miessence

Driving home from picking up my kids from preschool today we made a quick stop at a neighbor’s “home grown veggie” stand.  I was delighted to see fresh broccoli and my kids squealed with glee.  My eldest Angel (4.5 yrs old) insisted on helping me prepare lunch so we started with grilled cheese sandwiches.  She is mastering the knife and spread the coconut oil evenly on the bread.  A quick rinse of the broccoli and into the steamer got all of our mouths watering.  A handful of grapes for each of us, grilled cheese sandwiches and fresh from the garden steamed broccoli…I love it when a meal comes together.

I enjoy watching my kids develop a love of food….REAL food.  They often follow me into our own garden to pluck swiss chard for a green smoothie or tomatoes for sauces and soups.  Most recently I have noticed they like to smell everything before they taste.  They understand that food is meant to nourish our bodies and that an excess of sugar is an unnecessary part of a nutritious diet.  I am thankful for the growth I have made in the food choices for our family.  It has been a struggle at times, but baby steps and repetition seem to be the key for me.  I embrace the learning and sharing these lessons with my children is a gift I hope we will continue to receive for many years to come.

P.S. After my Angel finished her lunch, she informed me that she only likes broccoli that comes “fresh from the ground”.  Now who could deny such a request?

I am very excited about the fact that my garden is growing and we are eating its bounty.  I have to chuckle because I planted most of the squares in my sq foot garden in mid-april and as the sprouts began to emerge from the earth, well I asked my husband with all seriousness, “do you think those are weeds or the seeds sprouting?” Ha!  Yep this is my very first attempt a gardening, much less growing something from seeds!  Now that we are two months in we have enjoyed the beginnings of our harvest, mainly because I can pick at most of the greens and they seem to double overnight.

This  whole gardening process has me checking on my garden more than once per day and I am enjoying just being still and listening to my surroundings. …kids laughing, birds chirping, dogs playing.  Why did it take me to the end of my 30s to discover such bliss?

Wow, I picked greens out of my garden just before a storm rolled in and it barely looks like I have taken anything.  I ended up with 2 gallon bags of salad greens and 3 gallon bags of swiss chard/kale/beet greens. Amazing how much comes out of squarefoot gardening.  I am wondering if my zuchini and snap peas are going to prove as bountiful.  I guess I better start looking for folks who would like some extra produce just in case I get the over abundance so many folks warn about .

With the rapid growth of  sweet goodness from our garden like beet greens, swiss chard, and spinach (to name just a few) my green smoothies are even more delicious!  I am indeed falling in love all over again. Our family, including two toddlers under 5 years of age have been enjoying nature’s green goodness for almost a full year now.  Last year we used greens purchased at the grocery store and with our increased consumption decided to start a garden in the Spring.  Now with the warmer weather our garden is booming and trying different combination’s is proving very pleasing to the palette. If you aren’t familiar with a “green smoothie” I highly recommend you check out http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com for more insight on this nutritious way of eating.

What a great day! My sweet hubby built our final two garden beds before the rains came.  They are placed and staked, now we just need to prep the ground and order more compost, vermiculite and peat moss for the “Mel’s Mix” growing soil.  I am both excited and nervous about my new endeavor. I am so worried about things not growing for some reason…there is bound to be “something” that grows….it just may not be edible! Ha!  The kids are very excited too, especially about wanting to water the dirt.

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