Posts from the “Uncategorized” Category

Favorite Links This Week

Posted on April 16, 2019

Social media can be incredibly annoying and frustrating and toxic, but it can also be the foundation for great articles. Each week (or so), I share articles that have impacted me with our Jones Valley Teaching Farm staff (see photo above). I thought I would also post them here. Grateful to share, connect, and learn…

Confronting racism is not about the needs and feelings of white people

The Utter Inadequacy of America’s Efforts to Desegregate Schools

How to Design Our Neighborhoods for Happiness

Olympia Auset is Tackling Systemic Racism, One Vegetable at a Time

Finding strength and community through food

2017 Census of Agriculture

4 Questions for the New Census of Agriculture

Highlander Idea

Why the Highlander Attack Matters

A Colt Not Yet Ridden: A Palm Sunday Reflection

So much gratitude,
A

Categories: Community, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Uncategorized

Cooking and Planning Up a Storm

Posted on March 31, 2019

I was on a roll. I lost 10 lbs starting back on Weight Watchers. I was diligent. Intentional. I was a total PLANNER. I was really feeling good and then I had sinus surgery. I will spare you the delicious details, but let’s just say that it took me a minute (or two) to recover. Then we had the most beautiful first week of Spring and I wasn’t sick and I could smell and taste everything.

So I celebrated.

And the celebration lasted a little longer than it should have and well, I’m back to the drawing board.

Here’s the other thing: When I was following the rules and being mindful of my meals, I was also prepping and planning the weekend before. I’m not the person that can just fly by the seat of my pants because when they ask me if I want fries with that, my answer will ALWAYS be yes. Here’s where I should defend myself in some way, but the truth is I have VERY low will power. With everything. So, planning is a necessity. And I’m going to need all of us Weight Watcher folks to be in solidarity with each other and not pretend that planning and prepping isn’t part of the success because it totally is.

I’m proud to report that I’m back on it this week. Or at least that’s the plan. How many times can I say plan in this entry? I reckon we’ve found us a theme, folks.

Though I usually focus solely on Skinnytaste recipes, I randomly decided to look at 101 Cookbooks this weekend and was totally inspired. Probably because her site is just gorgeous, but it could also be the Spring veggies I’m seeing on the farms (I work at Jones Valley Teaching Farm for those of you new to FoodRevival).

Or maybe it was that beautiful first week of Spring despite the crazy pollen (just look at my shoes).

Whatever the inspiration, the following recipes spoke to me. Actually, they hollered at me. And so I made them. I also went ahead and entered in everything on the Weight Watchers website so I could include the points as well.

First up: Double Broccoli Quinoa
At 8 points per serving, this recipe is a little higher in points than I’d like, but I’m just going to eat it sparingly.

Second recipe is Vegetarian Paella with Homemade Sofrito

This was definitely more involved than the first recipe. Per her suggestion, I went ahead and made homemade Sofrito for the Paella. A sofrito is a sauce that is used as a base in Spanish dishes. It was super easy and I’m glad I took the time to do it.

Next up: The Paella.

I must admit that the recipe as written intimidated me. I kept worrying that I would burn the rice, but miraculously I followed the directions and it turned out great. It didn’t get the “crust” she mentioned, but I’ll keep trying.

Skinnytaste’s Banana Bread

Finally, I had to do something with the bananas that were going brown on my counter, so I found my way back to Skinnytaste and made her Banana Bread. This recipe is 4 points per slice (though I went ahead and made one BIG ‘ol loaf instead of two) so it may have more points, actually. The only thing I did different was use a cup of whole wheat flour with the all purpose flour.

So there you have it! I’m excited to get back on track and looking forward to ALL of these meals this week. If you want the recipes, simply click on the title of each section where I list the title of the recipe and it will take you directly to the website.

Have a great week,

Amanda

Categories: Community, Family, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Skinnytaste, Uncategorized, Weight Watchers

Tagged: 101 Cookbooks, Banana Bread, Broccoli, Delicious, Food, Inspiration, Meal Planning, meal prep, Paella, Planning, Pollen, Quinoa, Sofrito, Spring, Spring Veggies, Vegetarian

Feverish Weekend

Posted on February 4, 2019

Quick post tonight. My youngest kiddo battled a 103 fever all weekend. The oldest was getting over a week of the crud. I’m pretending I’m out of harm’s way and doing sinus rinses, taking Sudafed on the regular, and drinking that defense stuff. Let’s face it: Even if I had the most stellar immune system on the planet (which I do not), I don’t know how I’d avoid any of these germs when kiddos are hanging all over me, coughing in my face, and burying their snotty faces in my arms. I could rub a million pounds of essential oils on my feet and take as many probiotics my little self can stand, but I’m not sure it would compete with germs in my face. Literally in my face.

Let’s get to the food.

I had leftover taco meat and buffalo chicken from last week and decided to wrap them up in an egg roll wrapper. Brilliant decision. For the buffalo chicken egg roll, I followed Skinnytaste’s advice (4 pts for 2). For the Southwestern egg roll recipe, I followed Emily Bites (2 pts each).

My son has really gotten attached to Marie Callender’s Chicken Pot Pies. Listen, I snuck a taste and it is absolutely delicious. It has a thousand calories (not really, but let’s just say it is NOT on my current weight watchers plan). I found this Chicken Pot Pie soup on Skinnytaste’s website and I thought I’d try it this week. The first thing he asked was, “Is there crust, Mom?” The answer was, of course, no. Crossing fingers the fact I omitted the cooked carrots will propel me to the winning circle when all is said and done.

Wishing all of you a great week.

Categories: Family, Recipes, Skinnytaste, Uncategorized, Weight Watchers

Skinnytaste Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Posted on February 1, 2019

Remember when I told you I’d post what I was planning to do with this?

Well after making some of Skinnytaste’s Blue Cheese Dressing and stuffing the chicken in a lettuce wrap, I ended up with Skinnytaste’s Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wrap.

I remember making this recipe a while back and being impressed and it did not disappoint this time either. Total Freestyle Points: 2 (I used full fat mayo instead of fat free because…life is supposed to be fulfilling).

Thank you, Skinnytaste. Thank you, Instant Pot. Thank you full-fat mayo.

Categories: Instant Pot, Recipes, Skinnytaste, Uncategorized, Weight Watchers

Tagged: Blue Cheese Dressing, Buffalo Chicken Wraps

First Week Back On Weight Watchers

Posted on January 31, 2019

Oh, hey.

Here I am.

I’m still trying to prioritize myself these days and I’m doing better. I also finished my first week (back) on Weight Watchers. I’ve done this before and had great success and then I just straight up had a baby and decided to boycott counting anything. That baby will be 4-years-old in June, so I figured I have officially entered the “you don’t really have a baby excuse anymore.” After completing my first week, I am pleased to announce that I’ve lost 3 pounds. Sure, it could be on account of clothes, water intake, and time of day, but I am CLAIMING those 3 pounds no matter what.

First, let’s talk exercise. I’m finding that walking this cute dog every day actually makes me happy. I try to get in a 30 minute walk before work and that logs in 2 fit points each time. I managed to walk 5 out of 7 days last week.

Now let’s talk food. I wish there was some magical potion to drink that makes the food part click, but it isn’t rocket science. Calories In. Calories Out. I’m writing everything down, which means I can’t “forget” that burger I ordered instead of the salad. I can’t “forget” about that extra beer. I can’t “forget” about that random handful of the kids’ goldfish crackers I ate on the ride home. Or the chicken nuggets they didn’t finish. Or the fries they didn’t finish (I mean, who doesn’t finish fries???). I’m writing it all down and once you start writing it down you completely understand how all “this” happened.

I’m excited about some meals I made this week because they were easy to make, low in points, and filling. I thought I would post them here if you are looking for meal ideas for the week.

First up: My lightened up version of tacos inspired by my Taco Morro Loco obsession. Did my tacos taste like Taco Morro Loco? No. I mean, who are we kidding? But it did satisfy my craving for a taco and the ingredients were similar. I started with 2 corn tortillas (3 points). I added a very small amount of non-fat greek yogurt (0 pts) and sprinkled Trader Joe’s Lime Chile Seasoning on it. Then I layered with lettuce (0 pts), ground turkey cooked in taco seasoning (0 pts) and roasted peppers and onions (1 pt thanks to the olive oil).

Then I had this crazy idea to make a chickpea salad. I combined chickpeas, diced sweet potatoes, diced celery, diced carrots, and diced dill pickle. I mixed together 2 tbs of Mayo (1 pt), 2 tbs of greek yogurt (0 pts) and added celery salt, salt, and pepper. I stirred it all together and added to a pita (2 pts for half a loaf) and a cup of fresh spinach (0 pts). I was full all afternoon.

I also made some of Skinnytaste’s Buffalo Chicken (0 pts) to add to salads, pitas, etc.

For snacks, I’m focusing on homemade hummus, carrots, celery, and mini sweet peppers.

Has it been hard to track and limit what I’m used to eating? Yes. Does it take time to prep? Yes. Does it feel good to have some structure and order to my meals? Yes. Do I want a french fry? Yes. But, I’m doing it. Or at least trying to…

Hope you are having a great week.

Categories: Prioritizing Me, Recipes, Skinnytaste, Uncategorized, Weight Watchers

Tagged: buffalo chicken, chickpea salad, Freestyle, hummus, snacks, Taco Morro Loco, Weight Watchers

Menu Planning Survival Kit: Instant Pot + Skinnytaste

Posted on January 20, 2019

When I used to plan meals for the week, I’d be on my feet in the kitchen for at least 5 or 6 hours. Since I converted to the Instant Pot, my Sunday routine has been cut down from SIX to TWO hours. I know a lot of you may have not had luck with the Instant Pot or perhaps don’t believe the hype and that is totally okay, but I’m 100% converted. Like, Instant Pot Believer over here. Let’s jump in and see what I managed to cook in less than 2 hours this morning.

First up: Red Lentil Soup with Spinach. Publix was out of red lentils, so I just got brown and everyone survived. This was super easy and a great way to use up my Jones Valley Teaching Farm carrots. I even had enough to freeze.

While the soup was cooking, I started on this Cheesy Rotisserie Chicken Enchilada Skillet. I had left over rotisserie chicken from last week, which was perfect to use in this recipe. I used canned everything (black beans, chicken stock, and enchilada sauce). You can do you and make it from scratch if you’d like. I made it on the stove and then stuck it in the oven to finish it off.

While the Cheesy Rotisserie Chicken Enchilada Skillet was baking, I quickly cooked some ground sirloin with taco seasoning. I plan to give this to the kiddos this week because God forbid they have to eat something like chicken enchiladas or lentils.

I rounded out the morning with some meal prep for me: Boiled Eggs and Low-Fat Ranch Dressing. As you can see from all of the links above, Skinnytaste is my go-to for recipes. Look at these eggs.

Skinnytaste’s recipes are easy to follow, always delicious, can be counted via calorie-counter or Weight Watchers, and she has a treasure trove of Instant Pot recipes. She’s like the perfect guide if you are starting new this year and trying to be accountable calorie-wise and she’s especially helpful if you happened to get an Instant Pot over the holidays. Win. Win.

Wishing all of you a great start to your week.

Categories: Family, Instant Pot, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Prioritizing Me, Recipes, Skinnytaste, Uncategorized

Tagged: boiled eggs, carrots, chicken enchilada bake, lentils, low-fat ranch, Meal Planning, meal prep, Soup

Broccolini! Romanesco! Cauliflower!

Posted on January 17, 2019

Accountability time.

I’m doing okay. Been walking with the dog. Haven’t stuck to my podcast and book plan. Haven’t really counted my calories…and if we are being honest, I ate the chicken nuggets my kid didn’t finish tonight. I can’t leave a chicken nugget on the table…ever. I also can’t resist ordering fries, but that’s a story for a different time. I have, however, been more intentional and I’m writing this post now, so that is worth celebrating.

Something super cool happened this week. I stopped by Jones Valley Teaching Farm’s downtown farm to say hello to my colleagues. It’s kind of hard to do this as often as I’d like given the EIGHT locations we operate. Yes, eight. It seems I’m always running from one place to another. The truth is, I don’t get to see the sites as often as I’d like and I rarely make enough time to stop and get the produce we grow, which is absolutely ridiculous. So when Jesse, our Senior Farm Manager, asked me very simply, “Do you want to get some produce while you are here?” I was like, “YES. YES, I DO.”

When I first started Food Revival, it was all about documenting the CSA box I got each week from Jones Valley Teaching Farm (then Jones Valley Urban Farm). This was NINE years ago. I volunteered my time at the farm and I got a box of produce in exchange for my efforts. Little did I know that this blog would be a platform to highlight the vegetables I got each week. I called it the CSA Challenge. Nine years and two kids later, I’m the Executive Director of Jones Valley Teaching Farm and I’m barely finding the time to pick up the veggies much less cook them. Thanks to Jesse that changed this week.

Look at this broccolini. It is delicious and yes, you can eat the flowers. I followed THIS Barefoot Contessa recipe and even though the recipe worked perfectly, the broccolini was truly the star.

And look at this Romanesco. What is Romanesco? (I asked the same question.) It’s a member of the cruciferous family (think broccoli, cabbage, kale), but it is MOST like cauliflower. I simply cut its florets off and sprayed with a little olive oil, sprinkled some salt and pepper over it, and roasted on a sheet pan for 20 or so minutes. Then I seasoned it with some chili lime seasoning I got at Trader Joe’s.

Speaking of cauliflower, look at these beauties I got from the farm! I roasted them whole. I used olive oil and butter as the base and on one I sprinkled with cumin and the other with the chili lime seasoning I mentioned earlier. I think I’ll try a garlic Parmesan recipe next (like this one).

So, no I haven’t found the perfect balance. I have, however, found SOME balance and if you remember what I said when I first started this new year, that’s just fine. Some is better than none. As I close this post I want to say THANK YOU to Jesse for reminding me to get my favorite veggies on the planet. I want to say THANK YOU to the farmers I work with because they grow the best food. I also want to celebrate the fact that I’m still connected to Jones Valley Teaching Farm and that FoodRevival still exists. This journey has been wonderful and hard and all the things in between and beyond.

P.S. We also did a fun family taste test between store-bought carrots and the carrots I picked up from the farm. You’ll never guess the winner (unless you’ve had JVTF’s carrots because then you already know).

Categories: Community, Family, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Prioritizing Me, Southern, Uncategorized, Work