My Vegan Kitchen--CSA's

Today was my first attempt at creating a vegan kitchen--I am a bit of a cheapskate, so while I did throw some things away, some things I froze and others I just put on a shelf for "maybe later" depending on how I feel after the challenge...

For my food, I'm going to be relying mostly on two CSA's here in Colorado that I already subscribe to--Door to Door Organics and Mile High Organics--where I get plenty of fresh fruits and veggies each week.

What's a CSA?  A CSA is a Community Supported Agriculture where, in most cases, a consumer purchases a "share" of the CSA by purchasing a box of fruits and/or veggies.

For the two above that I subscribe to, each week I pay approximately $25 to have a small box of fruits and vegetables delivered literally right to my doorstep (FYI, the small box is plenty for one person--I'm curious to see how two CSA deliveries and a truly vegan diet play out, though).  The fruits and veggies are all organically grown and the organizations do their best to support local farmers first (love that!)
 
Each week, there's a list of 8-10 fruit/veggie offerings and if I don't like what's being offered this week, I can go in to "exchange" one of the offerings for one I'd rather have (sometimes I need more fruit, sometimes it's time for more onions, this past week I needed sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving, etc.).  (You can also pre-program your choices if you have allergies, food preferences, etc.)  I try not to exchange too much as "trying NEW veggies and fruits" is always a goal of mine (I'm getting turnips this week--don't think I've ever eaten those, much less cooked with them!), but it's great to have the opportunity to substitue when you have just too many salad greens or are tired of apples or have a specific recipe in mind.

Both CSA's also offer the opportunity to add more organic/natural products to your order--for my first adventure into veganism this week in addition to my usual box, I added some red beans, barley, lentils, brown rice pasta, and a special bulk order of tangerines (I love that winter fruit!) to "fill out" my pantry and fridge.  Of course, I can get those products in a "real" grocery store and I definitely recommend one balance out the cost with the benefit by choosing to get these products from a CSA before adding things to your cart...

I love the idea of CSA's for several reasons:

• I get fresh organic low-pesticide fruits and veggies every week delivered right to my door at a reasonable price.
• I know that I'm eating fresh produce--not anything that's been shipped from miles and miles away.  In fact, with Door to Door Organics, I had ONLY Colorado-grown offered in my box for the summer months (I hadn't yet subscribed Mile High Organics, but I assume it's similar) but with the cold winter ahead, we were given very clear notice that our options would change.
• I feel like I'm supporting local farmers--and that's important to me.
• I'm sometimes forced to experiment and try new fruits and veggies--just in the few weeks that I've been doing this, I've: tried red kuri squash (looks like a pumpkin), had more lettuce than I could ever imagine (more on that later--I'll share one of my favorite recipes for using up wilted greens), discovered many new ways of preserving produce (I'm now the queen of freezing smoothies and soups), and found produce I enjoy that I had never really tried before (I'm a pomengranate convert!)

Obviously, I will be relying on these CSA's throughout my vegan challenge, but they're something I will always turn to for healthy easy eating and I hope you do, too.  To find a CSA in your area (and get more info on this fabulous service), check out Local Harvest's info.