Support local stores!

I think I am done shopping for solstice and christmas food! OMG  now to bake bread, make goodies and holiday appies for the celebrations. 

Yesterday I went to Earth's General Store - I just have to take some time to say - they are SO worth shopping at and giving support to as a local business. I have never felt more cared for and appreciated as a shopper. They take the time to let you know where their product comes from if that kind of thing is important to you .

For example, my priorities as a shopper are local - first if possible, no GMO potential ingredients - which often means organic but not always, quality and affordability.  I wanted non-gmo oatmeal for my christmas baking, and because I need a large amount I wasn't sure I could afford the locally available organic oatmeal (which btw is great!) so I dropped a note on to their facebook page. They answered me nearly immediately and said they have the local organic oatmeal, as well as a Canadian sourced bulk organic oatmeal.  I went to the store and the store owner remembered me from the facebook post, even my name! Then he explained to me the differences in the two suppliers. I ended up buying the bulk Canadian sourced oatmeal due to the lower cost and the quanity I needed. If I had need of a lower quantity I would have gone with the local producer, and will in the future buy from them to support their business.

The staff at Earth's General Store were helpful and friendly, and take the time to help you out if you need advice on unfamiliar products or if you are trying a new brand for the first time. Their produce was beautiful and their pricing is very reasonable. I also enjoy that the aisles are not filled with all kinds of 'junk' that I would not be interested in anyway like you find in most grocery stores (you know, the rows and rows of stuff you breeze past on your way to find the actual FOOD)

Imagine my surprise when I got home later that day, and there on my FB post on their page, was a thank you note to me, for coming in that day. Little things like that make me feel like my choice to spend my grocery dollars there were appreciated and noted. It gave me a little warm fuzzy :)

It's so rare in today's world of supermarkets and food being 'big business' to find that kind of care and attention in a food store. They are definetly worth sharing and supporting!

It is worth noting that Earth's General Store has been around in Edmonton as a forward thinking, earth conscious consumer choice for decades - long before it was 'cool' - I am in deep appreciation for them and the valuable resource they are to our city.




Earth's General Store Website.
(p.s.  here is the link to their facebook page)

Raw Food links

tomatoes from our garden! yum!

Here is a collection of links to Raw Food or Vegan websites I have enjoyed reading articles on:

Annette Larkins Website


30 Bananas a Day
 
Megan Elizabeth Website

Raw Food Explained

Super Healthy Children

Vibrant Health and Wealth Bookstore

Markus Rothkranz Website

Eating Raw Foods

I had been meaning to do some research on eating Raw foods and what the perceived benefits and negatives were associated with it, when I came across this video "Ageless Woman". WOW.  I am now seriously interested in researching this eating lifestyle.

It seems there are some that take this to nearly religious, nearly fanatical levels in their lifes and others (thankfully) who are, or seem to be well informed about where they are getting all their nutrition from, what the pitfalls of this type of eating has, and are willing to share. There are a plethora of websites and videos on Youtube about this diet.

One of the people that I found interesting AND informative (besides raw food advocate Annette Larkins from the video above) was a man named Markus Rothkranz . Annette wowed me, especially when they interviewed her husband! Her story is jaw-dropping and inspiring. Markus made a raw diet actually seem real, not just chowing down on a veggie tray; but delicious sounding recipes and real advice about what people who choose to follow this way of eating need to consider.

I find it all very interesting; before these two videos I dismissed the whole notion, I thought it would be imossible to meet nutritional needs based soley on raw foods. I am not sure I am convinced yet that this would be a diet for me or my family, but I am convinced that more raw foods need to me INCLUDED in our healthy diets.

Learning about raw foods has me question, why DO we cooked so much of our foods, especially the vegetables that taste better raw! How can we incorporate more natural ways of eating into our diets? Well Raw eating certainly is one way to accomplish that!

We are continuing to learn, and then Mykel and I might even do the " go raw for 30 days" experiment, to see how we feel and to understand it. I plan to collect a plethora of raw food recipes between now and then to make sure we are both meeting our nutritional needs and that we aren't jsut living on carrot sticks!

In the meantime, I have already becan to incorporate more raw foods into my menu planning. More of the space on  my family's plates will be filled with nutrious, health benefiting raw foods. Even if that is all anyone ever changed in how they ate, I can't imagine they wouldn't see immense health benefits from it!