Food Revolution: Shocking!

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One of the reasons, we decided on plotting out a garden and growing our own veggies was so we could also enjoy it with our boys (this thought was pre-kids, ftr!;). After conceiving the eco tot the message of growing our own food became more clear; having a garden would also serve as an educational tool. It would allow the boys to learn where our food comes from and appreciate it more.

Enjoying moments, like opening seed packets, breaking new ground, allowing the exploration time as seeds are placed into the earth, watching the garden grow, watering/ maintenance, and the best part the harvest are all ways to learn.

I know this isn’t the case for everyone.  Which is why I encourage signing up for your local CSA , visiting farmer’s markets and local farms to familiarize your children with where food comes from. When they see foods outside of the grocery store it will prompt questions and make for an interesting conversation which is another perfect opportunity for learning. Especially, when they see yellow broccoli or purple kale. Even something as small as an herb garden or compost pile will spark your child’s interest!

I definitely don’t want my kids to be part of a nation where they believe food comes from a box or from golden arches. It’s sad to think we’re allowing convenience to take care of our children rather than teaching them nutritional values and options and better yet… basic fruit & vegetable identification.  I’m not perfect by any means. I don’t always feel like making dinner but in my opinion it starts at the kitchen table.

Did you know March is National Nutritonal Month?

How do you teach your children about fruits and  vegetables?

What did you think?

{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} 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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{tidbits of green}

Hello there! Me again. Changes are in progress here at RYD and I’m really excited. Soon you will be too!

Going green is on the brain 24/7!  Since it’s always on the brain and I always have ideas swirling around…

I’m going to start sharing tibits of juicy information with you all in one post. This helps alleviate some of my anxiety on trying to bring you rockin’ green news on the daily! So, I’ve started a new series here at RYD called {tibits of green}! Lots of tidbits here and there and everywhere to bring you weekly.

I haven’t decided if I want to do this on Thursday’s on Wednesday’s with Wordless Wednesday. I will also be starting a Mr. Linky here as well for WW and Meatless Monday’s. This way other’s can participate too.  I may even start a forum…but one thing at time my pretties!

Without further ado…

{tidbits of green}

:::racking brain:::

….///…///…/// here goes…

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Our trip to the Ananda Marga Organic Peach Farm

On Sunday, the hub Baby C and I drove out to the Ananda Marga Organic Farm in Lake Hughes, Ca. Which is not a far drive from our home whatsoever! The Ananda Marga Organic Farm was part of our local farmer’s market. Last weekend was the final market until next June.

I really liked the opportunity of having fresh locally grown produce at my disposal on Saturday mornings. This was the first year our town did anything like this and I thought it was successful. It was nice chatting with the farmer’s and their wives and getting to know the person who is growing the very food on your plate. It’s actually quite interesting to have a conversation with some of farmers. Especially, the ones who are growing their produce organically.

I’m sad the market was over but happy  I was able to meet and greet the local farmers each Saturday! After doing my normal chitchatting I found out the Ananda Marga Farm is open year round to visitors. I had no idea! Finding this out made my entire year. I’ve known about the farm for quite some time but did not know you could buy produce from them directly. I thought you had to be part of the CSA.

Which was definitely one of our goals this year- to get on board with Community Supported Agriculture through Abundant Harvest Organics. I’m still working on it though and visiting the Ananda Marga Farm has given me some inspiration to get something started ASAP. I haven’t really found anyone receptive enough to take on half of the load with us- but still working to find others interested in sharing a box. Keep your fingers crossed for us because it’s the next best thing to growing your own!

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