Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts

Monday, April 23, 2012

Salads are the Perfect Summer Food

Yes, I know it's only April, so technically not yet summer, but it sure feels like it down here in Eastern NC (and I'm sure it felt like that for all the Boston Marathon finishers!). I recently harvested a bunch of lettuce from my garden and we made huge salads for dinner. I thought I'd share mine with you:



Homegrown Lettuce & Spinach
Grape Tomatoes
Frozen Corn (cooked)
Black Beans (from a can)
Green Peppers
Cucumbers
Southwest Style Chicken (Deli Section)
Red Quinoa (leftovers from a previous meal)
Sliced Oven Roasted Almonds

I think I'd eat this every night if my husband was on board. Delicious, filling, and super easy! 

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

My Other Hobby (besides running of course)

From a very young age, my father had Jessica and I out in the garden helping him tend to the vegetables. This instilled in me a passion for fresh produce - from the garden to the table. We are lucky enough to have quite a decent sized yard, so I took advantage of that a few years ago and put in three raised beds to grow a variety of plants. This year, I've already harvested enough lettuce for 5 or 6 GIANT salads, about 40 large radishes, and my new favorite: Spinach:



For the past couple weeks, every morning, I wake up, water the garden while the Weasel eats her breakfast, and return with a large handful of spinach leaves for my smoothie. My husband refuses to even taste it, but I think it's quite possibly the best masked way to get your veggies early in the day:)


I use a cup of frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries), 1 or 2 kiwi, a Yoplait blueberry/pomegranate flavored yogurt, and the spinach. I top this with a little apple/carrot juice and some water and some chia seeds. It's a quick process and a delicious treat!


Note: If you add chia seeds, DO NOT let the smoothie sit unattended. It swells up into a fruity sludge of sorts and is a bit more difficult to stomach:)