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I went and picked up my CSA share (My roommate Catlin just informed me that I have yet to say what CSA actually stands for. Ok here it is, Community Supported Agriculture) tonight at Bolsa (a restaurant here in Oak Cliff) and I was thrilled with what I found inside! Some pictures for your viewing pleasure.
My bag when i first picked it up.
My half-share of produce for the week. With my CSA there is an option of buying a full or a half-share. A full share is supposed to be enough for a family of four, while a half-share is good for two. Or in my case one person who eats a lot.
Alternate produce view.
A yellow cucumber…exact name unknown.
Farm fresh tomatoes….cannot be beat!
Pattypan squash….yes pattypan. I am proud that I knew the name without the assistance of google. Any suggestions on what to do with this thing would be greatly appreciated.
More tomatoes.
Squash….zuchinni…(is it just me, or does the squash in the middle resemble cookie monster a little…ok, it might just be me)
Local peaches and pears.
I have to buy a little produce to supplement what I get on a weekly basis. For example I eat an apple almost every day, and I buy these weekly. I also buy spinach every week for my smoothies and to make salads and sandwiches. Lately I have been watching the specials to buy summer berries and cantaloupe. I had no idea how much I loved raspberries until this summer. Amazing.
As a bonus I am going to throw out a muffin recipe. This recipe is not ‘healthy’ or by any means what one would call diet food. But that’s ok, because I am trying hard to distance myself from the mentality of thinking that I can’t have food because it has fat in it or it has too many calories. I am training for a half-marathon, and let me tell you I have been hungrier than I have ever been in my life, so a few extra calories are ok in moderation.
These muffins were made by the request of my co-worker Lisa. I love Lisa. She is usually the first person I see every morning when I get the Library. More often than not we are strangely wearing very similar outfits or color combinations. She is also a bright and cheery person who puts up very well with strange questions from library patrons such as “do you offer marriage counseling?” and “do you know where I can buy chairs here for a church in Mexico?” (These are real questions people).
So when I heard through the grapevine that Lisa’s birthday was today I asked her what I could bring her. She thought about it and then requested my “Healthy banana muffins”. I had made some variation of these before that had very little oil and were made with whole wheat flour, and Lisa really liked them. So, I went home got to work, and this is what came out.
Lisa’s Banana Honey Muffins
Ingredients:
Dry ingredients:
1 Cup flour (I used white wheat)
1 cup almond meal (if you don’t have this another cup of flour will do the same thing)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Wet ingredients:
1/2 cup honey
3 tsp coconut oil
2 tbsp molasses
2 egg whites
2 bananas
Directions
Pre-heat your oven to 300 degrees.
In one bowl mix together all the dry ingredients. If you would like you can sift them.
In another bowl combine the wet ingredients.
I used frozen bananas in this recipe. I made sure they were defrosted before I mixed them with the other wet ingredients. I let them sit out for a few hours in the refrigerator and then I microwaved them for 30 seconds.
I mixed all of the wet ingredients together well, almost whisking, before going on to the next step.
Next incorporate the wet ingredients with the dry. Mix only until the wet and dry are mixed. Be careful not to over mix.
Set out your muffin tin and grease it with or without liners. Fill each cup 3/4 of the way full.
Bake at 300 degree for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Number of Servings: 12
I have been talking to several people this week about my blog, and many times this same question has popped up….”What is a CSA?” Well what do you know, when I woke up this morning CNN had a video posted all about it.I immediately decided to get on here and post a quick little message about it to let people know.
I have yet to watch it yet, so I can not guarantee that it is of any great value.
I also wanted to post a specific link to the web-site of my CSA, Eden Creek Farm. I stumbled upon these people while looking for a CSA in the Dallas area. It happened to be a perfect fit because one of the pick-up locations is seriously 2 minutes from my house. I have had a great time using and diving in to my bag of produce every week. I paid one up front payment that seemed like a lot at the time, but when it is broken down week by week, and when you consider that everything I am getting is grown less than an hour from my house and it is completely organic, it is really quiet a bargain.
(picture from eden creek blog) (and yes, I have received several of those massive squash)
I encourage people to check out CSA’s. I know there are several others in the Dallas area, and probably most other places (I can’t vouch for Fritch though…..or Amarillo for that matter). It is a great way to make sure that you are always trying new things, because every week is a big surprise.
Rebekah
Because it is summer (a.k.a. it is so hot outside that I often have to wait for my car to cool down to touch my steering wheel)…I will post a simple summer salad. No cooking necessary.
Chickpea Vegetable Salad of Delight (yes, you must call it this every time you make it)
Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped cucumbers
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup minced cilantro
1 small jalapeno chopped (remove seeds to decrease heat)
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic (i used the kind from a jar)
2 tbs lime juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Directions
Drain and rinse your chickpeas. Put them aside in a large bowl.
Now collect all the vegetables that you are going to use and lined them up next to your cutting board. If you don’t have all the vegetables I listed, don’t worry about it. Use whatever you like and whatever you have around that will taste good raw.
Now collect all the vegetables that you are going to use and lined them up next to your cutting board. If you don’t have all the vegetables I listed, don’t worry about it. Use whatever you like and whatever you have around that will taste good raw.
Proceed to cut all of your vegetables to a size that is good for you. I don’t mind a rough chop, but I know some people like their vegetables cut a little finer.
Finely chop the jalapeno making sure to keep your hands protected. Make sure you don’t touch your eyes as well! Mince the cilantro using either a sharp kitchen knife, or clean kitchen scissors.
Add all of your chopped veggies to the bowl with the chickpeas. Now comes to time where you can be creative. I added olive oil, garlic and lime juice as a ‘dressing’. Feel free to sub any of those ingredients if you prefer different flavors.
Be creative with the spices as well. Perhaps you really like curry powder, give that a try! The spices I used are a fallback combination what I usually put on black beans that I thought might transfer well to chickpeas. I thought it tasted good.
Last, I sprinkled with feta cheese. I didn’t put too much on, but more would probably taste great!
I ate some of the right away, but I think salads like this always taste better the next day.
Some ideas on how to use this salad:
Use it as a protein rich side dish (last night my dinner was this salad, a sweet potato, and ½-cup bulgur)
Use as a topping for a green salad (today at lunch I put half a cup on top of spinach!)
Make a quesadilla with the ingredients and add shredded cheese.
Make rice or another grain and use salad as a topping.
Makes four generous servings.
Bonus: Adventures in cupcake land.
My lovely roommate Catlin and I embarked on making cupcakes for a baby shower last weekend. Catlin did about 85% of the grunt work and I just stood there and helped mix colors to create pink fondant. Enjoy. And yes we are available to cater private parties…
This is Lauren. The super cute baby mama whose shower was graced with the owl cupcakes.
Unfortunately I do not have the nutritional information on those. But I can let you know that we used a pound cake base for the cupcakes, and I really enjoyed the way it turned out!
I thought it would be a good time to introduce to my blog (and those who read it) some of my favorite food/health/junk food products.
I have branched away from eating too many packaged things because I feel like it is better for me to eat as much ‘real’ food as possible. When I say ‘real’ food I just mean the basic things that come out of the earth and that animals provide (fruit, veggies, grains, bread, yogurt, eggs, legumes…and whatnot).
With this all said there are some products out there that I do enjoy/endorse. I try to keep the processed food to a minimum, but hey a girl has to be allowed to have a few impulse buys at the grocery store.
This stuff is amazing (ha, hence the name). No, but seriously the first week I started adding a scoop of it to my smoothies I was amazed at the added energy and digestive health I was experiencing. Enough said, that might have been too much information for some people. Their website says,
“Our Chocolate Green SuperFood is a delicious chocolate drink powder to help you achieve your 5 to 9 daily servings of fruits and vegetables.
A full spectrum of alkalizing green superfoods, antioxidant rich fruits, and support herbs unite with organic Acai, Maca and Cacao to provide a powerful dose of whole food nutrition with a delicious dark chocolate taste. Complete with pre & probiotics and digestive enzymes to ensure rapid nutrient absorption and healthy digestion.”
I don’t drink this every day, but I sure feel good when I mix it into one of my big smoothies. I feel like I am drinking health (perhaps a slight exaggeration).
I love naturally more peanut butter number one because it tastes good. There is nothing to compare to a big spoonful of this mixed into my morning oatmeal. But another reason that it is so great is that it has flax seed and flax oil added to boost omega three levels and to add more fiber. This also contains wheat germ and egg whites, which I don’t even notice but hey why not. It comes in the style of natural peanut butter that you stir but it is different because it has the crunchy flaxseeds floating around in the mix as well. I highly recommend this if you are a PB fan!
I first found out about Crofters after reading through an Eat this, not that book. I checked it out at the store and have been a fan ever since. It costs a little more than welch’s or smuckers, but there is less sugar, and many varieties use all organic fruit. My current jar is the superfruit spread from North America and it is mixed with wild blueberries, cranberries, morello cherries, and red grapes. It is great!
Since starting Weight Watchers I have been afraid to eat fat. It’s one of the main themes of weight watchers to focus on eating low-fat. The plan has served me well, but, I still miss fat. That being said I ran across this earth balance natural ‘buttery’ spread. I was intrigued by the idea of once again having at least the flavor of butter in my life, so I tried it. It’s good. Not only that but it is also GMO free, and a good source of the “good fat” that I do need in my life.
There are several varieties of this almond milk, but I stick with the original unsweetened (because I really just don’t like sweet tasting drinks). 1 cup is 40 calories, and it serves my purposes (mostly smoothies) very well. I switched from soy milk to almond milk not too long ago after reading some information about the importance of not getting too much soy in your diet. I thought the milk would be an easy sub. I am actually not at all against regular cow’s milk, but I actually like how milk alternatives last longer in the fridge!
These packets of goodness saved my life when I was in my week long residency in the spring. Just eating one packet with some fruit and bread and almost enough for a whole meal. Not only that but Justin’s is delicious and organic. Who doesn’t love peanut (or almond) butter that you can just throw in your purse. I hear that Justin’s has recently come out with a chocolate flavored nut butter that I am dying to try.
These things are good. I have been on a bit of a carb kick lately, and these wonderful crackers have been with me every step of the way. They are crunchy, covered in delicious seeds and nuts, and have a really great ingredient list along with being organic. As if it couldn’t get any better, just wait. They are actually located here in Dallas! Dr. Cracker, if you want to drive your delivery truck to my apartment and drop of some crackers, I would not complain. At all. I hear they have a hummus flavor. It sounds delicious.
That’s funny. I agree, it really sucks to eat food that doesn’t taste good. These people at FSTG (lets keep it simple). Make some great chips. I found a coupon on them a few weeks ago that happened to intersect with a deal Whole Foods had going on that resulted in me getting some discounted chips. I am so impressed with their minimal ingredients that I am going to list them for their sweet potato flavored chip:
- Stone ground corn
- Sunflower/sallflower oil
- Sweet potato
- Corn bran
- Cane juice
- Sea salt
That is it. And they taste amazing. They are not a health food however, so I have to watch my portions closely on these guys.
More to come when I venture to the grocery store again!
(And no mom, that was not dirt underneath my fingernail in one of the pictures above. My hands are stained (along with my fingernails) from decorating owl cupcakes for a baby shower. I will put up pictures soon!)
Don’t let the name muffin full you, these muffins are not for breakfast. They were born out of the necessity to use spinach and not knowing the best way to do it. I love quinoa and this recipe just came to me when I was thinking about stuff I had around the house. I bought ‘0’ items to add to these ‘muffins’ and I believe that almost any combination of veggies would work wonderfully.
I bought a giant bag of quinoa last week at Costco. I don’t have a card, but a nice friend took pity on me and let me buy bulk under her membership. Costco is amazing. I don’t know how I lived all these years without it!
Here’s the recipe
Quinoa Veggie Muffins
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Ingredients:
1 cup dry quinoa, cooked (It would work great to have it cooked before you start)
1 onion chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
5 cups spinach, steamed or sautéed
1 can diced tomatoes with peppers, drained
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp cumin
¼ cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs
4 egg whites
Directions:
Cook the quinoa in either a pot or a rice cooker according to the directions on the bag. Remember quinoa has to be rinsed, or it has a bitter taste. Quinoa cooks at a 1 to 2 ratio quinoa to water.
Chop all of your vegetables, except the spinach.
Steam or satuee the spinach. There is a lot, so this might require doing it in batches, or in a really big pot.
Once quinoa is cooked (and cooled) combine with the onion, bell pepper, and spinach. Make sure your spinach is somewhat drained as the excess liquid could mess up the consistency of the mixture. Add the canned tomatoes and any other desired seasonings at this time.
Last, add the egg whites. You want to make sure the quinoa mixture is not too hot at this time, or the egg whites will cook on contact before they have been evenly distributed into the mixture.
Last grease your muffin tin or add liners. Evenly distribute the mixture to the 12 tins.
Then sprinkle the tops with whole wheat bread crumbs.
Bake for around 40 minutes, or until they look golden brown.
Number of Servings: 12
I call these muffins because I cooked them in a muffin tin, but they are actually not as solid as a true muffin. I tested one straight out of the oven and it stayed together pretty good, but part of the mixture stuck to the bottom. I also, did not use muffin liners. I refrigerated them overnight in the muffin tin, and they came out a lot easier when I was packing them for my lunch this morning. It’s a trial and error type thing.
Nutritionials:
Enjoy!
So I have learned SO much about healthy eating and living from reading other people’s blogs. I have especially loved finding and trying new and exciting recipes that bloggers have posted. I am happy to turn you on to some great health bloggers that have really inspired me. It is so much easier to eat healthy and have an active lifestyle when I can see it right in front of me!
A quick list of health blogger all-stars:
There are tons more, but these in particular have been great resources!
One recipe in particular that I have absolutely loved is Emily’s Vegan Black Bean Burger recipe. No, I have never met Emily, nor have I even commented on her blog but I know a good thing when I see one, and this burger is good! I have made big batches at the beginning of the week and I have used them for lunches and dinners heating them up to put on a bun, on top of a salad, or next to some roasted vegetables. You can find Emily’s original recipe on her blog, but below I will show you my version with a little Mexican twist!
Southwestern Black Bean Burgers
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Ingredients:
2 Cans black beans, well drained and rinsed
1 small onion, chopped
2 large carrots, grated
2 tbsp taco seasoning (or to taste)
1/2 cup dry oatmeal
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp lime juice
Directions:
Put the oatmeal in your food processor and mix 10-20 seconds until broken down coarsely. Next add the onion in and blend. At this point a paste will begin to form between the onion and the oatmeal. Now add ¾ of the rinsed beans, the carrots, and the taco seasoning and begin blending again. Through the top add the olive oil and lime juice while the mix is processing. This process might require a few minutes and breaks to scrape down the side to assure that all of the bean mixture blends together well. Last remove the bean mixture from the processor and place in a bowl. Add the remaining unmixed beans and stir until everything is incorporated.
Next grease a cookie sheet. Wet your hands and form six patties from the bean mixture. This might require wetting your hands several times while forming.
Cook the patties on one side for 20 minutes, flip and cook on the other side for another 20 minutes. 40 minutes total cooking time.
Let cool and enjoy!
No they are not beautiful, but I promise that they taste really good!
I have enjoyed these burgers on Arnold sandwich thins, English muffins, and just by themselves.
They can be grilled, but they require baking first to make sure all of the ingredients are mixed in.
Here is a quick look at the nutrition stats for each burger.
Great source of fiber and protein!
2 Weight Watchers point, for anyone who is counting.
Enjoy! Stay tuned for a post about a sweet treat and a great new original recipe!
Rebekah
Happy Monday!
I thought I would post my recipe for homemade granola. There are so many different ways you can go with granola. I love granola, and back in the days when I was eating whatever the heck i felt like, I always assumed that granola was a ‘health food’. I mean isn’t everything you can buy in bulk at whole foods healthy? While granola is usually harmless in small doses, I have figured out a way to make it even less of a diet danger.
Behold…almost fat free Cocoa Maple Granola
Ingredients:
3 cups Oatmeal
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 cup uncooked millet
1/4 cup ground flax meal
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1 cup original fiber one
2 tsp coconut oil
2 tbsp honey
Directions:
- Mix all of the dry ingredients except the flax meal together in a big bowl.
- Incorporate the maple syrup, honey, and coconut oil mixing together well.
- Spread granola on a foil lined baking sheet and distribute evenly.
- If desired, spray with water right before baking to aid in ‘stick-age’
- Bake for 45 minutes at 300 degrees stiring every 15 minutes. You might also want to spray with water the first time you stir. Because there is so little fat involved in this granola, the extra moisture from the water might help all the dry ingredients mesh with the oats, cereal, and almonds.
- Let cool completely before storing.
- Last stir in the flax seed meal.
- Makes 20, 1/4 cup servings.
- Great in a bowl with milk, or sprinkled on top of yogurt and fruit!
A few notes on ingredients. Pure maple syrup is really the best. It is a great natural sweetener and it is delicious in its pure (high fructose corn syrup free) state.
Some people might be unfamiliar with millet. Millet is a great grain that cooks up similar to rice. It is also one of the main ingredients in bird seed, so putting it into granola might be different to some. The millet gives the granola a good pop, because as the granola roasts the millet takes on a great flavor.
The flax seed is optional and it does nothing to enhance the flavor except adding a slight nutty taste perhaps. It is added for its nutritional benefits. I hear that it is best kept refrigerated, but I add it to my granola that I leave in a Tupperware on the counter.
The last perhaps unusual ingredient is Fiber One cereal. While I am not the biggest fan of fiber one, I think it adds a great crunch to this granola. One of the other main reasons that I add it is because I bought three boxes of it on sale at Save-a-Lot one day when it was on sale for $1 a box, and I am desperately trying to use it all up. It goes a long way. For anyone following Weight Watchers, 1/2 cup of fiber one original cereal is 0 points.
Also, there is no actual sugar in this granola, and some people might prefer it sweeter. If this is the case up the amounts of maple syrup or honey, or sprinkle it with your favorite form of sweetener. It is really a taste thing.
Nutritional stats-
Weight Watchers point value: 1
Nutritional stats of the recipe are thanks to spark recipes (A great resource on many levels).
For fun I thought I would compare it to a Kashi granola to see where mine stood.
Weight Watchers point value: 5 (for 1/4 a cup: 2)
This recipe is double the amount of mine, so comparing is a little tricky. Even with that though mine comes in lower in calories, fat and sugar. Not to mention it cost a lot less to make!
Be creative and try new things with granola. I don’t think I have every tried the same recipe twice!
Another recipe and product reviews coming soon!
Rebekah
