These last few weekends of summer are so important to me. It’s a time to get that last bit of freedom in before the school year starts. A couple of weekends ago, I went with a friend to the farmer’s market. We had such a good time chatting with the farmers about their gorgeous produce. I purchased colorful, ripe produce that smelled lovely. I couldn’t wait to get home to sauté up some veggies. My favorite dish thus far? A farmer’s market squash and tomato sauté with egg on top. Yum! Continue reading Farmers Market Squash and Tomato Sauté with Egg→
The postings on this site are my own (unless otherwise stated) and don't necessarily represent any other organization's positions, strategies or opinions. Thanks!
We are in the thick of summer. Here in Dallas, the temperature is in the hundreds. It’s warm, and the attitude is a more laid back. In the heart of lazy summer, is there a way to be creatively productive while you enjoy a laid back attitude? Try these four strategies. Continue reading What have you been doing on lazy summer days?→
The postings on this site are my own (unless otherwise stated) and don't necessarily represent any other organization's positions, strategies or opinions. Thanks!
The postings on this site are my own (unless otherwise stated) and don't necessarily represent any other organization's positions, strategies or opinions. Thanks!
With The Royal Wedding just days away, remember: you don’t have to be royal to feel pampered! In the spirit of all things royal, check out this post about 12 ways that you can give yourself the royal treatment this week. And who knows? These creative ways to treat yourself might just help you be a little bit more productive at the same time. Continue reading 12 ways to give yourself the royal treatment this week→
The postings on this site are my own (unless otherwise stated) and don't necessarily represent any other organization's positions, strategies or opinions. Thanks!
Stress is a funny thing. Sometimes, mental and emotional stress takes the form of physical stress. It can make you as tired as if you have run a long distance. It can make you physically sore. And, stress can self-perpetuate. Think about when you have a quick bout of anxiety – like a close call in a car or bus. Do you tense your shoulders and neck? Over time, long-term stress makes us tense all over.
The postings on this site are my own (unless otherwise stated) and don't necessarily represent any other organization's positions, strategies or opinions. Thanks!
Have you had a hard week? We’ve all been there. Many of us, after a hard day or week, turn to the pantry, the candy aisle, or the ice-cream shop for a treat. Instead of treating yourself to calories, here are a dozen calorie-free treats that you can reward yourself after a hard week. Continue reading 12 calorie-free treats to reward yourself after a hard week→
The postings on this site are my own (unless otherwise stated) and don't necessarily represent any other organization's positions, strategies or opinions. Thanks!
Our chickens lay colorful eggs- naturally. During a weekend when some of us are coloring our eggs, I wanted to write a post about chickens that lay naturally colorful eggs. Continue reading Naturally Colorful Eggs→
The postings on this site are my own (unless otherwise stated) and don't necessarily represent any other organization's positions, strategies or opinions. Thanks!
Have you tried a meal subscription service? I travelled for business this week. I decided that instead of rushing to the grocery store after flying home mid-week, that I’d try a meal subscription service. I was a bit skeptical of these services at first – was the food really that good? Was it really that easy? In this post, I’ll tell you all about it.
What is a meal subscription service? There are a number of them out there. The company provides a list of recipes at the beginning of the week that you can choose from, and then they buy, prepare, package, and deliver the ingredients to your house. It’s your job to take the ingredients and follow the recipe to cook the meal.
Here are 10 pros and 5 cons for a meal subscription service.
Let’s first get the cons out of the way.
1. The service isn’t cheap. Without a coupon, it costs about $65 for 3, 2-person meals. So, a little more than $10 per meal. If I cook for myself by shopping smart at the grocery store (see: cooking on a budget for tips and tricks), some of my meals can cost less than $5 per meal. You are paying for the convenience and the ingredient preparation that the service is providing.
2. Many of the options offer refined grains. I used the service Sunbasket for my meals. While there were some options for whole grains, the default rice was white (not brown) rice, and the default pasta and couscous option was white not whole grain. You really have to make an effort to incorporate whole grains. For example, I chose the lamb meatballs with persian tomato rice this week, and I ended up swapping out the white rice they gave me for the brown rice I already had in my pantry.
3. More veggies, please. Y’all know that I aim to eat 7-9 servings of fruits and veggies a day. So when I got the meals that only had a small portion of veggies, I reached into my freezer and steamed up a side of veggies to go with the meal. So, as long as you have a freezer stocked with frozen produce, the sauces that the recipes make go really well on top of steamed veggies.
4. The extra packaging is not eco friendly. There is a lot of packaging that comes with the delivery. I totally understand why – the company is wanting to make the ingredients as easy to use as possible. But, going to the grocery store and using reusable bags definitely seems like a more eco-friendly choice.
5. Only a few leftovers. When I cook, I try to make enough to have leftovers (at least for lunch the next day). I found that with these meals, you tend to have fewer leftovers for future meals. While the prevents food waste, it also prevents me from extending the dollars I spend on the meals.
Now, for the pros of a meal subscription service
1. Convenience. That’s right. This service was darn right convenient to use. It was easy to set up, easy to choose the meals, and the recipes were relatively easy to follow. I got home at 8:00 on a Tuesday night from a business trip, and didn’t have to rush to the grocery store to make a meal. And, the rest of the week did not consist of me trying to piece together ingredients from the fridge, freezer, and pantry… everything was already there for me.
2. Lots of choices. I think this is true for many meal subscription services, but certainly for the one I chose was full of choices. They offered a number of choices for each type of diet as well – vegan, vegetarian, mediterranean, and even gluten-free.
3. Many of the meals were healthy (and yummy). Depending on your choices, there were many options with less than 600 calories per meal, and they offered the nutritional information to help you make healthy choices around sodium and added sugars as well.
4. Organic and sustainable options. As a part of my food philosophy, I only eat sustainable meat. Sunbasket was a great option for me to eat sustainably.
5. Cook time was accurate. Each recipe has an estimated cooking time. I found the time to be accurate (I chose recipes that took 30-45 minutes to cook). Worked really well for weeknight meals.
6. Great way to introduce new ingredients (or make you use ingredients you don’t normally buy). You know those ingredients that you’d like to try but are so expensive to buy the entire jar, box, or bag? The good news is that with this service, you can get a sampling of these herbs or spices as a part of your meal. I love to cook with fresh herbs, but especially in the winter it’s expensive to buy them fresh and you have to remember to use them up! This service gives you just enough of each herb for the recipe.
7. Exciting new ideas and tastes. The service can expand your pallet and cooking repertoire. For example, this week I made Persian tamarind salmon. The recipe called for barberries. First of all, that is a tough ingredient to find in my local store and second, I wouldn’t know how to use it in a recipe. This not only taught me how to use it, but gave me ideas for future use!
8. Gets you out of a cooking rut. Sometimes I find myself cooking the same thing over and over. This service gives you new ideas for cooking, and new ways to put ingredients together.
9. Very little food waste. Since most everything comes pre-cut (not herbs or onion, btw), there are very few food scraps. While most folks see this as a positive, I do tend to like veggie scraps because our chickens eat them.
10. Your portions are controlled. If you have a challenge with eating a little too much, the good news about this service is that it will keep your portions controlled. you will know how many calories and nutrients come with each portion, and you aren’t risking eating more than you expect.
The verdict on meal subscription service? I found that for the most part, the subscription service I chose was a convenient way to cook homemade meals when time was tight to go to the grocery.
Note: I noticed on my account the other day that if I refer a friend (that means you!) that you get $40 off of your first delivery and I also get $40 off of my next delivery. Feel free to use my coupon code for the discount! I was not approached by Sunbasket to write this post (this isn’t a sponsored post), but I do get a discount if you decide to try this meal subscription (after you consider the above pro’s and con’s).
The postings on this site are my own (unless otherwise stated) and don't necessarily represent any other organization's positions, strategies or opinions. Thanks!
Many of us catch spring fever in March. It’s a time when winter begins to appear in your rear view mirror. Some days are warm, some days are cold. It’s stormy and sunny all in one month. This is the time of year when you can really get geared up for gardening.
Here are 6 simple steps to get you geared up for gardening this year.
Learn.
Find a local garden show to get connected with gardening experts in the area. I attended the Arkansas Garden Show with my mom last weekend. It was a great education in all things gardening. There were horticulturists, fermentation experts, backyard chicken growers, and even honeybee enthusiasts! If you can’t find a local garden show, check out your local cooperative extension to get tips.
Plan.
Check out the farmer’s almanac to predict the last frost. Instructions on when to plant in your garden is related to the last frost in your area. For example, I plan to plant cucumbers 1-2 weeks before last frost (about now where I live in north Texas). And, start a pinterest board to give you gardening ideas. From a simple herb garden on your windowsill to a full-out pollinator garden, the possibilities are endless.
Compost.
The key to a successful garden is healthy, rich soil. An effective way to get healthy soil is to compost. Compost is organic matter that you can use to fertilize the garden (without chemical fertilizer). We throw away our fruit and veggie scraps (that don’t go to the chickens) on our countertop compost tin, and once it gets full we take it to a larger compost bin that stays on our back patio.
Till.
My veggie garden is still pretty young, and therefore I am adding organic garden soil to it each season. It’s important to till the garden to introduce oxygen into the soil. Adding garden soil and compost to the ground will add nutrients as well. Our chickens are natural tillers (and provide manure as well). They have been scratching and pecking in our dormant veggie garden all winter, which has been enriching our soil.
Shop.
I recommend finding a local nursery that specializes in organic veggies and local plants (shout out to North Haven Gardens in Dallas). Local nurseries can give you advice for gardening in your area.
Seed.
I am going to try my hand at planting seeds this year. It’s less expensive, and I went to a workshop at the garden show about how to plant seeds without a greenhouse… I’m excited to give it a try.
How do you get geared up for gardening season? Let me know in the comments!
The postings on this site are my own (unless otherwise stated) and don't necessarily represent any other organization's positions, strategies or opinions. Thanks!
The other week, when I asked myself “what’s for dinner?” chicken thighs were on sale at the store. I picked some up, but wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. They became my compass ingredient for my weekly meal plan. And, knowing that mid-February weather chills us all, I knew that a hearty, warm stew would be a welcome meal at the end of a long workday. Continue reading Simple, five-step slow cooker chicken with French onion soup→
The postings on this site are my own (unless otherwise stated) and don't necessarily represent any other organization's positions, strategies or opinions. Thanks!
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