Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Does this happen to you?
This past weekend one of our very own Peas of Minders here in the office made the deliciously refreshing Watermelon Salad that was posted as our last month's reci-pea. She noticed that after being stored in the fridge, the dressing ended up getting clumpy and cloudy. She took a photo of it and we all had our theories; is it the temp of the fridge or did the oil spoil? The less than appetizing dressing ended up (tragically) down the drain and the watermelon salad was left as, well just, watermelon.
Why does salad dressing get cloudy and weird when you store them in the fridge? Well, it's because of the oil in the dressing; oils will thicken up and get cloudy in cooler temperatures. When you take the dressing out of the fridge and let it get back to room temperature the cloudiness goes away and happiness is restored. As a general rule of thumb, home made dressings tend to last roughly 7-10 days in air tight containers in the fridge. However, the use of preservatives in store bought salad dressings allow the product to last longer so be sure to refer to the manufacturer's expiration date printed on the bottle or label if there is a question of whether or not the product has spoiled.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Beating the Back to School Blues
When I was a kid, the first week back to school meant early bedtimes, chaotic mornings and racing for the bus in new sneakers. It's a tough task to get back into a rigid routine after a couple months of fun in the sun and even harder when it involves waking up (extra) early to get it all going.
In an effort to kick the morning chaos to the curb as back-to-schoolers we got in the habit of getting everything -and I mean EVERYTHING- ready for the following day. We had to lay it all out so there was little to no decision making to be done in the morning. Book bags had to be packed, clothes picked out and ready to go, sports/activity equipment was practically out the door (and sometimes actually out the door) depending on how far into the season my lucky field hockey uniform went unwashed. Excessive preparations for the next day allowed us wiggle room if one of us decided to have a last minute meltdown. This way, my mom knew at the very least that most everything else was taken care of and that we would make it to school on time.
We are wondering what you do to keep ahead of the back to school rush that no doubt, some of you are going through this week and will do in the weeks to come. Any tips you can share with us and your fellow Peas fans that will help us all keep it together?
*We'd LOVE to see photos of your little ones on their first day so post 'em if you got 'em. VIPeas Passes (aka awesome coupons) for the first 4 to reply :)
In an effort to kick the morning chaos to the curb as back-to-schoolers we got in the habit of getting everything -and I mean EVERYTHING- ready for the following day. We had to lay it all out so there was little to no decision making to be done in the morning. Book bags had to be packed, clothes picked out and ready to go, sports/activity equipment was practically out the door (and sometimes actually out the door) depending on how far into the season my lucky field hockey uniform went unwashed. Excessive preparations for the next day allowed us wiggle room if one of us decided to have a last minute meltdown. This way, my mom knew at the very least that most everything else was taken care of and that we would make it to school on time.
We are wondering what you do to keep ahead of the back to school rush that no doubt, some of you are going through this week and will do in the weeks to come. Any tips you can share with us and your fellow Peas fans that will help us all keep it together?
*We'd LOVE to see photos of your little ones on their first day so post 'em if you got 'em. VIPeas Passes (aka awesome coupons) for the first 4 to reply :)
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Peas Pointers by Melanie Silverman
School is back in session and if you've got a picky eater at home check out our Peas Pointer by guest blogger Melanie Silverman of Feeding Philosophies.
If you have a picky eater, I bet the one food they will eat are those prehistoric animal shaped chicken nuggets.
While I tend to believe most foods can be part of a healthy diet, in my opinion, chicken nuggets are over served to kids. If you have a picky eater and you want them to eat a variety of foods, you must offer them. And, as hard as it may be, you cannot fall back on foods your picky eater will eat when they skip a meal or two. Kids will not starve themselves.
So go ahead. Roast broccoli. Grill fish. Bake sweet potatoes. Be patient. Picky eaters will try new foods. It just takes time. "
Peas,
Melanie
If you have a picky eater, I bet the one food they will eat are those prehistoric animal shaped chicken nuggets.
While I tend to believe most foods can be part of a healthy diet, in my opinion, chicken nuggets are over served to kids. If you have a picky eater and you want them to eat a variety of foods, you must offer them. And, as hard as it may be, you cannot fall back on foods your picky eater will eat when they skip a meal or two. Kids will not starve themselves.
So go ahead. Roast broccoli. Grill fish. Bake sweet potatoes. Be patient. Picky eaters will try new foods. It just takes time. "
Peas,Melanie
Thursday, August 9, 2012
We're Ready to Rock the Party that Rocks the Party
Recently, a lot of our fans have asked for more details about the San Francisco Street Food Festival. Here's an inside look at why our connection to the festival is so important to us.
On August 18th Peas of Mind will be joining roughly 80 other local food businesses here in SF for the 4th Annual SF Street Food Festival. Although we are a national brand now, Peas originated in the Vermont kitchen of Jill, our Founder and later got her start preparing mass production (by herself!) with the help of La Cocina's incubator program. La Cocina, the non-profit incubator kitchen located here in SF originally dreamt up and organized the first SF Street Food Festival and four years later, still successfully continues to do so- and let me tell you- it is awesome. Our relationship with La Cocina is one that we pride ourselves on and as a graduate of the program Jill has remained connected and active in the La Cocina community by serving as a mentor to program participants, is a member of their admissions committee and volunteers her time consulting with many of their food businesses.
Each year, La Cocina grants Peas an annual invite to their Street Food Festival; and we couldn't be more honored. Four years later, CNN has called this one of the world'd best food events, SF Weekly called it the most important event in food for the Bay Area and with sponsors like Saveur Magazine and Whole Foods we are expecting a turnout of over 50,000 people!
This year we are Ready to Rock the Party that Rocks the Party by showcasing all of our Peas products in our food truck and couldn't be more excited to be part of such a huge event for SF, La Cocina and the food community as a whole. With the amount of Tweeting, Facebooking, Instagramming and Blogging we keep seeing focused around the festival, it is no doubt going to be a super fun time!
If you're a local the the San Francisco Bay Area be sure to stop by our truck and say, "Hi" and for those that can't make the trip, we'll be sure to keep you in the loop with photos on our Facebook page all throughout the day!
On August 18th Peas of Mind will be joining roughly 80 other local food businesses here in SF for the 4th Annual SF Street Food Festival. Although we are a national brand now, Peas originated in the Vermont kitchen of Jill, our Founder and later got her start preparing mass production (by herself!) with the help of La Cocina's incubator program. La Cocina, the non-profit incubator kitchen located here in SF originally dreamt up and organized the first SF Street Food Festival and four years later, still successfully continues to do so- and let me tell you- it is awesome. Our relationship with La Cocina is one that we pride ourselves on and as a graduate of the program Jill has remained connected and active in the La Cocina community by serving as a mentor to program participants, is a member of their admissions committee and volunteers her time consulting with many of their food businesses.
Each year, La Cocina grants Peas an annual invite to their Street Food Festival; and we couldn't be more honored. Four years later, CNN has called this one of the world'd best food events, SF Weekly called it the most important event in food for the Bay Area and with sponsors like Saveur Magazine and Whole Foods we are expecting a turnout of over 50,000 people!
This year we are Ready to Rock the Party that Rocks the Party by showcasing all of our Peas products in our food truck and couldn't be more excited to be part of such a huge event for SF, La Cocina and the food community as a whole. With the amount of Tweeting, Facebooking, Instagramming and Blogging we keep seeing focused around the festival, it is no doubt going to be a super fun time!
If you're a local the the San Francisco Bay Area be sure to stop by our truck and say, "Hi" and for those that can't make the trip, we'll be sure to keep you in the loop with photos on our Facebook page all throughout the day!
Monday, August 6, 2012
Mid-Summer Reboot Juice Cleanse
Last week some of us here at Peas HQ went on a mid-summer reboot cleanse. All of the chips and salsa, too much time in the sun and yummy gelato had us feeling like we needed to hit the 'reset button' and get some nutrients the good 'ol fashioned way-by juicing of course!
We came up with our cleanse based on a February issue of Whole Living magazine we have been dying to try for months.
We set out to do the cleanse for three straight days since we really just wanted a quick nutrient boost without much of a commitment. Our program included juice for breakfast and lunch and then had lean protein, grains and vegetables for dinner. To satisfy the hunger pains (after all, our stomachs were expecting pita chips and chocolate) and to keep us hydrated we also added coconut water, herbal teas and flavored herbal waters throughout the day.
On day one we immediately realized that coffee was desperately missed and as such it was held to the utmost importance when sharing things we already missed. Pizza was talked about a lot over the three days as well as olive oil and cheeseburgers. We just kept lots of drinking water and making tea-we weren't going to break!
We knew we had to make six juices (two for each day of the cleanse) and wanted to keep it interesting so we would stay motivated to complete our goal of juicing for three consecutive days. Below are the Recipeas we made. Once you get started, try creating combinations by adding herbs and switching around vegetables and fruits-the possibilities are endless. Have fun and cheers to good health!
Here are some of our favorite Recipeas that satisfied our taste buds:
1. Beet Juice: 1 chopped small beet, 5 chopped carrots, 1 cored and chopped apple, 1/4 cup fresh mint sprigs
2. Carrot Juice: 5 chopped carrots, 1 inch of peeled ginger, 1 grapefruit, 2 oranges
3. Kale Juice: 5 leaves of kale, 1/3 cup of parsley sprigs, 5 leaves of romaine lettuce, 1 inch of peeled
ginger, 1/2 cup of pineapple
4. Our FaceBook Fan's Kale Juice: 5 leaves of kale, 5 chopped carrots, 1 cored and chopped apple, 1/4 cup fresh mint, 1/2 cup of pineapple
Helpful Juicing Tips
-Peeling the citrus and removing the pith made our juice tastier.
-Cutting the tops off of the carrots spared us a gritty flavor we didn't like.
-Add ice. We don't know why ice made everything extra tasty, but it did!
-Add water to provide more volume when the given ingredients don't yield enough juice or when you need to lower the intensity of the fruit and veg flavor.
Here is Peas Founder, Jill Litwin's dinner the first night of the cleanse. She had tuna, brown rice and kale.
Looking super healthy Jill!
Overall, we can all say that the cleanse was a great way to get ourselves back into the game for the rest of the summer. We felt healthy and hydrated after just three days of juicing and we are glad we did it. Now, it's time to figure out how to turn the rest of the juice into cocktails and popsicles and get back into the pool. Enjoy the rest of this awesome summer everyone!
Have any favorite juice blends that you swear by? Anyone doing a cleanse now, how's it going?
We came up with our cleanse based on a February issue of Whole Living magazine we have been dying to try for months.
We set out to do the cleanse for three straight days since we really just wanted a quick nutrient boost without much of a commitment. Our program included juice for breakfast and lunch and then had lean protein, grains and vegetables for dinner. To satisfy the hunger pains (after all, our stomachs were expecting pita chips and chocolate) and to keep us hydrated we also added coconut water, herbal teas and flavored herbal waters throughout the day.
On day one we immediately realized that coffee was desperately missed and as such it was held to the utmost importance when sharing things we already missed. Pizza was talked about a lot over the three days as well as olive oil and cheeseburgers. We just kept lots of drinking water and making tea-we weren't going to break!
We knew we had to make six juices (two for each day of the cleanse) and wanted to keep it interesting so we would stay motivated to complete our goal of juicing for three consecutive days. Below are the Recipeas we made. Once you get started, try creating combinations by adding herbs and switching around vegetables and fruits-the possibilities are endless. Have fun and cheers to good health!
Here are some of our favorite Recipeas that satisfied our taste buds:
1. Beet Juice: 1 chopped small beet, 5 chopped carrots, 1 cored and chopped apple, 1/4 cup fresh mint sprigs
2. Carrot Juice: 5 chopped carrots, 1 inch of peeled ginger, 1 grapefruit, 2 oranges
3. Kale Juice: 5 leaves of kale, 1/3 cup of parsley sprigs, 5 leaves of romaine lettuce, 1 inch of peeled
ginger, 1/2 cup of pineapple
4. Our FaceBook Fan's Kale Juice: 5 leaves of kale, 5 chopped carrots, 1 cored and chopped apple, 1/4 cup fresh mint, 1/2 cup of pineapple
Helpful Juicing Tips
-Peeling the citrus and removing the pith made our juice tastier.
-Cutting the tops off of the carrots spared us a gritty flavor we didn't like.
-Add ice. We don't know why ice made everything extra tasty, but it did!
-Add water to provide more volume when the given ingredients don't yield enough juice or when you need to lower the intensity of the fruit and veg flavor.
Here is Peas Founder, Jill Litwin's dinner the first night of the cleanse. She had tuna, brown rice and kale.
Looking super healthy Jill!
Overall, we can all say that the cleanse was a great way to get ourselves back into the game for the rest of the summer. We felt healthy and hydrated after just three days of juicing and we are glad we did it. Now, it's time to figure out how to turn the rest of the juice into cocktails and popsicles and get back into the pool. Enjoy the rest of this awesome summer everyone!
Have any favorite juice blends that you swear by? Anyone doing a cleanse now, how's it going?
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Reinventing the Classics
Who loves pizza and fries!? WE DO!
Often times people ask us about our process for creating our products so we thought we'd take a minute to explain how we do what we do. Here at Peas of Mind, Reinventing the Classics is our brand strategy and in our eyes, all food has the potential for being healthy, so the sky is the limit.
Getting started: We imagine our all time favorite foods; the classics done in a tasty and healthy way; prepared so that we can feel good about serving it to our families and ourselves. Depending on how much time we spend dreaming of food, this step can take a while :)
Moving right along: Take the classic and make it HEALTHY. This requires endless hours in the test kitchen tweaking, baking, tasting and finalizing the recipe. Vegetables tend to be tough for parents to feed their kids so we focus on delivering them in yummy and easy-to-eat foods. When creating products, our priorities are nutritional stats, taste and feel-good-ability, meaning; do we absolutely love this product or do we need to add some more TLC?
Lastly, Eat Peas! After the final recipe has been endlessly tested and tasted we roll into production and get it on the shelves for all of our lovely Peas lovers to enjoy.
Often times people ask us about our process for creating our products so we thought we'd take a minute to explain how we do what we do. Here at Peas of Mind, Reinventing the Classics is our brand strategy and in our eyes, all food has the potential for being healthy, so the sky is the limit.
Getting started: We imagine our all time favorite foods; the classics done in a tasty and healthy way; prepared so that we can feel good about serving it to our families and ourselves. Depending on how much time we spend dreaming of food, this step can take a while :)
Moving right along: Take the classic and make it HEALTHY. This requires endless hours in the test kitchen tweaking, baking, tasting and finalizing the recipe. Vegetables tend to be tough for parents to feed their kids so we focus on delivering them in yummy and easy-to-eat foods. When creating products, our priorities are nutritional stats, taste and feel-good-ability, meaning; do we absolutely love this product or do we need to add some more TLC?
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