Earthbox: Spring Planting

It is with a hopeful heart and an attitude of sheer determination that I replanted my Earthbox. Back in the fall, I crammed in 6 plants (see my blog post, Earthbox: Idiot-Proof Gardening). I had very modest success - a few eggplants and a couple small heads of broccoli, but no tomatoes. Perhaps its not entirely idiot proof after all.












I was disappointed, but I will not give up. This time I called for reinforcements. I spoke with Patti, the owner of a lovely nursery near my house called Annie's Garden Shed. She was very generous with her time and expertise. Here are some tips she gave me that I hope will result in a more abundant spring season. If you have any additional advice, please bring it on!

• Don't overcrowd. I only planted 3 (instead of 6) tomato plants. Also, putting plants too close together tends to give pests more opportunities to move from plant to plant.
  
• Plant deep. Pick off any stray leaves toward the bottom of the stem and get it far down into the soil. This give the roots more places to grow.
• Water every 2 to 3 days. Since it's impossible to over-water an Earthbox, don't hold back. If it's not an Earthbox, get the soil nice and most without over saturating.
  
• Green pepper plants are easy. I planted my pepper plant alone in a very large pot to give the roots plenty of room to grow (per Patti's advice). I also learned that green peppers will eventually turn red if you leave them on the vine long enough. Before they turn red, they will look black for a while.
• Use gardening resources that are specific to your geographic area. Apparently, even the state of Florida has regions that are varied enough to require different techniques. Patti recommended these books for central Florida:
  
  Herbs and Spices for Florida Gardens: How to Grow and Enjoy Florida Plants with Special Uses
  by Monica Moran Brandies
  
  The Edible Landscape
  by Tom MacCubbin
  
  

Patti also gave me these simple words of encouragement
that helped a lot...

You can do this!

A Proper Irish Meal

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Tonight we are having a hearty Irish-inspired soup, homemade whole-grain beer bread, and a Guinness, of course.

The soup is made from the following ingredients. I just simmered it all day, and it turned out great!

• cabbage (on sale for 20 cents a pound at Publix through today)
• 3 lbs of red potatoes (on sale for $1.99 at Publix through today)
• chick peas
• vegetable stock
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
  

The bread (which is so soft and delicious) was made in a bread maker. All you have to do is put all these ingredients in the bread maker and select the cycle for whole wheat bread. Even though our bread maker will bake the bread, I like to take the dough out just before it starts baking (after 3 hours and 20 minutes) and put it in a larger loaf pan to bake in the oven. I find that the bread turns out less dense, and more fluffy and soft.

• 1 bottle of beer
• 1.5 tsp of salt
• 2 tbsp of maple syrup
• 1 tbsp of molasses
• 3.5 cups of whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tbsp of vital wheat gluten
• 2 tsp of active dry yeast
  

Have a great day!

Healthy, Green & Frugal Wins Sunshine Award

A little ray of sunshine came into my world today. A fellow green blogger, Honest Green recognized Healthy, Green & Frugal as one of three blogs worth reading.

Yes, husband, mother, sister, and a few other close friends and family members read my blog because they love me and want to be nice. However, it's quite an honor to discover that someone who doesn't even know me finds some value in the information I have to share. I am truly touched, Honest Green - thank you! I am inspired by you and all the other bloggers out there who are working so hard to make their lives better and help others do the same.

Frugal Family Event at Nature's Classroom

If you're looking for something fun, frugal and green to do with the kids, Nature's Classroom is hosting an Open House Event that only costs $5 per car. The event features animal experiences, children's activities, nature art display, live music, and food vendors.

Nature's classroom has been around since 1969 teaching kids all about the eco-system around the Hillsborough River and how their actions impact the environment. Nature's Classroom has a nice website worth checking out.

DATES:

• Saturday, April 24 - 10AM to 5PM
• Sunday, April 25 - 10AM to 5PM

LOCATION:

• 13100 Verges Road, Thonotosassa, FL

Good Deal on Non-Dairy Ice Cream at Publix

So Delicious non-dairy ice cream bars are on Advantage Buy at Publix right now for $3.50. Plus, click HERE and HERE for $1-off coupons.

I tried a coconut almond bar for the first time tonight. It's been about three weeks since I started My Vegan Experiment, and about two weeks since I stopped eating desserts of any kind. I've been carrying around two big hang-ups that I put to the test tonight:

1. Does non-dairy chocolate and ice cream taste good? The answer is yes, yes, yes! The chocolate was great - no different than regular dairy chocolate. The ice cream is actually fantastic! It's very rich and creamy, and has a subtle coconut flavor that works well in ice cream.
   
2. Can I handle occasional desserts without falling back into sugar addiction? That's yet to be seen. I ate it about 30 minutes ago, and so no sugar cravings just yet. I will say that this product does adhere to my "no empty calories" rule. It actually adds a few good things into the mix:
   
   
   • 3 grams of fiber
   • 2 grams of protein
   • 6% of the daily value of iron
   • only 10 grams of sugar (agave and beet sugar)
     
   • although there is 7 grams of saturated fat, coconut milk is rich in medium chain fatty acids, and potentially has a number of health benefits (another controversial topic)
     

So, if I can handle having a dessert once in a while without letting it spin out of control, I will definitely buy this product again. It really is So Delicious.

My Experience at the Seminole Heights Sunday Morning Market

It was such a lovely spring day, I decided to check out the new Seminole Heights Sunday Morning Market. I'm so glad I did! This sizable market in the progressive community of Seminole Heights in Tampa, Florida was packed full of healthy, organic, and green wares. Here are my impressions of the event:

• Beautiful Setting. The Seminole Heights neighborhood has such charm and is full of warm, diverse, community-minded individuals. The market is set up on the lawn of Hillsborough High School, a rare architectural gem in the concrete jungle that is Tampa. I wonder if the students appreciate how beautiful their school is?
• Kid Friendly (Dog Friendly). There was a little area full of hula hoops for the kids to play with. There were lots of well-behaved children in strollers and well-behaved dogs on leashes. It was a nice way to spend time with your little creatures.
• Nice Music. Not too loud or overpowering. The band played covers of Sheryl Crow and The Beatles. It set the tone perfectly...♫ I want to soak up the sun ♪....
  
• Healthy Food to Eat Now. I'd say there were at least 10 food vendors serving up all sorts of appetizing food, much of which was organic, vegetarian and even vegan. There was a neat little stand that sold vegan patties made from quinoa and oats. There was a juice stand, a smoothie stand and a coffee stand. There were lots of hearty and healthy options, including wood-fired pizzas and breakfast foods.
• Healthy Food to Eat Later. I was a little disappointed to find only three produce stands. Only one was organic, and there really wasn't too much local produce to be found. The prices were pretty good, though. Much of the produce was gorgeous!
• Eating Organic on the Cheap. I enjoyed chatting with the man running the organic produce tent (see picture above). He runs an organic food co-op with his wife. They buy organic produce at bulk prices and divide it among the members. It sounds like a great way to get organic fruits and vegetables for the same price as conventional. I plan to look into this further! Click HERE to find out more about their co-op.

To see more pictures of my outing this morning, click HERE. While you're there, be sure to become a fan of Healthy, Green & Frugal on Facebook.

The next installments of the Seminole Heights Sunday Morning Market will be April 11 and May 9. If you don't live around Tampa, click HERE to find a farmer's market near you.

The Perfect Breakfast - New & Improved

A few weeks ago, I posted a recipe for The Perfect Breakfast, my little colloquialism for a breakfast concoction I made. It has so many healthy qualities, and it is very delicious. I challenged all of you to find a way to make it even better.

I'm so pleased to report that a fellow health blogger (and fellow Rebecca) found some ways to make it even yummier and healthier. Why didn't I think of cinnamon in the first place? Such a great idea. Check out her blog post, Extreme Health 4 Life to get the new and improved recipe.

Sharing ideas so that we can all achieve our personal goals....that is what blogging is all about! Thanks Rebecca!

Make New Healthy Friends

If you are a interested in eating healthy, it helps to surround yourself with like-minded individuals. The website, Meetup can help you find all kinds of groups in your neighborhood that share common interests, including healthy eating.

Several years ago, my husband and I found a vegetarian/vegan group that meets in Tampa once a month at a vegan-friendly restaurant called Trang Viet Cuisine. We had a nice time, but we never managed to make our way back. However, since My Vegan Experiment, I thought it might be nice to spend some time with some other vegans.

Here are some of the meetups happening soon in the Tampa Bay Area:

• Tampa's Monthly Veg*n Buffet
  next event is dinner at Trang Viet Cuisine on March 13 at 5PM
• St Pete Vegetarian Meetup Group
  next event is a book discussion on March 18 at 7:30PM
• Pasco Vegetarian/Vegan Society
  next event is dinner in Port Richey on March 21 at 5PM

Free Children's Festival at USF on Saturday

There's a FREE children's festival Saturday, March 6 from 11AM to 3PM hosted by the University of South Florida College of Education. Free parking is available in the unreserved spaces surrounding the College of Education (Lot 1). Click HERE for more information.

This annual festival offers lots of fun learning experiences for children ages 3 to 13:

• fun and educational computer games
• interactive gaming technology
• Lowry Park Zoo and Nature's Classroom will bring animals for the kids to interact with.
• College of Education students will organize educational games and activities.
• Family play services will be available. Click HERE for an article about this.

Speak for the Trees

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss! In honor of this special day, I am posting about my favorite Dr. Seuss book, The Lorax. My children love this book, and I love reading it to them. It's one of those wonderfully special books that engages a child with rhythm and imagery while at the same time engages the adult with depth and meaning. The best part is that the child comes to understand and appreciate the meaning too.

And what a great message it is! The gist of the story is that a greedy business man cuts down all the truffula trees to make Thneeds. A Thneed is a fine something that all people need (it might actually be a Snuggie). Not to give away too much, but the Lorax tries to speak for the trees and no one listens. In the end, we learn that UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it's not.

I'd say The Lorax is healthy, green and frugal! Obviously, there is a strong environmental message. I also love the concept of a Thneed, which pokes fun at the need-creation/need-fulfillment cycle we have going in our society. It's also a great way to get your children to eat truffula fruits (aka mangoes, or whatever fruit you choose).

Click HERE to visit The Lorax website, which has fun games and information for kids.

You can get the book for around $10 right now on Amazon and Barnes & Nobel, with free shipping on orders that are $25 or more. There's also a cute animated version on DVD. It's got a funky 70's flair to it. I've seen in at Target for only $5.