farmers market

I Want to Own a Farm

by Brittany on April 10, 2012 · 32 comments

Whew, what a whirlwind it’s been. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. Grandpa K’s service was beautiful. David’s mom played Amazing Grace on her flute and many, many awesome stories about Grandpa were shared. It was clear he brought sunshine into so many people’s lives. The silver lining to such occasions is that it brings people together and it’s always nice to get to spend time with family.

Yesterday we ventured back home and are settling back into things. I finally downloaded pictures from the weekend and decided that I had to tell you about why I now want to live in the middle of nowhere and be a farmer.

Bakers Farm

Saturday afternoon we went to visit a friend, Jeff, who basically has a farm. It’s not his full time profession, and who knows if he calls it a farm, but if you own animals besides dogs and are growing an orchard of apple, cherry and peach trees, you’re a farmer to me!

Hailey and goats

He just got 2 three month old goats (totally a farmer, right?!) and they were adorable. He plans to use them for goat milk, which according to his research is a better fit for human consumption than cow’s milk. He said that some people truly are lactose intolerant, but other people are simply not able to break down the proteins in cow’s milk. Goat milk proteins are more similar to human milk, making them easier for us to digest.

goat milk

My verdict on goat milk? It’s good! It tastes really similar to cow’s milk actually. I found it a bit creamier and it reminded me of melted goat cheese… mmm… goat cheese. Now I want a goat.

holding baby duck

Did I mention he also had baby chicks and ducks?! I wanted to swipe one of each and pretend I was Chandler and Joey. The ducks were adorable and I wanted a photo of them waddling around Hailey.

Hailey scared of baby duck

Too bad she found the fuzzy little things terrifying.

Out of the goats, chicks, ducks and rooster, she preferred… the cat.

Hailey and the cat

Way to branch out, kid.

Speaking of roosters, the chicken coop was pretty cool. It did not smell (who knew?!).

bakrs rooster

Jeff owns about 20 hens, and only 1 rooster. Roosters are mean and pick on the hens, unless someone else tries to mess with them. Then Mr. Rooster gets very protective. Odd. Also, a hen lays about 1 egg a day, meaning that Jeff has a plethora of eggs! Luckily, he’s nice enough to share.

farm fresh eggs

Aren’t they pretty? Like natural Easter eggs. I knew I wanted to incorporate an egg that was laid that morning into dinner, so on our way home we stopped by Josh’s farmers market for veggies to grill.

grilled veggie dinner

And used an over-medium egg as a fancy sauce for our asparagus.

fancy asparagus and egg

Such a difference! The yolks of fresh eggs are much more brightly colored- almost orange instead of yellow. The yolk was creamier than store bought and it tasted amazing. Did you know that eggs you buy at the store are typically 2-3 months old? And that eggs don’t actually have to be refrigerated? I remember that from seeing them on shelves in Germany.

Yes, Saturday was a good day.

dining al fresco

Sunday we celebrated Easter by going to church before heading south to Brunswick.

Hailey and dad on Easter

Now we’re home and settling in. On that note I should go put on a load of laundry, clean up and collect the eggs from our chickens.

See, it sounds natural, right? We totally need chickens. Think the HOA would mind?

Produce Bag Giveaway!

by Brittany on July 11, 2011 · 54 comments

Another summer weekend has passed us by- hope you enjoyed yours! Mine was busy and fun.  Hubbs’ parents were in town and it was wonderful to visit with them and catch up as we count down to baby. We grabbed breakfast by boat for the first time, and it was so beautiful out on the water in the morning.

midway marina breakfast

I also made sure to still make it to the Davidson Farmers Market to pick up my weekly share. I know I’ve said it before, but I love farmers markets!

davidson farmers market healthy slice of life

The gorgeous flowers…

davison flowers

Freshly baked bread…

farmers market fresh bread

The veggies!

davidson farmers market vegetables

The cute pups…

davidson dog

And my take home goodies, of course!

CSA share

Between my breakfasts, lunches and dinners, I gobble up produce pretty quickly, but I know that’s not the case for everyone. So when Clearly Fresh Bags contacted me about trying out their product, I was interested.

clearly fresh bags directions

I decided to try a week long challenge with banana, since they are one fruit that seems to go brown on me quickly.

clearly fresh produce bag challenge clearly fresh banana bags

Truth be told, one of the bananas in the bag was eaten during the process (oops ;) ).  But after one week, I had 2 bananas to compare.

clearly fresh banana bag comparison clearly fresh banana bag comparison 3

The one in the bag clearly had less spots and bruises then the one that sat countertop.  The two spots on the bottom of the bagged banana were actually there before I put them in the bag (thank goodness for before pictures!).

I thought the bags lived up to their claim, and I’m anxious to try them out again.  They say they are best used on whole, uncut produce, but I still want to try them on a cut avocado!

These are a great option for you if you tend to buy produce and throw some away by the end of the week.  Keep it fresh, longer! I think these bags would be super for bananas, lettuce, avocados and tomatoes- and I’ll be trying out lots of different produce to see which saves the best.

The best part of this challenge?

Clearly Fresh Bags is giving away 10 produce protecting bags to a Healthy Slice of Life reader!

Leave a comment telling me what you’d like to try out in these bags!

For an additional entry,

‘Like” A Healthy Slice of Life of facebook and leave a comment letting me know you did.

Happy Monday :)

CSA Meals & My Sun Bathing Belly

May 23, 2011

Can you believe it’s near the end of May? I’m a little shocked that Memorial Day weekend is coming up this weekend.  I know summer is officially here, though, because the heat (90+ degrees) and humidity arrived this weekend.  Luckily, so did my new bathing suit, so I was able to get out and enjoy [...]

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CSA & Winner of the Giveaway

May 16, 2011

Good morning, all! Monday again already? And mid-May? Man, time is flying… and I sure hope the world doesn’t end on May 21.  That only gives us about a week. You’ve heard of that, right? Moving on… Another weekend means another CSA pick up and I am impressed again at the loot I scored! A [...]

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CSA Season has Arrived!

May 9, 2011

Good morning, all and I hope you had a wonderful weekend.  To those moms out there, I hope your children told you how much they love and appreciate you for doing the hardest job in the world.  I’m excited to report to work come September It was a nice weekend around these parts… you know, [...]

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