Ladies Blend Thymes Natural Living

Eating Seasonal & Local Fresh Food

Local Harvest is a great resource to help keep you in the know of organic (and those that use ethical growing practices) farms and their offerings in your area. 

You have the option to sign up and be kept informed of specials and/or seasonal items that are available right in the area that you live in.  There is a lot more to this wonderful resource, but that is the main attraction for me.  I love having an announcement pop into my Inbox regarding the availability of fresh, natural foods grown locally.  The send no spam at all and only notify you when a grower/farm have the goods to offer.   

Edamame Hummus Recipe

Photo and Recipe courtesy of P. Allen Smith Newsletter 

From P. Allen Smith:  "This is another great recipe from The Viking Cooking School. Soybeans, chili oil, garlic, miso and lemon juice create a tasty dip that is a delightful twist on hummus."

Ingredients:

1 quart water (mixed with 1 tablespoon salt)
1 cup shelled edamame*
3 tablespoons red miso
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
1 tablespoon Asian chili oil, or to taste
Water, as needed to thin

The ingredients sound delicious, I plan to make it following my next visit to the grocery store. 

Click here for complete recipe and notes.

Wholesome Baby Food

We have the wholesomebabyfood.com banner in our sidebar, and every now and then, I like to highlight some things on this very informative website. 

• While all the information is free on the website, they do have a page here where you can purchase an eBook for just $4.95, the remainder of the page is packed with free downloads. 
• I was just noticing this morning all of the delicious organic cereal recipes they have. 
• There is also a lot of great features like their blog, sign up for the mailing list, baby freebies, you can send a page to a friend. 
• Why should you make homemade baby food (scroll down) and should you buy organic ingredients?  Not sure when to introduce solid foods to your baby?  They have food charts to assist you. 

All of your questions answered, and if not, contact them, they want to hear from you!

Giada, Favorite Cooking Show

Photo courtesy of the Food Network. 

At the gym there are two TV sets in the area where the treadmills, bikes and ellipticals are located and nearly always, there is at least one tuned into a cooking show.  If I can see that they are using fresh ingredients and little or no meat, I'll usually plug my MP3 headset in and have a listen.  I really like Giada.

The Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis, is one of my favorite cooking shows, she is soft spoken, clear and prepares the most delicious recipes that I would never even think to make, like this Roasted Acorn Squash and Gorgonzola Pizza. 

She also prepares some wonderful fish and pasta dishes, Tilapia with Purple Potato Crust and Chive Rosemary Oil and Lemon Spaghetti sound delicious.  I have made a similar version of the Lemon Spaghetti, but added steamed broccoli and cauliflower to it. 

There has been a good amount of visits here landing on my entry for Grilled Salmon & Zucchini Dinner, so I Googled Grilled Salmon Dinner and see that at this time, it comes up on page two of the search results.  I hope some of you prepared and enjoy it, it is a delicious meal.  Do you have a favorite cooking show? 

First-Ever Estimate For Benefits of Eating Organic Produce

This report popped into my Inbox this morning via Natural Newswire, quite interesting:

New Organic Center Research Provides First-Ever Estimate For Benefits of Eating Organic Produce

Posted: 11 Mar 2008 02:31 PM CDT

Converting Nation’s Produce Farms to Organic, Coupled with Buying Organic Imported Produce, Would Reduce Pesticide Risks by 97%

Group Lists Top Priority Organic Fruits and Vegetables for Consumers to Reduce Current Pesticide Risks

BOULDER, Colo., March 11, 2008 /Natural Newswire/ – The Organic Center today releases an historic report that concludes converting the nation’s eight million acres of produce farms to organic would reduce pesticide dietary risks by about 97 percent.

Conventional Fruits and Vegetables with the Highest Pesticide Dietary Risk Index Scores: Domestic

Fruits

• Cranberries: 178
• Nectarines: 97
• Strawberries: 56
• Peaches: 54
• Pears: 48

Vegetables

• Green beans: 330
• Sweet bell peppers: 132
• Celery: 104
• Cucumbers: 93
• Potatoes: 74

Conventional Fruits and Vegetables with the Highest Pesticide Dietary Risk Index Scores: Imported

Fruits

• Grapes: 282
• Nectarines: 281
• Peaches: 266
• Pears: 221
• Strawberries: 78

Vegetables

• Sweet bell peppers: 720
• Lettuce: 326
• Cucumbers: 317
• Celery: 170
• Tomatoes: 142

Get the Complete Dietary Risk Index and read the full article at Natural Newswire.