Saturday, December 29, 2012

What's in your fridge?


Looking in someone's refrigerator is like looking in their medicine cabinet - it's very revealing. You can learn some pretty important information. Not only can you tell what kind of foods they're into (which indicates how much they care about nutrition and their health), you can also tell if they cook or not, consume soft drinks or commercial juices, and eat animal products. 


Regardless of the contents, it's always sort of fun to look inside.

I took the photos included in this post recently, when I came back from the Open Farmer's Market called the Swap Shop, in Sunrise, FL.  We've been shopping there for about 20 years now and have sustained a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle for our family of 5 on a modest but substantial budget, with a feeling of incredible abundance because of the amounts of fruits and vegetables that are stocked in our fridge used for meals, fresh juices, shakes, and snacks.

As you can see, most of what's in there is fresh produce.  Other things kept in our fridge on a regular basis include homemade hummus, fresh peanut butter, tofu, homemade sprouts, unsalted butter, whole wheat flour & yeast for baking in the bread machine, homemade salad dressing, dates, raisins, walnuts, almonds, leftover quinoa and rice & lentils. 

In our freezer you'll usually find a few bags of frozen bananas and chopped frozen fruit for smoothies and homemade ice cream, frozen slices of home baked (salt free, sugar free, additive free) and ice.

We do indulge and splurge on pizza, ice cream, chips and baked goods occasionally, since moderation of 'special treats' is key in a balanced lifestyle, but healthy choices are available for our daily consumption. 


As the New Year approaches, let's take stock of what we are putting into our bodies, and whether  the food we are eating is alive (contains water, like fruits and veggies) or dead (cooked or packaged). We only have one body, and we should take the best care of it for ourselves and for our loved ones, who count on us to be healthy and strong, with energy to work and enjoy our lives in excellent health.


If somebody took a look inside your fridge today, what would they see?   

Wishing you an incredible New Year, filled with 
the best of health, fulfillment, joy and love.