Check out what arrived this week…
2.5 cubic yards of triple mix soil for the veggie garden. :) Thrilling, I know.
After weeks of looking at different types of soils, I went with a triple mix from Van Beek’s. It’s made from composted manure, black loam, and sandy topsoil. I couldn’t find ‘certified’ organic anywhere, but the owner said it is organic and assured me that they do not add any chemicals or fertilizers to it. That will have to do!
We used this soil calculator to determine how much soil we needed:
Take the Length (ft) of the area to be covered x Width (ft) x Depth (inches) divided by 12, then again divided by 27 and you have your cubic measurement!
For two 4 foot by 8 foot beds, I calculated our soil need to be about 2.37 cubic yards, so we ordered 2.5.
[We used this step by step tutorial to build the beds.]
When we filled up the beds it was raining (of course!) and shoveling the soil was like shoveling bricks. What a workout! At least I know that the soil is nice and moist for planting. :)
The rain sure has made our lawn green though!
I’m going to the nursery tonight to check out the new organic plants that just came in and figure out what I need to buy. So far, I have sketched out a rough plan for both of the beds using this Companion Planting info to guide me. I’m trying to plant veggies with their companion plants, figure out specific spacing/planting requirements, and also how many of each plant I will need.
I also put a compost bin and gardening tools on my Birthday list. How cool am I? :)
Meet: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cereal– a new breakfast and snack infatuation.
In the cookie bowl: Nature’s Path Spelt cereal, chopped banana, 1 tsp chia seeds, 8-10 mini Chocolate chip cookie dough balls, and non-dairy milk.
It tastes like you are eating a bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough for breakfast!
Another breakfast I’ve been rocking this week…The Mango Banana Green Monster.
I recently discovered that President’s Choice sells frozen mango chunks. I haven’t had the best experience with some frozen fruit mixes, but this frozen mango is super fresh and sweet. You can nibble on it straight from the bag. :) It is great to keep in the freezer for quick and easy smoothies.
This week’s favourite mix: 1 cup frozen kale, 1 ripe banana, 1/2-2/3 cup frozen mango chunks, 1.25 cup almond milk, 1/2 scoop wheatgrass powder, 1 tbsp chia seeds.
So refreshing. :)
Have a wonderful Friday!
“We are all functioning at a small fraction of our capacity to live fully in its total meaning of loving, caring, creating and adventuring. Consequently, the actualizing of our potential can become the most exciting adventure of our lifetime.” – Herbert Ottto
Love that you just add frozen fruit bits to your smoothies…how easy is it to pull something out of the freezer that is peeled, cubed and ready? Love it, and will try this whole chia seeds in smoothie thing…I’m skeptical but I’ll try! I just cant get over Chia pets!
dont worry they are tasteless! And I cant detect them in a smoothie at all.
WOW! Both the cereal and the smoothie look so delicious! I have some fresh mangoes that are almost rip so I’m going to try that smoothie as soon at they are ready :D
WOW! Both the cereal and the smoothie look so delicious! I have some fresh mangoes that are almost ripe so I’m going to try that smoothie as soon at they are ready :D
The Green Monster looks so beautifully GREEN!! haha. And the chocolate chip cookie dough breakfast cereal sounds like the BEST CEREAL EVER! Fabulous idea!
The chocolate chip cookie dough cereal sounds so yummy! I’m going to have to try that out soon! My parents have two planter boxes just like yours in their backyard and they absolutely love them. Plants grow very well in them. My mom plants 8 tomoato plants every year in each and they grow to be huge with a ton of fruit on them.
Your garden is going to be so awesome, and I am looking forward to pretty pictures of it. You grow girl! <— sorry, I couldn't help myself ;)
Yum! This looks amazing!!! Cookie dough is a serious weakness for me. I will have to try out this recipe. The smoothie looks delish too! Thanks for sharing.
www.birdietobe.blogspot.com
I am so proud of you guys for the progress you are making! You started this gosh darn it and you are certainly going to finish it! (unfortunatley, not usually the case with my incredible husband, oops did I say that out loud, joking)! :)
Now this is the new breakfast of champions! That has got to be the best Green Monster ever, eh? And those cookie dough balls…pretty pretty please? :)
hah dont worry I wont tell him. ;)
Dont get your hopes up too much…I could kill every plant by the end of the week!
Angela,
Not sure if you have ever tried VEGA – whole food optimizer, but its an amazing, completely vegan and gluten free, breakfast. Protein in the mix is derived from hemp, lentils, and brown rice only. So many good things in there also that help to balance my hormones, keep my full for a couple hours and give me energy all day. I havn’t felt the afternoon need for caffine in weeks since I started having a smoothy every morning. I started adding kale to it recently too to make my own version of the green monster! I highly recommend it for adding to your mix if you want to try something new! I use the chocolate mix and add banana, almond milk, and peanut butter for quite a delish combo. I have heard the berry mix is better though and might be more your style!
ps. haven’t posted much on here but wanted you to know I am absolutely inspired by your blog. Look forward to reading it everyday and you have helped me improve so many of my “disordered” eating habits by leading by example. Appreciate the constant support :)
Thank you Danielle!
I have not tried the whole food optimizer, but I do use the vega choc-o-lot made with pea protein (love it!) Do you know how the optimizer differs from their other powders?
From what I understand whole food optimizer is pretty similar to the cho-o-lot protein, just a little more of everything plus some addition benefits because its more like a meal replacement vs. protein replacement. Here a link to the website if you want to check it out for when you need a new batch!
http://myvega.com/products/whole-food-health-optimizer/features-benefits
Whew what a project! That might be the greenest green monster I have ever seen!
Banana mango is my staple Green Monster! Sometimes I put a little chocolate Amazing Grass powder in just for a kick.
LOVE how green and vibrant your monster is!
Haha I just saw Allie from LiveLaughEat eating cookie dough for breakfast. Now this is a trend I can jump on!
Your breakfast looks so yummy! your garden is making me want a yard even more than I did before! can’t wait to see how all your planting turns out!
Angela, you should go up the street to the mushroom farm and get some of their spent mushroom compost that is out front… it’s a great soil conditioner/fertilizer with no chemicals… and the best part, it’s free!
– Brittany
yes, we are going to supplement the triple mix with the mushroom compost too! What is the best way to transport it? lol
Strong men to shovel… and a trailer! lol
Your best bet would be to take some empty bins or garbage cans and fill them up… if you had access to a pick-up truck I would say just fill up the bed!
Good Luck!! :)
– Brittany
haha thanks!
Compost bin as a birthday wish?! How quirky and lovely:) I like the idea!
You had me at “Chocolate chip” :)
Getting those 2 garden beds ready must really have been a work out.
Compost bin: must have. We use ours all the time for all the fruit & veg and tea bags that we go through – except in the winter when it freezes. Then we use the city’s green bin collection service.
Thanks for the heads up on the PC frozen mango. I’ll have to give it a try.
I’ve just discovered putting kale in smoothies and i love it!
Thursday my blog totally rocked the PC frozen mango as well, lol!
Can’t wait to see what you grow in the garden :)
I love that you had cookie dough for breakfast (I had a blueberry cupcake) but it’s Friday so enjoy!!!
Your garden is looking good, I have one 4ft x 8ft raised bed and it’s been quite the workout getting it ready. Thanks for the companion list, now I know which of my veggies will be friends :)
Hiya Angela! That last quote is really beautiful. Think it’s gonna stick with me for a while. Might be my summer mantra!
M :)