Author Archives: Melissa | Growing Green Nutrition

Clothing my pregnant body

Going into this pregnancy, I hoped to avoid buying any NEW clothing.  I mean, what a ridiculous thing, right?  Why buy something brand new that I would wear for a few months at most, when there should be plenty of good condition used maternity clothes floating around out there.

The reality: finding used maternity clothing is easier said than done.  Where is all of the gently used maternity clothing?  Are there lots of mothers out there, hoarding their maternity clothes for the next potential pregnancy?

Goodwill: I struck out at my local Goodwill store — one small, disorganized rack with nothing in my size.  If I were willing to drive to some of the posher Goodwill locations, maybe I would have better luck, but it’s hard to justify the gas for a distinct “maybe.”

Kangaroo Kids: I had a bit more luck at this children’s and maternity resale shop.  I scored a pair of gray dress pants, a black knee length skirt (that I need to grow into), and two tops for about $22.  The downside is the distance — it’s out in the direction of my MIL’s, so it was easy enough to justify a stop, but I wish it were closer so I could pop in more often, since their inventory changes daily.

Scholarshop: Both Scholarshop locations have a maternity rack.  Small selection, but good condition and easy to look through.  I considered a few purchases, but at that point I was waiting to see what I would get from my sister.  Not quite as far away as Kangaroo Kids, but not super easily accessible without a car, either.

My sister’s closet: My youngest sister and I are fairly close in size, and she just happened to be about four months ahead of me in this pregnancy thing.  She is now a new mama, and done with some of the maternity clothes.  I inherited a few tops, a pair of jeans, and a nice pair of corduroy pants.   The jeans and most of the tops are currently a bit big on me, but maybe I’ll grow into them?

New purchases

Belly bands: Back in January, before acquiring any other maternity clothing, I purchased three belly bands.  I hoped to use them to extend the life of my regular pants, but they didn’t work particularly well for that.  The thin, stretchy fabric could not hide the fact that my pants were halfway unzipped.

I am using them now with my maternity pants, as many of my regular tops still fit, but aren’t quite long enough to hide the weirdness of the maternity pants’ waistbands.  Belly band to the rescue.

JCPenney: Looking for a couple of maternity pieces that would be well-suited for travel, and with a gift card that needed to be used anyway, I did some online shopping.  I ordered a pair of pants and three tops.  I wanted a pair of leggings to round things out, but they were no longer available when I went to checkout 😦  They have yet to arrive, and I’m honestly not sure if I’ll keep any of them.

I’d like to get back by Kangaroo Kids and Scholarshop, but I’m not sure when that will happen.

The fact that I can get by, pretty happily, with my limited maternity wardrobe of 2-3 pair of pants and a handful of tops proves that my pre-pregnancy wardrobe (while not huge by most standards) was significantly larger than necessary.  I look forward to whittling it down, but at this point I don’t want to get rid of too much until I see where my shape settles post-baby.

Surviving the gardening blitz

Going into it, I honestly wasn’t sure how I would hold up during Saturday’s garden blitz.  We had one shot to get in our potatoes and spring crops — one day where the soil was dry enough (barely), we had a tiller, and all of the stars aligned just so = tons of work!

With only one tiller and three helpers, I spent I good bit of the morning waiting for the ground to be ready to plant.  Matthew and Pam did all of the tilling — there’s no reason I couldn’t have joined in, but the machine scared me a bit.  I did help spread some soil amendments, including lime, gypsum, and some alfalfa-based fertilizer.

 

That's not just dirt you're looking at -- it's four rows of potatoes, plus a bed of garlic!

Once the soil was prepped, we planted six rows of potatoes, a bazillion onions, some cruciferous seedlings (sadly, we had to buy these, as ours bit the dust once again, but we have a plan of attack for next time), and artichoke seedlings.

 

Artichoke!

Other than playing photographer (and a little help with clean-up), planting the artichokes was my last garden-related act for the day.  After that, my aching lower back and I retreated inside to bond with a yoga mat, while Matthew and Pam toiled for a couple more hours, planting peas, carrots, and more onions.

From left to right . . . far upper left corner: artichokes; then seeds: carrots, lettuce, peas; potato rows; the biggest green things = Egyptian onions; then rows of onion starts; a cage of broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower; our low tunnel.

They finally called it quits when dusk turned into full dark, and the raindrops grew a bit more insistent.

We finally arrived home, feeling more zombie than human.  A hot shower and a hot meal (PTL for leftovers!) only slightly eased the zombified state for me.  I finally made it into bed, and despite not-so-great sleep, I woke up Sunday feeling surprisingly good.

How I survived:

  • Hydration
  • Frequent snack breaks
  • Frequent breaks
  • Stretching my back at the end of the day
  • And, last but not least, being the gardening slacker — from skipping some garden days altogether, to taking it easy when I’m there, between the three of us, I win the slacker award, hands down 😉  Matthew and Pam are the garden super heroes!

Celebrate St. Paddy’s Day with Green Food

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! It’s a great day to have a green blog 😉

Speaking of green, I grew up with my grandma’s St. Patrick’s day meals, where everything was green — literally!  Green butter, green water, green wine & beer, green horseradish — she really went all out.

The St. Patrick’s Day dinners bring back great memories, and I love the spirit and festivity, but these days, the thought of consuming all that green food coloring makes me cringe.

Fortunately, there are a plethora of green foods out there, so you can still have a green meal without artificial dyes.  As an extra bonus, most naturally green foods are pretty good for you.

Green on green

Here are a few ideas:

  • Green cabbage — a very traditional St. Paddy’s Day food, but the traditional cooking method — boiling forever — robs it of most of the green color (and most of the nutritional value).  Try it fresh in a cabbage salad.
  • Spinach — try a simple saute with olive oil and garlic or fresh with your favorite salad toppings.
  • Pesto — the basil gives it a fabulous bright green color.  Serve with your favorite [green] veggies and pasta.
  • Garnish plates or beverages with fresh herbs such as mint, basil, parsley, or cilantro.
Complete with shamrock plant in the background

There are a bunch of green foods not on my list, so it’s your turn!  What is your favorite naturally green food?

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We’ll be keeping things fairly traditional with our reuben sandwiches tonight.  Since we made our sauerkraut with purple cabbage, we’ll have to make sure to have a serving of green on the side 🙂

Easy black bean soup — make it tonight

A pot of perfectly cooked black beans served as the base for this delicious soup.

Lacking a go-to black bean soup recipe, I turned to the internet and found a recipe for TGI Friday’s Black Bean Soup.  I’ve never had the soup at the restaurant (I think I’ve eaten there twice in my life), but this soup is quite tasty!

Here is the recipe with my modifications:

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup diced white onion
  • 3/4 cup diced celery
  • 1/2 cup diced carrot
  • 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper (any color would be fine — this is what we had in the freezer)
  • 1/2 bulb of garlic, shopped
  • 6 cups cooked black beans (equivalent to four (15 ounce) cans black beans)
  • 3 cups black bean cooking liquid (could also use veggie broth or water, but I like cooking with my bean juice when possible)
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 t. smoked salt*, plus more to taste
  • 1 t. smoked paprika*

*The original recipe calls for liquid smoke.  I had good intentions of purchasing some recently, but balked when I saw the ingredient list, which included unnecessary color additives.  I used smoked salt and smoked paprika to give the soup that same smokey flavor.

In a large pot, saute the veggies in the oil.  Puree half of the black beans (3 cups, or slightly more for a thicker soup) with the liquid (bean juice, broth or water).  Combine all ingredients in the pot with the sauteed veggies.  Simmer 30-60 minutes (depending on how thick you want it or how impatient you are to eat).

We garnished our soup with chopped green onions and frozen corn.  Shredded cheese or sour cream would also make good toppings.