TGIFF

Let's all take one big sigh of relief because it's Friday, FORT FRYDAY to be exact!  The long week has come to an end, the weekend is almost here and Peas of Mind's Veggie Wedgies are now in military commissaries; there's just so much to be happy about!  

This week we're celebrating Jessica Pomponio, a mother, wife and hometown hero living in Washington state.  Thank you for all your hard work Jessica, today is your day!  

More from this week's hometown hero, Jessica:

What branch of the military is your spouse in?
"My husband is currently a captain in the United States Army."

How long have you been a military wife?

"I have been a military wife since May but involved in the military since August 9, 2010.

Do you have kids?  

"We have one child, a daughter who is one. She was born in February."

Do you or have you lived on base? Which one?

"We currently live on base. We live in the town center on Fort Lewis."

What is the best thing about base life?
"The best thing about base life would have to be living so close to my husband's work which allows him to come home for lunch. Is the highlight of my day."

What is your favorite food to prepare for your family?

"My favorite food to prepare for my family would be pasta. My daughter just loves pasta."

You are on a deserted island and can only bring one thing...Go!

"I  would have to bring a blanket. Can be used for so many different things such as shelter and can keep you warm.

Is Military wife life what you thought it would be?

"No, I never thought much about military life. I grew up in southern California and the army isn't something you see everyday. So when my husband warned me about the life i didn't think much about it. It has its downsides but also makes you appreciate life."

Spring Cleaning

After a long, cold winter, spring has finally sprung (or at least here in Northern California).  The days are getting longer, the daffodils are in bloom and the pressure to spring clean is weighing on you.  The time to come has come to organize that closet that has become a giant knick-knack drawer, recycle the magazines that have been piling up in your office and finally take a trip to Goodwill to donate that “donation pile” at the bottom of your closet. But like most people, you probably aren't planning on cleaning the most important room in the house.  That room is…the kitchen, namely the cupboards, pantry and the refrigerator.

Not only is this a chance to organize and wipe away all of the dust that has accumulated over the past 12 months…it’s your chance to give yourself a Kitchen makeover.   We’ve laid out a 5-step plan that will leave you with an organized, clean, accessible and nutrient packed kitchen in a matter of hours.

1) Make a mess.  We’re big believers that it’s important to make a bigger mess before everything actually gets clean.  Make sure you have LOTS of free table and counter space and COMPLTELEY empty your refrigerator, pantry and cupboard.  Divide everything into four categories:

                1. The expiration date has passed and it's time to compost it.

2. Too many ingredients you can’t pronounce and not something you feel good about eating.

3.  Even though it’s open, it hasn’t expired and still looks good.

4. Yummy, I’d eat this tonight!

2) Compost, recycle and throw away everything from category one and two.  Wipe off, organize and repackage everything from category three and four. (Here at Peas of Mind we love storing our grains, beans and baked goods in mason jars…it looks so cute and makes the ingredients last longer). 

3) This is where the spring “cleaning” really comes into play.  Now that everything is empty, wipe off every surface, wash each vegetable drawer and really get into all the nooks and crannies of every corner, crevice and crack.  If your freezer is like ours and it needs a good spring clean, a quick way to defrost and wipe everything down without unplugging the whole fridge is to place a pot of boiling water in the freezer and let sit for 20 minutes.  After this time, you should be able to chip away the ice and wipe your freezer until it sparkles. 

4) Put everything from categories three and four into the appropriate storage space, admiring your new adorable jars, dust-free surfaces and all the free shelf space.

5) Fill the free space with items from our Pantry Staples that will give you Peas of Mind blog post. Also stock your squeaky clean vegetable drawers with spring produce like, Asparagus, Beets, Kale and of course, Peas.  Put out a fruit bowl that is easily accessible to everyone full of grapefruits, kiwis, oranges and strawberries so that your whole family can easily enjoy nature’s springtime treats!

The power of Elmo

Here at Peas of Mind, our mission is to get kids to eat their veggies (as well as give parents a little Peas of Mind about the food they are feeding their children).  We reinvent those unhealthy dishes kids love, like fries and pizza and infuse them with TONS of veggies, making nutritious versions of kid's favorites, the whole family will enjoy.  With that being said, we love hearing about great ways to get kids to eat their vegetables, which was why we were so intrigued by the Elmo Study.  The Elmo study was a study done that compared children’s choice of broccoli versus chocolate, “unsurprisingly, 78% of the kids chose the chocolate, and just 22% chose the broccoli. But when an Elmo sticker was placed on the broccoli and an image of a generic cartoon character was stuck on the chocolate, half of the children chose the broccoli. 

This got us wondering, do you have any tricks up your sleeves when it comes to enticing your children to choose broccoli over chocolate? We knew a mom who called all vegetables “sports candy” and her son just loved his “sports candy.”  He would gobble down, Brussels sprouts (his favorite variety of “sports candy”) because it made him strong, powerful and ready to play his favorite sport, soccer.   Share your stories with us and let other parents know how you get their kiddos to scarf down broccoli, brussel sprouts and beets. 

Find out more about the Elmo Study here:
http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/outreach/brand.html 

FORT FRYDAYS are BACK!

TGIFF stands for Thank goodness it's FORT FRYDAY.  After a one week hiatus, Fort Frydays are back to bring in the weekend.  As you know, we're celebrating that military families can now buy our non-fat, vegetable loaded Veggie Wedgies in military commissaries!

This week we're celebrating Kristine Schellhaas, the founder of USMC Life, hometown hero and military wife.  USMC Life is an incredible resource for Military families;  providing an overview of every major Marine Corps base focusing on specific base information, military housing and photos, schools, youth programs and sports. It's got everything!  Thanks for everything you've done for military families, Kristine, you truly deserve a celebration and some yummy veggie fries of course.

More From This Week's Hometown Hero, Kristine Schelhaas:

How long have you been a military wife?

"We have been a military family for almost eleven years. I first met my Marine at the age of nineteen; we dated for six years before we married in 2002.  We have two kids: my big second grader who is eight, and my pre-k darling who is four. My husband and I met in our hometown of Boise, Idaho in college where most of our family lives today."

What made you start your website, USMC Life?

"I kept thinking about how Marine wives needed a place to go online to find out more about the Marine Corps. It really takes a few years to get to know the area, so what happens if you don’t know someone to ask advice from? I started asking friends to participate and give me feedback on the major Marine bases and voila, USMC Life was born three years ago. I added a blog last year to add a new element to the site so people could relate to other people’s military and family life."

Do you or have you lived on base? Which one?

"I love base living. When we first were stationed at Camp Pendleton, we chose to live off base because my husband wanted to get a break from the Marine Corps. I was pretty lonely because I was away from the community. We decided to move on base after my husband returned from deployment and I have loved every minute of it. We currently are back living on Camp Pendleton!"

What is the best thing about base life?

"The community hand’s down. I love our neighborhood. Everyone is so great about supporting each other, keeping an eye out for one another’s kids, bringing each other meals, joining together in events and more."

What is your favorite food to prepare for your family this time of year?

"Something about winter just screams comfort food. I love to buy vegetables in season and cook up a great soup or chicken pot pie with mashed potatoes."

You are on a deserted island and can only bring one thing...Go!

"My husband! He would take control and make sure everything is okay. Plus if anyone knows survival stuff, he's the perfect guy for the job."

Is Military wife life what you thought it would be?

No. I really didn’t know what to expect from military life. I had this idea that we would be living a glamorous life, traveling the world, and living these great adventures. This is partially true, but it gets pretty lonely and stressful at times. The best part is building the community around each other and making each other’s lives better."

It's Shamrocky Shake time!

St. Patrick’s day is coming up and we’re so excited to welcome Spring with this magical March holiday. One of the coolest things about St. Patrick’s day is that it’s a celebration of the color green; green clothes, green leprechauns, green clovers and green food!  When it comes to food, you can’t get any better then green – kale, avocados, kiwi, spinach and (lets not forget about) broccoli veggie wedgies!  So why dye your food with artificial food coloring when we can just use what nature gave us to add some St. Patty’s Day festivities to our food?!

Nothing says St. Patrick’s Day more then the refreshingly minty Shamrocky Shake:

We’re reinventing this classic St. Patrick’s Day dessert and turning it into a tasty, vitamin packed treat, perfect for both you and all the little leprechauns in your life!

Ingredients:

·1 can of unsweetened lite coconut milk

·5-pitted dates

·2 heaping tbs of almond butter

·3-5 sprigs of mint

·1 cup of chilled mint tea

·1/8 tsp of peppermint extract

·1-2 leaves of kale

·3 cups of ice

Remove mint leaves from the stem and place in a blender with dates (make sure all the dates are pitted) and add the whole can of coconut milk and blend until smooth (you want to make sure that the dates and mint leaves are completely blended).  Combine all other ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.  Add more ice and/or kale to get the desired consistency and color.

Makes 4 servings

Eating Healthy and Vitamin Absorption

We all strive to eat foods that are high in vitamins and minerals but did you know that if you combine your foods in a certain way your body will absorb significantly more of these nutrients?
We’ve compiled a list of easy ways to make sure that all the time, money and thought your put into eating healthy pays off.

Vitamin C and Iron absorption:
Vitamin C is a fantastic way to make sure that your body is getting the most out of the iron you’re eating, whether it’s in the form of supplements or food.  This can mean squeezing a bit of lemon on your kale, throwing some strawberries on your spinach salad, taking your iron supplement with a glass of orange juice or eating an iron rich meal and washing it down with a glass of OJ.  With that being said, it’s best to avoid caffeinated beverages (ie: black tea and coffee) and dairy when getting your daily dose of iron because this hinders absorption.

Vitamin D aka sunshine and Calcium absorption:

Getting your daily dose of vitamin D via 15 minutes in the sun will help your body absorb calcium.  On those warmer days take your lunch outside, roll up your sleeves and feel the goodness of vitamin D and calcium. 

Unsaturated Fats helps Vitamin A, D, K and E absorption:

Remember that it’s not the early 90s any more and the fat free craze is over (there is such a thing as GOOD FATS).  Fat Soluble vitamins such as A, D, K and E need fat to absorb into the body.  So instead of using fat free dressing, make your own by combining 3 parts olive oil and flax seed oil 1 part balsamic vinegar, a dollop of Dijon and a tiny scoop of jam and salt and pepper to taste and VOILA, you have a delicious balsamic vinaigrette. Avocado's are another great source of unsaturated fat!

Good Digestion

Good digestion is also important when it comes to getting the most out of your food so remember to CHEW your food, get some probiotics everyday (in the form of yogurt, kombucha, pickles, etc.) and don’t over eat.

Following the simple steps above will help you get the most out of the food you’re eating, the vitamins you’re taking and of course, just give you a little PEAS OF MIND about your health!