An Organic Valentines Day

Every year my husband stresses about Valentines Day. First of all, he hates spending money, second, I'm so damn picky that its nearly impossible to shop for me.. But this year he did pretty good. I picked out 90% of my presents and he bought 1 on his own, which I ended up loving! But that's not whats so special about this valentines year. This year we bought presents for each other that will last a while and help us grow together as a couple. LOL, grow, you'll get it later I promise.
Lets start on what I got Craig. Seeds! Craig loves growing anything and everything. Every time I eat anything with seeds in it, he insists that if there is one that has intact seeds in it, to keep them. Right now he has two kinds of orange trees, a grapefruit tree, limes tree, an avacado tree, and a clementine tree all growing upstairs. These are just the ones that I am aware of. There are many more I'm sure. But to add injury to insult, I added on many many more projects. I found a place online that sold organic seeds for a reasonable price.
http://www.sweetcornorganicnursery.com/
Sweet Corn Organic Nursery had their organic seeds all at the same price, 2.49, but the amount in each varied I think. Either way it beat most of the competitors and offered free shipping.
Here's a list of the organic seeds I got Craig:
Basil (Large Leaf), Spearmint, Oregano(Italian), Chives
Crimson Sweet Watermelon
Carwile's Virginia Peanut
Cinderella Pumpkin, Early Sweet Sugar Pie Pumpkin
Bonny Best(I think these are tomato's..), California Wonder Sweet Pepper, Early Alaska Pea, Habanero Hot Pepper, Green Sprouting Calabrese Brocolli, Mary Washingtons Asparagus, Black Beauty Zucchini Summer Squash, Pablano Hot Pepper, Roma Tomato, Tall Utah Celery, Giant Noble Spinach, Long Orange Carrot, and Walla Walla Onions.
Listed on the back of each is a description, soil preparation, planting and recommended fertilizing and amending.


He was very excited to see that I had taken an interest in growing our own food. So he took me out and bought me some tools since I had never owned any in my life, to help with the gardening.
On top of that we had to buy even more seeds. Burpee offers organic seeds now.. here are a few we bought from them:
Summer Squash Black Beauty(an unknown repeat) and Sweet Peppers Carnival Mix. AK Lawn and Garden also offers organic seeds. We picked a few of them too: Pink Beauty Radish, Calabrese Brocolli, and Jalapeno Peppers. But some seeds we just could'nt find organic at the store. We had to settle for these: Yellow Round Onion, Scallions, Kohlrabi, Sweet Corn, Blue Lake Garden Beans, Beafsteak Tomato's, Rutgers Tomato's, Delicious Tomato's and Cherry Tomato's. I'm sure we could have easily found these online, but we cant resist a sale and figured 85% of its organic, next year we can work on 100%. Plus since we don't use fertilizers or pesticides, its mostly organic anyways. So 35 packets of seeds later, we decided that we may be in over our heads. Only time will tell at this point.

To go along with the gardening we got a few books. One 100% recycled notebook for keeping track of what we have planted. "Plenty" by Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon, which is a documentary like journey of the couple who eat within 100 miles for a year. Very good so far!! "The Backyard Homestead" by Carleen Madigan which I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend to anyone interested in growing your own food. Its easy to navigate and has a ton of awesome information. I read it cover to cover because it was that interesting.

To go along with the rest of valentines day, we got a few eco friendly items that were needed. A compost can for the kitchen. Craig tells me its to hold the scraps until we can get them into the real composter outside. We saw a real one at the Home Depot for 50.00. That's probably next.
And we also needed a few extra reusable cups. I got these at T.J. Maxx for a fraction of the cost. I got the compost holder at Marshalls. Both are great places to find these types of things for a good price.










So our valentines day didn't consist of chocolates or flowers or those awful greeting cards which I think are the biggest load of B.S. and so wasteful.. ugh.. anyways.. sorry, I HATE greeting cards. I hate them even more if they aren't holding anything inside. Whats the point then? Lets get back on track...
Our valentines day will live on all year as we grow and harvest our own organic food. I honestly cant wait!!

P.S. Sorry it took so long for another post. I was out of town for a few weeks. Leland's birthday is coming up soon and lots of fun organic toys to review!!!! YAY!!!!

WOW, are you serious?

Today Craig and I went to Meijer to find a birthday present for my dad. First off we went to find a recycled gift bag to fit his presents in. They had some, hooray! But they were all tiny and not going to fit the presents we had picked out. Craig suggests that we use a reusable Meijer grocery bag instead of a gift bag. Good thinking honey! So we go to where we "think" they would be located.. by the registers of course! So after half the registers and not seeing a single one, we pop into an empty lane and ask the lady working the register if she had seen any. She looked at us like we were from a different planet. "What.. umm... I don't really know what your looking for.." Was the response we got. I was thinking, are you serious? Does no one really use these here? So finally we find some at the entrance to the store, hidden behind the bread rack which was tall enough for no one to ever find them. Tisk tisk Meijer. But don't worry, as we were walking by a person who looked as if they were a manager, I turned to Craig and said, "I cant believe the lady at the register didn't know what a reusable bag was.." and then pointed to it. I hope she got the message. lol.

Where does my sons milk come from?

A few weeks ago, as I mentioned before in a previous blog, Craig and I had visited a small health foods store called the 3 Rivers Co-Op Natural Grocery. As I was wandering through the tiny shoppe I found the milk section. Everything looked pretty much the same until I came across an old school glass bottle of milk. Turns out it was organic, coming from grass fed cows, local, and again, in an awesome bottle. The awesomeness of the bottle finally convinced Craig to buy $6.00 milk.. and not even a gallon of it. When we got home we just had to try it. Craig popped it open to find a thick creamy layer on the top. He excitedly grabbed a spoon out of drawer and scooped it out.
"It tastes like a milk shake!" He proceeded to eat the rest off the top and poor Leland a cup who had been screaming the whole time for some. Leland loves milk either way and not being able to talk yet, the short time in which he took to guzzle down the glass was a clear indication that he loved it just as much as his daddy.
At this point I just had to find out where our beloved new find in milk was coming from. Not to mention, Leland just LOVES cows, so we waited for a day where the weather was just right. Which happened to be today! I would have loved to have sat down with the owners and talked to them about how sustainable the farm was, their practices and so on... but today was about experiencing the farm as any family would. So here it is, my family day(and review) of Traders Point Creamery in Zionsville, IN!

From Fort Wayne to Zionsville, it took us two hours by car. Maybe a little background first, I am the one and only vegetarian on both sides of our familys. No one gets it. When I try to explain how horrible animals are treated, they just dont care. So my initial thought was to show her what I support whole heartedly. Organic farming. We wont even get started on Monsanto today.

It was pretty easy to find and very well marked with signs along the way. Our first mission being after 2 o'clock in the afternoon, was to eat an organic lunch! Craig took this picture and of course it was one of the few we took inside so please ignore the fact that Im blinking. At least Leland looked happy coloring his cows right?

Our orders are as follows:
Leland and I shared the 3 Cheese & Macaroni.. I had to actually re order it because I somehow overlooked that it had chicken and bacon loaded in it(which Craig and his mom had no problem devouring.. they said it was their favorite dish!) But the vegetarian version for Leland(who is vegetarian by choice for now) and I was equally amazing! We also had the chocolate milk which was so incredibly thick and creamy and almost too much for me, delicious! Leland drank both his glass of it and finished off mine.

Craig had the Grilled Cheese with Avocado, and chili. He downed the chili and said it wasnt too spicy, but just right. He said that it was way too big of a portion and wished he would have gotten peppers instead of avocado, since it made it a little bland. He also had the Ratatouille.. said it was a little over cooked but the flavoring was just right.


Here is Craig, sitting in front of the dairy bar. Not quite sure what the giant metal and white thing is there. Maybe a cup of milk? I was never a fan of modern art but it fills the space nicely I guess...
All n' all the food there was pretty good and the service was amazing and super friendly. Someday I wish to go back and sample all of their food. But for a family day at the farm, it was nothing less of some of the best comfort foods around. In my opinion of course.

After cleaning Lelands hands and face of cheesy messiness, we headed downstairs to take the $2 tour. Seeing as you had to pay $60 or have 10 people in your group, most familys would pick the cheaper option, so we did too. Amy gave us 3 maps, 2 of which I returned at the end to be recycled, and showed us where to go and where to watch out for the bulls. I would have asked her more questions but Leland was making sure we noticed that he was ready to continue on. First we checked out where the farmers market happens.. year round I think.. or nearly year round. Such a beautiful old barn! I cant wait to come in the spring!


We proceeded downstairs to where the (2 week old?) calf was hanging out along with 3 others. One had a broken shoulder(I think thats what Amy said) and I was glad to see they were being responsible about taking care of its injury and proud that they even kept it alive. You rarely see that these days. Leland loved visiting the cows and they were friendly and came right up to us.

Here I am visiting with one of gigantic cows. You never realize how big they are until you are right next to them.

Next came the chicken coop. They were left pretty much unattended and free to wander where-ever their hearts desired!

Heres one running free! Well, maybe he was running because we were walking towards him. But at least he can run right?

Next we walked out to where the cows were happily grazing. "Leland", I said, "This is where your milk comes from. This is what you drink every morning with breakfast!" He just smiled and said, "Cowr! Cowr!" He's still working on the words yet. But it was a good feeling knowing that I was able to show him that I cared enough to know where his food was coming from, and not just stuffing him with whatever Meijer had on sale that week. We walked a little of the trail, with Leland on Grandmas shoulders, and one couldnt ask for a better day on the farm in the middle of winter. As we were leaving, it was hard to imagine cows living in any conditions other than these. Thats what they show you in their labels and tv ads, so why should you believe any different? Well, I want to know the different. I want to know where my food comes from and I want to drink the same milk that has been drinked for thousands of years before me. The quality is in the taste, and the love poors out of this farm like the warm glow of the sun that day. And I officially had my first cheesy moment in my blogging history.. and Im sure there will be more to come. lol. But before we left we had to stop by their small store and pick up some milk for Leland. It was only 3.50!! Leland got to see a friendly kitty on the way out too, victory for him! (He LOVES cat-tins..) And also Hi to Amy, David, and our super nice waitress whose names escapes me. We loved our visit and plan to come again soon! Keep doing what you do best!

Organic Food Review! 2 Of My Favorite Organic Chocolate Craving Snacks!

Craig and I decided that it would be best for our family to eat organic only food after watching the documentary Food, Inc. . We weren't exactly sure where to find it in Fort Wayne, IN, so naturally, we asked around. Numerous people said Fresh Market, so we thought, that's definitely were we should start. We get there only to find an overpriced tiny tiny tiny! (did I mention it was small?) grocery store with regular food, specialty food and a small amount of organic food mixed in here and there. It was a huge dissapointment. So I did some research online and found a co-op grocery. They had a lot of the specialty vegan/vegetarian/organic food but again, super overpriced. I plan on going back there in the spring to get fresh veggies and fruits, but this also wasnt going to work. So where did we end up? Meijer. They have the most amazing selection of organic food at a fraction of the price at the other stores. They have more of it too and to top it off, the have their own line of organics with everything from ketchup to baked bean to frozen veggies. I was thrilled out of my mind! So after stocking my cart full of awesome organic foods, here are a few things that I found that arent Meijer brand(which I plan on doing in another blog soon) that you will most likely find in stores near you.

So where to start. Best to start with my favorite discovery, the Luna Bar for Women.

Packed with vitamins this is by far the best tasting snack I have found. Sweet crunchy awesomeness. I wish it had more of a grahham cracker taste to it, but still delicious! 70% organic with the other 30% set at high standards. Another favorite flavor is Chocolate Peppermint Stick.

Craig eats the Clif version from this company. He seems to enjoy them as well.

Cascadian Farm has an entire line of organic foods. One of their products, the Chocolate Chip Chewy Granola Bars, are my sons favorite snack!! They are far less sugary than most other regular brands and the taste when you eat your first bar is one of.. do I like this.. or not.. but then after awhile you begin to notice how sugary they really are and the rest taste terrible. I also LOVE these. I wish there where a few more chocolate chips in them, but still a good amount for kids. I highly recommend Cascadian Farm anything. So far, I have really liked all of their food.

Well, I had a lot more food to review, but seeing as its Lelands bath time, I really have to run. I promise to do some more reviews of things that I like, love, and absolutely HATE!!!!!

Stay Green!

nat

Other Modes of Transportation

For Christmas Craig suprised me with a brand new bike. Ever since I have been dying for a day where the sidewalks or streets have been clear enough for me to go out and test it. Finally the day has come! About 5 minutes later I was back inside and Craig was complaining that he should have worn a hat and mittens. I in turn tell him that my eyes are watering and my nise has turned a few shades of red. Theres no way this is going to work as a primary mode of transportation in the winter. Its just too cold. In the meantime, I guess our little car will have to do. Its a 2006 Scion Xa, which has great gas mileage.. but other than that, I dont know what its got going for it eco wise. I think anything less of a pack of dogs and a sled(which probably arent street legal) is going to solve this eco problem. Suggestions anyone? I guess in the meantime heres a clip of me riding my bike in the snow. Not the safest idea ever but it had to be done.

My Revelation

It seems these days that the "IN" thing to do is to go green. And by going green they mean changing your lightbulbs, carrying cute reuseable bags and so on. Well, I guess that the awareness of it is great, but are they really doing enough?

I recently read the "No Impact Man" book by Colin Beavan. I was blown away by how much I could be doing but havent. I was a somewhat green person before. I used the bags, changed the bulbs, went vegan(decided it was too hard) then went to organic only vegetarian. I even declared that my soon to be 2 year old son Leland was now also an organic vegetarian. My husband Craig still loves his meat too much, so we made a comprimise that he only eat grass fed local meat instead.

So here we go. Another "going green" blog. Another journey. I would like to think that my journey is a little different than most. My journey will be a little harder than you would think. You see, I live in the suburbs of Northern Indiana. Right now the snow is so deep that even the thought of riding a bike, walking anywhere, growing any food or getting any local food, is just insane. Not to mention people from Indiana LOVE their meat and put it in everything!

So how about we start with a little background of me and my family, to makes things easier. My husband and I both grew up in Indiana, him from Fort Wayne and myself from South Bend. We met at Ball State University, him studying Landscape Architecture and I, Art and Art History. I never finished my degree because I decided that it would be better to follow my new guy out to Colorado and marry him on an impulse over his lunch break one valentines day. We loved Colorado! It opened our eyes to a completely different kind of culture. Back in Indiana everything was so meat and potatos and obesity. Here its riding bikes, Whole Foods, and doing everything outdoors in the sunshine. It wasnt hard to fall in love with Colorado.

But it didnt last long. Craig found a job in Tennessee and as fast as Colorado came, it was gone.

So Nashville here we came. Yes, the country stars were everywhere. When I went to get my drivers license changed to a TN one, I sat accross from Bucky Covington. He mysteriously went into the bathroom for 20 mins came out, complained about the line, and him and his tall bald friend got to cut everyone and leave. Of course at the time I had no idea who he was. While in Tennessee I learned so much about religion and how crazy they where. Dinosaurs apparently where put in the ground by the devil to confuse man crazyness. We stopped believing in anything the few years we where there and because agnostic. Religion made people so mean, ignorant and stuck up, we just never wanted to become that. We hated Tennessee. Only one good thing came out of there and that was our son Leland. Our wish came true about getting out of TN by ways of the economy. Craig was laid off and we had to move back to Indiana. Back in with his parents. Which is where this journey begins. So where are we at today?

Right now I sit in a dark basement. Even though the sun is out outside, its too cold to enjoy it. My husband is rocking our son in a swing which we attached to the basement ceiling. He is watching Ratatouille.. if thats how you spell it. The movie about the cooking rat in Paris. He loves anything pixar. The TV watching really has to stop. When it is on I can walk up to Leland, say his name several times, wave my hand in front of his face and nothing changes. He is addicted. I blame myself for letting him watch Hannah Montana and Phineas and Ferb so much as a baby. Craig and I both agree that the TV has to go. Its just a matter of when. We dont really have control over when it is on and off. His parents do. Well, Leland looks like he is about to fall asleep. Better get him down for his nap.

So the adventure begins. I hope some of you come along for the ride.

-Natalie