Fruits and Vegetables

My new passion is our menu. I'm trying to incorporate more fruits and vegetables and less processed foods into the family's diet. This is something that I was conscious of and concerned about when my babies were actually babies but over the past few years I've slacked off and have gotten lazy about the foods that we eat.

We didn't eat junk every day, I almost always used whole wheat bread, and rarely had chips in the house but Josh was consuming very few fruits or vegetables, crackers were a staple and if I didn't feel like cooking we'd get takeout. I wanted to improve our diet.

It was something that had been sitting in the back of my head but I didn't really take action until I stumbled upon The NDD Book (nutrition deficit disorder) at Barnes and Noble one day. After browsing the book, I bought it and brought it home. I'd read books by Dr. William Sears when the kids were young and I agree with his philosophies on parenting and child discipline. Although my children haven't been diagnosed with any "Ds" (disorders), I feel what they eat is one of the most important links to their behavior and learning ability. I've enjoyed reading the book and although I'm not completely through it yet, I've learned more about good foods and bad ingredients and I have started employing some of it's ideas.


photo by Carley
In order to get more fruits and vegetables into my kids I've put "grow food" bowls in two easy-access places around the house.


photo by Carley
One bowl is in the living room so while watching TV anyone can just grab a bag of raw nuts or a nectarine to nibble on instead of looking for crackers.

I took the kids berry picking up at Apple Hill this week. Even though they both told me before we went that they hate blueberries, they came home loving them.


I wanted to get them involved in literally picking their food.


They were such great pickers too.


We came out with almost 6 pounds of blueberries.


I plan to make jam with most of it and probably a homemade blueberry cobbler or turnovers. Yum.


It wasn't completely free labor. I bought my pickers fudgesicles because they did such a great job. It's not exactly "green light" food but they need treats occasionally.


We stopped by another farm and picked blackberries and raspberries.


This was his bucket holder. Until we needed that one too.


It was hot and the kids had been picked out so we didn't get as much. Enough for a blackberry pie though. Yum.

This week we joined a CSA (community supported agriculture) farm and pick up weekly boxes of fresh picked organic fruits and vegetables at a location not too far from our house. Our farm is Terra Firma Farm.

We picked up our first box yesterday. It was so exciting to open the box and see what we got. The kids were excited about it too.


This is what came in our box except maybe four apricots, which only made it home in our bellies.

And this is what I'm doing with our food.
Basil - making pesto tonight. It's one of Josh's favorite foods.
Summer squash - some of it was worked into a burrito last night. I'll make zucchini biscuits with the rest.
Red onions - salads, sandwiches, cooking.
Watermelon - the kids will eat this in one day. Maybe this weekend since it's HOT outside.
Peaches and apricots - into our "grow food" bowls.
Green beans - probably will sautee with some sesame seeds.
Sweet corn - served along side burritos last night.
Tomatoes - one was used in burritos and salad last night. The other two will probably be eaten plain by me. (I'm still waiting for my tomatoes to turn red!)
Carrots - not sure, maybe just sliced for snacks.
This isn't enough to last us a week but I'll supplement with items from the grocery store.

I can't wait until next week to see what's new in the box.