Gardens, Veggies, Meatless – Oh My! (and a few resources)

It’s April!

Spring weather has to be getting closer, right?

Our focus for April here on EaH is going to be everything earthy.  We’ll talk gardens and gardening, vegetables, farmer’s markets, meatless dinners…  Not every post will follow this topic, but many will.

If you’ve been reading this blog very long, you know I don’t tackle these topics often.  Not that I don’t have meatless and vegetarian meal recipes, and we do eat vegetables, of course.  I’ve even got a few posts on square foot gardening.  But this topic isn’t the most natural (pun intended) for me to write about.

So, I’ll be turning to some folks who can help out.  One of those people is Katie from Kitchen Stewardship.  She knows healthy foods like I know my slow cooker.

Katie has 3 ebooks available.  Her newest is Everything Beans.  She also has Kitchen Stewardship in the Big Woods, a family camping book.  But the one I chose is Healthy Snacks. (Click here to visit Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship.)

I don’t buy a lot of pre-packaged snack foods, (except cereal, but that’s another topic for another post) but we do like having granola bars for the days when we’ve got classes all day.

What I don’t like is the cost of a box of granola bars.  Every time I buy, I think I could make it myself for much less.

Last weekend I bought Katie’s book, Healthy Snacks to Go.  I haven’t had a chance to make anything yet (hence the need for snacks to go!), but I’m planning to this weekend.

Katie has some fabulous ideas – Tater Skin Crispies are potato chip like snacks made from potato peelings.  A practically free snack!

She’s also got a recipe for Peanut Butter Kisses that are healthy.  I’m all over that one.

All the recipes have info on how long it will take to make them.  She rates the time required by likening it to how long it would take to slice and bake refrigerated cookie dough, or make your own chocolate chip cookies, or make cookie cutter cookies with icing.  I love that rating system.  It’s easy to understand.

There are also may tips on choosing snacks, packing them, packing lunches, tricking your tongue to get used to less sugar…

I am looking forward to using this book! (Click here to visit Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship.)

I also want to share another resource for finding deals and more info on organic foods.  My friend, Andrea at The Green Backs Gal shares all kinds of deals and coupons for healthy foods, as well as recipes and green living tips.  She can help tame the higher cost of organic foods.

Next week, I’ve got a guest post lined up on how to freeze fresh spinach.  And I’ve got a ton of recipes waiting to be shared.  I’ve been cooking and photographing, but not everything has made it into a post yet.  Look for a couple of new recipes next week.

Disclaimer: The links for Katie’s ebooks are affiliate links.  If you choose to buy, I will earn a little bit of moola, possibly enough to buy  ingredients for those Peanut Butter Kisses.