Eating Healthy, Eating Local!

My friend, Renee, mentioned in her blog that one of her goals for 2010 was to eat more local food, which in turn helps you to eat healthier in many cases, I believe. I started thinking about that and quickly sent an email to some girlfriends to issue a challenge for the new year. Many of them mentioned that they would like to eat healthier, so I challenged them to find more local foods to help meet that goal. Back when I was pregnant and even up to the time Abbey started eating table food, I shopped at more local places including the farmer's market. Although I always had good intentions to can my own garden goodies and those purchased at the farmer's market, I never made the time. One of my goals this year, like Renee, is to eat healthier and shop locally for what I can. Also I would like to can the extras for the Winter, so I'm counting on this challenge to help me with my goals as well. I'm starting off with a simple soup recipe with tons of veggies and I'm going to borrow Renee's corn muffin recipe (hope you don't mind Renee)because they go great with the soup and is made with honey instead of refined (white) sugar. The recipes are great basic recipes with ingredients you could buy at the regular grocery store, but you will notice that to the side I have added how you can make them more local and fresh. Always remember that veggies bought frozen hold more nutrients than those that are bought in cans, but freezing and canning fresh at home is always the best way to go. I hope you will check back with me because I would love for this challenge to help you in your goals as well. I will do my best to pass along recipes that can be made with local ingredients, give tips for gardening and buying local and pass along any other information I can to boost your interest in getting your family healthy, helping our environment and helping the local economy (farmer).


Veggie Soup

2 cans beef broth (Or you can make your own)
1 can tomato sauce (Canned fresh in the summer)
1 can diced tomatoes (Canned fresh in the summer, or cut fresh from the garden)
1 can whole kernel corn or half bag of frozen (canned fresh in the summer, or cut fresh from the garden)
2 cans mixed veggies or 1 bag frozen (can be frozen in the summer, or cut fresh from the garden)
1 teaspoon basil (dry herbs are best for soups)
1 teaspoon parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste
Ground Beef (Optional)

If you like meat in your soup, as my hubby does, brown a ½ pound – 1 pound of ground beef and drain.
Add the other ingredients and simmer for about 20 minutes. Serve with corn muffins.
It is also a very forgiving soup so if you don’t happen to have something or like more of one veggie than another, you can almost put anything in it and it will turn out good.

To make it a little healthier with the meat choice, you can add cooked chicken instead of the beef. Just change the beef broth to chicken broth to match the flavors.


Honey Corn Muffins

Makes: 12

1/2 stick, unsalted butter
1 1/4 c flour (check out the local mills, we even have a bakery that sells a local mill's flour)
3/4 c cornmeal (same for cornmeal, even some farm CSA's carry it in there boxes)
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt1/2 t baking soda
2 large eggs (Fresh eggs from local farmers are wonderful)
1 c buttermilk
1/3 c honey (Local bee harvesters have different flavors of honey depending on the flowers the bees use to make it, so try some local favorites)

Heat oven to 375. Grease muffin tin.In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, honey and butter. Add the flour mixture and stir.Divide into muffin cups and bake until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean, 30-35 minutes.

Happy Birthday!

To my sweet baby girl. We love you!!!!!

(Boy, she slept a lot when she was a baby, didn't she?)

New Year

It's my first post of the new year and it is going to be short. Just wanted to let you know that I'm still here. Here are a couple of pictures from the past month of Abbey. She is getting so big.

First Day of School

Abbey did great on her first day of school. She was a little nervous when we first arrived, but when I went to pick her up she was swinging and talking to everyone. I called and checked on her half way through the day and she had played well outside and took a two hour nap in the afternoon. They give you a daily "report" of the child's activities and at the bottom of the report "Miss Michelle" wrote that she was very sweet and had a great first day! I'm so pleased with our decision and with the way Abbey did. She was worn out last night and asked to go to bed at 7:00, so I think this is going to be a great routine to have her in. I hope she does this good tomorrow on her second day!

School

Well, I've avoided it for as long as I can, but Abbey will start day care next Monday. I'm actually excited about it. My SIL has become very unpredictable about keeping Abbey and mom is still limited to what she can do so we started looking into the University Child Care Center here on campus. It is amazing! They run it like a pre-school and the kids are in a good routine. They have to bring healthy meals from home for snacks and lunch (so I have to research that a little to make sure she is getting what she needs) and they go outside twice a day, have story time, self chosen activites and planned activites plus a two hour rest (nap) time in the afternoon. The best thing is that Abbey will be in class with her cousin Aila and other little boys and girls. I think she was getting bored playing by her self or with only adults at home. I really think it is a good time in her little life to be around other kids. She loves her Sunday school classes and Wednesday night classes at church and knows the other children by name, so I think it will help her. Plus they really learn at the center since it is run like a pre-school. I have a good feeling about it. I don't think it will be like just leaving her at a day care. Everyone I have talked to that has a child there or has ever had a child there is positive about the experience and since me staying home is just not a possibility right now, I think this is the next best thing. We are really trying to make it a big deal for Abbey. We have plans to go shopping this weekend for a lunch box, school socks and other things that she will need to get started. Please keep us in your thoughts as we make this transition and I'll let you know how things go next week.

Songwriting

Some of you may know how much I love music. I have taken piano lessons, although I didn't practice and now I'm not very good, and I sang in choir in junior high. Since high school graduation I have sang in a few bands including a couple with my husband and I have written tons of songs, even got a Christmas song recorded when I was in college. But over the past few years, both Clark and I have focused more on family. Once Abbey was born Clark quit his band, Two Dogs Rose, and just plays at home with friends and records. I haven't done much of anything. Although I listen to music all the time, I just haven't taken the time to be creative like I once was. I'm so glad to say that I have found that love for music again and it is making me so happy. I think if Clark would go, I would move to Nashville tomorrow to work on my songwriting career, but in the mean time I'm just enjoying writing again. I have a different view on life and things around me and I can really see it in the songs. I've also had a greater hand in the melody and production of my songs. Always before I would refer to myself as a lyricist and not a songwriter, because I wrote words and seldom came up with the melody. That's what co-writers are for, right? But this time it is all about pushing my limits and trying to get the most from my music. Clark and I are even playing some with his sister who writes and sings bluegrass. Not really my favorite genre, but it gives another twist to my writing style. I've been very down the past few years, feeling as if I were in a rut, stuck in my life with no where to go, and very limited to what I can accomplish with the years just slipping away (I am already 33 yrs. old after all). I'm very excited that I have found a hole to slip through and freedom is in the music on the other side. I just had to share and hopefully by the spring I will have my first album of songs to share with the world. If you have a dream, no matter what it is and no matter how much it looks like it will just slip away over the years, back up and give it another shot. You might be surprised. And I'll let you know when Reba, Tim or Keith decides to cut one of my songs. :)

Granddaddy's Farm

We had a wonderful family day at Granddaddy's farm. Clark, Abbey and I went to this wonderful Fall haven of bliss with my cousin Shanna and her family, Josh and Maeson, and my dear friend Jana and her sons, Gavin and Justin. We had a blast! There were farm animals to view and pet, a box full of corn to jump in, rubber duck races, swing sets to play on , wooden vehicles to "play" drive, a haybail maze for the kids and a hill slide. It was a beautiful day and a great chance for our families to spend some time together. If you are in the Franklin County (Winchester) area, I highly recommend going for a visit. If not, see if there is a farm/pumpkin patch in your area. We didn't even go on the hayride or go through the corn maze, there was just too much to do. And yes, we had to bring a "punkin" home for Abbey. This is my favorite time of year!!!!!