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Wylde Center class in Atlanta this June

Do you want to learn more about eating well and organically on a budget? Take my class at the Wylde Center this June!

Join me in Decatur, GA at the Wylde Center (formerly the Oakhurst Community Garden)for my Affordably Organic: Feeding the Whole Family class on Saturday, June 8 from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.   

I'll show my methods for:

• easy meal planning 

• sourcing out and eating seasonal foods

• pantry must-haves 

• coupon hunting

• budget tips

• identifying good (and bad) grocery deals 

Additionally, I'll share easy, high-nutrition, low-cost, family-friendly recipes. This class usually sells out quickly so reserve your spot now. 

The cost is $15./ Wylde Center Members;  $20./Non-Members.

Sign up here!  Or call the Wylde Center for more info: (404) 371-1920

Ranch Dressing - Whatcha' Cookin' Wednesday

This “living organically on a budget" thing can be daunting, right?  I mean, who has the TIME to figure out what we should and should not be eating organically, how to get the best deals, where to find all those “easy” DIY recipes, finding the time to make all those recipes and on and on and on…

I get it.

I didn’t adopt this lifestyle overnight. It takes some time to figure it all out. Don't beat yourself up.

One of the things that can make the journey/transition to eating organically for less much less daunting is to start small. Every week or so substitute a homemade item for something ready-made, processed and/or store-bought. Salad dressing is a good place to start.

I searched high and low but couldn’t find a tasty, inexpensive, organic Ranch dressing that had less than 12 ingredients and didn’t contain sugar. (Seriously, $5.+ for a bottle of dressing?!? And why the heck does contain sugar?) And that favorite, really well-known name brand you see on the grocery? It has 17 ingredients. (shudder)

So, I made my own. And it's pretty dang good. Plus, it's way better for your body and wallet. And sanity. You can totally do this. 

Ranch Dressing

yields approx. one pint

½ c. organic mayonnaise

½ c. organic, plain yogurt

¾ c. organic sour cream

1Tbsp. red wine vinegar

½ tsp. dried onion powder

1-2 cloves of crushed fresh garlic (or use ¼ tsp. powdered garlic)

¼ tsp. dried parsley

¼ tsp. dried dill (can also use fresh)

salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together all ingredients.  (Yep, it’s that easy.)  

Store in air-tight jar in fridge for 2-3 weeks. 

Affordably Organic workshop at UT this May!

Sign-ups are open now for an Affordably Organic workshop with yours truly! This class is at The University of Tennessee's Culinary Institute on Monday, May 13 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. I'll share how to create dynamic and creative meal plans, where to spend your "organic dollars", and how to spot a good and bad deal, plus we'll enjoy a lovely Spring Harvest dinner with all items made from scratch. Get out of the  (processed) box and into the kitchen! Pasta? Yep, homemade. Pesto?  Of course!  Hummus? You betcha, no store-bought stuff here...  Yogurt! YES! (You can do it for pennies on the dollar -- really.)  Click HERE to reserve your spot.

Fresh food from farmers market goodies - recipes!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of being the Guest Chef at the Maryville Farmers Market.  

WHAT.  FUN.

My challenge was to create on-site samples of foods that can bought that day at the market.  I had my pick of amazingly fresh and local, chemical-free produce, plus locally raised meats and pastured eggs...  Dreamy!  And great fun… and I felt so lucky to have such a huge variety of good foods with which to cook.

I created two samples: 

- Quinoa with Fresh Tomatoes, Sweet Green Onions and Purple Baby Carrots with a splash of Lemon Vinaigrette (vegan and gluten-free) and... 

- Spicy Pork Sausage Bites with Toasted Walnut Spinach Pesto

The recipes are listed below…  Enjoy! 

One the best parts of my "job" -- I love it when the kids visit!

Quinoa with Fresh Tomatoes, Sweet Green Onions and Purple Baby Carrots with a splash of Lemony Vinaigrette

I wrote about quinoa a few years ago when it first became a staple of my family’s diet.  This Super Food is so incredibly easy to cook (and versatile) that we have Quinoa Night in our quarterly meal plan.  The following recipe couldn't be simpler.  Use seasonal veggies to create your own quinoa summer salad...  

As fresh as it gets...  

 

Quinoa for everyone!

3 cups cooked Quinoa (substitute water for veggie broth for an even tastier dish

1 medium tomato, chopped

2 sweet green onions, chopped

1 small bunch of baby carrots (about 6-8), peeled and grated

Toss all ingredients together. Serve on a leaf of crispy butter lettuce and add a splash of lemon vinaigrette.  (Forgo a fork and use the lettuce as a wrap!)

Lemony Viniagrette (inspired by Mark Bittman)

¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp. warm water

1 small Vidalia onion, roughly chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Mix lemon juice and olive oil in blender and slowly add warm water.  (This will help the dressing emulsify.)

Toss in chopped onion and mix until desired consistency.

Best when served immediately but you can also chill overnight.  Bring to room temp before serving.

Spicy Pork Sausage Bites with Toasted Walnut & Spinach Pesto

I used Wildwood Farms spicy sausage for this dish, but if their sausage is unavailable in your area you can add ½ t. of chili flakes to a lb. of regular sausage for a similar taste. Use pesto for dipping sauce for your sausage bites.

Plating yummy Spicy Sausage Bites with Toasted Walnut & Spinach Pesto

1.5 lbs. Wildwood Farms spicy pork sausage

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 t. salt (I prefer Kosher)

½ t. celery salt

2 t. ground mustard

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced

2 medium onions, minced

2 cups of bread crumbs (you can make your own with about 3-4 slices of bread of your choice, toasted well and crumbed with Cuisinart)

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Sautee onions and garlic until tender.  

Set aside to cool. 

Combine all ingredients in large bowl and mix with hands until incorporated.  (Do not over mix!)

Set aside, covered and refriderated, for about 15 minutes to allow mix to set and firm up.

Measure two teaspoons of pork mixture and roll into small balls.  

Sautee in olive oil until browned well, about 5 minutes.  (Make sure that oil is smokin’ hot before you start!)  

Remove browned bites and drain on paper towel.

Yields about 40 bites

Toasted Walnut and Spinach Pesto

Toasting walnuts is easy and quick and adds a lovely flavor to the pesto.  You can use raw walnuts for this dish but I highly recommend you take the extra step and toast 'em…   Add nuts to very hot pan (cast iron is best, no oil!) and stir until browned and toasted – about 5 minutes.

1 cup walnuts, shelled, chopped and toasted

1 cup of hard Italian cheese (such as parmesan or pecorino romano), finely grated

2 cups of spinach, washed and dried

1 cup of extra virgin olive oil

1-2 garlic cloves

salt and pepper to taste

Layer walnuts, spinach and garlic in Cuisinart or blender and mix until smooth.  

While blending, drizzle in olive oil until incorporated. (You may need to stop and scrape down sides with rubber spatula.) 

Add cheese and blend until desired consistency. 

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Dining at Disney Challenge - The Results

The kiddos with Rafiki while at Animal Kingdom...

So, did we - a family of four, committed to eating real, wholesome food on a budget - survive at the processed land o’ plenty that’s Disney?

You betcha.

And we kept it healthy.  And it wasn’t as painful as you might think. 

We spent about $40.-50./day on food and drinks, which was by no means inexpensive, but seems to be much less than most people spend while vacationing with the Mickey and the gang. 

We employed two strategies:

We committed to this daily meal plan:

  -big breakfast - 7:30 a.m. - fuel up!

  -heavy snacks throughout the day - this is KEY

  -light lunch - 11:00

  -light dinner - 4 or 5 p.m.

and...

We got snacks upon arrival for the 1) rooms (each had a mini-fridge) and 2) for strolling around the parks

The day we arrived we went to a local Super Target and stocked up:

-Bottled, filtered water - $6. (one 12-pk, med. size; one 10-pk, small size)

-Cashews – 12 oz. container - $4.99

-Peanuts – 12 oz. container - $2.59

-3 lb bag of mandarin oranges - $4.79

-organic milk – single serve – 6 @ $1./ea

-Clif bars – 5 @ .97/ea

-Kashi organic crackers - $3.19

-Organic single serve mozzarella sticks - $4.50/6

-Organic ½ and ½ (for morning coffee, which was supplied in the room with a coffee maker) - $1.75

TOTAL:  approx $40.  

Things I brought (all of this fit in my carry-on):

-One loaf of homemade, organic, pumpkin bread – pre-sliced (pretty much lasted us throughout our visit)

-One small, insulated container

-Two small freezer packs for keeping perishable snacks (like cheese)

-3 oz. organic maple syrup (I know I’m a weirdo – the thought of the kiddos pouring high fructose corn syrup on their morning pancakes was just too much too bear)

-Water bottles – one for each kid, one for the adults

See there on the left? That's maple syrup packed right in with our toiletries. No, TSA did not give us a hard time about it but a few eyebrows got raised. 

Also, another word on snacks, all eateries at the parks offer some sort of healthy side option, usually carrot sticks, grapes or apples.  We ended up stock-piling during the trip and they came in handy for between meal snacks.


MEALS

Please understand that we by no means ate all-organic while on vacation but did do our best to make healthy choices and stay very budget-conscious:

Breakfast

Cracker Barrel – kids had pancakes (with real maple syrup – see above) with a side of fruit; adults had eggs and biscuits or toast  - approx $22.

Denny’s Diner - kids split the adult pancake breakfast with side of fruit; adults had veggie scrambles – approx $22.

Bagels (Hole in a Roll on Hwy 192) - Kids had toasted cinnamon/raisin bagels (lightly buttered – with REAL butter); adults had egg, bacon and cheese sandwiches on seeded bagels – approx $10.

Lunch

Cosmic Ray’s – Tomorrowland – Turkey sandwich, strawberry yogurt for kids, small bags of grapes and mini carrots,  – about $25. for all of us

Publix – deli sandwiches, potato salad for all – about $21.

Animal Kingdom

Dino Land U.S.A. – Roasted turkey leg - $9. (When in Rome!  And, yes, it was delicious.)

Veggies wraps for kids – approx $12.

Dinner

Our first night in Orlando we stumbled across a fun place called Flippers that made wonderful pesto pizzas for the kids for about $7.; salads for the adults for about $7-9./ea.  We our meals delivered to the hotel at no extra charge! We called Flippers as we were leaving the park each evening and dinner arrived at our hotel about 5 minutes after we did!  

The net/net:  Yes, it’s possible to find somewhat healthy choices, low-cost food at Disney World but you’ll need to plan ahead and be willing to be flexible. 

Organically yours,

Minde

What’s your fave tip for eating health on a budget tip while at Disney? I'd love to hear about it in the comments section...

Dining at Disney - A 'Real Food' Challenge

I’ll be taking a blog break for the next week so we can go on a family vacation and veg (pun intended) out.  

Or will we?  

You see, we’re off to see The Mouse. Will veggies and other healthy food be readily available and easy to find? Will we need to pay an arm and a leg for it? We’re eager to find out if it’s possible to eat real, wholesome food on a tight budget while at Disney World. 

For instance, we probably won't be eating this:

But we may be eating this:

Chances are very good that we won’t find any organic fare at the parks but we’ll do our best to source out fresh, whole foods as much as possible. Our hotel has a fridge but no cooking facilities and we only plan to go to the grocery store once – snacks only.  So, we’ll be limited to park food and close-to-the hotel restaurants for our meals.  

Can we do it?  I think we can. I'm hopeful we can. Check back next week and find out.

Do you have any tips for us on our Disney World food adventure?  Please leave in the comments below...

Organically yours,

Minde