NEDA Walk

Hey everyone!

A few months ago I wrote about the Walk to Stop Modern Slavery, and how amazing it was. Today I found myself on another walk on the National Mall, this time for the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). A friend of a friend formed a team ('Victorious Secret'...how clever is she?!), and invited my roommate and I to join...how could we pass it up?

I had never really heard of NEDA before doing the walk, and didn't know that much about the activism world of eating disorder awareness. Today was definitely a learning experience. I got to hear from some amazing girls who have had a successful journey of recovery from their eating disorders, and from some activists, including Miss America 2008! We also heard from some of the event sponsors, namely The Center for HOPE and Reflections. The Center for HOPE is an eating disorder recovery clinic based in holistic health practices, and Reflections is an eating disorder treatment center at Dominion Hospital. Both places offer fantastic treatment for girls and guys of all ages who are suffering from eating disorders.

At the beginning of the walk today, over $46,000 had been raised, which is amazing! The money goes straight to advocacy and treatment programming, and I'm so very happy that I got to be a part of the day. There are just so many great organizations who are always having fundraisers around D.C., and I'm pretty sure no matter what cause you're passionate about you can find an organization for it here. So get out there and find what works for you!

Katelyn

P.S.-Sorry I totally blanked on taking pictures today! I was all ready to take pictures of the cherry blossoms, but they weren't all ready to bloom yet!!

Farmers Markets 101

      Whole Foods is like a vacation for a self-proclaimed foodie like me, but as a broke graduate student I can't really afford to shop there. Although if you're looking for a fun Thursday night happy hour after class I highly recommend going over to Whole Foods in Clarendon, and for $5 you get to do a wine and food pairing tasting of 5 courses! You also get to keep your wine glass and when you bring it back the next week, because let's face it you'll be back, you only have to pay $4!

     BUT this blog post is not about how awesome Whole Foods is, it's about the farmers markets that will be popping up all over this area in a few weeks! Buying locally is the way to go! You get the freshest produce, a lot of it being organic and you get to eat in season, all while saving a few bucks! The other plus is that there will be a farm stand or market in almost every area, each day of the week! Now you're thinking, "but Daisy, I'm new in the area, how am I going to know where the farmers markets are and when they're happening?" No worries my friends, there is a whole directory that you could access on the interwebs! Magical, I know! It has information for all the farmers markets in the country.

*Fun Fact: Did you know that eating local honey helps relieve allergies?! IT DOES! Pick some up next time your at your local farmers market :)

Here you could find all the markets near Marymount. There is even one on Thursdays from 3-7pm right by the metro that you could swing by after our lovely summer classes!

Go to the following blogs to find great clean recipes:
http://www.sproutedkitchen.com/
http://smittenkitchen.com/
http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/ (Local blogger!)
http://www.simplyscratch.com/

with love,
Daisy