Tag: klesick’s

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Bitters for Better Health

Over the next year we are going to be rolling out some new flavors in the Boxes of Good – Bitters! Bitters are a class of vegetables that are nutritional powerhouses. Though fairly common, they rarely show up in the American diet. But now, many of us will get to experience wonderful flavors that fuel our bodies with more vitamins and minerals.

As I have migrated away from sugars (organic or otherwise) I have noticed that my taste buds are drawn to kales, mustards, arugulas, chicories, etc. I am not sure why that is happening, but I do believe that sugar co-opts the brain and creates an overly dependent desire for more sugar. Having lessened sugar’s grip on my taste buds probably has freed my taste buds to enjoy more varied flavors and bitters are definitely on the menu.

This week we are featuring Treviso Radicchio (pronounced Raw-Deke-ee-O), a part of the Chicory family. The Treviso was grown by our friends at Ralph’s Greenhouse in Mt. Vernon.

This dark red leafy “green” is chocked full of vitamins A, C and K, and minerals like calcium, potassium and magnesium. Filled with folate and fiber, and low in fat and sodium, these greens are a must for a healthy diet and a healthy digestive system.

Eating bitter food activates taste buds that simultaneously stimulate enzyme production and bile flow, which promotes digestion. The better your food is digested, the more nutrients you’ll absorb from your food. It doesn’t matter what you eat, if you can’t absorb it, it won’t be of much benefit to you. The high fiber content in bitter greens also helps to eliminate waste through the digestive tract.

What’s more, bitter greens also promote natural detoxification of the liver, which regulates cholesterol, balances hormones, detoxifies the blood, and metabolizes fats (Excerpted and slightly modified from MindBodyGreen). I believe that food is the problem causing our health crisis in America and that food is also the solution to our health crisis in America. The choice is ours, but the overwhelming amount of sugar and processed foods in our grocery stores and restaurants makes eating healthy a real challenge.

At Klesick’s we exist as an alternative to the industrial processed food system. With your help we have stood together as a beacon for good food and common sense for the last 20 years, delivering only organic fruits and vegetables – one family, one delivery, one meal and one bite at a time. And I am in for another 20!

 

Farmer and Health Advocate,

Tristan

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Good Food Health Coaching by Klesick’s

It is sure nice to be on this side of the Holiday Season. After New Year’s, life will settle, and things will return to a relatively more normal routine. And as far as I am concerned routine and normal are greatly appreciated!

The new year always brings such fresh optimism and renewed energy, we just need to sustain it, but how? That is the million-dollar question.

Well the answer depends on what the goal is that you are trying to accomplish. If the goal is to lose 5lbs maybe two weeks to a month. If the goal is to lose 50lbs maybe 1-2 years. If the goal is to lose that last 5 lbs., maybe 2 or 3 months!

Maybe your goal is to run a 5k which will require different training than a 10k or a Marathon. But no matter what the goal is, each person has to assess where they are, how attainable the goal is and then develop a plan to accomplish the task. The first hurdle is recognizing that something has to change, and then acting upon that goal. Don’t get stuck in the planning mode; yes, plan to be successful, but don’t be a successful planner!

Let’s talk about what makes achieving a goal successful. First, you need a good goal, that is reachable, but a stretch. Second, the big picture/plan, AKA the final goal. I like to use a business strategy called 4DX. Essentially, you state the goal “from x to y by z”. For example, I want to go from 205 lbs. to 185 lbs. by 3/15/18. Third, implement the plan. If your goal is to lose 20lbs, your plan might look like: eat 3 meals a day, cut out processed sugar, no snacking, drink 3 glasses of water, weigh myself Wednesdays/Sundays. The last part of the plan is probably the most important: accountability! Once you have decided what the goal is, its timeframe, and the plan to win, then you’ll need accountability.

Accountability can take many forms, a life coach, a counselor, a friend, joining a group. I am a big fan of accountability, it just makes reaching a goal that much easier.

Klesick’s is going to offer a group coaching call weekly via a private Facebook group. Our accountability will revolve around good food and incorporating more of it into your diet. The Good Food Coaching will be focused around eating better to feel better and a byproduct of eating better is losing weight. We are going to limit the group to 30 folks. The price for the Good Food Coaching and accountability will be $8/wk. and will run for 3 months. If you would like to join us on this journey, visit this link.

Wishing all of you a wonderful start to the New Year and we will see you in January with more good food conveniently delivered to your door!

 

Farmer and Health Advocate,

Tristan

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Love

I think this time of year is a powerful reminder of what was, is, and what can be. All of us find ourselves at different places than we were last year. Some of you have moved and are getting accustomed to new environs, establishing new relationships, and building community. Others have moved back to “home” and are reconnecting, reestablishing old relationships and rebuilding a sense of community.

Some of you are welcoming new family members—a new son in law or daughter in law or maybe a new future prospect for marrying into the family. Others are welcoming new children and introducing them to the wonder and awe that is life and life at Christmas. And a few more of us are welcoming grandchildren to their first Christmas’s.

Like many of you, I find myself experiencing life at warp speed. But one thing that is not lost on me is that I am a year older this Christmas and so are most of the important people who are in my life–except Arlo and Nathan our newest grandsons experiencing Christmas for the first time and joining our other grandchildren Kaden, Hadlee and Grayson. It is going to be a lot of fun around the farm this holiday season.

Joelle and I are in that middle spot. We have grandchildren, and children and older parents. It is a beautiful season in life, but a full one. It makes me think about Grandpa Hank. It has been years since he passed away, but what is forever etched in my memory are his eyes. If there ever was a tinkerer or inventor, it was Grandpa Hank. He built a riding lawnmower that could also be used to split wood and another attachment to mow the hillsides. Good old-fashioned ingenuity!

Funny thing about Grandpa Hank, his great grandson Aaron got the “bug” one day and took two riding lawnmowers and found a way to attach them and make an articulating lawnmower that was steered using pulleys and a winch. In many ways Grandpa Hank still lives and his talents and gifts are passed on, just like each of our talents and gifts will be passed on.

But back to Grandpa Hank’s eyes. As dusk was setting on his earthly life, I would watch his interactions with the family—all those little ones running around, stopping by for a hug or the newest little one landing in his lap. His eyes were always focused and taking in the entire scene. I think he was still a big kid, with an even bigger appreciation for life. The wonder and awe of life was not lost on him.

Love is a gift and is best passed on, but we will have to keep our eyes open to be able to not only share our love, but also to receive love. We can love and be loved because a baby boy born on that Christmas morning first loved us.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and the most blessed of Holiday seasons,

 

Tristan

Farmer, Health Advocate

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Keep the Holidays Healthy

Does anyone else think that this is a lofty goal?! Everywhere you turn there is an advertisement to buy something, do something, donate to something, plus all the running around and mental energy to keep up with it all! To complicate matters, our will power is severely depleted when it comes to food because we have already made another 100 decisions that day. We just don’t have the energy, time or will power to cook or prepare a healthy snack. And the winner is…. Sugar and Processed Foods! The loser is….

But there is an antidote to the food traps. Planning! We have to plan to eat healthy or most of us will have a lot more to “lose” in January. It is the same with our finances. If we don’t want to owe VISA/MC for this holiday, we will have to plan where our money goes and how it gets spent. Otherwise, come January, we will have two crises, a visa bill crisis and a “I ate too much in December?!?!”-crisis. But personally, I want to have “0”, NADA, no, crisis in January. Not a financial crisis. Not a weight crisis. And I want that for you, too.

With Thanksgiving down and Christmas coming, I am going to have to be diligent. It is hard enough to eat well, but during this season there is SUGAR everywhere and for a lot of folks, sugars and flours are addictive. If you are one of those people and honestly find yourself craving sugar, this season is especially hard. Just saying “no” probably hasn’t worked in the past and it probably won’t work now either.

I personally don’t believe that this is a will power issue. Many of us have elevated insulin levels in our bodies and elevated insulin levels block a hormone called Leptin whose primary job is to let us know that we are full and to stop eating. This means that for a whole lot of people, the natural processes of eating and feeling full aren’t working. This is due in part to a diet with too much processed foods in it. The other challenge is that in order to make this switch, a person will need accountability—firm, loving, compassionate accountability–to help them hold on to the new way of eating.

The good news is that our body is so resilient that we can lower our Insulin levels so Leptin will begin to work again. The solution is simple, we will need to eat whole foods and less processed foods, and, yes, eliminate Sugar (except that which is found in fruit and vegetables.)

Look for more information next week on eating better during the holidays. Until then continue to eat healthy and be healthy,

 

Your Health Advocate and Farmer,

Tristan Klesick

 

 

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Food is Culture

Does our food define us? Does it define us as a family, a community, a state, a nation? Can we define our culture by the food we eat? If we could, what would that tell us? These are not easy questions to answer. And, what kind of answers would we give to these questions? Types of food? How we prepare the food? How often we eat? By our health numbers like blood pressure, insulin spikes, or cholesterol? Or, by cancer, obesity, or mental health?

In many ways Americans have access to the healthiest food systems anywhere. For one, because we have a lot of resources. For another, because of the many different ethnic influences that have shaped this nation. Oh, the choices. Every ethnic group has brought a part of their culture and food with them and today, because of our global economies, we have access to it. And, I believe, our taste palette likes the new flavors and our mind is excited to try new things.

Of course, if we are what we eat, then our health will also inform us as to what we believe about food. Everyone I know believes that we should be eating more fruits and vegetables. Everyone I know also knows, and correctly, that a whole host of today’s maladies are attributed to “lifestyle” choices–not drinking enough water, eating too much sugar, eating bad carbs, not eating fruit and vegetables, or not getting enough sleep.

Sadly, the American mentality towards food and health is, “I can have my cake and eat it, too.” And we believe this about foods we “know” are not good for us. But, because our bodies are so resilient, we borrow against the future. Our future health bill as a nation is coming due and for some, it is already personally coming due.

For us as a nation, a community and as individuals, this trend can change and has to change, but it will only do so one bite at a time. One determined bite at a time that sends a message to the institutional food system, “You can’t have my money or my health!”

As a local farmer and business owner, I want my contribution to the local food culture to be life giving and life changing. It makes my life work more meaningful knowing that I am working with nature to grow food for local people who are defined by not “only” what they eat, but by where they choose to source their food.

Together we are building a healthy food micro-culture.

 

Cheers,

 

Tristan Klesick

Farmer/Health Advocate

 

 

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Thanksgiving

It’s that time of year when we are supposed to pause and be thankful, reflect, enjoy family and friends, and good food. For those of us who live in northern regions of the world, enjoying this season is a little easier because the weather and the day length lend themselves more to a warm fire and a good book. Even though my morning start time of 5am doesn’t change much with the season, I am getting more sleep, thanks in part to the shorter daylight hours and getting to bed earlier.

Anyone else out there, ever say, “Sleep is overrated!”? Definitely not teenagers! I will confess that I have at least thought that a time or two, but now that I am north of the half century mark, sleep is important and building that discipline going forward is new goal -trying to be asleep by 10pm, wish me luck! 

Habits are so hard to break and bad habits are the hardest. Over time, those bad habits are more like addictions than habits.  Eating is one of those categories that can be a sore spot for many of us. So much food and so many choices, and our will power to eat well and avoid processed or sugary foods can derail in spite of the best of intentions. 

This week is one of those food “traps” that will be foisted upon Americans. Yep, Thanksgiving, a time to be thankful will be greeted with a barrage of pies, ice cream, jello, lots of gravy and, and, and. Just the sheer amount of food will be immense and the selection on most tables will be enough to feed a family for a week.  Most of us are not going to be in control of how much food gets set on the table, but we can control how much food gets put on our plates.

Tristan’s plan to eat a successful Thanksgiving Meal:

To be a successful eater at the Thanksgiving table, I would encourage a few Non-Negotiables. 

Choose to eat better so you will feel better and not bloated or stuffed. It is a choice.

Limit snacking and choose the fruit and veggie snacks.

Plan to eat at the main meal, whether that is lunch or dinner for your family, but be reasonable with your portions. 

Just one plate, not one plate at a time, not heaping (wink, wink). Just one plate, it will be enough food. 🙂

Remember, dessert will be coming, so pick none or just one. I know this is a hard one, because there will be lots of selection and a sampling will be tough to turn down.

These simple non-negotiables or guidelines will help anyone enjoy family, friends and the Thanksgiving meal with energy and enthusiasm. Imagine feeling full and thankful this Thanksgiving. That’s my goal!

 

Enjoy!

 

Tristan

Farmer/Health Advocate

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2017 Thanksgiving Holiday Delivery Schedule

2017 Thanksgiving Holiday Delivery Schedule

 

Our office will be closed November 23-25 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Because of this closure, our deliveries for that week are scheduled as follows:

 

For delivery Monday

Mill Creek, Silver Firs, Everett, Snohomish, Mukilteo, Lynnwood, Woodinville

For delivery Tuesday

Oak Harbor, Anacortes, Lake Stevens, Monroe, Mt. Lk. Terrace

For delivery Wednesday

Camano, Marysville, Stanwood, Seven Lakes, Arlington, Burlington, Mt. Vernon, Sedro Woolley

 

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

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Time to Make Some Plans

Is it hard to believe that it’s already time to be planning for Thanksgiving? Those of us in the farming and food business have already been planning for this major food holiday, but now it is time to share with you what we are “cooking up” on our end for deliveries.

Delivery Schedules:

For the week of Thanksgiving, all deliveries will be happening Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Which means if your normal delivery day is Thursday, Friday or Saturday, your order Thanksgiving week will be before the Holiday. Don’t worry about it now, we will email and communicate the delivery changes well in advance.

Holiday boxes: 

For the Last 20 years we have been helping families with their Thanksgiving meal planning. This year will be no different, except, we have two ways to order your Thanksgiving items.

1.            You can either order the Holiday Box (with my regular order) or the Holiday Box (replacing my regular order). Either way, the Holiday Box is the same box, but inevitably Mike will be thinking about Holiday box orders that also have your regular boxes still being ordered. Many of you intend to order a holiday box and your regular order and conversely many of you intend to only order a holiday box, but forget to move your current order out. This change in how you order the Holiday Boxes, will make it easier on Mike to get your order perfect and make sure you get exactly what you ordered perfectly.

2.            The Holiday Boxes are available for the weeks of November 12th through December 2nd. The Holiday box is a popular box all month.

3.            You can also send a Holiday Donation Box to one of our 8 food banks that we partner with weekly and make this Holiday Season even more nutritious for a family in need. For each donation box purchased, we send out end of year tax receipts.

4.            And as usual, you can order all your Thanksgiving ingredients “a la carte“.

5.            The Holiday Box menu and prices are available below. 

Changes to the Box of Good Menus

Starting the week of November 12th, we are adding two new boxes of good and will be ending the Seasonal NW Box. The Seasonal NW Box will resume in May/June next year when the local farm season gets going again.

Our Essential line of boxes consists of 4 boxes: Fruit, Fruit/Vegetable, Fruit/Salad and Vegetable/Salad. These options have been very popular with many of you, but there are a lot of you that need/want more quantity than the Essential line has to offer. So, we are now offering the same options at our Middle Tier, which we are renaming the Family Tier.

The Family Tier already consists of the Fruit Box, Vegetable Box, and Family Box. We are adding a Fruit/Vegetable Box and a Fruit/Salad Box. The beauty in this restructuring is it will give you more options to tailor your orders to your families eating preferences. Of course, shopping online at klesickfarms.com is a great way to get exactly what you want, but many of you, also, love to get a box of good and leave the menu planning to us. 

 

Thank you,

Tristan,

Farmer/Health Advocate

 

 

Holiday Box Menu—$40

Granny Smith Apples, 5 each.

Green Beans, 1 lb.

Cranberries, 7.5 oz.

Garnet Yams, 2 lbs.

Satsumas, 1 lb.

Carrots, 2 lbs.

Breadcubes for Stuffing, 1 lb.

Yellow Potatoes, 2 lbs.

Celery, 1 bunch

Yellow Onions, 1 lb.

Acorn Squash, 1 ea.

Navel Oranges, 2 ea.

 

The Holiday DONATION Box—to Food Banks 11/17

Purchase a Holiday Donation Box for only $32 (reg. Holiday Box price $40), to be given to local food banks the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Last year 130 Holiday Donation Boxes were distributed and this year we’d love to have a greater impact!

The volunteers at the food banks have expressed again and again how wonderful and satisfying it is to be able to supply people with fresh produce.

You can order a Holiday Donation Box online or by contacting our office.

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Eat Better and You Will Feel Better

Anybody else ready to move on from the Sugar Manufacturer’s lovefest, AKA Halloween, and start focusing on eating better? I for one am no fan of what the Sugar Manufacturers are doing to America’s population. Let’s be honest, no one really considers Halloween to be a healthy event.

Thankfully, we don’t have to eat that way. We might choose to eat that way, but nobody is forcing us. It is by choice. One of my goals for the next 2 months of holidays is to create some non-negotiable rules.

I am choosing natural sugars and mostly whole fruit. You won’t find real honey or maple syrup in a candy bar. That nonnegotiable alone will limit the majority of your sugars. I am mostly not eating processed foods that have sugar in them.

Eating 3 meals a day is my next non-negotiable and only filling my plate once (important especially on Thanksgiving). I am going to fill my plate with organic vegetables, salad items, and meats. I am not going to be snacking, but will let my digestive system rest between meals.

And lastly, I am going to (loosely) preplan my meals for the next day. I am going to have a plan for my food based on what is in my refrigerator and the pantry. Nothing derails eating well more than letting the moment dictate your meal options. Ever try to find something healthy to eat at a convenience store???

Healthy eating made simple is my goal, and given what seems to be the normal hectic unsustainable pace of life, having a few non-negotiables will help. It certainly helps that I usually have more energy, feel better and my blood pressure stays in the normal range when I follow these “non-negotiables”–and these are just a few of the “incidental” blessings from eating well.

Next Week 

Next week we will be gearing up for the Thanksgiving holiday and publishing our menu for the Thanksgiving Holiday Box. It will have all the ingredients for a great meal and you will be able to order a box, shop for individual items or a combination of both.

And, as you already experience every week, we will hand select the freshest ingredients (many from local farms) and save you the hassle of shopping at the store, especially during a holiday week. Doesn’t that sound nice? No parking hassles, no long lines and no time spent looking through the already picked over produce.

The Klesick Farm team is excited to be your partner in good health by delivering high quality produce at fair prices and saving you precious time that you can use for whatever you want!

 

 

Tristan Klesick

Farmer/Health Advocate

 

 

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From Wet Dust to Wet Flooding

In August of 2003, Joelle and I purchased our current farm. That seems like a lifetime ago! The 1892 old farmhouse was in pretty bad shape and the bank wouldn’t let us move into until we remodeled it. Having sold our home in Machias, we were stuck in that awkward state of nowhere to live. In hindsight, the bank was right. The old farm had “good bones”, but was in serious disrepair.

It was hard, but rewarding. We were finally on our own farm and everyone was pitching in, both family and friends. So much work but we found amazing treasures too. Treasures that you would never find unless you rolled up your sleeves and got to work! There was so much lathe and plaster and wall paper and more wall paper. The whole place needed to be rewired and replumbed and insulated. I remember when we were started to “attack” the lowered ceiling that was made up of acoustic tiles. As soon as we pulled out those tiles, everything stopped. We were in awe. Untouched and as beautiful as the day they were first installed 10’ up in the air was a 20’ long cedar 1” x 4” tongue and grooved bead board.

We were stuck. We knew it had to come down in order for us to do the wiring and plumbing, but we also knew that you just can’t buy that stuff anymore. I remember the moment like it was yesterday. We just stopped working in that room for a whole month! There was no way to patch it up and do all the upgrades. It had to come down, but yet it was a part of this home, its history, its craftsmanship. Eventually a plan came together. We removed the ceiling and broke boards, but we were able to save lots of good useable pieces. We repainted that beautiful rich dark green cedar bead board the same color and used it as wainscoting.

Why all this reminiscing? Well, October of 2003 was also the first year we were introduced to the Stillaguamish River and from that day on, we understood who the valley really belongs to. And this week we have our first flood watch for the season. Hopefully a nonevent, but in 2003 it was supposed to be a nonevent too but turned out to be the largest flood on record. Thankfully, technology has gotten better, and the forecasts tend to be more accurate, but that first flood, oh my! 

This month we have also been talking about Cancer and asking people to share their stories. In some ways our old farmhouse and the valley we live in serves as reminder of how precious and how fragile life is. That old farmhouse was in need of some love and care and it couldn’t do it on its own. People battling Cancer or any major disease also need love and care. They need a team filled with hope to “carry” them at times and help them win this very real fight.

At Klesick Farms we are privileged to be a part of your team. We believe in you and we want you to be healed. If you would like to share your story or the story of someone you know battling cancer, please click the link and submit a prayer request. It can be anonymous or not. We pray on Thursdays for the prayer requests we receive.

 

Your Health Advocate and Farmer,

 

Tristan