WIAW: Home Grown

Sometimes I wish I lived in California.

Don't get me wrong; I love living here in Central Nebraska.  There is only one thing that I would change: fresh produce year round.

Where I live, summer is the best time to get locally grown produce.  I go to the farmers market each Thursday and shop for tomatoes and peppers. Sometimes I stop midweek at the vegetable stand one family operates in town.  I grow a few vegetables in my garden and some herbs in my window.  I like knowing who grows my food, whose hands have touched it, and what kinds of chemicals my food is exposed to.  I also like supporting my neighbors.

Most of what I ate either comes from my garden, was grown in my kitchen, or I picked up from a local farmer.

I started my day by making two batches of vegan Whole Wheat Waffles.  I ate one, without margarine, butter, or syrup.  I also had a cup of cherries I bought at the supermarket.  You can find my Whole Wheat Waffle Recipe here.

For lunch, I made an Ezekiel wrap with 3 Ingredient Not-zerella Cheese Spread that I made.  I topped it with fresh spinach from the store (already past the season for fresh spinach in Nebraska) and alfalfa sprouts that I grew in a jar on my counter.  My 3 Ingredient Not-zerella Cheese Spread recipe can be found here.

In the afternoon, I started to get hungry again.  I cut a zucchini from my garden into noodles with my mandolin and added 1/4 of a cup of leftover pizza sauce from the fridge.  I warmed it in the microwave and devoured it! I had a large bowl of crunchy "noodles" and sauce for under 100 calories!

We ate my husband's favorite meal, fajitas for supper.  I made it with bell peppers from the farmers market, onions from my garden, a tomato from the local produce stand down the street, homemade guacamole (find the recipe here), and Follow Your Heart vegan cheddar "cheese." I had mine on Ezekiel tortillas, while my husband and son prefer theirs on Alvarado Street sprouted tortillas.  They were so good, I had two!

Do you buy any produce locally or grow your own?

I hope to see you here later this week for Vegetarian Potluck Friday!  I've created a tab above for you to learn how you can link up your own meatless recipes.  All day on Friday you can see what other readers are serving up and share your own favorite food.