Winter Farmers' Markets & CSAs in Maine!

Now that we've reached the fall season, many of us are thinking ahead to the winter months. If you've been enjoying fresh produce all summer long from local farmers' markets or your share from a farm with Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) offerings, fear not - you can continue to enjoy your local produce all year long!

Most open-air farmers' markets continue well into October, but after that, we can turn to indoor winter markets. In Maine, there are several indoor farmers' markets where local farmers and vendors offer many root veggies, plus meats, eggs, cheeses and more. Purchasing from these vendors is a great way to continue supporting your local community AND know exactly where your food is coming from. A list of winter markets can be found here.

As for CSAs - there are several available over the winter and many give you support in storaging produce, recipes and instructions on canning or freezing the food. Some even offer fresh summertime vegetables like radishes and arugula because they grow in greenhouses. Click here for a list of Maine Winter CSAs.

Eat Your Cacao

All you chocolate freaks out there...there's good news! Eating raw, unprocessed chocolate has many nutritional benefits! All chocolate comes from a huge berry (cacao pod) which is what grows on the cacao tree. The pods contain about 30 beans or seeds called cacao beans, which are made up of tiny cacao nibs.

You can purchase and eat the cacao beans, nibs and powder. Cacao is considered a superfood! The powder has the fat removed and is usually raw. Cacao powder (not to be confused with cocoa powder - the processed, less nutritional form) can be used in many ways and offers a host of benefits to your health. Cacao is full of powerful antioxidants (more than blueberries, red wine and green tea), which fight free radicals and the effects of aging. Cacao is also rich in magnesium, a micronutrient many Americans are missing in their diets. The health benefits go on from there!

Cacao can be incorporated into your diet in many delicious ways! Adding a spoonful to a smoothie or making a chocolate sauce are two easy ways to add cacao. Next time you are having a big chocolate craving, instead of reaching for a candy bar, opt for sweets made up of this amazing superfood!

In the next couple months, I will be offering a chocolate class, all about cacaco - why it's so good, where to find it and how to prepare it for some yummy, healthy eating! To receive updates on the chocolate class and others like this, be sure to sign up for the Kendall Scott Wellness e-newsletter by clicking here.

Today's article in the New York Times was contributed by one of my favorite food/health gurus, Michael Pollan! It's a must read!!!

Did you know that three-quarters of health care is spent on preventable diseases, most of which are linked to DIET? Unfortunately it's more profitable for the health care industry to treat these diseases rather than work to prevent them. Check it out!

Big Food Vs. Big Insurance

Quick and Easy Breakfast

I often have days when I REALLY don't want to take the time to make breakfast and perhaps need something I can bring with me in the car. I've found one of the greatest breakfasts is a smoothie with all natural ingredients. You can add so many different foods to provide you with an energizing, sustaining breakfast. Remember to buy local and/or organic when you can. Here's one to try:

8 oz. Rice or Almond milk
1 Banana
1/2 Avocado
2 T. shredded coconut
1/2 cup berries (fresh or frozen - strawberries, raspberries, blueberries)
Handful of leafy greens (baby spinach, swiss chard, kale, beet greens)
Add 1 tspn Honey if added sweetness is desired

Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food

This is an amazing article in TIME about our food supply. What are you really eating and what does it mean for your health, your wallet and the environment? This is the what we all need to know!

Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food

Making a Rice Combo for Dinner

I often have those days or evenings when I just don't know what I'm going to cook for dinner. Can you relate? It just feels like I'm using up too much brain power trying to figure it out - simple, quick, healthy. Those are usually my goals - and of course - delicious! However, too often I just don't want to figure out what to put together, so I've created a life saver of a dish - the Rice Combo!!!

For example, for dinner tonight I knew I wanted to have some beets I picked up at the farmer's market (by the way - boiled sliced beets, drizzled with crumbled goat cheese, olive oil and crushed pecans - yum!), but what else would we have with those beets? I had no meat or fish at all, and while I'm not a huge meat gal myself, my husband definitely likes to have his fair share. Usually, I'll do a quality, lean protein, lots of veggies and some whole grains. Then you have your nice, neat three part dinner. That wasn't happening.

Introducing the Rice Combo! Basically, I cook some organic brown rice (or quinoa, wild rice, forbidden rice) in my rice cooker - no monitoring needed. Then I saute in a pan other foods that I have, like veggies, beans, lentils, herbs, spices and oil. I check my pantry, the fridge and think about what would be some tasty, healthy foods to add. I try to add variety, different colors, textures and lots of veggies. Once those are mostly cooked, I add the cooked rice to the pan and mix it all together.

Here's what I came up with tonight: forbidden rice, green lentils, fresh corn I cut off leftover cooked corn cobs, scallions, garlic, yellow pepper and toasted sesame oil. Voila! I also decided to throw the beet greens in with the rice and just have the beets on the side. It's simple, super easy and if you make enough - perfect for lunch the next day. And my husband loves it! :)

The next time you are at a loss for what to have for dinner - experiement with a rice combo of your own!

Upcoming Workshops

I'm excited to announce that I have scheduled my first group workshop at the Yoga Center of Maine (YCOM) in Auburn, Maine. It's all about sugar and learning how to understand our sweet cravings! Please visit my website for more info or to register for the class.

I will also be holding a group Women's Nutrition program at YCOM, beginning in September. This is a seven week program, spanning over a few months. It will be a great way to start working toward your health goals - losing weight, increasing energy, fighting disease - with the additional support of other women with similar goals in mind. The dates are being finalized, so stay tuned!