Talking with high-school seniors in Fairfield Iowa

I promised you more on my amazing day in Fairfield, Iowa. Until I got there, I didn't really understand why Steve Boss kept saying, "We've got so much to show you!" But this small, rural town is home to many practitioners of Transcendental Mediation. Driving through the main streets, you'll see many restaurants and stores supporting a sustainable lifestyle. After a delicious lunch at Revelations Cafe and Bookstore, my guide Rose took me to speak to a class of high-school seniors about thrifty, healthy eating away from home and about the options available in life.

What a terrific class! About a dozen healthy, slim young women greeted me at the Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment. While their green plaid uniform skirts and the girls-only class reminded me of Catholic high school, the open windows and encouraging quotes on the wall seemed to encourage creativity and exploration. No nuns with rulers! On the way out, they gave me a bag of fresh salad greens from their local CSA.

The community greatly prefers to cook all food fresh, so my Cook for Good style of cooking ahead and making "planned overs" didn't appeal to them. But the rest of the concepts did, and discussed how all the Cook for Good recipes could be made in smaller quantities and eaten the same day. It just takes more time. And as one young lady said, "If it's the choice between eating at MacBurger or eating beans I cooked yesterday, I'll go with the beans."