Happy Food Day (week) from your friends at Boston Organics! This week brings pie pumpkin add-ons, Massachusetts cranberries, parsnips, turnips, kohlrabi, red potatoes, and delicata squash. We’ve also got lots of tasty and comforting recipes to help you get familiar with some of these lesser-known veggies. Check out the newsletter!
Cranberry season is here! We’ve got 8oz bags of fresh organic cranberries going out in boxes for the next few weeks from local MA cranberry growers. Other fall produce for this week includes Carnival squash, sweet potatoes, rosemary, kale, beets, and more. We’ve also added organic olive oil and canola oil to our add-on grocery selection! Check out the newsletter!
This week’s produce includes the likes of local blue potatoes from Atlas Farm, beets, carrots, and delicata squash. Basil is the herb of the week. Equal Exchange add-ons are on sale throughout the month of October, and the featured add-on of the week is a bar of Organic Dark Chocolate with Almonds from EE. Check out the newsletter!
Happy October! October is shaping up to be quite a busy month with the Boston Local Food Festival and the Boston Vegetarian Food Festival coming up soon. We’re also celebrating Non-GMO Month and Fair Trade Month with a sale on Equal Exchange coffees, teas, and chocolates throughout October!
This week brings delicious fall produce including beets, leeks, and potatoes. Pomegranates are going out in some of the larger boxes this week, and Dogma Boxes are receiving Brussels sprouts!
Guest Post by Kali Wyrosdic
If you’re trying to bring a little color to the workplace, have healthier on-hand snacks, or just trying to beautify your office simply and naturally, an office garden may be the way to go. But before you start going plant-crazy there are a few things to consider.
Location, location, location
In gardening as well as in real estate, the most important thing is location. If you’re fortunate enough to have an office with ample window-space and lighting, your options are much larger. You can grow anything from springy yellow Amaryllis, to mini cherry tomato plants to a light-loving herb garden filled with rosemary and lavender.
Unfortunately, most of us still work in low-light, fluorescent caves and need to consider other plant options. One perfect option is the Chinese evergreen. Not only does this little tree thrive in low light, it’s low maintenance and rated highly as an indoor purifier!
Other great low-maintenance indoor plants are the ponytail palm, violets, the Chamaedorea palm or almost any kind of cactus. If you feel like taking on a challenge, the moth orchid is nice and easy-to-grow as far as orchids go.
And if an indoor garden just isn’t feasible, consider picking a sunny wall to plant some climbing angel ivy and seasonal flowers on to create a calming, refreshing space to enjoy your lunch or catch some fresh air.
Don’t give your plant the cold shoulder!
After setting up your office garden there are still a couple things you need to be careful with. When watering your plant make sure to use room temperature water. Cold water will shock your plant’s roots and kill it. I use tepid water from one of our office’s bottleless water coolers. If your office tends to be on the arid side, you should consider keeping a little spray bottle filled with water at your desk to mist the plant every now and again.
The last thing to avoid is the air conditioning system. Make sure your new plant isn’t directly under a vent or sitting on top of a heater because rapid temperature changes will damage it. As far as fertilization goes, requirements vary by plant so make sure to check the instruction card that comes with the one you choose.
Now that you’ve got your garden ready to go, the important thing is to take the time to stop and enjoy the fruits- and flowers- of your labor!
Author Bio:
Kali is a guest author writing for Quench. She is a Philadelphia resident with a passion for good food, good music and filtered water. Quench is the largest provider of filtration-enabled bottleless water cooler and ice dispensers in the nation, providing a healthier and more cost-effective alternative to traditional water delivery in 5-gallon jugs.
We are now delivering fresh organic fruit to offices in Waltham on Mondays!
For businesses that would like to provide an alternative to vending machines and unhealthy snacks, Boston Organics will regularly deliver organic fruit boxes which contain a variety of fresh fruits directly to your office or break room.
The “Office Box” contains an ever-changing variety of fresh fruits that are easy to eat in the workplace, including bananas, apples, pears, and citrus or seasonal fruits.
Many people want to eat healthily and at the same time support a healthy food system; however, right now it is difficult for many people to carry this philosophy into the workplace due to the lack of convenient, healthy options.
We look forward to helping fellow business illustrate their commitment to health and sustainable practices by making organic fruit available to their employees.
If you’re interested in getting fruit for your office, Boston Organics is now delivering to businesses in Waltham on a weekly or biweekly basis, without long-term commitments or delivery fees.
For more information and to sign up, visit www.bostonorganics.com/office.
Most people spend the majority of their waking hours at work, leaving little time for exercising and focusing on overall well-being. With so much going on, it can be difficult to work healthy habits into our daily work routines.
Here are some easy ways that you can take advantage of your own health at work and get on your way to a happier, healthier, and more productive workday!
1. Take frequent breaks.
Sitting at a computer all day can seriously strain your eyes, wrists, and back. Your body needs a break, so do yourself a favor and take a quick break every hour. Breaks will also give you some time to clear your mind and come back to your tasks with better focus.
2. Keep healthy snacks at your desk.
If your only snack options come from a vending machine, chances are good that you’re not going to find too many healthy, natural snacks. Keep healthy snacks like fresh fruit or nuts at your desk, and you’ll be snacking healthily all day long. If you prepackage snacks in small bags, you can avoid overeating. Also, keep a reusable water bottle at your desk so you get plenty of water!
3. Bring your own lunch.
This requires just a little bit of planning ahead, but bringing your lunch can really pay off in the long run, saving you tons of money and extra calories. Stock up on Tupperware for easy-to-make salads, or pack up your leftovers into a lunch-sized portion the night before. Canned soups also make excellent low-calorie lunches.
4. Keep your work station clean.
Your phone, mouse, and keyboard can contain thousands of germs, so wipe down your work station frequently to avoid getting sick.
5. Get up and move!
If you spend the majority of your day sitting, try to create opportunities to move around whenever possible. You can take a quick walk during your lunch break, or conduct a meeting outside if the weather is nice. Find an office walking buddy, and you’ll both be more likely to keep it up.
Note: These tips might not apply to you if your job is to deliver fresh produce to happy people in Boston on a bike!
What do you do to keep yourself healthy at work? Send us your tips at service@bostonorganics.com, and we’ll share them with our community!
