Category Archives: Health

Mar 13 2011

Week 3 of the experiment

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This week I didn’t order a basket.  I now wish I had.  It is hard to tell when you will run out of the veggies.  I still have 2 yellow squash (I forgot I had), 1 turnip, 4 apples, 2 cucumbers, and 2 oranges.  Last Monday when it was time to put in an order,  I had an abundance of veggies in the fridge and was afraid that if I ordered another basket for this week that I wouldn’t have room.  Now I’m afraid that I don’t have enough veggies to get through the week.  Sure, I still have the canned and frozen things that I canned last fall.  I’ve grown accustomed to having the fresh stuff on hand.  I heard that this week’s basket included some blackberries.  That would have been fun to have.  Oh, to have another cantaloupe (heard that was in there this week too).

This is what I’ve learned so far.  It is possible for our small family of 5 to go through a whole basket of food.  We have been eating more fruits and veggies.  This is making us think outside the box and be creative.

I still have some posts that I haven’t published yet.  I’ll keep telling you what we have done with what we got from last week’s basket.  Since I did not receive a basket this week,  I would like to know what you have done or plan to do.  That’ll give me some ideas for maybe next time.  In the meantime I’ll be putting my order in tomorrow.

Mar 11 2011

Spinach Salad

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I absolutely love eating spinach this way.  Eating it raw is the best way to get all the nutrients that spinach has to offer.  Spinach is high in folate, iron, vitamins A & C.  It is also a good source of fiber and magnesium.

This salad has spinach, lettuce and broccoli (what was left over from last weeks basket), red pepper, orange slices, and is topped off with honey sesame almonds.  The dressing is a creamy poppy seed.  Again my family wasn’t too keen on this, but they ate it without complaining too much.  I made a pretty big salad so there is a lot left over.  I can’t wait to have some for lunch today.  The almonds come from a store called Trader Joe’s.  We don’t have one in our area but Corey’s aunt and uncle live in Vancouver  WA where they do.  They will often send us a package with all the yummy stuff that we like to get from there.  I just chopped them up and sprinkled them on top of the salad.  My grandma would’ve made her own candied pecans and put those on.  It adds a different texture to the salad and makes a big difference.

Mar 10 2011

Acorn Squash Soup

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I have had this huge acorn squash sitting on my counter, staring at me, for a few days now.  So I decided to make some soup with it.  There is a recipe, from a friends blog, that I’ve been wanting to try.  So I sliced the acorn in half.  I scooped out it’s guts and popped it in the oven to roast.  It roasted for about an hour.  I separated the flesh from the skin and discarded the skin.  There was so much squash that I had to divide it (So I still have half a squash in my fridge).  I took  2 carrots, half an onion, and  1/2 inch ginger root and sauted them in a large sauce pan.  Then I added 3 cups of chicken stock brought it up to a boil.  Then I brought down the temp to a simmer.  I simmered it for about 30 minutes and added the squash and simmered for another 30 minutes.  I used a stick blender to blend it into a smooth texture.  Then I add a 1/2 cup of cream.

I really enjoyed this soup. I also really love squash.  My family, on the other hand, could have done without.  Levi took one bite and you would have thought I was trying to poison him.  I had only gave them a little so after they ate what they had I peeled and chopped two cucumbers.  They devoured the cucumbers in no time.  Corey impressed me.  He ate the soup and didn’t complain one bit.  After dinner I asked what he thought and he said that he doesn’t like squash.

Thanks KellyAnne for the recipe.  I really enjoyed this soup.  It’s really too bad I probably won’t get another chance to eat it again.  Meanwhile I still have half of a squash that, apparently, I have to eat all by myself.  Acorn Squash is a good source of Vitamin C.

Mar 9 2011

Tomato and Spinach Pizza

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Yummy Pizza

This is one of my favorite things to do with spinach and tomatoes.  I used to like pizza a lot. When you have children who want to eat it all the time pizza doesn’t sound so good anymore.  This puts a healthy twist on the pizza.  During the summer we like to grill this type of pizza and it is so yummy.  Since it is still too cold to grill outside we made due with the oven.  Instead of a tomato sauce we use a mixture of garlic and olive oil.  then we layer a little mozzarella , chopped fresh spinach, and sliced tomatoes.  We top all of that off with a little more cheese.  Put it in a 500 degree oven and bake for about 8 – 10 minutes.  We have to make a separate pizza for the kids (normal pepperoni and cheese), but Corey and I really enjoy eating this one.  I need to make it clear that I didn’t use tomatoes mentioned in the previous post for this meal.  I actually used the tomatoes from last week.  Tomatoes are high in Vitamins A and C.  They are also a good source of potassium.  Spinach is high in fiber, Vitamins A and C, iron, and folate.  It is also a good source of magnesium.  Your body needs iron for healthy blood and normal cell functioning.  Magnesium is necessary for healthy bones.

Mar 8 2011

Disappointing Tomatoes

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what's that fuzz on the tomato? Eww yuck!

This weeks basket doesn’t seem as fresh as last.  I’ve had some disappointing things happen with this one. First it was the over ripe mango.  Then last night while preparing dinner I noticed that 3 of this weeks tomatoes had mold growing on them.  I picked them up and they were soft and mushy.  I still had 2 tomatoes left from last week and they are still good.  That doesn’t seem right.  Last week I didn’t have anything go bad.  This week I’ve had 4 things go bad already.  I hope that this isn’t a trend.  I thought I needed to share both the good and bad that can happen with these baskets.  I still think that the basket is worth my money even with the mango and tomatoes going bad.

Mar 8 2011

Orange slices, Bananas, and Scones

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The kids didn’t have school Monday morning do to a teacher work day.  This gave me more time to work on breakfast.  This breakfast hits a soft spot for me.  Growing up my family owned a cabin in Warm Lake Idaho.  Every summer we would take off for a week each month and go to the cabin.  I have many great memories of this place.  One memory is of these scones.  My mom would always plan on having scones for at least one of the breakfasts while we were there.  She would buy a package of frozen rolls and let them thaw overnight.  Then in the morning she would flatten and fry them and serve them with honey and sugar.  They disappeared faster than she could make them.  The kids love these.  These scones are really just a fry bread and aren’t that healthy all by themselves.  So I sliced three oranges and  2 bananas for  the kids to eat along with the scones.  This breakfast was a success.  Nothing was left.  Oranges are high in vitamin C and are a good source or dietary fiber.  Bananas are a good source of fiber, vitamin C, and potassium.

Oranges and Bananas

Mar 7 2011

Cucumber Side Salad

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Sunday night I decided to make a cucumber salad to go with dinner.  Not something we have had before.  Usually when we eat cucumbers it’s in a green salad or just slices.  I peeled and sliced two cucumbers.  I went online to get a couple of ideas as to what to add and decided on one.  I chopped some green onions and then mixed together a couple of tablespoons of sour cream and ranch dressing.  I wasn’t very impressed with the salad.  It was really watery and lacked flavor.  I think I’ll probably get another chance on a cucumber salad.  Especially since I still have 5 cucumbers.  Everyone finished what was on their plate so the salad wasn’t too bad.  Levi was the one who liked it the most.  I think he ate more than half of the salad all by himself.   Cucumbers are a good source of vitamin C.

Levi on his fourths

Mar 6 2011

Bountiful Basket Week 2

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First off I would like to tell you what we have left of week one.  We have 2 tomatoes, 2 pears, 1 broccoli crown, 2lbs of butter ball potatoes, and a little bit of lettuce.  You might be wondering what happened to the coconut.  With much effort we opened it and drank the water and ate the flesh.  Nothing spectacular and not really worth the effort that it took.

Yesterday I picked up the second basket.  I was amazed at how different it turned out to be.  I was afraid I would end up with more broccoli, more asparagus, and another coconut.  Here is the inventory of what we received this week.

 

 

1 lb spinach               1 pineapple                   1.15lbs green beans

7 cucumbers              8 apples                        7 bananas

10 oranges                3 turnips                        3 yellow mangoes

1 acorn squash         2 yellow squash             4 tomatoes

This week if I had bought all of this at the grocery store it would have cost me $41.79.  This is a significant savings especially when I only spent $16.50.  I’m really excited to see the pineapple in the basket.  My family loves to eat fresh pineapple (I could eat it all by myself).  We have already consumed the mangoes.  I was really disappointed when I started peeling and chopping the mangoes because one was too ripe and had to be thrown away.  I think that I’m going to have a difficult time using all of the cucumbers.  I have never cooked a turnip so that will be the challenge this week.

So far this experiment has really helped put me in a different mindset.  I used to plan our meals base around what kind of protein we had in our freezer.  Now instead of protein I’m planning it around what fruits and veggies are in the fridge and need to be used up.  This past week I have consumed more fruits and veggies than I have had all winter long.  I’ll keep you posted on what happens this week.

Mar 4 2011

Fruit Salad for Breakfast

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Cantaloupe, Banana, pear, and Strawberries

Okay, I’m not a morning person.  I never have been and probably never will be.  I love to sleep in.  Unfortunately with young kids that isn’t as often as I would like.  Usually I drag myself out of bed and give myself just enough time to get the boys breakfast, make lunches, and see them off to school.  Then I’ll get Sophia dressed and fed.  I usually just have a small bowl of cereal.  Well Wednesday morning was something different.  On Tuesday night, while rummaging in the fridge for something good to eat, I discovered that I still had a cantaloupe hidden in the back of my fridge.  I decided to chop it up and have a small evening snack.  Then I put the rest of it back in the fridge.  After I got the boys off to school in the Morning I found the cantaloupe in the fridge.  A fruit salad sounded pretty tasty to me.  I took the cantaloupe, pear, strawberries, and banana (all from the basket) and mixed them all up.  It was really good.  Sophia ended up with second breakfast (she had oatmeal with her brothers).  I also had a piece of toast on the side.  This was perfect for my morning.  If I get more fruits in the next basket I’ll probably do the same thing.  Cantaloupe is high in vitamins A & C, and is a good source of folate.  Strawberries are high in vitamin C and folate.  Bananas are a good source of vitamin C, fiber, and potassium.  Pears are an excellent source of fiber and a good source of vitamin C.

Mar 3 2011

Broccoli

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We were given so much broccoli that I’ve been a little worried that I won’t be able to use it all.  Monday night for dinner I decided to make broccoli and cheese soup for dinner.  This is one of my favorite soups.  I really love to make bread bowls and eat the soup out of that.  My husband thought it would be better with some bread on the side.  So that is what we ended up doing.  I chopped and sauted about 1/2 cup of onions and then added about 2 cups of broccoli.  I added 3 cups of chicken stock (just enough to cover).  I brought it all to a boil.  I reduced the heat and let it simmer for about 30 minutes.  I then took my stick blender and blended it until it was smooth.  I added  a 1/2 cup of cream and 1/2 cup of cheese.  The soup had a really good flavor, but I was reminded why we don’t eat it very often.  Preston and Sophia didn’t have any problems eating the soup.  Levi, however, had to choke it down.  He kept complaining about how he didn’t like it.  I’m hoping with time that his opinion will change and we can at last enjoy this wonderful soup.  I used about half of the broccoli that was in the basket.  Since I boiled the broccoli it lost a lot of it’s nutritional value.  You can steam, microwave, and stir fry broccoli with no effect on it’s nutritional benefits. Broccoli when prepared right is high in vitamin C and  high in folate. Broccoli is also a good source of dietary fiber and potassium.

Broccoli and Cheese Soup