Cabbage Patches and Sugar

So it was day two at the farm today. I learned that I am extremely lucky to be in the Thursday group (other groups go on Wednesdays and Fridays) because Thursdays are when they have their shop for the community members with shares, so we get to harvest a little bit of everything including those things that need to be harvested day-of in order to stay fresh. So today I did spinach, beets, cabbage, onions, and zucchini.



As far as the actual labor went, cabbages are by far my favorite food to pick because its like a little present inside this big leafy plant and they never touch the dirt so they are very clean. See picture of cabbage plant here:
So that was exciting. I definitely felt a little more at home today on the farm since I already knew how to wash out the buckets, stack vegetables in the crates, and ride on the back of the truck without falling off. It really is a beautiful way to start out your morning- close to nature with a lot of time to reflect on the day- but I can't imagine how Chris and Amy do this all day, every day, for most of the year.

Jasper is this cool chick in maybe her late 20s who has been working on the farm and is leaving in a week. We were talking to her about how shes gotten so into farming, and she mentioned how financially unlucrative the job is and how it is more about the lifestyle. I definitely get the allure of a more simple lifestyle, especially when mine is so busy and chaotic.

So- back to reflecting on food- I had gained 15 pounds living in Italy last spring (seriously) because I lost my mind and indulged in pasta and wine pretty much 24/7. I then went health-crazy and lost it all this summer with the help of a personal trainer and a very strict diet. So I had been eating pretty healthy for a long time, but with the stress of school sort of fell off of the bandwagon this past week.

ANYWAY, today was the first day of me trying to get back on track. I did pretty well minus a donut because our Professor Chris Henke brought them in for our Food class discussion on sugar(Chris- if you are reading this THANKS FOR THAT). Today I ate pretty well and made a delicious salad for dinner since farming gets me in the mood for raw veggies... but nobody really cares about my diet, so back to more relevent things...

I am currently drinking a coffee with two sugars (real sugar because we were talking about it today) and an iced caramel macchiato with more sugar. We've been reading Sweetness and Power in class, which is a book about the history of sugar and how it has become such a major part of our lives. It is definitely true that on the average day I consume large amounts of sugar without really thinking much of it.

Well, I'm going to do some other work before this sugar/caffeine high wears off. Until next week...

Jenna