A New Year’s Resolution

2013 is here. Many of you have put away all your Christmas tinsel and are getting back to work with the whole New Year’s resolution thing.  But this year, make your New Year’s resolutions easy.  What do I mean by that?  Shop at your local farmers’ market.

Or, the alternative: dash to the grocery store, rush (because nobody I know meanders the grocery store) around under fluorescent lights in the controlled atmosphere, and pick through all the produce stacked strategically on gleaming wood tables. Study all the varieties of pre-packaged breads–do you want whole grain, white-wheat (still don’t understand that concept), multi-grain, 12-grain, 7-grain, Seed bread, Double Fiber…? Not to mention the bagged salads–American Blend, Baby Garden Blend, Spring Mix, European Blend, Just Lettuce… what?!  Isn’t a salad, by definition, mostly made up of some sort of green leaf from a lettuce plant?

How about the farmers’ market alternative: fresh picked kale, spinach and/or just simply greens! Now, I am not ‘bagging’ the grocery stores, they are a great convenience. I myself must go to get those can’t-live-without items, however I am judicious in my grocery list.  And let me tell you, it has made my life much more simple and satisfying.

So this year why not go have a cup of fresh roasted organic coffee or tea at the farmers’ market, take a stroll (or rush, if you simply must) around and take note of all the fresh local produce that is available–especially those just-picked salad greens.  Sample some juicy local oranges and bite into that fresh-baked danish.  Breathe in all that fresh cool air, chat with some of the vendors, see your neighbor, and let the natural rhythm of the bustling market give you inspiration for the week.

So this year, make a New Year’s Resolution to simplify your life, to go easy.  It just might make you healthier, happier and… it’s a cinch!