the CSA debate....

This morning I had a volunteer shift at the wildlife care center.  I woke up with a headache but figured it would go away in a couple hours.  The shift went okay, we were done a little early, and the other girl wanted to leave so I told her I would stay until our shift ended at one.  I decided to check the hotline one last time before I left (rookie mistake) and.... then I didn't leave for another hour and a half!  I got two more intakes and then a seagull died in his cage and I felt like it would be really inconsiderate to leave that for the next shift.  By the time I got home my headache developed into an "i can't stand the lights being on" situation.  So I did not cook or bake at all today! 

But tonight Dano wanted us to decide if we were going to do a CSA this summer even though I will be living up in Crescent City for my new job which might make it a little more difficult to get through all the veggies.  As I flipped through my Cooking Light magazine though I came across the "Ask Our Dietitian" article that helped make up our minds

"...Vitamin C, folate, and antioxidants fall victim to heat, light, and oxygen.  Once harvested, fruits and vegetables begin to lose moisture, and those water-soluble vitamins and antioxidants start to break down.  More transit time from the farm to your produce aisle (often up to 7 days) means fewer nutrients.  A Penn State study on spinach found a nearly 50% reduction in both folate and carotenoid-derived antioxidants (like vitamin A) after 8 days of refrigeration."

That is really shocking to me.... But it helped us decide to do the CSA again and enjoy vegetables straight from the farm, usually harvested that day.  I hope everyone will consider a CSA this summer-its amazing to know exactly where your food is coming from and get some of the freshest produce!

Here is a picture of our refrigerator at the height of one of our CSAs (this was a 10 farm CSA-much bigger than most!)