Must Everything Be About Food?

These beautiful Sweet Pea flowers were in my CSA basket this week.

I was disappointed to learn they're not edible. Is it all about food with me? Well, sometimes. Organic edible flowers would be a cool treat!

Is Raw Too Expensive?

Our grocery bill has almost doubled since we switched over to Raw Foods, and it wasn't low to begin with. Part of the reason for the increase was that I stocked up on a lot of staples--agave nectar, Raw honey, coconut oil, Raw cacao, raw nuts--and these items can be expensive, especially if you don't know where to shop. Of course, you don't actually need most of them to go Raw, but I took the approach of making our meals very indulgent. It eased our transition.

Now we're bringing the grocery bill down. We receive a basket of organic produce from South Coast Farms each week, for the very reasonable price of about $35 per 30-pound basket. We shop at the local farmer's market. We buy prepared Raw dishes, then figure out how to recreate them at home for a fraction of the price. We eat simpler meals.

Does living off plant parts seem cost prohibitive? Check out this link I found through the Daily Raw Inspiration. LocalHarvest helps you find organic grocers, farmers' markets, CSA programs, and farms in your area. I found a couple of nearby resources that I hadn't known existed.

Yes, it costs somewhat more to eat Real food. I could feed my family a lot more cheaply if we ate from boxes at every meal. But you can make it work--even on a budget--if you learn to work your resources. This month's grocery bill will be more reasonable.

Kohlrabi

One of the joys of a CSA membership is the discovery of new foods. We've really commited to using as much of our basket contents as possible, limiting the waste as well as limiting the money we spend on groceries.

Imagine my thoughts when this showed up in the basket! Wonder Girl says it looks like an alien.

This is kohlrabi. The first week, I switched it out. I assumed it was something that would need to be cooked. The next week, I decided to go for it and give it a shot. It was delicious! I cut off the stems and peeled the purple covering off the bulb to reveal a white vegetable. I cut it up in sticks and tried it without any seasonings or oils. Delicious! I had to fight Fierce-As-in-Fabulous Teenager for my share. If you see it in your local store or farmers' market, give it a try. I'm betting it'll be great in a salad.