Bountiful Baskets

So there is a co-op thing here (and arizona and las vegas) where each week you sign up, pay $15 and get something like this:

I couldn't believe it! There is so much stuff here! Maybe I will survive the grocery stores here. They also have (but they didn't have it this week) organic baskets for $25. I'm excited to try that one!

what are these?

hopefully this will decrease my grocery bill every week and help us eat healthier. Woohoo!

**go to bountifulbaskets.org for more information!

Where have you been all my life?

Today since the movers were packing us up I got myself a little lunch at Panera Bread. I tried the Mediterranean Veggie sandwich with avocado and I fell in love with it! Why has it taken me so long to try it? It was the most delicious sandwich I have EVER had. Sad that we're moving away. I hope they have Panera in Utah...if not at least they have cafe rio.

I don't like Monsanto

Have you heard of Monsanto? I first heard about it in the documentary Food, Inc. They are a huge company and you can read more about what they are doing here. I don't like how they have a stronghold on the seed business. They are pushing small farmers and seed sellers out of business with their roundup ready gene that they put in thier seeds. Check the ingredient labels of your food and you will see how many corn and soy products are in there. They feed it to the chickens, the cows, the pigs, you name it. If I could, I'd buy all organic, but I can't yet and I'm trying hard to buy things that either have organic corn and soy products or that don't have them at all.

Here's another website

I'm not super smart and I'm just scratching the surface on this, but it doesn't sit well with me and I don't like it.

Cupcakes and Food, Inc.

I made these flower cupcakes for my sister in law's birthday yesterday. THey were a lot of fun to do.

While I was decorating these highly processed food items :) with highly processed sugar frosting, I watched this movie:

I like this clip too

I won't go into too much detail, because I really want to devote a whole post to how I feel about food and how I got to this point, but I really think that everyone who eats food in America should watch this movie. It was really eye opening and a lot depressing. I never understood the meaning behind the phrase "buy locally" until I watched this show. It was hard to watch the clips about farmers and how hard the big massive food companies are making it for them to even stay in business anymore. I am NOT an animal lover and I LOVE meat in moderation, but watching the conditions and treatment of the livestock that we eat was so sad to me. I just don't think it is the way God intended us to treat animals. It is disgusting that they put ammonia treated filler into our ground beef to make it "safer" against E.Coli. ANd it is unbelievable the amount of science that goes into our food, yet our food is making us sick. And of course the natural food is WAY too expensive and of course I can't afford it...yet. Making small changes a little at a time is the key to not going crazy.

Yep, I think I'm turning into a crunchy granola girl. Slowly but surely. But don't worry. I won't stop wearing make up or shaving my legs or washing my hair. At least not yet....just kidding. Sorry, now you probably think I'm a crazy person, but please watch it! It is worth your time.

I could totally be vegan!

Oh man.

This place is GOOD.

I had the pleasure of trying their tofu chicken sandwich. Yes. TOFU. It was delicious! If you hadn't told me what it was I probably would not have guessed it was tofu. It tasted amazing. Nathan won't try it. But seriously, don't knock it til you try it because you'll be surprised! I also tried their carrot cake and a delicious veggie/mango salad. It was great!

The closest Veggie Grill is at the Spectrum

My new love

Just tried Pinkberry last night. Um LOVE it! They built one really close to us (like 15 minutes away) and so I finally went and tried it. I put fruity pebbles, blueberries, and strawberries on mine. Let's just say it's the BEST thing EVER!! Too bad it's like $5...kind of a rip off. Come visit us here and I'll treat you to this place!

Eggplant Parmesan

This isn't the best picture of Easton I have ever taken, but it is beautiful to me! This is Easton eating Eggplant Parmesan. I am in SHOCK that he will even eat it. It has eggplant, tomatoes, cheese, basil, all things I would NEVER think he would eat. It's delicious. Nathan doesn't like it, but I might have to make it during busy season since the kid likes it! It's a little time consuming, but worth it. And not low fat! Here it is:

Eggplant Parmesan
2 lbs (about 2 large) eggplants
Kosher salt
3 cups of your favorite spaghetti sauce, homemade or in the jar
Olive oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
4 large eggs, beaten
grated mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated high quality Parmesan cheese
1 packed cup fresh basil leaves, torn into smaller pieces

IMPORTANT: Cut eggplants lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices. Arrange one layer in the bottom of a large colander and sprinkle evenly and generously with salt. Repeat with remaining eggplant, salting, until all eggplant is in the colander. Weigh down the slices with a couple of plates and let drain for 2 hours. The purpose of this step is to have the eggplant release some of its moisture before cooking.

When eggplant has drained, press down on it to remove excess water, and lay the slices out on paper towels to remove all the moisture.

In a wide, shallow bowl, combine flour and breadcrumbs. Mix well. Pour beaten eggs into another wide shallow bowl. Place a large, deep skillet over medium heat, and pour in a a half inch of olive oil. When oil is shimmering, dredge the eggplant slices first in the flour mixture, then in the beaten egg. Working in batches, slide coated eggplant into hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides, turning once. Drain on paper towels.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In the bottom of a 9x13 inch glass baking dish, spread 1 cup of tomato sauce. Top with one third of the eggplant slices. Top eggplant with a layer of shredded cheese. Sprinkle with one third of the Parmesan and half of the basil leaves.

Make a second layer of eggplant slices, topped by 1 cup of sauce, remaining mozzarella, half the remaining Parmesan, and all of the remaining basil. Add remaining eggplant, and top with the remaining tomato sauce and Parmesan.

Bake until cheese has melted and the top is slightly brown, about 30 minutes. Allow to rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.



Serves 8.

Grandma Seibel

In the mail today I got something very precious to me.

They are copies of my Grandma Seibel's recipes. I love that they are in her handwriting. My Grandma Seibel died when I was about 6 or 7. I don't remember a whole lot about her, but she used to take me to the park and let me ride the horses there. Her favorite color was pink, and she was an amazing cook. These recipes mean a lot to me and it's a way I can connect with her. I wish she were still around. None of my grandparents are alive and haven't been for like 16 years and I am totally jealous of people who still have theirs! What a great thing to get in the mail today! Thanks Aunt Judy!

Best cookies EVER

Yesterday I went to Trader Joe's looking for a good snack to scrapbook with. My neighbor and I get together once a week and scrapbook and of course we need a snack! So I stumbled upon these:

Oh my gosh they are SO GOOD! And guess what, they have no trans fat, unlike oreos. So they are way way better for you than oreos. AND they have no high-fructose corn syrup. Yum-O. I was in heaven! To balance it out, I bought some grape tomatoes...

Anyway, these cookies are only around during Christmas so if you have a Trader Joe's by where you live, go buy some!!!