“Feeding our families is certainly a major part of our lives.  For the working woman it can be a monumental task.”  Emilie Barnes

I have been reading about clean eating, eating organic, saying no to GMO and the power of plants. What is clean eating? It just means choosing fresh, whole foods over highly processed ones filled with dangerous chemicals or additives. I believe as my father taught us, that food truly nourishes our body.

Let’s turn back the clock. Organic is the original way to grow and raise food. It is a system of farming in which animals ate a pasture based diet and the farmlands maintained and replenished soil fertility without the use of toxic pesticides and NPK fertilizes. Fish were not pulled from the water faster than they could produce.

You have heard, “you are what you eat”. Let’s find out about the power of plants. Whole foods have great, unbelievable health benefits. Nowhere is the power of sunlight more evident than in the life of green plants. However, plants will not grow well in poor or barren soil. Plant foods contain phytonutrients such as anthocyanins, phenolics, indoles, flavonoids and carotenoids. These beneficial compounds help support good memory functions, cardiovascular health, and a healthy weight-just to name a few of the benefits that come from eating plain foods.

I think it is most interesting when studying plants to learn that the vivid colors of fruits and vegetables are healthy and nourishing for us. Studied by Jordan Rubin a New York Times bestselling author, TV personality, motivational speaker, organic farmer and founder of Garden of Life and Beyond Organic and Get Real Nutrition. Jordan has spent 20 years studying naturopathic medicine, nutrition and permaculture science.

These foods help determine our moods, stress level and over all sense of well-being: whole oats lower stress level says Daniel Gallagher, a food scientist and nutrition professor and researcher at the University of Minnesota; sesame oil is rich in heart healthy compounds call phytosterols says Judy Fulop, a naturopathic  doctor at Northwestern Memorial Hospital; studies show that blueberries, cinnamon and lentils reduce blood sugar; mushrooms, carrots and spinach fight infections; eggs, Brazil Nuts and Brussel Sprouts improve liver health; arugula, dark chocolate  and milk lower blood pressure; coffee almonds and ginger relieve headaches. Drinking coffee at the onset of a headache may ease the pain. One study from the Zanjan University of Medical Science in Iran found that ginger powder may be just as effective at treating migraines as some common medications.

To inform you the York County Retired Educators are looking for interested crafters for their Harvest Craft Fair to be held at Kennebunk High School on Saturday October 27, 9 am to 2:30 p.m. The cost will be $30 for a space that is 10 feet wide and 6 feet deep. Tables and electricity will be available for an extra charge of $5 each. For an application please visit Rosemarie Smith. Email: rosietomorrow25@gmail.com or phone (680-0342)

The fair will have some of the familiar events, including a used book sale, a baked goods table, and a 50/50 raffle. They will feature a new raffle this year, a basket raffle which to date includes the following: Thanksgiving basket, chocolate lover’s basket, Maine Basket, children’s book basket, patriotic basket, kitchen basket and family game basket. They will also increase the number of outside crafters participating.

Any profit made by YCREA will go to Seeds of Hope, a neighborhood resource center in Biddeford. Https://seedsofhope4me.org/ The relationship with Seeds of Hope began last fall. A small group of YCREA member (Shirley Jones, Rosemarie Smith, Sharon LaBlanc, Ute Stevens, and  Mariene Benoit) have been going to Atria (an assisted living facility) in Kennebunk for the past year,  forming a Yarn Circle with some of the residents. They have been knitting and crocheting items such as scarf and hats for a number of charitable organizations. They began to knit for Seeds of Hope in December, and this relationship became the impetus to the fall fair with Seeds of Hope as the recipient of the profits.

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