Blog Archives

Silly Snacks

10/31/2018

Around Halloween it can be tricky to convince your kids to balance out their candy intake with fresh fruits and veggies. Here are some ideas to keep things exciting and to make healthy eating (slightly) more fun for your kiddos.

Apple Monsters

What you need: 1 apple, 2 tbsp peanut butter, 2 strawberries, 24 almond slivers or sunflower seeds, edible candy eyes.
How to make 'em: Cut apple into quarters, Lay apple quarters down, cut 1-inch wedge in the center of each quarter. Slice strawberries lengthwise. Spread peanut butter on mouth. Place strawberry in opening lined with peanut butter, and stick sunflower seeds in mouth to resemble teeth. Stick eyes on with peanut butter

Jack-O-Lantern Fruit Bowl

What you need: 15 fresh strawberries, 4 ounces white baking chocolate, 1/2 teaspoon shortening or butter, 1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips.
How to make 'em: Wash strawberries, pat until dry. Combine butter & white chocolate and melt until smooth. Dip strawberries in mixture and set on wax paper. Press tiny chocolate chips while chocolate is still soft. Melt remaining chocolate chips, use toothpick to draw faces.

Strawberry Ghosts

What you need: 15 fresh strawberries, 4 ounces white baking chocolate, 1/2 teaspoon shortening or butter, 1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips.
How to make 'em: Wash strawberries, pat until dry. Combine butter & white chocolate and melt until smooth. Dip strawberries in mixture and set on wax paper. Press tiny chocolate chips while chocolate is still soft. Melt remaining chocolate chips, use toothpick to draw faces.

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Farm Feature: Galloping Grace Youth Ranch

10/24/2018

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Galloping Grace Youth Ranch, a non-profit working youth ranch based in Rio Rancho, is rooted in their community in a variety of ways. They have a multifaceted mission, but we'll start with the largest and most important part of what they do: their youth ranch. Central to their mission is education. They teach kids about sustainable farming practices through the raising of livestock and vegetable farming. Galloping Grace prioritizes hands-on learning at the ranch to help kids develop leadership skills and connect them to their communities through food. Their Junior Leader Program has five main skills they help Junior Leaders work on: agricultural aptitude, communication, social awareness, empathy, and problem solving through collaboration. Junior Leaders develop these skills by collaborating with others to care for and raise animals and crops.

The second dimension of Galloping Grace's mission is their Food Recovery Program. They are responsible for saving over two million pounds of produce from taking up space in landfills. A large majority of the food scraps are sent to Galloping Grace from Roadrunner Food Bank, another local non-profit committed to reducing food waste. Produce is first donated to the Food Bank where it is sorted by volunteers. The produce that is still great quality and ready for use by families across New mexico is re-distributed. The produce that is not healthy for folks to consume is separated and sent to Galloping Grace. Once it is on the farm it is used to feed the livestock at Galloping Grace that the kids participating in youth leadership programs are helping to raise. The livestock are then sent to a local processing facility where meat is packaged and then donated back to the Food Bank. Last year they donated almost 2,000 pounds!

For more info on their summer camps and their Junior Leader program email: youthprograms@ggyr.org or check out their website for more details. Establishing a sense of community and helping others is so central to their message. If you would like to help them in that mission they are always looking for volunteers!

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Farm Feature: Bee's Honey

10/17/2018

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Last week we had the opportunity to chat with Jennifer Espalin of Bee's Honey. Though she gave a lot of credit to her husband, Daniel, the owner and sole beekeeper, Jennifer plays a huge role in bottling, delivering and filling orders. She had a lot of interesting info to share!

Bee's Honey is based in Albuquerque's South Valley. Like most beekeepers, Daniel began his business out of a genuine love for bees. Jennifer & Daniel started small by selling a few jars of honey about 20 years ago at the Downtown Growers Market, their newborn baby bouncing on Jennifer's knee. Fast forward to today, and the the two of them are still running the business by themselves, however, now Daniel manages over 100 hives on top of teaching 20-hour beekeeping classes out of his house (more on that later). The majority of Daniel's hives are in the North and South Valleys of Albuquerque, most along the river and on local farms. Farmers reach out to him to house bees on their farms to help pollinate their crops - a mutually beneficial relationship. Daniel also manages hives as far as Deming and Las Cruces and relies on family members there to check on the hives in between his visits. With his eager six year-old grandson as his co-pilot the whole operation is definitely a family affair. Jennifer also commented on how different the honey tastes that comes from down south, primarily because of the mezquite trees. The flavor of honey is entirely dependent on what the bees have available to them.

Bees are responsible for pollinating 70 of the 100 crop species that feed most of the world. Since the early 1990's there has been an observed decline in bee populations. Many beekeepers are doing whatever they can to spread the word to save the bees! Daniel offers 20 hour beekeeping classes for folks serious about bee keeping. You can call Daniel at 505-550-6136 or Jennifer at 505-907-1220. You can also inquire in person at the Downtown Growers Market on Saturdays until early November and at the Rail Yards Market until the end of October.

Click here to download a PDF of this week's Newsletter!

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Fall for Healthy Eating: Inviting Kids into the Kitchen

10/10/2018

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It's that time of year where mornings are chilly and dewy, and we're staying in bed for an extra 5 (or 25) minutes while we adjust to a new season. As the seasons change, so do our cooking and eating habits. We tend to be in the kitchen more during the Fall and Winter months, as we prepare warm comfort food like soup and green chile stew. We want to encourage folks to invite their kids into the kitchen this Fall and Winter. It's crucial to include kids of all ages in the kitchen to empower them and offer them the tools to lead a healthy life full of delicious food.

Just because you don't have 4 hours to spare to make tamales from scratch, or time to make your own pasta, doesn't mean that you can't include kids in the process. It is crucial that kids are present in the kitchen, even if all they do is rinse lettuce and tear up the leaves to make a salad. When kids feel comfortable and welcome in the kitchen, it can help them to develop confidence and healthy eating habits they will carry with them for their entire lives. Cooking is more than just eating the finished product, it's about process, experience, and community. Here are some tips and simple ways to get your kids (of all ages) involved in the kitchen!

Give them Power

Try not to present cooking as another chore or something they "have" to help you with. Take out a few cook books, with simple recipes to start, and let them plan the meals for the upcoming week. Have them help you create a grocery list and make a plan for what nights you'll make each recipe. Have them choose which meals they're most excited to help out with.

Consistency is Key!

If finding time is really difficult due to your work schedule, try to plan just one meal a week where your kiddo can join you in the kitchen and try hard to stick to it. Kids need consistency. To make it easy you could cook a family favorite that night, and just vary it slightly from week to week. Kids can still get their hands dirty without you having to do too much planning. Each week they can look forward to that day and that special meal.

Create a Kid-Friendly Kitchen

By bringing age-appropriate cooking items down from the top shelves and onto shelves where kids can reach them, they will become familiar with these tools and will feel more independent being able to grab them on their own. As they get older and more comfortable in the kitchen, you can slowly start bringing new tools within their reach. Plus, by knowing where certain things go, they can help you with post-meal clean up. It's a win-win situation!

Kitchen Tasks by Age:

2-year-olds: Rinse fruits and veggies, tear lettuce/greens, break broccoli into bite-size pieces
3-year-olds: Mix & pour ingredients, shake liquids (like salad dressing or milk) to combine them
4-year-olds: Peel things like hard-boiled eggs, mash beans, avocados, potato (cooled) using fork
5-6-year olds: Use kid-safe scissors to cut herbs like parsley and cilantro
7-10 year olds: Set the table, measure ingredients, clean up
Teens: Introduce safe knife techniques and explain the difference between slicing, and chopping. Have them start meals by lightly sauteing onions & garlic.

Click here to download a PDF of this week's Newsletter!

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Leafy Feature: Tatsoi

10/2/2018

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While its name might sound foreign, you've probably encountered one of tatosi's relatives without even realizing it. This leafy brassica rapa is related to napa cabbage, bok choy (a Weekly Share regular), and for the Italians out there, broccoli rabe/rapini.

Tatosi, also known as Chinese flat cabbage, has unmistakable spoon-shaped dark green leaves that form a thick rosette. The head sprawls outward, hugging the earth. It can withstand temperatures down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit, making it a great Fall & early Winter crop, which is great because it's full of vitamin C, calcium, potassium and folic acid to support immunity when we need it the most.

Most commonly sauteed, tatsoi makes a great addition to stir fry, soup, and in any dish as a substitute for bok choy. You can expect a creamy texture with a subtle, yet distinctive flavor. There are a lot of nooks and crannies in these leaves, so after removing the leaves from the stem, be sure to rinse them well to avoid any unwanted grit.

We hope y'all are feeling adventurous enough to give this luscious green a try! Although the name might sound foreign to some, the flavor is familiar and sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

Farmer's Corner

You may notice a new local farm on this week's list: Villanueva Fields Farm. Katherine Bueler has been the steward of 11 acres of land nestled along the Pecos River in Villanueva, a small village in San Miguel County, since 2005. Katherine is committed to preserving farmland and the knowledge and skills required to operate a farm or homestead. She holds classes at her farm almost weekly and warmly invites community members near and far to join her.

We worked with Katherine Bueler earlier this year through a program called Youthworks in a few schools in Santa Fe. They were our pilot sites for our sliding scale, and were such a pleasure to work with. Before the growing season truly took off, Katherine reached out to us wondering if we would like to buy from her later in the season. After a long, hot summer Katherine let us know that she had lots of butternut squash ready, we were more than happy to take them off of her hands. We feel lucky to know so many farmer folks willing to work with us!

For more info on what Katherine is up to in Villanueva: Google Villanueva Fields Farm Facebook page, and click the link to their website.

Click here to download a PDF of this week's Newsletter!

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Silly Snacks

Farm Feature: Galloping Grace Youth Ranch

Farm Feature: Bee's Honey

Fall for Healthy Eating: Inviting Kids into the Kitchen

Leafy Feature: Tatsoi

Farmer's Corner

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