Everyone is feeling the impact of the economic downturn. One of the many things you can do is to manage your biggest asset-your health. Most of you were blessed with a body that functions well and continues to function despite all that we put it through. Managing your physical well being is something that you can control. Your health is not going to get forclosed one, it is not going to get a pink slip. Unless you let it. A sound physical well-being leads to mental acumen and clarity. The Yogis talk about mind and body connection and it's true.

Eating well does not equal eating expensively. Eating poorly can create (and I use "can" hesitantly here because I think that it DOES a myriad of problem.

We've all heard it: The cost of food is rising. Remember, your food choices keep you healthy. And the healthier you are, the more productive you are, the less likely you are to miss work, the less dependent on medications the best thing you can do for yourself is get active (a fairly inexpensive)

A healthy plan is one that is based on eat a plant and grain based diet, eat as many raw fruits and vegetables as possible, and stay out of the processed stuff. I often hear the arguement that it is alot cheaper to go to a fast food establishment than it. Pay extra for products that are organic, (is $.50 a pound for apples really going to break you?) because your health is your most important asset

Celebrate your kitchen.

I have this theory--the grander a person's kitchen, the more likely they are to eat out and not use it. In the spirit and neccessity of cutting back, USE your kitchen. Prepping and cooking is extremely therapeutic---it can almost put you in a zen like state. After I graduated from Culinary School, I was fortuate enough to live in Napa Valley for 5 years. I didn't have any extra money, nor were there many after dinner distractions. I cultivated some great friendships and our primary source of entertainment was getting together for a dinner and a couple good bottles of wine followed by some highly competitve card or board games. My friend Kari was the master of "entertaining out of a box". I think she managed to throw a few parties of 50 plus people out of her studio guest home which she shared with her husband.

Get organized

Buy one cool ingredient a week and plan a meal around it

Don't use

Use your kitchen.

Make a shopping list and stick to it. Don't deprive yourself, but don't gorge yourself on fooder. Eat naturally raised, organic food whenever possible. The extra expense in the bigger context is MINIMAL considering what you might pay for bad health and the healthcare to manage the pathologies.

Cook. Find a recipe or an ingredient that interests you and make something. You will have failures--i served my husband partially "charred" kale the other night instead of "steamed".

Batch Cook.

By Leslie Myers
Post Sunday Morning Long Run (17 miles)
July 19th, 2010
Yes, I am training for the Chicago marathon.  And it is less than 3 months away.  Hence the long runs!  And the appetite.  Sunday is usually my day to indulge. And I don’t mean to go-all-out-and-shovel-three-pieces-of pizza-and- a-box-of donuts-and-a-bag-of-Cheetos-and-a-couple-of-pints-of-beer-into-my mouth-for-dinner-binge (can’t say that I’ve NEVER done that….). But just to have something quality and not what I usually eat during the rest of the week.  The latest thought is to pick or design a recipe and do an organized meal on Sundays.
If you are lucky enough to live in Southern California, then a trip to the Rancho Santa Fe Farmer’s Market is a “must” on Sunday mornings. I purposely started my long run at 5:15 a.m. (it’s a 2 hour plus time commitment) so that I could have some quality Dog Beach time and then get to the farmer’s market on the early side.  And no, I am not crazy! 
Most farmers’ markets are terrific with the exception of Las Vegas where nary a fresh piece of produce can be found.  Let me digress—the only thing that I can positively and fairly say about the culinary scene in Las Vegas is that Nora’s Wine Bar on West Charleston is terrific and possibly the best Thai restaurant in the world (Lotus of Siam) is located in Sin City on East Sahara.   In North County, San Diego, in addition to Rancho Santa Fe, we have wonderful markets in Escondido, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Leucadia, La Jolla and Oceanside.  Not only do these markets have produce for sale from small, local farmers; but olive oil companies, fish mongers and small prepared food vending stalls (who hawk treats such as crepes, grilled sandwiches and pastries) are aplenty.  I love supporting local farmers, growers and producers and try to eat food that is raised as locally and naturally as possible.  
First off, Geoff and I went to visit Mark Lane, owner of Poppa’s Fresh Fish Company, who sells “shuck as you order” oysters for $2.00 a piece in addition to fresh fillets of fish such as of local halibut and wild salmon.  And he is a RIOT! We each indulged in an oyster (mine complete with Choulula sauce and freshly squeezed lemon) while soaking up the ambiance of the market.  A Jason Mraz”esque”  duo was playing wonderful music and the mood was calm yet festive. Geoff discovered a seafood stall where they were selling salmon burgers on whole wheat roles with grilled asparagus, grilled sweet onions and Dijon aioli (the proprietor explained everything for the burgers was purchased from the other vendors that morning). 
We then picked up our mystery basket from Inland Empire CSA (more about this next week). While this wasn’t a normal full box, it did contain the following:
•    2 kinds of Kale
•    ½ Flat of strawberries
•    Broccoli
•    Garlic
•    Onions
•    Leeks
•    Heirloom Tomatoes
•    Yellow Carrots
•    Finger Radishes
We also picked up:
•    10# Valencia Oranges (seems like a lot but we’ve been into freshly squeezed juice in the mornings)
•    2 # Peruvian Purple Potatoes
•    5 large Avocados
•    1 flat (30) Eggs
•    3 lbs White Nectarines
•    Extra Cucumbers
We headed over to Jimbo’s (our local specialty foods store) and grabbed some Strauss Family Organic Half and Half for ice cream. We knew that the strawberries’ hours were numbered. And I say “hours” because if you have ever had really ripe, pesticide-free strawberries you know they will turn to a moldy mush within the day—especially if they get jostled in transit. 
For our Sunday night dinner, we settled on making a batch of strawberry-mint ice cream and an espresso-cumin rubbed flank steak with purple potato-leek hash. We also made a salad utilizing many of the vegetables from the CSA box as well as some shaved organic dry jack cheese and a basil-honey dressing made from cold- pressed Arbequina olive oil we had purchased from a great olive oil vendor the week before. We popped open a bottle of New Zealand Pinot Noir (not a perfect pairing but curiosity got the best of us and we went ahead and uncorked it anyway).  I also hulled and froze the remaining strawberries-about 4 pints-to use for smoothies at a later date.
If you have never been to a farmers’ market, I suggest that you take a trip to one. Bring your own bags and small bills (the farmers appreciate exact change).  Go with an open mind and dive into your creative side cooking and eating what is locally available and bountiful. You won’t be disappointed! 
-LM

www.inlandempirecsa.com
www.ranchosantafefarmersmarket.com