Seasons' Eatings - Blog Robin Blog!

Celebrate Non-GMO Month, celebrate transparency!

9/28/2021

This October, we're celebrating your right to choose whether or not to consume GMOs. Many of our products are Non-GMO Project Verified because you deserve the strongest certification for GMO avoidance, making it easier for you to avoid GMOs in your shopping cart and diet. In the coming months, you might see a new label at the grocery store: the Bioengineered (BE) Food label. A BE Food disclosure will be displayed on some —though not all—products containing GMOs. But it won't be on our products. We know that most shoppers want to avoid GMOs, not find products that contain them. .Since 2007, the Butterfly label has helped millions of people find Non-GMO Project Verified products quickly and easily. The Butterfly is the leading third-party certification for GMO avoidance.

To be Verified, each product is thoroughly reviewed. Its major and minor ingredients are traced back through the supply chain —giving us (and you!) the most accurate information about the food you eat. Over the years, the Butterfly has grown with the times. The Non-GMO Project Standard is continually evolving to respond to new GMO techniques. With a dedicated research
team monitoring biotech development around the globe, the Non-GMO Project knows more about GMOs, old and new —about products already on the shelves and what we might see in the coming years —than any other organization. We rely on their expertise so we can deliver a product that meets your standards. At Seasons' Eatings we are committed to building a better food system, and bringing you the best possible products while we do it. This October, look for the Butterfly on our products —and celebrate your right to choose.

Elderberries for sale

8/25/2021

K & B Elderberry Acres in Wauseon, Ohio is offering elderberry plants, berries, and flowers for you to enjoy. K & B is a small family owned elderberry farm that began planing 450 cuttings of 7 cultivars on 5 acres in the spring of 2021.

Their elderberries are currently for sale at farmers markets in Defiance, Hillsdale, Pioneer and Wauseon. I'm sharing this information so that you can connect with this great local source of these healthful and delicious berries. Instead of offering these lovelies inside Seasons' Eatings, we determined that it would be best to cut out the middleman, so to speak, because of the delicate nature of the berries and the exclusive demand for them.

By the way, it's important to mention that you should only eat COOKED elderberries - not raw ones.

K & B Elderberry Acres has a nice flyer to help inform you and here are a few of the main points:

Elderberries grow all over the world
According to NCBI, elderberry has been used in fold medicine for centuries to treat influenza, colds, and sinusitis, and has been reported to have antiviral activity against influenza and herpes simplex.
Scientific studies have shown it helps to prevent and or lessen symptoms of colds and flu
Elderberry has the highest antioxidant ORAC of the top 12 rated fruits
Elderberries are low in calories and packed with antioxidants
Hight in dietary fiber, minerals and vitamins A, B Complex and C
A good source of phenolic acids, which can help reduce damage from oxidative stress in the body
a good source of flavonoid. The flowers contain up to 10 times more than the berries. With the flowers you get the added bonus of pollen to help with allergies.

The Humane Gardener

6/28/2021

I recently became aware of this great site (www.facebook.com/HumaneGardener) and wanted to share it with my like-minded friends. I'm still exploring the site myself, so I'll just give it a thumbs up recommendation and encourage you to explore the site for yourself. We humans can always do a better job of living peacefully, and harmlessly with nature. There is a great article about monarch butterflies and some amazing facts. Have fun exploring and learning and feel free to share thoughts and ideas and other resources. Peaceful gardening to all. ~robin

Here's the butterfly link: https://www.humanegardener.com/monarch-rx-calling-all-butterfly-watchers/?fbclid=IwAR1BZIPdUOsXn-NrMiBOykG8bMt4wavpm-9d9bVUS0c-nk9rZpmGLFvKkLI

New products spotlight

5/11/2021

It's always fun find and try new products. My searches are target vegetarian/vegan items, of course, but I also try to find products that are non-GMO certified, no artificial sweeteners, less fat, more protein, environmentally friendly, and gluten free. These five new products offer some or all of these characteristics, and I hope you will give them a test run.

PigOuts - a high protein, vegan, GF snack that uses less natural resources to product than their meat counterparts. PigOuts are a vegan version of pork rinds - cool name, eh?

Pan's Mushroom Jerky - LOVE this! Mushrooms require far let natural resources to produce than meat, and these chewy snacks are packed with nutrients (100% daily requirements of vitamin D3, for example). The package is plastic, so that's a con, but I guess you can't have everything.

Amrita protein bars - contain 15 grams of plant protein and have no sugar alcohol, gluten free, non-GMO and vegan. These bars have raw ingredients, nut free. Amrita health foods is a family-run business which supports non-profits involved i the autism community. Multiple flavors for a good variety of tastes.

VGAN chocolates offer a nice variety of flavors to enjoy without any dairy. Vegan eaters often have to settle for dark chocolate, but this company make a great "milk" chocolate that I think you'll love. I picked each flavor offered to get to know them: dark with chia grapefruit, white chocolate with almonds and salted caramel, dark with hazelnuts and mulberries, dark sugarfree, and "mylk" chocolate. Stop by for a sample bite. So far I've only tried the salted caramel - quite tasty.

Simply gum - is a MUCH more eco-friendly gum to enjoy. The gum pieces are not wrapped in foil, the packaging is earth friendly, there is no plastic in the gum (they say other gums do - who knew?). Natural flavors, a nice soft chewing gum. No aspartame, no synthetics. Flavors in stock are, spearmint, cinnamon, ginger, and "cleanse" (lime, chili, sea salt).

Goose eggs, you say?

5/9/2021

Yes, thank you - why not?

Goose eggs are pretty incredible. To hold one even feels odd - almost like some ancient relic. Cracking one open take a lot more force than a chicken egg. And the yolk! My goodness is it large, dense, and so orange. One goose egg is about the equivalent of three chicken eggs, and the scrambled version is a bit heavier in texture than the equivalent number of chicken eggs.

The nutrients of three large chicken eggs compare closely with that of one goose egg. For example, One large chicken egg supplies you with 6.23 g of protein. One goose egg contains 19.97 g of protein.

The Spillis Farmstead supplies Seasons' Eatings with the beautiful chicken eggs pictured on the right above, and recently offered a limited amount of goose eggs from her small gaggle of domestic geese. Friendly, and Chauncy are the two girls who are producing the eggs, and also attempting to raise a family (some of the eggs are left in the nest for the would-be moms to brood.)

If you'd like to try some, stop in or call to reserve. We can also direct you to some quail eggs if you'd like to try those tiny beauties. The girls who produce these eggs are raised humanely and live happy lives.

My favorite lunch (lately)

3/9/2021

I absolutely LOVE the Beyond Burgers, made by Beyond Meat. Have you tried them yet? So my new favorite lunch is a big pile of mixed lettuce, chopped onions, garlic paprika dressing by Foods Alive topped with a chopped up Beyond Burger. So satisfying and filling. No need for bread. When I have extra veggies that need to be used up, I'll toss those onto the pile of goodness.

Unlike the Impossible Burger, Beyond Burgers contain no soy, and no genetically engineered ingredients. If you need to cut down on the consumption of red meat, but miss holding a nice thick burger - give these a try - in a sandwich or in a salad. Good stuff.

Ingredients list: Water, Pea Protein*, Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil, Refined Coconut Oil, Rice Protein, Natural Flavors, Cocoa Butter, Mung Bean Protein, Methylcellulose, Potato Starch, Apple Extract, Pomegranate Extract, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Vinegar, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Sunflower Lecithin, Beet Juice Extract (for color).

Chickpeas Galore!

3/1/2021

A big part of my weekly routine is cooking chickpeas! Canned chickpeas are more expensive and also the cans are a nuisance. So I order Non-GMO chickpeas in 25 lb. bags so there's always plenty to make into hummus, or chickpea salad, or to add to a veggie stir fry or soup. After cooking and cooling a big batch, I divide them into these reusable containers for freezing.

Chickpeas are high in fiber and just one cup contains 15 grams of protein. According to https://www.thehealthy.com/nutrition/chickpea-nutrition-facts/ the chickpea “is an excellent source of folate, zinc, copper, iron, and manganese. Zinc is a mineral that’s important for development of some of the cells in charge of defending your body against toxins or foreign substances that threaten your immunity. Copper and iron work together to help your body form red blood cells, and manganese is helpful for blood sugar control.”

So I invite you to enjoy this ancient legume next time you order and let me know what YOU like to make with chickpeas, too!

Gathering some ingredients

2/28/2021

The recipe I use to make vegan corned beef calls for juniper berries, which I happen to have a great supply of at my homestead. The bushes I harvested them from are what I have always called cedar trees, but it turns out they are actually junipers. (Here's a great article about the difference if you are interested):
www.treehugger.com/difference-between-cedars-and-junipers-4165305

These little beauties are drying now, but soon I will pop about four of them in each batch of the "corned beef." Yes, only four of them. They do make a slight difference in taste, but it's a nice little difference. I have yet to use the berries in anything else, and I'd be glad to hear from any of you who use them. I learned from the article above that they are used to make gin! :)

Wait, there's more!

2/26/2021

Did I mention that the Souper Cubes can be used for baking too? I used them for that today, and froze the result. Pretty slick. I am in contact with the company to see if I can purchase some for resale at Seasons' Eatings. Part of my goal is to reduce the use the plastic bags in my freezer, so I'm excited to work these trays into my cooking, freezing and serving routine. (I made roll-up lasagna with vegan cheese, spinach and pasta sauce.)

Frozen soup!

2/25/2021

My Souper Cubes arrived today! I saw this product on Shark Tank and decided it was a great way for me to reduce waste of soups and a much better way than plastic bags! Check these out; four compartments of a cup each or a half cup if you prefer with a nice tight fitting lid. I just put my first batch of soup in the freezer in one of these handy dandy cube trays and i will let you know how it goes after they are frozen.

Let's do this!

2/23/2021

From time to time, I have stuff on my mind that I'd like to share without filling up a Facebook post. So I thought I'd give this blog thing a try. Not sure how it all works yet, so bare with me.

I'll start with some photos I took today when I had an epiphany about a better way to cut acorn squashes open.

Notice in third photo that I sliced the squash open through the middle. For some reason, and for years I have been cutting small squash from the top down, but today I was inspired to take a different view. Top down cutting always presented the problem of getting around the stem; middle cutting eliminates that problem, and the seeds are so much easier to scrape out - not to mention the flesh. So am I the only one who's been missing the boat all these years?