I hope that everyone has had a truly special weekend enjoying the sunshine and even sprinkles of rain.  This coming week is one week is one in particular where celebration is essential to life.  The 4^th of July celebrates our Independence as the states, and it also cherishes summer and family time! We will most definitely be having a co-op celebration this Thursday with our first LOCAL WaTeRmElOnS, and it may be our last time to see local blueberries! We will not be having co-op Saturday the 3^rd of July, so all who are interested in getting their boxes on Thursday…please come!  This will be our last Thursday at Royal Oaks, so I also ask that you please read the newsletter.

We have so many things for which to be grateful.  Everyday my list of gratitude changes.  New experiences and opportunities approach me every second. My choice becomes to see all of these experiences as a part of the greater good. Together, they create a whole, and this wholeness creates life.

The Fourth of July becomes one of those days where many people forget the meaning of the day; yet they celebrate the holiday. The 4^th is one where I truly become grateful for all that I have, all that I eat, and all who are in my life.  So many gave their lives so that we can enjoy our independence.  This is priceless.  Ironically, it becomes weird to think about the fact although we have independence, our bodies and minds may not be free.

On the 4th, we celebrate freedom and independence for our countries, families, and individual rights. However, do we ever use this time to celebrate our body’s freedom? If we contemplate, we have the choice to free our bodies from pain, obesity, diabetes, and other diseases. Our lifestyle and food choices highly dictate how we feel, how we act, and how we think. Is your body truly free from sickness, disease, or even bad foods?  Are we truly free from living sickly? Or, are we surrounded by a society that makes it too difficult to achieve great health and happiness? Irony exists in the sense that 100 years ago, we were fighting for our personal freedom, land, and families. Today, we are fighting society and even ourselves to achieve health.

Although many factors play a great role in our health (such as the environment, air pollutants, sleep, stress, spirituality, and emotional well-being), food remains a golden ticket on the path to healing one’s body. Without eating well, sleeping enough, exercising, loving, and breathing deeply, no one can achieve perfect health. Sure, you can find unhealthy foods EVERYWHERE that you go, but this is no reason to succumb to eating them.  Just because everyone else around you may encourage you to eat “just one little bite,” I encourage you to listen to the food angel sitting on your right shoulder.  He wants you not to follow some of the unhealthy habits of society and free your body from this emotional and physical burden.  The moment that you succumb to appeasing others’ needs, your needs become insignificant and resentment is born.  Every family holiday brings along bad foods and individuals who may not understand your health choices.  While temptation is one thing, you need not be afraid to stand apart from the masses.  You have the choice to free your mind and your body from this burdensome responsibility.

It’s interesting to think of our minds and bodies as two separate entities. While they are two, they can also become one. When we get in tune to our bodies needs, our minds become strong enough to maintain discipline to protect the body. When our minds are weak, we feed our bodies to nourish our minds. If our bodies are another child that we were constantly carrying around with us (and for which we are responsible), then we would not stuff them with junk food or sabotage them in any way.  We would show them complete respect, and we would attempt to meet their needs in the kindest manner possible. The same relationship exists between our minds and our bodies. Our bodies reap the benefits of our minds, and our minds reap the benefits that we give our bodies. In a similar fashion, if our minds do not properly “feed” our bodies, our bodies feel the change and dissatisfaction. We then operate at lower energy levels and lower levels of health. The relationship of the mind and body is two-fold, and it is one that can continuously create harmony in life.

Free your body! Free your mind! When you free your body, your mind will also be free.  Our bodies WANT to be healthy and FREE of all disease, sickness, and unhealthy habits. However, we hold them back. There is always room for improvement in eating and in every area of life no matter where you stand on your journey.  I want nothing more than my body to find unending freedom in health, and this can only be accomplished through my living healthfully.

This Fourth of July weekend, everyone will be celebrating freedom.  We will celebrate the freedom of our country, the freedom of our families, the freedom of our food choices, and the freedom to choose to live our lives exactly as we desire! What a freedom! I choose to strive for abundance. I choose to strive for health, love, and peace. Happiness evolves from continuously loving oneself and from making choices for the betterment of all living creatures.  Satisfaction occurs when we take a chance to help others and to also meet our own needs.  We have the CHOICE to achieve greater health—this  a blessed freedom. We live in a society where we can create change. Living healthfully becomes EASY and enjoyable if we all partake in sharing this together.   Imagine the freedom in life that exists all around you!  “Lettuce” celebrate our independence this coming week in ALL areas of life.

My Favorite Ways to Celebrate the 4^th:

1. Cracking open a juicy watermelon and eating the entire thing with my family.
2. Laying in the sun while taking a nap or reading a book.
3. Catching up on family time.
4. Going for a run in the sun.
5. Go blueberry, watermelon, and tomato picking.
6. Being grateful for the abundance of food from our boxes and the variety that exists from all of our beloved farmers and sources of food. This is truly a blessing that I hope is not taken for granted.
7. Enjoying a humongous salad with the veggie works!
8. Dream of the figs that are soon to come!
9. Peace and quiet.

What a great summer! I hope that you were able to enjoy a fantastic Father’s Day celebration with your family or friends.  My family celebrated with a lovely dinner, giant salads, and loads of family company. These days of appreciation are essential in life, and I love letting others know how cherished they truly are. Everyday is a day of appreciation of every living thing. Celebrate everyone’s life as well as your own!

In regards to being with my family last night, an interesting story happened that shifted everyone’s thoughts about wasting food and nourishing our soil. As the majority of my extended family sat and ate their cooked dishes, I sat with my humongous salad and bowl of blueberries and nectarines. As I was eating my juicy salad, I realized that I perhaps had not washed my spinach well enough because I could definitely chew the gritty dirt on my teeth.  I was trying to force myself to eat as much as I could, disregarding the texture of the salad in my mouth. Simultaneously, my aunt from Ecuador was trying to force-feed everyone else at the table to finish the meat that had been served so that nothing went to waste.

At that moment the thought hit me. My aunt was trying to pressure everyone to finish eating the meat because if no one ate it, it would be a life lost for nothing. The animal will have been killed for no reason other than to possibly enter a human mouth. I looked down at my salad and realized that my salad will always have life in it regardless of whether I eat it or not. It came from the earth, and I can either allow its life to feed my body or to give back to the earth. I come to the conclusion that I do not need to finish the rest of my salad because I can simply compost it and allow it to grow again and create new life. There is no wasting involved. One cannot do this with meat or even cooked food.

Many times people ask me what to put in their compost. I only use the refuse of my organic fruits and vegetables. There had even been many times where I take rotten, old greens and blended them in the Vitamix with quarts of water to simply pour back into the plants. Even the plants like mineral water! I am old fashioned in the sense that I have no complex compost machine, but I simply dig a hole, dump in the inedible scraps, and cover it up with beautiful soil. In a few weeks, the food turns back into soil. It becomes even richer than before, and this soil grows even tastier food!

Last week I talked about “soiling oneself” in order to create richer soil in one’s garden, more nutrient-dense food, tastier produce, and even more depth in one’s life. The moment that we realize that we all grow from soil is the moment when we realize that we must invest more of our time and energy into rooting ourselves in what is true and healthy. If the food that nourishes our bodies is grown in the richest of soils, our physical selves will be wild with nutrition. Consequently, if our bodies receive good nutrition from this soil, then our minds are also prepared to take on new growth challenges in life. We expand our minds to become more intelligent, to expand our awareness, to create openness, to find acceptance, and to take on bravery in its purest of forms.  When we soil ourselves, we create harmony and infinite abundance.

I hope this week that you take a moment to nourish your body with the best of foods and to ground yourself emotionally in the process. When you nourish your body, the mind is also cultivated.  Life’s possibilities become endless! We will have so much abundance this Thursday as we prepare for more nectarines, watermelons, blueberries, tomatoes, and more. I hope to see you there!

*Hugs*

Good day! I hope that you are beginning the week productively and that you are accomplishing all that you set your heart to do! This past week we had SOOO many delicious summer treats that my entire house is bursting with summer colors and goodness! This is absolutely my favorite time of the year, and I know that my body thanks me so much for all of the amazing foods that I am putting into my body. Summer is the perfect time to ground yourself, and dare I say it…soil yourself!

You may notice that TASTE has everything to do with fruits and veggies. Sometimes, you may get one cherry that tastes much sweeter than the one you previously ate. You may notice the opposite. There are many different factors involved in how sweet fruit tastes, and there are hundreds upon thousands of reasons why some fruits or vegetables may have a higher nutrient content than others.  Although there are several reasons for the high/low nutrient quality and sweet/bland taste, I will outline the primarily essentials to help you understand that nourished soil equal to a healthy, happy body. The top three things that I will discuss are:

1. Proper Ripening Techniques/ Knowledge of Ripening
2. Organic Produce, Local Produce, and Seasonal Availability
3. Nutrient Content in the Soil

For fruits, the longer that you leave them to sit out, the more they will ripen. When many people think that a fruit has gone bad, I consider it to be perfectly ripe to eat. For instance, when many individuals see bananas with freckles on them, they automatically throw them away because they assume that the fruit has rotted. However, the freckles denote that the starches in the fruit have finally converted to carbohydrates, and they are perfectly ready to consume. One will notice that the banana is TWICE as sweet when it is eaten with these spots. In addition, when all of the starches are converted to sugars, the fruit is much easier to digest. Eating unripe fruit can create constipation and even discomfort or gas!

For vegetables, it is better to eat them as quickly as possible since the nutrient content will only decrease as the days pass; however, I have found more intense vegetables (more rough or harder to digest) can actually become softer over time and easier to chew. For instance, many are unaware that if you leave beets on your counter for an entire week without touching them, they actually turn soft like a peach! That’s right! You will notice that you will be able to squeeze them a bit with your fingers. When you wait to eat them at this point, the beet is actually TWICE as sweet than when you first received it when it was hard. Other vegetables such as broccoli are easier to eat raw in these instances. Granted, it is not as easy to eat a lot of them; however, if you are attempting to eat them raw, it is better to eat them when they are easier to chew.

Organic is essential, hands down. When you use chemical fertilizers or pesticides in your soil, it diminishes the quality and taste of whatever you are growing. It also reduces the nutrient content of your food. Studies have shown that the nutrient content found in 7 organic oranges is equivalent to that of 21 non-organic oranges. In other words, you will need to eat 21 non-organic oranges in order to get the same amount of nutrients that you get from 7 organic oranges. It is also quite apparent to the world public now that any pesticide can create health issues, including cancers and other diseases. If individuals who work in non-organic spraying fields are required to wear full-on intensely covered body suits while they are spraying the crops, why on earth would we consume the sprayed produce? They are protecting their lungs and skin from such chemicals, and we are ingesting them. Something about that does NOT sound viable. True, organic produce is grown according to the laws of nature, and it is simply true to how nature intended it to be grown. Non-organic producers and growers will attempt to grow certain produce items out of season. Many will notice that peaches during winter time taste like plastic. Also, attempting to force grow something out of season will not create nutrient-dense food.

If you believe in homegrown and if you believe in permaculture, then you believe in organic. If you do not believe in man-made seeds or if you do not believe in tampering with mother earth, there is no other way but organic. Period.

If you are one that believes that non-local produce grown from large California farms tastes better than some local produce grown here in Texas, your taste buds are not lying to you. This has EVERYTHING to do with the richness and nutrient content of the soil. The richer the soil, the more abundant and delicious the crop. California may be sitting on a soil goldmine; yet, they also invest heaps into their soil in order to produce truly amazing crops. The more that we invest in our soil, the more that we invest in our food, in our taste buds, in nutrient content, and in our bodies. Soil content creates a ripple effect for the universe, and it ultimately feeds us to create greater change. Why would we accept anything less than the best? Everyone must be aware that the soil’s nutrient density is just as important as how the food is grown. Therefore, if you want more delicious organic produce wherever you are, first focus on your soil. Watch your abundance grow.

Soiling yourself has everything to do with soil. It also has everything to do with your mind, body, and spirit. When I talk of soil, it is synonymous with the earth and with us personally. There are so many metaphors about how we can ground ourselves with food and ground ourselves emotionally to create balance in life. In my next blog newsletter, I will discuss the emotional aspect of soiling oneself and how grounding yourself with eating properly can create harmony all around you.

I hope that you have the BEST week ever growing, learning, and loving. I also wish that you soil yourself deeply to create the best you possible. Create your dreams, and grow upwards and outwards! If I were a nectarine tree, I would be producing as many sweet fruits to share with others as I possibly could grow! I hope to see or hear from you all this week.

Many, many hugs.

I hope that everyone has had the most enjoyable weekend! Summer is definitely here, and everyone is beginning to take the time to enjoy life a bit more! This week has been INCREDIBLE with CHERRIES, GRAPES, NECTARINES, BLUEBERRIES, CANTALOUPES, and SWEET CORN ALL in the boxes! This may seem like the best week ever, but it is only going to get better! Every time summer comes, I cannot help but feel nostalgic as if I were a little kid all over again. As I get nectarine juice all over my face and clothes, I realize that these are the moments that I cherish most in life.

Sometimes it is nice to simply take a rest for the week. So much is in transition as a new season is upon us. It is that graduation time of year where school is out, and everyone is getting ready for summer life. In this time of year, life is worth enjoying. We have all pushed ourselves so much this year…we deserve time with our families, time to love, and even time to sit down and eat a great meal. Allow yourself this pleasure. This past year, I have been so busy that even I missed being able to sit down with a decadently prepared salad and just stare at its beauty…and then eat it of course! Sometimes, things in life aren’t controllable, but we do the best that we can (which is always good enough). So many approach me daily and are trying to make their plan fit into their ultimate plan, their goals, etc. Does this always work or does it only create more stress? Are our plans the best plan that we can devise for ourselves? How do we know that our plan is the right plan for us? The truth is that we really don’t, but we must listen to our innermost desires, find time to recharge, and follow our hearts. In order for us to find peace in our choices, we need rest. We need “ME TIME.”

I hope that this week you create “me time” for yourself. Allow it to come to you and take everything with an open heart. Pick a great summer read, and lose yourself in it. Put your feet up and let your hair down. Lay on the couch with a blanket, turn off the lights, and sit in quiet. Watch an old movie that you used to enjoy as a kid. Go for a walk out in the sun. Blast the music in the house and dance! Make a photo album. Organize your closet. Call up old friends. Create a collage. Paint a picture. Garden! Visit with a stranger. Volunteer! Visit the museums. Stand out on the corner and hand out free hugs…you deserve it! These moments are the ones that will rejuvenate you and allow you to grow. If you have a hard time letting go, tell yourself that everything is ok, and it will be ok. Designate time for YOU. In that time, realize that there is nothing else to manage.

The art of “me time” is learning that there will always be something that you have to do, but you must learn to designate time for it and let go. I have learned that the more one tries to control something, the more quickly it steps away from you. As my friend Alix Rodwell calls it: the push and pull. If you are feeling anxious, then you know somewhere you have a lack of faith. However, the moment that you relinquish all set emotions, you find peace and excitement in all the possibilities that surround you. The irony of situations like these is that most people may want change in their life, but they are too afraid to take the first step. Therefore, they keep themselves in the same place only because the new seems too unfamiliar. There is no need to control anything; allow yourself to be freed from this burden and become excited about the abundance in your life! Rest your mind this week and simply allow yourself to flow easily with all that surrounds you. Present yourself with opportunities to give back. Place your heart where it counts.

Summer is always a great time to refresh your ideas, your body, and your schedule. It is the time of the year where you can evaluate and create. It is also the time of year to spend time with your family and enjoy time out in the sun.  If you do have extra time, try to use it to give back to yourself, your family, or to your community. No one needs to receive in order to give. Giving comes from the heart. If you have joy, you will want to share it with others. Create the domino effect of joy! Think of all of the happiness that can be spread!

I hope that you have a restful week, and I hope to hear all about it. My hugs and heart go out to you.