Farm Fresh in KC

Anyone else having a rough time getting back into the swing of things this week?  I am in one of those slow Tuesday afternoon funks!  Maybe it’s because I am coming down from my high of such a great weekend.

I went to Kansas City, MO to visit two good friends that I met while I was studying abroad.  We have always lived in different states so while I really wish we were close it’s a great excuse to travel for a long weekend.  Since Australia we have done Boulder, Los Angeles, New York…and most recently…Kansas City!  Sounds exciting, no?  I’ll admit I was skeptical at first too.

The Big City! I mean…Kansas City!

Dianna and Michelle both are working with Americorps volunteering at an awesome organization called Harvesters which is a Community Food Network.  Not only is Harvesters a food bank, but they have volunteers that teach cooking and nutrition classes to kids, elderly, and low income groups.  So, after seeing the headquarters, I can’t say that I blame either of them for deciding to spend a year in Kansas City so that they can support this mission.

One thing that I was not expecting from KC was delicious food.  I know, I know, it known for some delicious BBQ, but I was going to visit two strict vegetarians.  So, I wasn’t necessarily including any ribs in my agenda.  But every meal I had was great and extremely fresh, considering the city is so central to so many farming states.  Friday we walked around The Plaza  which is a really nice commercial area.  The buildings are influenced by KC’s sister city, Seville, Spain.  Who knew?  We did a little window shopping/drooling over designer stores, then stopped for lunch at Classic Cup Sidewalk Cafe and I “indulged in a salad.”  Seriously though, this thing was decadent.  Over a bed of mixed greens and blackberries sat puff pastry wrapped asaparagus and brie yumminess.  AND pistachio brittle, mmmm.  Hey, I was on vacation so I am free to have candy in my salad, right?  Just hours later after saying “I am so stuffed I can never eat again,” we started our night off with an Italian feast at an adorable little nook called The Boot.  Again, I was pleasantly surprised by the KC foodie-ness.

Enjoying some vino with the girls

Since I don’t want to embarass myself too much and admit how many meals we really went to in one weekend, I will stop there.  They were good, nuff said.  But what really stood out to me and impressed me were the food trucks and farmer’s markets.  Denver is jumping onto the food truck bandwagon, and the trucks show up at events all over town, but in KC there were multiple choices waiting for late night eaters outside the bars.  We are not talking late night Taco Bell munchies here, people.  We are talking tacos and greek foods comparable to the streets of LA and Portland.  It’s just something that I love to support since most of the food trucks out there are friends or families following their dreams.  Also, we stopped by the historic farmers market- City Market on Saturday morning and it was great.  There were rows and rows of fresh produce, specialty honeys, jams, and salsas, flowers, pasta, you name it.  We sampled some tasty fruits and veggies while walking around and all I can say is yum!  You can tell that the close proximity to the farmers defintely pays off.  I would be spending some major time doing my weekly grocerty shopping there if I could.

Fresh produce at City Market

So, as far as healthy eating choices in KC…check!  As far as healthy exercising in KC….negative!  It was over 100 degrees everyday I was there.  Also, it is more humid than Denver which I am definitely not used to.  Since I was not heading to an air conditioned gym, we didn’t spend much time (other than walking around the city, which helps) exercising.  C’est la vie!

Julie