I’m back!

Hi everyone. 

I took a break from blogging for a while. My heart just wasn’t in it. I was more focused on other things. I think I’m ready to get back to it now though. 

In addition to giving up blogging, I also let other things go. Like eating the way I know I should and exercising. I am now working on getting back on track. Let’s do it together. Beat the New Year’s rush. 

I re-joined my local CSA a month or so ago.  Trying to get serious about eating a minimum of five servings of vegetables a day. Here is what I got yesterday: 

   

   
Cucumbers, Carrots, Eggplant, Persimmons, Romaine Lettuce, Kale, Cherry Tomatoes, Collard Greens, Cilantro, Parsley, Yellow Onion, Celery, Potatoes, Bosc Pears, Mandarin Oranges, and Lemons. 

There was also Swiss Chard and iceberg lettuce, but I switched those out for extra collard greens.  Why?  Because they are very easy to hide in smoothies and juices. Swiss Chard, not so much. And I already had a head of iceberg lettuce.  We are using that for (gluten free) sandwiches and such. 

I am determined to use this all up!  

-Teresa

CSA 10/1/13

Grape Tomatoes, Chard, Eggplant, Pluots, Green Beans, Romaine Lettuce, Red Leaf Lettuce, Cucumbers, Basil, Butternut Squash, Bosc Pears, Apples, Goldbar Zucchini, Grapefruit, Italian Parsley, Red Grapes, Garnet Yams, Zucchini, Cilantro and Yellow Onion.

To answer my own question…

Here is what I made for dinner the night I got my most recent CSA basket:

(This is actually a picture if the leftovers, because we were halfway through it gobbling up before I remembered to take a picture.)

Citrus-cumin chicken (recipe from <a href="Against All Grain” target=”_blank”>Against All Grain by Danielle Walker
Sautéd yellow squash with onion, garlic and thyme
Roasted cherry tomatoes
Green beans sautéd with olive oil and sliced almonds

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am making some grain free zucchini bread.

CSA Goodies

Today’s CSA Basket:

Grape Tomatoes, Chard, Eggplant, Pluots, Nectarines, Green Beans, Romaine Lettuce, Red Leaf Lettuce, Cucumbers, Cilantro, Pickling Cucumbers, Apples, Squash, Avocado, Grapefruit, Pears, Zucchini, Oranges, Yellow Onion.

I switched the nectarines for 2 pears and a few oranges. Those sounded yummier to me this time of year.

What should I make for dinner?

Harvest Season

This summer, Beck and I planted a garden. Yesterday, it was time to harvest the corn. The first one we picked looked promising.

Here is the full crop yield:

We are currently accepting applications for our upcoming CSA program.

Beck also planted an assortment gourds. He actually has quite a nack for growing them and he was very excited to grow decorations for the fall. This is my favorite one:

The dish it is in is about two inches square. We have it decorating the kitchen table.

Today was the first day back to school. It is a half day, so we only needed to pack a snack. I sent him off with rice crackers with goat cheese and salami between them, cucumber slices and some snap peas.

Summer CSA

This week is my first CSA basket since summer officially started, and it is a good one:

Collard Greens, Black Kale, Tomatoes, Heirloom Tomatoes (Green Zebra), Eggplant, Green Bell Peppers, Swiss Chard, Red Kale, Cucumbers, Pluots, Celery, Basil, Nectarines, Peaches, Fennel, Dill, Carrots, Pink Turnips, and Romanesco Cauliflower.

It smells so good!

There was also a bunch of beets and quite a bit of broccoli. I traded those for extra eggplants and cucumbers. No matter how excited I get about broccoli looking like little trees the husband and kid just don’t fall for it and the poor broccoli ends up languishing in the refrigerator.

Cucumber “chips” are big sellers though.

I also picked up some of Farmer George’s ridiculously good strawberries, as the end of the season is this Saturday. I already have a ton of fruit, but I just couldn’t bear the thought of passing on his strawberries while I still had a chance.

Even Bunny gets a treat. Yum! Carrot tops!

CSA Basket – May 15

Here is my CSA basket this week:

It contained:

Beets, Collard Greens, Black Kale, Avocado, Kohlrabi, Swiss Chard, Red Kale, Purple Kale, Red Turnip, Savoy Cabbage, Cucumbers, Carrots, Fuji Apples, Red Leaf Lettuce, Radishes, Grapefruits, Celery, Cauliflower and Zucchini, Romanesco Cauliflower, Green Beans and Snap Peas.

I switched out the beets and radishes for an extra kohlrabi, a cucumber, and an apple. Beck ate the apple on the way home from the farm.

I had trouble fitting it all into the refrigerator. I made some kale chips and collard/apple juice in the afternoon which I shared with my neighbor and made paleo zucchini bread in the evening. That barely put a dent in it. I better get cooking!

Two Down, One to Go

I have been eating a strict low sugar paleo diet for two weeks now. (Other than some high quality cheese, which, as I’ve explained, is considered by some people to be paleo and others not to be.) One week left in this particular commitment.

My sister and I emailed each other about our plans after we are finished this. I think it’s safe to say neither of us wants to go start eating buckets of cookies on day 22.

However, I will be easing myself back onto fruit and eventually will have a paleo cookie or muffin. At some point I am going to try a paleo brownie recipe too. I’ve been hesitant to try one in the past because I love brownies so much and just don’t want to be disappointed. I won’t be going back to gluten though. Just the thought of it makes my stomach a little bloated.

I made the last of my kale this morning and a couple of eggs. Hey, it looks like some of the whites are missing. What is up with that?

 

I also discovered this when I woke up:

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We just (mostly) finished a long over due kitchen remodel. What better way to celebrate than with water coming out from under the new cabinets?  Luckily, we haven’t done the floor yet so it was easy to see the water.

Our contractor came over and fixed the leaky fitting then pulled out the stove to let it dry.

After that, my husband and I had a smoothie. I made it with a can of lite coconut milk, a banana, some macadamia nuts, and a few scoops of berry Amazing Grass Superfood. Good.

We went to a Vietnamese restaurant for lunch. Not the one we usually go to, but this one is closer to our house and we were low on time before we had to pick our son up from school. They had a “Low Carb, High Protein” section on the menu so I ordered a soup with shrimp, beef, chicken and vegetables in a beef broth. It was pretty good. Not as good as our usual place though.

I got a new CSA basket today. It is chock full of greens. Just in time.

For dinner I started to make a lamb leg with roasted vegetables, but nobody wanted that and we were all too hungry to wait anyway. So instead I made a big salad and some frozen chicken satay from Trader Joes.

After dinner I made some hazelnut butter in my mini food processor to make this:

Yes, it looks a bit funky, but it tastes like apple pie. Beck ate some before he want to bed and I ate his peels. I’ll probably have a little more tonight.  It is baked granny smith apples filled with a mix of hazelnut and coconut butter with cinnamon, nutmeg and a touch of pink himalayan salt.

 

Healthy Eating for Yourself and the Planet

In my journey to educate myself on maintaining a healthy lifestyle and being environmentally aware, it has become clear how much the two overlap. Here are some ways you can make food choices to help out both your health, and the Earth.

-Eat real food.
An apple is real food. An apple flavored treat is not.

– Eat plants in abundance, meat in moderation (if at all).
Fruits and vegetables are good for you. According to a United Nations report, almost one fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions are a result of livestock production.

– Eat organic food.
Not only will you be spared the affects of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, so will the fields, watersheds, and the people who grow the produce. In the case of meat, organically raised animals eat organic feed and are not given artificial growth hormones and other drugs. The use of antibiotics is also restricted in organically raised livestock. Antibiotic use in factory farms has been directly linked to drug resistant bacteria.

– Eat locally grown produce.
Food that has not traveled a long distance is likely to be fresher, which means more taste and vitamins for you. It also means less greenhouse gasses are produced as a result of the food traveling from the farm to your plate.

– Grow your own food.
It is hard to beat the freshness of food you just picked from your backyard or windowsill pot. If you can’t grow your own (or are still hungry), join a CSA. You can find CSAs in your area by visiting http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

-Reduce the amount of packaging you buy.
Most foods that are heavily packaged aren’t really that good for you, and all that trash has to go somewhere.

Something to be Thankful for.

I got my CSA basket from South Coast Farms today. Just in time for Thanksgiving.

This is the way to feast.

Included in this week’s basket:
Dill, Romanesco Cauliflower, Chard, Kale, Tomatoes, Fennel, Potatoes, Cilantro, Eggplant, Parsley, Valencia Oranges, Celery, Yams, Beets, Yellow Onion, Bartlet Pears, Pink Lady Apples, Green Cauliflower, Red Leaf Lettuce, Garlic, Grapes, and Grapefruit.

I traded in the beets, fennel and green cauliflower for extra pears, oranges and parsley.

Here is a picture of the green cauliflower that I didn’t keep. It looked good; I just don’t think I’ll use that much cauliflower in the next week or two.

Here is the romanesco cauliflower that I did keep.

Who wants to come over and help me eat?