Friday Favorites

It’s favorites time again! I have been absolutely obsessed with this stuff for the past 2 weeks… and there’s no end in sight. I just can’t enough of infused water, almond butter, and cherry tomatoes. My favorite part of my “favorites” is the CSA we joined! Read on to find out more!

Happy Friday everyone! I say that all the time don’t I? What can I say.. I just love Friday! I’m pretty excited about this week’s favorites. I know, I say that all the time too. I guess I don’t have to say that each week since that’s the whole point of a favorites post. 

First up….

1. Infused Water

I’ve really been making an effort to drink more water. I pretty much only have water in my fridge so it has always been a go-to for meal times, but for other times of the day I’d forget to keep hydrated. Thanks to the Tone It Up girls for introducing me to the idea of infusing water! I saw them talking about it in one of their videos on youtube and was so intrigued.

This goes beyond your basic lemon water – you can add different fruits, herbs, etc. I started out with berries and mint and this week I added pineapple and lemon in the mix. The water takes on a slightly fruity flavor and just makes you want to drink more! It actually tastes very similar to those flavored waters you can buy, but there’s nothing artificial here. 

If you’re looking to increase your water intake definitely try infusing it! It’s so refreshing and makes staying hydrated easy. 

2. Almond Butter

I’m a huge peanut butter fan. Peanut butter desserts, peanut sauce, by the spoonful… you name it I love it. Well, I also love almond butter, but for some reason I always forget to buy it. I saw it at Costco and thought it was a great value, so I picked it up. It’s their own brand (Kirkland) and it’s made from roasted almonds – that’s it. No sugar, preservatives, just pure almond goodness. 

I’ve been enjoying it just about every day – either with an apple or in a smoothie. I will have a smoothie recipe coming up relatively soon with almond butter in it.. it’s SO good. To avoid overeating it I measure out a serving size in a little bowl and then dip my apple slices into it. It makes the perfect morning snack and it so satisfying. 

3. Tomatoes

I’ve said a million times that I am against buying tomatoes in a grocery store because they generally taste like cardboard. Once you have a garden tomato, you never want any other kind. Well, every spring I get the hankering for a tomato and I always cave and buy some. I usually end up disappointed, but not this time. I saw a big container at Costco last week and they just looked so good. I bought them and when I came home and tried one I was shocked at how sweet it was. Nothing will ever compare to a fresh picked tomato, but these come pretty darn close!

These little grape tomatoes have been my go-to afternoon snack. I’ve been limiting my popcorn intake, so the tomatoes have been a good fill-in. Except I ran out tomatoes, so now I’m eating a big bowl of popcorn as I type this… 

4. CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)

This is my favorite “favorite” of the past 2 weeks. I mentioned in my last 2 posts that Kyle and I joined a CSA through a local farm here. By the way, the above picture is an old garden photo since I didn’t have anything to represent the CSA. I forgot to take a picture of all the wonderful produce we got, so I’m using my favorite garden photo!

Anyway, a few weeks ago I decided I wanted to look into a CSA. I figured it’s the next best thing to having a garden and it’s a great way to support local farms. I was surprised at how many I found in our area. I googled csa’s near my town and found a bunch. You can also use http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ to find one in your area.

Once I found a few that were closest to me I contacted them with some questions. I wanted to know when the produce was picked so that I knew I was getting it as fresh as possible. I also wanted to make sure everything was grown by them and they weren’t getting it from a store or something. I was lucky enough to find one that does their CSA year round – they have greenhouses as well as cold storage for things like apples and potatoes. So, we were able to start ours immediately. Most others (at least around here) don’t start until around May and go through October or November depending on the weather. 

Basically, you buy a share in the farm and each week you get a bag or box full of produce. You get whatever they have, which for some can be a bad thing if you’re picky when it comes to veggies. I love getting different stuff as it helps add variety to my diet and introduces me to vegetables I may not have tried before. I’m loving the challenge of finding ways to use everything! You can expect to see a lot of recipes using my weekly bag of produce!

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I hope you all have a fantastic weekend.. it’s supposed to be in the high 70’s here, so I’m pretty excited for some summer-like weather!