This is a very healthy way to make chicken that has a lot of flavor and can be used throughout the week in tons of different ways.

Ingredients:

• 2 Large Chicken Breasts
• 2 Cans Mexican Stewed Tomatoes
• 1 Medium Bell Pepper, diced (I use yellow or orange)
• 1 Medium Yellow Onion, diced

Break out your favorite crock pot and put the chicken breasts in the bottom. Add the diced onions & bell peppers. Add the 2 cans of the Mexican stewed tomatoes. Cover and set on high for 4-6 hours.  If you are home, go ahead and mix it after 3 hours. Mine was perfect after 5 hours. Take tongs and gently shred the chicken and mix with all other ingredients.

I also have been known to add black beans and additional halved grape tomatoes. You can also add 1/2 cup of chopped artichokes hearts. Yum!

To jazz it up, serve with the following topping:

• 1 Bunch Cilantro
• 3 Leaves Cabbage
• 1 Lime, squeezed

Put Cilantro & Cabbage into a small food processor. Squeeze the lime into over the ingredients. Pulse on high for 30 seconds. 1 Tbsp is 11 calories. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts on the Mexican Chicken

• Serving Size: 1 serving
• Servings per Recipe: 6

Calories 202

• Calories from Fat 59
• Total Fat 6.55g 10%
  • Saturated Fat 1.836g 9%
  • Polyunsaturated Fat 1.414g
  • Monounsaturated Fat 2.525g
• Cholesterol 70mg 23%
• Sodium 597mg 25%
• Potassium 404mg
• Total Carbohydrate 9.53g 3%
  • Dietary Fiber 2.2g 9%
  • Sugars 7g
• Protein 26.02g
  • Vitamin A 17%
  • Vitamin C 66%
  • Calcium 3%
  • Iron 7%

Calorie Breakdown:

• Carbohydrate 19%
• Fat                 29%
• Protein          52%

Share on Facebook

Each week I will be honest and lay it out there ~ what I did right, what I did horribly  wrong, and what my goals are for the next week. I really appreciated all of your comments and heartfelt words of encouragement on my journey to this point. Please keep them coming, because I know that I struggle to attain a better body image and I can admit, your words help me rebuild my self-confidence. If you see something that I am doing wrong or have a better way of doing something, please let me know. I love feedback!

July 4-10, 2010

Weight Loss: 0 pounds

What I Did Right This Week:

• Drank 1 gal of water every day
• Worked out 4x. Increased my running speed to 5.0 from 4.2. Did 5 minutes on Stairmaster.
• Ate 4 servings of veggies & fruit each & every day
• Learned how to steam veggies
• Cooked all of my meals except for 1 dinner out ~ huge accomplishment for me!
• Ate before 7:00 pm 6 nights
• Only went out 2x

What I Did Wrong This Week:

• Drank heavily both nights I went out
• Drank 2 Pepsis
• Ate 3 Strawberry Chocolate Oh Katie Cookies
• Ate after 7:00 pm once
• Couldn’t stay on treadmill past 25 min when I increased my speed
• One day I could only do 7 min on treadmill before I pushed the stop button

Goals For This Week:

• To not eat any processed foods!
• Make my protein shake 4x
• Make chicken in crock pot to be used all week
• Eat red meat only once
• Workout 5x and do 25 min on treadmill at my higher speed
• I have 2 nights already planned to go out ~ can only drink 2 glasses of wine each night
• Can only have wine on the 2 planned outings ~ this will be tough!
• To be in bed by 10:00 pm every night
• To release 2 lbs

I felt pretty good this week – I actually looked in the mirror and didn’t run screaming from the room. I really tried to make going to the gym a habit and to go even when I really didn’t want to. I was honestly surprised and touched by the amount of people that read my first blog on my weight-loss journey Now Weight a Minute ~ it was read 578 times!! I hope you stay with me through this, I hope I stay with it too! Until we meet again next Sunday…

Share on Facebook

I cannot remember a time when someone didn’t say I was overweight. Growing up as an athlete who did gymnastics, judo, and softball I developed large quads by age 10, and there wasn’t a time when someone didn’t mention how large they were. I still have these powerful legs now. I grew up in a family of five, where I had two step-sisters who were tall, thin, and athletic in their own rights. I wasn’t tall. I wasn’t thin by the family’s standards. When someone wanted to hurt me they would call me fat. I still can’t stand to hear that word today. Fat. Nope, not my favorite.

I look back on pictures of me when I was told I was overweight – maybe I’m blind – but I don’t see it. I see a 12-year old kid who was a dancer and was just built differently.  What do you think? I know this picture is straight out of the 80s, but well, that’s me and my step-sister Vicky. She is going to kill me when she sees it. Why do we inflict negative body images onto our youth? Why? Do we want our girls to grow up with low self-esteem and self-doubt?

One thing I had going for me was that I was smart. Sometimes a smart ass, but mostly too smart for my own good. My self-esteem grew from my intellect, not my body image. I have struggled my whole life with a negative body image, which does, more than I like to admit, creep into my self-esteem. I recently moved and started coming across all sorts of pictures from my childhood through my 20s. I was astounded. I *always* thought I was a heavy girl who made up for it with a winning personality. But when I really looked at those pictures – I wasn’t obese – I was me. I might not have been as skinny as my sisters, but I was by no means, ready to be a contestant on The Biggest Loser.

Here is me in high school – Varsity softball my Freshman year, played soccer, and practiced Judo. And I was called fat. I wonder if we realize how hurtful and mean our words are to a growing psyche.

Here is another picture of me in my mid-20s. I remember taking this pic at Disneyland thinking I don’t want anyone to see this (thankfully there was no FB back then, ‘cuz I would have posted it right away). Looking back at it 10 years later, I see things very differently. I see that I was toned, but most importantly, happy. There was a light in my eyes that overshadowed the extra weight I carried in my arms. So what was more important – that I was 20 pounds overweight or that I was happy?   

I was recently asked if I could pinpoint exactly when I started to put on extra weight. After much thought, I can. It isn’t a pleasant story either. When I was 10, my 8-year-old cousin Vicky Lynne was abducted and killed in Tucson in 1984. Yes the bastard is on Death Row, and I am a big proponent of the death penalty even if I am a tree-hugging Liberal. But I digress. When she was abducted I was living with one of my aunts and I remember thinking I don’t want to be abducted too. So I started eating Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies and Star Crunch like they were going out of style to make myself undesirable. That was the first time I remember being an emotional eater.

I maintained a weight of 135 pounds throughout college and into my mid-20s. I was always told I should never be heavier than a 100 pounds. Women should never weigh more than a 100 pounds! Seriously? I can look back at that now and realize what complete bullshit that is, but then, I could not. I thought being 135 pounds was like being a whale. I’m not kidding.

The next time that I remember putting on extra pounds is when my mother died when I was 24. I was devastated. I couldn’t function. I couldn’t think. I lost myself in my grief. I moved to Los Angeles where I worked out a lot, because that is what you do in LA, but was still considered (by LA’s standards) to be overweight at 150 pounds. I moved back to Phoenix when I was 27 and this is where I put on 30 pounds in six months. I went from working out 4x a week to eating breakfast burritos before work and working 70+ hours a week.

I dated a man at that time for two years who I thought I was completely in love with, who told me one day he would marry me, unless of course someone better came along. WTF? He told me that he wanted to be with a woman who was more petite than I was. Since I am 5’2” I knew he didn’t mean petite as in height. The next man I was with felt like he came out of a storybook – our paths mirrored each other our whole lives but had never crossed. This relationship brought out the sheer worst traits in me and in him. We were like moths to a flame – we burned brightly, but in the end, we burned out. He ended up cheating on me with anything with two legs ~ this did not help my fragile self-esteem. The next man I dated I married.

One bad thing about my husband were his eating habits. I personally love all sorts of fruits and vegetables, and embrace different foods. He was a meat and potatoes man. I mean almost every meal had to have meat and potatoes in it. He hated vegetables and most fruits too. I tried to hide them in certain dishes, but it was next to impossible. Trying to find healthy eating options together was really quite difficult.

It has now been six weeks since my divorce and I can honestly look at myself and say that I am, officially, overweight. I am way too chicken shit to post my weight on the web, but sometimes, I just want to scream it from the rooftops to release that pain. I was told recently that you never want to say that you want to lose weight, because that implies that you want to find it again. I want to release this weight – I don’t need it anymore. I don’t need it to protect me. I will do just fine in life being who I was born to be ~ happy at 150 pounds with a great intellect, sunny smile, and a very caring heart.

I had met with @skinnyjeans who is also @noshtopia and has had a blog for years on trying to get back into your skinny jeans. I have never owned skinny jeans. I actually didn’t buy my first pair of jeans until six months ago because I had always thought my ass looked too big in them. Do you know I get more compliments when I am wearing those jeans? Yep, I wear them all the time now!

I am tired of people defining me by my weight. I am tired of defining myself by my weight. I hope by writing this all out I can finally release this weight and move forward with my life. I eat pretty healthy and am in the gym 3x a week, but I still have not lost one freaking pound. Not one. But I try. I am going to blog about my journey in trying to rid my mind and body of this excess weight, I hope you will join me through this battle. This is me today ~ my goal is to shed 40-50 pounds.

Share on Facebook

This is a reposting of my Wall on Facebook. The sheer terror of Ant Attack of 2010 is hard to explain, but I have learned that many people (including myself) found humor in this story. Mind you, I did not find any humor in it until today!

I was already late to a networking meeting and as I was heading out the front door, I noticed ants all over my kitchen floor and even crawling into my dishwasher. I mixed up a lemon vinegar mixture and starting spraying them. I thought, well that should get rid of them. I did wonder, where the heck did they come from because there wasn’t even a scrap of food anywhere in my kitchen? I had just mopped the day before and had done some deep cleaning over the weekend.

As I walked outside, I remembered. My neighbor had left his stinky ass garbage out on the landing for 72 hours. He had a habit of doing this before. On more than one occasion I acted like a good neighbor and took his out when I took mine. Well, funny thing, he was coming out of his apt as I was leaving. I politely, but firmly told him about the ants in my apt & that they probably resulted from his trash being left out for days on end. He looked at me, mumbled that he is sorry, but that he didn’t have ants in his apt. And then he gave me the look like it was really my fault. Oh no he didn’t!

When I got home from the meeting, there were still ants all over the kitchen floor. I called the property manager who then went on to tell me that the exterminator wouldn’t be on site until Thursday – this was only Tuesday. I was not pleased. He did say he would send someone to spray down the landing to at least remove whatever remains might be attracting the little buggers.

While trying to kill the ants with that vinegar, water, lemon juice solution I was bit on the forearm. It was itchy, painful and my anxiety was on high since I am highly allergic to both ants and bees. Thus, the newest status update was born… Preparing to Die.

After battling the ants since 7:00am, I had decided to to a little work at my desk. I was fairly productive and had worked for about two hours without stepping foot into the kitchen. Then I was thirsty and wanted some lemonade. All hell broke loose at this point. There were ants ALL over the counters, the walls, the floor… I had a mini panic attack. I grabbed my jug of vinegar and started pouring it all over the place. So not only were there ants everywhere, but now there were puddles of vinegar. I couldn’t take it anymore – the stress of being bitten, the stress of how could I get them to leave, I started to cry. I’m not proud of it, but the tears flowed… and flowed.

My friend Katie called at this point at talked me off of the ledge. I am an organic gardener, but at this point, I made the executive decision to go and get an aerosol killer. I chose one that was somewhat organic with lemongrass oil. I sprayed that stuff everywhere. Since I am so freaking sensitive to smells the lemongrass oil started to give me a headache. This was NOT my day. I called up some friends and headed out the door to go watch the playoff game and have a nice adult beverage. It worked – I came home relaxed, able to laugh about everything, and ready to tackle more ants if they dared to show their little shiny faces.

During all this chaos, one thing started to go through my mind. There are times in every feminist’s life when she just Needs a Man. One who will come in through the front door, hand you a glass of wine, give you a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Then kill all of the ants, clean up the mess, including mopping the floors and washing down the walls. Thus a new Facebook Fan Page was born ~ NeedAMan. http://bit.ly/c6poEe 

The next day I went into another 7:30 networking meeting and everyone was actually wondering if I had died since I hadn’t finished my story last night. I was so surprised that so many people had been reading my posts. I had received tons of texts, calls, & emails checking on me. Ahhh, the power of social media. #sold  Thus this blog post was born. I am slightly embarrassed about having a breakdown over ants – but hey, I’m human. I’m emotional. And that’s ok, because that is me.

ant,ant attack,social media,power of social media

Share on Facebook

Do you have any ~isms that you live by? These are my Kristisms.

Here are a few that I made up, or that I’ve heard along the way. Send me yours, and I will be happy to add them.

1. If you are not man enough to treat a woman right, no need to apply inside.
2. If you are not man enough to do dishes and floors, keep on walking.
3. If you are not man enough to change a tire, you best have AAA on speed dial.
4. If you smoke, chew tobacco, do drugs, have a criminal record, don’t take care of your kids, or don’t have a source of income, please do not ask me out on a date. #justsayin
   
5. You know when you know.
6. Sorry, not accepting anyone else’s crap today. This is a no crap day.
7. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.
8. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
9. I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer’s history if you die.
10. Wear a helmet. No excuses.
11. I’ve come to realize that I am my toughest critic. I am very hard on myself. I’m learning to let it go.
12. I’ve come to realize that my expectations are usually very high and rarely met.
13. I’ve come to realize that I am very resilient and usually land on my feet.
14. If you don’t know where you have been then you don’t know where you are going.
15. Don’t talk politics or religion with family unless you don’t want to be asked back until the next family reunion.
16. Live your life for yourself. Not your parents or your family, and not for a relationship. You are the best vessel to know what you desire in life.
17. Love fiercely, love often, love with wild abandonment.
18. Don’t live vicariously through others, create your own Bucket List and live vicariously for yourself.
19. Travel the world and experience other cultures. Don’t be small minded – open yourself up to the possibilities that are out there.
20. Well behaved women rarely make history. ~ One of my absolute faves.

I forgot the one that my girlfriends and I have said for years:

1. A girl’s gotta eat!!!

Share

Share on Facebook

~~This information was provided by APRO. Edited and added to by yours truly. ~~

Personally, I have been asked many times over the last few weeks what is the main difference between Facebook and Google ads. I was very happy to see this article come through my in-box. I added a little to it to help clarify some points. For Orange Dragonfly Editing, I have been very happy with my Facebook ad and the targeted demographic it reaches. I am sold. I did have some success with Google’s ad words, but it’s harder to see and interact with my new clients on that platform.

Many top blogs, continue to focus on the effectiveness of pay-per-click advertising through Google’s ever-popular search and content networks. But new advertising platforms are on the scene ~ such as Facebook’s that offers a more targeted advertising approach. Google is having a difficult time trying to compete.

Social sites offer more concise targeting with keywords and demographic-specific ads. Think about the manner and type of information Facebook gathers. While Google knows you’re in the market for a new home, Facebook knows what causes are important to you, which videos you like to share, and how often you make recommendations to your friends. Social media advertising opportunities are yielding better-qualified, higher-ROI results compared to the Google ad network.

Additionally, Facebook recently announced that Bing is now the default search engine for its more than 400 million users worldwide, which puts the site in a position to enhance its advertising model even more. By offering search on the site, Facebook is now able to gather data that it can leverage immeasurably in the world of advertising: the way people think, what they care about, and how this leads them to buying decisions.

Google’s model is still effective, but this newer platform includes psychographic information ~ attributes relating to personality, values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles (also known as IAO variables). This is putting the pressure on Google to provide a similar service. The bottom line is, if you can display your ads to a more precisely targeted demographic, your click-through ratios will improve.

Regardless of the pay-per-click advertising model you choose, Google or Facebook, there are three things you need to do before you invest:

1. Determine who you are targeting
.

• Facebook: Can get very specific with your keywords and filter by location, interest, age level, and group or cause involvement.
• Google: The ability to present an ad based on what someone is searching for right now, ready to buy.

2.  Do a test campaign. 
If your budget allows, compare and test both platforms. As little as $1.00 a day an ad placed on either the Pay-Per-Click (PPC) or Cost-Per-Thousand (CPT) advertising on Facebook and Google is usually enough to reveal the difference in impact between specific and general targeting for your audience.

Determine which PPC model works best for your business
.

• CPC: Cost-per-click advertising allows you to pay for each click your ad receives. If you agree to pay $1 for each click, five clicks will cost you $5.
• CPM: Cost-per-thousand advertising allows you to purchase a set amount of impressions. An impression is a single instance of an ad appearing on a web page. If your ad appears twice on one view of the page, that’s two impressions.

Remember that click-throughs aren’t everything. Even an unclicked (but viewed) ad can play an important role in promoting your company by way of exposure. Too many marketers overlook the potential of CPM-based advertising. Keep in mind that targeted advertising greatly increases the overall effectiveness of your ad.

Here’s a quick comparison of the Facebook and Google models to help you determine which is best for your business:

Keyword Targeting
Facebook: Targeting with keywords is optional
Google: Keyword specification is required

Targeting Details
Facebook: Can target by location, keywords, interest, workplace, birth date, education, and age
Google: Can target by location and keywords

Ad Placement
Facebook: Direct to users right on their profile page
Google: Ads are often placed on obscure, undisclosed websites

Market Saturation
Facebook: It’s a newer platform, so fewer advertisers
Google: Crowded, it is still one of the top-producing online advertising networks

Share on Facebook

Organic Insecticide Soap

Aphids sucking the life out of your beautiful roses? Whiteflies hanging around your beloved tomatoes. Don’t want toxic insect killers around your family and pets? Make your own Organic Insecticide Soap with materials right in your own kitchen!

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp Olive or Vegetable Oil
• 1 Tbsp Blue Dish Washing Liquid (no citrus)
• 2 Tbsp Isopropyl Alcohol
• 1 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper
• 1 Garlic Clove, crushed

Mix all of the above ingredients together in a large water bottle and fill the rest of the bottle with water. Shake vigoursly. Apply this mixture to the top and bottom of the leaves of the plant. If you have an aphid or white fly problem, do this every 3-4 days until all the eggs have been killed. Spray the dirt around the plant to prevent any eggs from hatching.

If it rains, reapply this insectide soap when the weather clears up.

This insecticide soap should assist you with the removal of mites, whiteflies, aphids, thrips, and leaf-hoppers. This recipe has a very low toxicity to wildlife and humans but should not be applied on a sizzling hot day, windy, or humid. It is best to apply first thing in the morning or after the sun has set.

Share on Facebook

Everything you need!

Have you ever stopped and read the labels on mass-produced cleaning products? Some ingredients are hard to pronounce, even worse for our environment, and deplete our pocketbook as well. You can make your own cleaning products right in your own home without breaking the bank. Most of these cleaning product recipes cost considerably less to create than the more popular ready-made cleaners.

Standard Ingredients

• Baking soda: An alkaline powder that can be used for cleaning and scrubbing purposes.
• Hydrogen peroxide: Used for stain removal and mild substitute for bleaching and killing germs.
• Lemon juice: An acid utilized to lighten stains, cut grease, and refresh the air.
• White vinegar: An acid that makes a great germ killer, removes carpet stains, cleans coffeemakers, chrome, cookware, and countertops.
• Spray bottle: Standard 8 to 24 ounce spray bottles are best.

Baking Soda Cleaning Products

Baking soda is an abrasive and can remove tough stains from tile, glass, and even china. The scrubbing properties of baking soda can not be beat. It can tackle the toughest baked-on food from pans, plus remove fruit juice stains. With a high pH, baking soda is a natural and effective deodorizer that can eliminate and neutralize odors at the source. Sprinkle baking soda on your cat’s litter box to help fight that obnoxious smell.

Vinegar Cleaning Products

With white vinegar being an acid, this makes it an amazing grease cutter. It also gives mold, mildew, and germs an early exit out of your kitchen or bathroom. Vinegar is non-toxic and does not leave a nasty residue or smell once it dries completely. Use this all-purpose cleaning agent on your hardwood, vinyl or linoleum floors. With its acidic properties, do not use white vinegar on any stone or marble surface as it will scratch the surface.

Here are some simple recipes that you can do today to make your own cleaning products for your home or office.

Window or Glass Cleaner

• ½ tsp. liquid detergent
• 3 tbsp. white vinegar
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice, optional
• 2 cups hot water
• 1 spray bottle

Add the ingredients into the spray bottle, shake vigorously. Apply to the glass or window surface and let sit for a few seconds. Remove with a cotton cloth, paper towels, or even newspaper. If your window has grease or other hard solubles, add lemon juice to the mixture.

Furniture Polish

• ½ tsp. olive oil
• ¼ cup white vinegar
• 1 tbsp. lemon or orange juice
• 1 spray bottle

Combine the ingredients into the spray bottle. Spray a soft rag or paper towel with the furniture polish and gently wipe onto any wood surfaces. It is best not to spray the furniture directly.

Soft Scrub Cleanser

• ½ cup baking soda
• 1 tsp. liquid detergent
• 1 spray bottle

Soft scrub cleanser is very easy to make and works great on your kitchen or bathroom sinks. Mix the two ingredients together and apply directly to surfaces with a scrubber sponge, then rinse well.

Share on Facebook

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 box pasta
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• Crap load of cheese

Grab a bowl, cracked 2 eggs into it, add a dash of salt, pepper, & garlic powder. Grab another flatter dish (pie pans work great) and toss your bread crumbs into it. At this point, either dice up your raw chicken breasts in 1″ cubes or leave whole.

Start a quart pot with enough water for your pasta, add a tish of salt to the water. Preheat your sauce pan with the olive oil on medium heat.

Dip the chicken breasts into the egg bath then coat generously in the bread crumb mixture. Gently drop the chicken breasts cubes or whole breasts into the olive oil. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. If your chicken breast is still whole, make sure it is not pink in the center. Remove from the oil once completely cooked throughout. At this point, if your chicken breast is still whole, go ahead and cut it up into 1″ chunks.

Once the water starts boiling in your quart pot, add the pasta and follow the directions for cooking the pasta. Drain the pasta when done, but do not rinse.

Throw the pasta back into the pot once it has been drained. Add the chicken breasts and tomato sauce, stir completely. Add the cheese and give it another great stir.

I enjoy this meal with either a large glass of milk or pinot noir, depending on my mood. Enjoy!

~~Wish I would have taken pictures. Next time!~~

Share on Facebook

By Kristi Trimmer, Guest Blogger, Foodies Like Us

Mill Avenue has a unique blend of urbanites and college students mingled in with some new mixed-use buildings. Nestled within this eclectic community is the 6th Street Park that hosts the new Mill Avenue Farmer’s Market every Sunday from 9:00 am – 2:00 pm.

This market showcases unique perishable and consumable goods and offers a friendly open-air market where growers, residents, and businesses come together.

Early shoppers are out and about.

James Neal is the brain child behind the Mill Avenue Farmer’s Market. He is also the owner of Chronic Tacos that is located in the same area, and he lives in the building adjacent to the 6th Street Park.

To say he has a vested interest in what happens on the avenue is an understatement. I was impressed when I learned he had a commercial agriculture background and what was currently growing in his garden. I actually found someone else who could talk for hours about vegetable gardening!

I asked James why he chose to hold the market on Sunday rather than the normal Saturday for Farmer’s Markets. He replied, “Sunday’s tend to bring out the culture in a community. In this specific Tempe area, Saturdays are more thought of as the area’s hot spot for some good night life. Tempe’s shops are a little sleepy on Sundays and needed an energy injection. At our farmer’s market, our patrons can shop for organic greens, listen to music, and even play croquet.”

Phil Malinowski, a patron of the Mill Avenue Farmer’s Market said, “This market is a real asset to the downtown atmosphere. I look forward to coming here every Sunday for my produce and am always curious to see what new vendors will have with them.”

Mr. Neal doesn’t allow carnie vendors, arts and crafts, or jewelry – he only wants consumable goods at this market. Spaces rent for $50/year with a 10% commission and the market is open from September through May. This market isn’t going anywhere either since they have signed a three-year lease with the City of Tempe.

As I was milling around (like the pun?) I stopped into Boxed Greens and was impressed with the freshness of their vegetables and was inspired to learn that they are a distributor for small, organic farms across the Southwest. Eating organic is a high priority for a lot of consumers and is sometimes a difficult search to find growers who instill the practice into their farming.

Bright and colorful produce from Boxed Greens

Boxed Greens’ citrus is locally grown in Arizona; the broccoli, celery, and lettuce hail from Yuma, and the honey-crisp apples are from Washington. Boxed Greens has a great program where they deliver organic groceries directly to your front door.

One of the most unique vendors there is Coffee Cartel Lab, where they serve coffee with a conscience. Did you know that each coffee bean comes from a coffee cherry that has two beans each inside? I didn’t either.

Their beans are hand-picked from 15 farms in Latin America including Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Bolivia. When asked why they only use these farms, I was told, “We deeply believe in Direct Trade with the local farmers and building relationships with them. This is different than Fair Trade, which has more to do with government regulations.”

Cartel Coffee Lab's commitment to beans is unparalleled.

This boutique coffee house started out roasting beans two years ago. I also learned that the beans come in green and are roasted for over 10 hours. Who knew?

I was very happy to see Bobbi’s Flowers of Tempe at the market. In my past life as a florist, I often worked with them on different projects. One of my favorite being cooperative delivery throughout Phoenix. At this farmer’s market, they carry Stargazer and Asiatic lilies, plus many other stunning blooms available per stem. They can also make a beautiful bouquet for you to take home to grace your dining table. Having fresh flowers available is a real asset to the market.

Take home fresh flowers for your organic dinner party.

Next I checked out Pork on a Fork ~ gotta love that name and anything that proudly puts meat in its name. They are USDA- approved and do not put any antibiotics or steroids in their meat. Even Guy Fieri found their meat to be outstanding! I loved the fact that they allow their little piggies free reign on their family farm in Nebraska and don’t box them into pens without a place to roam. I took home their thick cut bacon and pork chops. That bacon was out-of-this-world good and I can’t wait to pick up more to make bacon-wrapped meatloaf.

Sidney Miller who creatively bakes Sid’s Viciously Good Cookies needs to be given an award for those Scotchies. I had never tasted a butterscotch cookie before – well, let’s just say – I had to refrain from taking a dozen home with me and rolling around in them.

Sidney Miller's cookies are indeed viciously good!

Sid used to be a corporate recruiter and was tired of the rat race. I wondered why she left job security in these economic times and she told me, “I happily left, had a baby, and started baking an insane amount of cookies to keep my lights on. One dozen for a friend resulted in a great business opportunity.”

She made over 500 dozen cookies her first six weeks in business! Send these cookies to your favorite person anywhere in the world – they will thank you for them.

I tried my first raw White Cheddar Cheese from Willamette Valley Cheese Company. I was in total bliss tasting the rich, full-flavored cheese.

Raw cheese assortment

Have I ever mentioned my insatiable love of cheese? I just might have found my new cheese pusher. The other great thing about Willamette Valley Cheese is that their cheese is handmade on a farmstead in beautiful Salem, Oregon, where they take great care of their animals. They have happy cows.

Raging Raw Organics had flaxseed crackers that are gluten-free, all vegan, all raw, and made with Agave nectar. These crackers are high in fiber, protein, and Omega 3s. My vegan friends swear by these crackers and are regular customers of Raging Raw Organics.

Vegan Friendly!

The Health Foodie brings organic honeys from small bee farmers. The Mountain Wildflower honey is made from honeybees at 8,000 feet! The Black Sage honey had notes of anise, lavender, and green apple. Eating locally produced honey has had a great effect on reducing your allergies and bee pollen is a great topper on your organic salad greens.

Queen Creek Olive Mill also graces the Mill Avenue Farmer’s Market with their unique and full-bodied tasty olive oils and vinegar blends. They have a locally sustainable farm and produce some of the best tasting extra virgin oil olive infused with unique flavors. I enjoyed the White Truffle Olive Oil and the Fig Balsamic would taste fantastic on those pork chops from Pork on a Fork.

James Neal also owns the Mill Avenue Catering Company where he has Chef Ben make up a new yummy creation each Sunday.

This bright sunny day was enhanced by this very delicious prime rib sandwich with grilled onions on grilled bread. It was served with a three-bean chili with black, kidney, and pinto beans in a tomato base accented with onions, double-roasted Hatch chiles that have been roasted and smoked by Chef Ben himself. On other weekends, you can find anything from ribs, tacos, to curry clam chowder.

My delicious lunch!

Mill Avenue Farmer’s Market has a good mix of products and prices for every kind of Foodie. Check them out this Sunday from 9:00 – 2:00 and help support local businesses.

Share on Facebook