Helloooo Organic Garden!

Hi there, sweet peas :)

I am proud to say that this is the first official year of our successful organic garden! Ask anyone in my ball-busting family about our garden last year (or lack of), and there sure will be some jokes that follow! Now, I cannot take any credit for the gifts of my abundant garden, all of the credit is to my non-veggie eating boyfriend, John and his green thumb :) Yep, my boyfriend doesn't really like veggies, and I live off of them.  Well, after 7 years of dating I have succeeded in getting him to eat and enjoy peppers and onions (chopped very, very small!) and avocado, in the form of guacamole, annnddd other foods that he doesn't know I sneak into the food I make (the power of a food processor :)  Baby steps!!

It is so easy to grow an organic garden, and the payback is so much more delicious than that from a conventionally grown garden.  Not only is the taste SOOOO much better, has no yucky depleting toxins, but the size of the produce is surprisingly massive (see cucumber below)! I have had so much joy in eating fresh salads and making fresh juices straight from my garden.  Nothing beats organic, locally grown, FRESH produce. It makes me wonder why it is so difficult to have all produce be organic!  With a little mushroom compost tea for rich soil, mint plants to keep the buggies away, and a fence to keep the animals out, anyone can have a beautiful, tasty, organic garden.

My garden has produced so many cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers that have inspired me to cook more, and WOW have I been eating well :)

First pickings from the garden! Lots of cucs to juice!

Slightly longer than my forearm... :)

THE fattest cucumber I have ever seen!! Made three days worth of juice from this guy :)

My morning cup of joe :)
1 cucumber (or 1/2 of a massive garden cuc :),
1/2 lemon
2 stalks of celery
2 stems of collard greens
an inch of fresh ginger
1 apple
1 broccoli stalk

Fresh from the garden Cucumber Tomato Basil Salad

Last night I made stuffed zucchini... inspired by a colleague at work- so simple, so delicious, and a creative way to use those garden zucchini!
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
Chop and saute vegetables of choice (I used broccoli, peppers, garlic, zucchini, and red onion)
Mix with bread crumbs (I use Gillian's vegan gluten free Italian bread crumbs)
Remove seeds from zucchini with a big spoon, stuff zucchini with sauteed vegetables
Sprinkle with "cheese" of choice (I use Daiya's Mozzarella)
Top with favorite tomato sauce (mmm Rao's!)
Bake in oven for about 30 minutes

And if you are such a lover of sauce as I am, top with more sauce and dig in to a DELICIOUS garden fresh, vegan, gluten free, super healthy meal :)

It has been an AMAZING summer, filled with laughter, great friends, amazing food, and some delicious well deserved drinks.  It is funny how the Universe works.  Last week I decided that this past weekend would be my last weekend of partying, and Monday, August 15th would be my first official day of vacation, and  time to begin cleansing my body of the excess weight and toxins that I have accumulated.  Sooo I go onto the CrazySexyLife website, and find that I am not alone. There is a whole group of women who are beginning the cleanse this Monday, too! There are NO coincidences ;) So, tomorrow I will begin the Crazy Sexy Diet Adventure Cleanse along with some Crazy Sexy Ladies.  This is my second time doing the cleanse.  The first time I did it was last February (after my new-teacher rut) and felt SO amazing! I lost all the excess weight gained in those few stressful months, cleared my skin, calmed my nerves, and adopted some life changing rituals (dry brushing, anyone?) Along with the cleanse I will be participating in the Chopra Center's 21-Day Meditation Challenge which "just happens" to begin on the same day I plan to do the cleanse...hmm. Anyway, meditation IS a challenge for me, ask my health coach! The only other time I stuck with meditation was back in February, again when I did the cleanse which just happened to begin the same day that the Winter Meditation Challenge began.  I am SO excited for this next 21 days, and would LOVE to have you join me on this amazing journey <3

If you are interested in doing the cleanse check out the group here, and if you need to be "challenged" to meditate (like me) check out the Chopra Center's Website here.  Be ready to transform your life and feel great :)

Lots of love and organic veggies <3