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Authentic local salsa made in Virginia

EAT BETTER LIVE BETTER NEWSLETTER / December 11,2018

Tips, hacks, recipes, stories, and the weekly special all help you eat better live better with fresh local food!

What a happy zingy way to eat your veggies!
Authentic local salsa made in Virignia

She was born in Venezuela and named America. Later she married Lionel, who comes from Mexico, and she grew to love the flavors of his rich culture. And now she’s handcrafting authentic local salsas right here in Virginia.

The company is Salsas Don Sebastian, the latest addition to our home-delivered farmers market. America and Lionel’s delicious mix of fresh vegetables are an easy, yummy way to boost your veggie...

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how to cook greens

‘Tis the season for greens

EAT BETTER LIVE BETTER NEWSLETTER / December 4,2018

Tips, hacks, recipes, stories, and the weekly special all help you eat better live better with fresh local food!

‘Tis the season for greens
A pocket guide to our current crop of nutritious powerhouse greens
by Margo, veggie fairy & neighborhood market manager in the Yorktown area

Greens are loaded with perishable nutrients, so long as they’re fresh like our locally harvested greens. Our farmers are harvesting two types right now. The cabbage family (Cruciferae) includes bok choy, broccoli, cabbage (obviously), collards, kale, and turnips (which have tasty greens). The goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae) includes beets, chard, and spinach.

Beets are loved or hated…

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kids love kale recipes

These kale recipes make kids love kale

EAT BETTER LIVE BETTER NEWSLETTER / November 27,2018

Tips, hacks, recipes, stories, and the weekly special all help you eat better live better with fresh local food!

These kale recipes make kids love kale
They even made me, a grown woman, love kale, too!
by Meredith, veggie fairy & neighborhood market manager

I’ve never been much of a “routine” person, despite my best efforts. However, every Wednesday after I complete all my deliveries I do the exact. Same. Thing.

Upon returning home, I unload all the boxes my members have given me to reuse and recycle (thank you!) Next, I head to my kitchen, where I unload and put away my own basket of goodies — everything but the kale and an apple (or a handful of grapes in the summertime). Then I proceed to make my favorite lunch…

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eat local

Hey, where did all the green beans go?!

EAT BETTER LIVE BETTER NEWSLETTER / November 20,2018

Tips, hacks, recipes, stories, and the weekly special all help you eat better live better with fresh local food!

Hey, where did all the green beans go?!
Eating local means eating what the local weather produces

If you like green beans, yet have no green beans on your plate this Thanksgiving, that’s good news. It’s a sign that you’ve chosen to eat local food – the freshest, most nutritious and flavorful food you can get.

Right now there are no locally grown green beans to be had. Our Farmer Connector Sam searched all over Virginia. No luck. So there were no green beans for Thanksgiving in our home-delivered farmers market, as you may have noticed. You also may have noticed a lot of rain this year. Those two things are…

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legacy roasting fair trade coffee

Virginia Fair Trade Coffee Roasters

EAT BETTER LIVE BETTER NEWSLETTER / November 13,2018

Tips, hacks, recipes, stories, and the weekly special all help you eat better live better with fresh local food!

Coffee with a conscience
Introducing the newest artisan in your home-delivered farmers market

Want to feel good about your cup o’ joe? Make sure it’s sustainably and responsibly sourced. One way to do that is to look for the certified fair trade label. Fair trade coffee means the coffee beans were sustainably grown by small-scale family farmers who got a fair deal.

Another way to make sure it’s responsibly and sustainably sourced is to know your coffee roaster…

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plant-based cheese

Introducing plant-based cheese & butter

EAT BETTER LIVE BETTER NEWSLETTER / November 6,2018

Tips, hacks, recipes, stories, and the weekly special all help you eat better live better with fresh local food!

Introducing plant-based cheeses & butter
You don’t have to be vegan or lactose intolerant to love UNMOO!

Unmoo is a new Richmond company making plant-based cheeses and butter that our Farmer Connector Sam has declared to be, “Amazing!” These artisan cheeses made from the milk of cashews and coconuts have their own unique flavors that people who can’t eat dairy will be grateful for… and the rest of us will want to add to our pizza-, cracker-, sandwich-, and bagel-topping repertoire.

Josh is the man behind it all. Josh loves eggnog. And cheese. And butter. But those dairy products don’t love Josh. Like a lot of lactose intolerant people, the Richmonder can’t eat dairy without suffering…

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reuse Halloween pumpkin

Don’t throw away that Halloween pumpkin

EAT BETTER LIVE BETTER NEWSLETTER / October 31,2018

Tips, hacks, recipes, stories, and the weekly special all help you eat better live better with fresh local food!

Don’t throw away that Halloween pumpkin!
It can still dish out these 5 ticks & treats

Is there a jack o’lantern sitting by your door? If the nearest cat is less enthusiastic about its fashion potential than the kitty pictured here, we’ve got 5 other things you can do with it after the trick-or-treaters are gone.

1. TURN IT INTO PUMPKIN PUREE: Puree is incredibly versatile. Use it to make pumpkin muffins, breads, soups, even Thanksgiving…

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kids eat veggies local food

7 Ways I help my kids eat veggies (and fruits)

EAT BETTER LIVE BETTER NEWSLETTER / October 24,2018

Tips, hacks, recipes, stories, and the weekly special all help you eat better live better with fresh local food!

7 WAYS I HELP MY KIDS EAT VEGGIES (AND FRUITS)
by Morgan, veggie fairy & neighborhood Market Manager in Virginia Beach

In my five years of motherhood, children and vegetable eating have definitely been an unsolved mystery to me. It’s like it’s in their DNA to rebel against at least some vegetables at some age. Just like most parents I know, I want my kids to be healthy and have balanced nutrition. But sometimes it’s a struggle to get those greens in them. So here’s a quick summary of my best tips, tricks, and suggestions to help kids eat veggies, with or without their knowledge – details and examples are on the Veggie Fairy Blog!
1. Let them unpack the box.
2. Get a Mother’s Helper stool.
3. Let them experiment.
4. Give them a mission.
5. Chocolate chips are a parent’s friend. (Learn how…

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kids love local produce

When local produce is fresh, kids love veggies!

EAT BETTER LIVE BETTER NEWSLETTER / October 17,2018

Tips, hacks, recipes, stories, and the weekly special all help you eat better live better with fresh local food!

WHEN VEGGIES ARE FRESH, KIDS LOVE VEGGIES!
A conversation with Jamila,our Veggie Fairy Godmother & mother of four

THE VEGGIE FAIRIES: Our fruits and veggies have more nutrition and taste because they’re fresh off the farm, from Dirt to Doorstep®. In the time since you joined the Seasonal Roots family, have you noticed any difference in the way your kids eat?

JAMILA: I’ve noticed my kids are more willing to try interesting looking fruits and vegetables. They’ve even started asking for fruits and vegetables in season. When it gets closer to summer, they start asking for strawberries. Then come blueberries, and after we get through peaches, they’re asking for apples in the fall, like now.

THE VEGGIE FAIRIES: Have there been any surprises along the way?

JAMILA: They’ve taught me there is no food that’s just for kids or just for adults. They’ve shown me that they’re willing to eat flavors I never thought they would, like kohlrabi. The way they go through grape tomatoes is …

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home delivered farmers local food open house

Home delivered farmers market: a peek behind the scenes

EAT BETTER LIVE BETTER NEWSLETTER / October 10,2018

Tips, hacks, recipes, stories, and the weekly special all help you eat better live better with fresh local food!

TAKE A PEAK BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE HUB
Here’s how your order gets from the farm to your door

Our local farmers and food artisans deliver to the Hub on Monday. As soon as the food arrives, it goes straight into our two big coolers – 3,500 square feet of refrigerated space.

One cooler stays at 50 degrees for tomatoes, which don’t like to be too cold in order to max out their flavor… as well as hardy vegetables and fruits that don’t need to be too cold, like potatoes and apples. The other cooler stays at 41 degrees for greens, berries, and the like.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we set up the conveyor, get out the boxes, pull on our woolen undies, and line up along the conveyor to pack the orders right there in the coolers.
Okay, so most of us don’t wear woolen undies. Or even own them. But hoodies, wool caps, and scarves…

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