Fall CSA Week 5

Here's everything I got in my box! All items are listen below, starting at the top and moving left to right.

1. Magenta head lettuce
2. Mustard greens
3. Swiss chard
4. Sweet potatoes
5. Roc d'or beans
6. Italian parsley
7. Sweet peppers
8. Globe radishes
9. Assorted eggplant

The radishes and green pepper were eaten as snacks.

I roasted the roc d'or beans one day for lunch which, I have to say, is quickly becoming my favorite way to cook them. So good!

I roasted a lot of the sweet potatoes and we had them with fried eggs and a kale salad. I made a garlic-lemon tahini dressing for the salad and it was delish!

This dinner was actually plan C. The end result tasted good, but it looked mediocre at best. I roasted the eggplant and we had some leftover sweet potatoes from the night before. All of that went as as planned, but I was originally going to serve the eggplant and sweet potatoes with eggs. Then, I realized we were out of eggs, so I went with plan B: sausage. The only problem was, when I went to pull the sausage out to thaw it, I realized we didn't have any of that either. So, that brought me to plan C: ground pork. I added some Chinese five spice powder to the pork and made patties out of it. They actually ended up tasting really good, but the overall presentation wasn't my best work.

Pizza night was the same thing it's been for a few weeks now (red pepper pizza) and I'm ok with that because it's delicious! These particular peppers tasted awesome! I'm not sure of the variety, but I'm a fan. The head of lettuce got chopped up for salad.

We had egg biscuits this week, which is one of our favorite dinners. I sauteed the mustard greens as a topping and side dish. They were good, but I tried an experiment that didn't turn out so great. I was feeling a little lazy and decided to try cooking the mustard green leaves whole instead of stripping each one off it's stem and then chopping all the stems up. That was a mistake. It was just hard to chew the whole leaves, so I won't be taking that shortcut again.

And we finish things off with my favorite meal from the week! Some grated sweet potato, chickpeas, spices, and a few other things all got mixed together to make patties. We ate those with the bagged Swiss chard and topped it with a spicy peanut dressing.

Fall CSA Week 4

Here's the Week 4 box! Everything is listed below, starting at the top and moving from left to right.

1. Sweet potatoes
2. Magenta lettuce
3. Salad mix
4. Assorted eggplant
5. Fingerling potatoes
6. Italian parsley
7. Fresh back eyed peas
8. Okra
9. Jalapeno peppers (in the rubber band)
10. Sweet banana peppers

I'm sad to say, we did have some CSA casualties with this box. The okra and the parsley both ended up in the compost heap. It was just bad planning on my part. I hate when perfectly good food goes to waste, but it still happens sometimes.

The magenta lettuce, black eyed peas, and banana peppers all came together to make some yummy burrito bowls.

I roasted the eggplant and fingerling potatoes and served them with fried eggs. This meal wasn't great color-wise, but it tasted good. :D

We had eggs another night, this time scrambled, and enjoyed them with the salad mix (topped with a tahini dressing) and roasted sweet potatoes. This was my favorite meal of the week!

Fall CSA Week 5

Fall CSA Week 3

Here's everything from Week 3! Items are listed below, starting at the top and moving left to right.

1. Head lettuce
2. Salad mix
3. Sweet potatoes
4. Broccoli
5. Yellow Roc d'or beans
6. Mixed tomates
7. French breakfast radishes
8. Assorted eggplant
9. Assorted sweet peppers

I snacked on the tomatoes and radishes and added the sweet potatoes to our pile.

The head lettuce made a great salad with our weekly pizza and the salad mix stood in it's place with the leftovers. The red pepper went on our pizza.

I tried something different with the beans this week! I roasted them, along with some potatoes and served them with scrambled eggs. Roasting the beans made them a little crispier, which was nice.

Everything else ended up in this meal: honey mustard chicken and roasted vegetables. Basically, I roasted the chicken like I usually do, but brushed on a mixture of honey and Dijon mustard near the end. The broccoli, eggplant, and peppers all went in, along with some potatoes and Brussels sprouts I had picked up at the farmers' market.

Do you have a favorite roasted chicken recipe? Share in the comments below!

Fall CSA Week 4

Fall CSA Week 2

Week 2 includes some summer items and our first winter squash! Here's everything we got in our box! All items are listed below, starting at the top and moving left to right.

1. Salad mix
2. Delicata squash
3. Roc d'or beans
4. Assorted eggplant
5. Broccoli
6. Sweet potatoes
7. Heirloom German lunchbox tomatoes
8. Basil
9. Assorted hot peppers
10. Assorted Sweet peppers

I ate the tomatoes all by myself. I basically grabbed one whenever I walked by their box on the counter. :D

The delicata squash were roasted with some oil and a sprinkle of salt. Easy and delicious. I just made them kind of randomly to eat, not as part of any of our dinners.

The round eggplants stood in place of noodles in this eggplant lasagna-esque dish I made. It was actually supposed to be eggplant Parmesan rollatini, but I decided to try something different at the last minute and it turned out pretty good. We loaded up with salad to help balance everything out.

This is one of the best dinners I've made in a while. I cut up a whole chicken and marinated it in a mixture of soy sauce, water, ginger, and garlic. That baked in the oven while I sauteed the broccoli, half of the beans, some of the sweet peppers, and an onion. I also cooked down the chicken marinade to reduce it and kill any raw chicken nasties and then poured that over the veggies. So. freaking. good!

This is a repeat offender, so I'll be quick. I made our favorite veggie stew (again) and topped it with a fried egg (again). It's just so tasty! The dark purple eggplants, remaining beans, a couple sweet peppers, and the basil all went in.

To finish things off, we had our weekly pizza. The only thing from the CSA for this meal was the salad.

I'm holding back the sweet potatoes since they'll keep pretty well over the winter and the hot peppers are going into some homemade hot sauce. I've never made hot sauce before, so we'll see how that experiment goes. :)

And that wraps up week 2. I have to say, I'm starting to struggle with the eggplant situation. I won't definitely won't be sad to see them go.

What yummy food have been cooking lately? Let me know in the comments below?

Fall CSA Week 3

Preventing Holiday Weight Gain

The holidays is a time when a lot of us pack on some unwanted pounds. You can totally avoid holiday weight gain and still enjoy your favorite foods with this simple tip. [x_video type="16:9, 5:3, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2" m4v="" ogv="" poster="" hide_controls="" autoplay="" embed='' no_container="true"]

Fall CSA Week 1

Fall is in the air and the CSA posts are back! Now that our Fall CSA has started up, I'll be sharing everything we get and what I do with it each week. Thanks for all of the positive feedback I got on the Summer CSA series and requests to continue it in the fall. I truly appreciate it! Here's this week's box! All items are listed below, starting at the top and moving left to right.

1. Magenta head lettuce
2. Assorted eggplant
3. Assorted zucchini
4. Tomatoes
5. Yellow french filet beans
6. Okra
7. Dried black eyed peas
8. Poblano peppers
9. Banana peppers

I decided to keep the black eyed peas for later since they can store well for a while.

The lettuce made a great salad for pizza night. I dressed the salad with some homemade ranch, but didn't get a picture before my hubby started pouring ranch on the pizza. Haha! Hey, we've got to get back into the routine of these dinner pics.

I decided to take advantage of the last of the summer veggies by making one of our favorite recipes, a vegetable stew from the Local Flavors cookbook by Deborah Madison. Topped with a fried egg, it was perfection. The peppers, zucchini, half of the french filet beans, and a few tomatoes all went into this dinner.

Now on to the eggplant. It's not a favorite around here, but we've just got to work with it. This is actually one of the better recipes I've found for eggplant. It's an Eggplant Chickpea Stew from Local Flavors by Deborah Madison (it's a good cookbook!). The rest of the tomatoes went into this one as well.

And we'll finish this week off with a little dinner fail. Somehow I hadn't used the okra and the rest of the french filet beans. So, I sauteed them together and baked some sweet potatoes and that was dinner. It's not the most exciting (or balanced) meal we've ever had, but not every dinner is going to be great and that's ok.

Back to School: 2 Ways to Switch Up Your Sandwich Routine

A sandwich is the standard in many lunch boxes, but they can get boring. Here are 2 ways to switch up your sandwich routine this back to school season. [x_video type="16:9, 5:3, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2" m4v="" ogv="" poster="" hide_controls="" autoplay="" embed='' no_container="true"]

Back to School: Making Lunches Easier and Fun!

Back to school also means back to packing lunches. Here are some tips to make lunch packing and lunch eating easier and more fun. [x_video type="16:9, 5:3, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2" m4v="" ogv="" poster="" hide_controls="" autoplay="" embed='' no_container="true"]

Embrace Leftovers

Leftovers get a lot of hate, but I think they're awesome. They're easy and many foods actually taste better the next day. Find out if there's a microwave available to reheat things (in glass of course!). If there isn't once, pack things that taste good cold or use a thermos.

Get the Kids Involved

Kids always want more say-so in their life and lunch packing is  great way to give it to them. Letting a child make decisions about what goes in their lunch box makes them more excited about lunch time and more likely to eat what you've packed.

DIY Lunchables

Assembling food at the lunch table is fun and it also prevents things like sandwiches from getting soggy. Take the unhealthy, ultra processed store bought version and flip it on it's head by making your own at home.

Get Creative

Lunch can get boring as the year goes on and you get stuck in the habit of making the same things all the time. Switch up your normal fare by making things a little more interesting. Using a cookie cutter is a great way to transform your typical sandwich into stars, hearts, or whatever shapes you like!

Back to School: Healthy Lunch Basics

It's that time when everyone is getting ready for the new school year. To help you get ready, I'm giving you the basics to building a healthy lunch that will leave you feeling full and energized for the rest of the day. Whether you're packing for yourself, or someone else, these are some guidelines to keep in mind.

[x_video type="16:9, 5:3, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2" m4v="" ogv="" poster="" hide_controls="" autoplay="" embed=' no_container="true"]Protein

Protein is important because it helps you stay full after your meal. Now, for a lot of people, protein equals meat. And, while meat is a great source of protein, it isn't the only one out there. Beans, yogurt, cheese, eggs, nuts, and seeds are all protein sources as well. Getting away from a meat-centric mentality opens you up to a ton of lunch possibilities, so step away from the turkey sandwich and try something new!

Vegetables

The poor vegetable just doesn't get enough attention when it comes to packed lunches. Non-starchy veggies, like cucumbers, tomatoes, leafy greens, peppers, and carrots, should make up about half of your meal.

Starch

Starchy foods are an important part of the diet, but many people tend to go overboard with them. We always want to strive for a balance of all of the food groups so we're not getting too much of one thing and not enough of another. Grains, potatoes, corn, peas, and beans are all considered starchy foods, so keep that in mind when planning your lunch. Starchy foods should make up about a quarter of your meal.

Fruit

I see fruit as an optional item in your lunch. Fruits are great for you, but they do have a lot more sugar than veggies. For this reason, make sure you get your veggies in the meal first, and then add the fruit if you want it.

November 2013 Favorites

1. Dates + Peanut butter.
2. Essie Nail Polish in Fiji.
3. Coconuts Canda Wide Calf Riding Boots.
4. No Boundaries Seamless Sweater Leggings.

Watch the video below for my thoughts on everything and to hear about my not-so-favorite item for the month!

[youtube=http://youtu.be/39mlWETdq10]

What We Ate. Thanksgiving 2013.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  We had breakfast at our house with Jasen's parents and sister and then spent the afternoon with my fam. My cousin Allison made cute place cards this year. We were the Native Americans...

... and my cousins were the Pilgrims.

Here's my plate. I loaded up on roasted veggies (no surprise there), and got a sampling of other stuff, including mashed potatoes, a roll, organic beef, and cranberry sauce. I'm a lover of all things sour and the cranberry sauce is always made with me in mind. :)

For dessert, we had the option of cheesecake,

apple pie,

and pumpkin pie.

Jasen and I shared bites of all three.

What did you guys eat on Thanksgiving? I love to hear what's the same and what's different. Share in the comments below!

Thanksgiving Nail Polish Picks

1. Butter London Wallis. The olive tone of this polish makes it more interesting than your typical gold.
2. Essie Beyond Cozy. This one is for all of you out there that are only excited for Thanksgiving because, once its over, you can go into full Christmas mode.
3. Zoya Stacy. This is a burgundy that leans more red than the picture shows. Think of it as cranberry sauce on your nails.
4. OPI Ski Teal We Drop. We can't have all reds on this list, so I threw in something for all of the blue fans out there. This dark shade is much more wearable than some of the bright blues of spring and summer, so it's also great for those of you who are a little scared to stray away from reds and pinks.
5. Covergirl Timeless Rubies. Of all of the polishes on the list, this is the most obvious Thanksgiving choice. It's a gorgeous shimmery red-brown and, being a drug store option, is easy to find.

Thanksgiving Recipe Round-Up

With Thanksgiving only a couple weeks away, those of you who are hosting are probably working on your menu for the day. It can be a little overwhelming, so I've pulled together some of my favorite recipes to share. They all call for real, whole food (of course) and are also delicious!

1. The Bird. I've been making my turkey using this recipe for a few years now and it is always a big hit. Citrus in the cavity, plus frequent basting, results in moist breast meat and crazy good flavor. Use your own homemade chicken stock if you have it and try making the gravy with whole wheat flour instead. And, if you do happen to splurge on the white flour, I won't tell. It is a holiday after all. :)
2. Green Bean Casserole (minus the junk). This is actually a recipe for homemade cream of mushroom soup to use in any recipe that calls for the canned stuff. Try it this year in your favorite green bean casserole recipe! If you're in the market for a new version, Lisa posted one that doesn't use this cream of mushroom replacement just yesterday. I haven't had time to try it myself (obviously), but I thought I would add it in for anyone who is interested (Lisa's Green Bean Casserole).
3. Roasted Veggies = Delicious. You guys know this is my go-to preparation for any vegetable. It's simple and quite the crowd pleaser. Plus, it's flexible depending on which veggies are available at the market that week or the preferences of your guests.
4. Massage That Kale. This basic tutorial on how to make a massaged kale salad can be a great jumping off point. Start with the kale and then add in any toppings that you and your guests like. If you want, you could make a toppings bar so each person can make their own personal creation.
5. Have A Biscuit! I make these whole wheat biscuits all the time. If you want something more interesting than a plain biscuit, there is a recipe for cheddar garlic biscuits as well!
6. Cheesy Goodness. For many, mac and cheese is a must have at any holiday or family get together. I'll be honest, I haven't tried this recipe myself for the simple fact that I hate macaroni and cheese. However, everything this woman posts is good and I couldn't leave it off the list since I know it is something that so many people love.

I hope you find any or all of these recipes to be a nice addition to your Thanksgiving spread. They just go to show that you can enjoy all of your favorite foods if you skip the chemicals and go for the real thing! Happy eating!

Recipe: Beef and Bok Choy

This is a simple one-pot recipe that comes together quickly on a busy night. Bok choy can come in a variety of sizes, so feel free to substitute several of a smaller variety for the large one I used, if you like. Whatever you can find will work. There is some residual liquid in the pan after cooking, but not enough to make this a soup. We ate this dish out of bowls with spoons, but you could also serve it over rice, quinoa, or any other grain of your choice.

Beef with Bok Choy

makes makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds ground grass-fed beef

1 teaspoon paprika

1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, grated or minced

1 large head of boy choy, sliced into 1-inch ribbons (about 15 cups)

3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari

Directions

1. Heat a dutch oven or large skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, add ground beef and brown, about 10-15 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to medium and mix paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper into browned meat.
3. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
4. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
5. Add bok choy in batches, waiting until it is slightly wilted to accommodate more of the vegetable. Use tongs to distribute the leaves throughout the beef.
6. Once all of the bok choy has been added to the pot, stir in the soy sauce, cover, and cook until the bok choy is completely softened, 5-10 minutes depending on the toughness of the bok choy ribs.

October 2013 Favorites

1. Pumpkin Muffins.
2. Covergirl Nail Polish In Lingering Spice.
3. Covergirl Nail Polish in Timeless Rubies.
4. Unreal Candy.
5. Numi Organic Tea in Orange Spice.
6. Numi Organic Tea in Gunpowder Green.

If you want to hear more about my favorite things for October, be sure to watch the video below!

[youtube=http://youtu.be/rZCPrqMhGLc]

What are your favorite things from October? Share in the comments below!

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Overnight Oats

You guys might think I'm pumpkin spice crazy, but, be honest, you like it! I got a few requests for instructions on how to make this so here you go! [youtube=http://youtu.be/ZRsyn8Dh674]

Ingredients

1/3 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup plain yogurt

1/3 cup milk

1 tablespoon chia seeds

1-2 tablespoon apple butter

1/8-1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon*

1/16 teaspoon ground ginger*

1/32 teaspoon ground nutmeg*

1/32 teaspoon ground clove*

1/32 teaspoon ground cardamom*

Almonds and raisins to taste

*This is more to show how little I use rather than as a true measurement. I never actually measure the spices. Basically, I do a little sprinkle, especially with the ginger, nutmeg, clove, and cardamom. You just don't want to overdo it.

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Today's post is in keeping with the typical fall theme of pumpkin spice.  When making these cookies, I made sure to work with real ingredients, as usual. One thing I can't stand is those recipes (that you often see on Pinterest) where the image says something like "Easy Recipe With Only 2 Ingredients." It sounds interesting until you click and realize that one of the "ingredients" is a box of cake mix. Cake mix is not an ingredient people! I mean, it actually confuses me a bit. How hard is it to measure out flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices? The boxed stuff just doesn't seem that much more convenient to me, especially when you consider the quality of ingredients that are typically used.

Now that that's out of the way, on to the good stuff! These cookies are almost like baby cakes, as they have a delicate, fluffy texture. They're like soft, pillow-y clouds of pumpkin spice goodness. They're dessert, but not sickly sweet, and they are going fast at our house. :)

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

makes 36 cookies

Ingredients

2.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground clove

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 cup butter

1.25 cups unrefined can sugar, such as Sucanat

1/4 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, cardamom, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream together butter and sugar with a mixer.
4. Add maple syrup to butter and sugar mixture and mix until incorporated. Then add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
5. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing until fully incorporated.
6. Drop batter in heaping tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets. Baked for 15-18 minutes, or until done.

What kind of cookies do you prefer? Soft, chewy, or crunchy? Share in the comments below!

Getting Into The Halloween Spirit

With Halloween quickly approaching, today I want to share the YouTube love and direct you to some fun tutorials to help you celebrate! I'm a YouTube junkie and these are a few of the videos from my subscription feed that I thought y'all might like. Enjoy! 1. If you still need costume ideas, here are three that could be fun to try. Whether you want to go the scary, cute, or Duck Dynasty route is up to you.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6GuIVTtKd4] [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCo2JeRemOo] [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDFffxdyKtA]

2. I'm usually not a nail-art kinda gal, but holidays are the exception. These tutorials from MissJenFabulous are great for the beginners out there.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv0aNAgcci8]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH-AiccuFO8]

3. If you're more into crafting, I like this wreath tutorial from HeyKayli. It's pretty easy and could be completed in an afternoon. Skip to 1:49 if you just want to see the wreath part of the video.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFf_eiu27B0]

How To Have A Healthy Halloween

[youtube=http://youtu.be/Y_toL03vLQw]

Recipe: Just Apple Butter

Ever since I can remember, apple butter has been one of my favorite fall foods. However, most versions involve quite a bit of sugar. Now, I understand that the sugar does have a preservation quality, but eating traditional apple butter is so sweet it can give me a headache. Plus, as fast as I eat this stuff, there's no need to be worried about it going bad. In my version, I keep the peels on because peeling a poor fruit or vegetable when that peel is edible is just sad (and more work)! This obviously isn't as sweet as the apple butter you're used to, but I like it much better. With this recipe I can eat all I want with no worries.  Plus, the smell of the apples cooking is heavenly. It alone is reason enough to try this out.

I'll warn you, this apple butter is pretty intense in the spice department. I love cinnamon and all its friends, so I think it's perfect, but it might be wise to start with half the amounts listed for the spices and increase from there. Try it on toast (alone or with a nut butter) or mixed into oatmeal or yogurt.

Just Apple Butter

adapted from Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It by Karen Solomon

makes about 2 cups

Ingredients

3 pounds apples

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground clove

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Quarter and core apples. Arrange in a single layer on lightly oiled baking sheets or ones lined with parchment paper.
3. Roast apples for 2 hours, making sure to switch and rotate the baking sheets halfway through for even cooking.
4. Place cooked apples in a blender or food processor along with all other ingredients. Blend until smooth.