Green Backpacks

Weather you send your kid to school, or keep them home, this time of year is when many of us are looking for school supplies to get our kids back into the school routine.  It can be difficult to make greener decisions, especially when there's a huge markup on green items.  The other day I was at Walmart, and they had their regular note books on sale for 15 cents, while the greener equivalent was $2.50.  That makes life hard.

I've tried to put together some green finds I've found just searching over the internet to hopefully help you make greener choices.

My first find was this Terracycle Recycled Drinkbox Bookbag.   For only $14.99 that's a comparable price for a bookbag.

Bazura makes a great lunch bag with a similar design, also made out of drink boxes.  They are made from a co-op of women in the phillipines, and are fair trade.  At $15.95 they are also something worth considering.

Have an older kid heading off to highschool, or looking for a cute bag for yourself?  Try this Hemp Backpack from the Hemp sisters.  Retailing for only $47.95, it's a little more of a stretch, but in my mind not out of reach.  Definitely something to consider.

For those of you not familiar with hemp, it is a plant closely related to cannibus, but lacking in the chemical to get you high.  So don't worry about your teen trying to smoke the backpack, it won't work.  Sadly hemp is illegal in the U.S. and most of the hemp here comes from Canada.  

Hope this helps you getting started on your back to school adventures with the kiddos.  Green can be affordable if you look hard enough.

Choosing a new Pediatrician

I've been in Colorado for a little over a month now, and I'm just getting around to getting a new pediatrician.  I procrastinate, I know.  I have a particular kind of doctor in mind though that I want for my children.  I've looked around at sites to find some good interview questions for our "meet and greet" session with a local pediatrician.

Here are some things I'm looking for in order of importance.

1. A strong philosophy of wellness connected to food.  I want a doctor that will help me give my children the best possible nutrition and agree with my pickiness when it comes to my children's diets.  It is my strongest belief that a child's health is tied to their diets, and how little or much processed junk they eat.

2. A schedule that isn't over booked.  This is a deal breaker, and it's difficult to find.  I can't tell you how often I've waited hours to see a doctor.  No more, I will look for a doctor who will respect my time.  Bottom line.

3. Some people want older doctors for their experience, some want younger because they're fresh out of school.  I want neither.  I want someone my age who is still passionate about their job.  I want to know how they stay current with medical trends, if they are a follower or someone who thinks for themselves.  I want a doctor who is a parent, and I will ask him/her how old their kids are.

4.  A clean waiting room, that's divided for well children, and sick children.  My last pediatrician did not have this, but otherwise I loved them.  I can't say this is a deal breaker, but it's a very nice perk.  If there are sick kids in the waiting room, I just keep my kids occupied with a book, instead of playing with the toys offered.


Here is a list of my questions that I will have ready for the doctor.

1. Do you have hospital affiliations, and which ones?  There is a hospital less then two miles from my house.  If this doctor is not affiliated with it, then it's not the right doctor for me.
2. Do you have a basic knowledge of herbal remedies, or homeopathic remedies?  A doctor who is clueless as to what herbs do what to me is leaving out a huge chunk of healthy medicine for children.
3. How long have you been in practice?  Do you have children of your own?  Why did you decide to become a pediatrician?  I know these are personal questions, but how the doctor responds can say much about his or her character and philosophies.
4. Do you have back up physicians for your patients while you are on vacation or otherwise unavailable?  What are they like?

What are some things you look for in a pediatrician?  Be sure to join my BlogFrog conversation about pediatrician too. :)

Don't forget to enter into my Giveaway!

Linking back to:

Follow me back Tuesday
Tuesday Train
Tuesday Tag Along
Trailing Tuesdays

Menu Plan Monday

Well, first week of our new diet/work out plan is over and we have some totals.  Earlier this week, we weighed in on Friday, and I had a 7lb difference.  However Sunday evening, some of that seemed to be back.  This passed week, my total weigh loss was 5lbs.  I'm not sure if that is going to be typical, or what, but it's not a bad start.

Also, some of our dinners this week will be coming from Anni Daulter's book, Organically Raised. If you or anyone you know has little ones, enter my giveaway to get your own free copy of the book. :)

Anyway, here is the menu for this week.

Monday: Rosemary Chicken Thighs with cooked carrots and taters.

Tuesday:  Pan-seared halibut w/ lemon caper sauce and  linguine (from Anni's book)

Wednesday: Tomato/basil sauce with chicken and penne (another from Anni)

Thursday:  Speghetti and home made garlic bread.

Friday: Homemade Pizza

Going to be a busy week in the kitchen!  Have a great week everyone.  Don't forget to get in on the giveaway!

Sunday in My City

This weekend the weather has been so perfect, we decided to explore some of the parks around here to see what each one has to offer.  There are so many parks that I think it would take us a year to visit them all.  Here are a few shots of what we found while we were out exploring.

I'm still getting used to the idea of there not being trees everywhere.  A walk in the park in Virginia is very much going into a forest.  It's a welcoming, comforting environment I miss.  The open grasslands are beautiful, but to me still unsettling.

We found a new playground that's almost in walking distance of our house.  It's a long walk for little feet, so we drove there yesterday.  

Sweet Potato Cakes

The first recipe we tried from Anni's Organically raised was the sweet potato cakes.  I let my children sit down with the cook book to pick what they wanted to try first.  As they ooh'd and aah'd over the very cute photos in the book, the two of them settled on the sweet potato cakes.

My kids are very different.  My son is not a picky eater, and he is typically willing to try anything once.  My daughter on the other hand is a macaroni and cheese connoisseur since that's just about all she eats.  She was willing to try this recipe because she was involved with the process.  We went to whole foods together, and picked out the organic vegetable ingredients.  She felt so proud with her child size grocery cart.

In the end, she ate a few of these, and that says a lot for her.  If it's not macaroni and cheese, it's pretty much not worth her time.  Anni's recipes incorporate ingredients that simply taste good, good choices of cheeses and pan fried onions really took this simple recipe to the next level.  They were also delicious cold, which was perfect for in between meal snacks.

My son loved these so much he asked if I could make them on his birthday.  He says, "They are cakes afterall."  He ate most of these, stuffed himself silly like a growing boy should.  We're excited to try more recipes.  I keep trying to hide from my daughter that there is a macaroni and cheese recipe in here.  I'll make it for her soon. :)

Don't forget to enter into my giveaway for Anni's book, Organically Raised!

Building a Fairy Garden

Last weekend my daughter and I finally made it to Lowe's to start working on our fairy garden.  We started off by trying to pick plants with little flowers.  In the end though I let her pick what she wanted to plant, so some of them ended up a little big.

We started off by putting a plant that resembled a tree.  I'm not really sure what it is we got, it was a house plant from the inside.  I've heard of people taking tea trees and snipping them to keep them stunted.  Honestly, I don't think I have the time for that this summer, so we kept it simple.

Next we planted the flowers she picked out.  We had gotten a small bag of pink glass rocks from Michael's which along with our miniature furniture would be our next step.

In the end we ended up with pink and white flowers.  A bench seated directly under the "tree" and a small bowl to hold water for the fairies to cool themselves off if needed.  My daughter's responsibility is to go out every morning and water her flowers. She loves doing this.  She'll go in and rearrange the rocks too.

I've seen all kinds of websites with miniature fairy furniture.  I've also seen fairy gardens with beautiful mossy grass.  In Virginia, I had hoped to grow some moss myself since I had some growing in odd places in my yard.  However here in Colorado I don't have access to any at the moment.  This is definitely a work in progress for both me and my daughter.  TGIF everyone.

Organically Raised -- The official giveaway!

This is the official post for my latest giveaway, Organically Raised by Anni Daulter.

On Tuesday I did a review on Anni's book, Organically Raised.  I feel so fortunate to have a spare copy of this book that I can share with you.

Here are the rules:

Every entry must have it's own unique comment below.

1.  First entry is to leave a comment.

2. Second is to follow my blog. 

(this counts if you already are a follower!)

3. Third entry is to follow my blog on my facebook page.

4. Follow Anni on twitter here.

5. Follow Anni's facebook page here.

There is a max of five entries and each entry must have it's own comment below.

The winner will be picked on Monday August 2nd, at 10:00pm EST.

Best of luck to all!

.

Organically Raised -- A book review

A few weeks ago I was approached by author Anni Daulter to do a review about her new book, Organically Raised.  I'm always thrilled to meet mom's with a similar outlook on food and children as I do, and I knew by the title, she was just that person.

Let me take you back seven and a half years.  My son was born in the middle of winter, and I was a working mom.  I was a full time high school teacher who had just had the biggest life changing moment in my life: Motherhood.  I immediately wanted to give my son the healthiest start in life that I could.  Life is hard, and I knew with good eating habits his life would not be as hard as some.  Organic foods hadn't hit the typical grocery shelves, so I had to search off the beaten path at the tiny "Natural Foods Stores."  Most farmers in Northern Virginia at the time had not started to make the transition to a pesticide free way of farming, so even the farmer's market at times was a bust.  I learned as I went, hunting down things when I could.  Most people thought I was crazy.

Fast forward now to present day.  Less people think I'm crazy, and after family and friends did their own research,  I've received apologies.  We are a whole foods organic household, bottom line.  My kids know it, and are proud of it.  So what does this have to do with this book?

Anni's book is the epitome of this.  Why should you eat organic? Why antibiotic free meat?  Does your household diets change with the seasons?  Have you ever tasted conventional baby food?  It's nasty!

If your a new mother or a seasoned mom of many, you need this book.   There are baby food recipes, but there are many healthy homemade recipes for older kids too.  It's never too late to start healthy eating habits.

I spoke of my own experiences because I couldn't help but to think that I wish I had this book seven and a half years ago.  It answers the simple questions like, when to start introducing your child to solid foods, and offers suggestions as to what to try.  Her philosophy on making baby food that actually tastes good instead of the tasteless stuff sold at the store.  This book is filled with peaceful "mama mantras" to use while your cooking as well.  I know that our future hopefully holds at least one more baby, and I'm so glad to say that I have a spare copy of this book to share with you.

This Thursday, I'll be sharing some of my own cooking adventures with Anni's book, and I'll be hosting a giveaway so you get to see this beautiful book first hand.

For more information on Anni and her books check out her blog and her book website:


http://www.annidaulter.com/
http://www.organicallyraisedcookbook.com/

Green America's Green Grants Contest

Click here to vote for your favorite project to win a green grant.

Spread the word on your blogs!

Menu Plan Monday

Hubs and I are starting a new diet plan this week, along with a work out.  Beginning next week, I'll be posting how much weight I'm loosing along with the diet.  This week, starts at zero with the goal being 60 pounds lost.  I think it will take me most of a year or more to loose that weight in a healthy way, so stick with me.  We have a rigorous work out plan scheduled too, so I'm sure I'll be sore for like...ever.

Anyway, for the next few weeks we'll be increasing our protein, and watching our portions.  We had a fantastic mushroom egg white omelet this morning.  Maybe more pictures to come.  :)

Anyway, here's our psuedo plan for the week. I say that because it always changes. :)

Monday: Salmon, asparagus, and red pepper soup.
Tuesday: Chicken, rice, side salad
Wednesday: Shrimp Stir Fry
Thursday: Lettuce burgers, red pepper soup (leftover)
Friday: Lemon pepper Cod, left over asparagus
Saturday: Grilled tuna steak, side salad, cold cucumber soup
Sunday: Roasted Chicken

Simple ways to reduce in the kitchen

Any of my regular readers know, I'm not a fancy gourmet cook.  I use ingredients that are available to me, and that I believe are typical in the American cabinet.  In the last year though, I've made the decision to do most of the food processing in my own home.  Earlier this week, I posted about making jam in the kitchen.  It is a long process, and it took me most of the morning that day.  In the end though, doing the processing myself I've taken a step to reduce.

For conventional jams and jellies, fruit is picked at the farm (wherever that farm may be), and it is shipped to a plant for processing.  Smucker's for example is a very popular jelly, and I can only assume they get most of their fruit from California (they aren't very transparent as to where things come from, eeek!).  Then it is likely shipped to their plant in either Ohio, or Kentucky, and then it is shipped to you.  How much gas and resources is wasted just to have your jelly go all over the country?!

On top of that, the average jelly has high fructose corn syrup, and other preservatives that are unnatural and difficult to pronounce.  I know what's in mine, and I know there are no bugs, chinese abscorbic acid or any other nasties in it either.

Another thing I've recently cut out is ziplock bags.  I marinated some chicken the other day (local I might add!) and I mixed the marinade in a measuring cup, laid the chicken in the bowl, and poured the marinade over it.  I covered it with recycled foil, and stuck it in the fridge.  I don't need a petroleum laced plastic bag, and it's one less thing that will end up in a land fill.  Also, my chicken still has the bone in it.  I rarely buy boneless anymore, it reduces the cost, it reduces the processing, and it reduces the waste.  Freeze the bones to make chicken broth at a later time and you've just saved more money.  Who needs MSG/sodium laced bouillon cubes when you've got flavorful homemade broth?

It is simple to do your part to help the environment in the kitchen.  When done right, you'll save yourself money too.  Have a great Saturday. :)

Corn!

The other day I was at Target grabbing some stuff with my kids, and I noticed the corn on the cob was on sale for 10 cents each.  What a deal right?   I march on over, and I'm disheartened.  I grab a corn, and I pull the husk down a ways to check it.  Each one of them had a nasty inside.  Squished, moldy random kernels stuffed between mostly healthy looking corn.  Not sure what was going on there, but I walked away.  Their corn wasn't worth my dime.

It's a good thing I waited too.  I went to whole foods later that night, and they had theirs a bit more expensive but they were very good quality. Before I go on any further, if you're still using canned or frozen corn when it's in season, let me reach through your monitor and slap some sense into you.  Enjoy it fresh while you can!

Whether your getting your fresh corn on the cob from the super market, or the farmer's market, you need to pull down the husk and make sure you're getting some good corn.  Push on a kernel, if it pops with yummy sweetness, you're getting a fresh ready to eat delicious cob.  If it's dry, or discolored, put it back.  When you get home, store your corn in the fridge and keep it in the husk until you're ready to prepare it for eating.

Once you're ready to prepare the corn, peal the husk back and remove all the fibers.  I tend to rub the corn just to get the extra fibers off.  Then I wrap the corn with a pad of butter in recycled aluminum foil, and I cook them for about 30 minutes on 375.

You have probably the most simple side you could possibly ask for.  Kids love it because they get to eat with their hands.  Here is a picture of dinner the other night before it got put on the table.  Strawberries and bananas were our easy hands on dessert.  Yum.

So what's your favorite corn recipe?

Strawberry Jam

This week organic strawberries were on sale, so I thought now would be a perfect time to make some strawberry jam.  They were half price, making them cheaper then conventional strawberries if you can believe it. Strawberries are a part of that dirty dozen, so getting organic here is a must.

For this recipe you need about three packages of strawberries (there will be some left over for munching).  You will need canning tools, a stock pot, a large pot to sterilize clean glass mason jars, pectin, and lemon juice.  I took plenty of pictures because I'm still playing with my new toy, so enjoy. ;)

Start off by washing and draining your organic strawberries. Pictured here is about two and a half packages of strawberries.  You'll want to cut the stem out and cut them in half.  Then if you have kids, put them to work with the mashing.  I highly suggest hand mashing these with a potato smasher, and not putting them in the food processor.  I love finding little chunks of strawberry in my jam, it's like a little yummy treasure on your toast in the morning.  So, don't think you need to be perfect here, chunks are ok.

Both of my children helped smash this morning, but my son is pictured here. If you recruit your kids to help, be prepared to tell them not to eat the berries.  They both took quite a few while mashing.  Kids love to help out though, and such a sense of pride they feel when they eat what they've helped make.

Pour your mashed strawberries into a cold stock pot.  Add your lemon juice, and pectin while everything is cold.  Stir it together before turning on the heat.  Once it's well blended, turn the heat on medium and slowly add in your first cup of sugar (we use organic).  Slowly pour in the sugar stirring it in while your pour.  As the jam heats up, add in your second cup, again slowly as your stir.  The third cup is optional, and it won't change the safety of your jam, however it will gel up better the more sugar you add.  I personally add three cups to my strawberry jam.  Typical recipes call for 5 to 8 cups, but that's just way too sweet for me.  Because of that, my jam turns out less stiff, but then you can give it fancy names like "spreadable fruit."  It's still jam, and it's just the way we like it.

Once the jam begins to constantly boil, set the timer for about ten minutes and stir constantly.  Use a funnel to pour the jam in sterilized mason jars.  Wipe the edge of the jars with a clean towel before securing the lids.  Then set the jars back in the large pot of water for processing.  Here in the suburbs of Boulder, I have to add time to the processing because I'm a mile up from sea level.  So I left them going for about 25 minutes.  You should check your altitude to make sure you don't have to make any adjustments.

There is my finished product.  I ended up with two half pint jars, and two jelly jars, and then a half a jelly jar that got put in the fridge immediately.  Here is my final recipe. 

Four cups of mashed strawberries.

2 tablespoons of organic lemon juice.

One box of pectin

3 cups of sugar

Enjoy!!

Get Real -- a book review

Earlier this month I was approached by Running Press to write a review about Mara Rockliff's newest book Get Real.  This book's target audience is for teens and preteens,  presumably age 10 and up.

Rockliff brings serious issues on the table from, the truth in advertising, where your favorite clothes, food, even candy come from.  She discusses genetically modified food, factory farming, and what fair trade market is.  She explains the power of the consumer dollar, and how our purchases effect the market.  This book is an easy text of what every consumer should know.  Yourself included.

What I like the most about this book is that she's not lecturing.  She's explaining, and in simple terms that your preteen, or teenager can understand.  She gives vivid examples of poverty around the world, ones that I believe will hit home with kids.  You will want to discuss this book with your child should you get it, and I highly suggest you do.  It's overwhelming to begin being green (it's not easy being green...sorry I had to), many people don't know where to start, so they don't.

I can't recommend this book enough.  It has information everyone needs to know, especially children.  This book is packed full of wisdom that will help your child make better consumer decisions as they mature into adulthood.

About the author: When she's not spreading dangerous ideas, Mara Rockliff can be spotted loading up on books at her town library, biking to a nearby farm for fresh ingredients for homemade ice cream, or fixing yet another mug of fair trade tea.  In real life, she lives in eastern Pennsylvania with her family.  Online, you'll find her at http://mararockliff.com/getreal.html.

Versatile Blog Award

On Saturday I was nominated for the Versatile Blog Award from Julia over at Live, Laugh, Love. I'm always so surprised and grateful when I recieve an award.  It's so nice to get some feedback!  Thank you Julia! :)

The rules for this award are as follows:

First, thank the person who gave it to you.

Tell 7 things about yourself.

Lastly, pass the award on to 15 bloggers whom you have recently discovered, and think are fantastic.

Well, super easy!

First I'll talk about me.

1. I'm not a girly girl.  I don't love pink, and I don't mind getting dirty.

2. I love the feel of mud between my toes.

3. I have creative energy.  It's probably why I'm a musician by profession, and if I'm not kept creatively busy, I get in trouble.

4. Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy.

5. I love cooking.  I don't buy prepackaged foods, and I feel a huge sense of accomplishment by being creative in the kitchen.

6. I feel comforted by trees, and being in a wooded area.  I'm also comforted by mountains.  I've always wondered why.

7. I love winter. Summer in Boulder though is lovely.

Now on for the 15 new blogs that I've recently found.

1. Going Green with Noah.

2. 33 Shades of Green 

3. Wooly Moss Roots. 

4. Domestic Witch 

5.The Simple Green Frugal Co-op 

6. Wild Faerie Caps 

7. Freakshow Minus the Tent 

8. Twelve Crafts Till Christmas 

9. A Mom Writing 

10.Trees will Bend 

11. Your World: Healthy and Natural 

12. Natural Mommie 

13. Cook. Eat. Think. 

14. Alewives Girl 

15.Tightwad 

Whew!  Congrats to everyone.  I've been enjoying reading up on what you've been up to!

Menu Plan Monday -- Summer food ideas

Still unpacking, and still learning the lay of the land.  I feel a bit out of sorts not having a garden anymore.  I'd be getting ready to can or pick at my garden every day.  I'm considering volunteering at some of the local farms here.  They say they always need capable hands, and I need my zen.  I miss gardening.

Well, for the menu this week we're going to be doing some of our summer favorites.  We don't own a grill, but I have a pan that mimics a grill, so we'll be grilling some local grown chicken legs this week.  I bought a new camera last week, and hopefully it will be delivered tomorrow, so maybe I'll get some really nice pictures of stuff to share this week too.  Well, anyway...here's our food for this week.

Monday: Gazpacho with home made bread and cream cheese.
Tuesday: Grilled Chicken and home made coleslaw.
Wednesday: Tomatoes au Gratin (p. 242 Preserving Summer's Bounty)
Thursday: Spaghetti (with homemade fresh tomatoes)
Friday: Homemade pizza with fresh tomato sauce, and fresh basil
Saturday: Shrimp on a stick and corn on the cob!
Sunday: Grilled Salmon and rice

I am also getting a watermelon to chop up and share with the family this week.  It's supposed to be a beautiful temperate week here in Boulder, so I think lots of outdoor trips to the park, and "pseudo beach" are called for.

Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu

Before I left Virginia, a friend of mine gave me a beautiful present.  It was a book, of the Tao Te Ching.  I was excited to get it, and I have slowly meditated on these poems to try to find my own spiritual meaning behind them.  It was explained to me not to read the entire book from front to cover, but to read each page individually, and try to understand the meaning behind each one.

Currently, I've just finished the third poem.  It's interesting, because I believe it embodies one of the pet peaves I have in people.  I've always been turned off by people who talk about their good deeds.  As if to brag about how good of a person they are.  Or if someone is wealthy, they discuss the coolest thing they just got...possibly creating jealousy in the listener.

Here is a snippet of the third poem:

The wise person sets an example by
emptying her mind,
opening her heart,
relaxing her ambitions,
relinquishing her desires,
cultivating her character.
Having conquered her own cunning and cravings, she can't be manipulated by anyone.

She can't be manipulated by anyone...


The Tao Te Ching is one of the more influential books in the Chinese philosophy/religion called Taoism.

Green Household cleaners

When the kids and I arrived at the apartment about two weeks ago, I had to go out and purchase some new cleaners.  Hubs took me to the closest Target and I got J.R. Watkin's brand cleaners along with some white vinegar.  I have used the all purpose cleaner before, and I love it.  It smells wonderful, and it's perfect for cleaning up my wood table after meal times. I had hoped the rest of their line would be just as good, but I'm afraid it isn't so.

The toilet cleaner is fine, and if vinegar and baking soda won't do the trick for you, try this.  After I'm finished with this bottle, odds are I'm going back to vinegar and baking soda.  What I'm really disappointed with his the dish soap.  It doesn't go far at all, it hardly makes bubbles, and in two weeks time, you can see how much I've used.  I have a dishwasher too, so this is just for the odd dishes that either need soaking or are not dishwasher safe.  This is by far the worst plant based dish soap I've tried.

So what's your favorite green cleaning product?

Inspiration needed

I'm feeling blah today, and I need inspiration.  When we moved, we lost about a thousand square feet of living space.  I'm overwhelmed with the lack of space, and how much crap I still have even though I purged like a mad woman.  I have no garden, which was always my zen, so I found myself looking at green/garden blogs and I was inspired. It was this picture that inspired me the most, because I can still container garden.

Maybe I'm a kid, I don't know but I was pulled in by this picture and the article it came from.  Around lunchtime, I took the kids out and let them ride their bikes and scooters while I planted some lettuce of my own.  Normally in Virginia I wouldn't dream of planting lettuce this time of year, but I think out here in Colorado it might be ok.  The next two days it won't get above 75 so hopefully they'll have time to sprout.

I bought some basil last week, which is what you see already growing.  I plan on getting my money's worth out of that sucker.  Maybe when it gets a bit bigger I'll show you how easy it is to grow basil from a clipping.  It's probably one of the easiest plants to get started that way.  Nothing needed but water.  Hopefully I'll still get some container gardening in this season before it gets too cold.

Now back to my regularly scheduled unpacking, hair pulling schedule.

Menu Plan Monday

This will be a lazy week this week, well...at least today is.  Yesterday was so full, I'm still recovering, so I'm keeping it simple today.  I hope everyone enjoyed their Forth of July celebrations.









Monday: Breakfast for dinner, eggs, biscuits and sausage gravy.
Tuesday: Chili and corn bread
Wednesday: Spaghetti with home made garlic bread
Thursday: Taco Salad (with left over chili)
Friday: Chicken Cowboy Bake


The weekend is up in the air, hopefully I won't be doing much of the cooking.  Happy Monday!

Winner!

We have a winner!!

Congratulations to Eidolons over at Wild Faerie Caps for winning.  An e-mail has been sent, so please get in touch with me as soon as possible so I can get it sent out to you.

Thank you to everyone who entered.  This was a fun giveaway, and my kids still ask me every morning to do their yoga.  Christi has a fantastic program, and I hope you'll consider purchasing it!

Summer Food

This week we made bruschetta with some lovely Roma tomatoes we got this past week. Summer tomatoes are absolutely the best. We ended up making multiple meals with the recipe I linked on Monday on my menu plan.

 The bruschetta turned out great, we managed to find some purple garlic at whole foods.  This time of year usually it's just the garlic scapes that would be found at the farmer's market.  Don't be afraid of the scapes!  They're a little milder in garlic flavor, but they are very good.

This was Monday night's dinner, and leftover lunch for Tuesday.  Tuesday evening I made some pizza dough in the bread maker and we had pizza.  I used the bruschetta as the adult topping and left the kids side plain.  Topped with a spring mix salad and you have a cheap easy organic dinner, that's healthy too.

I don't think I'd be hired at a restaurant for making pretty pizza, but there wasn't any left overs on Tuesday.  So what are your favorite summer recipes?