{Organic Garden Update}

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We are so excited to report that we are actually getting some return out of our little experiment. This has been one of the easiest things we have added to our yard. I think there are two reasons for that:

1. It's rained A TON this year

2. Our rain barrel

Chris and I love that when it's not raining we have free water to use on our plants and garden.

So far the Cilantro is doing the best out of everything we planted (bottom right hand corner) but we do have little buds on all the Pepper plants. I can't wait to see those start to form over the next few weeks. I'm very sad to report the Strawberry plant is not doing well at all. We will probably replace this next year with something else (maybe lettuce).

Are you doing a garden this year? How are your plants doing?

{Our Organic Garden}

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We are so excited to get started on this project this year. Chris and I are not what you would call good "farmers." We've been getting better about keeping plants alive over the last two years, so we decided to try our hand at vegetables. 

 

We are starting small this year with Green Bell Peppers, Banana Peppers, Cilantro and Strawberries. But I think the biggest curve ball that we have thrown in, is we are going to try and do this organically. All the starter plants and dirt are organic. I will be posting about our progress and what we are doing and learning not to do through this journey.

I hope you will follow us and help us through this fun journey!

{We're going green...}

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or at least our plants our!

Our local township sent out fliers saying they were having a Cost-Sharing program for rain barrels this year. Our cost would be $54 for a $115 barrel, so we quickly signed up.

The rain barrel we got is the Earthminded Rainstation, it holds 60 gallons of water and was really easy to install. The great thing about this rain barrel is it has a diverter that hooks up to the drain spout. So once the rain barrel is full, the water will continue past the diverter and go back down the drain. No hooking up another tube, etc. Our county really put a lot of research into getting the easiest rain barrel, which we appreciate.

Also our county offered a class to teach you how to install the rain barrel and to educate you on why using rain barrels is also good for your neighborhood.

Did you know that if everyone in your neighborhood had a rain barrel we could stop storm drains from over flowing? Pretty interesting, huh! But for us money had to be the number one motivator. We are going to plant a garden this year and watering it with free water will save us a lot of money. Plus rain water is supposed to be so much better for your plants anyways.

Do you have a rain barrel? If so how do you like using it? If not, would you consider getting one?

Earth Science Organic Clarifying Face Wash

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I've been trying to switch as many of our daily products over to organic as we can afford. So after combing through the organic face washes at Whole Foods last week, I picked up Earth Science Clarifying Face Wash.

Price: Excellent! The price for this face wash at Whole Food was $6.99. I was paying $12+ for my previous face wash.

Quality: I love that this face wash foams up a little when you use it. It always gets all my makeup plus mascara off. My face has been kept clear since I started using it.

Quantity: This bottle is 8 fl oz. This is 1.3 ounces more than the other face wash I used. That face wash would last me about a month so I'm hoping this will do the same.

Will I buy it again?: Absolutely. The true test will be if it will hold up to the two week wait. My face breaks out like crazy right before my "friend" comes to visit.

Organic: How we manage

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Christopher and I made the conscious choice to make sure all of our meat, cheese and milk is organic. We knew this was going to increase our food budget but this was something we were committed to. We do make a trip to two stores when grocery shopping and have finally got this down to a science.

First stop, Whole Foods! We love the selection they offer when it comes to organic meats. Typically we buy, 4 pounds of chicken and section it off into two's, then freeze it. It seems to save us a little bit of money by buying in bulk. We then will buy 1 pound hamburger, 3 chicken sausage links, chicken patty sandwiches (for nights on the go) and some milk. Our totally for Whole Foods runs anywhere from $50-$75.

Next, we go to Wal-Mart. This is where we usually try to save as much as possible. I've really been getting into coupon blogs. These ladies have a ton of idea on how to get items for nearly free. For example, we got toothpaste for $0.75 this weekend because of the P&G coupons, I received. By the time we leave Wal-Mart, we usually spend about $100.

Leaving our total for two weeks worth of lunches and dinners at the most: $175. Which means that we are spending about $9.72 per meal for both us (18 meals: 4 lunches & 14 dinners).  Eating organic doesn't have to be expensive.

Recipe: Grilled Chicken Salad

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This was super easy but here's my tip for a great chicken salad.

Grill the chicken on the grill. It makes the chicken taste so much better. We made this salad with USDA Organic Chicken, USDA Organic Lettuce, Shredded Mozzerella, Organic Crutons and Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Recipe: Low Calorie Chicken Parm

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This was so yummy that we decided to keep in the rotation. So, I thought I'd share with you guys.

We used Shake N Bake Parmesan Chicken coating on the organic chicken, whole wheat pasta, low calorie marinara sauce and a sprinkle of mozzarella.

Amy's Organic Frozen Meals

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Since we've been trying to eat more organic, we have noticed we are cooking at home a lot more. But this takes time. On a recent trip to Whole Foods, we found these frozen meals made by Amy's. They are gluten free and hormone free. I couldn't believe how great they tasted. This has made eating organic much more easier on our busy evenings. 

We have tried the Mac N Cheese and the Enchilada's. Have you tried Amy's? What are your favorite meals?

Topsy Turvy Strawberries

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Did you see that Topsy Turvey has a Straberry grower?

We got one on sale at Wal-Mart for $12.88. With us talking about going more organic, what better way then to grow our own?

I can't wait to get this started!

Food, Inc.

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Recently, Christopher and I decided to watch Food, Inc. I couldn't believe how eye opening this movie was.

 Did you know that McDonald's is the biggest purchaser of beef, therefore controls the beef industry? Scary, huh?

Since watching this movie, we have decided to start working more organic food into our diet. Not only for the health benefits but for some of the more humane practices that organic offers the animals.

Do you eat organic? How do you save money while still trying to eat organic? I'd love to hear about your experiences.

I'm a star....Baby Star that is!

Tweet You all know my love for the company, Baby Star. I just love how their clothes have such cute contemporary patterns but are organic also. I registered for Thediaperdiaries.com contest giving away a poodle blanket from Baby Star a while ago. Welll......I won....I won! This wonderful blanket:

It came so adorbably packaged with a Baby Star ribbon wrapped around it. I'm in love with it. It's so soft. This is the exact bedding I want for future Baby P.