Bountiful Basket 2

I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend!  My Saturday was spent picking up my Bountiful Basket, going grocery shopping, and eating lunch with my mom.  Later in the afternoon, Kevin and I went to a wedding reception of some friends that had gotten married in Hawaii last month.  Then at night, our friends picked us up in a party bus to be taken around downtown for one of our good friends birthdays.  Overall, it was tons of fun, but I needed some serious hydrating the next day from all of the running around and the couple of drinks I had.

Sunday, Kevin and I gloriously slept in, then watched James Bond and got some laundry and knitting done.  I was able to prep a bit of food for this week to hopefully keep me on track this week (but more on that in tomorrows post).

Im kicking myself for forgetting to take a picture of my Bountiful Basket in its entirety this weekend, but here is a quick picture of my fairly full fridge (note that some things are Kevins like the milk, eggs, and yogurt) and a list of what came in the basket this week:

• 1 large head green leaf lettuce (it is hidden in my VegiBag to the left on my middle shelf)
• 3 leeks
• 1 bag carrots
• 1 bag small green apples
• 1 bag mandrin oranges
• 1 acorn squash
• several large golden potatoes
• several medium tomatoes
• several very green bananas that will be ripe in a decade ;)
• 1 bundle of spinach
• 1 pineapple

I dont think that I will be getting a Bountiful Basket this week, as I feel like I have enough produce to get through as it is, and Kevin and I might be taking a trip to Montana to see my brother and lovely pregnant-with-twins sister in law.  I have a few things that I have been knitting for the babies that I hope to finish in time for when we see them next.

Tonight I will be utilizing some of my BB produce from this week and last week with a recipe from Dr. Fuhrmans Member Center: Asparagus, Mushroom, and Leek Ragout

Im sorry, but the recipe link will only work for Dr. Fuhrman Members!  If you dont already have a membership, it is only $3.95 a month for the Silver Membership (which I have), and it gives you access to many tools including discussion forums, and my favorite, all of Dr. Fuhrmans most popular recipes.  I believe on the website he has over 1000.  I would highly recommend it when the cost is less than the cost of a latte  per month (not that we drink those liquid calories anyways).

Ill make sure to post pictures of how the recipe came out!  Until tomorrow.... :)

Read More..

Bountiful Basket 3 Conventional vs Organic Produce

I hope everyones Saturday is going well.  I just wanted to stop in real quick and show you the Bountiful Basket that I picked up this morning.  This is the first time my mom and I opted to pay $25 for an organic basket instead of $15 for a conventional basket.  Here is what we got:

• 1 large bag of Brussels sprouts
• 1 turnip (What the heck are we going to do with that?!)
• 1 carton of beautifully red strawberries
• 1 bunch rainbow chard
• 1 bunch green onions
• 1 english cucumber
• 3 large beets with greens
• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1 head romaine lettuce
• 5 apples
• 5 oranges
• 4 limes

All in all, I thought it was a pretty good basket.  I could tell that the quality of the produce was a big step up from the conventional basket.  It felt like we got relatively the same amount of food volume-wise as the conventional basket.  The only perk with getting conventional is that they distribute any extra produce after the baskets have been sorted, whereas the organic boxes are a pre-packaged, closed box.  On the other hand, the organic box had some things I have never seen in the conventional box, such as beets with their greens still attached, actually ripe strawberries, and rainbow chard.  

Ok, Ill admit it... my name is Amy and I am addicted to food porn.  I mean, seriously, the rainbow chard and strawberries are georgous!  I have, over the last hour in between doing laundry and cleaning, went to the fridge to admire the strawberries more than a few times.  I have gone so far as to make the above picture my phones lock screen wallpaper....hey, it is a great way to remember during the week what delicious and nutritious food I have to eat at home.  Life Hack!

What are your opinions on paying extra for organic over conventional?  Obviously food with less chemicals will be healthier for your body, but can you see or taste the difference?

Read More..

Bountiful Basket 1

Have you guys heard of Bountiful Baskets Food Co-op (BBFC)?  It is a wonderful co-op that allows anyone to purchase produce or goods on any given week to be picked up (for us it is Saturday mornings).  It allows you to have fresh, inexpensive produce weekly without bothering to go to the grocery store.  Here is the description on their website:

"BBFC is a group of people who work together for mutual benefit. This is a grassroots, all volunteer, no contracts, no catch co-operative. Since there are no employees at Bountiful Baskets, we as a group pay rock bottom prices on your food. This also means the co-op would not happen without volunteers. If you are interested in the co-op continuing, please volunteer occasionally. All it takes is a little time, energy and a smile. Volunteer opportunities include helping prepare the baskets, breaking down boxes, assisting with the distribution, and packing up. To help out, simply arrive an hour early dressed and ready to work with water to drink."

My mom has been getting a bountiful basket just about every week for well over a year and very much enjoys it.  She likes the mystery of what might be coming each week and trying some of the more unique items she hasnt before, while enjoying some of her regular favorites.  I havent participated in it all too often because I am generally the only one who eats the produce in my house, and cant always get through everything before some things go bad.  Now, however, Im going to be optimistic enough that I can get away with only getting produce from BBFC and grocery shopping only for dried or canned basics like brown rice, oats, nuts, and beans when I need to.  Im also being optimistic for hoping that Kevin will partake in eating a bit of the produce.  He was quite excited to see blackberries in the basket that I picked up this Sunday:

This time I got a bag of apples, blackberries, strawberries, bananas, romaine lettuce,
asparagus, oranges, grapefruit, leeks, cucumbers, zucchini, and broccoli.

This week I split the bountiful basket with my mom.  Her and my dad just got back from a 20 day cruise (20... I didnt mistype), and their fridge was as bare as I have seen it in years!  So far this week I have been enjoying the fruit (except for the bananas, which will be ripening for a while), broccoli, zucchini, and cucumbers.  I have special plans for the asparagus, the rest of the zucchini, and the leeks.  Perhaps I will post about the outcome if all goes well.

This weekend Kevin and I took a small road trip with friends to go into western Montana for an overnight visit to Quinns Hot Springs.  We enjoyed some time relaxing in the wonderful hot spring pools while enjoying the snowy forested surroundings.  There was (gloriously!) hardly any cell service, so I and mostly everyone else left their phones in the cabin and just enjoyed the scenery and company.  I did manage to snap a picture of Kevin and I just before we left.  Here we are with the cabins behind us (and my new knitted cowl and headband that I finished on the drive to the resort):

Im just a bit squint-y... and with no trace of makeup.  It was actually quite liberating!

I hope everyone is having a great week so far!  Does anyone have some good plans for Valentines Day?!

Read More..