BLOG MOVING SOON

Hey everyone...thank you so much for your support on my blog.  In a couple of days we will be moving onto our new 13 acre property, to be called :  Mama Duke's Farm.  We will begin a new farm blog which you can find at http://www.mamadukesfarm.com/  .  The blog will be about the journey our faith is taking us on.  Check out the site!

Thanks again for your support!!

http://www.mamadukesfarm.com/

Learn to feed and provide for your family in the difficult times ahead

Are you interested in sustainable homesteading?  On April 30th in Live Oak, FL,  Magnolia Farms is offering a Homesteading expo where you will learn skills for the following:

• soap making
• home dairying
• goat herd dairy production
• bottle raising kids (goats, not children!)
• Butchering
• grass fed poultry and eggs
• canning and food preservation with food dehydrators
• organic gardening 101
• bread baking
• bulk milling grains
• fresh herbs for medicinal value

Learn to feed and provide for your family in the difficult times ahead. 

You do have to register and the fee is $45.  Included with this is all the classes listed above (one day event from 10-5) as well as a five star organic lunch buffet!

Needless to say - I will be there!

For more information please go to Magnolia Farms website at :  www.magnoliafarms.org and click on Festivals & Events.

Even if your not interested in the Homesteading Expo, I encourage you to check out there site and take a family trip to visit them one Sunday..they are open to the public from 10-5 on Sunday's Only.

Now that you've planted those vegetables - when should you harvest them?

It is so hard to believe that it has only been a month since we've put our YUMMY vegetables in the ground! We are only weeks away from having nutritious, flavor-packed homegrown vegetables on our dinner table!

What have you planted?  It's a great time to get your warm weather crops in the ground.  Many plants do very well with seed being placed directly in the ground.  Such as:  bush beans, pole beans, cantaloupes, sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplant, okra, peppers, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, Southern peas, summer squash, and watermelon.  Tomatoes should be started inside. Probably a good idea to start eggplant and pepper plants in starter pots as well, but they can be sown directly in the ground.

Go to my garden page to find out how to pick vegetables at their peak of freshness.

I WON!

Thanks Foodie Blogroll!

Entering to win on the Foodie Blogroll is super easy!!  Love that site! 

On my blog  (Lettuce Be Healthy) I give away products every now and again and one of the reasons I do so is because I too LOVE to WIN and I DID!

I won a copy of the cookbook:  The $5 Dinner Mom - I look forward to trying many of the recipes.

The book is a Breakfast and Lunch cookbook by Erin Chase - she says there are "200 recipes for quick, delicious and NUTRITIOUS meals and they are all easy on your budget and a snap top prepare."

Now who doesn't want to feed their family on $5 or less in this economy?? 

I look forward to trying and sharing some of these recipes with you in the near future.

If you have a Food Blog be sure to check out http://www.foodieblog.com/ and register your blog so you too can have a chance to win!

60 Earth Hour - Will you take a stand for conscious stewardship?

Did you know that tomorrow (March 26th) is the day chosen to switch off your power for one hour?

That's right...worldwide commercial facilities, government buildings, even iconic landmarks will all go dark for one hour at 8:30 p.m. (local time) to take a stand for conscious stewardship of the Earth's resources.

Last year the lights went out in over 4000 cities and 128 countries!

Will you take a stand for great stewardship of the Earth's resources this year?

For more information you can go to www.EarthHour.org  and see the FAQ page.

Will you join me?

Beet Juice - Move over Blueberries

Blueberries now have some serious competition when it comes to brain boosting nutrition!  Just read a great article on beets and although I will never really give up my beloved blueberries, I found the  interview with Daniel Kim Shapiro, director of Wake Forest University's Translational Science Center very interesting.  Mr. Shapiro stated that in recent studies, "for the first time ever researchers have shown that in older adults, drinking beet juice can increase the blood flow to the brain.  Holding great potential for combating the progression of dementia.

In the past there have been many high profile studies through Wake Forest University showing that drinking beet juice can lower blood pressure...but now it is shown to also increase blood flow to the brain. 

As we age, it is a given that areas of the brain become poorly perfused and it is believed to be associated with poor cognition and dementia. 

According to researchers, beet juice contains high levels of nitrates.  When we eat nitrate rich food such as celery, spinach, cabbage and beets, good bacteria in the mouth turn nitrates to nitrites, which help open up blood vessels in the body, increasing blood flow and oxygen to the brain".

So how do you make a glass of beet juice yourself:

What do you need to make beet juice, how much do you make, and how do you do it?  All of these questions can be answered on this great juicer blog  just click this link to go there:

 How To Make Beet Juice.

Wanna watch a video on how to make beet juice:

 

Grocery Gardening Book - Enter to Win A Copy

Go to the Garden Page-Contest Tab above and see what you need to do to enter to win a copy of  the "Grocery Gardening" book by Jean Ann Van Krevelen.