Peanut Butter Conundrum

Ever since my 5 year old's tantrum over peanut butter at the Little Grill, I have been asking myself this question, "Should I switch to natural peanut butter or just leave well-enough alone?"  Natural peanut butter sounds so wholesome, but it just doesn't have the flavor and consistency of the commercially prepared varieties.  As far as I can tell, when I looked up peanut butter on Wikipedia, the main problem with commercial peanut butters is the amount of saturated and trans fats they contain, as well as preservatives.  Also, they put a lot of sugar in commercial varieties, and I think that is the main problem with my son.  He LIKES sweet peanut butter, and the natural stuff is a little reminiscent of paste...like, school paste.  Not gonna lie, if you have been eating the sweet stuff, eating the natural stuff is pretty shocking.  I think at this point in time, for us it is a matter of taste.  We try to eat healthfully, so I am going to maintain that sugar in peanut butter is not such a bad thing as long as you balance it with good choices like natural jams and whole wheat bread and do not make it a daily thing.  You have to make that choice for yourself, I am not advocating one or the other for anyone but my own kids.  I just wanted to pass on these thoughts and hopefully it will inspire someone!  A few commercial companies are jumping on the "natural" bandwagon, though.  Supposedly Jiff makes a natural peanut butter that is healthier and tastes very similar to the original. 

Brown Thumb? No Time?

So we love to garden...it is something that we enjoy and it has become a tradition that our family shares every year.  I have to say that I have a lot of friends that tell me that they would eat more fruits and veggies but they don't have the time or expertise to garden the way that we do.  WHAT!?!?!?  That's cool if you don't have time or the ability to grow stuff...heck, we all have our own talents and gifts, and gardening is not for everyone.  But please don't let be a reason why you are not eating plenty of fruits and veggies!  Check out your local farm market.  If you are living in or near Virginia, make that marketS (emphasis on the S), because if you seek them out, they will appear!  They are like peas on the vine...even when you think you have picked out the last one, another pops up when you least expect it!  It is like that all over the country, though.  TONS of lovely produce is right there at your fingertips.  It has that yummy home-grown flavor and you don't have to get your hands dirty or give up what few hours a day you have for free time.  An added bonus is that you will be supporting your local farmers and helping out the economy for your community.  I just went to the farmer's market last night, as we did not have enough room to plant sweet corn and I had a craving (fancy that!).  So make the most of the BEST that summer has to offer and load up on farm-fresh goodness till the frost sets in!

The Common Market

The other day we made one of our trips to the Common Market in Frederick, MD.  We love, love, love it there, and usually go as a family, you know, make a day of it.  They have LOTS of resources for vegan families...including MANY choices of "ice cream" flavors, dairy-free cheeses, frozen stuff like mock pepper steak, organic and local fruits and veggies, a whole vitamin/supplement section and more.  They also have a cafe where you can get a very filling lunch (translation: you will be stuffed) and enjoy great smoothies.  They also have a hot bar...I suggest one of the delicious vegan soups.  OR there are prepared foods like vegan potato salad, sushi, and even macro/vegan dumplings and noodles.  If you plan to make a trip here, bring a cooler.  We have to because it takes us 45 minutes on the road.  But it is worth it!!!  We always have a good time, the prices are reasonable, they pride themselves on being involved in the community, and it is usually 2 weeks before I even think about going to the regular grocery store again (yay!).  There are also lots of fun things to do in Frederick, which is rich in history.  The Barbara Fritchie house is there.

Green Machine

I have been in serious gardening mode for the last few weeks!  This is one of my favorite times of the year, and the anticipation of seeing all my hard work pay off is crazy.  We started planting back in May.  Every year we go to the Blandy Mother's Day Plant sale and pick up all kinds of organic and heirloom plants.  Many of our plants come from seed as well, like the beans.  Well, we have quite a crop this year because we terraced off another portion of the yard and now have even more growing space than last year.  Who says you can't have an awesome garden on less than an acre in the city?  So this is a vegan gardener's dream come true, we have: green beans, yellow squash, zucchini, sugar snap peas, broccoli, cucumbers, many kinds of tomatoes, eggplant, butterhead lettuce, bell peppers, hot peppers, potatoes, and gads of herbs like sage, parsley, oregano, and the traditional basil patch.  It is not so much hard work, I have the kids to help me.  There are many lessons to be learned when growing a garden, the most important being responsibility and an understanding of growth and new life.  I will post more as my garden produces more and I get to try many new recipes.  Can't wait for the gazpacho and the kids are begging me to make pasta sauce.  People from California, I envy you with your year-round growing season!!!!  I could really do this all year.  I think I need to build a greenhouse this fall!

The Little Grill Collective

Today we decided to throw caution to the wind and travel to the Green Valley Book Fair just south of Harrisonburg, VA.  You can get thousands of new books for practically nothing.  I love getting a fairly new title for $3.00 and then checking the original price to see that it WAS $25.00!!!  On our way home we were very hungry so we decided to stop at the Little Grill Collective in Harrisonburg.  It is kind of a hole in the wall, but we loved it.  The atmosphere is really laid-back.  I felt totally comfortable bringing the kids in there!  Low and behold, there were plenty of options for veg-heads.  There were several sandwiches that included tempeh, salads, appetizers that included falafel and hummus, and each dish came with a ton of chips and/or fresh fries.  You can ask to have the cheese in ANYTHING substituted with vegan cheese.  I especially enjoyed the vegan chocolate chip cookie (just order one, they are massive, and ask to have it warmed up), the ginger lemonade, and the paintings and stuff around the room.  It was more like being at home than a restaurant.  Parents take note:  the peanut butter in the PB&J is all natural, no sugar added.  We usually get our peanut butter sweetened, so my 5 year old turned into a real grouch and refused to eat because the peanut butter "tasted funny".  Other than that, Little Grill is amazing and not to be missed!!!  Next stop in Harrisonburg will be the Ethiopian place!

Great Book For Kids

We recently purchased this wonderful book by Ruby Roth called That's Why We Don't Eat Animals.  I have to say that I enjoyed it as much as the kids did.  It explains, in kid-friendly terms, the reasons why we don't eat animals and how it affects the world.  The pictures are lovely, as well.  If your library has it, check it out.  If not, find it online!

Adventures in SushiLand!

So I decided to try to make my own sushi.  It is NEVER the way I want it when we go out, and the stuff that you get at the Asian buffets almost always has fish or those yucky little orange fish eggs.  I got everything that I needed at the grocery store.  It is a brand name called Sushi Chef, and it totally rocks.  I got the Nori (seaweed paper, tastes better than it looks), the rolling mat and the paddle, the rice, the veggies for the center, and even the pickled ginger and wasabi paste.  The rice was easy but the timing had to be JUST right to get the right consistency.  While I was cooking the rice, I chopped some avocado, cucumber, and carrot slivers.  When the rice was finished, I used wet hands (really important, this stuff is super sticky) to spread it out on a piece of nori paper till it was almost flat.  I added the veggies and rolled it up.  The I used a sharp, wet knife to cut the long roll into pieces.  It was easy and delicious.  We ate it before a broccoli stir-fry.  The next time I make it, though, I will do the whole shebang ahead of time so that I do not end up overcooking my main dish...again (oopsy!).
Here is a good video if you need a visual.  It is slightly different from what I did, but looks good and it all vegan!  Trust yourself, I have done it and it IS do-able at home :)  If the video does not show up, here is the link -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU-b9XS1g5s

Bonnaroo Experience

My husband and I took a break from the kids last month and went to experience the Bonnaroo music festival in Manchester, Tenn.  It was great fun camping for four days, tons of great musicians like Damian Marley and Michael Franti, lots of cool new people to meet, and LOTS of great food.  There were many great vegan experiences to be had.  We went nuts for the Samosa stand.  If you haven't tried a samosa yet, you should.  Most Indian eateries have them, and both kids and grown-ups will love them.  It is a pocket of flakey crist filled with veggie, chick peas, and other goodies.  Bonnaroo also had an abundance of sweet potato fries, which are healthier than regular fries and very tasty!!  Overall, Bonnaroo gets two thumbs up on the vegan scale!!!