Mommy Goes Green

I love me some black licorice.  Don’t even waste my time with red licorice, I’ll take black or nothing at all.  My favorite tea is licorice, too.   Just thinking about cold weather and a warm cup of black licorice tea makes me cozy and warm inside.

So when American Licorice Company asked if I’d be interested in testing out their new Natural Vines Licorice line, I did not hesitate to say YES, YES, and yes PLEASE!

Fortunately for me (and them), it did not disappoint.  Since the bite size pieces are only 17 calories apiece, we ate the black licorice in about a day.  It was soft, chewy and delicious.  Since I only like black licorice, the rest of my family scarfed up the strawberry licorice.   De.lic.ious.

The primary ingredient difference between the standard Red Vines Black Licorice and the Natural Vines Black Licorice is that the Natural Vines contains sugar (instead of corn syrup) and natural flavoring.  For those of you that like the traditional Red Vines Original, the difference is greater.  The original contains corn syrup, artificial flavorings and Red 40 (that does NOT sound like a food!).   The Natural Vines Strawberry Licorice has sugar, natural flavoring and beet juice for coloring.

You can pick up a bag of Natural Vines at Whole Foods or online at the Candy Cabinet!

Are you a lover of black or red licorice?  Have you tried any of the other natural brands of licorice?  Do they live up to the original?

We have some yummy strawberry jam stored in the freezer to be used all winter until next June when we can pick those juicy berries again.  That’s the only canning I do but I know people that do it year round.  Just like any food storage products,  you want to make sure you are using BPA-free canning lids.  Last fall, when we found out that canning lids had BPA in them, we could only find one alternative.  Since then, a few more have popped up.  Here’s those that make the list:

Tattler Reusable Canning Lids – You can use these with any standard mason jar and metal screw band.  If they wear out, Tattler will replace them for free.  They are plastic, infinitely reusable and dishwasher safe.  Made in the U.S.A.

Weck – Weck is a German company that makes beautiful all glass canning jars and lids.

Ball Plastic Freezer Jars – These are great for freezer jam or sauces.  They are plastic and come in 3 sizes. Top-rack dishwasher safe.

Lehman’s Reusable Canning Jar Lids – These plastic lids can be used with any standard metal band in pressure canners, water bath or vacuum sealers. The company states that these leads “do not contain BPA, lead, mercury or phthalates”.

Have you found any other companies that make BPA-free canning lids?  Let us know in the comments!

When we did a review of organic baby formula, we briefly talked about an ingredient that is generally included called hexane processed DHA/ARA.  Since then, hexane processed DHA/ARA has been banned from organic baby formula (although it doesn’t appear to have been removed from organic formula yet).  The reason?  These DHA and ARA additives are produced using a potential neurotoxin known as hexane.

So once hexane processed DHA/ARA is removed from organic baby formula, should you switch to non-organic formula or is DHA even important?

What is DHA?

DHA is very important for brain development, it’s food for the brain and because 60% of our brain is made up of fats, we need to be feeding it good fats.  According to Dr. Sears, “The body needs two kinds of fat to manufacture healthy brain cells (the message senders) and prostaglandins (the messengers). These are omega 6 fatty acids (found in many oils, such as safflower, sunflower, corn, and sesame oils) and omega 3 fatty acids (found in flax, pumpkin seeds and walnuts, and cold water fish, such as salmon and tuna).  A diet rich in omega 3 fatty acids (such as the LNA from flax oil or the EPA and DHA from fish oils) not only provides the body with healthy fats, but it also lowers the blood level of potentially harmful ones, such as cholesterol and, possibly, even reversing the effects of excess trans fatty acids.”

Dr. Sear’s continues, “In fact, there are two windows of time in which the brain is especially sensitive to nutrition: the first two years of life for a growing baby and the last couple decades of life for a senior citizen.  The most rapid brain growth occurs during the first year of life, with the infant’s brain tripling in size by the first birthday. During this stage of rapid central nervous system growth, the brain uses sixty percent of the total energy consumed by the infant. Fats are a major component of the brain cell membrane and the myelin sheath around each nerve. So, it makes sense that getting enough fat, and the right kinds of fat, can greatly affect brain development and performance. In fact, during the first year, around fifty percent of an infant’s daily calories come from fat. Mother Nature knows how important fat is for babies; fifty percent of the calories in mother’s milk is fat.”

Research has found that:

• Infants who have low amounts of DHA in their diet have reduced brain development and diminished visual acuity.
• The increased intelligence and academic performance of breastfed compared with formula- fed infants has been attributed in part to the increased DHA content of human milk.
• Cultures whose diet is high in omega 3 fatty acids (such as the Eskimos who eat a lot of fish) have a lower incidence of degenerative diseases of the central nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis.
• Experimental animals whose diets are low in DHA have been found to have smaller brains and delayed central nervous system development.
• Some children with poor school performance because of ADD, have been shown to have insufficient essential fatty acids in their diet. (This is a very interesting theory, read more about it here.)

So how can I get DHA in my children’s body?

1.  Breastfeed - The level of DHA in your breast milk is affected by the level you ingest via food or supplements.

2.  Infant formula – Most infant formula on the market today DOES contain DHA and is labeled as such.  Currently, the only organic formula that does NOT have added DHA in it is Nature’s One Baby’s Only.

3. DHA supplements -You can find DHA supplements for your infant, children, teens and adults.  In our home, we use Nordic Naturals, a brand my naturopath recommends – DHA for infants and DHA for children.

4.  DHA food sources – The healthiest source of DHA is seafood. Two 4-ounce servings of omega-3-rich fish per week should yield a sufficient amount of omega-3 fatty acids, especially DHA. Besides fish oils, vegetable oils (primarily flax seed, soy, and canola) are also rich sources of omega 3 fatty acids, with flax seed oil being the best. The two F’s, fish and flax, are the top brain-building foods for growing children, and adults.

I want to plainly state that I’m not encouraging anyone to give up baby formula because it contains hexane processed DHA.  I am a huge believer in DHA and have seen it affect change, particularly in our daughter (I’ll write more on that later).  I just wanted to point out the importance of DHA and that there are multiple ways to get DHA into our bodies.

I don’t enjoy cooking all that much.  I do it, but not with much glee.  So I was totally surprised at how much I enjoy making my infant’s baby food.  It’ SO easy and I love knowing exactly what is in his food – which isn’t much – organic fruits, veggies and water.  I like the versatility that I can make changes when I need to.  At 6 months, I started with thin purees but quickly realized that my son could handle chunky so I changed the texture.   I also love coming up with new concoctions – and seeing my son squeal with delight – for a little guy, he LOVES to eat.

If you haven’t ever made food for your baby, I promise you it’s EASY PEASY.   I make a new batch of food every 2-3 days, it takes about 15 minutes.  Here’s the method I use:

1.  Buy fresh or frozen fruits and veggies.  You can make the whole process even quicker by buying pre-cut items like broccoli florets or baby carrots.  I’ve also found butternut squash at Costco that is already cut and sliced apples. 

2.  Cut into small chunks unless they are pre-cut.

3.  Put fruits and/or veggies in a steamer basket until you can pierce with a fork – depending on the item, it’s anywhere from 5-12 minutes.   Save the water used to steam the food.

4.  Put the steamed items in a food processor and puree them until you get the texture your baby needs.  The thinner the puree, the more water you add.

5.  When you’re done, pour it into ice trays and put into the freezer.  Once they are frozen, put them into a freezer bag or freezer container to store. 

6.  Take cubes of food out when you need them and defrost in the microwave or refrigerator.

There are a dozen or more ways you could modify this to make it work for you.  There are tons of recipe books, I reference one called The Petit Appetit.  Better yet, there are great websites dedicated to making baby food, like Weelicious.   You can also find tools made just for making baby food like food grinders and baby food mills but if you have already have a handheld blender, blender or food processor then there is no need to buy something new – any one of these will work.  There are many ways to store baby food from the simple, like ice trays to the classic, like jars.  Again, you can buy storage made just for baby food but I’ve found that ice cube trays are easy to find and inexpensive – just make sure they are BPA free.

I’d love to hear how you make food for your baby!  What works for you?

Buying produce at the grocery store often requires those awful plastic produce bags that are hard to clean and reuse because they are so flimsy. There are many options to reduce your use – find one that works for you:

1.  Choose paper produce bags.

2.  Take a large basket, bag, or wagon to the farmer’s market and store produce there until you get home.

3.  Encourage your local grocery store to carry the BioBag– a biodegradable, compostable produce bag. Compared with plastic, they have a greenhouse effect reduction by up to 49%.

4.  One of choices I’ve made to get rid of plastic produce bags is to use reusable bags. I’ve been using Bag the Habit bags, courtesy of Abe’s Market, for several months now. They are heavy duty – they’ll hold several potatoes – without breaking or stretching. They have a wide opening for bigger items like a head of lettuce and a draw string to keep everything inside. Not only are they great for putting your produce in, but you can also use them for your bulk purchases like beans, raisins or pretzels. My only complaint is that I don’t have more of them!

5.  If you’re crafty, make your own reusable bags with these instructions from Mother Earth News or Instructables.

If you do use plastic produce bags, here are some options to reuse them:

• Packing material
• Pick up doggy doodoo
• Put in the diaper bag for dirty diapers
• Line garbage cans

If you don’t want to reuse them, make sure you dispose of them properly by recycling them. If your curbside recycler doesn’t take these bags, many grocery stores take them back like Fred Meyer, Walmart, and Whole Foods – search for local locations here. Every couple months, I drop off any plastic bags I have ( shopping, produce or packaging ). The collection bin is usually near the entrance.

Let me start by saying that NO LEVEL OF EXPOSURE TO LEAD IS CONSIDERED SAFE. So it was incredibly frustrating to read the news this morning that the Environmental Law Foundation “ELF”, found lead in children’s fruit juices and packaged fruits. And not just in one brand or a few brands, but in a lot of brands and many of them organic!   Unfortunately, there is likely lead in many other products containing fruit but these are the only ones currently tested by ELF.  Even more frustrating is that while by buying organic, we may avoid pesticides, it doesn’t necessarily mean we’re avoiding lead.  UGH.   This is the kind of stuff that just makes people give up.  No win situation.

At this point, it doesn’t sound like anyone is saying where the lead comes from.  It could be the fruit or the manufacturing process. When we know more, we’ll pass it on.  In the meantime, stay away from the products listed below and pass this information on to your family and friends.  You could also send an email to your favorite brands expressing your concerns.    

 APPLE JUICE    

• Beech Nut 100% Apple Juice
• Earth’s Best Organics Apple Juice
• First Street 100% Apple Cider from concentrate
• First Street Apple Juice from concentrate 100% juice
• Full Circle Organic Apple Juice
• Gerber 100% Juice Apple Juice
• Great Value 100% No Sugar Added Apple Juice
• Hansen’s Natural Apple Juice
• Kroger 100% Juice Apple Juice
• Langers Apple Juice 100% Juice
• Minute Maid Juice Apple – 100% Apple Juice
• Motts 100% Apple Juice
• O Organics Organic Unfiltered Apple Juice Not From Concentrate
• Old Orchard 100% Apple Juice
• Parade 100% Juice Apple
• Raley’s Premium 100% Apple Juice not from Concentrate
• Safeway 100% Juice Apple Cider
• Safeway 100% Juice Apple Juice
• Stater Bros. 100% Juice Apple Juice
• Sunny Select 100% Apple Juice
• Trader Joe’s Certified Organic Apple Juice, pasteurized
• Tree Top 100% Juice Apple Cider
• Walgreens Apple Juice from concentrate 100% juice
• Walnut Grove Market 100% Apple Juice

GRAPE JUICE  

• 365 Everyday Value Organic 100% Juice Concord Grapes
• First Street Grape Juice from concentrate 100% juice
• Gerber 100% Juice – White Grape Juice
• Great Value 100% Grape Juice
• Kedem Concord Grape Juice 100% pure grape juice
• Kroger Grape Juice 100% Juice
• Langers Grape Juice (Concord)
• Langers Red Grape Juice
• O Organics Organic Grape Juice from concentrate
• R.W. Knudsen Just Concord Grape Juice
• R.W. Knudsen Organic Just Concord
• Raley’s 100% Grape Juice
• Safeway 100% Juice Grape Juice
• Safeway Organic Grape Juice
• Santa Cruz Organic Concord Grape Juice
• Stater Bros. 100% Juice Grape Juice
• Stater Bros. 100% Juice White Grape Juice
• Sunny Select 100% Grape Juice
• Trader Joe’s Concord Grape Juice made from fress pressed organic concord grapes
• Tree Top 100% Juice, Grape
• Valu Time Grape Drink from Concentrate
• Walgreens Grape Juice from concentrate 100% juice
• Walnut Acres Organic Concord Grape
• Walnut Grove Market Grape Juice
• Welch’s 100% Grape Juice (from Welch’s Concord Grapes)
• Welch’s 100% Red Grape Juice from Concentrate

PACKAGED PEARS  

• Best Yet Bartlett Pear Halves in Heavy Syrup
• Del Monte Diced Pears in Light Syrup
• Del Monte Pear Halves in Heavy Syrup
• Del Monte Pear Halves, Bartlett Pears in 100% real fruit juice from concentrate
• Dole Pear Halves in Juice
• First Street Diced Pears
• First Street Sliced Bartlett
• Full Circle Organic Bartlett Pear Slices
• Gerber 3rd Foods Pears [Baby Food]
• Great Value Bartlett Pear Halves in 100% Juice
• Great Value Bartlett Sliced Pears in Heavy Syrup
• Market Pantry Diced Pears in Light syrup
• Maxx Value Pear Pieces in Light Syrup
• Polar Pear Halves in light syrup
• S&W Natural Style Pear Slices in Juice
• S&W Sun Pears Premium
• Safeway Lite Bartlett Pear Halves in Pear Juice
• Safeway Pear Halves in Light Juice
• Sunny Select Pear Halves in Pear Juice
• Trader Joe’s Pear Halves in white grape juice
• Truitt Brothers Pacific NorthWest Bartlett Pear Halves, in pear juice from concentrate
• Valu Time Irregular Bartlett Pear Slices
• Walnut Grove Market Natural Pear Halves in Heavy Syrup

PACKAGED PEACHES    

• Best Yet Yellow Cling Peach Halves in Heavy Syrup
• Del Monte Freestone Peach Slices in 100 % Juice
• Del Monte Sliced Yellow Cling Peaches in 100 % Juice
• Del Monte Sliced Yellow Cling Peaches in heavy syrup
• Dole Diced Peaches, Yellow Cling in light syrup
• First Street Yellow Cling Peaches in heavy syrup
• Gerber 3rd Foods Peaches [Baby Food]
• Golden Star Peach Halves in Heavy Syrup
• Great Value Yellow Cling Sliced Peaches
• Libby’s Yellow Cling Peach Slices No Sugar Added (Sweetened with Splenda)
• Market Pantry Diced Peaches in light syrup
• Polar Peach Slices
• Raley’s Sliced Yellow Cling Peaches in Heavy Syrup
• S&W Natural Style Yellow Cling Peach Slices in Lightly Sweetened Juice
• S&W Premium Peach Halves Yellow Cling Peaches in light syrup
• Safeway Diced Peaches in Light Syrup
• Safeway Yellow Cling Peach Slices in Pear Juice
• Simple Value Yellow Cling Peaches in light syrup
• Stater Bros. Yellow Cling Peach Halves
• Stater Bros. Yellow Cling Sliced Peaches in heavy syrup
• Sunny Select Yellow Cling Sliced Peaches in Pear Juice
• Trader Joe’s Yellow Cling Peach Halves in while grape juice
• Valu Time Yellow Cling Peach Slices
• Walnut Grove Market Natural Peaches Sliced Yellow Cling in Light Syrup

FRUIT COCKTAIL  

• Best Yet Chunky Mixed Fruit in Pear Juice
• Chef’s Review Fruit Cocktail
• Del Monte 100% Juice Fruit Cocktail
• Del Monte Chunky Mixed Fruit in 100 % Juice (peach, pear, grape, etc.)
• Del Monte Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup (peach, pear, grapes)
• Del Monte Fruit Cocktail No Sugar Added
• Del Monte Lite Fruit Cocktail in Extra Light Syrup
• Dole Mixed Fruit in Light Syrup
• Eating Right Fruit Cocktail packed in Sucralose
• Eating Right No Sugar Fruit Cocktail
• First Street Fruit Cocktail in heavy syrup
• Golden Star Mixed Fruit in Light Syrup (peach, pineapple, pears)
• Great Value No Sugar Added Fruit Cocktail
• Kroger Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup
• Kroger Lite Fruit Cocktail in Pear Juice
• Kroger Value Fruit Mix (Peaches, pears, grapes)
• Libby’s Fruit Cocktail No Sugar Added (Sweetened with Splenda)
• Market Pantry Mixed Fruit in light syrup
• Maxx Value Fruit Mix in Light Syrup (peach, pear, grape)
• Mrs. Brown’s Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup (peaches, pears, grapes)
• Polar Mixed Fruit
• Raley’s Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup
• S&W Natural Style Fruit Cocktail in Lightly Sweetened Juice
• Safeway Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup
• Safeway Light Sugar Fruit Cocktail
• Safeway Lite Fruit Cocktail in Pear Juice
• Stater Bros. Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup
• Sunny Select Fruit Cocktail in Juice

Tonight, as I was packing my daughter’s lunch, I realized that without even thinking about it, I was packing a waste free lunch.  Just by keeping a couple things on hand at all times, it has become second nature.  Most of these things you probably already have, it’s just getting into the habit of using them every day. If you are missing a few things, I’ve provided some of my favorite options.

LUNCHBOX – When I was in school, we used paper bags for our lunch everyday.  I cringe when I think of how many of them we just threw away.  Now, I pack my kid’s lunch in a reusable lunchbox.  There are tons of options like the PlanetBox Stainless Steel lunchbox, old school metal lunchboxes, plastic bento style lunchboxes,  or theKids Konserve insulated lunch sacks made from recycled bottles.  Just make sure that whatever you buy is PVC Free – oftentimes you’ll find that fabric lunchboxes have a PVC lining - check the tags.

REUSABLE BAGS – This is one of the places where you can really cut down on waste, particularly if you are using plastic baggies for sandwiches and snacks.  Lunchskins makes reusable bags both in sandwich and snack sizes.  They are made with a cotton fabric that is coated with a food-safe polyurethane liner.  I currently have 2 but am planning to get several more because I’m always using them!  I can use them for more than just food and I love that I can throw them in the dishwasher.

REUSABLE CONTAINERS – Another way to replace your plastic baggies is to use a reusable container.   It can be as easy as using a plastic container, stainless steel Lunchbots or Kinderville silicone storage jars. 

UTENSILS – For older children, you can grab a  fork and/or spoon from your silverware drawer.  If you’re concerned they might not make it home, stop by Goodwill and pick up some 10 cent utensils for lunches.  No worries if it accidentally is left at school (dirty. in the locker. never to be seen again.).  For younger children, buy kid-size plastic or metal utensils that are the right size for their mouths.  We use metal utensils from Pottery Barn Kids and have been really happen with them.

CLOTH NAPKIN – Paper napkins may be cheap but they are also wasteful.  We’ve been using cloth napkins for a year and they aren’t any more work – I just throw them in any load of laundry that is being done. 

DRINK BOTTLE -It seems like everyone has jumped on the stainless steel drink bottle bandwagon, but if you haven’t – now is a good time.  You can find them EVERYWHERE – we happen to use KleanKanteen for our kids but you can pick them up anywhere from Starbucks, to the grocery store, to toy stores.

Once you start packing your own waste free lunches, you might inquire about a school wide program. It has been estimated that on average a school-age child using a disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of waste per school year.   That is over 800 pounds of waste over 12 years of school - JUST FOR 1 CHILD!  That equates to 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for one average-size elementary school – PER YEAR!  Over 225,000 pounds of lunch waste over 12 years of school.  For a great resource to help you start a waste free lunch program at school, visit WasteFreeLunches.org.

This post was originally posted by Stephanie Lynn on her blog, Under The Table and Dreaming.

Nothing like a quick and easy ice cold treat to cool you down on a hot summer day. As a kid freeze pops were a summertime staple ~ we loved them and my mom always had them on hand. I still enjoy a good ole’ icy pop, {blue would be my favorite} however I needed to come up with a healthy alternative now that I am more conscious about what’s going into my little guys body. Sure it is less expensive to buy a gigantic box of these at your grocers, but most are packed with high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors and dyes. By making your own you’re in complete control of what’s inside and you can even sneak in some added nutrients and vitamins as well! I have a set of reusable pop makers {which are probably a bit greener to use} but sometimes it’s nice to be able to give my son a treat that looks like what the other kids are carrying around instead of always telling him it’s something he can’t have.

To make your own freezer pops you’ll need a food sealer {I used my FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer}, 8 Inch wide roll of packaging, and fruit/vegetable juice of your choice. From the roll of packaging I cut a strip measuring 2 1/2 tall. {the roll itself is 8 inches wide}.

You are actually only going to use the ’sealing strip’ for this, as you do not need to vacuum seal these shut. Lay your cut piece of packaging on the sealing strip and seal one side, then flip over and seal the other.

Since the edges of the packaging already come sealed you should now have a complete enclosed rectangle.

Cut one end off…

…and fill with juice. {I used a mix of organic juice and water for these} Organic vegetable juice or homemade purées are also favorites. If my son didn’t have allergies I would definitely make some using yogurt or pudding. {yummy}

Carefully holding the pop upright, the last thing to do is seal the open end back up. I put the Food Saver close to the edge of the counter so the pop could hang vertical and simply bent the top over to seal.

FINISHED PROJECT!!

Just to complete this great project, you can make Stephanie’s Freezer Pop Holders - keep those little fingers warm!

Ever go to pick out a pack of eggs and wonder why there are 12 choices?  Always pick the one on sale?  I used to.  I didn’t have a clue what all the different labels meant like cage-free,  free range or vegetarian fed. I actually didn’t know why I would even care.Fast forward several years and after having a baby and realizing we needed a healthier lifestyle for ourselves and the environment – we don’t buy the cheapest eggs any more.  Here’s what you need to know about egg labels to choose the best ones for your family:      

CAGE FREE       

 According to the Humane Society, nearly 280 million laying hens in the United States are confined in barren wire battery cages so restrictive the birds can’t even spread their wings.  Cage-free hens generally have two to three times more space per bird than caged hens. Cage-free hens may not be able to go outside and may have parts of their beaks cut off, but they can walk, spread their wings, and lay their eggs in nests—all behaviors permanently denied to hens crammed into battery cages.  Many supermarkets like Wal-Mart and restaurants like Subway have started selling or using cage free eggs.      

CERTIFIED ORGANIC        

Animals must be fed 100% organic food and no antibiotics or hormones can be given.  All organically raised animals must have access to the outdoors – although the amount and length of time is not defined. Compliance is verified by a third-party.     

FREE-RANGE or FREE ROAMING 

No standards or third-party verification but typically means that they are uncaged inside a barn or warehouse and may have access to the outdoors.   There are no restrictions on what they are fed.    There is also evidence that free range eggs contain more 3-6x more Vitamin D, 1/3 less cholesterol, 1/4 less saturated fat, 2/3 more vitamin A, 2x more Omega-3 fatty acids, 3x more vitamin E, and 7x more beta carotene – than typical supermarket eggs.

VEGETARIAN FED    

Feed contains no animal by products.    

CERTIFIED HUMANE RAISED    

No antibiotics or hormones can be given to animals.  Cages, crates and tie stalls are among the forbidden practices, and animals must be free to do what comes naturally. For example, chickens are able to flap their wings and dust bathe.  Certified by Humane Farm Animal Care.    

COMMERCIAL VS. LOCAL 

One final note from the Humane Society: virtually all hens in commercial egg operations—whether cage or cage-free—come from hatcheries that kill all male chicks shortly after hatching. The males are of no use to the egg industry because they don’t lay eggs and aren’t bred to grow as large or as rapidly as chickens used in the meat industry. Common methods of killing male chicks include suffocation, gassing and grinding. Hundreds of millions of male chicks are killed at hatcheries each year in the United States.  

Instead of buying eggs from a supermarket, you can find a local farm or farmer’s market to buy eggs from or keep chickens in your backyard, also known as urban chickenkeeping. I would LOVE to have fresh eggs every day from my own chickens (unfortunately our city rules prohibit it).

Spring is slowing making its way through the Northwest and I’m getting excited to plant my vegetable garden.  Depending on where you live and what you are planting, you may have already started planting.  I generally plant starts so I likely won’t plant anything for another couple weeks. Last year, I didn’t get anything in the ground until the end of May (which was a little late) but I ended up having a great garden anyway!  

If you’ve never had a vegetable garden, I highly recommend that you start one this summer – it’s easy and a great project to do with your kids. 

CONTAINER AND LOCATION
It can be as easy as using a pot for one tomato plant or you can buy or build raised beds.  The first summer that I grew anything, it was one tomato plant in a pot .  The next summer, my husband built me a raised bed for Mother’s Day.  Raised beds can be as small or large as you have space for.  Ours is long and narrow – 3 x 11 – between the edge of our grass and the fence.  Often, the container where you keep your vegetables will be highly influenced by the location you have available with LOTS of sun – preferably 6-8 hours a day.  

SOIL
Once you choose a container and location, start with some great soil.  We have a compost bin that we stock all year just to use when planting our vegetable garden.  If you don’t have a compost bin, you can purchase compost and/or soil mixes to use. 

CHOOSING VEGETABLES
One of my favorite things about my garden is experimenting.  I am NOT a gardener and I don’t have a green thumb.  I just try new things each year to figure out what works and what doesn’t.  The first summer I learned that we eat way more cherry tomatoes than plum tomatoes.  Last summer I planted more celery than we could eat.  I couldn’t give away all the jalapeno peppers we had and I planted beans and peas way too late to get anything out of them.  When choosing vegetables to plant, choose ones that you and your kids will eat.  Tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini are all easy to grow and you’ll get LOTS of them – with just one plant.  Talk to the growers at the local nursery or farmer’s market – they are a wealth of information about the different varities of every vegetable.  

WATER  
I tend to kill anything that isn’t automatically watered so we put a drip system in our raised bed. It was inexpensive and easy to hook up through our automatic watering system. You could also use a soaker hose or just get out there and manually water every day. 

For additional resources on planning your vegetable garden, check out Martha Stewart’s Vegetable Garden Guide or Better Homes and Gardens Edible Gardening Guide.