One of my favorite things about summertime in the corridor is all of the colorful, delicious goodness I get to enjoy from our farm share with Local Harvest CSA out of Solon. CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, is a way to buy local, seasonal, high quality food while supporting sustainability in our community. At the beginning of the season we invest in our share and then once a week, we pick up a generous haul of farm fresh produce and eggs at the North Liberty food pantry. We get a weekly email with updates from the farm and details and recipes to go with the share. After a fun conversation with the farmers each week at pickup, we normally come home with at least a dozen different types of produce. This week we are enjoying Napa cabbage, kohlrabi, zucchini and summer squash, green onions, and all sorts of delicious leafy greens. I love community supported agriculture and we are so lucky to have so many different farms that offer shares throughout the year! We all know nutrition is so important in all seasons of life and especially during pregnancy and postpartum. During pregnancy, I loved learning to prepare nourishing, satisfying, delicious meals. I loved sitting down to eat and thinking that my baby was enjoying my meal with me. During my pregnancy, I learned to truly love and respect my body and have never turned back. Body love and respect can be so simple- this week I practiced body respect by fixing up this delicious Chef Salad with a lot of the goodies from this week’s share. This salad is perfect during pregnancy- jam packed with veggies, proteins, and dressed with healthy fats. Also perfect for postpartum because, of course, those nutrients remain so important, but it is also such a breeze to throw together! And the balance of macronutrients provides good, sustainable energy. I pulled out all of the lettuce from one of four bags of leafy greens and washed and chopped it up. We have been enjoying our CSA for three years now and I am still astounded by the amounts of produce we get each week!
For some more protein, I added some turkey and ham and chopped up some bacon. We like our animal proteins in our house but chickpeas or avocado would be delicious alternatives. I also added some Monterey jack and cheddar cheese and some seasoned croutons. (I wanted to make some homemade croutons but I was just loving the quickness and easiness of this recipe too much!) When I make salads I love to line up all the toppings before mixing just to appreciate the colorful beauty. I made up a quick dressing too using ½ cup of plain Greek yogurt, a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, a tablespoon of sugar, and generous shakes of paprika and black pepper. Perfectly creamy and zesty. So summery and satisfying.
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AuthorThe Doulas of Iowa City blog contains guest posts by Doulas of Iowa City member businesses. We are excited to share with you about pregnancy, birth, and postpartum in Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, and surrounding communities and to help you connect to fabulous local resources. Archives
May 2021
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