I should have asked this question a long time ago, "What does organic mean?"

Since, the weather is nice and jogging outside is bearable - I'm back on my healthy habit (and hope to stay on it). I believe the best way to track my healthy habit is shop anything that has the words: organic, fair trade, acai ( ah-sigh-ee) and so on. 

It's a quick and easy way to feel healthy, but HOW good are these words and is it good for your health? 

Today I bought Sambazon Mocha Java superfood smoothie. It was 2 for $5.00 at the GIANT food store. (Taste amazing!) Here are some examples of words on the bottle:

ORGANIC
It's an adjective that is derived from living matter according to Google. (Yes, I did google search. It's God's gifts of doing research.) Chicken is living matter, but some packages do not have the word "organic".

On Organic.org, it's grown without any pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, ionizing radiation or genetically modified organism.  

Fun fact: NASA frozen meat packages and frozen uncooked meat products have ionizing radiation according to the FDA.

FAIR TRADE
Fair Trade helps support farms that have fair wages and safe working conditions. It also ensures farmers to receive a fair price for their crop. 

On the bottle of Sambazon, It states I support the Fair Trade Acai Supply Chain that is located in the Brazilian Amazon Rain Forest.

 

ACAI
The Acai berry is found in Brazil. It is  a dark purple berry that is grown on a type of palm tree. The natives found the berry to have healing properties and give natural energy when consume everyday according to DoctorOz.com.  

I hope the next time you go the store, check out what the bottle or product is telling you. What are some food or products that you bought that has these words?

Happy health shopping! 

side note: Memes are awesome. I created my at Meme Dad.

Honor body, honor yourself with a treat. Mocha and Cranberry scone. Square One Coffee - Lancaster, PA. #breakingbread #coffee

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Is coffee good for you? Well - we all know its sometimes a good idea to treat yourself ounce in awhile to a fancy coffee.

I had a a break over the weekend and Yelp on my trusty phone. I found Square One Coffee in Lancaster, Pa. It was about 6 minutes walking distance from volunteer destination at the Letterpress Heritage Museum.

I pop a squat at the hippest place on earth with wood cut benches and chairs. I felt generous to myself and ordered a mocha. 

After I drank it with true glee on my face, I wondered if what I was drinking is good for your health. I googled it and found it is not. 

According to the Daily Mail, drinking mocha is just like eating a brownie. They gave the health habit a 1 out 5. 

"A mocha is an espresso with added steamed milk, chocolate syrup and whipped cream. Because of its high fat content, it can contain more calories than most coffees - 310 calories when made with whole milk and 230 calories when made with skimmed milk. That's almost ten grammes of fat and 80mg of caffeine." - Daily Mail

Well. I guess to have it ounce in awhile. Everything in moderation right? 

Empty. Lonely. Surprising. Words I can describe a Saturday afternoon in Harrisburg. I took a field day trip with a friend and wondered the ghostly city. 

The day was beautiful with the weather being a slightly warmer. It was a good break from the recent snow storms to hit Pennsylvania. Both my friend and I had cabin fever and ventured outside to Harrisburg, a 40 minute drive from York, Pa. 

 

For on Saturday afternoon we visited: 

Broad Street Market
Midtown Scholar Bookstore-Cafe
The Pennsylvania State Capitol
The Cathedral Parish of Saint Patrick 
Arepa City Latin Eatery

Broad Street Market

There are two separate buildings with 2 hour parking on each side. It was easily accessible and I had no problems finding it. However, upon entering, there was not many people around 2 p.m. You visually can see Mennonites working and selling meats and specialty goods.  

Overall, my friend said, " I can really appreciate Central Market (markert house in York, Pa)" It was not what I expected from a farmer's market. It was cramped and did not appeal to my food scenes. It took 10 minutes to tour both buildings. 

  According to Wiki, the city completed a $2.5 million restoration project in 1996. 

Midtown Scholar Bookstore-Cafe

Across from the Broad Street Market is a used books store and cafe. For anyone who is a book lover, this would be your hipster spot. It's has an open atmosphere with different levels and rooms to visit. 

The deeper you go into a room, the stronger the old wet book smell. Some people just don't like that smell, oddly enough, I like it. 

According to Visit Hershey and Harrisburg website, the building is the nation's largest academic used bookstore. It has over 100,00 books with six levels. 

The Pennsylvania State Capitol

It's a public venue where you can visit. It's free to walk-in the rotunda. Take the guided tour because that is also free and you will be able to see three rooms and walk up the stairs.

The place reminds me of the Capitol from the Hunger Games. The surrounding area is gray and empty. The inside is covered in gold leafing and architecture is inspired by a catholic cathedral. 

My favorite part of the tour is to see paintings by a woman named Violet Oakley who was the first woman to receive a public mural commission. She created the Love and Wisdom painting found in the Supreme Court Chamber, which is my favorite. 

The Cathedral Parish of Saint Patrick 

After the Capitol, we walked across towards the Susquehanna River and stopped in at the Cathedral Parish of Saint Patrick. The scared place was quiet with beautifully stained glass windows. The afternoon light hit the windows and reflected an orange glow across the wall. 

Arepa City Latin Eatery

It was a difficult location to find at first, but it was a walking distance from the the church. The little shop is hidden. A place you would never expect. It's practically a hole in a wall place close to the bars. 

I tried the Arepa, a flat bread made from corn. It was crunchy and warm filled with anything you want. It's like a overflowed hot pocket. 

Great service and found a coupon on yelp for $10 for $20 which they honored.