a trip to the farm + my focus for the summer

As I mentioned in this recent blog post, this summer I've decided to focus my energy on my relationship to food and body image. One step that I took was to sign up for a farm share from a local farm called Tangletown Gardens Farm, which is located about 45 minutes west of Minneapolis. 

This weekend there was friends and family day at the farm, and we packed the kids into the car despite a raging thunderstorm (of course we brought their full-body rain suits and rain boots.) I was a little nervous that the weather would interfere with the fun of the day, but as we pulled up, the storm lifted. We dealt with a few light showers here and there, but had a blast as the kids climbed on hay piles, checked out the animals, pretended to drive tractors, and stomped around in giant mud puddles.

We took a tour of the farm and learned about all of the thought that goes into farming sustainably and in an effort to produce the most nutrient-rich foods. Americans (myself included) tend to be pretty far removed from where their food actually comes from, and now as we eat our food from this farm, it will be fun to be able to picture the fields that the animals grazed in or how the soil was meticulously cared for by this sweet family. 

As a kid we would visit relatives in Iowa who were farmers, and it was definitely a childhood fantasy of mine to live on a farm and tend to the crops and animals. While I love my city life, it was so fun to see our kids happily tromping through the fields today. We will certainly return for more events at the farm.

We bought some meat and eggs at the farm and our farm share season will start next week. The challenge, of course, will be using up the veggies before they go bad, including veggies that we aren't accustomed to eating or preparing. 

I focus a lot in my business and personal life on building and sustaining my energy, whether that's through how I spend my time and whom I spend it with, or how I tend to my body. I'm in a phase of life where getting enough sleep is next to impossible with the ages of my kids, but focusing on being active outdoors and taking time to prepare healthy, energizing food is impactful for me and for the lives of my kids. One of the hardest and most rewarding parts of becoming a parent is suddenly realizing how our kids are watching and learning from our every move. I have to think really intentionally about what it is that I hope to teach them. 

I hope you'll follow along on this food journey of mine this summer, and I'd be curious to know some of your favorite summer recipes!

A few thoughts on food and body image as we head into summer

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that eight years ago I got what I thought was the flu, only it didn’t go away, and I had chronic fatigue symptoms, among others, for the next two years before getting a probable diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease. It was about another year after that before I felt like myself again.

During this time, I began to really care for my body and my energy in new ways, just in an effort to live a normal life. It was also during this time that I started seeking out alternative treatments and healing, including intuitive readings.

When it comes to living the truest, fullest expression of ourselves, just about everything comes back to our energy. Sometimes I’m talking about your actual physical body and nurturing it in a way that will maximize your energy, and sometimes I’m talking more about how something makes you feel (energized versus drained) as decision-making tool.

I realized recently that one area where there is a lot of overlap for me in terms of physical and energetic health has to do with my body itself: my relationship to food, my relationship to my body, and the energy that I feel overall.

We can all know the basics by now of healthy eating habits and exercise, and yet they are still really hard to master in a culture of “more is better” and “convenience is king.” We are a driving culture, a culture that wants the cheapest possible items in the highest volume. We waffle between sedentary lives and over-exercising, starving ourselves or overeating. And the messages that we tell ourselves about our bodies are probably most damaging of all.

Something big happened for me on the day I found out I was having a daughter. A not-so-little voice inside me perked up and said “Enough now.” I realized that in order to teach the habits that I want for my children around food and body image, I would have to be their model. And I don’t want to do it in an inauthentic way. I really want them to learn by example what it means to respect and value your body through food, movement, and positive body image. 

Of course starting this whole process off with pregnancy is difficult. I have gained and lost and gained and lost a whole lot of weight since my first pregnancy. Lots of things are—shall we say—rearranged—and it’s hard to find clothes that feel flattering. Add in a whole lot of sleep deprivation that leads to a steady diet of carbs, chocolate, and caffeine just to make it through the day, and I’m not exactly the picture of health right now. 

What to I want for my kids? I want them to genuinely enjoy their food—to remember the celebrations and traditions as well as the everyday breakfasts and weeknight dinners. I want them to enjoy the process of making food and of knowing where it came from—whether our garden, the farm share, or the neighborhood grocery store. I want them to take pleasure in eating but to also know when they are full, and to eat mindfully rather than numbingly. I want them to truly enjoy spending time being active outdoors in every season and to appreciate their strong and capable bodies.

I don’t want them to think negatively about their bodies or shame others for theirs, or ever feel like they don’t have the “right” kind of body for certain types of clothing or activities. I want them to be in touch with their bodies—what foods make them feel good? Gross? Same with types of exercise. When is their body sending them a signal to slow down? And how do they respond to that signal?

My two main projects for the summer revolve around food and being active outside. We’re getting a CSA for 18 weeks through a local farm and I want to focus on eating simply but flavorfully. I want us to be active outside for as many days as possible, for as much of the day as possible.

I have a lot to learn when it comes to cooking, but one story that I have in my head that is not necessarily true is that I’m not a good cook or that I don’t enjoy cooking. I have cooked up some pretty disastrous meals in my day, for sure. And yep, when dinnertime rolls around each day I am well past the end of my rope with my children and have pretty much zero brain cells left to conjure up a plan for dinner. This will be a challenge in planning and prepping at time when I have more energy and enthusiasm. But I maintain that what we put in our bodies, how we move them, and the messages we send to our bodies all have an enormous impact on how we feel everyday. If the goal is to feel GREAT, then we’ve got to spend our time on maximizing our energy. Let’s do this!

P.S. You might also like A Quick Way to Make a Great Decision

Photo credit: Julia Soplop