Right now I have a HUGE box of lovely red and yellow tomatoes sitting on my counter. We found this lovely Amish produce stand, right off of 300 (by Vera Cruz). A cute little Amish lady told me these tomatoes would be perfect for canning...Before I knew what I was saying, the box was purchased. Now, I have this box of tomatoes waiting to be canned; however, I have zero canning equipment and zero knowledge in this area. First time for everything, right?! You cannot beat the cost savings when canning your own. I've been purchasing organic tomatoes and pay, close to, $2/can. I paid $5 for the entire box of tomatoes! I'm hoping I find the canning experience somewhat enjoyable so that I'll continue doing it.
Another new adventure I'm embarking on is switching all our plastic containers to glass. Recently, I read another blog about the dangers of plastic, even BPA free (which I cannot find, otherwise I'd give you the link!). Every time you heat food in that plastic container, chemicals are seeping into your food. Cost wise, it is rather inexpensive to make the switch. You can purchase a 7 piece set of glass storage containers for $20. I also want to limit the amount of plastic bags I use, but that may be a little harder. My life seems to be lived out of plastic bags, especially when we're on the road with my two young boys. Like everything, this will be a learning experience.
I also decided to switch over our suntan lotions. Commercial suntan lotion is generally a concoction of chemicals that, inevitably, gets absorbed by your skin. Natural suntan lotions contain zinc oxide, a natural ingredient. If you'd like to know more about the danger of chemical laden sunblock, read this article by Kitchen Stewardship. The same blogger goes on to give a review of the natural sunblocks she tried - read this. I know many people think they are using a natural sunscreen because they are labeled as such. Be careful!! Just because the suntan lotion says natural, does not mean it is. The FDA has yet to set regulations for this. I decided to go with Kabana Green Screen. We have yet to use it, but I'm anxious to try it out. I've been told that these natural lotions stay on the surface of your skin, so it'll leave a white tint. If it doesn't work out well, I'll let you all know!
Lastly, I wanted to give you all some recipes I've been trying. The first is Baked Shrimp in Tomato Feta Sauce. This was amazing! We loved it and I wouldn't change anything about it! Another recipe I've used in the past is Veggie Lentil Pottage. I thought corn was a key ingredient. This is time consuming recipe with everything that needs to be chopped up, but it is worth it and I often freeze left overs. Lastly, I make Sausage Zucchini Bake about once every 2 weeks. I often take this to new moms. I haven't gotten any feedback on it, but it is a family hit! My boys always clean their plates!
Wishing everyone a a weekend full of love, good health, and laughter :).
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