Category: Box of Good

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INSPIRE: Community Be Healthy

Klesick Farm’s first Community Be Healthy event happened at the Lynnwood Convention Center this last Saturday. Thanks to all of you who came out and stopped by to say “hello”. It was a pleasure meeting everyone. We hope everyone left INSPIRED to be healthy!

Almost 30 health promoting organizations joined us to inform and help people on their good health journey. Interesting people. Interesting organizations.

And then there were the speakers! Maria Rippo, the Green Smoothie Lady, gave a very practical talk and demonstration on making healthy smoothies. Our own Tristan Klesick also spoke sharing his passion for helping people to eat healthy. Marilyn McKenna, author of Eat Like It Matters, told us her inspiring story on how she lost 120 lbs. and changed her life through healthy eating and Sue from the Alzheimer’s Association helped us understand the importance of healthy eating for brain health.

“Thank you,” people told us, “for putting on the event.” Thank You! It’s our privilege to partner with every one of you in eating healthy.

Community Be Healthy!

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Eat Healthy Be Healthy

This Saturday January 14th, Klesick Farms and 30 other healthy minded businesses are going to come together to share about healthy living and healthy healing. INSPIRE: a community be healthy event has been a dream of mine for a while and it is happening this week! Plan to come, learn and leave inspired.

No matter where you are on your health journey, needing to make big changes or nuance it, INSPIRE: a community be healthy event will be the boost you are looking for to start a healthier journey or reinforce your desire to live as healthy as possible. It doesn’t matter where you are on the “scale”, living healthy shouldn’t be complicated. “But it is…” But, it doesn’t have to be. The choice belongs to each of us.

There is also an incredible slate of speakers who have personally and passionately made the life changing decisions to improve their health and quality of life. And they know you can, too!

11:05 Hazel Borden, Alzheimer Association will be sharing about Brain health, the Mediterranean diet and Alzheimers.

1:05 Marilyn Mckenna Author of Eat like it matters…. will talk about her amazing 120lb weight loss journey and how she has kept it off for over a decade.

2:05 Maria Rippo, Author of the The Green Smoothie Challenge will talk about how to add health and vitality to your life with Green Smoothies.

3:05 I will be talking about Organic Farming and the trials of the current food system.

There will also be several mini seminars going on all day long at the various booths. For example, the Manning Family Wellness booth will be offering demonstrations on how to make pesticide free products for your home and how to use essential oils in your kitchen. We have created an Inspire Passport with free prizes like a Rain barrel from the Snohomish Conservation District or a month of FREE produce delivered ($112 value).

This is going to be a healthy Person, Home and Community event and a whole lot of passionate and wonderful people have set aside this Saturday to share their knowledge and help you on your health journey. And I am excited to introduce them to you!

For more information visit www.inspirebehealthy.com. Save the date, bring your family/friends and come, learn and leave inspired!

As an added bonus, when you come to our booth and say, “Hi,” Klesick Farms will give you a $5 credit on your next delivery.

Farmer/health Advocate

Tristan Klesick

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Inspire: A Community Be Healthy Event

Inspire: A Community Be Healthy Event

Coming out of the holidays can be brutal on the waist line and leaving many of us feeling less than stellar.

Is it time for an emotional and/or physical reset? I know that for myself, when I eat mostly fruits and vegetables, I just feel better and have more energy.

On Saturday January 14th, Klesick Farms and 30 other health-minded businesses will come together to share about healthy living and healthy healing. INSPIRE: A Community Be Healthy Event has been a dream of mine for a while. Last May I booked the Lynnwood Convention Center–yes, in May, during the craziness of the local growing season, I carved out some time to put in motion the framework for a health fair.– Looking back, that was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

I have met several wonderful people who are passionate about being healthy and helping people be healthy. And I am excited to introduce them to you! There is also an incredible slate of speakers, who have personally and passionately made the life changing decisions to improve their health and quality of life. And they know you can too!

* Hazel Borden, with the Alzheimer Association, will be sharing about brain health, the Mediterranean diet and Alzheimers.

* Marilyn Mckenna, Author of Eat Like It Matters, will talk about her amazing 120lb weight loss journey and how she  has kept it off for over a decade.

* Maria Rippo, Author of The Green Smoothie Challenge, will talk about how to reset/restart your health with Green Smoothies.

Lastly, I will be talking about organic farming and the trials of the current food system. For more information visit www.inspirebehealthy.com.

Mark your calendars, bring your family/friends and come, learn, and leave inspired!

Tristan Klesick

Farmer/Health Advocate

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Blog Post(Week of 12/25/16)

Resolving Not To Resolve

I recently came across the concept of Bio-individuality: that each person has unique food and lifestyle needs. Even though I’m still learning and determining where I stand on the subject, I am intrigued by the concept; that there’s no one-size-fits-all diet – each person is a unique individual with individualized nutritional requirements. Personal differences in anatomy, metabolism, body composition and cell structure all influence your overall health and the foods that make you feel your best.

I am a firm believer that if we listen to our bodies, we will know what we need to eat. It’s the brain that makes mistakes. When we get stuck in dietary dogma, we tend to not listen to what our body really needs. As we age, our bodies require different foods, vitamins and minerals. Different cultures eat differently, and different geolocations require different nutrition. But even though each one of us have specific needs, most diets around the world (if not all of them), have the same basic recommendations at their core:

Eat whole foods and use the colors of the rainbow as your guide. This ensures a natural diversity of vitamins and minerals.

Crowd out the bad food, with good food. Eat vegetables and healthy sources of grains, protein and GOOD fats (avocados, coconut oil and salmon oil). By getting the actual nutrients your body needs, you feel more satisfied… and cravings lessen.

Avoid hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, also known as trans-fats. The oil is made by forcing hydrogen gas under extreme heat and pressure into vegetable oil. This creates a moist, fatty substance which is inexpensive and placed into many cakes, cookies, cereals, breads and drinks to prolong shelf-life. Our bodies do not know how to break apart this unnatural molecule and it accumulates in the body.

Drink plenty of water, earlier in the day.  It’s like filling up your gas tank, early on. Being well hydrated benefits the skin, the health of the spine and brain, and all the body processes.

Hitting January 2nd is like going from 60 to zero in one day. The mandatory cheer, cooking, visitors, glitz, glitter, toys, a million chores — have drowned out the drumbeats of our normal day-to-day routines for a couple of weeks — then, over, nothing. What now? In the midst of panic, I tend to turn around and immediately start writing my resolutions for the year, the first one: eat healthier, 2. work-out, 3. read more … did you notice the common denominator? They are all vague. By January 15th, I have already lost the napkin where I wrote them down on and back to old habits I go.    This year I have resolved not to resolve. It’s simple, if I eat good, I feel good. If I go for a walk in the morning, I feel more relaxed during the day.

Achieving goals starts with small, daily steps. As you eat better, you begin to feel better. It all starts by being aware of what works best for you and your health, because being the best version of ourselves benefits us and all those that surround us as well.

The bottom line, the closer we stay to nature, the better. The human body was designed to sustain on whole, GMO-free, organic foods, just as nature intended. The occasional cookie won’t hurt, but getting back to your healthy habits will pay in the long run and let’s face it, isn’t nature amazing? Those bananas right off the tree are sweet as dessert and full of potassium; red bell peppers, a vitamin C powerhouse, so crisp and juicy we can just eat them raw, and the humble onion, your immune’s system bff, that can add flavor to any dish in a matter of minutes.

My final thought on bio-individuality? I believe that as humans we all have the same basic nutritional needs. I agree that different people have different food needs up to a certain point. I think that our health is our greatest barometer. But most importantly, I believe that nature provides us with everything we need to sustain a healthy, vibrant lifestyle!

So, would you join me in resolving not to resolve? Let’s encourage each other to eat better and feel better. To be grateful for what nature has to offer and to protect the very thing that provides us with life!

 

With love and gratitude,

Sara Balcazar-Greene (aka. Peruvian Chick)
Peruvian Food Ambassador
peruvianchick.com
instagram.com/peruvianchick
facebook.com/theperuvianchick

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Family

When I think about Christmas, I think about Jesus, His birth and His life and then I think about my wife and children and our parents and our siblings. Christmas, much like Thanksgiving, draws family together. At least in thought, if not in presence.

At the Farm, times have really changed. We only have four children at home now. I think the last time we had four children at home for a Christmas was 1998 and those original 4 kiddos are all married now! Between 1998 and today the old farmhouse has swelled to capacity and shrunk again. The older married ones have another side of the family to navigate now and have to make choices about where to go and when to come or not. I am thankful for FACETIME!

This year, we were blessed to have had all 9 of our children and their families in for an early Christmas last Sunday. It is a rare day, save a wedding, that the entire clan is able to gather together.

In my mind, I wrestle with the past, present and future. The present is both bitter and sweet, for I know that it will be harder to get on their schedules as life marches on, just as it was for our parents when Joelle and I started our family. But when all of their schedules align, like this Christmas, it is so wonderful!

And one day, Joelle and I will be the great grandparents. And with our strength fading and our love increasing, there will be a parade of progeny that comes by the old farmhouse to visit and extend Christmas wishes. And we will talk about chasing cows, or harvesting lettuce early in the morning so we could go swimming later. Or when this one or that one got their first hit or scored their first goal. And Joelle and I will get to hold another crop of Klesick’s for the first time and beam with pride as our pictures are taken.

Family is the gift that matters most. And it is the same this Christmas as it will be next Christmas.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Tristan Klesick

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Holiday Delivery Schedule for Weeks of 12/18 and 12/25

Holiday Delivery Schedule for Weeks of 12/18 and 12/25

*Please note that this delivery schedule spans two weeks: the week of Christmas and New Years* 

Our office will be closed Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve in observance of the holidays. Because of these closures our deliveries for both weeks are scheduled as follows:

For delivery Tuesday:

Tuesday customers and Wednesday customers in Woodinville

For delivery Wednesday:

Wednesday customers and Thursday customers in Lynnwood

For delivery Thursday:

Thursday customers and Friday customers in Marysville and Lake Stevens

For delivery Friday:

Friday customers in Arlington and Monroe and Saturday customers

 

Please remember to let us know if you will need to skip your delivery either of these weeks.

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A Local Fundraiser With Both International and Local Benefits

For the Klesick family and our farm business, being generous is an important core value and our giving tends to follow our connections to the people we know. A few years ago, the Oso mudslide happened and since I have family in Oso, we were able to give more directly to the needs of the community through my local contacts. Then there was the Pateros Fire. Once again we were able to give more directly to those most affected because of our local contacts with some farmers that supply much of the fruit we put in our boxes.

Through each of these tragedies, you, our local customers, partnered with us to make the lives of people you will never meet better. You are a generous bunch! J

And now, we have Hurricane Matthew. A few years ago, some friends from the Stanwood/Camano Island community moved to Haiti to work in an orphanage and at a local medical clinic. When Hurricane Matthew ripped through Haiti more than a few needs surfaced. Haiti is already challenged as a nation and the Hurricane was another blow to an already poor infrastructure.

As a family, we increased our giving to help them meet the local needs in the community they serve, but Maleah, our intrepid 12 y/o, wanted to do more. She reached out to Ryan and Jill Dolan directly and asked what she could to do help. Jill responded:

“Behind our home, up the mountain is the small village of Geffrard, pronounced as Jeffwa. They have one school and it fell down during the hurricane. The students have not had school since the hurricane hit our area on October 4th. There are six classrooms, with a total of 200 students.”

 

With that Maleah leapt into action and here’s how the rest of the story unfolded:

 

A NOTE FROM MALEAH KLESICK

I am partnering with Klesick Farms to raise $500 by the end of this week (12/17). They still need 130 sheets of metal roofing to complete the roof. By partnering with us, together we can help them rebuild their school.

There are two ways to give:

1. You can help by purchasing a Food Bank Box of produce for $28.00. Klesick Farms will deliver the box to the food bank for Christmas and donate $10 to the Rebuild a Roof for a School project.

2. You can donate $5.00 for each sheet of metal roofing. Donate any amount.

Please go to: www.klesickfamilyfarm.com/Haiti and let’s help this community get their kids back to school. All proceeds will go to rebuild the school roof. Any additional monies raised will be used by the Dolan family to operate the orphanage and medical clinic.

 

 

Tristan Klesick

Father of a future Community Activist

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Totally Caught Off Guard

Each week I normally log in about 10 – 12 hours of volunteer work on the Sustainable Land Strategy (SLS) forum. The SLS is a non-regulatory group of farmers, tribal and environmental members who were convened by Snohomish County to promote collaboration and build relationships. There are four Farmers and four Environmental members (two Tribal, two Restoration).

Back in 2010, the goal of then Council Member Dave Somers (now County Executive) was to change the adversarial and contentious relationships between Farming and Environmental groups. No small task! A new way of doing business was needed and so with good facilitation, the SLS began the arduous task of bridging damaged relationships and working together.

In 2015 I was asked to join the SLS and in 2016 became the Ag caucus chair. Terry Williams from the Tulalip Tribes serves as the Fish caucus chair. Terry’s years of service in DC and in Snohomish County have laid a path of trust and collaboration to begin this important work.

Every year the 45 Conservation Districts across Washington State have an annual meeting and an awards banquet. This year I had been invited to speak and talk about SLS and the work we are doing in Snohomish County. I had also been invited to stay for lunch. Though I really needed to get back to the farm and my “paying” job, Monte Marti, the Snohomish Conservation District Director, pressed me to stay. I reluctantly relented. About half way through lunch, the proverbial “light bulb” came on. This was an Awards Banquet!

This year, the Vim Wright “Building Bridges” Award was presented to Terry Williams and Tristan Klesick. I did not see that coming. To be mentioned in the same breath with Vim Wright and Terry Williams is an incredible honor.

Vim Wright served both Colorado and Washington and worked tirelessly to build better communities for people and wildlife (especially non-game wildlife). She served on many committees and founded many more. Towards the end of her life she left her imprint on farming and conservation by establishing the Farming and the Environment program and serving on the Washington State Conservation Commission. The words on the award capture her spirit and the goal of the SLS: “We salute and recognize your continuing efforts in support of conservation through collaboration and working tirelessly with traditional agricultural, environmental and tribal communities on conservation projects and helping to develop a better mutual understanding of one another.”

An award is a moment in time, but without lots of people working together, none of it would be possible. My name might be on the plaque, but as I walked up to receive the award I couldn’t help but think of Joelle, our children, the Klesick team, the SLS team, and you, our Klesick customers. This is an award for the entire Klesick Farm Community.

Thank you for believing in Klesick Farms. Together we are doing great things and I look forward to doing more great things tomorrow.

Farmer/Health Advocate

Tristan Klesick

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How to Eat Your BOX (Week of 11/13/16)

Parsnips:

Parsnips are like carrots with attitude. They have an almost peppery sweet flavor to them that comes out nicely when cooked. They don’t eat well raw….at all, they’re much too dense, but they cook just as well or better than a carrot in my opinion. Parsnips are a great alternative to the more traditional baked or sautéed root vegetables!

Try them diced into bite size chunks or julienned, drizzled with olive oil and tossed in a bowl with a little salt and cayenne. Bake in a parchment-lined baking dish on the bottom rack in your oven at 450° for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until edges are browned and crispy. If you received Kohlrabi in your box, you can add those in the mix as well. I recommend cutting kohlrabi into slightly larger pieces for this dish because they cook faster than parsnips.

Red Bell Peppers:

These bright red veggies pair well with most savory dishes and can be added to soup, stir fry, salad, shish kabobs, or simply eaten raw. They are also commonly used for stuffing because of their perfect cup shape. It’s best to eat your peppers right away, while still fresh. I don’t like to let them sit around in my fridge very long because they can lose their crunchy appeal and become rubbery.

Try adding red bell peppers to your chicken salad. I love making chicken salad and using it for sandwiches…or eating by itself…or serving at parties (it makes a great dip with crackers or pita bread!)

What makes the chicken salad option so great is that you don’t need an exact recipe. You can put whatever you want in there! Just cut up your veggies (e.g. pepper, onion, radish, cilantro and apple) into small pieces and add to diced or shredded chicken. Mix in a couple tablespoons of mayonnaise, Dijon or regular mustard, vinegar, and spices, etc.) Traditionally, mayonnaise is used, but you can substitute with sour cream or Greek yogurt.

Kohlrabi:

Mike here in our office is Kohlrabi’s biggest fan so if you need some convincing to try this alienistic vegetable, give him a call! Kohlrabi is typically eaten raw—peeled, sliced, salted, and added to a salad or used for serving with a dip. You can also steam, boil, bake, grill, or roast it. Just peel away the thick outside skin first. Try adding kohlrabi to soup or stew or grate them up and toss with grated carrots or apples to make a slaw! You can also boil and mash them with potatoes or other root vegetables. Stir-fry them with other vegetables, or julienne them and fry them like potatoes. Look for Indian recipes using kohlrabi as they are often used in Indian cuisine. The leaves are also perfectly edible, and can be cooked up like kale.

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Thanksgiving Holiday Delivery Schedule 2016

Thanksgiving Holiday Delivery Schedule

Our office will be closed November 24-27 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Because of this closure, our deliveries for that week are scheduled as follows:

For delivery Monday:

Tuesday customers, Wednesday customers (except customers in Anacortes and Mukilteo) and customers in Shoreline

For delivery Tuesday:

Wednesday customers in Anacortes and Mukilteo, Thursday customers

For delivery Wednesday:

Friday and Saturday customers

 

Travelling out of town for Thanksgiving? 

Please remember to let us know if you will need to skip your delivery that week.