It's officially Spring, but not in Wyoming!
Did you know that most people in the U.S. are vitamin D deficient for at least part of the year?
This can be detrimental to our health, because Vitamin D is needed for calcium absorption, and for your genes and cells to talk to each other for several different bodily processes, and adequate amounts of vitamin D can help prevent several degenerative diseases.
Problem is, synthetic vitamin D supplements are not always very bioavailable. This means your body cannot break them down into useable forms efficiently enough to get the benefits you need- especially this time of year when you still have to keep your skin covered in the inclement "Spring" weather.
So, what can we do?
I have a couple of ideas for you...
Below is a downloadable doc I created with 10 simple ways to increase your Vitamin D absorption this time of year!
For example, flipping your mushrooms upside-down in the sun for 15 mins on your counter can multiply the vitamin D they contain by over 1000%
I compiled a list of easy, and simple things for you to try into one document below!
10 Ways to Increase Vitamin D Absorption.pdf
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What things do you do to get more vitamin D in your life?
I would love to hear about them.
Let me know what you think about my list, and if you are going to try any of these things out this Spring.
I was going back and forth on whether to raise chickens this year.
For several reasons, but the biggest one was how unsustainable it is to get chicks shipped from somewhere like Iowa to our farm..
This causes problems due to the altitude shift and the stress of these poor little fluffies braving the USPS mail system for 2-4 days in an unpredicatable time of year. It has been something I have not felt morally right about for the past few years.
However a fantastic alternative has surfaced, thanks to Melissa Hemken at MelissaHof Hatchery in Lander Wyoming!
She breeds 4 different Heritage Breeds of chicken and sells live chicks and hatching eggs and delivers them through EatWyoming all over the state so these vibrant little puffs don't ever have to enter the mail system.
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If they have to overnight, they spend the night under a heat lamp with food and water and then they continue their journey to their destination the very next day.
I feel so much better about this option for the sake of the chicks and the adults.
Check out Melissa's pastured-chicken setup for her breeding flocks.
Every year is an experiment for us and an effort to work towards that moving target of Sustainable and Ethical Food Production.
I feel that sourcing our birds from another small-scale Wyoming Farm is more sustainable for our local economy and more ethical environmentally, and just a way to show respect to the birds!
All of these elements lead to a happier, healthier food product which we hope will taste even better than the chickens we have offered in the past.
Want to join us in this experiment of local food sustainability and ethics?
Here are the two ways you can secure some heritage birds from Taste of the Wind this summer.
Place your deposit on chickens for 2023.
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Sign up for our monthly CSA Box subscription including a variety of meats (pasture-raised beef, lamb, pork, and chicken), free-range eggs, and other products from local farms like ours.
We are grateful for your support.
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If it weren't for folks like you who care about your food, your environment, and the well-being of the animals who provide your sustenance businesses like Taste of the Wind, and Melissahof wouldn't be able to do what we do.
Thank you!
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On that note, I just wanted to remind you that
Deposits for Bulk Shares of Beef, Pork, and Lamb are still open!
We have several Beef and Lamb slots left,
but only 4 Pork Slots Left for 2023.
If you are wanting to secure your meat from Taste of the Wind for 2023, I highly recommend you place your deposit soon.
I am leaving deposits open until May 1st, but if we sell out before then- I will have to close them.
You can place your deposit and reserve your Bulk Share of Beef, Lamb, Pork, and Chicken on our Online Store HERE.
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Our local-food family is growing!
Meet the Ericson family of Well Fed Farmstead in Fort Collins!
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Ryan and his wife Alexa (and their two young boys) run a vegetable CSA on their farm during the growing season, they have plants in the ground that are almost ready to harvest already, and their veggie CSAs are now open.
Ryan and I devised a plan to work together to increase access to local food in or communities. We are going to swap products once a month and save local folks the trip back and forth between Laramie and Fort Collins.
What does this mean for you?
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Access to extremely fresh veggies, grown by a local family you can trust, once a month, delivered to you in Laramie!
If you would be interested in some fresh veggies once-a-month from Well Fed Farmstead, reply to this email so I can get you on our interest list and get you set up to receive incredibly beautiful and fresh veggies in a couple of weeks!
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Remember our most recent giveaway?
I am extending it to folks who sign up for Ryan's veggie shares too!
*If you purchase a veggie share through our partnership for the summer of 2023, you will be entered to win A Day Among the Veggies with the Farm Crew at the Well Fed Farmstead. Work alongside your farmers and receive free veggies for your efforts.*
Our team of Farmers and Ranchers CANNOT WAIT to meet you and your family!
It is an honor to feed our community, and we can't wait to shake the hands of people we help sustain and nourish.
We have a couple of podcast episodes coming up so you can hear the voices of the people raising your food.
What do you want to know???
Reply to this email with your questions about beef, lamb, pork, chicken, and/or veggies, so I can ask them during my upcoming interviews with your Farmers and Ranchers.
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Hope you have a great week!
-BJ and the Taste of the Wind Crew
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