Smoothies While Traveling: Easier Than you May Think

November 23, 2016 by Sarah

So this chica is back in Ecuador for a month!! I studied abroad here 4 years ago and during that time, I found an orphanage that I completely fell in love with. I came again to care for the little babies that left a bigger impact on my heart than words can describe. I plan to volunteer at the orphanage as much as I can and do catch-up work for my photography business, which I’m so blessed to be able to do remotely. This year has been a whirlwind, and I felt like I needed a little time to get away to take care of myself, do something I love more than anything in me, and refocus to determine my goals for the upcoming year.

Well, part of taking care of myself involves food, of course! I pre-contemplated this before leaving and brought some ingredients I could use to make sure I was still consuming a nutrient-rich diet while here. Because I’ve lived here before, I was a bit familiar with what I could get my hands on and what produce I’d have access to. All in all, I’m banking on smoothies as being my daily go-to, and here is how I prepared for this:

From home, I brought:

chia seeds
hemp seeds
e3live Renew Me powder (this stuff is the absolute best and definitely worth the money!)
goji berries
stick blender and a mason jar *more detail below

(Ideas of other powders include protein, maca, ashwaghanda, any herbal powders like He Shou Wu, Reishi, Chaga)

Buying local foods:

If you know the region a bit, you may know what to expect, but even if you don’t after doing some research, you can still improvise! Being that I’m in the Andean mountains, I was hoping I’d find some local maca and cacao. Yesterday I wandered around and found some at one of the Artisan markets! I was stoked! The cacao powder also has ginger 🙂

I also found these exotic chocoalate bars, which was some extra icing on the cake!

But back to smoothies.

I knew there’d be bananas and other exotic fruits, like passionfruit, granadilla, tomate de árbol, that I could add to the smoothies so I picked up some produce today as well. If you bring some of the more expensive ingredients from home (seeds, powders, superfoods), you won’t need to spend as much while traveling. And as far as space goes, I just put them in smaller bags, and the food I brought really didn’t take up that much room. Now Ecuador is very cheap, but produce is in many other places as well. Keep this in mind when you’re trying to eat healthy. I bought everything below for LESS THAN $7.

*Equipment

As far as equipment, it definitely depends on what kind of trip you are taking. You may have a blender where you are going, and if you can, inquire at the place(s) you’re staying. When I was in Cabo San Lucas earlier this year, there was a kitchenette in the room with a blender. I took full advantage of that by making smoothies with chia and hemp seeds I brought with me. I am here in Ecuador for a month and did have a checked bag so I was able to bring this kind of thing along. Initially, I knew I wanted to bring a blender to make banana milk (because the only non-dairy milk they have here is soy milk), and I was going to bring a Shake N Take my mom gave me years back. Last minute, I decided to go with a Cuisinart stick blender and a wide mouth Mason jar instead because it’s much more powerful and better at blending and is not much bigger. It’s very, very portable and easy to clean. I’m staying in an Airbnb and have access to a kitchen, but it’s the family’s and is in a separate unit so I most likely will not be using it often.

I’ll conclude with the smoothie I made this morning!

It had water, two bananas, passion fruit, mango, tamarind, chia and hemp seeds, maca, cacao, and e3live powder! Since I don’t readily have access to a kitchen, I just rinsed the attachment from the stick blender with some water over the smoothie and then rinsed the jar with water and drank it when I was done. Then I was able to clean out the little bit of smoothie remnants that were left in the bathroom sink! It was super easy and worked really well. Unless you have a good place to do dishes, my advice is to rinse it right away so it doesn’t dry and get caked on 🙂

So there you have it! Do you have any thoughts or ideas for smoothies while traveling?! If so, leave a comment below!

How to Make an Incredible Salad Without Using Dressing

July 19, 2016 by Sarah

There are so many moments when I’m preparing food and thinking, ‘I wish I could blog about this’. Something that gets me so geeked is teaching about ways to eat healthy without just dishing out another recipe. Education; it’s what I want the heartbeat of this blog to be. Educating you on how to find practical ways, that are easy to replicate and implement, to add more gorgeous, colorful, nutritious foods to your diet.

I’ve been wanting to write this post for a very long time. I started a new real estate photography job a few months back and have been getting busy with my own lifestyle photography that it has kind of taken over my life. It’s a huge passion of mine, and I’m blessed to be doing photography full-time now, but oh, how I miss having those few extra hours a week to blog. Although it isn’t much, these occasional blog posts represent my tight grasp on this creative outlet that’s also driven by, you guessed it, so much passion. I’ve had these pictures sitting on my computer for a few weeks now, and I’m choosing to make the time to give them their deserved debut 😉

So today we cover salads. And dressing. Or lack thereof.

Salads are phenomenal. I believe salads have the power to cure food regrets. They’re a reset food; one that sustains you while helping you clean internally, getting you back on track (maybe after you have temporarily departed from the clean eats station..ya know ya know). Smoothies and juicing are other very suitable examples of what I consider reset foods, but there is something about salads that is just so satisfying – maybe it’s the crunch, the vibrant colors, the nourishing greens or all the different flavors cohesively mixed together in one single dish. It’s most likely all of the above.

I guess I should specify this though; I’m talking about clean salads. Not ones that are cancelled out by filthy dressings that devoid your salad of its potential greatness – dressings that contain GMO oils and other ingredients, flavor enhancers like MSG and artificial flavors, and preservatives. There are some good organic brands out there, which is nice to have on hand, but one thing I have recently started realizing is this: you don’t need dressing. And this is where this blog post becomes useful. It’s not just any salad where you can omit dressing and still enjoy every single bite – it’s a salad containing certain elements that, when combined, completely eliminate the need for dressing.

First, let’s quickly break down the main components of a dressing:

Fat
Acid
At times, a hint of sweetness
Herbs or seasonings

Now, I really want to focus on the first two. Fat and Acid. Oil and vinegar. These are pretty paramount for what comprises a typical dressing. If you have these two present, you’re already so far on your way to a dressing-less salad. Yes, you can drizzle any oil as your fat (like olive oil), but you can also use sliced or diced avocado, which adds an unbeatable creaminess to the salad as well. Avocado has many nutritional benefits and is most definitely my go-to for the fat component. I hope I can continue dispelling the myth that avocados contain a lot of fat so therefore, should be avoided as far as weight control is concerned. This is not true. These are healthy, vital, delicious fats you need in your diet. There is no need to fear healthy fats when you are eating a balanced, nutritious diet. Embrace good fats!

As for the acid or the astringent flavor, think pickled or fermented. I’ve been obsessed with both lately. You can easily pickle some veggies yourself, like I this one I made below:

This is pickled red onion and radish in a brine of apple cider vinegar and rice vinegar. Let it sit for as long as you’d like (whether that’s a couple hours or days) and that’s it. I love adding this to so many dishes because it gives the food a unique tart factor that I just crave! You can also use sauerkraut. And I’m not talking polish sausage sauerkraut here, I’m talking traditionally fermented sauerkraut that’s raw and oh, so delicious. Another perk is that it comes in many different flavors! Wildbrine and The Brinery are two of my favorite suppliers. Here is what a few from wildbrine look like:

Now for the optional: something sweet and something herby

Think dried or fresh fruit. Berries are perfect now that they’re in season! Sometimes I’m totally in the mood for this and sometimes I am not. Either way, it tastes so yummy combined with the fat and acid from above as pictured in the example below. This salad has blueberries, raspberries, and nectarine slices.

As far as herbs and spices go, I think it’s safe to say that your salad won’t really need help in the flavoring department, and they’re kind of unnecessary at this point. I love to add some fresh green onion, but that’s about it.

Here is also a simple, quick, easy salad I made with just some strawberries, the red cabbage and beet sauerkraut with some fresh green onions over greens. I didn’t use a fat component, yet it was still very tasty and clean.

Thanks for reading! Leave a comment below if you have any other ideas or thoughts!

With love,

How to Pick the Right CSA for You (and Your Family)

May 4, 2016 by Sarah

It’s that time of year!! For many of us, it’s time to think about choosing a CSA in our area so we can enjoy fresh, local, seasonal produce in the coming months. Here is what you need to know to help in choosing the CSA that is right for you.

What is a CSA?

CSA stands for Community Sustained Agriculture and is a great way for you to buy seasonal food from your local farmers. It’s an arrangement where you buy a share in the beginning of the season (most run from June-October here in Michigan) of one of the farms in exchange for produce or other farm products. Buying these shares is helpful for the farmers because it gives them money early on in the season. They are also able to build relationships with the consumers who eat the food they grow. Consumers benefit by receiving incredibly fresh, seasonal produce. Often times, they are exposed to new varieties of produce that helps them expand their food knowledge and diversifies their cooking. Consumers also get to visit the farm, or in some cases work on it for a reduced price of a share.

Is a CSA for everyone?

CSAs are phenomenal if you are looking to support your local farmers and eat more seasonally. However, with buying into a CSA, there is what’s referred to as a ‘shared risk’ or ‘shared loss’. Your local farmers will do their very best to provide delicious, ample produce each week, but some factors are out of their control (namely weather). When it’s a tough season for whatever reason, you may receive less food than expected. This is where you have to decide if a CSA is right for you because there is no guarantee of what you are going to get. You experience the highs and lows that they do.

This is the way I see it so take it for what it is worth; farmers are amazing people. They sustain our country through our most basic of needs. I will full heartedly and enthusiastically support these farmers no matter the yield. They work day in and day out to provide incredibly nutrient dense food for us to consume, and their role is crucial. Being apart of this process is something I would participate in shared risk or not.

Where can I learn about CSAs in my area?

You can visit your local farmer’s market and talk with the different farmers to see if they offer CSA shares. You can also visit localharvest.com, which contains the most comprehensive list of CSAs, or eatwellguide.org lists them in your area as well. I like localharvest.com because you can compare and contrast the following:

7 Things to Keep in mind when choosing a CSA

Here is a compiled list of factors you want to consider when choosing the right CSA for you and your household.

1.Growing methods

How does the farm grow its food? Are the certified organic? Do they refrain from using pesticides, fertilizers and GMO seeds? This is where you have to ask yourself what’s most important to you. Some farms are not certified organic but use many growing methods that would be classified as so. This is a compelling factor to consider if you are looking for wholesome food grown without the use of harsh chemicals. Some explicitly state their growing methods and what they value and some do not.

2. Location

Often times you can pick up your produce from the farm or certain drop off areas, but farms also have delivery options (usually for an added cost). Where is the farm located in relation to you? Where can you pick up your produce each week? Make sure it’s somewhere that is convenient for you. If not, you may start resenting the fact that you have to drive 30+ minutes every week to pick up a bag of produce. If you live near a larger city, many farms will have pick-up locations at your local farmer’s market.

3. Different Types of Shares

Many shares solely offer vegetables and some fruit as well. However, you can also find farms that offer meat, egg, raw milk, maple syrup and raw honey shares as well. Some offer said things on their own or in conjunction with vegetable shares as well. What are you looking to consume? If you love supporting local when buying animal products, choosing a CSA with a meat or egg share may be perfect for you! Research what different products the farms in your area have to offer. You can always buy shares from a couple farms to get the food you desire.

4. Variety

On localharvest.com, they often have farms input the kinds of foods they offer during each season. Take a look over what those foods are – maybe you want to branch out and try new things, maybe you don’t. Maybe you want farms that grow many heirloom varieties. Maybe some foods are drawing you to one and not to another. Just one more thing to consider when choosing between multiple farms.

5. Price

How much is a share? How long does it run? Some vary anywhere form 18-22 weeks. What fits in your budget? What would you like to be spending on fresh produce each week? Do the math and figure this out.

6. Full share vs. half share

Some farms offer a half share in addition to their full share. They’ll also include family sizes in which each is recommended. For example, some will say a full share is great for a family of four where a half share is suitable for two people. Figure out how much produce is suggested with each in order to determine which size is right for you.

7. Work options

Some CSAs require that you work as a part of being a share holder. Others do not. Some offer work options for a cheaper share, and the amount of work can vary weekly or seasonally. Would you like to help out on the farm or would you rather not? This is one thing I look for because I want to learn and be apart of the growing process. However, others may not have the time or interest, which makes this another factor to consider.

I hope this post helps you with determining which CSA you’d like to buy into. I think it’s a marvelous program and want to encourage you so you’re able to find a suitable fit that makes you grateful you committed to such a thing in the first place.

Is there anything I’m missing? What has been your experience with CSAs? Anything you recommend?

What is Power Ingredient of the Week?

April 17, 2016 by Sarah

I’ve decided to do a series highlighting a new power ingredient each week.

What is a power ingredient?

Think superfood but a little broader.. foods that have something compelling to offer us.

At the start of the week, I will briefly introduce the new ingredient – what it is (including its health benefits) and where to find it. Some will be more common than others, but I’ll be sure to provide a background of the star ingredient.

Then I’ll discuss its uses in a compilation post where I show many different ways to utilize the particular ingredient for all sorts of categories and meals. This will get your foodie gears grinding and the creative kitchen juices flowing. It’s a fantastic opportunity for you (and me for that matter) to learn very unique and intriguing ways to incorporate more variety into your diet.

Next I will do a few follow-up posts showing recipes I’ve made, tweaked or created using the ingredient. I too need a good excuse to continually expand in this area as well as challenge myself in bettering my food photography!

With this series, I really want you to feel empowered. Expand your feelers a bit. Discover new ways to switch up your same ‘ol same ‘ol. It’s very easy to get caught up in a monotonous routine or get stuck when it comes to food. Even though we have the world wide web at our fingertips, the amount of information out there is overwhelming. I’m hoping this can be a condensed and useful resource so you’re able to put together new combinations or dishes. Because of an expanded knowledge, you will hopefully have the freedom and power to be inventive instead of feeling the need to strictly follow a recipe or prepare food in a meticulously precise way. Different from baking, I want you to be able to branch out and consistently prepare nutritious food everyday that suits you!

Let’s embrace food creativity, shall we?

How to Make Your Oatmeal Work for You

January 6, 2016 by Sarah

Oatmeal is an easy go-to breakfast, and not to mention comforting on these winter days. I’d like to show you how you can amp up any ‘ol bowl of oatmeal (or hot cereal) with this one easy tip. But first, let’s talk about the different options for oatmeal or hot cereal because a healthy bowl of oatmeal usually does not start in a packet. Those instant flavored varieties tend to be laden with sugar and/or artificial flavors. I would recommend starting from scratch with some of these options:

Steel-cut oats – they take a little longer to cook but are higher in fiber
Organic rolled oats and/or oat bran – also high in fiber
Gluten free options include gluten-free rolled or steel-cut oats, quinoa flakes or organic yellow corn grits

Once you have a bowl of plain hot cereal of your choosing, it’s time for exciting part – livening it up a bit! This is my one tip that is a total time saver and ensures you are getting loads of nutrients at the start of your day:

Prepare a large bowl of add-ins (like the one below) to have on hand that you can add to your hot cereal any time you make it.

Here are many ideas of things to add to the mix:

Nuts and Seeds

Walnuts
Pecans
Almonds
Cashews
Hazelnuts
Brazil nuts
Hemp seeds
Chia seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Sesame seeds (black too, which is in the one I did!)
Ground flax seeds (show some love to those omega-3’s!)

Dried or Freeze-Dried Fruits

Currants
Blueberries
Apricots
Pineapple
Dates
Figs
Cherries
Cranberries
Raisins
Mango
Apple
Papaya
Goji berries

Other

Shredded coconut
Raw cacao powder or nibs
Cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, sea salt
Mesquite powder
Lucuma powder
Maca powder
Ashwagandha powder (more info on this here)
Dash of spirulina or chlorella powder

Making the Mix

My best advice is to make a mix of what you have on hand or what you have access to and add things in pretty equal proportions. If you absolutely love cranberries, by all means add more cranberries. Or walnuts. Or shredded coconut.

Make a mix depending on your liking, but don’t forget to add in all those little additional components that help supercharge the hot cereal – foods high in protein, fiber, healthy fats, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

Add as much of the mix to your oatmeal as you desire. Also, if the dried fruit isn’t enough and you want to add a bit of sweetness, add some coconut palm sugar, rapadura, sucanat or raw honey (like below) at the end.

Do you have any other ideas for add-ins? How do you like to amp up your oatmeal?

How to Set Yourself up for Smoothie Success

November 28, 2015 by Sarah

Is there anything not to love about a smoothie? Other than cleaning the blender, which I’ll get to later in the post, there is pretty much nothing better than a good, nutrient-dense smoothie.

Here are a few of my favorite pointers for how to set yourself up so that making a smoothie is very simple to do anytime! Having something that’s easy to make and healthy like this when you are hungry is dynamite.

Make sure you have ample options of frozen fruit. First line of business, always buy bananas when you go grocery shopping. Always. At least just a bunch. They are perfect for every smoothie because even if you are not a big banana person, they add substance and a subtle touch of sweetness to your smoothie. I like to get them a little green, set them out for a couple days to a week on the counter to enjoy fresh and then as soon as they start getting brown spots, throw those babies into the freezer. Peel them first, break them in half or quarters and place them in a container. I like to reuse the plastic salad container you get when you buy greens (like Earthbound).Here is a picture of our fruit bowl with the older bananas and new bananas. We’re always just adding new ones and putting the others in the freezer. If you are eating bananas and making smoothies regularly, you will go through them weekly no doubt. Also, extra frozen bananas are a super plus because then you can make banana ice cream whenever you please!Second, stock up on produce that is on sale or in season, bring it home, cut it up and place it right in the freezer. You can buy bags of frozen fruit if you’d like, but if you get what’s on sale or in season, you may save some money. Plus, you get to enjoy many different varieties. Good options of fruits to include are pineapples, mangos, peaches, pears, grapes and all kinds of berries.
Don’t forget the greens. Another always when you go to the grocery store. Always pick up at least one bunch of greens, whether it be kale, romaine, spinach, chard, collard greens, you name it, you get it. Greens can be used for so many other things than smoothies, but always having a fresh bunch of greens in the fridge will allow you to add a big, fresh handful to your smoothie anytime. Adding greens to your smoothie is a fabulous way to eat up greens that are on their way to wilting. If you don’t have any fresh greens, it’s nice to keep a green powder on hand. My absolute favorite is e3Live Renew Me! powder. I also like wheat grass powders as well. Adding fresh mint to your smoothie is never a bad idea either 😉
Start building your pantry to include seeds and superfoods. Here is our new wall pantry, and we LOVE it. It makes it so easy to grab ingredients right off the wall to go into our smoothie. Superfoods and seeds help add nutrition to your smoothies so they are power packed and filled with what you need to embrace your day. Some of my favorites include hemp seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, goji berries, shredded coconut, black sesame seeds, spirulina, maca powder, camu camu, mangosteen, ashwagandha powder, aloe and turmeric powder. These foods take time to acquire so don’t get overwhelmed. Keep your eye out for them and buy them when you feel they are most affordable. Sometimes we just buy them in small amounts (like goji berries) or wait for them to go on sale. Either way, start getting them into your pantry.
Add fresh juice from lemons and/or limes. These not only add a little flavor to your smoothie, but they’re notorious for promoting healthy digestion and cleansing. They also provide vitamin C and A and have anti-cancer properties.
If you hate the clean up (like me), consider investing in a stick (or immersion) blender. We actually only use an immersion blender now because our regular blender broke, but we love it more! We have a stash of large ball canning jars we use to drink out of and these are PERFECT for smoothies using the stick blender. All you do is place all your ingredients in the jar with some liquid (to make the blending go a little faster), and then place the blender in there and blend until smooth. Once you are done, you simply detach the blade attachment from the motor and wash it. Yes, you only have to wash one piece. And the jar you’re using to drink your smoothie out of. Easiest clean up imaginable. We bought this Cuisinart one off Amazon and are very satisfied with it. It works like a charm.

What are your favorite smoothie tips? Anything you do to make the process a little easier?

This Kind of Pantry Will Help Motivate you to Eat Healthier

November 23, 2015 by Sarah

Very happy to finally be getting around to doing this post. I’ve been wanting to do it since we’ve finished because I do think it’s a really important one so here we go!

Not too long ago our pantry looked like this when ‘organized’:

And although there were many gems in there, it was so difficult to find everything! We like to buy in bulk so we had so many little plastic bags with twist ties! Now that we’re in our new place, we figured some hard core pantry organization was in order, which I believe we were able to accomplish! I really do believe that organization and variety is necessary when trying to add more whole foods to your diet.

Sooo first, I’d like to reveal our new Mason jar pantry shelf organizer. Then I’d like to share with you what everything is in the jars and what we use the ingredients for. Lastly, I’ll tell you how to get one of these in your own home!

So here it is:

What foods are in those jars?

I’m just going to do this briefly as there are endless uses for many of these. As you’ll see, many of the uses overlap, which is why this kind of pantry helps so much with eating whole food dishes. Everything is organized and very easy to grab, use, and put away.

I labeled everything in this picture so identifying which was which would be much easier. I’ll start at the top and work from left to right.

Oat Bran – Just recently got this and started adding it to things like raw cereal, baked oatmeal, or any other breakfast thing with milk. You could even add it to a smoothie to give it a little more heartiness.

Coconut Sugar – I LOVE this stuff. Used in place of conventional sugar for anything. We also have sucanat (sugar cane natural), which we use as a sweetener as well.

Hemp seeds, Black Sesame seeds and Raw Sesame Seeds – Add to salads, smoothies, dishes for lunch/dinner, energy balls/bites

Cacao Powder – Used in banana ice cream, smoothies, desserts, energy balls/bites

Millet – Grain similar to quinoa, but we haven’t really used this yet. Still looking to experiment with it, possibly for breakfast as a porridge, in baking or granola, on salads or below sautéed veggies.

Sucanat – See Coconut Sugar above.

Flax Seeds – Grind in a coffee grinder before using, but good source of Omega-3s and fiber and great for adding to smoothies, baked goods and breakfast foods

Stevia – We don’t use this a whole lot, but it’s another natural sweetener.

Polenta – (All of our corn products are organic) We’ve only ever used this as a side for dinner, but there are many tasty recipes out there.

Carob Powder – Similar to cacao powder, but is caffeine-free. Same uses though.

Brown Rice – I don’t think this needs much explaining 🙂

Chia Seeds – I use these with hemp seeds a lot. They’re also crucial for chia pudding!! You can also add them to drinks or kombucha if you don’t mind the texture. You can also mix them in when making a fruit sauce or compote.

Coconut Flour – Great for baking and used in place of whole wheat flour. It takes some experimenting with this because I’ve found it to be more absorbent than wheat flour. The best thing I’ve made with coconut flour so far are coconut flour pancakes.

Quinoa and Red Quinoa – Another grain that can be used in place of rice. Good for adding to salads or putting in soups.

Walnuts – With the other nuts, great for raw cereal, snacking, bars, baked goods and salads.

Popcorn Kernels – We loooove our homemade popcorn. We use an air popper (that was only $20), but you can also cook it stovetop too. Homemade popcorn is much, much better for you than the microwave kind, and it tastes better, in my opinion.

Shredded Coconut (sweetened is from Trader Joe’s) – Great for adding to smoothies, breakfast dishes, baked goods, energy bites/balls, banana ice cream. I like to use the sweetened one for food pictures because of how it looks compared to the other shredded coconut.

Oats – Can get these gluten-free. Very similar to shredded coconut uses above.

Cashews – In addition to walnut uses, these are good for raw cream sauces (including this addicting cheese one!) and desserts!

Rice Flour – We’ve been using this in place of whole wheat flour lately.

Hazelnuts – My boyfriend recently made a chocolate hazelnut spread and we dipped apples into it. It was very yummy so we decided to get some more!

Almonds – Like walnuts

Raw Peanuts – I tried making peanut butter with these and it didn’t turn out the best. We don’t use these a lot, but they’re great for crushing and sprinkling on any sort of thai dish we make.

Corn Flour – Just got this because we are trying to phase out of using gluten. Going to use this as an alternative to whole wheat flour again.

Baking Powder and Soda – No need to explain much.

Cacao Nibs – Great for adding to raw treats, raw cereal and banana ice cream

Arrowroot Powder – Used to thicken things like sauces and soups. Also used in homemade deodorant.

Buckwheat groats – I use these in chia pudding or raw cereal mainly.

Sunflower seeds and Raw Pumpkin Seeds – Can be used in raw dressings and on salads

Goji Berries – Great for snacking on a few or in chia pudding, raw cereal or in smoothies. You can always soak them in a little warm water to make them softer. This chocolate elixir also looks good!

Brazil Nuts – I snack on one of these from time to time. They are a good source of Selenium and other minerals. They are said to help boost testosterone.

Nutritional Yeast – Used as a vegan substitute for a cheesy flavor. This sauce is the BEST, but we also like putting it on popcorn sometimes!

Tapioca Flour – We’ve just recently started playing around with this one too. We’ve been adding it to gluten-free recipes to help with binding and texture. It’s very similar to arrowroot powder and can be used to thicken sauces and soups. Here is a great resource that explains some of the differences between the two and some recipes as well.

How do I get one?

If you’d like one of these shelf organizers for your own home, you can purchase the shelf here: Mason Jar Pantry Shelf Organizer. We also bought one case of each size Mason jar – 8 oz., 16 oz., 24 oz., and 32 oz. – to put on the shelves. There is still extra room to add more jars if need be, but a case of each is pretty sufficient for filling it up.

I so hope this post gives you some inspiration about what whole foods you can add to your pantry! How is it going for you? What’s your biggest challenge so far with acquiring these kinds of ingredients? What have been your best storage solutions? We’re still trying to think of a good way to organize all of our spices 🙂 Would love to know what success you’ve had!

Love always,

4 Outstanding Resources a Natural Foodie Will Appreciate

August 10, 2015 by Sarah

I love supporting companies that share the same values as I do as far as food goes. I’m really into farm-to-table restaurants, and I love buying stuff from local health foods stores and farmer’s markets. These resources will help you find good, local food around where you live, including places you maybe were not aware of! These websites are also great for traveling. When I visit a new city, the first thing I do before going is look up all the good places to go out to eat or get food. I seriously plan my trips around eating and which restaurants I want to try 🙂

Also, if you’re planning on moving, it’s good to know what’s in the area to help you decide where exactly you want to settle. I was thinking about moving to a different state this fall, and the first thing I researched when looking up locations was what’s in the area as far as farms, CSAs, markets, health food stores, and farm-to-table restaurants. Having those options available is something that is very important to me. I thought I would share some of the ways I find these places because if you’re anything like me, you’ll love being able to pick something nearby that you feel good about eating and supporting.

Eat Well Guide

I’ve been using this website for a little while now. It’s such an awesome resource that lets you search any city and then informs you of the local farms, markets, and hand-picked restaurants in the area. It’s very easy to navigate and color codes different pinpoints on a map to show you where everything is at.

Know Where Your Food Comes From

This is another incredible website I have recently encountered that is very comprehensive. It shares dining options, farmer’s markets, local foods and co-ops, where to get seeds, and craft bakeries. It has a section dedicated to listing all of the CSA’s in your area too. There are also other goodies you can see along the menu bar that might be fun to check out!

Local Harvest

You can utilize the search bar at the top of the page to see farms, CSAs, and farmer’s markets in your area. They also have the results color coded and pinpointed on a map. I have found that this website has the best list of CSAs in the area.

Happy Cow App

When I’m on the go, especially just in a new city for the day, I’ll do a quick search on this app to scope out some of the options that I might be interested in. The free app includes restaurants and health food stores in its listing, which is really pretty convenient.

I hope these help you on your food endeavors now and in the future. Are there any other resources that you love that I haven’t discovered yet? I’d love to know!

With love,

The Best Breakfast When You’re Pinched for Time

July 15, 2015 by Sarah

We all have the mornings where we get up late or spend too much time getting ready. Breakfast is sometimes the last of our priorities when this happens, but it doesn’t have to be replaced by a Starbucks stop or a run to the drive-through. This idea is perfect for those days that you didn’t save enough time for breakfast but know that a good wholesome first meal is really going to give you the energy and nutrients you need to efficiently carry out your day.

What are they?

Trail mix bowls.

This is simply a mixture of chopped nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and other superfoods that you combine ahead of time and keep in the cupboard in a sealed container. It’s best to make a pretty large bowl so it lasts awhile. This is what the dry mixture looks like:

When you’re in a rush, you can simply transfer some to a smaller bowl (with a lid) and pour your choice of milk over it. Grab a spoon and take it right with you! The longer you let the mixture soak, the juicier the dried fruits will become. If you’re in not as much of a rush, you can do what I did in the picture below. I soaked goji berries in warm water so they became nice and plump and then put those on top!

You can also slice a banana or add different powders like I did here:

The best part about these fruit/nut bowls is that they keep indefinitely in the cupboard just as any other dried fruit, nut or seed would. Keep the large bowl on hand and you’ll be happy you have it for those crunched mornings 🙂 My favorite bowls are the Pyrex glass storage set, which come with lids. If you get a set of them, you will have different sizes that are perfect for things like this breakfast. I use my pyrex bowls and lids so much!

What kinds of things to put in the trail mix??

Here are some ideas:

Nuts – almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews

Seeds – buckwheat groats (nice and crunchy!), hemp seeds, chia seeds, ground flax seeds

Dried Fruits – currants, blueberries, apricots, pineapple rings, dates, figs, cherries, cranberries, raisins, mango, apple, papaya, goji berries

Other – coconut, cacao powder or nibs, cinnamon, mesquite powder, lucuma powder, maca poweder, ashwagandha powder, spirulina or chlorella powder, you can also add oats if you want to make it more filling!

I would do 2-4 kinds of nuts and seeds, 4 kinds of dried fruits and small amounts of anything extra. Pour just enough milk to cover the mixture when you’re ready to eat it and then enjoy!

Alright now go make up a batch so you have it on hand when you need it! 🙂

What’s your favorite breakfast when you’re in a time crunch??

I’d love to hear from you!

Are You Missing Out on this FREE Summer Treat?

July 6, 2015 by Sarah

Do not miss out on this awesome little berry this summer! I can’t tell you how excited I get when I find some free organic fruit that I can pick. Check to see if there are Mulberry trees in your area because they are in full bloom!! 🙂 I went on a walk and saw two trees at the park and then found out my dad has a huge tree right in his backyard! I went to town. I even put some in the freezer to have for smoothies.

Mulberries provide a good amount of iron and vitamin C that may help with circulation and immune function. They also contain reservatrol, which is a flavonoid antioxidant that can positively affect blood pressure. You can read more about the benefits of mulberries here. Although it’s rare, some people may be allergic to the berries so it’s always smart to consume a few and see how your body reacts.