Organic or not??

I think I've been brainwashed....well, not really. I've recently watched a few movies about organic farming. Of course it's better for you and the environment, right? No pesticides......no chemicals at all! Right?

Well, what about your local farmers? Would you rather ship organic tomatoes across the country, or eat local, but not organic, tomatoes?? Which  is better for you and the environment? Last  week, I came across this very dilemma in the store. (yes, it was Whole Foods, as my local store has squat for organic produce) There they were....organic tomatoes! And not a bad price either. But I remembered my local supermarket had locally farmed tomatoes. I was at a loss! What should I do? What's better for me? Those nice looking organic tomatoes were shipped all the way from California.....that can't be good. But....the local ones used pesticides....aaaaahh....what to do? I bought organic. Yup. But I'm still not so sure what the right decision was. Maybe with a decision like that, I should base it on price?

I don't have a problem buying organic, when there's no local option, unless it's outrageously expensive compared to the conventional (which the broccoli was, I tell you!). And I can't live without broccoli. That's a staple I must have in the house at ALL times! The kale was also twice the price of the conventional. That is my #2 staple.

What do YOU do? What are your thoughts on organic produce in general? Do you buy all organic? Do you buy organic when it's on sale only? (yup, I bought some awesome organic plums on sale last week...and they ARE delicious) Do you try to buy local? Or do you only buy what's on that "dirty dozen" list for pesticide residue, organically?

Here's the list of the "Dirty Dozen" you're supposed to buy organic:

apples
peaches
nectarines
strawberries
cherries
imported grapes
pears
bell peppers
celery
lettuce
spinach
potatoes

What are YOUR thoughts on this whole organic produce thing?

Eat smart,
T.

Winners!

And the two winners from my coupon giveaway are.....

DOMESTIC DIVA!!!!

....and.....

LINDSAY!!!!!

Congrats, ladies! Please email me your full name and address, so I can get those out to you right away.

Eat smart,
T.

Awesome summer foods!

I wanted to tell you about some of the great things I've been eating since I got back from the big Europe trip (you can read about my trip here and here).  Let me go back and start with 4th of July:

I made some gazpacho and it was perfect for a hot day:

We had black bean burgers (on a sprouted english muffin, since that's all we had) and my potato salad:

And for dessert we had Kathy's awesome Silk Chocolate Mousse:

Moving on, I made Gena's Hemp Hummus, which is really delicious:

Then I put some in a sandwich with my kale salad:

I don't have a picture of it, but I'm totally addicted to Angela's  Tahini Lemon Dressing!! It is the best thing ever and so perfect for this hot summer weather!! I make large batches at a time now and it's great for dipping too, because it thickens up in the fridge :) Go make it...now!

I recently bought a Gardein product, because I had a coupon for it. We don't often buy this kind of thing, but once in a while is fine. I've heard good things about them, so we picked this up:

I heated them up in the microwave, like the package directions said. S liked them. He called them "smoky". They weren't my thing at all. The flavor of it was just weird. I didn't mind the texture, but...I don't know. I found the sauce to be a bit thick and gluey.  Have you had these before? I guess I'd be willing to try another "flavor" if I had coupons or something for it. But I wouldn't go out of my way for them.

I made them with my pesto:

Lemony Spinach Avocado Pesto:

1 avocado (Hass)
2 cups packed raw spinach, washed
4 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp minced garlic
1 small tomato, chopped (if adding to pasta)
raw almonds, chopped small (if adding to pasta)
salt to taste

Scoop out the avocado, minus the pit, and put it into a food processor. Add the spinach, lemon juice, and garlic. If you have a small food processor, like I do, you may want to add the spinach a handful at a time. You can scrape it down and add the next batch of spinach, etc.  Process until nice and creamy. Add the salt and process again. Add it to your pasta in a pot (if eating it with pasta) and add in the tomatoes and almonds. Let the tomatoes heat up and then it's ready! I liked it cold too. You can use it as a dip, with or without the tomatoes, and without the almonds.

And here a couple of finds from the store:

Coconut Bliss Ice Cream (If you want to win a coupon for this, and other items, enter today!!)

This stuff is GOOD!!!

And the latest from Galaxy Foods-vegan cream cheese (yum):

So, don't forget to enter to win some cool vegan food coupons....contest ends tonight!

What cool summer foods have YOU eaten lately?

Eat smart,
T.

My new juicer and a mini giveaway! [CLOSED]

No. I don't have a juicer to give away. Hahaha...I wish. Hey, Breville, if you're listening....I'd gladly do a juicer giveaway for you :)

Anyway, look what I recently got:

(photo from the Breville site)

It's the Breville ikon Multi Speed Juice Fountain. And it's awesome!

Yup, thanks to Cashback bonuses and 20% off coupons, I was able to afford this thing.  And summer here (95+ degrees) is the perfect time to get one.  I've only had it a few days, so I'm still on my carrot based juices. I've made carrot-apple-ginger juice, carrot-apple-celery-cucumber-ginger juice, and carrot-beet-ginger-spinach juice. All delicious! The one with the beet actually wasn't as sweet as the ones with the apples. And there's always lots of pulp leftover......I hate to throw it out. But I also hear that if you save it, you should use it up within a day (or maybe freeze it).

In honor of my new juicer, well ok, and because I had several coupons leftover from the NOLA VeggieFest 2011, I'm going to do a mini giveaway today. I've got some cool coupons, from Coconut Bliss to Manitoba Harvest Hemp Seeds, so if you'd like a few, there will be TWO winners! (ONLY OPEN TO U.S. ADDRESSES) Don't forget to leave your email address in your comment(s) if it's not available on your profile!!

Rules:

Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment here with your favorite juice recipe or a link to your favorite juice recipe. OR you can tell me what the heck I can do with my leftover pulp.

Extra entries (leave another comment for each, here):

1. Like my Facebook Page AND leave a comment there telling me you want to enter this giveaway.
2. Tweet about this giveaway (include @TanyaTheViolist)

This giveaway will close on Sunday, July 17th at midnight CST.

Winners will be chosen by random.org 

Good luck :)

Eat smart,
T.