Farmer's Market - Our Cone Zone

I finally did something I’ve been wanting to do for a while and made it to the Bedford Farmer’s Market. It’s about 20 min. away if I take surface streets (10 if I take the freeway, but it was rush hour).

Lo and behold, I discovered all the things I’ve been hunting for– locally grown and harvested eggs, RAW milk, locally raised steroid/antibiotic free chicken and beef…the list goes on and on.

I didn’t actually buy any milk or eggs, seeing as I only drink almond milk right now and I already bought some free range/grass fed chicken eggs, but the point is…they exist, they’re local, and they’re affordable!

I also bought some locally made, raw, unfiltered honey to help with my allergies. Near the cash register, they were selling home-made apple butter and jalapeno cheese dip, so I bought some of those too 🙂

There are times when I feel as though learning to eat healthy is a shot in the dark. My idea of eating healthy used to be making sure I didn’t eat too many calories (high school). In college, eating healthy meant limiting the late night Taco Bell runs and trying to visit the Caf salad bar a few times a week. Once we became Orthodox, eating healthy meant finding creative ways to get enough protein and iron.

Now, that I’m a mom, however, I’ve become much more aware of our living environment and how it’s impacting G. I put buying organic produce/meat in the same category as wiping down his toys– both are preventing germs and neuro-toxins from getting put into his mouth. It still amazes me the amount of attention many moms give to researching vaccines, while studies show that autism and cancer are more a direct result of the foods we eat everyday! It’s easier to say “no” to a scary shot– it’s harder to stomach spending an extra $100/month to eat pesticide-free food.

I say, “harder”, because I am aware of the financial sacrifice it will take in order to buy organic/local food. But there is just too much coming out now for me to turn a blind eye and knowingly let G be poisoned by his own food. I know I know, “we all ate the same stuff, and look, we turned out fine!” but that’s not actually true. Things have gotten a lot worse, even in the last month. I’m not going to preach on it, you can do your own research, but I feel convicted enough to forgo a few luxuries every month in order to have healthy food.

My goal? To slowly transition so that our budget doesn’t take such a drastic hit all at once. By this time next year, I hope that at least 75% of our food is home or locally grown.

How about other moms? Why did you switch to Raw Milk? What are the organic “must-haves” for you?