A farmers delight!

At the farmers market I purchased some grass fed Colorado beef! And a few veggies too....my dinner was 90% farmers market and was rounded off by a few grocery store finds, most of which were local products anyway.

We've got a beet, walnut, goat cheese salad. The beets were roasted in a shallot, honey basalmic vinagrette. Delicious!

Then, I made burgers from the ground beef using jalapeno, mushrooms and some shallots. Downside: no outdoor grill. So we used the George.

And of course, loads of tomato and avocado!

Local food means loads of flavor and this dinner was great! Plus, my great friend and freshman college roommate is now living with me, so we had a fabulous time!

The (lack of) biodiversity in our food

I'm awakened and convicted by the facts, the hidden truths revealed and the desperate thirst for fulfillment. The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollen

Ask yourself, what did you eat for breakfast today?

If you said cereal and milk - where did that milk come from? Which cow supplied your milk? Were there hormones? Was it a grass-fed cow? Or was it corn-fed, unnaturally, just to fatten it up quicker so we can get our milk faster?

If you said eggs and bacon - oh boy. Were the eggs from an industry farm where the hens lay eggs in crates like this:


Did your bacon come from a place like this:

or like this:


What questions do you ask yourself when you are eating?
- Does this taste good?
- Does this have enough protein for my dietary needs?
- Was this egg produced with hormones?
- Should I worry about E. Coli right now?
- How many cows went into making my hamburger?
- Would I be able to find the hen that laid this egg, or is she a number in 20,000?
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The biggest take away for me after reading this book - and still reading it - is this:
I live in Colorado, I need to eat Colorado meat and vegetables. When I can't, I want to know where and how my food was produced. What I eat is who I am and I do not want to be a hormone-laden, medically-treated, unnaturally corn-fed, corn by-product. I want to slice into my blood and see that the calories running through my body are sun-kissed, grass-fed, naturally produced and following nature's cycle. Ihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif don't want to slice into my skin and see excess nitrogen, drug cocktails from cows, corn-like substances and unnaturally fed meat products. What next? Tell you all about this book, about sustainable farming and give you a way to make changes.

Go to and find a farm near you to buy your meat, eggs, and dairy. Find the farmer's market closest to you and support local agriculture. Sure, it is hard to eat 100% local because we have been trained to buy packaged, processed and fortified foods. Find your local farmer's marker here:

cost-conscious people beware: you will pay more for your food now. But you will have less medicine to buy, less trips to the doctor, less chance of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, depression, and on and on and on...

How did God intend for us to take care of our bodies? He gave us meat and vegetables to cultivate, harvest and prepare. He gave us a conscious to know what we should be eating and what we should not. As we get to know our food, we get to know ourselves. We are what we eat.

So what type of person will you become?

Teach for America Institute

This August I start year 5 in the classroom but this summer I took a walk down memory lane and worked at institute, TFA's teacher boot camp to prepare the new corps for 2 years of serving our nation's low income communities. I took on the role of CMA, not crystal meth anonymous, but corps member adviser. What a trip! I was part counselor, coach, mentor, teacher, manager, colleague, analyst and student. 11 of our nations brightest minds made it through the 50,000 applicants to be part of about 4500 new corps.

We wake up at 5 AM and I observe, coach and analyze the new teachers all day. Back at ASU, I start meeting with corps members around 6 PM and don't stop until 9PM. Sometimes, instead of meeting with corps members, we've got meetings. On a lucky day, I'm at the gym for 40 minutes.

Why work 18 hour days? Why do I put myself in a vulnerable position to receive so much critical feedback, be the shoulder someone cries on, and read lesson plan after lesson plan (up to 20+ a day)?

Because now there are 11 teachers prepared for their own classrooms. Those 11 teachers are middle and high school teachers who will each teach about 100 students this year. Those 100 students will have effective first year teachers. Because I was able to coach, mentor and advise them for 5 weeks.

When an upcoming 8th grade student asks questions like, "how do I get a scholarship?" "what do I need to do to get a laptop?" "how did you know what to study?" how could I not be grounded in what we do - training teachers was almost more satisfying then teaching my own kids. I got to see teachers build connections with colleagues and kids, make a kid believe in himself, invest kids in their education, and share success stories about their kids. It was so inspiring!