Lunchbox Tips

We promised some tips on packing your kids (or yourself!) a healthy lunchbox, and we didn’t forget. See below for some ideas on making healthy eating easy & delicious throughout the week. Of course, if you can get any of your ingredients from a local farmer’s market, even better! We promise they’ll taste fantastic, plus you’ll feel great about supporting the community.

 

  1. Leftovers – Always cook a little extra dinner? Portion it out the next day for school lunch. If you made a sauce, try putting it in a sandwich; if you made a casserole, stick a small portion in the lunchbox. There’s always a way to adapt delicious leftovers into lunch.
  2. Hummus – Nothing says healthy lunch of snack like this dippable dish. The best part is that you can make a big batch on Sunday night, and use it throughout the week.
  3. Charcuterie – May sound too fancy for lunch, but we don’t think it has to be. Most of us have cheese & deli meats hanging out in our fridge, so when you’re tired of a sandwich, just roll up those ham pieces and pack them with a few slices of cheese, several grapes or olives, and a handful of nuts.
  4. Healthy Sweets – Sometimes we just need that afternoon pick me up, and want that easy to get candy bar or doughnut. Instead, try making a batch of healthy sweets on Sunday afternoon, and pack one as a backup in your bag for those sluggish hours.
  5. Salad – Want something lighter for lunch? Pack whatever greens you’ve got in a mason jar with whatever proteins and veggies are in your fridge. Add a little olive oil & balsamic, or your favorite dressing, and you’ve got salad in a jar – quick and easy (and healthy) lunch fix.
  6. Market Finds – Make a trip out of visiting your local farmer’s market this Saturday. You’ll find plenty of delicious veggies to pack for lunch, and you’ll support local agriculture at the same time! Look for small peppers, radishes, cucumbers, beans, and anything else you can simply wash and stick in your lunchbox.

Back to School & Fall Harvest Bounty

It’s that time of year again – backpacks and school supplies are purchased, and morning rushes onto buses or into carpools reign chaotic during the week. Often, as the year gets busier, we find it hard to keep on track with healthy eating. The last thing we want to do after driving the kids all over town after school or battling over homework  is to spend extra time cooking a healthy dinner from scratch. Never mind planning a healthy lunchbox for the next day! We know where you’re coming from, and we want to help.

October is also Farm to School month, so we’ll be sharing tips on ways to incorporate farmer’s market outings with the healthy foods you and your kids are eating at home!

Join us on your own, as a team, or with your school/company/friends/family for this monthlong challenge celebrating the fall abundance!


Michael & Susan Dell Center For Healthy Living takes the VegOut! Challenge

VegOut! Partners, July 2018 Edition:

We were so thrilled to have a team from the Michael & Susan Dell Center For Healthy Living take the VegOut! Challenge this month! The mission of the center (“We advance health and healthy living for children and families through cutting-edge research, innovative community-based programs, and dissemination of evidence-based practices.”) much aligns with the mission of Recipe For Success, both hoping to end childhood obesity and encourage healthy habits.

The center also puts an emphasis on workplace wellness, including a Farm-to-Work Program where Animal Farm brings organic produce to their offices weekly. They’ve been offering recipe ideas & shopping tips on their social media channels, while encouraging both employees & others connected with the organization to participate. For the last day of the challenge, they even hosted a salad swap – where faculty & staff brought their favorite toppings to share and try! They were the perfect partners for the farm-focused July Challenge! To see more about them, check out their instagram & website. And if you’re in the Austin area, consider donating or volunteering!


Meet Our Favorite Farmers

Some Favorite Farms We Follow:

Kneehigh Farm is a woman-run vegetable farm in Chester, PA. Growing over 150 varities of naturally grown produce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steadfast Farm in Mesa, AZ is a two acre bio-intensive market farm growing organic fruits, vegetables, and flowers alongside poultry & eggs.


We’re Half Way Through!

Hello Summer VegOut! Enthusiasts,
We are excited about spotlighting small farms this month hoping to inspire you to buy local while eating your 30 different veggies in July. Did you know that you can earn badges for supporting local farms?  The kids will love that!  Will you please share your farm discoveries with us on social media with the hashtag #vegout2018—and we will tell the world. In the meantime, here are a few of our favorites around the country.

Brooklyn Grange is a 1.5 acre rooftop farm in Brooklyn, NY. They produce over 50,000 lbs of organic produce a year, and have a long waitlist for their CSA. They also host weddings, farm dinners, tours, and many other events throughout the year with the goal of expanding awareness & understanding around food sources.

Under a Tin Roof is a small family homestead in Wellman, Iowa, offering a CSA of vegetables, meats, and home goods all made on the property. They also have a u-pick market on Fridays.

Working on 20 acres in Encinitas, CA, Coastal Roots Farm is a non-profit growing food for their give-what-you-can farm stand, supporting members of the community who cannot afford organic, healthy food.

Hope Farms Stand
If you live in the Houston area, come visit us on Saturday mornings from 9 to noon at 10401 Scott Street! We’ve got squash, melon, onions, amaranth, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, peppers, & more!

 

What’s in Season?
Don’t know what is in season where you live? Here‘s a great guide to seasonal summer food all over the country. Whatever is in season, bought locally from an organic producer, will always taste better than what you’ll find in the grocery store.

Summer Recipes

Our culinary director, Paola, and her daughter come out to Hope Farms on Saturdays and cook during the Farm Stand. It gives shoppers a chance to taste the produce prepared in ways they may not have thought of before. Want to try what they’re cooking? Here’s the recipe for Summer Veggie Paella:

      Servings Prep Time
      4 people 15 minutes
Cook Time
1:15 hour

 

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken stock
1 pinch saffron
5 sprigs thyme
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small yellow squash cut into 1/4″ coins
1 small zucchini cut into 1/4″ coins
1/2 eggplant cut into 1/4″ coins
1 oz dried chorizo finely chopped
1/2 onion finely chopped  …read more