Screaming baby in the car= Pure Sprouts saved me!

So, I know I own Pure Sprouts- but I'm also the poster child for someone who NEEDS Pure Sprouts! My new baby, Allison, hates the car. She hates, hates, HATES the car. She also hates riding in a cart.. In a front carrier... well, really hates anything but being held and being free to kick away. So, needless to say, we don't go out much! I develop a bad case of road rage when I'm driving with my screaming baby in the back seat. On top of that, my 2 year old is yelling because he wants to get out of the car and away from the crying baby. I get it!
So, I order from Pure Sprouts. I get my groceries delivered to my house on a weekly basis- and as an added bonus- I eat good foods all the time.

I also know that Pure Sprouts is a serious time-saver. Honestly, how long does it take you to get in the car, drive to the store, walk up and down the aisles, wait in line, pay, pack up the groceries, drive home, unpack the groceries. Pheww! I'd say all of that takes about an hour and a half each week. Pure Sprouts takes about 10 minutes to place your order and then all you have to do is open your door and unpack your bin! I'm a busy woman, but aren't we all these days? So, I think- what do I do with my extra 80 minutes per week? I can cook breakfast, play with my kids, write blogs, and I may even be able to squeeze in a few pages of a book!

Where to find organic food in the Lehigh Valley?

We at Pure Sprouts have made that question our mission. We buy organic produce from local farmers whenever possible, we are constantly looking for local, organic foods to sell, and we align ourselves with like-minded businesses in the Valley. But, yet- we wish there was more here! We would love to see some organic eateries around that we could align ourselves with or some organic bakeries... How cool would it be if you find everything you ever wanted right here in the Lehigh Valley?? I mean, obviously that's not entirely possible. We sometimes get the questions- when will you have local bananas or kiwi? We think it's an attempt at humor, but the "just in case" answer is Never!
Just the same, we could carry local apples- New York State is a big producer of apples- but why are the apples sold in the grocery store always from Washington? We want to change that!
We currently have local strawberries and blueberries. They are just so tasty. Beyond that, every bite is a little act of community service- I'm helping the environment by purchasing my fruit about 10 miles from my house, I'm helping the local economy, and I'm treating my family to the purest fruit there is.
Let's find more of these treasures- bring more organic companies to the Lehigh Valley!

My Bread Machine

My mom and I were at the store yesterday and I stumbled across a bread machine. It's probably not a noteworthy brand or anything, but I thought it looked pretty interesting. The only bread I've ever made was banana bread in a regular old loaf pan. So what's the difference?? Even after on a whim I bought this gadget, I still don't know the difference... But let me tell you- we randomly picked a zucchini- chocolate chip recipe out of the instructional manual since we had a lot of zucchini in our fridge. You have to add each ingredient in the proper order and the bread making guide states that you have to add exact measurements. This part made me entirely too nervous since I am the "little here, little there" type of cook. My mom had to make the bread for me. We got to use up 4 of our zucchini's in the bread, which completely counter-balances the fact that there are chocolate chips in the bread too.
So you add each ingredient to this little gadget (no need to stir), close the lid, hit quick bake and walk away for about 1 1/2 hours. There is a little foot that kneads the bread in there every now and then, while baking. We were mesmerized by this cool invention-- and the smell of the bread was spectacular!
When the buzzer ran, Mom and I rushed over to look through the viewing window. There it was! Our masterpiece... But how would it taste?? For some odd reason, when you pull out the bread the kneading foot comes out inside the bread.. But besides this strangeness, everything was perfect! We tasted the bread about a half hour later and OH MY! So tasty... I think our next mission will be cheesy bread.. Stay tuned!

A tribute to Ed

On a personal level I'm having a life moment today. I have been going up to my grandmother's house every weekend I can to visit Ed. Ed isn't my grandfather, but he's been with my Nana for over 20 years. I have always thought he was an awesome guy- he always took great care of us growing up. Aside from explaining why I called what appeared to be my grandfather, "Ed" everything was wonderful.
Ed was a tough guy- a real "man" if you know what I mean. I used to think he was a fuddy-duddy growing up. But, just the same- I thought he was indestructable. One of the guys you'd like to have around when you were in trouble. He was a meat and potatoes type of guy- For all these reasons I always found it odd that he loved to garden. Not only did he have a huge vegetable garden in his backyard, but he had flowers everywhere. He knew everything about them too. I'm sure if he was capable he would teach me so much about our new business.
But Ed's not capable anymore. A few years ago he was hit by a car walking on the side of the street. No one knew at that time how it would lead to such life altering events. He's in the care of hospice now. Everytime I see him I see that he's slipping away a little bit more.
I bring them organic fruits and veggies every time I go up to visit. It's the least I can do. I wish I could bring a truckload up to them- and I would if I knew it would bring him back to his "manly man" stature.
Last weekend my niece, Samantha, and Jackson were up to visit with me. The time that they spent with Ed was just so precious to watch. They would run together into his room and lay their little heads on the edge of the bed. Samantha would pass Ed her doll and Jackson would pass him his car. They would stay in there talking to him for awhile.. I'm not sure what about since Samantha is only 3 and Jackson is 18 months- but for some strange reason, I think they all got it.
While I was driving home today I was thinking about all of this. I think these days, in the stress of everything going on in our world, we need to focus on what really matters. Our family, our friends, our health.. And we need to let the little things go. I never think the little things are so little in the moment- but I'm going to work on this. It's so hard to watch this happen to Ed, but I think the hard times like this should be life lessons. Every moment we have to spend with loved ones should be used as if they were sweet stolen moments.

Mom of an organic baby

I woke up like this today- honestly, it's because I watched the sad display of human character on reality TV last night- lol! Now, I feel like I need to gain a few brain cells back and do something good for mankind!
I've always been health conscious- aside from my college years, which consisted of cafeteria foods and beer... I try to cook good meals, and I never let a day go by without eating a few good helpings of fruits and veggies. But then my son came along.
I started out a worried Mommy- worried is not the word to describe my first few months as a Mommy! Jackson had lots of trouble sleeping, and in my sleep deprived state- I was terrified he would be the one child in the whole world that did not require any sleep. Would Jackson be a medical mystery? I could see the headlines, "Baby Has Been Awake for 3 Years"... You see what sleep deprivation does to you??
Once the grogginess of the first 3 months faded, and my fears of the non-sleeping baby subsided, God, did I fall in love with Jackson. A mommy's love is so huge, I just couldn't believe it.
I've been in environmental science for 9 years. I'm very well versed in the state of our environment, and I've always thought it was terrifying. Global warming is real, everyone, even though it feels better to hope that it's "a natural cycle in Earth's temperatures"- it's real. It's real and scary.
Now, with Jackson on this Earth- it's more than scary. There is nothing that I wouldn't do for that child- along with all the children brought into this world, and their children's children, etc. As a Mommy, no, as Mommies- we have to do something to allow our babies, to allow future generations to have what we have, and hopefully more. We need to decrease our carbon footprints, be good to our Earth, and be good to our bodies.
The more I buy organic, the more I want to go further. I feel so good at the end of the day, when I put Jackson in his fully biodegradable diaper on a full meal filled with organic yumminess. I think I sleep better at night. I know that sounds silly to some, but I finally feel like I'm doing my part in this world. In such a big world, I think we can feel so powerless. I'm fighting that!

Want to cut back on your food budget? Buy produce.

People tend to think buying produce is expensive, and even more that organic produce is expensive. I read a really interesting article this past weekend regarding this topic. First off, I need to speak of the expense of our health. How much is our health worth? If you knew that spending an extra $5.00-$10.00 each time you went to the grocery store meant that you and your family would avoid health issues in the future, would you do it? I'm not implying that this is a true fact, but I do believe it. I believe that if everyone made an effort to eat healthy, eat smart, and avoid consuming chemicals to the best of their ability- we would have less chronic health problems. For some diseases this is obvious, but I firmly believe this is true for most diseases.

Enough about the health expenses. Did you know that eating fruits, veggies and grains is 20% less expensive than a meat-y diet? If you replaced your meat with dry beans, you could make meals for pennies. Dry beans can be purchased at any food store, soaked and then they are ready to use. You can make burgers, fajitas, casseroles, and soups.

Local Currency

So, I must say, I'm intrigued. I attended a meeting today about seeds. I learned a lot today- a lot about seeds.... But, I also learned that the Lehigh Valley has a group that is trying to bring Lehigh Valley currency to the area. The currency is called "Liberty Dollars" and it's actually a national movement.
The Liberty Dollar is essentially a receipt for gold and silver. While you hold the currency, you own a piece of gold or silver that is stored in a warehouse. It exists in $1, $5, $10, and $20 denominations. I was amazed to find that Liberty Dollars have been around since 1998, and over $20 million US dollars have been exchanged for Liberty Dollars.
The purpose of the Liberty Dollar is to solve the problem of diminishing purchasing power of the US dollar. The Liberty Dollar is backed, insured, and guaranteed.
The group that is working on this project in the Lehigh Valley believes that this new money will only be exchanged within the community. It's a way of keeping Lehigh Valley money in the Valley. Pretty cool for a new business like mine- except, how does my business spend the money?
I still have some learning to do. I admire the group taking on this project, as there is so much to learn. I mean think about it- they have to single-handedly fix our economy! ;)
I don't know if it's a solution, and I'm no economist.. But I encourage everyone to look into it themselves. Any movement is worth a glance.