Now This Fundraiser I Like!

I'm not sure how many of you young vegans out there live in the 'burbs, but this midlife vegan does. Yes, we decided to move into a suburb on purpose, ten years ago when our kids were 6 and 2. We figured we were tired of working so hard to only be able to afford a tiny little patch of land in the city with no privacy and no yard. I love our neighborhood, but it's more because we lucked out with the wonderful people all around us than for the reasons we originally thought. In any case, we are where we are, and that means that every kid and his mother (literally) go door to door each season selling all manner of items for sports teams, orchestra, ballet, etc. We like to help the kids and wouldn't want to extinguish that entrepreneurial spark, so we normally buy something. Many of the coupon books go unused, and the cases of sports drinks or popcorn are usually no bargain. But the other day a young man showed up at my doorstep with this lovely package that I had forgotten I'd bought:

What a nice surprise! I didn't actually know the boy, but there are new neighbors moving in all the time, and I now recall that he was very polite and respectful in his sales pitch. I was happy to give him the business. I have no idea what this cost me, but I guess it's beside the point now -- sunk costs. I appreciate this beautiful citrus and I also appreciate the timing of the delivery of this boxful, right before Thanksgiving, when we will have my parents visiting for a few days. I bet we will consume most of these, but I ran out and bought a little plastic hand-juicer just in case we get any soft ones that need to be juiced instead of bitten.

I love food in it's simplest form, with little or no embellishment. Above is my refreshing breakfast of a halved grapefruit, segments sliced for scooping, with a sprinkle of organic sugar on top. I have also enjoyed these topped with brown sugar and then broiled briefly too -- but that was way too fancy for a school day.

Nutrition note -- grapefruit can interfere with the absorption of certain medications and supplements. My Integrative Medicine physician prescribes many supplements that help keep my MS silent, so I just had to wait about 45 minutes or so before taking them with some toast after I ate the fruit.  It just takes a little planning, but we can still eat every delicious thing we want!

Citrus fruit says the beginning of Christmas to me. It's ironic, actually, but I guess that's when the Florida fruit seems so "special". 'Tis the season!