Plans for the second half of 2012

It's funny how that, no matter how well you plan things, often life takes you off on little detours.  Sometimes if feels like my life is just one big detour.


I had plans.  Oh boy did I have plans.  I worked tirelessly to carefully plan a garden, so that I would have a pretty good yield this year.  I harvested seeds last year.  Got out my trusty Farmer's Almanac to calculate when to start my seeds.  Carefully I nurtured my lovely little seedlings, only to have another massacre like I did in 2010.  Yes, Ms. Phantom Bo-baggins (Known as Hell Kitty around these parts) decided to make my seedlings her play thing again. I am limited on my space, so I don't really have a place to put them where she can't get to them.  She leaves them alone for the longest time and then it's like she magically knows I'm hardening them up to put them out.  Then BAM, she goes on the attack!


I was dishearten by this little turn of events, but not down.  I still had my herbs, thriving nicely in my windowsill and my lettuce, rapidly growing in my boxes on my porch.  I went to Seattle for a week to visit my sister, leaving my son in charge of my green things, only to return to dead plants. *big sigh*


Okay, so, no real garden this year.  I am going to go to the nursery this weekend to buy a couple of heirloom tomato and several pepper plants. I can replant my herbs, so that is no biggie.  I guess this year I will do most of my purchasing from farmer's market.  I'm a little disappointed, but not thwarted on my other plans.


I plan to can this year.  I had big ideas, but now I'll just small scale it to a few items.  This weekend I plan on making some yummy Kimchi.  This can't be really canned, but can be saved in jars in the fridge for several months, so I'll make a big batch for me and a few people that have voiced interest.  This summer I also plan to can salsa, spaghetti sauce, sour kraut, pickles, and some vegetable soup.  I think this is manageable and will help me in my quest to eat 80/20 clean food.


I start juicing this week.  I'm not going to do the full cleansing diet like many of my friends and sister's family does, but I am going to use it as a meal replacement, several times a week.  This is part of my plan includes Meatless Monday.  If you are interested in incorporating a Meatless Monday in your life, be sure to check my friend Lisa's blog Manhattansway.com, where she gives good vegan advice and great recipes. I also plan to eat fish at least once a week and hopefully (crosses fingers) twice.  My big goal is to try to acquire a taste for salmon.  Used to, I could not eat any fish, with the exception of shellfish.  Yeah, a southern girl that does not eat catfish, is there such an animal?  I assure you there is. Fresh water fish is very much a don't with me.


Over the past ten years I have learned to eat several kinds of saltwater fish.  Recently I tried salmon again, via my sister's salmon salad, but nope, wasn't able to eat, but one mouthful.  I know it's good for me, so I am determined. I really want those omega 3's.  Stay tune on updates (I'm sure they will be amusing) on my progress with that.  I will also probably blog about my progress with juicing.


My sister and I plan on taking a trip to India in three years.  I have big ideas that part of this touring will be on bike.  I don't know if she's so much game for this idea, but I do plan to start training to ride long distances.  I am not interested in marathons or races, although my friend Donna is training for a triathlon this next year, which amazes me and I'm so rooting for her! Maybe one day we can do a bike tour somewhere together. I am so proud that we both have decided to keep challenging ourselves as we approach 50, instead of just resting on our laurels.


I am going to look at bikes this weekend.  I have my eye on a pretty mint green retro cruiser. One with a rack in back to carry a few groceries. As you can tell, I plan mostly to ride for pleasure, but would also like to increase my endurance for distance.  As I said, I am not interesting in being in racing, but I do have future plans to travel tour by bike and some of it will be long distance.  If any of you have any suggestions on how help me, please send them to the email attached to profile section of this blog.  I have great trips plan and this is one of my main obstacles.  I am determined though! If things work out, I may start taking my bike to work. No way will I be able to ride the full distance, but the bus has bike racks and I can ride that good little jot from the bus stop to work.  I may even start riding home from the bus terminal in the afternoon, instead of transferring to my second bus. The more I talk this out in my head, the more I like this idea. hmmmm


The weight continues to slowly come off, but this is how I planned.  I want to keep it off and maintain a healthy lifestyle. I feel so much better than I felt this time last year.  I am up for just about anything.  I look forward to some hiking soon and some bike rides down the River Trail with my son.  If you see me on my beautiful new mint green retro cruiser, be sure to wave!

Certified Organic vs Certified Naturally Grown: What's the difference?

The farmer's market season is upon us and I would like to take the time to clue you in on something that has confused several of my friends lately.  This morning I checked my email and one friend sent this message "Please explain to me the difference between "Certified Organic" and "Certified Naturally Grown" food? I recently went to the farmers market and found myself confused in which to buy."


After receiving this email I thought, wow, this is something I should have blogged about a long time ago, because it's a question I get asked a lot. Let's first talk about the organic farm movement. And if you aren't interested in a quick history lesson, jumped to the bottom of the article for your answer.


Organic farming is described by Wikipedia as "the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure,compost and biological pest control. Organic farming uses fertilizers and pesticides but excludes or strictly limits the use of manufactured (synthetic) fertilizers,pesticides (which include herbicides, insecticides and fungicides), plant growth regulators such as hormones, livestock antibiotics, food additives, genetically modified organisms,^[1] human sewage sludge, and nanomaterials.^[2]" 


In the early 20th century, with the invention of the internal combustion engine, research which lead to genetically altered hybrid seeds, and the introduction of nitrogen fertilizers, farming took a decided turn. After WWII came broad use of the pesticides and then in 1944, the US teamed up with Mexico and privately funded the Green Revolution. Basically the Green Revolution was the sharing of research and technology to increase agriculture production. This lead to the development of high-yielding variations of cereal grains, which in turned helped to save 'a billion of people' in under developed countries from starvation. 


But, while many were rejoicing in this 'wonderful' direction of agriculture, some people began to worry about the effects of these practices on people's health and the environment. In 1972, several independent organizations around the world banded together to create the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements.  


For quite awhile, the organic food movement was seen as 'faddish' and something only followed by those 'crunchy health food' types. But, in the past five years, with the shift in concern about the environment and people educating themselves and becoming more aware of the food they are consuming, organic food is becoming a regular staple on many tables. 


While much of the food labeled as 'organic' was truly what it claimed to be, some disreputable farmers/retailers where slapping that tag on non-organic food. This resulted in the movement for 'certified organic' governing parties, which set up guidelines and served as "watchdogs" to ensure that the public was really getting organic food.  


In 2002, the USDA National Organic Program went into effect.  In order to be 'certified organic' you had comply with the NOP.  And while the guidelines were great for big agriculture and offered the public protection and assurance, the cost and paperwork requirements was just too much for most small, local farmers comply.  While this helped to regulate organic farming and protect the consumer, it was almost a death nail in the movement for local, sustainable organic farming.  In response to this, small farmers banded together and formed the Certified Naturally Grown organization.  Just like the "Certified Organic" farmers, "Certified Naturally Grown" farmers do not use synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, of GMO seeds.  Basically this is a self governing organization the regulates and verifies that the food you are getting is organic. Just like the NOP, the CNG has strict guidelines and routinely inspects farms for compliance. 


So in a nutshell? What is the difference between 'Certified Organic' and 'Certified Naturally Grown' food?  Nothing more than the governing body that supplies the label.  It's all organic. One is not better than the other and some local farmers do have the 'Certified Organic' label, so don't have the misconception that buying "Certified Naturally Grown' is the only way to support local, small farms. My advice to you is to get to know your farmer.  This is why I love the Argenta Farmers Market.  All the farmers involved are certified local growers. 


I hope this blog helped to explain the labels you are encountering involving organic food.  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me and I will do my best find you an answer. Until next time, become aware of what you put into your body.  I am living proof that a change and  awareness can improve your health and general well being. 


1. wikipedia-organic farming
2. http://www.organic-nature-news.com/organic-farming.html
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Revolution
4. http://www.naturallygrown.org/

Argenta Farmer's Market

Strawberry Salad Made with Buttercrunch lettuce, radishes, green onions, and sweet Arkansas strawberries

This a a great time of the year for me.  Between my container garden and Argenta Farmer's Market, I'm in produce heaven.


Now I know some of my Central Arkansas friends are scratching their head going "Argenta who?"  Well let me educate you about the Farmer's Market scene in the central part of our state.  As you may know, there is a thriving Farmer's Market located in the River Market section of Little Rock.  A few years back, local farmers began to notice that big trucks were coming in with non local produce.  While some of it was the great, good farm produce we know and love, much of it was actually bulk produce and because of the sheer quantity, they were able to drastically undercut the prices of our local farmers.  What many customers were ending up with was the same variety of produce that you can buy at your local supermarket.  Since our poor local farmers, many of them certified organic or certified natural grower, where fighting to make a living, this practice of trucking in 'warehouse' produce seemed unfair and down right deceptive.  Ever vigilant, our local farmers banded together to start the Arkansas Certified Farmer's Market on the North Little Rock side of the river.  And this is how we ended up with two farmer's markets.

Now if you didn't know, North Little Rock used to be called Argenta and when the city started to revitalize the downtown section of our fair city, they reclaimed the name Argenta.  The Arkansas Certified Farmer's Market is located at 6th and Main St, downtown NLR, hence the name Argenta Farmer's Market. Clear as mud? Good, now let's get to the good stuff, pictures of all the goodies I picked up a couple of weeks ago.  I did not go this past week, because I am going out of town and did not stock up for this week.

The entire haul







 I hit the mother load! I'm going to give a shout out to my favorite farmers.

Fresh Farm Eggs and soap, lotion, and lip balm made from goat's milk from Tammy's Critters

Yummy cheese from Honeysuckle Lane out of Rose Bud

Some of the BEST honey ever, from a guy down the road from me at K-Bee Honey Farm.  

Wonderful Arkansas Strawberries

Lovely Produce from Kellogg Valley Farms

As you can see, I made out like a bandit.  I can tell you that my household made short work of most of my bounty.  You can bet I will be back there in a few weeks to restock on my return from vacation.  If you haven't experienced the farmer's market, you don't know what you are missing.  I promise you, there is nothing like fresh, local, organic veggies. And they are especially good when you know the guy that grew them and know for certain, he puts lots of love a pride into his crops. 

Green Ideas for Easter

I haven't had much time to blog lately.  Between work and the usual day to day grind, pretty much doing anything extra has been a real reach for me.

Today I am off for Good Friday (yay!) and have found that I have some spare time on my hands.  So I pulled out my trusty blog idea notebook and what is listed first on the list??? A Greener Easter!  What luck!

I had a whole list of pointers for a greener Easter, but I like to try them out first and take my own pictures, so that you guys can see first hand results of these hints.  I tend not to trust sites or blogs that have taken stories and pictures from other places.  I'm never sure they have tried them out themselves.  Not that they would lie, but, well, you guys know what I mean, right? You can trust that for the most part, most ideas that I post here will have been tried and tested by me and my crack team of testers. (In today's case, my testing companion is my 22 year old son.)

So let's get to it!  First, dying eggs. For many years my family and I have done the tried and true method of colored tablets dropped into dozens of coffee cups of water and vinegar.  Even though I have been very eco-minded for many years, this is one area in which I failed miserably.  I backslid and went for easy.  Then my son became too old for such things, so I really didn't have a reason to try out all the ideas I was finding in my research.

This past year, I again became excited about decorating for holidays and I had book marked a great link on naturally dying Easter eggs.  Today I am sharing that link, along with my personal results. http://chemistry.about.com/od/holidayhowtos/a/eastereggdyes.htm  I know that this method can be time consuming for most of you, so here are a few links for natural and eco-friendly coloring kits. http://www.moolka.com/jzv/prod?o=froogle&prodId=30755&gclid=CI7aluHOoK8CFe4DQAodly9DaQ or http://www.peapods.com/browse.cfm/nawaro-natural-egg-dying-kit-5-colors/4,1981.html.  Please note that I have not tried either of these products, but if any one of you do, please drop me a comment of what you think about them.

Now one of the biggest stumbling blocks green minded people encounter during Easter, the grass. 

That horrible plastic stuff you buy in the store is almost as bad has the icicles people hang on their Christmas trees every year. (I have been icicle free for three years now) Not only is it in no way recyclable, but it is also very hard on your vacuum cleaners!  Yes you can buy some bags of recycled basket filler, but why would you do this when you have easy, accessible items in your very own home?

A couple of the basket filler ideas I am offering you today, come via a couple of very crafty friends of mine.  One very green conscious friend saves pretty colored pages from magazines and shreds them up in her shredder to make Easter Basket Grass.  I don't have a shredder and the idea of hand cutting up all that paper makes me shiver, but I'm sure you can get the general idea of what this looks like it and I can assure you it works really well. And when the holiday is over, you can simply empty it in the recycle bin.  How's that for green?

Another great, simple, cheap, and GREEN idea, is to use cloth for your filler. If you are a creative sewing type (I still have aspirations, but that is one that is slow to come), you may have scraps of this material just lying around.  This is idea for delicate, girlie baskets.  Any pretty spring colored fabric will work, but if you have any left over tulle or organza, they make gorgeous baskets. You can also pick up fabric scraps for cheap at your local fabric store.  Another cool idea I have seen is the use of pastel bandannas, which make for a cute, fun basket. The best thing about these ideas? They are reusable year after year.

Today I am re-purposing some things I have around the house for my filler.  I save all that pretty tissue paper that people put in gift bags for me and I found this lovely shiny stuff that worked well in my basket.

                    But I am most excited about using this feather boa!  Isn't it adorable??

And now for the results of the eggs. Please note that I usually favor brown, cage free farm eggs, but for dying, I used plain ole white store bought eggs. 

For yellow I boiled one egg in turmeric. (now I wish I had done more)  It made it a very lovely shade of yellow, but the color adhered to the rough ends better and turned them into a rusty orange. Still, it makes for a pretty interesting egg, don't you think?

Next I used pomegranate juice and beet juice for pinks and reds.  The pomegranate did not turn out at all, possibly because I used a pomegranate cocktail and not a pure juice.  I had better success with the beet juice, resulting in this very pale pink and when left in longer, a darker, if speckled, pink.

When left in the grape juice for a short period of time, I got this great blue. And when left in much, much longer, (hours folks) it resulted in a deeper purplish blue.

All in all, I think this project was a success. I cold dyed most of my eggs, with the exception of the yellow one.  I think I might have ended up with deeper colors, had I boiled dyed them. Nevertheless,  I am overall satisfied with my little batch of pretty eggs.

I will keep experimenting through out the year to see what will make the best, naturally colored, eggs  possible.  I will be sure to share my findings with you next year.

I hope you all have a very Happy Easter and for my North Little Rock readers, remember the new recycling pick up starts next week.  Yes guys, that is what that huge, new, eyesore of a bin is for. So much more can be recycled now, check your lids for information or go here http://www.regionalrecycling.org/ to find out what to recycle and when your pick up dates are.  For my Park Hill neighbors, that's April 9th.  Make a green girl happy and let me see all those green and yellow bins line the street!

Diet is a Four Letter Word: However,I Love My Diet!

                                     


In mid September,  I began a quest to become slimmer and healthier.  The challenge was to find a 'diet' that I would stick with and that would not be so strict, that I would become frustrated or bored with it.

Now, I have done the Adkins diet, the South Beach diet, the Mediterranean diet, the Cabbage Soup diet, the AHA diet (by far the worst and impossible to keep doing it for very long period of time), and many, many others.  The only one I had half a chance of sticking to was the Mediterranean diet, because most of the food on this one was flavorful, if sparse. See, I like food.  No, check that, I LOVE food. I am a foodie, lock, stock, and barrel.  This is partly the reason I ended up in this predicament. Food isn't just sustenance to me, food is my hobby, my comfort, my way to relax, my way to celebrate, my way to show love. Put simply, food is a part of me.

How does a 'foodie' stick with a diet when the food is basically tasteless, sparse, and repetitive? This has been my conundrum for many years. However, in my quest to eat fresher, local, and sometimes self grown, I have dug up recipes from my Mediterranean and Sonoma diet books, which both emphasizes the preparation of food, using seasonal and local ingredients, while avoiding processed or prepackaged foods.  So when I  decided to create a plan that would work for me, part of my homework was already done.

Now let's get to heart of the issue with me and that four letter word DIET. Diet to me, means suffering. It means denying myself something that I really want and torturing myself with foods, that frankly, I would rather go hungry than eat.  So I had to do a little mental work first and combat my phobia of diets.  To start with, I decided that a diet wouldn't work at all.  Because diet, to me, has such a negative meaning  that I tend to self sabotage or avoided dieting all together.  Dieting means to fail and this time, I was not going to fail.

So I reflected on the things that worked for me in the past.  Things that satisfied me, appealed to the foodie in me.  I realized that food is an event in my life and try as I may, that was never going to change.   So I decided to quit looking as food as a negative.  Bad, wrong, forbidden and make my deep love of food a good thing.  So no dieting.  Instead, I was going to formulate a lifetime way of eating that not only could I live with, but I would be excited about.

Years ago, I was a patient at an Eating Disorder Clinic.  One of the first things I learned from the helpful staff was, to control your weight, no matter what diet you are on, there is only one important thing you need to really be aware of: How many calories you take in verses how many calories you expend.  It's simple mathematics.  The more calories you take in, the more activity you need to do to burn those calories.  High protein or high carb diets are not sustainable, or even healthy for you for long periods of time. With this in mind, I had to finally face the fact that I was A: eating way to many calories, many of them empty, non nourishing, and B: that I have a very sedentary lifestyle, seeing that I sit at a computer for 10-12 hours a day.   So I did some research, found out how many calories I need to maintain my present weight and how many calories I needed to consume to lose 1-2 lbs a week.  I was actually a little shocked to find that I was allowed quite a bit more than I assumed.  Now all I needed to do, was make myself eat food that was better for me and would be worth more nutritionally and to get my butt moving.

Now that I had my calorie allowance and scheduled two exercise classes per week, it was time to deal with the food.  I did an incredible about of research and found that I don't have to eat food that is tasteless, repetitive, and minimal.  What I needed to do is become aware of the cost of things calorie wise and to change my way of thinking.  Was fast or easy, and the time it saved me, really worth the cost I was incurring in other areas in my life?

Since food is my hobby and I already did a lot of searching for recipes in magazines, cookbooks, and online sources, I challenged myself to find great recipes, with mostly fresh ingredients, that are healthy, as well as low calorie. It wasn't long before I struck the mother load. You have no idea how many great sources there are out there for fantastic recipes. I currently subscribe to several great magazines, such as Cooking Light and Eating Well, and also read loads of blogs, but my favorites are Mother Rimmy's Cooking Light Done Right, Cheap Healthy Good and The Picky Eater.  What I have discovered is that I can have amazingly good food, still remaining the consummate foodie, while eating my way into good health.  Healthy does not have to equal blah.

I eat awesomely good food.  Food that not only tastes out of this world, but looks stunning on the plate.  My best friend teases that I make food art and I guess I do.  I am so proud of my creations, that I send pictures to her and my mom, to brag about my dazzling meals and their low calorie count.

I have my favorite recipes, but mostly I change it up and make sure I have variety.  I have stretched some and made dishes, using ingredients that I would not have normally considered before. Fennel and lentils now show up in regular rotation.  I also try to eat a lot of in season produce and of course, if possible, local.  There is something about knowing the farmer, the land, and the farming methods that give you a special sort of peace of mind.  Most of my farming friends grow organic veggies that are far superior in taste and quality, than much of what I can get at my local big name store.

I get asked a lot about the cost and the time.  I'll address the cost first.  Sure, good ingredients cost more than the processed or mass produced stuff.  And have you looked out the price of organic, hormone free meat???!! It's simply criminal!! But I have learned to watch for sales and freeze my quality meat. I have also gotten out of the habit of buying a lot of stuff by bulk, that will only spoil before using, instead choosing to shop more often for produce in smaller, usable quantities. I plan my meals for two weeks, choosing recipes that will use a lot of common ingredients, and calculate exactly the amount that I need, so there is no waste.  Carrots can find themselves shredded into a a sloppy joe mix, roasted with a chicken, or cut up into a soup.  Right now I am doing the same thing with fresh herbs, until I can get my herb garden going again.

Another thing I do to even out the cost of my groceries is to cut down how often I eat out.  Sure it seems cheap to go to fast food restaurant, buying more for your buck at the dollar menu,  but in the end what do you have? Crappy food that makes you feel horrible and will only last one meal.  The meals I make can feed me for days.  What I don't eat, I freeze and take to work for lunch. And let me tell you, I eat very well.  Almost everyday I eat like a gourmet.  I have actually found that I'm not spending any more in the long run.

Now about the time.  Sure, it's more time consuming to chop, stew, saute, braise, grill and roast, than to throw something in the microwave,  but a lot of time I prepare several meals, or prep ingredients on the weekend, to make my work week easier.  And don't forget about those homemade meals I have packaged up,labeled (with contents, calories and date frozen), and stored in the deep freeze.  I can pull a couple of those out, warm them up, make a quick salad or fresh side dish and voila', a quick, easy, scrumptious, but most importantly, a healthy meal!

I love the whole experience of cooking, so preparing these meals are kind of a stress reliever for me.  Since I have embraced this new life plan, I am 30 lbs lighter, a heck of a lot healthier, and so very much happier on the whole.  I will blog more about this subject later.  Expect recipes and pictures, but until next time, keep it simple, attempt to be greener, and do something productive that you love. Bon Appetit!