Seasonal Food: Buy direct. Eat local.

Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help you stay healthy. According to Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy, eating fresh produce helps prevent cancer, heart disease and stroke. It can also lower high blood pressure, lower high cholesterol and keep your vision
strong.
It’s important to eat the freshest fruits and vegetables you can find. Organic farmer Henry Brockman said, “As soon as a vegetable is picked it begins losing nutritional value.” Green beans and leeks lose half of key nutrients just three days after being picked.
Next time you buy produce, check the sign to see where it was grown. Instead of buying fruits that were harvested elsewhere – before they were ripe – consider buying fruits that are in season, grown locally and picked at their peak. Not only will they taste better, but they’ll be better for you, too.

Adapted from Lappé, A. and Terry, B. (2006). Grub: Ideas for an urban organic kitchen. New York: Penguin Group.

Where to Find It
According to about.com, California grows 80% of the fruits and vegetables in the U.S., so there's plenty of fresh, local produce available. Besides frequenting local produce stands and Berkeley Bowl, check out one of the many Farmers' Markets near you. Here are some close to my neighborhood:

Alameda Farmers' Market
Haight Ave. & Webster Street, Alameda
Tuesdays, 9:00am to 1:00pm, year-round
Saturdays, 9:00am to 1:00pm, year-round

Jack London Square Farmers' Market
Webster & Embarcadero Street, Oakland
Sundays, 9:00am to 2:00pm, year-round

Kaiser Permanente Oakland Farmers' Market
Kaiser Medical Center, 3801 Howe Street, Oakland
Fridays, 10:00am to 2:00pm, year-round

Old Oakland Farmers' Market
Ninth Street (between Broadway and Clay), Oakland
Fridays, 8:00am to 2:00pm, year-round

More Reflections on the New Year

I caught a cold shortly after New Year's. Staying indoors, bundled up, I've had plenty of time to read and reflect. My New Year's resolutions boil down to this: "Be kinder to myself." One way I want to do this is to be more present.

By now you know that I'm a huge fan of Jon Kabat-Zinn's. I just finished reading his book, Coming to our senses: Healing ouselves and the world through mindfulness (2005). The book is about " ...the challenge of living [life] as if it really mattered" (p.2) -- because it does matter.

Kabat-Zinn believes that, in this age of information technology with its false sense of urgency and "connectivity," we've lost connection with ourselves. This "dis-connection" can lead to "dis-ease" (p. 120). Club Med used to advertise itself as The antidote for civilization. The antidote for information overload is mindfulness -- being present. The author asserted, "It is indeed a radical act of love just to sit down and be quiet for a time by yourself" (p. 86). We are talking about a daily practice of mindfulness-based meditation.

Why Meditate?
Different people meditate for different reasons. Some seek relief from their stress-filled lives. Others seek spiritual enlightenment and growth. The best approach is not to seek anything at all, just to be present with whatever comes up. Over time, wisdom and compassion -- for ourselves and for others -- will emerge.

Mindfulness
It sounds simple: "Make more of your ordinary moments notable and noteworthy by taking note of them" (p. 163). Simple, yes. Easy, no.
Kabat-Zinn described various mindfulness practices, including meditation and yoga, in this book and his earlier works. Many organizations offer instruction in meditation. Guided meditation may help reinforce daily practice, especially in the beginning. I just ordered a series of CDs to help get my New Year off to a good start.

Series of Mindfulness-based Meditation CDs are available from Jon Kabat-Zinn at http://www.mindfulnesscds.com


Reference
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2005). Coming to our senses: Healing ouselves and the world through mindfulness. New York, NY: Hyperion.