Blueberry Muffins

It's blueberry season. This Saturday I picked up a quart of the sweetest and loveliest blueberries from the All Local Farmer's Market. Since my pregnancy cravings dictate what I eat and that tends to be sweet and carb filled, Blueberry Muffins were in store. I played around and came up with a healthier version that still taste yummy.

2 cups Whole Wheat pastry flour
¾ cup sugar
2 ½ Tsp baking powder
¾ cups milk
3 tbl canola oil or applesauce
1 tbl vanilla
2 large eggs (3 small)
Pinch salt
2 cups blueberries
Mix dry ingredients and then wet, stir to combine. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

Easy Creamsicle Pops

I love ice cream in the summer and can eat it everyday. I decided to try out some lower sugar options that could count as healthy. Here using coconut milk and fruit I devised a creamy and yet healthier ice pop.

1 can light coconut milk
1 ½ cup pureed fruit (or small can fruit drained from juice)
½ cup sugar

Makes 8.

In sauce pan mix all ingredients over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Pour into popsicle molds or into small paper bathroom cups and insert wooden popsicle sticks.

Mandarin oranges or pineapple are particularly yummy. I also added fresh blueberries to my pineapple pops.

Mock Coconut Pie (made with yellow squash)

You can easily fool anyone with this pie's taste, but if you have a finicky eater peel the squash to ensure your deception stays sealed. It does nothing for the taste but makes the shredded squash indistinguishable from coconut once cooked.

1 ½ cup grated squash
1 ½ cup sugar
4 eggs
2 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. each of coconut, lemon and vanilla flavoring
½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Grate a yellow squash using the fine setting on a mandolin or handheld grater. Mix all ingredients except coconut and pour into uncooked pie shell. Sprinkle the coconut over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until brown on top.

I used unsulferized unsweetened coconut, if you can’t find that reduce the sugar in the recipe by ¼.

Easy Pie Crust

1 cup cold butter
3 cups All Purpose Flour
3 TBLS sugar
1/3 cup cold water

In the mixer combine the flour and sugar, add butter cut into small pieces. Mix until incorporated well. Add the cold water and mix until it is crumbly. Form into two balls, flatten into disc and refrigerate for an hour.

Zucchini Bread

This is the easiest, tastiest, and most moist Zucchini bread recipe I have found. It does well with ingredient variations, so if you only have three eggs, no applesauce, or only white sugar power on!

4 eggs
4 cups grated Zucchini ( I use 4 but you can get similar results with as few as 2)
½ cup oil
½ cup applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ cups nuts (optional)

Makes two 8 inch loafs or 24 muffins.

Grate the zucchini into fine strips. A mandolin chopper works well for this.

I froth the eggs for a few minutes, then add applesauce, oil, vanilla, and shreaded zucchini.

Next, I mix all dry ingredients into a bowl and stir to combine well. I use a combination of half whole wheat pastry or bread flour with half regular whole wheat.Combine wet into dry ingredients and stir to mix.

Bake at 325 for one hour.

Freezing Squash

Our garden has been producing enough squash to feed an entire city block each day. This is pretty common. I heard a joke the other day that here in the South that you should never leave your car unlocked in the summer, not because it will be stolen, but because it will be filled with squash when you get back. Well, I love my squash so I won’t be filling anyone’s car but I want to preserve it to eat after the season is over. After some Internet research I found blanching and freezing is the best method to keep squash. This can be done with pretty much any variety of summer squash. I prepared some Yellow squash and Zucchini.

Step 1:
Wash and trim the squash, then cut into ½ inch disks. Make sure not to cut the squash up too far in advance as it does oxidize if exposed to air for over 30 minutes.

Step 2:
Blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes. You want them to still be crisp and green but blanched long enough to destroy the enzymes that break the squash done.

Step 3:
Drain from the boiling water and immediately put it in an ice bath. Let it stay in the ice bath for about 5 minutes.

Step 4:
Drain the squash on towels. I put one kitchen towel under the squash and one over to help pull the water out.

Step 5:
Put into freezer bags and press out as much air as possible before sealing.

An Abundance of Vegetables

Our garden has done very well so far this season. We are already reaping at least a dozen squash each day and the other plants are loaded with what is sure to be a bountiful daily harvest. The other day I was riding through a close by neighborhood and noticed several large gardens on empty lots. This is exactly what our family did, took an empty lot and turned it into a multi-family project. We take turns weeding and picking the produce. Since it is in my parent’s property they do typically water it daily though. When the garden is at its peak for harvesting it can provide our vegetable needs for most weeks this summer. This in conjunction with our weekly CSA basket will be an overwhelming amount of produce I am sure. Last week our CSA basket was a whopping 17 pounds.
I need to learn to can vegetables and tomato sauce. This got me thinking that I can probably provide for my family home grown local produce year round by learning to preserve the overflow of vegetables this summer. I am not sure why I didn’t start doing this for my family years ago.

Vacation Food Backlash

I have been MIA lately while my family went on a trip to Disney World. We love Disney. It’s fun for all of us and honestly I love it as much as my 3 year old does. Each time we go we get the Disney Dining Plan. This allows me the opportunity to have a vacation from the kitchen and still stay within a reasonable budget while eating out every meal for a week. This is the first time we have been to Disney since making our proclamation to eat as much local in season food as possible. Over the past 6 months our diet has made a lot of changes. We eat a lot of vegetables, we have always had the obligatory veggies with each meal, but now veggies play a starring role in my cooking. We also only eat grass fed beef/milk and pastured chickens/eggs. Our food taste so good and we have never felt healthier. I am also pretty proud actually that when I open the fridge door about 70% of what I see came from a local farm. OK, back to Disney food. We love picking from all the fancy themed restaurants at Disney and ordering anything we want whether it be the $38 steak or the $15 burger. We try to still eat “healthyish” and avoid fried foods and overly processed food. However, this time we noticed something, Disney does not do a lot of vegetables. We’d order a steak and got a huge steak with potatoes and like one piece of edible greenery. Salads on the menu are harder to find and often not included on the dining plan we picked. Vegetable choices are usually fries or another form of potato or mayonnaised up something or another. By mid-week our bodies we not working optimally and we felt the toll way more than we ever expected. I often woke up at night feeling nausea and my husband said he felt bloated and icky (my word not his) often too. It made us realize how much better we feel with our new modified diet of fresh healthy food and thankful that we have the opportunity to eat how we do. We have been home a week or so now and our bodies have been rejoicing in the fresh basket of vegetables from our CSA this week. We will re-think our dining methods for our next vacation to avoid the backlash our bodies dole out.

Family Plot Week 4

Our garden is doing quite well as we arrive at week 4. The tomato plants are starting to bloom and show signs of the fruit to come and the squash are spreading and growing quickly. The okra and bell pepper plants are lagging a bit behind but they were planted a little later than some of the larger tomato plants. The hay bales are also holding up and even though we are not to the extreme heat of summer they seem to be holding moisture. I am very curious to see if the hay bales can sustain the melons we have planted. This week we weeded the garden and have plans for pine straw to minimize weed growth in the future.

Honey Wheat Bread Recipe

This is the very best recipe I have found/tweaked for wheat bread in the bread maker. A loaf doesn’t last long in our house! It’s high in fiber and low in fat and free of any icky ingredients. Sometimes I make variations by adding sunflower seeds or parmesan and rosemary. I have listed the ingredients in the order I add them to the machine. I also take the paddle out of the bread maker before baking for a prettier loaf.
1 1/8 cups warm water
1 ½ tsp salt
1/3 cup honey
1 tbl dry milk
1 ½ tbl oil
3 cups whole wheat bread flour (I use 2 cups bread and 1 cup regular ww for texture)
3 tbl vital wheat gluten
1 ½ tsp dry yeast

The Family Plot week 3

Week 3 of our family garden. So far we have planted several varieties of heirloom tomatoes, heirloom eggplants, organic squash and zucchini, pole beans, heirloom watermelon and cantaloupe, heirloom bell peppers, jalapeno peppers and okra. The garden is doing very well. The hay bales seem to be doing great. I'll post a tutorial of growing in hay bales soon.

The Family Plot

Not too long ago my dad called me and my sister “tree-huggers” and “green weenies,” Oh wait that was two weeks ago when we bought our electric lawn mower. Mind you it was my dad that took my husband in his truck to get that “green weenie” mower. Last year when I started my quest to lose weight and eat unprocessed food my dad said “oh good then we won’t have to worry about you coming over for dinner anymore.” Then he unceremoniously switched to naturally raised chickens on the grill and lots of steamed and stewed veggies for Sunday dinner. When I told him my daughter was not allowed to have milk from his house or refined sugar snacks, he scoffed at me and then he started buying milk from a local dairy, peanuts as snacks, and organic cookies instead of oreos. You can see a pattern here right? This year when I told him we were committing to buy locally grown food from farmers in our area, well, he became one. Farming is in my family’s genes and we have all had gardens, this year my dad created a very impressive family plot, garden plot that is. See, we live only a couple blocks from each other as does my sister and my grandparents. My dad decided he would create a very sizable garden in his very sizable yard that could accommodate all of our needs. The deal is we all contribute to the planting and care of the garden and we all reap the rewards. I see lots of weeding in my future as well as lots of homegrown goodness. Way to go Green Weenie Dad! I will chronicle the growth of our family plot through the season; we are currently on week 3. The pictures are of the garden at week 1, prior to planting. The garden includes a large raised bed and a double row of hay bales.

Food, Inc.

If you have not seen the fantastic movie Food, Inc tonight is your chance to watch it for free. PBS will be airing this as part of the P.O.V. series. In my local area it will air tonight, Wednesday April 21st at 9 pm. Check your local listing for the time in your area. This is one you don't want to miss.

High on Tea

Drinking tea has many health benefits. Many studies have shown drinking tea can radically reduce cancer risks. Also polyphenols in tea help reduce risks from blood clotting thus reducing heart disease in tea drinkers. Aside from being full of antioxidants it can also calm you and help release tension. Plus, having tea with friends can be fun!

My sister, bonus mom, and I have a birthday tradition of going to have tea to celebrate each of our birthdays. For those of you who are not hot tea drinkers having high tea can still be a fun experience.

We have always driven to Charleston, SC in the past to go to Charleston Place’s Thoroughbred Room; it’s easily a day trip since it can be reached in a little over an hour. It is devine and the selection of local and organic tea is impressive. However, this trip we decided to try a tea room closer to home, Laura’s Tearoom in Ridgeway, SC. This tea room is located just outside of Columbia, SC on I-77 from Charlotte, NC. The dress up nook filled with hats and shawls makes this tea an especially fun girl’s trip. Notice all of us in our borrowed attire; we tried on several options before settling on them. Well, actually my sister didn’t want a hat at all so we had to select one for her; she probably then wished she had picked one herself.

We three all love hot teas and make it at home for ourselves regularly. For my sister’s baby shower last year we actually hosted a tea in my parents’ home as her shower, which shows our devotion to tea! We typically have high tea. High tea includes several courses of small fare including scones, tea sandwiches, and bite size desserts. At Laura’s Tea room everything is made fresh in house, nothing store bought. They select the tea for you, both hot and cold. Then they bring out a fresh scone with Devonshire cream. You also get a choice between quiche` or another small entree item. I opted for the cornbread salad, which was similar to a pimento cheese or chicken salad texture and included pinto beans, peppers, and cornbread. Next course is a tower of chocolate covered fruit and tea sandwiches. Finally, they bring out sherbet and two small but good cookies. The portions are very small but filling. We loved it and will put it in rotation with the Thoroughbred club in Charleston. I think this tea service would be a fantastic starter for those who want to try high tea but are intimated by all the selections at a more formal tea room. It got three thumbs up from us!

Clean with Steam and Microfiber!

I hate to mop, really hate to mop. Lugging around nasty brown water and then finding somewhere to dump it, yuck. Several years ago I tried a swiffer wet jet, it just left a trail of sticky chemicals behind it plus the disposable paper on the bottom never held up. Then two years ago I ran across a steam mop, Bissell to be exact. I am sure you all have seen the infomercials for various brands. Well, I still don’t like to mop but when I do mop I love my steam mop. No chemicals on my shiny floors and the microfiber cloths hold up pretty well. I have had to replace the microfiber cloths because the elastic cording that keeps them on the mop always fall apart so at 10 bucks each I had to look for another solution.
Well, I found it and not only was it cheaper but it works so much better! Last month I ran across a three pack of microfiber cloths at Ross, one side is plain microfiber while the other has a mesh fiber on it for scrubbing, Jackpot! How do I keep the cloths on? Well, it may be redneck but it works; rubber bands. Next time you’re at Ross or Marshall’s look for this handy pack of cloths, they are cleaning miracle around the house and only cost me….get this....$2.99 for a 3 pack. I also use them with my tub scrub cleaner to clean the bathrooms and with my granite cleaner on the counter tops. Ahhh, a chemical free and clean house. Happy Cleaning!

Neuton electric lawnmower

We are the proud new owners of a new Neuton CE-6 electric lawn mower. Last weekend our city hosted a lawnmower exchange. For any old gasoline mower brought in by the first 115 people a discount of up to $200 was given towards a new Neuton mower. We got up bright and early and arrived about two hours before the exchange began and we were 10th in line. By the time the exchange began the parking lot could not hold any more vehicles so getting there early was essential to actually getting a mower. My husband the consummate tech geek was enthralled with this new purchase and got to using it right away. While he was quite skeptical when I first mentioned the swap, he is very happy with the new mower. With a kid size grin he exclaimed that “I really like it!” It seemed to work perfectly and didn’t stutter once on our uneven overgrown lawn.

A Case for Bare Feet

I admit it; I am that crazy lady who asks guest to her home to take their shoes off before coming in. Most of us try to keep our homes free from germs and disease bacteria by cleaning, using air purifiers, and even resorting to germ killing aerosols like Lysol. Yet, we then track some of the most deadly contaminates right back in onto our floors via our shoes without a thought. Honestly, I never thought a great deal about the germs on my shoes until I had a baby. Babies’ worlds are right at floor level so they are directly exposed to germs on the floors they crawl on and then put those little hands into their mouths. Then the toddler stage begins and they eat off the floor and put the toys off the floor into their mouths.

So, what are the common things we track in on our shoes…is it really that bad? Well, Yes. According to one study the most common germs found: “Escherichia coli, known to cause intestinal and urinary tract infections, meningitis and diarrheal disease; Klebsiella pneumonia, a common source for wound and bloodstream infections as well as pneumonia; and Serratia ficaria, a rare cause of infections in the respiratory tract and wounds.” They also found that the bacteria transferred from the shoes onto flooring surfaces “90% to 99% of the time”.

Basically, if you wear your shoes inside there is at least a 90% chance that bacteria will transfer onto your floor, bacteria that can cause anything from upset to stomach to death.

So, you may want to think about becoming that crazy person in your family that asks visitors to take their shoes off before coming into your home too.

Homemade Deodorant Stick

About 7 years ago while in my twenties I had a breast cancer scare. It turned out to be nothing but for about a week I was really nervous. During that week I did a lot of research about breast cancer prevention and causes. Most scientists will tell you that antiperspirants are perfectly safe and you know that very well may be but then again it very well may not be. I stopped using antiperspirants at that time and started using deodorants without Aluminum, the primary suspect ingredient in antiperspirants that may increase our risk for breast cancer. The tissue under our arm is so close to the breast tissue it only makes since that the ingredients our body absorbs to prevent sweating would accumulate in the breast tissue. After searching homemade deodorant recipes I settled on one I found at littlehouseinthesuburbs.com mainly because it looked so easy, I didn’t want a powder recipe, and I had all the ingredients on hand.
So far the stuff works great and I am a hard customer, nothing has really worked great from me since Secret. I smell as cool as a York Peppermint Patty and my underarms are really soft too. As the summer warms up and I wear it to the gym, I’ll update on how it’s going.

Deodorant Stick:
¼ cup Aluminum free baking soda
¼ cup Cornstarch
10 to 20 drops essential oil (Tea Tree or Lavender are recommended; I used Peppermint and Eucalyptus because they make me happy)
2 tbsp. Coconut Oil (this stuff is solid at room temperature and melts with body heat)

Mix all the ingredients together into a smooth paste and stuff into an empty deodorant stick. I refrigerated mine for a few hours at first to help it get good and solid.
Make sure to apply on a light layer to your skin, that's all you need!

Update: After weeks, 95 degree days, and through a dozen long workouts I have yet to have any "smells". My husband has acted as my sniffer and confirms minty freshness. This stuff is great!

Consignment Store Shopping

I am going to toot my own horn for a minute. Recently, I lost a good bit of weight thanks to a healthy diet (mostly veggies, local if at all possible, and grass fed pastured meats) and Weight Watcher’s portion control guidelines. Enough weight that I have to buy a whole new wardrobe, this I am really not all that unhappy about since I do love to shop. At first as a treat to myself I went and bought clothes from stores I couldn’t really wear before. I perused the sale racks at White House Black Market, Chico’s, and Calvin Klein and found some great stuff. I realized though that I could be saving more money and recycling to boot if I found a great consignment store. So, on the hunt I went. I tried Goodwill at first and a couple of them actually had some decent stuff mixed in with the other stuff but I didn’t seem to get the same shopping satisfaction that I would at a great clothing store. I tried Revante` in 5 points but it’s pretty small and didn’t have a huge selection, I also found the prices a bit higher than I expected. Then I found Roundabouts in NE Columbia. It’s in an old Stein Mart so it’s huge and the prices are great! Plus it is set up much like a Stein Mart so it feels like you are shopping in a “real store.” I got a great pair of very high end jeans for $20, an adorable denim dress from Chico for $18, and a pair of Coach Sandals for $35. They also sell home goods and furniture. Now, I have taken some of my old too big clothes to consign with them to support my budding addiction. I am sure there are other great consignment stores in my area and I look forward to searching them out. I am a consignment store convert and I think that will make my husband, the landfills, and the check book happy too.

Join the Food Revolution

Jaime Oliver, the British chef that stared as Food Network’s Naked Chef has a new show on TV called Jaime Oliver’s Food Revolution. This show is all about changing the way America eats. Jaime helped overhaul the School lunch program in Britain and obviously cares a great deal about eating whole unprocessed food. Huntington, West Virginia is the unhealthiest city in America and the base for Jaime’s show. I’d say I am pretty cynical about the way America eats but even I was surprised by what the kids were given on their lunch trays. This past Sunday was a sneak preview of the show and I am excited to see how it progresses. Catch the show Friday night starting at 8pm EST for a rerun of Sunday’s sneak peak and 9pm EST for the newest episode. Check out his website for a petition for change that Jaime intends to take to the White House at the wrap of the show.

Kale Chips

See those tiny little hands? They are holding the nutritional powerhouse known as Kale. Guess what those little hands did after we took that picture. Yep, they put that kale into the little mouth connected to the same body. Halleluiah! How did I do that you ask? I made them into chips.

This is probably the easiest way greens can be cooked aside from eating them raw. Kale has a bit of bitterness to them but cooked as a chip it was tangy and savory.

1 bunch of Kale
Oil
Salt

Trim Kale from the thick stems, then wash and dry. Next put on a flat baking sheet and spray with oil. I use Walnut oil in a Misto to lightly coat the tops with oil. Sprinkle with salt or whatever spice combination you’d like and bake for 10 minutes or until crispy. I think salt and vinegar would be yummy too. You’ll want to be careful that they don’t brown because then they just taste burnt.

The Fruits of Our Labor

Our project this weekend was to plant some fruit baring trees and shrubs. We started with two plum trees a Santa Rosa dwarf and a Methley. They were recommended to help pollinate one another. We also planted two blueberry bushes and a black mission fig tree. Later in the week we will plant strawberry bushes in containers, dwarf citrus trees in containers, and some additional blueberry bushes. It will probably be about three years before we see any yield from our fruit trees but at least we are on our way to growing our own organic fruit at home. From what I have read it probably won’t be an easy journey due to bugs and birds but the plants themselves are quite hardy. We had a pear tree at our previous house that was self pollinating and provided enough pears for us and the rest of the neighborhood. The tree seemed to need no intervention aside from picking the pears before they broke he limbs. Luckily my grandparents and parents have abundant supplying pear trees too so we get enough from them to not need to plant our own. I am hoping that these trees with be as carefree as those pear trees are.

Dressing a salad

Most people I know eat salad because they want to be healthy or at least appreciate the health benefits of the salad. So then why do we hide all that healthy lettuce and vegetable mix under high fructose corn syrup, sugar, xanthium gum, and salt? It’s easy and it taste good and often times it’s billed as low fat, I know, I know. Well, here is my recipe for a super tasty and super easy salad dressing with as much nutritional benefit as the salad under it.

1 tablespoon honey
½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ cup Balsamic Vinegar
1 tablespoon dried herb of your preference (I use Herbs de Provence, a blend of several herbs)

Put in jar and shake or stir. It will separate so you have to shake it before each use.

A Cleaner Granite Cleaner

When we bought our house a couple years ago we knew we’d be doing a lot of renovation and we tried to use as many green materials as we could. No-VOC paints, reclaimed cabinets, and energy star appliances all reside in our new kitchen and then there are the granite countertops. I am not proud, but I was less educated then about the environmental toll granite harvesting has on the earth. Never the less I must clean those countertops and I want to do it naturally. Acidic liquids can strip and stain granite so never use vinegar, ammonia, or bleach. Here is my simple and very effective homemade cleaner. It makes a great Lysol germ killer substitute too.

¼ part 91% isopropyl alcohol
¾ part water
1 tsp dish soap per liter

Mix and spray away. Shiny, clean, germ free, and non-hazardously cleaned counters, viola!

Natural Sinus Relief with a Neti Pot

Every year when the Bradford pear trees start blooming my sinuses go haywire. When I was younger I never had sinus issues and then in my mid twenties I worked in our city’s downtown where the streets are lined with Bradford pear trees. They are glorious when they begin to bud and since they bud early they are the foretelling of spring and a welcome sight to many. Back in those days they were for me too. As I later learned sinus issues can be triggered at any age and my overexposure to those beacons of spring triggered mine. I used prescriptions as well as over the counter meds. Some worked really well and some kept me up all night. Then a couple years ago I discovered the neti pot. I am a big fan of Dr. Oz and personally think he has one of the most relevant worthwhile TV shows on. Well, a few years ago he got his start on Oprah’s show and he showcased a neti pot and how to use it. The neti pot essentially fills your sinus cavities with saline (salt water) and clears the mucus and irritants out while the saline soothes the nasal tissue and reduces swelling. My husband also uses it to ward off and shorten colds. I was skeptical at first and the first time I used it, well, it didn’t go well. After some practice I have found it to be an effective useful tool to be drug free and treat sinus problems. Last year my sinuses got so bad they lasted all seasons and I admit I resorted to Zyrtec because popping a pill is easier than using a neti pot. Since I am trying to commit to living what I preach, this year I will try the neti pot as my sole allergy relief. (I'll let you know how that goes.) Here's a great video on how to use a neti pot.

Chocolate Coconut Frozen Yogurt

I have longed for warm weather for months and a nice sunny day finally broke free this weekend. This is cause for celebration and time for ice cream! Now I am a sweet eater and in the winter I liked baked goods but in the summer I am all about my ice cream, I eat it about every day. Last year on our way to Disney World we stopped off in St. Augustine and had what had to be the best coconut dark chocolate gelato on the planet and I have craved it ever since. Well, I have also been on a mission to get healthier, lose weight and stop eating processed food. What’s an ice cream lover to do? Pull out the old homemade ice cream machine of course! So here is my recipe for an amazingly low fat/calorie recipe for chocolate coconut frozen yogurt, for my fellow weight watchers, its 3 points for a heaping half cup. If you care nothing about the low fat part (helllooo husband!) then substitute heavy cream for the yogurt and add in coconut shavings. I will not lie it doesn’t touch that authentic gelato but it did turn out smooth, creamy, yum yum yummy and I can eat it daily without guilt.

1 can light coconut milk (14 ounce)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup honey
1/8 cup Sun crystals (stevia sweetner)
1 cup Fat Free Greek style yogurt
2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips

On stovetop mix the first 4 ingrediants over medium heat to dissolve the sun crystals and cocoa. Let cool and then mix yogurt and chocolate chips. Refrigerate for 1 hour and then pour into the ice cream maker and follow the manufactures recommendations.

My Morning at Big Moon Farm

Today was my visit to Big Moon Farm in Leesville, SC. This is where my vegetables starting in the spring will come from. I joined the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) at Big Moon for the 2010 growing seasons and wanted to go out to the farm to visit, meet the Oxner family who own the farm, and most importantly let my almost 3 year old see where her veggies will come from.

The visit didn’t disappoint. The Oxners are relatively new at the CSA business but John Oxner has a lot of agriculture experience having worked for the Clemson extension and still consulting farmers. The farm has been in the family for at least three generations.
John showed us the fields and animals and talked to us about how they came to form a CSA. Being a dad of young ones he took extra care with my daughter and spent time showing my her seeds in the packing shed, seedlings in the greenhouse, and much to her joy even let her gather warm eggs from the chicken coops.

I am no farm expert. I do however read a lot about sustainable farms. I know that I will happily eat the food from Big Moon. The chickens have a nice area to run around inside and out. This allows them to forage for grubs and bugs in addition to the specialized food they are fed. From the little I know, this creates a healthy egg richer in nutrients. Plus, I really want to support farmers who treat their animals humanely and not big factory farms that house egg layers in cages so small they can’t even turn around.

Big Moon farm also raise cattle. They sell their humanely raised pastured cows along with the produce and eggs. The cows are pastured and supplemented with grain. John says he supplements with grain to produce a more tender meat. A traditional pastured cow who eats only grass takes significantly longer to get to processing weight, and an older cow is a less tender cow. His cows looked happy and healthy and were curious enough to come up and greet us at the fence. I always rethink my desire to eat these beautiful animals when I look eye to big brown eye with them. I do feel much better about my desire to be a carnivore when I know they were taken care of like God designed the animal human relationship to be and the Oxner’s are doing just that.

I encourage all my friends to find a CSA farm or a local farmer at a market to support and then go meet your farmers. We need to be informed about what goes on with our food, who grows it, and how they grow it. Plus, it brings you back to a place where you are reminded of what food should be: fresh and healthy, not boxed or premade and frozen. I know many of us are short on time and boxed pre-packaged meals are easy but we put energy into things that are important in our lives and food isn’t just important it fuels everything else in life. I find I can make do prep all one day to make cooking in the evenings quicker. More and more science is proving we are what we eat. So be a living vibrant fresh and humane person.

Update: This morning we cooked some of the eggs our daughter gathered at Big Moon Farm yesterday. WOW….I mean WOW. Now, we are no stranger to fresh local free range eggs, actually that is all we buy. We have seen bright orange yolks that are firm but these eggs were like super eggs. Yolks so bright and firm that I had to pierce it repeatedly to break. I could have picked it up out of the bowl with my hand to separate the whites and our omelets were about a shade lighter then the cheddar that filled it. I was so impressed that I wanted to share a picture. Happy eating!

Vitamin Water Recipe – the natural way

We all know water is an essential part of our diet but do you know why? Well, first it is great from your skin. It keeps it hydrated and protects it from getting dried out. Hydrated skin is less prone to wrinkle! Since our skin needs water so badly it can also retain water, sort of like a camel hump, if it isn’t getting a consistent supply so you may also have puffy skin if it isn’t hydrated. Add to that a glowing complexion and you can’t deny waters benefits to your body. Water helps flush toxins from the cells in our body, and in turns gives us a glowing complexion.

Flushing toxins isn’t just for your skin though it’s important to keep our bodies healthy and disease free, toxins in the body can case all sorts of illness including possible cancer. Water allows our bodies to shed toxic buildup we gather from environmental factors like smog, chemicals, and the toxins our bodies create themselves. We also shed bacteria and waste more with increased water consumption and that is good for the kidneys and bladder.

Water also keeps our blood thin and helps our heart pump effectively. Blood transports oxygen through our body and the oxygen gives us energy and helps us properly convert fat to energy. This can help increase your metabolism and keep your energy high. There has been recent data showing drinking adequate water actually keeps your heart pumping longer too.

Drinking water also wards off hunger and acts as an appetite suppressant. It also aids in food digestion and reduces stomach acids which can lead to heartburn. Water also helps your bowls from becoming constipated.

So, I hope I have convinced you to drink your water now. I sometimes get really bored with my plain old filtered water so I add fresh fruit to give it an added zing and vitamins. It’s like the original vitamin water but actually good for you and the planet since you will be making it yourself and not buying up all those bottles. I found a great recipe for water from the Flat Belly Diet that I personally like very much. I have included it here but remember you can add pretty much and variation to flavor the water as you like. In my experience a good ratio of fruit to water is one cup to 1 gallon of water. I often refill my water pitcher for two days using the same ingrediants.

Flat Belly Diet Sassy water
1 TSP/ Grated Ginger
1 MED. Cucumber peeled and sliced
1 Lemon sliced
12 Mint Leaves bruised to release the oil

Lemon Strawberry Water
1 Medium Lemon sliced
3 large strawberries sliced
12 mint leaves bruised to release the oil

Mix with 8 cups of water and refrigerate overnight; drink the next day.

The idea here is the cucumber and lemons are natural diuretics and gingers and spearmint help relieve bloating. Strawberries have powerful antioxidants. I also often use just a couple of the ingredients at a time say lemon ginger water or cucumber mint. Find a flavor you like to help make drinking your water more tasty and fun and remember to use a BPA free reusable bottle!

Stop the USDA from approving Monsanto GMO Alfalfa

If any of you have watched the movie Food, Inc. you were introduced to the craziness that GMO's (genetically Modified Organisms) and Monsanto reap onto the agriculture industry. They are a chemical giant that market themselves as an agriculture company, their most popular mainstream product being RoundUp weed killer. So, they have created these genetically altered seeds which they sell to American farmers. The seeds are so special because they can withstand the Monsanto chemical "treatments" allowing farmer's to spray for things like weeds without killing the crop, typically corn and soybean. Now, why are GMO's bad you may asks? Well, they have not undergone much testing thanks to some very well placed Monsanto board members in the US government. The theory that exist now is they may be less nutritious than non GMO crops. But most importantly they cross germinate with non GMO crops. So lets say you are an Organic farmer with a field across from a farmer using Monsanto seed. Your field will be cross pollinated with the GMO pollen. Now, you have a crop dependant on a weed killer to produce properly, not exactly Organic. Alfalfa is important because grass fed cows eat this. I personally don't want my grass fed cow to eat a GMO alfalfa and I have to wonder how will this effect those farmers who strive to raise organic grass fed meat? We also risks an extinction of seeds that are not GMO, a very bad thing even for those who don't eat organic. The nice people over at Legacy Family Farms, who aside from being super nice people sell fantastic grass finished and pastured meat, forwarded me this petition to stop the USDA from approving Monsanto alfalfa, it has to be entered by tomorrow evening so act quickly!

Dry Skin Relief

This has been a hard winter for my skin. My skin has always been a bit sensitive and dry particularly in the colder months. I recently tried using Dr. Hauschka skin care products after a convincing and beautifully skinned consultant sold me on the quality and homeopathic nature of the line. I am not going to review it just yet but so far my skin has been screaming for more moisture. However, the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database doesn’t shine too favorable on most of the Haushka line. If you are not familiar, this agency reviews cosmetics based on the ingredients and the toxicity of each one, then it ranks them from 1 to 10 based on the danger level to your health. Since the cosmetics industry is a wholly unregulated industry it’s tough to know what claims to believe and which are hog wash. This database helps decipher that. The Dr. Hauschka line promotes a belief that skin can heal itself and no cream should be used at night to prompt the skin to produce its own oils. So, I am going to put it aside for now (except for the toned day crème which I really like) and try to rehydrate my skin. It should be said here that drinking plenty water and running a vaporizer are also important for dry winter skin, both of which I do.

Continuing my theme to live sustainably and naturally I decided to do some research on natural dry skin cures that I could make at home. I found several recipes but wanted to search out specific ingredients to help my skin repair and rehydrate. I settled on honey, milk, olive oil, and oatmeal.

Honey has antibacterial properties and is a recommended to kill germs and diminish acne. It is also a humectant, which means it draws moisture from the air onto the skin and holds moisture. It has been used for thousands of years and is rumored to have been used by Cleopatra in conjunction with milk for baths.
Milk has vitamin A and lactic acids. It can heal dry skin and even sooth minor burns. It also softens dead skin cells. The lactic acid in milk can also lighten dark circles under the eyes sooth puffiness. It’s important to use a fatty source of milk here: whole milk, cream, sour cream, yogurt, you get the idea.
Olive Oil contains vitamin E which is a very important ingredient for supple skin. It also is able to help cells regenerate faster by absorbing UV radiation and being a powerful antioxidant.
Last, oatmeal absorbs impurities and sloughs off dead skin cells all the while soothing and replenishing dry skin.

With all these wonderful natural skin care treatments at home why do we as a nation spend the millions of dollars each year on skin care? Well, effective marketing, busy schedules, and the disbelief that we can make something ourselves as miraculous as the big companies claim their products are. My recipe took me less than 5 minutes to make, all the items were in my pantry or fridge and it was pennies to produce! You can find recipes all over the web to deal with various skin issues here is mine:

Dry Skin Mask
¼ cup dry oatmeal (ground in a coffee bean grinder until fine)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons full fat milk product
2 tablespoons honey

Mix into a dough like consistency and store in the refrigerator. To use take a dollop onto your hands and mix in a little warm tap water spread onto your face, do not scrub, and leave for 5 to 10 minutes. Rinse with luke warm water and follow with a natural remedy moisturizer if needed.

Natural Face Moisturizer
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 teaspoon vegetable glycerin
1 tablespoon Coconut Oil

Anson Mills Popcorn Review

“Popcorn Yum!” my two year old excitedly squealed when she saw the air popper produce it’s yield of fluffy corn goodness. I like to try something new from the farmer’s market each week. This weekend it was obviously popping corn. Last week it was pork chops from Caw Caw farms but my husband set them on fire on the grill so I couldn’t give a true review on those. (We have had their pork roast that was so good most of it was eaten before I could get it on the plates) Anyway, I digress.
One of the true gems of Columbia is Anson Mills; they provide heirloom high quality grains to some of the best restaurants in the US. I am sad to say I have always skipped by the Anson Mill table at the market. Not this week however, I procured a 12 ounce bag of popping corn for $5. We are avid popcorn eaters, always air popped, because microwave popcorn is terrible for you. I have however seen fantastic methods of microwaving popcorn at home by putting the corn into a paper bag with a little oil and salt. I may try that one day but for now I love my trusty little air popper and my daughter gets such joy in seeing the corn pop.
Onto the popcorn... It popped up big, firm, and full with very few loose kernels. I lightly buttered and salted it and it was delicious. 2 tablespoons of corn produced a large serving bowl of popcorn, enough for all three of us even though I hogged most of it up myself. I am not sure that we could point out it was a super special heirloom variety corn over say the organic popcorn I buy from the bulk bins at the natural food store but it surely tasted good. It had an almost wheat corn flavor if that makes sense. It also had a quality that I loved; it was crisp and crunched under my teeth and was not soft and chewy like many other types of popcorn I have tried. I believe that is from its freshness. We will most definitely be buying this again.

Good stores gone bad?

I read today that Trader Joe's had to recall their chocolate chip granola bars. Last year Whole Foods recalled their beef. It's really quite a shame isn't it. So many people look to company's like Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and Earth Fare to uphold a higher standard than conventional stores. The truth is though even those stores selling their philosophy of non-GMO, organic, and natural foods often fall to the cheapest supplier wins mentality. They are in it to make money and buying in bulk from huge industrial organic farms is most profitable for these chains. Many farms producing our organic meats and processed foods are the same ones producing the non organic ones, side by side they produce these foods. Don't get me wrong, I shop at those stores, but just for my staples for making my own homemade stuff these days. Little by little my family is eating less food processed by big factories more food made with love by me. Yes I know it sounds corney, but I do love making the food that I know will nurture the bodies of those I love. Really that's why I am writing this blog because I want you to be informed and healthy too. Down girl...off the soap box now.

Never less, the article reminded me that my husband has been asking me for weeks for a new batch of my homemade granola bars. I have been preoccupied with my new dehydrator but I'll let that be another post. Today, I got off my duff and made him those bars and I took pictures so I could share them with you! See the previous post for the recipe.

Granola Bar Recipe

2 cups rolled oats (I buy these in the bulk bin at my local Health Food store)
¼ cup Wheat Germ (can substitute ½ cup wheat flour for the germ and flax)
¼ cup Flax Seed meal
1 ½ cups nuts lightly chopped (I used a mix of walnuts, almonds, and sunflower seeds)
1 cup fruit (I used dried cherries and blueberries)
½ cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

½ cup honey
¼ cup brown sugar packed
1 TB vanilla extract
½ cup applesauce


Mix all the dry ingredients together, except the sugar and chocolate chips if using them. In separate bowl mix all wet ingredients with the sugar, heat on the stove or in the microwave to ensure the sugar is dissolved. Mix the wet mixture into the dry and let cool, and then add the chocolate chips.

Spread out into an oiled 9x11 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes for chewier bars and 30 minutes for a crunchier bar. Cut them while they are still warm in the pan, they will harden more as they cool.



This basic recipe is very forgiving. I rarely make it the same way twice. I have used this to make apple cinnamon bars, finely chop a fresh apple and add 2 tsp cinnamon to the mix. Raisin Oat bars, use raisin as your fruit. Chocolate Peanut bars, use peanuts as your nut and add chocolate. I have used fresh fruit and dried fruit, even used a banana or pumpkin instead of applesauce. I have used stevia (1 tsp.) and half of the brown sugar. I have forgone heating the sugar mixture when in a hurry and it was fine. Whatever your favorite flavor is you can adapt this basic recipe and add on to it.