I grew up in a small town, the daughter of a small business owner. All my life, I’ve felt in a very real way the impact of local community support, small businesses, and local economies. My town is flanked by two larger communities 45 minutes to the north and south. They have Walmarts, Kmarts, and [...]
Entries Tagged as 'local'
Great Sleep for Small Business Saturday
November 26th, 2011 · 7 Comments · Green Living
Tags: flame retardant chemicals·local·Lullaby Organics·pajamas·product review
A Sweet, Sweet Summer: Maple Syrup and Maple Sugar Facts
July 14th, 2011 · 34 Comments · Food for Thought, Science of Nutrition
I put my pure Michigan maple syrup right next to my in-laws’ sugar-free (taste-free?) maple “syrup” in the fridge the other day and reflected on how people try so very, very hard to find a “healthy” alternative to sweets. In the mainstream, this usually means something “low-calorie” with little nutrition in it or something with [...]
Tags: A Sweet Sweet Summer·diabetes·local·maple sugar·maple syrup·pancakes·Recipes·sweeteners·zinc
Farmers’ Panel: My Local Favorites Talk Grassfed, Organic
April 27th, 2011 · 22 Comments · Food for Thought
Do you have a farmer? It gives me great joy to say “my farmer” and my joy multiplies as I find more and more wonderful places and wonderful people in Grand Rapids, MI to which to apply that label. I’ve got “my milk farm” and “my egg farm” and “my chicken farm” and “my beef [...]
Tags: beef·cattle·dairy·farmers·Farmers' Panel·grassfed beef·grassfed dairy·local·organic·raw milk
Monday Mission: Know Your Food
April 25th, 2011 · 6 Comments · Monday Missions
Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to get to know your food a little more closely. Impact Ratings: Level of Commitment: Baby Steps (or more?) My kids on a visit to a special event at the farm where we occasionally buy meat and eggs. If the recent media coverage of bacteria in commercial [...]
Why You Should Really, REALLY Get to Know Your Farmer (Even if Your Friends Already Have)
October 20th, 2010 · 105 Comments · Food for Thought, Science of Nutrition
Our family has been buying grass-fed beef and chicken at a premium from Grassfield’s Farm in Coopersville, MI for about 18 months now. When we began, I didn’t ask a zillion questions, simply because I knew enough trusted real foodies who went there and I knew they had good quality, organic, grassfed products. Last Saturday [...]
Tags: beef·eggs·farming·Go Local! Challenge·grassfed beef·grassfed dairy·local·organic·pastured chickens·raw milk·real food
Monday Mission: Revisiting Super Foods
July 5th, 2010 · 5 Comments · Monday Missions, Super Foods
Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to focus on what you CAN eat this week instead of what you CAN’T. Impact Ratings: Level of Commitment: Baby Steps Many KS readers were not around last year when I ran a 15-week series on Super Foods, those foods that pack a nutritional punch and bring [...]
Tags: local·produce·Super Foods
Revealing the Local Grand Rapids Area Real Food Resource Page
July 2nd, 2010 · 3 Comments · Uncategorized
I’ve been a local foods consumer for about five years now, ever since I discovered the joys of the Farmer’s Market and the summer fruit U-pick possibilities in our area. I’ve been asking even more questions of farmers lately, and I’ve compiled all my favorites (and some other recommendations from friends) into a Local Grand [...]
