Saturday, November 24, 2012

Looking For a New CSA Farm

Since our last CSA Farm no longer offers the CSA option, I am on the hunt for a new CSA Farm for 2013 and beyond. Local Harvest is a great resource for farms and CSAs. I love that I can search for a CSA by zip code. I started with Local Harvest and came up with a list of 5 potential CSA farms.

As I was looking at the listed farms, I was surprised by how many of them offered meat. There were even a couple of local farms that were mostly devoted to meat, including chicken, poultry, grass-fed beef, sheep, and goats (all natural, antibiotic-free, hormone-free, pasture fed animals). I strive to buy grass-fed beef, organic chicken, and anything else local, but I never quite known how local the meats are at Whole Foods (yes, I know I could ask the employees, but I haven't). I feel somewhat satisfied and relieved to find out that there are a number of local farms that offer high quality meat. I feel like I am reaching a new level in my eco-friendly living. Eating local, pasture-raised meat is like music to my ears.

Currently, only my husband eats meat in this house. I have started slowly incorporating fish back into my diet because of specific dietary needs in the current chapter of my life, but no meat for me yet. I do eat a local, organic, pasture-raised egg every morning and consume whole fat dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.), which is either local, grass-fed, and/or made from raw milk. I like staying as close to the natural source as possible. The less processing there is, the more nutrients my body gets from the foods I eat. Of course, serving high quality, local, organic, pasture-raised, grass-fed meat to my husband, my family, and my friends is very important to me. I am currently reading a book that talks about the amazing health benefits of eating real meat, real dairy, and real fats (more to come on that in another post).

My goal for 2013 is continue to transition to locally sourced produce, meats, and dairy. Tonight, I felt like I took another baby step in this direction. I am very excited about all of the CSA opportunities.

>> What are your food goals for 2013?
 


Thursday, November 22, 2012

A Vegetarian Thanksgiving

If you have been reading my blog for some time, you might remember that last year, I decided on not eating turkey on Thanksgiving. After watching Food, Inc., I swore off industrial farming and went down the local path for meat. And then, I went vegetarian. This year, I enjoyed all of the delicious side dishes and did not miss the turkey at all. Here are the three vegetarian items that I prepared for the Thanksgiving meal with my husband's family.

Easy Cranberry Sauce
I absolutely love homemade cranberry sauce, more on the tart side. This recipe comes from Savory Sweet Life. I adapted it by using turbinado raw sugar instead of the brown sugar and honey instead of the white sugar.


Toasted Almond Butternut Squash Tart

This recipe from Whole Living magazine was a huge hit last year, so I made it again. I used an all-natural pre-made pie crust and rolled it out to an oval right on the Silpat liner. My favorite part is the toasted almond layer under the butternut squash.

 


Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cups
Kiersten from Oh My Veggies inspired me to make these scrumptious little pieces of heaven (recipe from Domestic Fits). Roasting a pie pumpkin was super easy. I might have used just a little too much of the organic, fair-trade semi-sweet dark chocolate I bought, but I decided that you can never have enough chocolate. The tip to filling the bottom of the cups is to put about half of a teaspoon of chocolate in the bottom. With the back of the spoon, move the chocolate to the edge, hold the spoon, and move the muffin cup around with your finger. (note: this photo is from a previous batch when I used regular sized muffin tins)


>> What are your favorite holiday side dishes and/or desserts? Bonus points if they are vegetarian!
  


Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Wordless Wednesday - Final Harvest

Besides the carrots, the rest of the harvest from the final clean-out of the garden was beets and herbs. Well, more like lots of beet greens and one little beet. The carrots were absolutely delicious! They reminded me of childhood visits to my grandma's sisters' farm.



  


Monday, November 19, 2012

Toxic Body Product Clean-Out [#CTWW]

I did a toxic product clean out over two years ago when I started down the path of all natural and organic body products. However, I still had a few items left. Not sure why I was still holding on to them because today, I would not touch them with a ten 10 foot pole! I spent about 3 hours cleaning out the cabinet under the bathroom vanity. The recycle bin was overflowing and the trash can was full. My cabinet was non-toxic and happy!

If you look closely at the photo, you can see some of the toxic body products I was still holding on to. I took the new, unused products to work for the other ladies in the office to take them if they wanted. I thought this would be better than throwing the new, unused products in the trash can. For the old and used products, I recycled what I could and threw the rest in the trash can. It broke my heart to fill the trash can, but I did not know what else to do with them.



>> How could I have safely disposed of these toxic body products?

  


Monday, November 12, 2012

Tropical Traditions FREE SHIPPING - Today Only

I wanted to share with my dear readers that today (Monday, November 12, 2012) Tropical Traditions is offer a discount up to 50% off on some items and FREE SHIPPING! Go to Tropical Traditions and click on "Current Sales at Tropical Traditions" to get the Free Shipping Coupon Code. I just placed my order!

I discovered Tropical Traditions when I won a giveaway for Tropical Traditions Gold Label Organic Coconut Oil. Ever since then, I have been hooked on their products. I wait for emails for discounts and free shipping and I stock up. If you haven't discovered coconut oil, I would highly recommend it. I have always cooked with extra virgin olive oil, but after reading a journal article that talked about olive oil become toxic when heated too high, I switched to cooking with coconut oil. Coconut oil is a great alternative because it can withstand high heat without becoming toxic and is so healthy for your body. (Although, I have to confess that my #1 use for coconut oil is moisturizer for my face and my body!)


If you order by clicking on any of my links and have never ordered from Tropical Traditions in the past, you will receive a free book on Virgin Coconut Oil, and I will receive a discount coupon for referring you. 


Sunday, November 4, 2012

Weekly Challenge: Eating Out of the Freezer - Day 7 [#CTWW]

The challenge for this week is to not buy food at the grocery store. You can read about this week's challenge here: Eating Out of the Freezer, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, and Day 6.


Day 7 (Sunday)


Breakfast
Fage Yogurt (fridge, bought last week) with the following:
   Organic trail mix (pantry, home made)
   Organic hemp seeds (fridge, previously bought)
   Organic rolled oats (pantry)

Snacks
Organic banana (fridge, bought last week)
Almonds (pantry)

Lunch
N/A - went to lunch with my parents

Snacks
Organic apple (fridge, bought last week)

Dinner
Creamy Avocado Pasta with the following:
   Pasta (home made by my dad)
   Organic peas (freezer)
   Organic lentils (left over from previous meal)
   Organic avocado (fridge, previously bought)
   Organic garlic (pantry, from CSA Farm)
   Extra Virgin Olive Oil (pantry)
   Organic lemon juice (fridge) - N/A since I bought the lemons today

Thoughts: Aside from my dad bringing his home made pasta and buying lemons today, I could have done this meals with what I had on hand. I have several bags of pasta in the pantry. I could have used pasta I already had, but my dad really wanted me to try his (first time) home made pasta tonight. I also could have made the creamy avocado sauce without the lemon juice. I do have lime juice in the fridge, but it probably would not taste the same. I still consider tonight's meal as successfully eating from the freezer, fridge, and/or pantry.

I found it quite interesting not being able to stop at the store to pick up an ingredient that I need. However, I am being more mindful of what I am buying and freezing. I like having items on hand in the freezer and pantry that can be made into a meal in case I cannot go to the grocery store. Although I know for the most part what I have on hand, making an inventory and keeping it up to date would help with meal planning in the future.

>> What tips do you have for eating out of the freezer and/or pantry?
  


Saturday, November 3, 2012

Weekly Challenge: Eating Out of the Freezer - Day 6 [#CTWW]

The challenge for this week is to not buy food at the grocery store. You can read about this week's challenge here: Eating Out of the Freezer, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5.


Day 6 (Saturday)


Breakfast
Omelet, made with:
   Snowville Creamery grass-fed milk (fridge, new container bought last week)
   Organic fried egg (fridge, picked up from CSA farm last week)
   Organic cheddar cheese (fridge, previously bought)
   Organic bell peppers (left over from Thursday's dinner)
   Organic lentils (left over from Thursday's dinner)
Faye yogurt (fridge, bought last week)

Snacks
Organic banana (fridge, bought last week)
Trail mix (pantry)

Lunch
Bhindi Masala (left overs from last night's dinner out)

Snacks
Organic apple (fridge, bought last week)
Granola bar (home made)

Dinner
N/A - went to friend's birthday party

Thoughts: Apples are the only remaining fresh fruit. Carrots are the only fresh produce. I still have some milk, eggs, and yogurt left, but I do not think I would be able to pull of a complete dinner, unless we do breakfast for dinner. I still plan on coming up with something for Sunday night's dinner. I feel like pasta, frozen veggies, and pasta sauce are an easy meal, but I cannot serve that every day. Either way, this has been a great lesson for emergency preparedness to know what types of meals I can make from what I have on hand.

>> What tips do you have for eating out of the freezer and/or pantry?
  


Friday, November 2, 2012

Weekly Challenge: Eating Out of the Freezer - Day 5 [#CTWW]

The challenge for this week is to not buy food at the grocery store. You can read about this week's challenge here: Eating Out of the Freezer, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4.


Day 5 (Friday)


Breakfast
Snowville Creamery grass-fed milk (fridge, new container bought last week)
Organic fried egg with organic coconut oil (fridge, picked up from CSA farm last week)
Organic cheddar cheese (fridge, previously bought)
Organic Ezekiel bread (freezer, I usually freeze 1/2 of the bread)

Snacks
Organic pear (fridge, bought last week)
Granola bar (homemade)

Lunch
Enchilada (left over from last night)

Snacks
Organic apple (fridge, bought last week)
Organic Stonyfield yogurt (fridge, bought last week)

Dinner
Ate out

Thoughts: Today was easy since we went out with family to dinner. I am moving tonight's dinner to Sunday night so that I can complete all 5 weeknight dinners. I am sure I have something left I can through together. LOL

Aside from tonight's dinner and a birthday party we are attending tomorrow night, the rest of the breakfasts and lunches will be out of the freezer, fridge, and pantry. I will end this week's challenge with another post summarizing what I learned (and did not learn) during this week. Although the break from grocery shopping was very nice, I did miss going to Whole Foods. I kept trying to find a reason to go there, but kept telling myself to wait until my planned trip on Sunday.

>> What tips do you have for eating out of the freezer and/or pantry?
  


Thursday, November 1, 2012

Weekly Challenge: Eating Out of the Freezer - Day 4 [#CTWW]

The challenge for this week is to not buy food at the grocery store. You can read about this week's challenge here: Eating Out of the Freezer, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3.


Day 4 (Thursday)


Breakfast
Snowville Creamery grass-fed milk (fridge, new container bought last week)
Organic fried egg with organic coconut oil (fridge, picked up from CSA farm last week)
Organic cheddar cheese (fridge, previously bought)
Organic Ezekiel bread (freezer, I usually freeze 1/2 of the bread)

Snacks
Organic banana (fridge, bought last week)
Almonds (freezer)
Organic coconut date roll (pantry, previously bought)

Lunch
Pasta with veggies (left over from last night)
Organic green figs (fridge, bought last week)

Snacks
Organic apple (fridge, bought last week)
Fage yogurt (fridge, bought last week)

Dinner
Enchiladas, made with:
   Organic bell peppers (freezer, from our CSA farm)
   Organic onion (left over from last week)
   Organic lentils (pantry, previously bought)
   Organic sour cream (fridge, left over from last week)
   Organic cheese (fridge)
   Organic salsa (pantry, previously bought)
   Sweet corn salad (pantry, canned by dad's friend)
   Organic whole wheat tortillas (freezer)

Thoughts: My original plan for tonight's dinner was some type of casserole. However, I was really struggling with what type of casserole to make. I was thinking something like Veggie Divan (a vegetarian take on Chicken Divan), but it did not sound appealing. I was really struggling all day trying to think of what to cook with the ingredients I had on hand. While driving home in traffic and listening to Classical music to relax, vegetarian enchiladas popped into my mind (thank you Tchaikovsky). I remembered that I had a package of frozen tortillas. A cup of peppers, some onion, sour cream, cheese, and salad and I have enchiladas. They were delicious!

My advice is to think of what you have on hand and get creative. Take a previous meal or meal idea and see how you can recreate it. If all else fails, just type your ingredients into Google and see what recipes come up.

>> What tips do you have for eating out of the freezer and/or pantry?
  


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