WELCOME BACK TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD GARDEN BLOG!!


The Neighborhood Garden wants YOU to be inspired and empowered to embrace a healthy lifestyle


Four fabulous reasons this blog will be a valuable and FUN resource to help you enjoy your food and life to the fullest!

1. Food is more than something that makes us skinny or fat. Food has medicinal properties that can prevent and even reverse disease very powerfully as well as maintain a healthy weight and healthy body and optimize energy levels.

-Follow our blog for exciting and interesting research findings on what these foods are doing for our bodies.


2. Eating healthfully does not have to be a chore, painful or boring. Discovering new foods and flavors is fun, and anyone can learn to cook delicious healthy meals.

-Whether you are single or are working parents with six kids, we can help! Check out our THINK INSIDE THE BAG posts for easy, healthful recipes.


3. Local or 100% Organic Produce is the safest and healthiest food we can put in our bodies.

-Boy, do we have tips for you to help you enjoy and be grateful for the produce we receive each week. We hope you will use this blog as a springboard towards a healthy, vigorous life. Visit our blog often for meal planning and storage tips using the organic produce you receive in each week's bag.


4. You are part of The Neighborhood Garden community as well as a global community!

-Here's where we get to talk about what we're passionate about, but we also encourage you to visit often to learn and share your stories, comments and ideas. We hope to have a resources page to share information about sustainability in action and spotlight some folks that are doing amazing things. We want you to feel good about what you are buying and putting in your body. The reasons are bountiful and we can’t wait to share!


ORDER HERE

This Week's Organic Produce!

Monday, March 17th

Full/Half Bags

Bananas

Granny Smith Apples

Valencia Oranges

Bosc Pears

Kiwi

Spring Mix (Upgrade Red Leaf $1)

Snow Peas

Russet Potatoes

Baby Peeled Carrots

Red Onion

Roma Tomatoes

(Add Jalapeño Peppers $2)

Jumbo Fruit Bag

(Will include the Full list plus the following. Must purchase full/half bag)

1lb Strawberries

Kent Mangoes

Avocadoes

Jumbo Veggie Bag

(Will include the Full list plus the following. Must purchase full/half bag)

Yellow Squash

12oz Green Beans

Red Peppers

Herb Bag

.066oz Cilantro

.066oz Rosemary

.75lb Limes

*list subject to change due to availability

**approximate counts, depends on total weight

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Variety is the spice of life!

The Doctor's Office

Variety is the spice of life, and as it turns out, spice is good for life too!  Cilantro, aka coriander, and Rosemary provide great aroma and taste to many recipes, but they also provide our bodies with some amazing health protective benefits.  Specifically, rosemary was shown to decrease inflammation and protect our cells' DNA from damage.  Researchers gave patients rosemary (amounts similar to what you might eat in a meal) and an inflammatory insult (oxidized cholesterol like you'd get from fried chicken).  Blood was then examined and found to have less TNF-α and less DNA damage with the rosemary on board.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha, or TNF-α, is an inflammatory protein secreted into the blood to fight off threats. That's the purpose of TNF-α, however when it gets out of balance it causes a lot of damage.  Excessive TNF-α is found in many disease states such as crohn's disease, septic shock, and most commonly, metabolic syndrome (a constellation of major cardiovascular risk factors).  It is amazing to think that adding something so tasty as rosemary could potentially improve these conditions.

In this study, the scientists also measured DNA damage in white blood cells and found it to be reduced in the patients who were given Rosemary.  Protecting DNA is generally accepted to be important to slow aging and prevent cancer.

Does that mean we should all go out and start consuming obscene quantities of these delicious plants?  I don't believe so.  Variety is the spice of life.  These plants should be a healthful addition to a diet rich in variety of many types of fruits and vegetables.  Not only is this an enjoyable way to live, but it provides the best opportunity to obtain the best nutrition.  This concept is explained in fascinating depth by T. Colin Campbell in his book "Whole".  Our bodies will take what they need from our food, so by supplying ourselves with a great variety of different foods, we have the best opportunity to achieve prime health!  Enjoy!
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