Backyard Gardening on the rise

With products like this one, it’s no wonder Backyard Gardening is seeing an upward trend. I’ve (well … my husband’s) been gardening for years and we love the convenience, savings, and better quality of food we get this way. Now that we’ve moved to another state and rent instead of own, we had to forego the big garden this year. However, I think I am in LOVE with this product from Backyard Botanical and it’s a definite must-have!! I’m already begging hubby to get it for me. I think *I* might even garden like this.

This is the STUFF, if I do say so myself. I really think this would make a great addition to any backyard ~ even if you have a larger garden plot. This would be great for lettuces, herbs, and other smaller items. I could also see this as an excellent solution for older folks who might not enjoy all the bending that a traditional garden requires.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that there is an opportunity to WIN ONE this weekend.

Check here for all the details: http://tinyurl.com/c3634y

Grocery Store Wars ~~ great spoof

Thought I'd post this cute video that I saw on YouTube. Someone put a lot of thought and time into this one.

*I apologize for those of you who don't like Star Wars. I, for one, enjoy the original movie and found this quite humorous.

Enjoy!

Trustee's Garden in Savannah

First off, let me start by saying that it's a pleasure to be back on track and looking into "Healthy Discoveries" in a new city and state. For those who may not be aware, we've moved from Nashville, TN to Savannah, GA, and I'm starting this lifestyle journey anew.

Although I've lived in the remote areas of the Deep South before, Savannah is different. To me, it is at the same time remote and yet considered a fairly decent size city. Needless to say, it is much smaller than Nashville and therefore does not have some of the places I was accustomed to (Whole Foods, etc) but I am learning that there are nice options here.

Of course, the growing season is a bit longer here and we have access to local farmers and their produce quite readily in and around the Savannah area. One of the great finds that I have yet to personally visit but wanted to highlight today is the Market at the Trustee's Garden in the historic downtown area of Savannah.

I'm sure many of you reading this blog have visited Savannah and marvelled at the history, architecture, and beauty of this old city. For those of you planning to return or planning your first visit, you will surely want to put the Trustee's Garden on your list of must see places.

History of the Trustee's Garden:
Here's an excerpt from the official website: "From 1733 to 1748 Trustees’ Garden was set aside from Savannah as an experimental farm where peaches, rice, cotton, grapes, flax, hemp, indigo, olives, and the mulberry trees essential to silk culture, were grown. Silk was an early promise, and the town’s largest structure was the filature where the cocoons were unwound into silk thread. Queen Caroline was clothed in Georgia silk. However, large-scale silk production did not happen, so interest waned and the garden closed."

Currently, the area of the former experimental garden is now being used once a week to house The Market at Trustee's garden, a market featuring local organic farmers, eco artists, and more. According to the Market's website, this is "an attempt to reinvigorate the first experimental garden of the United States of America."

Isn't that cool? I've always loved history but I love the fact that Savannah was a "first city" for so many things -- the garden, the first planned city in the US, and so much more.


*You can read more about the Trustee's Garden here: http://www.trusteesgarden.com/home
and more about the market here: http://www.trusteesmarket.com/


More to Come
Stay with this blog in the coming weeks as we highlight local farms and more. And if you have a suggestion for a feature, please leave a comment on this post.

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Return to Blogging

I know ... I know ... it's been awhile! I've been in transition from Nashville to Savannah, Georgia, and now that I'm getting settled you can expect more blogging on all the new Healthy Discoveries that I'm uncovering in the Deep South. Yep, that's right -- there are healthy things to discover in the land of deep fried and fat back!

Stay tuned ~ lots more to come!

Heirloom Tomatoes and Strawberries

That's what I'm after this weekend at the Farmer's Market in Nashville!

I just got my e-newsletter from the market yesterday and I'm excited. Here's what they had to say:

Life is sweet at the Market!

The long awaited Tennessee strawberry season is here. Local strawberries are to be devoured during the scant weeks they are in season and these sweet little orbs are a great way to start off a fantastic spring at the market.

New to the Market this year is Rainbow Hill Farm from McMinnville, with a truck-load of delicious quarts of berries. They've visited the market several times now on Tuesdays and will be coming back again with a truckload of fresh picked strawberries this Friday as well. Walter has been selling out quick as word spreads about new farmers and
fresh berries at the Market, so come early! And if you miss Walter, wander over to our retail area where you can find a great selection of fresh, sweet berries from Cookeville, Portland and Ridgetop, Tennessee.*

Additionally, they have some Heirloom Tomatoes in the sheds too --

Heirloom Tomatoes Already?

Yes! Our intrepid retailer Randy Barnes has discovered a farmer growing with hoop houses and bringing us heirloom tomatoes nearly a month earlier than usual. You'll find all your favorites, like Cherokee Purple, red Brandywine, Gold Medal and, new this year, Kellogg's Breakfast. Come down and get a taste of summer early.*

I don't know what half of those are, but I'm going to find out!! Yum!

So, if you are in the Nashville area, you might want to grab your 'Green' bags and schedule a trip out this weekend to the Market. Directions and more details can be found here: www.nashvillefarmersmarket.org

*Reprinted from the Nashville Farmer's Market E-news.


Tour De Nash
And, if you happen to be downtown on Saturday the 17th, you might want to check out the Tour De Nash. This annual event provides everything from a 2 mile Family Walk to a 50+ mile bike ride around the city.

Additionally, there is a FREE health and wellness fair during the event. Most participants in the free walks get water bottles for their participation too.

Enjoy your weekend!

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A Refreshing Vlog

If you haven't already run across "Bunny Berry's" blog, you owe it to yourself to take a look. She's a gal who is chronicling her 100 day Raw Food Challenge in daily video blogs (vlog). As of yesterday, she was on Day 31.

http://bunnyberry.blogspot.com/

She's refreshing in that she isn't this uber-thin, already-got-the-"glow", high raw, I-can-do-this-it's-as-easy-as-breathing type of gal. She makes you feel like all us regular folks can perhaps give raw another shot -- and succeed.

WLIR featured her blog the other day. So, I started poking around on there and really enjoyed her candid, seemingly unscripted commentary.

More fuel for the "Let's Jump Back on the Raw Bandwagon" -- hee hee

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Healthy Discoveries???

I'm sure you've noticed that there have been no 'discoveries' lately -- healthy or otherwise! :o)

Life and Winter sucked me in and I put the blogging aside for a while. Hopefully that will change soon with the onset of summer and loads of all things healthy.

I plan to make my first warm-weather visit to the Farmer's Market soon and will be sure to post photos and details.

One item of Note:
If you are in Nashville or the surrounding area, you will be sure to want the following information:

Raw-N-Ready
A new program devised by Tim Parkison (who teaches classes at Wild Oats, btw) that will provide raw meals on a weekly basis by order only. Check out the details below:

Raw-n-Ready
Thank you all for your tremendous interest, support, and response to
the possibility of prepared raw food by the week. As a result, I am eager to
announce that...
The debut menu for "Raw-N-Ready" is complete!

I am at last poised and ready to create fabulous raw food for you!

Here's how it works:

Each week I'll e-mail a fresh menu for you to order and pick up.The order will consist of:

2 soups (or some weeks a dip or spread w/live flaxseed crackers and a soup)
4 side items
4 entrees
2 delicious raw
deserts
(There are sure to be a few added surprises along the way.)

I will list extras such as live seasoned sunnies, spiced pumpkin seeds, flax crackers, live salad dressings, raw live granola, etc. as they are available. (These items will be offered at an additional cost).

I'll stay as organic with my ingredients as Mother Nature and the market will allow. It is my express intention to support our local growers. So, what is ripened and ready will assist me in creating each week's menu. Keeping your raw food as fresh, alive, and vital as possible!

The minimum order (described above) is $100.00.
Doubling the order (for two) will be $185.00.

You may order and pre-pay a week in advance, then pick up your food the following week.

In the "start up" phase of this adventure I am requesting cash for payment. I will adjust to more modern means as we grow together.

The pick up point will be at 1902 Linden Ave.(near Hillsboro Village in Nashville). Your order will be available between 4-6pm.

It Gets Better!

You are invited to a "tasting"! Please join me to sample some of the items you will be experiencing each week. This gives you an opportunity to preview the menu, ask questions about the program and place your intial order.

Where? 1902 Linden Av. Nashville, TN 37212

When? Thursday, May 15th, 2008 between 6-8pm.

Cost? $10.00

This will be a casual "drop by" kind of event. So, please feel free to come and go at your convenience.

Please RSVP so I can be sure to prepare plenty for you to enjoy! You may reply to this e-mail or give me a call.
615-300-5012

Thank you for enthusiasm! It is you that have inspired me to manifest Raw-N-Ready into reality.

I look forward to meeting you at the tasting!

Sincerely,
Tim Parkison
(a.k.a. "Chef Timio")

He's given me permission to re-post this. So be watching for updates on this
program as well as information on his classes at Wild Oats.

Been Awhile ...

I've been in the Winter doldrums for a bit and, as is apparent, have not posted in a while. But, Spring is on the way and it won't be long before the Farmer's Market is open and raw food goodness is once again center stage.

So, as a wrap up to my experiment, I lasted 10 days on 90-100% raw. I stopped partly because of finances - it's a little pricey. But, I lost about 10 pounds those 10 days and I'm looking forward to giving it another go.

I've been about 50-75% raw most days since then and have kept my weight off. Summertime is really my favorite food time because we have so many fresh veggies in our own tiny garden. Plus, this year, I'll be visiting the Nashville and Franklin Farmer's Markets for things I don't grow myself.


Here are a few recent items you might be interested in:

• Dr. Lou Niles, ND ~ a Health and Wellness DVD
• Raw Food Chat
• Vegan Parmesan "Cheese"

Shameless Plug Time:

I do have, as the title suggests, a shameless plug. My husband has been writing songs for about 5 years or so with Robby Turner (played with Waylon, Dixie Chicks, and many others) and they recently had one of their songs picked up by WSIX for online streaming and rotation.

It's called "The Fool Wants to Marry My Daughter"

You can listen to it here:

http://www.wsix.com/cc-common/artist_submission/player.html?art=137797

Would you do us a HUGE favor? The more people who listen to it all the way through, the more we move up the charts and the more exposure.

So … will you listen and spread the word?

Thanks and enjoy!

NCD Zeolites rock!

I noticed that NCD is getting some press lately. For those of you who don't know what NCD is, let me explain.

Natural Cellular Defense is an all natural zeolite that helps remove toxins and heavy metals from your system. It also rids your body of pollutants and things that can trigger allergies.

Here's a little info from the Waiora website:

For centuries, the powdered forms of specific zeolites have been used as traditional remedies throughout Asia to promote overall health and well being.
The story of the "volcanic rocks" has been passed down from generation-to-generation as more and more people have experienced its life-changing benefits.
Zeolites are natural volcanic minerals with an unique, complex crystalline structure. It's honeycomb framework of cavities and channels (like cages) works at the cellular level trapping, heavy metals and toxins. In fact, because it is one of the few negatively charged minerals in nature, zeolites act as magnets drawing toxins to it, capturing them in its cage and removing them from the body

More details on what it does:

• Supports a healthy immune system.*
• Helps remove heavy metals, toxins and other substances from the body.*
• Helps balance pH levels in the body.*
• 100 percent natural and non-toxic.*
• Safe for long-term use.*

You can learn more about NCD by clicking here or email me and I'll send you some more detailed info on just what it does for you.

I've been taking NCD for over a year now and love it. When I take it faithfully I don't have any sinus or allergy problems. In fact, it is one of the reasons I joined Waiora.

As a sidenote:

If you are interested in purchasing some for yourself or want to find out more about Waiora or how you can join(so you can get a discount), just give me a holler (email is available on my Waiora page)or send a comment.

BTW ....

Dr. Lou Niles, N.D. believes that NCD is one of the most important supplements you can take.

Also,

Check out what Justin had to say -- he uses NCD in his daily ritual and mentioned it in his juice feasting post

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Holdin' My Own

The last three days have been more or less 70% raw around here. Mostly because I am in need of a run to the store and partly because ... well, just because.

I've found that I like raw and find myself to be full on less amounts of food and am more aware of when I am just "eating to eat" and when I am truly hungry. So far, I haven't gained anything back but I haven't really lost any more either. Can't complain on that front, though.

I notice that I am picky about what non-raw food I eat though. I don't just want any ol' thing. And the stuff I do eat tastes faintly like cardboard. The flavor of raw fruits and veggies is so amazing now. I know... I know... I sound like one of "them" but it's true! I love how even bananas have a really good taste to me now. I think one of my favorite things in all the world right now is EVOO and lime juice (freshly squeezed) on my salad with just a hint of black pepper. Wow! Lime rocks!

But I've gone a wee bit overboard on citrus lately (grapefruits, lime, lemon, oranges, etc) and have a nice fever blister to show for it. Anyway, I digress ...

Here are a few more sites for you to peruse ...

1. Love Raw Life
2. Raw Food Talk -- the forum at www.alissacohen.com
3. Health Freedom Resources -- some recipes here
4. Green Smoothie Girl -- can't remember if I posted this or not
5. Rawdorable - a blog -- check out the two posts on Raw Dough that she used as 'Trix' cereal
6. Julie's Raw Ambition -- another blog
7. Ann Wigemore Institute
8. The Raw Table
9. Pure Raw Cafe
10. Wheeler's Vegan Ice Cream -- it ain't raw but sometimes you just need a little ice cream

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