My First Juices!

My birthday is coming up, and for an early birthday present my Boyfriend gave me the money to get a juicer (which was on my birthday list!) I am happy to say that I purchased my juicer and have begun juicing! I made my first juice yesterday. It was delicious and consisted of 4 oranges, 4 lemons, 8 strawberries, 8 carrots and 2 inches of ginger. It was a bit on the sour side, because of the lemons. But from now on I intend to use half the number of lemons and make this juice regularly.


Today I made a second juice, a Green Juice. I juiced spinach, celery, kale, Swiss chard, 2 Granny Smith apples, 1 Gala apple, about 6 small strawberries and 2 carrots. At first I only intended to use green veggies and green apples... but I tasted it and decided that I needed some sweetness so then I added the carrots, red apple and strawberries.

I also noticed that my juicer didn't do too well with the Spinach or the kale. It actually just seemed to chop them up and dispense it into the pulp bin and didn't make much juice from these vegetables. This is something I need to look into! But overall, I'm excited that I've began juicing and I'm looking forward to incorporating juice into my diet.

And thanks Babe for the Birthday Gift :-)

How to Make Kale Chips

Kale chips are a simple easy to make! I made them for the first time recently, and plan to make them frequently to satisfy my salty chip fix. They were pretty good. 1 cup of kale provides you with more than enough vitamins and minerals: 134% of  your daily recommended Vitamin C, 684%  of recommended Vitamin K, 206% of recommended Vitamin A, 25% recommended Manganese among other nutrients. Kale is definitely a a good food choice to incorporate into your healthy diet.

1 bunch of kale
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Wash and dry your kale. The kale needs to be thoroughly dry.
3. Remove the stalks from the kale.
4. Cut or tear the kale into medium (about 1-2 inch) pieces
5. Put the kale into a bowl. Add the olive oil, salt, pepper and pumpkin seeds. Mix well with your fingers to make sure the kale is covered in oil and spices.
6. Spread the kale into a baking sheet or 2. You don't want the kale to be on top of each other; spread it out to single layer. You may need to roast your chips in batches because of space.
7. Put the kale into the oven. Roast for 5-10 minutes. Take your chips out when they are crispy but still green; you don't want your chips to turn brown
8. Enjoy!

*Recipe adapted from 50 Shades of Kale.

Eat Naked

Margaret Floyd, the author of Eat Naked

Do you CSA?

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. CSA embodies a special relationship that links farmers directly with the people, and provides fresh food, usually at low prices, to the community. With CSA, at the beginning of the season, people buy shares of a local farm's anticipated harvest and then receive weekly shares of the produce harvested that week. CSA seasons usually run from May or June to October or November. Some farms have extended growing seasons, which can include spring and winter; it's a great treat to find a Farm that offers CSA shares all year long. Often times you can get a large share or a small share (which may be very other week) to accommodate smaller households and larger families. A CSA subscription can be an amazing deal if you want to eat fresh, local and organic produce (and sometimes milk, eggs and meat) at a reasonable cost. It may very well be the difference between whether or not you can afford this quality and abundance of food.

I have found a farm offering CSA shares in my area all year long. The farm is Tangherini's Spring Street Farm located in Millis, MA ( http://www.tangerinisfarm.com/tangerini_farm_csa.htm ). Although, the  main season is already up and running, I plan on getting the Winter and Deep Winter CSA shares. It costs $400 for 4 months, so $100 per month for organic, local veggies for 4 people isn't bad at all. I truly love the idea of CSA; I am a big fan of buying things from local vendors and small businesses as opposed to buying them from big corporations. This way of shopping and spending money seems like a much more sustainable way of living. The food you get from CSA is also better for you. It is FRESH and local; it was harvested that week. It was picked at it's prime ripeness, which means it has the most vitamins and minerals; grocery store produce is picked early and hasn't had enough time to produce the maximum amount of nutrients. It is organic (sometimes... a farm offering CSA shares may or may not be organic, Tangerini's food is organically grown.), which means you don't have to be worried about consuming harmful chemicals.

In my opinion a CSA is truly a healthy, sustainable and affordable lifestyle choice. Check and see if there are any CSAs near you!