Buying Local

I am still on vacation in Maine and loving it! The weather is gorgeous and the air is so fresh and clean! I keep driving past this seafood and farm stand on my way to the gym and today I decided to stop by and so glad that I did. The owner Roberta was amazing! She's about as sweet as the come. She took me out back and walked me through her garden and chatted about her life a bit. Did you ever meet someone that made an instant impression? (in a good way) Roberta did just that. I don't think she always had an easy breezy life but she seemed  so happy and content. I think we could all learn a little from Roberta. I picked up some onion, garlic, real maine maple syrup, celery, corn and broccoli for $15.00. Buy local people! Find out where your Farmers markets are in your area and go once a week and stock up on your fruits and veggies! Local farmers need your support! 

Eggplant 

Roberta

Broccoli

Pepper

Inside Roberta's store

Corn

Homemade jam

Corn on the Grill

Hope everyones safe and sound from Irene. As you know, I'm in Maine on vacation and we had some bad wind and weather for about two days and lost power for 24 hours. But we are now back up and running.

We had lots of friends and family over last week and my Sister-in-laws boyfriend Jim is the man on the grill. We picked up some local corn on the cob and Jim grilled  up a feast for us! The corn on the grill was a big hit!

Corn on the Grill:
Whatever amount of corn you need.
Butter or Earth Balance Spread
Aluminium Foil
Salt/Pepper

Pull down the husk from the corn without pulling it completely off. Leave husk on the bottom.
Rub with butter spread and salt/ pepper.
Place husk back on the cob.
Wrap in foil.
Cook on the grill for about 15-25 minutes.

Pull back husk

Spread butter and wrap in foil

Cook on the grill

Unwrap to eat.

And enjoy! 

Maine or Bust!

Photo Source: My Father-in-law

I'm on vacation! The pic above is from our deck. The air is so fresh and clean! Trying my hardest to eat clean and not drink too much! But I found a nice gym close by and running in the AM is also very meditating. Wed my Sister-in-law will take me to the Farmers Market. And I already found some hand picked wild blueberries. Buy local! Support your local farmers!

We Have a Winner!

Congrats to Aloha Molly! For winning Wildly Affordable Organic. Eat Fabulous Food, Get Healthy, and Save the Planet. All on $5.00 a Day.

Way to go Molly!

Doing something Good

My wonderful friend Wicki is involved in something great called http://www.justshea.com/ Just Shea is helping the 600,000 women who harvest shea in Ghana. Today Global Giving is having a fundraiser on-line today and all the funds raised today are matched .

It feels good to give big or small.  http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/protect-30000-womens-lives-in-ghana-now-join-us/

Free Giveaway!!!!!!

Photo Source:Amazon

Good Morning! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I know that organic foods are not cheap but I don't want you to be discouraged from making healthy choices. Promise me you'll start buying at farmers markets. You may not see big organic signs all over the place that say certified organic but if you talk to some of the vendors, you'll be pleasantly surprised that they are indeed organic. It's Very expensive as a farmer to become certified organic. Plus you can find out where your food comes from and reduce your carbon footprint at the same time. Buy in bulk! I bought at the farmers market in Union Square in NYC last week a 2 pound bag of organic black beans for 6 dollars. 2 pounds of beans will last you a while, much longer then a pound of meat. By cutting back on meat and dairy, meaning you don't have to eat it every day, you'll save money. Beans and quinoa are cheaper than meat and cheese. And please try to stay away from things that come out of a package. If I'm not mistaken cereal is up to 6.00 a box?? Make smoothies or oatmeal for breakfast. A pound of organic oats are much cheaper than 6.00. And healthier. Think about joining a CSA at the beginning of next summer. Most of them have payment plans. My CSA came out to be 9.00 a week for a box of organic veggies. Or you can always try growing your own. My sister-in-law and mother-in-law have a great garden of fresh organic veggies. Small changes can add up to something big. And remember EAT REAL FOOD. Eat lots of veggies and fruit, I promise you'll start to feel better all over.

I hope your getting the idea by now. But I want to leave you with one last thought. Pay a bit more for your food but EAT LESS.

OK! Ready for the giveaway??!?! Please leave in comments 1 thing you will start to change today to eat healthier. Maybe giving up soda? Or cutting back on packaged snacks for the kiddos. Or going vegan two days a week??? Winner will be picked at random by Wed morning and I will ship book out Thursday. Please check back on Wed when I announce winner so I can  email you for your shipping info. Good Luck!

Sweet Treat

I'm more of a salt over sugar kinda girl but every once and awhile I get a sweet tooth. And lately my sweet tooth has been full throttle. Instead of diving head first into a bottle of Nutella, I decided to take a healthier approach. Chocolate covered bananas! This is a great summer dessert that's not so bad for you. And they are easy to make with the kiddos.

Ingredients:
Bananas, cut into 1 inch pieces
Chocolate chips
A little almond milk (whatever milk you have in your fridge)

Directions:
Cut bananas into 1 inch pieces, place on a plate and put in the freezer for an hour. Next heat up your chocolate chips. You can do this in the microwave, add a splash of milk to smooth out. I heated mine over the stove. Stir your chips up and add a tablespoon of milk as needed and keep stirring till smooth.
Dip in your bananas (work fast) cover them with chocolate. You could then dip into chopped nuts or coconut or whatever topping you like. Place the bananas back on the plate and put in freezer for 15-20 minutes. That's it! Take them out and enjoy!

There's boiling water in the pot