Sweet Greens
Your Earth Friendly Guide to All Things Green | Green Parenting | Eco Kids | Green Families
Are you looking for the perfect cookies for your Autumn get together? How about these organic little goodies from Cookie Rush. And they are super affordable too! I would pick the little pumpkins or acorns.
And I have a feeling Eben would choose the eyeballs. Of course he would!
How about you?
I spoke with my editor at Cascadian Farm several weeks ago about an upcoming trip to Cascadian Farm that he was trying to arrange for me. I am excited to announce that I will be visiting the Farm October 1-3. I have been to Seattle in the past visiting fantastic friends, however I have not been to the Skagit Valley where Cascadian Farm started. I am excited to meet some of the other Cascadian Farm team members, including Craig, my editor and Janice Croze, a fellow Cascadian Farm blogger. I am also excited to visit and explore the farm and learn about organic farming from Cascadian Farm’s head farmer, Jim.
Note: I have to admit when I was first approached to fly clear across the country to visit Cascadian Farm for the weekend – I declined. I felt guilty about the prospect of traveling all the way across the country by airplane, especially for such a short trip. My editor talked to me about the importance of visiting the farm and how much they wanted me to be a part of the trip. How lovely. Who could say no to that? I will be visiting Cascadian Farm and I will also be offsetting the carbon emissions with my TerraPass.
We love family movie night! It usually involves making your own pizza followed by a big bowl of popcorn to share. In fact, I just don’t think that movie night would be the same without our huge antique cabbage shaped bowl full of popcorn.
However, if your movie time snack is the microwavable version, then beware! It may contain a dirty little pop secret. Some microwave popcorn contains chemicals that can cause major health problems. We have all heard of popcorn lung, right?
The chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PTOA) has been found to cause both cancer and lung disease and Diacetyl is responsible for popcorn lung disease.
So, next time your family decides to snuggle on the sofa for movie night, pop your own popcorn. It is easy, simple and very affordable. All that you need is a large deep pot, a few tablespoons of organic canola oil and a cup of organic popcorn kernels. When the popcorn starts to pop, just shake the pot gently so that the unpopped kernels fall to the bottom – continue until you can count slowly to five in between pops.
If popping your own popcorn sounds more like work than fun, consider purchasing an electric popcorn maker. My lovely mother gave my family this one
Does your family enjoy popcorn?
Do you make your own? Or do you chance it with the microwave version?
Do nuts and seeds make it into your daily meal plan? Just a small handful of these amino acid packed snacks can have a huge impact on your health. Nuts and seeds can help fight heard disease and high blood pressure. They are also known to slow the symptoms of aging by fighting the decrease in muscle mass and cognitive and sexual decline.
At Casa de Sweet Greens, we each nuts and seeds everyday in our dinner salad. Mr. Sweet Greens tops our salads with a mixture of nuts (usually almonds), seeds (sunflower and pumpkin) as well as dried cranberries and soy beans. It is a fantastic way to incorporate these little goodies into your daily meals – while tasting delicious at the same time.
Do you eat nuts and seeds? Which are your favorites?
Do you add them to your salads or other dishes? Which ones?
Have you wondered if brown rice really is better for your health? The answer is Yes. Brown rice offers protection from high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries.
Why isn’t white rice as good for us?
It’s all about the layer between the white center of the grain and the brown outer layer. The brown outer layer is responsible for helping our health.
Pop Quiz:
Question: Is white rice a different type of rice than brown rice?
Answer: No. White rice comes when the fibrous outer brown shell of rice is milled away – leaving nothing but the soft white center.
Which is your favorite, brown or white?
Do you eat brown rice simply because it is better for you? Or do you enjoy the taste?
Please leave your comments below!