WELCOME BACK TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD GARDEN BLOG!!


The Neighborhood Garden wants YOU to be inspired and empowered to embrace a healthy lifestyle


Four fabulous reasons this blog will be a valuable and FUN resource to help you enjoy your food and life to the fullest!

1. Food is more than something that makes us skinny or fat. Food has medicinal properties that can prevent and even reverse disease very powerfully as well as maintain a healthy weight and healthy body and optimize energy levels.

-Follow our blog for exciting and interesting research findings on what these foods are doing for our bodies.


2. Eating healthfully does not have to be a chore, painful or boring. Discovering new foods and flavors is fun, and anyone can learn to cook delicious healthy meals.

-Whether you are single or are working parents with six kids, we can help! Check out our THINK INSIDE THE BAG posts for easy, healthful recipes.


3. Local or 100% Organic Produce is the safest and healthiest food we can put in our bodies.

-Boy, do we have tips for you to help you enjoy and be grateful for the produce we receive each week. We hope you will use this blog as a springboard towards a healthy, vigorous life. Visit our blog often for meal planning and storage tips using the organic produce you receive in each week's bag.


4. You are part of The Neighborhood Garden community as well as a global community!

-Here's where we get to talk about what we're passionate about, but we also encourage you to visit often to learn and share your stories, comments and ideas. We hope to have a resources page to share information about sustainability in action and spotlight some folks that are doing amazing things. We want you to feel good about what you are buying and putting in your body. The reasons are bountiful and we can’t wait to share!


ORDER HERE

This Week's Organic Produce!

Monday, March 17th

Full/Half Bags

Bananas

Granny Smith Apples

Valencia Oranges

Bosc Pears

Kiwi

Spring Mix (Upgrade Red Leaf $1)

Snow Peas

Russet Potatoes

Baby Peeled Carrots

Red Onion

Roma Tomatoes

(Add Jalapeño Peppers $2)

Jumbo Fruit Bag

(Will include the Full list plus the following. Must purchase full/half bag)

1lb Strawberries

Kent Mangoes

Avocadoes

Jumbo Veggie Bag

(Will include the Full list plus the following. Must purchase full/half bag)

Yellow Squash

12oz Green Beans

Red Peppers

Herb Bag

.066oz Cilantro

.066oz Rosemary

.75lb Limes

*list subject to change due to availability

**approximate counts, depends on total weight

Friday, October 28, 2011

How to make the best smoothie

(photo thanks to lunchboxbunch.com)

Making smoothies is a super easy way to add fruits and veggies to your family's life...even if you have to be sneaky about it!  Blending mix-ins to a smoothie that your child or husband may otherwise turn their nose up to, like spinach, can be added to a smoothie without hearing complaints.  Wouldn't it be nice to hear "More please!" instead of "How many bites do I have to take?" in your house?  If so, read on!

Lunchbox Bunch has listed 20 awesome tips for making THE BEST smoothies.  Some of the tips include:
  • freezing coconut water as ice cubes to add magnesium, potassium, and electrolytes without changing the flavor too much.
  • avoiding citrus when using soy-dairy
  • only adding frozen bananas -- freeze those overripe bananas from your produce bag without the peel in a ziploc!
  • add ice last
  • avoid adding granulated sugar -- use natural sugars in fruits or maybe agave if needed
  • Kombucha adds fizz and fun!
For the whole list of tips, visit their website!

A lot of smoothies are made in our house!  Sometimes we experiment with our own creations...most win...some not so much.  My 5 year-old will have nothing to do with a peanut butter, banana, yogurt smoothie, even though she'll eat spoonfuls of peanut butter if she's allowed!  So have fun with smoothie recipes.  And if you find one you can't live without post it on Facebook for everyone to try!

Happy blending!

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Apple Banana Muffins

(photo thanks to weelicious.com)

Need a quick, easy, AND HEALTHY breakfast idea for this weekend?  Or even for the morning after Halloween when everyone is tired from Trick-or-Treating?  Try these mini muffins on weelicious!  Yum!


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Did you know?

It's a tangelo!  You may wonder what you're getting in this week's produce bag.  Tangelos are a hybrid of a tangerine and either a pomelo or grapefruit and are super juicy!

To find out what else is on the list for the next order, click here.
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Cabbage tips! Even to freeze!

(photo thanks to food-skills-for-self-sufficiency.com)

The Neighborhood Garden is giving out choices now!  Right now, customers can choose between cabbage and lettuce for their order.  Don't forget to email your choice to jaxorganic@gmail.com.

Cabbage can easily be cleaned and frozen if you don't have a use for it right away!  Food Skills for Self-Sufficiency has a great step-by-step guide with pictures, but the process looks like this:

  • soak cabbage in a sink full of water for 2 hours
  • quarter the cabbage, leaving core
  • blanch cabbage in boiling water for 3 minutes
  • transfer to cold water (your sink works!)
  • strain off excess water and ziploc!  It's ready for the freezer!


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What to do with all those green onions?

(photo thanks to lunchinabox.net)

Green onions may be one of the easiest veggies to prep and store...and FREEZE!  Lunch in a Box has posted a simple idea, which could definitely work for other small veggies and herbs out there.

  • chop green onions
  • wash and dry a clear water bottle with lid
  • label the bottle with a permanent marker -- date, produce name
  • fill with chopped green onions and pop in freezer
  • To Use:  shake out as much as needed and place back in freezer!
What easy tips can you share?  Add your tips on our Facebook page!



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