In a Dinner Rut?

Are you bored with dinner?

I was chatting with a friend yesterday about this common dilemma. It is so easy for busy peple to fall into a dinner time rut, relying on the same old things week after week. My friend was saying that he and his family needed some help, they cook the same menu over and over and he is not only bored with it, but he would like to move his family towards some healthier food choices. I had a simple aswer for him....join a CSA!

What is a CSA you ask? Community Supported Agriculture. This is a wonderful thing on so many levels, first of all you are supporting local family farms. Gone are the days when your salad traveled by truck 1,500 hundred miles to get to you. That is silly. Most regions have smaller scale family farms who need your support, so it makes sense to minimize your carbon footprint by purchasing as much as you can, as close to home as you can. Secondly, you recieve a lovely box of fresh produce each week. Produce is picked when it is ripe and ready to eat, boxed up and delivered to you. Since you will only get what is currently in season, this forces you to think out side the box a bit because you get to play with some new foods, breaking you out of your rut! Are you tired of baked potatoes and a romaine salad with your dinner? How about some sauteed kale and a salad featuring fresh from the earth carrots and spicy arugula? Are you tired of apples, oranges and bananas? How about cherimoya and kumquats instead? Most CSAs also provide you with great recipes featuring their seasonal produce.

By creating meals based on what arrives in your CSA box you will break out of your rut. You will try new foods, try new recipes and have fun in the process!

Go to www.localharvest.org to find a CSA near you.