Quick and Easy Window Garden

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All you need to grow fresh, nutritious vegetables any time of year is a little bit of window space, and some sunlight.  Window gardens work best with a south facing window (in the northern hemisphere) to catch the most sunlight, but work almost as well with an east or west facing window.

To start a window garden, get any simple container, plastic or ceramic.  Make sure that it has decent drainage– you don’t want your garden to get too wet.  Add some soil (available at any garden shop or available here).  Eventually, you will want to add some compost (no fertilizer necessary!), and the best kind of compost comes from worm castings that you can make in your own home.  Bury your seeds in a quarter to a half inch of soil/compost depending on how big they are (bigger seeds should go deeper).  Water well so the soil is damp to the touch but not soaking wet.  Just check back in every day to make sure the soil is not dry.  If it is, just water a bit.

Here is a picture I took of a small window garden in my apartment. 

The big plants are Basil, which have been growing there in that window for OVER A YEAR!  I snip off a bit whenever I want a nice fresh flavor in my juices or salads.  The smaller plants are a combination of Arugula, Cilantro, Parsley, Tatsoi, and Rosemary about 3 weeks after planting. Sure, they are probably a little too close together and might not grow up to be the biggest plants, but it doesn’t matter.  Chances are some of them won’t survive, and I can always thin the smaller ones out or dig them up and transplant them.

The number one rule in gardening (and probably the only one you’ll need for years after you get started) is “PUT THE #@?%! SEEDS INTO THE GROUND”.  You will pick up most of the other stuff yourself, or from more experienced gardeners as you go.  You’ll really be surprised how successful you can be following rule number one.

Recommendations

Organic Basil Seeds
Organic Arugula Seeds
Cilantro Seeds
Parsley Seeds
Tatsoi Seeds
Rosemary Seeds
Worm Factory 360 Worm Composter
1000 Red Wriggler Worms

(Almost) Zero Work Raw Baby Food: Mashed Avocado and Banana

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It is often a bewildering time for a first-time parent when you are faced with deciding how to start giving your baby solid foods.  Some parents slowly start adding to their child’s breastmilk/formula-only diet as early as four months while some prefer to start at six month or beyond.

I am not here to give advice on what time you should start solid foods.  Of course that is up to you to decide.  However I can say that we started solid foods at six months and our son is a happy, diverse eater.  I am also not here to guilt you into giving your child a certain type of food.  Please give them whatever you need to!

However, I am here to give you an early baby food idea that is both raw and so simple but so healthy, you may have completely overlooked it — mashed avocado and/or banana.

Many early baby purees involve doing things such as pureeing apples and pears.  While these are healthy simple foods too they are both harder to clean up and involve cooking the fruit to get it tender enough to puree.

However an avocado (and banana) is the perfect no-cook food for your baby.  While it is possible to mash a very ripe avocado by hand to a puree-like consistency, what we found was easier was to use a food mill such as this OXO Good Grips Food Mill.  However while I can vouch for the OXO’s quality, I do realize it is a bit expensive.  In reality, any of these will do.  If you don’t want to spend $30 or more, then just try something like this KidCo Baby Steps Food Mill. It is plastic and certainly lesser quality than the OXO or other pricier items.  However we own one and if you treat it carefully enough it will last you a long time (ours is in perfect shape after a year of use).

All you have to do is scoop a chunk of avocado or banana, put it in the food mill, grind and serve.  Or do both at the same time!  It is as simple as that.

My son now eats both avocados and bananas in big chunks because he is old enough to not need a puree-like texture.  However, they are two of his favorite foods.  I’m pretty certain our early introduction of these foods gave him the strong desire to eat them all the time now six months later.

An added bonus is both avocado and banana come in their own “shell” (no washing needed) and are easy to carry around with you.  That is a huge plus for time strapped moms and dads.  Of course a banana is slightly simpler to travel with and just hand to your child to eat.  The reality is an avocado is almost as simple but you do need to bring a knife and spoon.

Start your kids early on these two delicacies and you will thank me when they are getting healthy calories by eating entire avocados, bananas and other fruits and vegetables and not french fries, chicken nuggets and pizza.

Creating Compost Right from Your Own Kitchen with Red Wriggler Worms

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Well, compost is not really raw, and it’s not even a food.. But it’s essential to producing fresh and healthy fruits and vegetables. The absolute best compost you can get for your plants is made from worm castings. That’s right– set a few thousand red wriggler worms loose on your kitchen scraps and they will eat through them in no time and give you a bounty of fresh and nutrient rich compost for your plants. With a bit of this, you can grow many many raw foods even in your windowsill!

About a year ago, I bought the Green Worm Factory 360 Worm Composter after a ton of research (also available in black and terra cotta). This is hands down the best worm composter on the market, and it has worked great for me over the last year, producing about 50-100lbs of compost. Many improvements have been made over the original Worm Factory design (including eliminating odors) so you should definitely hit up the 360 for an extra $20 or so.

Start with about 1000 red wriggler worms (worms available here) and just add equal parts uncooked kitchen scraps and wet newspaper. The only things the worms don’t like are cooked food, meat, dairy, onions, and citrus. Wait about a month, and you’ll have 10 or so lbs of fresh compost. The best part is, the worm bin is made up of a few levels, so once a level is filled with kitchen scraps, just start filling up a new level. The worms will instinctively migrate to the fresh food once they have eaten their way through the older food. Just remove the top levels and harvest the fresh compost from the bottom once it’s ready.

The bin also includes a catch basin and spigot for harvesting worm leachate, or “compost tea”. Mix this with about 1 part to 20 parts water, and it is the BEST fertilizer for your plants on the planet.

As far as smell, you really don’t have to worry at all as long as you don’t add cooked foods, meat or dairy. My bin sits in my kitchen and I really never ever notice any smell at all. Just make sure you are adding plenty of newspaper to the mix, and you should be fine.

Recommendations

Worm Factory 360 Worm Composter
1000 Red Wriggler Worms

Juicing Recipe: Bring on the Daikon

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Here’s a juicing recipe I came up with from some extra and random stuff that was sitting in my fridge.  I used a Daikon radish, and wasn’t sure if it would make the juice too spicy, but it actually turned out great and next time I plan to use twice as much!

  • 2 large Daikon (white radish)
  • 2 large Carrots
  • 2 Beets
  • Large bunch of Chicory (be careful with this- very bitter!)
  • 2 Apples
  • 1 Lemon (can be peeled but not necessary- Lemons are the only citrus that can be thrown in the juicer whole, rind and all)

I made the juice in my Breville Juice Fountain Elite.  The juicer is a bit on the pricey side but it will last forever, and if you’re planning on juicing a few times a week, it will pay for itself in no time (a juice at a juice bar is $6-10– and they don’t have Daikons or Chicory!). To find Daikons and Chicory I recommend a farmers’ market or CSA.  But of course, the best source is your own garden, and both of these vegetables are easy to grow.  Here are a couple links for Organic Daikon Seeds and Organic Chicory Seeds.

Recommendations:

Breville Juice Fountain Elite
Organic Daikon Seeds
Organic Chicory Seeds

Juicy Remedy for Wintertime Lows: Orange and Spirulina

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Borrowing a page from the playbook of Dan MacDonald, I have come across a simple yet effective combination for a juice that helps lift the spirits during the cold and short winter days.  This may not be a valid home remedy for seasonal affective disorder or other kinds of depression or mood disorders (we take a hard line here at this site that NONE of the info here is medical advice!), but it definitely gives you a nice boost on dark and dreary winter mornings.

Right about this time of year, the bounty of fresh Florida oranges starts coming into full force.  These juice very nicely with a simple glass citrus juicer.  For $9 you can’t go wrong.  If you’re juicing seeded oranges, a fork removes the seeds quite easily from the bottom of the juicer.  You should be able to pick up half a dozen or so oranges at the supermarket or a grocer for about $5.  Take three or four of them, cut them in half, and juice away.  There is really no wrong way to do it.

Three or four oranges should give you few cups of juice.  Now here’s where shit starts getting real.  There is this stuff, blue green algae, which stimulates brain function and increases neurotransmitter activity.  One type of this algae, Spirulina, is available very inexpensively.   For $18 you can get a pound of Starwest Botanicals Organic Spirulina Powder and it will go a LONNNG way.  Take just one spoonful and mix it well into your juice.  I will repeat- mix it WELL.  This stuff is certainly an acquired taste so start out slow and see how much you can build up to.

Recommendations:

SCI/Scandicrafts, Inc. Citrus Juicer.
Starwest Botanicals Organic Spirulina Powder, 1-pound Bag
Juicy Indian River Florida Navel Oranges Grove Fresh 15lbs, 1.5 Trays Free Shipping
Snack Box of Florida Oranges

On-The-Go Breakfast for Raw Newbies: Apples and Almond Butter

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You know the scene all too well.  You’ve pressed the snooze button three or four too many times yet again.  Let’s face it — we’ve all been there.  Don’t beat yourself up over it!  Rather than grabbing that egg sandwich or donut on the way to work, give yourself a filling raw breakfast that will keep you energized well into the afternoon.  It is dead simple, and I promise, you will be done in less than 2 minutes.

Pick up 5 or 6 apples at the beginning of the week.  I like to get mine from a local farmers’ market (find yours here) in the fall or winter– they will stay good at home on your counter for at least a couple weeks.  Honeycrisp, winesap, golden delicious, and pink lady are some of my favorite varieties.

I always keep one of these babies in the fridge.  These 26oz jars of Maranatha Natural Almond Butter are the best deal around for natural almond butter.  While lightly roasted, this almond butter is not 100% raw, but makes a great transition food if you’re just getting started, and if you’re already a raw food junkie this is the best deal and next best thing to making your own.

So you’ve just fumbled out of bed.  Grab an apple from the counter, wash it and cut that bad boy in half.  Slap a few knife-fulls of your natural almond butter on each piece, and head out the door.  Apple core?  No problem!  Just chow it down– trust me, the seeds will not kill you (reports of them being poisonous are much overblown).  Two apple halves, two hands.  You drive to work, finish one before you make it to your car.  By the time you make it to work, your blood sugar will be flying high and you won’t think about food until well into the afternoon.

Bonus:  If you’ve got some space in your yard and a few years of patience, you can try your hand at growing your own honeycrisps (the god of apples).  Honeycrisp seeds can be purchased here and honeycrisp trees are also widely available. More posts on this coming soon!!

 

 

Juicing Recipe: Lemon Ginger (without the) Blast

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My wife always cringes when I let her try a sip of my favorite juice: the famous “Lemon Ginger Blast” popularized by Lou Corona and Dan MacDonald. I made one this morning without the “blast” (habanero pepper), and it was a hit. In fact, it was the first full jar (32 oz) of juice that she ever drank in one sitting.

Recipe (makes approx 32 oz)
1/2 bag of carrots
1/2 package of celery hearts
1/2 fennel bulb
1/2 cucumber
1 apple
1 meyer lemon
1/2 bunch cilantro
1/2 bunch spinach
3/4″ chunk of ginger

Review: Nutiva Organic Shelled Hempseeds

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Here is my preferred brand and source of shelled hempseeds, which are a great addition to smoothies and salads for a good source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids.  They also add a nice nutty flavor that leaves you full and satiated.

Amazon carries the Nutiva brand in several sizes, but my preference is the 3 pound bag due to the bulk discount.  I empty the bag into several mason jars, keep 1 in the fridge, and the rest in the freezer for long-term storage.  A 3-pound bag will last me several months.

Nutiva Organic Shelled Hempseed, 3 Pound Bag