why i'm starting to listen to my mom's advice that i used to ignore
my mom's been cool for a long time now.
before essential oils were hip.
before green smoothies became trendy.
before farmer's markets were instagram worthy.
i grew up on vegetables from a fresh market across the street. organic, grass-fed (never frozen) meat. and morning smoothies with chia seeds and kale. she'd have me inhale peppermint oil before soccer games to give me a boost of energy (which is all fun & games until you accidentally rub your eyes with your minty hands & you can't see anymore).
my mama did all this before it was cool.
i, however, did notttt think it was cool at the time. in my defense—i was a typical kid who brushes off a lot of "mom wisdom" as "optional mom advice that maybeeee i'll care about some day".
the "some day" has come for me & i'm finding myself googling essential oils & apple cider vinegar benefits & local organic markets. i'm bringing my own market bags to conserve paper/plastic. i'm texting my mom things like "which vitamins should i be taking?". who am i?! i am my mother's daughter. her daughter who is finally growing up & recognizing the value in all the health & wellness lessons she taught me.
as i embark on this journey, i'm making gradual steps towards a holistic life of health. i'm starting with paying special attention to the ingredients in the food i'm purchasing & where it comes from. this includes finding fresh markets near my neighborhood. growhaus is the closest one to me, with an excellent variety of items & an equally excellent mission & vision. they are a nonprofit indoor farm, marketplace and educational center. my friend bethany & i had the sweet chance to visit the other day. our hearts were warmed by the kindness of every person we ended up talking to. on top of the friendliness, a cooking class was going on so we ended our time there with a free lunch of stir fry vegetables, roasted plantains, & butternut squash rice.
we thought we were simply walking into a market, but what we experienced was a vibrant community. shared vision is a beautiful thing that stirs something awfully lovely up in our souls. the growhaus community did just that. perhaps the most impressive part about their existence is the fact that they exist in the "most polluted zip code in the state of Colorado. a longtime destination for recent immigrants, elyria-swansea has one of the lowest household incomes in the city, and low rates of education and employment levels. in addition, elyria-swansea residents have historically lacked access to healthy, affordable food and suffer from high rates of diet-related illness."
their location is strategic & compassionate.
their approach is holistic & development-based.
their team is passionate & intelligent.
i left with my brookfarm general store bag full of pears & plantains & a partiality towards this place—these people—living out of their convictions & passions & cultivating a culture of health & development in the process.
as an ending note, one extremely simple step towards sustainable living is using reusable bags when grocery shopping. i aim to own things that are both useful & beautiful, therefore i love the pictured linen tote from brookfarm general store. they believe that quality and beauty should go hand in hand with utility and function, which is the kind of company i'm all about.
another step is educating ourselves on various components of the food industry. two of my favorite food documentaries are Fed Up & Food Inc. last time I checked, they were both on Netflix so watch away!
stay tuned for a post next week on more health habits that i'm beginning to weave into my lifestyle.