over a $2 difference.  Abundant is a weekly service.  However, you can set up vacation preferences on their website for every other week if you would like.  You cannot make substitutes through Abundant.  Hence, the eggplant that I had to cook the other week.  I do not like eggplant, but I ended up making an extremely tasty Cheesy Baked Eggplant out of it! My husband requested it be added to our list of recipes!  I just subbed the cheese & used vegan Daiya mozzarella instead.  I even liked it!  Abundant also has a variety of add-ons you can customize to your order.  Add-ons include a wide variety of produce, herbs, nuts, gift boxes, raw milk, honey, meat, eggs, beans, grains, and bread.  This week they are even offering catnip as an add-on!  Box contents are posted well ahead of time to allow for menu planning.  *Please note that Abundant Harvest will be doing some website maintenance from 8pm to around Midnight tomorrow night, Friday September 14th.  If you are interested in signing up, wait until after that time period. 

Here's a picture of one of my Abundant Harvest boxes:

The Decision
This was a very tough decision for us!  The quality of the produce was high and I was very pleased with both services.  We are within the delivery areas for both, and they both offered choices with the boxes and add-ons that would meet our family's needs.  I highly recommend both.  For us it came down to cash savings.  Since the pick up site for Abundant Harvest is so close to us and at a very convenient time to fit into my schedule, saving $10 a week on quality organic produce is huge to us.  Sure delivery would be more convenient, and we could switch at any time, but for now we'd like to save the money.  Even with the $30 cost for the crate, the savings pays for the crate within 3 weeks.  If you haven't tried a CSA Farm Box service yet, you've got to give it a try!  Now when I go to the stores it seems like I'm buying old produce.  It's such a fun family tradition to build too - from having the kids open the box & seeing the excitement on their fae to prepping the produce & trying new veggies.  My son was disappointed this morning that the fresh pears sitting on the counter were not ripe yet - he really wanted one for breakfast!

Please comment if you've used one of these services before - I would love to hear others experiences too!

Quick & Easy Ways to Pack in Nutrition for You & the Kids!

Today my guest blogger is Justine from www.healthymama.net!  Justine inspired me to start prepping food ahead of time & pureeing veggies to pack in nutrition to our food - especially for the kids.  Enjoy!

We all run into this problem, your kids are hungry, or you are hungry, you’re busy and don’t feel like making food, I mean, what do you make?? There is a Mc Donald’s down the street, a can of spaghetti o’s in the counter, and you just want to stop your rumbling tummy, or the whining kiddos. What do you do? Well, it’s only $1.00 for a double cheese burger, and if you went to the store it would take so long, and what would you make, anyway? Or you just grab the can opener…

I don’t do either of those things, and yes I do spend time in the kitchen. Healthy eating is a commitment,  but it does not have to be difficult for every meal. (For those of you who know me personally, you now I do not enjoy cooking, but my kids are worth it, and, you know what, so am I.) I choose a day, usually Sunday, and I get all the ingredients together for the week, and I prepare them. I puree the veggies I will be sneaking into the food, I cook up and season the veggie sausage that I put on nachos and pasta, I cook up the soyrizo I put in tacos or nachos, I slice bananas, I soak shrimp in curry, I make guacamole for tacos, nachos or snacks, and I make a box or quinoa (with black beans and a veggie puree.) for the nachos,  tacos, burritos, curry, and my easy lunches. I have a lot of tupperware, and I just put everything in the fridge (I freeze the purees and bananas, though because I like putting them in smoothies.) If you are a meat eater, I would cook chicken, or pork chops to add to food as well.

It it so worth it to get everything started, because all of a sudden, it’s lunch time, what do you choose? My favorite midday food is a bowl or quinoa and black beans with melted (soy) cheese and guacamole and a tomato (the purple ones from Trader Joe’s with some pepper are awesome!) Sometimes I will add a tortilla, and salsa. It takes 5 minutes to prepare.

Tacos are quick, tortillas, quinoa with back beans, shrimp (just add some pepper and lime) or soyrizo, cut up some cabbage or lettuce, I love jalapinos, so I add that. And salsa!!

You can very easily make your own chips with raw tortillas, or use coconut oil to make your won chips, just brush with oil and pop in the oven. If it’s a really lazy day, I love the flax seed veggie chips from Trader Joe’s. You can dip your chips in guacamole, I use all fresh ingredients, tomatoes, lots of limes, jalapeno, cilantro, garlic, basil (my FAVORITE herb!!!) cayanne pepper, black pepper, and avacados, of course. Acacados have healthy fat, so no guilt! I love to top nachos with guacamole!

Curry is delicious, I have been doing it the lazy way, Trader Joe’s has really good jars of curry, I soak shrimp until we are ready for food, and add tofu, and heat it up on the stove, add seasonings and pour it over quinoa or brown rice.

(I swear Trader Joe’s does not pay me!) Trader Joe’s also has really yummy ravioli in the refrigerated section. Personally, I could live on the butternut squash ravioli, and the lobster ravioli. The ravioli takes about 4 minutes, and a sauce is quick, I still use animal friendly butter, and garlic, basil, and rosemary… and I always add spice, a jalapeno, or cayanne. You can add sage to the butternut squash, and (shhhh don’t tell… a little brown sugar) I also put shrimp in the lobster sauce.

Pasta is so easy! You can choose the noodles you like, brown rice, wheat, spaghetti squash, you name it, and I add the fake meat sausage which I already seasoned, and purred carrot or red bell pepper to the sauce.

Don’t forget smoothies! I love giving the kiddos a smoothies with a meal. I add frozen fruits and veggie puree, maybe some almond milk. I love flax seed meal, and sometimes nuts, or dark chocolate chips. I also have a shake that I drink every day, and I add the powder to the kids shake.

I also buy lots of nuts and make my own trail mix, it’s the easiest snack. And snack time for kids is a piece of cake, I have lots of fruits and veggies, I just cut them up and up bowls out with various dips.

I know it is a challenge to make a healthy easy food, but I promise it is possible. Let me know if you have preferences, I can help you find a system that works for you! I have a friend who is breast feeding and is looking for easy meals that are wheat, soy, nut and dairy free, because her son has allergies. I am feeling for her her, and hoping she can find alternatives. If you have any ideas, please post them to my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/isahealthymama or comment here!!!

Also, here are some great books with recipes and tips for sneaking nutrition in!

Purging Your Pantry! 3 Simple Steps to Start Towards a Healthy You!

One of the easiest ways to start eating healthy is to purge your pantry & fridge of ALL the bad stuff.  That way there's no temptation & you are treating your & your family's bodies to only nutritious stuff.  I've compiled a list here of 3 simple steps to start with. This is how I started purging my own pantry. Then as it gets easier, you can move on to more stuff to purge.  Little steps help!  If you feel bad about food going to waste, look up your local food bank and donate it.  With fall upon us, schools, churches and other organizations are always having food drives around Thanksgiving.  A great local resource for donations is Manna, The Conejo Valley Food Bank. 

Much of this list can be found on the Top 10 Food Additives to Avoid.   As a good rule of thumb, when you go shopping at the grocery store, shop around the perimeter of the store where the fresh products are. Try to avoid the middle of the store that contain mostly processed foods.  I do buy a few frozen items like frozen organic veggies & fruits, and some crackers, cereal and snacks.  You just need to be sure to be an avid label reader and become familiar with the bad ingredients to avoid.  I've also limited the stores I shop at, only opting for the ones that offer healthier options.  Sprouts, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's are the only grocery stores I frequent.  Recently when I was at Sprouts, my kids were grabbing for snacks at the checkout stand.  I was happy to treat them to organic fruit snacks instead of processed candy junk you find at other stores!  I also like to get the majority of our veggies from CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) boxes offered by local farmers, or Farmers Markets. I will be posting a separate piece on that subject - I am currently in the middle of comparing a few services.  Things like granola bars are also a whole lot healthier if you make them yourself - more on that later too! 

1)  High Fructose Corn Syrup:  Get rid of anything with this ingredient in it! Read ALL your labels - you may be surprised what has this ingredient in it!  I concur with the information found here on Natural News on why it is so harmful. 

2)  Enriched Flour:  Stay away from it!  Look for bread & related items with whole grain flour instead.  There's a great explanation of why here.

3)  Sodas:  Plain and simple just do not buy sodas!  Not only do most of them contain high fructose corn syrup, the sugar levels in them just wreak havoc on your body.  Michelle spoke about the dangers of sugar the other day Here.  The only beverages you'll find in our home now is water, sometimes with fresh lemon slices, non-dairy milks, occasionally orange juice (watered down for the kids) and the occasional Kombucha for my husband & I.  Oh, and if we do some fresh juicing you'll find that too - but that only lasts about 1 day because we drink it up so fast!  For a while I was keeping Canada Dry Ginger Ale in my fridge "just in case" my stomach was upset.  For years that has been my go to drink for upset stomachs!  Not the healthiest option though - plus I found even that to be too tempting - I would grab for one as a refreshing treat while making dinner. They are now gone & we stock this in the pantry instead, a much healthier option:


There are a lot of other things to stay away from, but these 3 are a great start!  If you've already eliminated these 3 from your pantry, move on down the list.  Chances are though, if you are only buying fresh whole foods, you will be avoiding these ingredients anyways.

So purge away to better health!
Also, here is a great book that was recommended to me by a friend you may enjoy on the subject of nutrition & health: