The Dinner Table - Simple, Organic, Whole: Everyday Recipes and Ideas for Healthy You!

Quick Clean up Toy Storage

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:34:00 +0000

A friend gave me this tip years ago, but I have never seen it online, so I thought I would post it here even though it is completelty unrelated to my usual blog topic - organic food.

Get an old large sheet (Queen size or larger works best). Lay it out on the ground. Dump all your legos, matchbox cars, blocks, anything with lots of little pieces that is played with over a large area. Have you kids play with them on the sheet. When it is time to clean up, they only have to put the pieces that feel off the sheet back on it, and you grab the sheet up by the corners (they can do this by themselves as they get older) and put it back in your storage box.

2011 Advent Activities

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 22:02:00 +0000

I am so excited for this year's Advent season. We are going to try a few new things this year. The last two years have been very fun so I am incorporating the best activities from those years with the activities in a new advent activity book, a new advent storybook, and instead of stockings we will be using an Advent spiral to track what we are doing each day.

The Activities
We will use The Christmas Countdown book. Some of the activities the book suggests won't fit the ages and/or schedule for our family so we will replace those days with some of our favorite things from last two years such as making our gingerbread house, buying a chicken through World Vision, and others. What I like about this book is there is a section for the adults to read and reflect on, along with the activity you complete as a family,

The Story
We will also be using a new Advent storybook this year, Jotham's Journey. This is a book that the pastor at my Mom's church recommended and I am really looking forward to reading each night!

The Countdown
Previous years we have used stockings to track what we do each day, but this year we will use an advent spiral. I will be using these picture holders to travel along each day's hole. The picture holder will hold an index card with each day's activity in that we will replace with a candle once we have done the activity.

Our Advent Spiral. All ready to get started on December 1!

We will start this on December 1st, because the spiral has 24 holes in it. I am looking forward to adding to the spiral in the coming years with the other characters from the Ostheimer nativity collection, first on my wish list is Mary on the Donkey and Joseph so they can walk with our candles.

Here is what we did in 2010 and 2009. What does your family do to celebrate and prepare your hearts for Christmas?

Maple Creek Share Photos, Weeks 11 & 12

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 13:37:00 +0000

Week #12

Week #11

Maple Creek Share Photos Weeks 5-10

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:41:00 +0000

Ok, so if you can't tell by the title of this post, I am a little behind on posting these pictures. Other years I have posted these pictures week-by-week as I get them, but blogging for the farm this year has kept me really busy and my own posting has been sporadic. Nonetheless, here are the pictures for each week.

Week #10

Week #9

Week #8

Week #7

Week #6

Week #5

Maple Creek Share Weeks 3 & 4

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 21:22:00 +0000

Week #3

Week #4

My mouth couldn't stop watering as I picked up our share today.

The basil smelled so good! All the things I wanted to use it for went running through my mind all at once when I smelled that sweet smell. I see bruschetta and caprese salads in our futures! I am glad I have been researching storage tips over on the Maple Creek blog because I will store that beautiful basil differently now.

I am really looking forward to trying the raw zucchini crudo and my simple cabbage salad that I mentioned on the blog. Not sure what I will do with the swiss chard yet, but I really like having it for breakfast, so I am leaning toward that.

Slow Cooker Zucchini Bisque

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:03:00 +0000

Looking for something to do with all the zucchini showing up in your garden/farmer's market/CSA box? This is one of my favorite recipes because it is EASY! Freezes well and tastes amazing! This recipe is from my favorite slow cooker cookbook, Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook.

Slow Cooker Zucchini Bisque Soup
my notes are in ( )

6 Tablespoons of butter cut into 3 or 4 pieces
1 large onion (2-3 leeks work well too)
1/2 teaspoon of curry powder
1 1/2 pounds of zucchini (I have used up to 2 lbs before)
2 heaping tablespoons of white basmati rice
1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil
3 cups of chicken broth (homemade broth makes this soup extra good)
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of half-and-half

1. Put the butter, onion, curry powder, and zucchini in the slow cooker, cover, and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes.
2. Add the rice, basil and broth. Cover, cook on low for 5-6 hours (I have stretched it out longer)
3. Puree soup with an immersion blender. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in half-n-half and cover continuing to heat on low until heated through. Do not boil.

Freezer Notes: If you want to freeze this, omit the half-n-half step. Freeze without the half-n-half, but add it back in when you defrost the soup to heat it up and eat it.

Products Mentioned in this Post:

Maple Creek Farm Share Weeks 1 & 2

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 04:24:00 +0000

Week #1

Last week we were on vacation, so my friend Jayna picked up my share for me and took the photo. Thanks Jayna!

Week #2
This week, I was so excited to pick up MY first share and taste some Maple Creek goodness! I didn't realize how much I missed the routine of picking up my share each week until I was able to do it again today. To come back to my pick-up location, see what was in my box, break down the box, stick my produce in my bag and bring it back home to store and eat. Doesn't that look amazing?

Here is what I plan to do with this week's share. I will lightly saute the swiss chard and have it with eggs & chives in the morning for breakfast (I better do it on Saturday, or my husband will be sad he missed out on such a wonderful breakfast). I will make some zucchini soup with the summer squash. When I stop at the grocery store I will make sure to pick up some Brie so I can make my favorite cucumber and Brie sandwiches. The lettuce I will use for our daily lunch salads. And for those delicious looking peas, well half of one of the bags is already gone because we gobbled it up before dinner tonight and I think I will stir fry the other half with some Bok Choy for a veggie stir fry from the Simple Baby Bok Choy and Snow Peas recipe in the Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.

This is our 4th year having the our share (2006, 2009, 2010, 2011) and over the past week I have been noticing what a healthy impact it has had on our family. My kids eat things I NEVER ate as a kid and look forward to it. Picking up in-season food each week has taught us what is in season when and how to recognize truly fresh produce. And anticipating what will be in our box each week has made us appreciate and look forward to eating foods that were previously unknown to us, and at first we weren't even sure we liked. Thanks Maple Creek Farm!

Products Mentioned in this Post:

Whole Foods Fast: Sugar Free Taco Seasoning Mix

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Tue, 17 May 2011 19:14:00 +0000

Everyone is happy on Taco Day in our house. I am happy because it is a healthy meal with little prep work or clean-up work that can be made ahead that our kids love to eat. The kids are happy because they love the taste and have fun making their own tacos.

Sugar Free Taco Seasoning Mix
Adapted from Family Feasts for $75 per week

1/2 cup of dried minced onion
1/4 cup sweet paprika
1/4 cup organic corn starch
3 Tablespoons Chili Powder
2 Tablespoons of Salt
2 Tablespoons of Garlic Powder
1 Tablespoon of Ground Cumin
1 Tablespoon of Dried Oregano

1. ) Place all the ingredients in a pint-size canning jar. Put lid on and shake to combine. Use 1/4 cup for every 1 pound of ground beef.

Notes:
* You will thank yourself over-and-over again if you cook 4-6 pounds of ground beef and use what you need the first day and put the rest in freezable Pyrex containers (I find the 3 1/2 cup rectangular size is the perfect serving size for our family of four)
* This is my go-to meal when we get a last minute invite out on an afternoon when I haven't made dinner yet, but I want to eat at our usual 5/6PM time. I pop one of these out of the freezer, take the meat out of the pyrex, put it in my slow cooker on high, chop up some tomatoes, shred the cheese and go have some fun. Then when we get back home a dinner everyone likes is waiting for us.
* If you want to have this every week, alternate between tacos and taco salads every week. That way you won't feel like you are serving the same thing every week.

Products Mentioned in this Post:

CSA Options in the Rochester Area

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Mon, 09 May 2011 14:29:00 +0000

Residents in the Rochester Area interested in joining a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program have a few options to choose from for the 2011 season. May is the time to decide what CSA is right for your family because most CSAs begin distribution in June. Below I have detailed a few of the bigger CSAs in the Rochester Area.

Maple Creek Farm

Website: http://www.maplecreekfarm.com/

How you Get Your Food: You drive to one of the 25 drop-off points around Metro Detroit and pick up your box. There are two drop off locations in Rochester to choose from.

Cost: 20 Week Distribution. Single Share Size $400. Family Share Size $750 (my pictures represent the family share size)

How to Sign-up: http://www.maplecreekfarm.com/membership.html OR they are at the Royal Oak Farmer's Market on Saturdays if you would like to meet your farmer in person.

What does a Share Look Like?: This is the CSA that I have been doing for the past 2 years. You can see all the produce that I received each week throughout 2009 and 2010 the pictures I put together on Flickr.

Upland Hills Farm

Website: http://www.uplandhillscsa.org/

How you Get Your Food: You pick up at the farm on a Tuesday or Thursday at a specified time.

Cost: 16 Week Share.
They have several pricing options based on if you work on the farm or not.
1. Non-working Full Share   ($580 Pickup once a week)
2. Working Full Share           ($400 Pickup and 2 hours work once a week)
3. Non-working 1/2 Share    ($340 Pickup every other week)
4. Working 1/2 Share            ($250 Pickup and 2 hours work every other week)
How to Sign-up: Fill out their application form (pdf)

What does a Share Look Like?: They list these photos on their website.

Blue Water Organics

Website: http://www.bluewaterorganics.com/

How you Get Your Food: Pick up at the Rochester Farmer's Market.

Cost: 18 week season. $375 for a small share.

How to Sign-up: Go to the Rochester Farmer's Market, they are there every week or email: lee@bluewaterorganics.com

What does a Share Look Like?: There are no photos posted on the website, but I am familiar with their high quality of their produce because I frequently purchase food from them at the Rochester Farmer's Market.

Other Options

* Antaya Acres - I found this CSA mentioned on Craigs list, although I have no experience with them: http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/grd/2331832825.html

* Door to Door Organics Michigan offered a CSA last summer. Not sure if they will do the same for 2011. You can still sign-up for their non-CSA option for weekly delivery of organic food (not always local).

* Raub-Rae Farm is at the Rochester Farmer's Market weekly and offer very good organic produce, and in my opinion the best eggs in town. So good, that I get up at 7AM to make it to the farmer's market in time to buy them, because they run out later in the morning. They are a great alternative for someone who doesn't want the commitment for a CSA for a full summer, but wants fresh, organic food. Connect with them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Raub-Rae-Farm/296325419291

* Local Harvest (http://www.localharvest.org/) is a great website to find farms selling the products you are looking for close to your home.

* Dobrasevic Food Company offers weekly delivery of local food (not organic) throughout Metro Detroit. Check their website for more details: http://www.dobrasevicfoodcompany.com/

Are you a Rochester Area resident with experience with a different farm? If so, please include the information in the comments.

Marlene's Sugar Free Experience

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Thu, 05 May 2011 13:00:00 +0000

After a whole week last week of eating way more sugar than I normally do, Sunday I started "Kick the Sugar." Julie posted that she wanted others to join with her for a month-long sugar fast. I decided I needed to try this and see if my headaches would improve, if my cholesterol would lower and my over-all energy and mood would get better.

We came home Saturday afternoon from visiting the grandchildren in two states, so I didn't have a lot of food in the house. This was good for one reason-no treats or goodies; and bad for another reason, because I had no substitutes to help with the diet. I am planning on some hummus and- more veggies and fruit- only jam. I plan to watch what is in the packaged food I eat, but that will be easy since I don't eat too much pre-packaged food.

I will do it a little differently than Julie in that I am not going to cut out fruit from my diet for now, but just cut back to 2-3 servings a day. My lo-carb sprouted bread from Trader Joes lists honey and molasses at the end of the ingredient list but shows no measureable grams of sugar. I also plan to eat 1 to 2 pieces of very dark thin Ghirardelli chocolate which is 72% Cacoa. I just need it; at some point I may be able to cut that out. I read Julie's blog recommendation www.sugarshockblog.com and ordered the book "Sugar Shock."

Sunday the only sugar I had was:
*a little regular jam on my toast
*1/2 apple
*2 rings of fresh pineapple
*2 dark chocolate squares
*1 cup of hot milk with plain cocoa in it- whippped.

Oh, and I have to mention that I gained 2 1/4 lbs last week. I am hoping the swimming I do everyday and cutting the sugar will help me lose those pounds and a few more. This is a challange and discipline that I think will be good for me. We need to nuture ourselves sometimes and I think this is a good way to do it. Thanks Julie for starting me on this program.

No Sugar Almond Flour Muffins (with low sugar option)

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Tue, 03 May 2011 14:40:00 +0000

These muffins are what I eat for breakfast every morning with my coffee or tea. They have no added sugar, only the sugar from 1 banana and 1/2 cup of blueberries spread out between the 24 muffins. I like to use almond flour because I find it much more filling than a wheat flour.

Sugar Free Muffins (with low sugar option)

adapted from Everyday Grain Free Gourmet

5 cups of balanced almond flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

6 eggs

2 tablespoons of vanilla

1 banana

1/2 cup of honey (optional)

1/2 cup of blueberries

1. ) Mix all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the center.

2.) Put all of the wet ingredients in the well of the dry ingredients. Use a hand blender or a fork to mash/mix the eggs, banana and vanilla (and honey if using).

3.) Mix in blueberries, fill muffin cups 1/3 to 1/2 the way full with batter.

4.) Bake in a 300F oven for 25-35 minutes.

A few notes:
* I find that these do not store for very long, so I put them in the freezer and defrost them in my toaster oven each morning.
* Did you notice how brown the banana was in the picture? That is because when they get old, I throw them in the freezer and then pull them out when I need to cook with them. Once defrosted, just snip off the top of the banana with a pair of scissors and press out the banana from the bottom right into your bowl. It will be pre-mashed.

Products Mentioned in this Post:

Sugar Free Salad Dressing Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Sun, 01 May 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Well, today is the 1st day of giving up sugar. I am super excited that two other people have decided to join me and will be writing guest posts here about their experience. If you would still like to join in, there is still time!

One store-bought item that frequently has added sugar is salad dressing. To avoid this, I usually make my own. My absolute favorite recipe that works well on a variety of salads is an adaptation I have worked out from the Greek Salad Dressing recipe from Family Feasts for $75 per Week (a very good book).

Greek Salad Dressing
Adapted from Family Feasts for $75 per week.

I usually make a couple of batches in the pint size canning jars. I will mix the liquids into one, and then put the rest in the pantry, so when I am ready for the next batch, I only have to add the liquids.

Dry ingredients:
1 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt (1/2 teaspoon will taste good too)
1 teaspoon onion powder

Wet:
I put the fill line measurements for canning jars in ( ) so you don't have to get out the measuring cups.

1/2 cup olive oil (fill to 6 oz. line. Note: The dry ingredients take about 2 oz of space, so even though 1/2 cup has 4 ounces in it, we start measuring the liquids at 6oz.)
1/2 cup red wine vinegar (fill to the 10 oz. line)
1/4 cup water (fill to the 12 oz. line)

Shake and use or place in fridge for up to 2 months.

Products Mentioned in this Post:

Giving Up Sugar for a Month

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 01:37:00 +0000

Photo Credit: Uwe Hermann

On Sunday I will start a month-long journey of giving up sugar. Why? I have become lazy over the past year and let sugar creep back into my diet. Too much into my diet! I know friends and family already feel like I don't eat that much, but I do. And I can feel it. I don't like the way my body craves it for a pick-up in the afternoon or the example I set for my kids when they see me eat it. I don't like the few pounds I have gained because of it. So the time has come to give it up for another month.

This isn't the first time I have given up sugar, I did it back in November and it was a good experience. So I will do it again, but with a difference. This time I would love to have people join me on the journey. So I would like to invite others who would like to do this with me to guest post on the blog about your experience. Why are you giving up sugar? How is it going? Why do you like it? Why don't you like it? How do your family and friends feel about your decision?

Is anyone with me?

I think giving up sugar could look different for different people depending where you are at right now. Maybe some people do it for a week, maybe two. Maybe you give up all sweets, but don't worry about the sugar in your pasta sauce or hot dogs.

To me a Giving Up Sugar in May means:

* No sugar.
* No corn syrup.
* No sweeteners, fake or real, of any kind in the ingredients list of anything I buy.
* Naturally occurring fruit and milk sugars are OK - but I will limit fruit to no more than 1 per day.

So if you are interested in doing this with me, send me an email at j m a g r o @ g m a i l . c o m (remove the spaces) and let me know.

Door to Door Organics Give Away

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 13:42:00 +0000

It is time for Give Away. The kind people at Door to Door Organics have agreed to give away a box of food to one of my readers!

Door to Door Organics is a service that delivers fresh, organic food to your door on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. To start, you sign-up for one of the many different size boxes that they offer:

What is really nice is that you see what is coming in your box the following week and can make substitutions if there is something that no one at your house likes. What is also really nice about their service is that they offer an online marketplace of dry organic grocery goods that you can add on to your order each week. They also just started carrying grass fed organic meat.

Door to Door Organics sent me a complimentary box of their food to try before I posted this giveaway. I ordered the bitty box, which really isn't that bitty. The picture below shows the box as I got it. The picture at the very top of this post shows the food outside of the box.

Doesn't that look great? We really enjoyed all the food. It was all very good quality.

They also offer an great fundraising opportunity for groups/schools/churches. You can check out their co-op page for more information.

Win a FREE bitty box from Door to Door Organics
All you have to do is comment on this article with what your favorite vegetable is for a chance to win. I will choose a winner via Random.org next week, February 23rd on Facebook, so if you enter make sure to like us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/AMichiganMom)

* One entry per person please!
* Make sure to enter your name in the "name/URL" option when commenting so I know who you are if you win (you can leave the URL blank).
* Check to Make sure they deliver to your area: http://michigan.doortodoororganics.com/delivery

Where I've Been

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 13:40:00 +0000

The past five months have been a bit of a blur.

* Both my kids started school in August, and start at 8AM (a little too early for my taste) so mornings are busy getting them off and ready. Evenings are busy preparing for the next day of school and getting them to bed in time. And now they have homework, parties and fieldtrips to keep the days busy.

* I was writing for Rochester Media's Community Edge. Check out my 2010 Advent Calendar Activities, as well as our Breakfast Around the World Staycation.

* And, I have picked up some new consulting clients that have kept me busy developing their websites.

I haven't forgotten about The Dinner Table. It is frequently on my mind. I have recipes to post and products to write up. One of my resolutions for the 2011 is to be more structured in where and how I spend my time, and spending time on The Dinner Table is part of that plan. I am incredibly excited about the coming year and can't wait to share it with you!

Australian Food & Wine Tour

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 13:21:00 +0000

Came across a travel agent in Birmingham, Michigan (Australia 2000 Travel) that offers a deluxe Food and Wine Tour to Australia.

My husband, Leonard, has family in Australia and it is always a place I have longed to visit (he has already been there). Wouldn't a Food and Wine tour be the perfect thing to combine with a trip to visit my husbands family in Australia? I think so...guess I will add this to my Christmas List!

Any of you readers ever booked an Australia travel package before? What did you see? Where did you go? More importantly, what did you eat? Anything scrumptious?

Julie

Maple Creek Farm Share 2010

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 01:16:00 +0000

Here is a slideshow of the share produce for 2010. My thoughts on this year's share follow the slideshow.

The CSA season is over and I must admit I am not too disappointed about it.

For some reason, I found the share to be more stressful for me this year. I didn't feel in the mood every Wednesday to pick up the share, clean and store the veggies and then prep them for use during the week or to store them in the freezer for use during winter. Last year was the opposite, I felt like every Wednesday was like Christmas picking up my share.

It wasn't that I felt the quality of the share was any less than last year, because I thought it was good considering they hardly had any rain all summer. We got A LOT of peppers, I would guess it was because it was what they had to give us considering the difficulties with rain. The tomatoes we got this year were FANTASTIC!! We had fun eating the many varieties we got through the season.

I am not sure if I am going to be a member of Maple Creek or any share next year for a few reasons. One, I feel like a break. Two, I go to the farmer's market every week anyway, so I can just pick up what I really wanted there without all the stress of getting things I do not feel like cooking each week. And Thirdly, we enlarged our garden (which we lovingly refer to as Tuscany, since it is a garden on a hill) for next year and I think we will get a decent amount of produce out of it next summer. But time will tell, and I will be sure to let you know!

Maple Creek Farm Share ~ Week 13

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:58:00 +0000

The weather was already telling me that fall was here and today's share proved it. We got our first acorn and butternut squash.

The basil smelled wonderful and smelled up the whole porch at our pickup site! I already made some yummy pesto out of it.

Everything else looks absolutely fabulously fresh (how's that for too many adjectives) and I can't wait to cook with it this week!

Maple Creek Farm Share ~ Week 12

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:25:00 +0000

Week 12 Looks Good! I've already chopped the peppers for freezing, made pesto out of the lemon basil and chopped and frozen the cilantro in one of those little frozen herb cube trays from Trader Joes.

It was a nice surprise to get some apples today and the Swiss Chard looks absolutely gorgeous. I treated those watermelons like crystal because the last time we got them I split one open by accident by setting it on the counter (the sign of a truly ripe melon).

I must admit I was happy to not get any green beans. They tasted really good, but it is not my favorite vegetable and I will be happy to something else as a side for the coming week.

The zucchini is piling up and I must do something with it soon. I don't have problems thinking of things to do with all my zucchini, I have problems finding the time to do something with it. Feels like just can't find enough time the last couple of weeks.

Maple Creek Farm Share ~ Week 11

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:58:00 +0000

Wow, is the only word I can use to describe this week's share! Look at all of that goodness! Melons, tomatoes, onions, squash, green beans, corn, peppers, kohlrabi (yeah!), basil and cabbages. And don't they all look gorgeous!?!

The kids are back at school, and although I love them to pieces, I was very excited to pick up the share without them because their job was to pick out our share of tomatoes and they always liked to find the smallest ones they could. It was nice to have the freedom to choose my own size tomatoes this week!

The tomatoes alone make this week's share worth the money we spent on the share. Last weekend at Whole Foods my husband saw an old heirloom tomato that he wanted to try. At $3.99/lb that one tomato cost us about $7!

I hope you are all enjoying the bounty of the season as well! Guten Appetit!

Share Roundup, Week 8, 9 & 10

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:59:00 +0000

August has gone so fast. I haven't forgotten about taking my share pictures, I just haven't gotten around to posting them. Here are the pictures from the last three weeks. Week 8's picture is a little weak because I was in Traverse City and my husband picked up the share and took the picture with his Blackberry.

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Trying some Grain Free Alternatives

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:49:00 +0000

The more I read about grains and specifically wheat. The more I am convinced that our family should limit the consumption of them whether they are whole, sprouted, soaked, etc. While I think that we can get by pretty well on meat, veggies, fruits and dairy, I would still like to have the option of making a muffin or a pancake for the kids every so often. And I should say with the exception of the few cavities our family has, we are not suffering any ill-health affects because of our consumption of grains, so if the kids have a cupcake or some corn chips at a birthday party, I really don't care. I just feel that in the long-term minimizing our consumption of them is best for our family.

For that reason, I recently ordered some books and alternative flours to help us on our grain reduction journey.

Grain-free Books:
Almond Flour Cookbook
Cooking with Coconut Flour
Everyday Grain-free Gourmet
Eat Well Feel Well (this one follows the Specific Carbohydrate Diet Recommendations for people trying to heal their gut based on the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle)

Grain-free Flour:
Coconut Flour
Almond Flour (it is bleached, but I emailed the company to see how they bleach it and they remove the Almond skins by quickly steaming them.)

There are other grain-free flour options available, but I choose these two because they had cookbook accompaniments I could use to guide me as I start cooking with them. I should also say that I only bought these to use occasionally. I wonder what would happen if we all started consuming as much almond and coconut flour as we do wheat, I can imagine that too much of these flours could be bad too...but that is just a guess.

I got the books a couple of weeks ago, but today the flours arrived:

I am super excited to try these alternative flours and look forward to sharing the results here. The only problem is I am heading up to beautiful Traverse City next week and won't be have the time to try them until I get back. Adios Amigos!

Maple Creek Farm Share ~ Week 7

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:10:00 +0000

Yum! This week we got some goodies that we have already enjoyed.

Corn - Had some for dinner last night, will have some more tonight.

Zucchini- Made some grilled cheese sandwiches with this. We sliced it thin and put it right inside with the cheese. Very good.

Peppers - Not sure what I am going to do with these. Will probably make some veggie dip so we can dip them in it for snacks.

Onions - Saving them for use during the week.

Cabbage - Will store and use for a salad later on in the week.

Cucumbers - Made a Salad with it and the ....

Tomatoes - My daughter thought it was fun to pick the smallest tomatoes out ;-) Ohh well.

Maple Creek Farm Share ~ Week 6

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 03:21:00 +0000

This week we got:

Lettuce: Will use for salads during the week.

Tomatoes: Will eat on our salads or give to the kids for a snack during the week. I always ask them if they want it cut up like a "farmers market sample" which means I chop it up and give them toothpicks to eat it with.

Potatoes: Yum! These were good I slow roasted them in my mini-slow cooker. Had a few leftover that I will put in the kid's eggs in the morning.

Green Beans: Will use as a side veggie for dinner. This Peanut Butter Green Bean Recipe is a fun side dish that is pretty kid-friendly that I have made in the past.

Broccoli: Will use as a side veggie for dinner. I usually just steam them.

Green Peppers: Not sure what I am going to do with these, the black bean soup recipe from How to Eat Supper is AMAZING and calls for green peppers, I might chop them up and freeze them for use with the recipe over winter.

Onions: I put them in my storage bin and will use them through the week for cooking as needed. I just bought some of these vegetable keepers from reuseablebags.com that are in the mail. I can't wait to get them and hang them up in my kitchen to store my garlic, onions, and potatoes in!

Mentioned Products:

Favorite Things: Reuseit.com

noreply@blogger.com (aMichiganMom) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 02:30:00 +0000

Usually I reserve my favorite things posts for individual items, but today I wanted share with you some of my favorite things, from my favorite online store, reuseit.com. The store is chock full of environmentally friendly products for your use at the home, office and while out and about. They are constantly adding new items and have frequent sales, so there is always something new to buy ;-)

You can view pictures of many of the items I have purchase from reuseit.com on my flickr set for them,

Or, if you are more of a video person, watch the videos below where I talk about some of my favorite items.

Litter Free Lunch Napkins

Insulated Lunch Bag (Made in the USA)

Reusable Wrapping Paper

Reuseit.com has a HUGE selection of items like the ones I reviewed, hop on over there to check it out.