Late {Meatless Monday} Not Tuna Wraps & Farmer’s Market Goods!

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Hola peeps!

Happy Tuesday to you. Hope you had a great weekend.
We actually had the opportunity of visiting an organic farm 40 minutes north of us in a town called Tehachapi. We were able to score some really fresh Cal Organic produce and a pound of grassfed ground meat. I’ve been doing a lot of research on farms in our area and as well as CSA’s. I like to know what’s available to us with 100 miles. The more I look around and we visit these places the more connected we feel to eating locally and seasonally. The really cool benefit is being able to talk to the person who grows your food and get ideas on how to cook it, store it etc. It’s been a great experience for us and I think having the boys along to see where their food comes is good too.

On Sunday the hub took us down to the Hollywood Farmer’s Market (our CSA signup will not begin until March). We’ve heard such great things about it we decided we needed to check it out for ourselves. We figured it would be easier to take our Kelty for the eco tot and the Ergo for Baby C since their isn’t much walking space along the booths. It turned out to be a great trip and we came home with some fresh farmer’s market produce.  I was looking for homemade kombacha but found none. We did come across a booth that sold earthworms and other types of “good” worms for your garden. We chatted with the guy for a bit and he told us what type of worms we needed to combat our grub worms. So, when we’re ready to turn over the garden soil I think we’ll get some “good” worms.

Here’s my {Meatless Monday} feature:

I made a raw tuna salad last Monday and it was yummy!

The hubster totally thought this pate tasted like tuna… it’s a great “fool” recipe.

We had it with crudites and also tried the not so tuna salad pate with nori rolls.

It was a little messy because we dampened the rolls a little much (oopsie) but overall it was good and very filling.

We added in extra avocado and some of our homemade pickles! yummers.

cell phone pic- sorry, nikon battery died!

What meatless meals have you made in the kitchen lately?

{Meatless Monday} Roasting Veggies

Hey guys!

Hope you had a lovely V-day filled with lots of LOVE!!

The weather here was absolutely gorgeous. Perfect planting and play outdoors weather. We rode our bikes both days and had a blast. I love riding my bike up to the local shops in town. Both days we had “no waste” experiences I plan to post more deets on my adventures this week (hopefully, tomorrow).  We planted spinach and some starter lettuce that the hub bought at the garden store. We also noticed there are sprouts in our raised bed!!!! Super excited for our garden plans this year.

Our tomatoes starters for the greenhouse are still doing really well also. Hopefully, come spring time we’ll have a functional greenhouse operation. We also took a trip down to our farmer’s market which about 45 minutes away to stock up on some local goodness.

Part of my V-day gift was finally getting signed up with our CSA! Woohoo! It’s been 2yrs. since we learned about our local CSA and to be honest, we shouldn’t have waited so long (having funds withdrawn out of our acct. wkly.was a scary leap for us to take). But, since we recently found out about the farmer’s market and make weekly trips we’ve realized what were doing things all wrong.

So, I’m really looking forward to fresh organic goodness on the weekly and farmer’s market and Whole Foods on the monthly! I also recently found out about another local farm that sells fresh herbs, fruits and veggies in season. I’m hoping to get in contact with them soon for some fresh nettles, chia seeds and other misc. You can find out about local farms and farmer’s markets in your area by visiting localharvest.org!

These days it’s all about the quick and easy AND lasts nights din-din was simple and yummy. We’ve been enjoying roasted veggies lately so last night the hubby made a roasted veggie mix which included farmer’s market produce- butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and brussel sprouts. It’s really easy to do and very satisfying. This meal was inspired by the Pure2Raw Twins… we even had homemade sauerkraut for it but the latest batch we made has a really “dirty” taste. Making a new batch tonight.  We’ve added their One Pot Gluten Free Vegan Mac & Cheese to our menu…can’t wait to try it!

Roasted Veggies

All you have to do is cut up the veggie of choice; drizzle EVOO or other flavored oil like sesame, coconut, etc. over them, sprinkle on some S&P, add in some fresh or dried herbs of your choice and lay out onto sheet pan. You’ll be rockin’ a quick and easy meal within 20-30 minutes!

Plus, if you serve it up with a grain like quinoa which cooks quickly then it becomes a super simple meal. Don’t forget to serve it up with a yummy green salad to make it an even more filling.

2 weeks ago, I made a Marinated Mushrooms and Cauliflower Mash recipe from Susan at Rawmazing! We really enjoyed it.  Since then we’ve been dehydrating cauliflower and broccoli also. Yummy! Tonight we are having nori rolls stuffed with a “Not Tuna” pate!! I’ll let you know how those are in an upcoming post.

Sorry for the picture quality!

Quick Snacks

We’ve been making kale chips around like there’s no tomorrow. I have a batch in the dehydrator as I type this using some dino kale from the farmer’s market. Mmmm! The boys love, love, kale chips  and so does the hubbers. For real. I made a batch the other night and all 3 of em’ ate them up entirely. I think I only had 2 -3 chips out of the whole batch. I was actually pretty happy about it, believe it or not. They are so yummy and make a quick and easy snack. We’ve also served them alongside a meal. They’re that GOOD. Believe.

We also made a little Raw Vegan fudge last night for dessert. We adapted a recipe from several online ones and just did a little bit of this and that. Mainly dates, cacao powder & butter, maca, coconut oil, unsweetened coconut shreds, & hemp seeds all blended in the food processor! It was perfectly sweet and tasted just like fudge. Had some for breakfast this AM.

Hope you enjoyed this highlight of what’s been going on in kitchen for Meatless Monday’s …

start roasting your veggies & getting your cacao fix!

What are you fixing tonight for Meatless Monday?

Do tell. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

{Meatless Monday} Feeding “Baby, C”

Happy Meatless Monday!

Okay, so the last time I did a post on {Meatless Monday} I mentioned Baby C’s diet.  Clark was exclusively breastfed up until 6 1/2 months when we introduced solids. My plan was to wait it out an entire year; but he began to show signs early on. I firmly believe it has a lot to do with having a bigger brother (2yr.old) around.

In any case, since learning about the raw foods diet the hub and I knew we wanted to introduce Clark to raw from the get go. A couple months ago we purchased the Sun-Sational Raw Baby Food ebook by Melissa Gilbert and made a few simple recipes for ourselves then tested a couple on Clark. He absolutely loves GREEN smoothies.

First Foods

Veggies! One veggie per week to test for allergic reactions. His first food was lightly steamed butternut squash, carrots, zucchini, peas, sweet potato, green beans, spinach, red chard etc.

After going through the gamut of veggies we let him try fruit. Once we rotated the weekly cycle of fruits we introduced green smoothies.

I plan to keep him mostly breast for now. He eats about twice a day…sometimes only once depending on how busy our day is. When he turns one, I will introduce nuts & grains and he will get more to eat. He’s had a little bit of grains  but not much (he naturally gets really fussy if he can’t have what were eating).  So, I’ve allowed a little table food but no dairy and no meat (and of course, no sugar!). We skipped the rice cereal all together this time too. I’ve read that it makes for a starchy eater. Rice cereal was Tristan’s first food and I was reluctant but being a first time mom I went ahead and honestly; he’s as starchy as they come.

Long Term

I discussed veganism with the peditircian last week for Clark’s 9 month appt. and his only concern was B-12. He mentioned he sees a lot of B-12 deficiencies in vegetarian/vegan kids. I was surprised he didn’t say more. I’m actually happy he did not. Makes me believe he’s not against it. We asked all the questions we needed to and feel comfortable with the decision of raising a veggie baby.

As far as a family we plan to remain meatless also. We are slowly weaning ourselves from meat and have not purchased any for a month! Most of January was meatless with a few exceptions (we still had meat in fridge…but that is no longer the case). We actually have eaten a mostly vegan/raw diet but have included some dairy. Overtime we will eventually kick meat and dairy to the curb for good.

Clark’s Favorite

Summertime Delight

from the book Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko

6 peaches (seeds taken out)

2 handfuls of spinach

2 cups of filtered water (we have reverse osmosis)

Blend and enjoy!

I freeze any of the leftovers in the So Easy Baby Food Trays.

::

He also loves  “Chocolate Milk” …

adapted from my local health food store

(juicer required)

- Handful of Red Leaf Lettuce

- 3 carrots cut in half

You can also add in a sliver of ginger if you like… we often do!

Yum!

I recently made him flax banana crackers (from ebook) but my husband is concerned about allowing him to eat whole flax seeds because he heard they can get caught up in the colon.

Can any of my raw food friends chime in on this?

And- if any of you mom’s know of any great online resources for raising vegan/raw children- do tell!

Would love to hear your thoughts!!

{Meatless Monday} Fantastic Falafel Recipe & more…

Hello dear readers!

Hope you had a great weekend. Mine was somewhat uneventful but I did manage to get some things done around the home. It seems like I’ve been decluttering a lot lately. Getting out what doesn’t fit in to my lifestyle or even my well being! I live in a small home so I declutter often.

In a sense I’ve also decluttered my eating habits. For 2010, as mentioned previously I plan to eat more raw foods and lean towards a vegan diet. I’m not going to set myself up for failure and plan to be quite flexible. I was a veggie for many years but had no idea what I know now. I definitely wasn’t getting the proper nutrition my body deserved nor was I getting the right amount of protein. Yikes!

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{Meatless Monday} Sauerkraut; good food for your gut!

Photo credit: gkristo’s, via flickr

I don’t know about you but I love sauerkraut or anything fermented that it is. Let me explain… I didn’t really know what sauerkraut tasted like until a year and a half ago. After dealing with thrush I learned a lot about the foods that contribute to yeast and support a  healthy gut to kill off bad bacteria. Since the eco tot had thrush from the start my midwife and I thought it would be a good idea to start taking probiotics with Clark and eat foods named on the candida diet. Sauerkraut happens to be one of those foods.

Why Sauerkraut?

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Meatless Monday: a meal for breakfast & dinner

Hi there! Happy Meatless Monday!
Today, I’m cooking up soup in the crockpot! We visited our local farm yesterday and bought some fresh red chard and other veggies and fruit. Last night,  I decided I was going to make a soup I put together at the beginning of summer when the red chard was at the peak of it’s season.  We also bought some canned pesto and chuncky peach jam from the organic farm. Mmm! I am uploading the footage I took of the farm as I type but may not get to post it as I’m rushing to get this published before the eco tot wakes up!!

Over the weekend, I dehydrated some sprouted quinoa to make a raw version of coco pops cereal. You might be asking what in the world quinoa is… ?

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Go Banana’s- Raw Fro-Yo!

I’m always amazed how the raw food diet can mimic much of what an unraw diet consists of.

Like ice-cream or soft serve for instance! You know; that soft, creamy, and sweet texture that seems to get anyone to smile.

You must believe me when I tell you bananas as ice cream is DA-BANANA-BOMB! It’ll have you buying up all the ripe banana’s at your grocery store. I swear. It’s the truth.

Don’t believe?! Try it!

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A Boo-rific Meatless Monday with Top 5 Healthier Hallogreen Treats

Hey guys! It’s me again!

Time for another round of Meatless Monday- ding, ding!!

With Halloween on Saturday how about a ghoulish dish for those goblins or guests you may be having over. The dish I’m going to share with you happens to be another eggplant dish because the plant is still flourishing in my mother in law’s garden and giving us beautiful eggplants to nourish ourselves with. Oh, and my love for eggplants may have something to do with it too.

PLUS- after finding the Faken’ Bacon recipe I also found this recipe…

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Meatless Monday: Faken Bacon

Welcome to another wonderful Meatless Monday!

This week we’re dealing with eggplants! Eggplants rule! Most people that I’ve come across hate eggplant. I just don’t think most know what to do with it. I’m always looking for new ways to prepare it. My favorite way to use eggplant is in Ratatouille. I do need to post that recipe sometime because it’s a GOOD one!

My mother in law planted two different varieties this year- Black beauty & Japanese and she’s been harvesting them out the wah-zoo. Due to the extreme heat this summer a lot of our veggie plants didn’t start to yield until early September. In trying to keep up with the abundance, I found that the dehydrator is a fantastic way to preserve eggplant and use it! Once I realized I could dehydrate it – I began to look for recipes.

I found an excellent raw vegan recipe using eggplant to create  bacon (except, this version is way less greasy)!

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Meatless Monday, err Tuesday Recipe: Raw Burger

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend. Mine flew by! After enjoying a weekend of fresh organic foods some harvested from our garden + MIL and farmer’s market… I’d been thinking a lot about how important it is for our food to be fresh and pure.

It’s unbelievable how many packaged foods on the market there are that are considered nutritious because they’re fortified with vitamins. Then there’s  the new Smart Choice labels that seem to be stamped on it seems like every box in the supermarket telling you how healthy it is to eat. Like Fruit Loops, cereal-  I’m sorry but anything packaged is going to contain preservatives and not to mention most are either high sugar or high in salt! It’s getting ridiculous. The more and more we get away from wholesome natural foods the more we go into the direction of fake, plastic, unreal- genetically modified foods!!! It’s pretty scary.

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