DIY Herb Garden

Finally got a chance to sit down at the computer, and I have so much to blab (blog) about! We are finally in the house which took way longer than planned. I guess my husband and I are busier than I thought. Nevertheless, we are finally in! The DIY projects have begun, and I'm loving it! It is awesome being able to do whatever you want to a place, unlike the apartment where every hole I put in the wall was followed by the "Ugh, I'm going to have to patch that" thought.

One of the first things I wanted to do in the new house was get out and work on the yard. It's past the point where I can get a veggie garden going, but I still needed to get something growing. I hit the pinterest, and found a great idea from Fancy Frugal Life. An herb garden for your deck! Now, we have a huge deck, so why not? Headed to the store and 2 hours later had an awesome herb garden that is now
growing like crazy!

Basically, you just throw some plants into pots and stack them on each other. Cheers for space saving! I decided to paint my pots because I hate that orange color that clay pots are naturally. I actually only got samples of paint, which is much cheaper than buying a whole gallon or even a quart for a project like this. So there's a tip! If you ever need just a little bit of paint, get some samples! I didn't even use a whole jar on these guys. And I think the little pots are cute.

After they were painted, I just threw it all together. The pots dried incredibly fast, which was awesome because I was losing sunlight. 

And of course, I always have my shadow by my side. She loves the smell of the herbs just as much as I do. I have to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't eat them....silly dog. 

And there ya have it! It's pretty attractive, minus the pathetic looking cilantro down there on the bottom. Starting from the top, I have two kinds of oregano, then parsley and stevia on the middle tier. And finally dill, cilantro, and basil are on the bottom. 

I'm mostly excited about my Stevia plant. If you are interesting in growing anything, but have no idea where to start, go with Stevia and Basil. Both are super easy to grow and use. I just love putting the stevia in my coffee in the mornings. AND it is saving me a bunch of moolah at the store!

Now THIS...

...is what my herbs look like now. Crazy right? What a difference a couple of weeks makes! I've started harvesting some herbs to dry, and have used some fresh basil in some dishes. I don't have any pictures of it, but I also have a tomato plant that is growing too. Hopefully that one works out. It seems to be struggling a bit. 

Loving the house, loving the neighbors. It's all going pretty well! Hope your summer has kicked off on the right foot too!

Until next time, <3

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Vegetables and Stuff

Back to food!

Soooo Vegetables. The ever important part of a meal that we often forego...or at least I have a bad habit of doing so. Let's back track a bit so I can explain my history with vegetables. Where I grew up, there are four vegetables...potatoes, corn, peas, and green beans. Tomatoes are in there too, but some consider it a fruit (I'm on team veggie!). Needless to say, I was not raised eating many vegetables, therefore "hated" them whenever they were offered. When I got to college, I forced...literally....myself to learn to eat new things, most of which were vegetables. I've had to learn many ways to incorporate vegetables into meals where I won't hate eating every bite.

So why are we told to eat our veggies? Why is there so much hype about them? Well, in terms on nutrition, they are like a gold mine for vitamins and minerals, like seriously the mecca of nutrition availability. Eating a diet rich in veggies may lower your risk of developing cancer and/or heart disease. They are low in fat and calories and carbs! Well, most are low in carbs... except the good ones I mentioned earlier in this post. Veggies are also good for your skin, eyes, and teeth.

Green, leafy vegetables are where it's at. In my vitamins class I took in college (yes, a whole class devoted to vitamins...I actually took two) if I didn't know the answer to a question, I'd put green leafy vegetables, and usually got the question right. Colors are important when it comes to vegetables. A variety of colors means a variety of nutrients, so "eating the rainbow" is a good rule of thumb. Skittles was headed in the right direction with their slogan.

The USDA has a general guideline of making half of your plate vegetables (and fruits). That may seem like a lot of vegetables, but most of the times the "plates" we are thinking of are much larger than the plate they are referring to.

Vegetables have a bad rep for being expensive, and it's true, they can be...if you don't know what to look for. Buying in season is extremely important if you want to buy totally fresh. But if you live in the midwest like I do, seasons are ever changing, and man do they change fast. Frozen is your next best choice. I like to stock up on bulk and always have a few different veggies on hand. Canned is a last resort, however it is usually the cheapest option. Canned foods have a bad rep right now because of high sodium content and other chemicals used to preserve them. Just wash them! Wash the food after you take it out of the can and before you cook them. Part of the problem solved! Buy buy fresh if you can ;)

I'm planning on posting some recipes that I use to "hide" my veggies so I can eat them. Hopefully sooner rather than later!

IN OTHER NEWS! I purchased a Kitchen Aid mixer like 20 minutes ago. I AM SO EXCITED! Here's to more cooking!

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