I want to encourage you to open yourself to alternative food choices. Focus on eating what gives you long term energy and health. Life is complicated, but we still have to make good choices.
I met Janet Lasky in 2000 when I was living in Madison, NJ. I had my hands full with 2 boys ages 4 & 2. The 2 year old had food intolerances and the 4 year old was beginning to exhibit some also. I was able to shop in several food stores and still manage the family diet without going bankrupt. I shopped at Stop & Shop, ShopRite, Trader Joe’s, Costco, Whole Foods, Wild Oats and the local health food store, Fountain of Vitality. New Jersey, being the most densely populated state in the USA, had plenty of food stores.
Believe it or not, Whole Foods house brand was consistently more affordable than other stores. I was able to substitute milk, butter, cheese and wheat. However, it wasn’t enough to swap out foods that made us feel sick if we ate them; we had to find nutritious substitutes and recipes for old favorites. This is where Janet Lasky opened a door for me. I was climbing the hill of change VERY slowly even though I had access to alternative foods. I met Ms. Lasky in Whole Foods during a demo for her recipe book which had been published two years previously. I connected with her immediately. She understood my challenges and she gave me some copies of recipes to try. She told me to call her anytime if I wanted help. Which I did.
I tried her recipes for breakfast breads, muffins, cookies, soups and stews. I bought her book Higher Choices/Life Enhancing Recipes and it’s still one of my go to cookbooks.
Now it’s almost 10 years later and I’ve been living in Bellingham for 4 years. It’s amazing to see how food options have increased! There is abundant information and guidance in this area. The Community Food Co-op, Terra Organica & Bargainica, Haggen’s and Trader Joe’s will personally guide you through their stores to show you alternative food choices they offer. So get out there and try something new.
This is very good advice. 🙂
Comment by CM — October 26, 2009 @ 8:43 pm
A chance to expand one’s experience in local honey (Whatcom and wider Washington) and honey infusions can be had at Bakerview Nursery’s Customer Appreciation Night, Friday, November 13 from 6pm-9pm.
Whatcom County Beekeeper, Karen E. Bean, from Brookfield Farm in Maple Falls will be participating in the event. Bean is always happy to talk about bees, honey, and the joys and challenges of beekeeping. “There’s nothing like beekeeping. It’s science, nature, art and just-plain-luck, all rolled up together. But it can be tough – farming’s hard enough, but farming tiny, flying, wild animals can be a bit tricky at times. I love it.”
Bean will have her own Mountain Wildflower Honey on hand, as well as honeys from three other independent Washington State beekeepers: Blackberry from Bruce Bowen Apiaries, in Mt. Vernon; Wildflower from Ron and LaVonne Babcock: Beekeepers, in Arlington; and, from Haitt and Sons Honey Company in Pasco, Alfalfa, Yellow Star Thistle; and Buckwheat Honeys.
The range of honeys were added to Bean’s own honey sales about a year ago. “I had the idea while stuck in a one-man tent in a howling gale on Glacier Peak about a year ago. Somehow my thoughts just drifted to ideas of sweetness and warmth,” she says. “I wanted to give people the opportunity to experience the wild diversity of honey that is available in Washington State from smaller apiaries where the beekeepers all work their own bees.”
Along with the selection of Washington state honeys, Bean will also have delicately infused honeys in the flavors of: Ginger, Organic Rosemary, Dark Espresso Coffee, Vanilla Bean, and Stinging Nettle. She creates these delicately flavored honeys using a cold-infusion method, which means the honeys are never heated during the process. “It takes a while to achieve the right blend, but it’s worth it.”
Bakerview Nursery Customer Appreciation Night:
Friday, November 13, from 6pm to 9pm.
945 E. Bakerview Road, Bellingham, WA
More information on Karen, and Brookfield Farm can be found at Walking-Wild.com
Comment by Karen E. Bean — November 3, 2009 @ 3:59 pm