A Dinner Story

Happy Friday peas-ful pea-ple! You made it through the week and congratulations are in order.  To end the week and begin the weekend festivities, we've brought you A Dinner Story.  This week we're celebrating Amber Estrada, a wonderful Mom of two totally adorable kids! Get ready for Amber's awesome meal ideas as well as some great tips on how to eat healthy during the busiest of weeks. 

Three cheers for Peas!

Where do you live?

"Livermore, California."

What are your kid's names and ages?

"Adeline 3years and Antonio 1year."

What meal do you make that you know, no matter what, your family will devour?

"It’s a tie….Macaroni & Cheese (they don’t even know it has vegetables hidden in) and homemade pizza."

What's your favorite Saturday morning breakfast to enjoy as a family?

"Scrambled Eggs, Turkey Bacon, and Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins…YUM.  We try to include the kids in the cooking as much as possible, so Saturdays are great because we’re not as rushed as the weekdays and we have lots of fun together in the kitchen."

What's your favorite Peas of Mind Product?

"The entire family loves Veggie Wedgies – we devoure Broccoli, Carrot, and Apple!  When we asked which flavor was our kid’s favorite, Adeline declared she loved them all and Antonio cheered (I’ll take that as all of them as well)!  Adeline is a very picky eater so her love of Veggie Wedgies shows how fantastic they are!"

How many times per week do you cook from scratch?

"At least 4 nights a week; we spend time on Sundays prepping food for the week so we can still have healthy options with our busy schedules."

What's your go to "I'm feeling unhealthy and need a nutrient-power punch" meal?

"Salmon, Quinoa, and Brussel Sprouts."

What kitchen tool could you never live without?

"Our food processor/blender is a necessary tool used daily!"

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

"Hawaiian Pizza."

Reinventing a Baseball Classic

The end of spring and the beginning of summer is a fabulous time of year for many reasons but here in San Francisco, this seasonal shift signifies that Baseball season is in full swing. One of our favorite things about going to a game is the classic bleacher food. What’s better then devouring ballgame fries while watching your favorite team hit a home run? Well that’s simple: devouring garlic fries! What could possibly be better then garlic fries, you ask?  EASY: munching on Veggie Wedgie garlic fries from the comfort of your own home! Not only are they delicious AND fat-free, they also contain TWO whole servings of veggies for every serving of fries! We’re reinventing this classic dish by adding a Peas-full (aka healthy and delicious) twist!

Veggie Wedgie Garlic Fries

Ingredients

1 bag of Veggie Wedgies (we’re using cauliflower but feel free to substitute carrot or broccoli)

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 Tablespoons of olive oil (please note that the fries on their own are fat-free but adding this oil makes the garlic fries low-fat)

1/2 Teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoon of finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Pour about 2/3 of the bag of Veggie Wedgies on a baking tray (the tray should be full but you want to make sure that there is only a single layer).

Toss frozen Veggie Wedgies with garlic, oil, salt and about half of the chopped parsley until each fry is coated with the mixture.

Cook for 10-14 minutes or until the fries look crisp and golden brown (you also want the chopped garlic to look golden brown and adequately cooked).

Remove Veggie Wedgies from the oven and let cool for one minute. Toss fries with the remainder of parsley. Serve immediately while singing, “Take me out to the ballgame...”

Another week-end, another FORT FRYDAY!

It's Friday so let's all shout, TGIFF; Thank goodness it's FORT FRYDAY!  As you know, we're celebrating that Peas of Mind's Veggie Wedgies are now in military commissaries by featuring the spouse of a someone in the military.  This week our hometown hero is Erin, the amazing blogger behind Deployment Diatribes, a blog that chronicles the ups and downs of military life.

More from this week's hometown hero, Erin:

What branch of the military is your spouse in?
"My husband is in the Navy."

How long have you been a military wife?
"17+ years."

Do you have kids? If so, what are their ages?
"I have four boys, ages 5, 9, 12 and 14." 

Why did you start your blog and what can you tell us about it?
"I started The Deployment Diatribes on November of 2010, a few weeks before my husband left for a long deployment.  I write about the trials and tribulations of being a military wife and ups and downs of military family life, as well as no nonsense parenting issues. Sometimes, during deployment, knowing I could write about what was happening and make it a little funny got me through tough days."

What is the best thing about base life?
"The best thing about base life, and what I miss from not living on one, is being surrounded by people who understand what it is like to be part of the military."

What is your favorite food to prepare for your family?
"Homemade bread, I make it every week."

You are on a deserted island and can only bring one thing...Go!
 "A very long book."

 Is Military wife life what you thought it would be?

"I don't think anyone can know what military life is like if they haven't lived it.  A military wife has to be independent, able to do pretty much anything at any time, but also supportive of her husband in his career.  I had no idea what it would be like, but I wouldn't trade the past years for anything."

Spring Clean YOU!

If you read last week's PeasPerspective, hopefully you were inspired to spring clean and give your kitchen a makeover!  Now that your cupboards are organized, your pantry is filled with pure, clean food and your fridge is stocked with fresh spring produce - it’s time to spring clean YOU!  This is the perfect time of year to clean out your body and re-set your metabolism by utilizing all the amazing seasonal produce that naturally helps your body spring clean.

A spring cleanse can be whatever you want it to be; some people juice, some make smoothies, some eat nothing but grapefruit, some go vegan. There are no rules when it comes to a cleanse, it’s just important to listen to your body and do what works for you.  Here at Peas of Mind, we’re doing a simple weeklong spring cleanse that consists of adding in purifying produce into our usual diet and eliminating sugar.  It's time to clean up all of the mess from the past year so that we can shed our winter skin and enjoy the new season!

Here is an example of a day on our Spring Cleanse:

Spring in your step morning smoothie: 

• 1 grapefruit peeled (Cleanses the body of heavy metals, viruses and cholesterol. Detoxifies the liver, blood and intestines.)
• 1 apple cored (Helps eliminate toxic build up.)
• 4 kale leaves (Powerful antioxidants rids the body of harmful substances.)
• ½ cup of blueberries (Acts as an antibiotic and helps protect your brain.)
• squeeze of lemon (Detoxifies the liver.)
• ½ cup of ice
• ½ cup of almond milk 

Salad of Champions (We recommend making a HUGE salad of all your favorite produce but here are a few of our favorite foods that help with cleansing):

• watercress (Eliminate carcinogens from the body.)
• legumes (Regulates blood sugar, cleanses the intestines and has anti-cancer properties.)
• celery (Detoxifies the body of free radicals and helps alkalize the body.)
• beets (Detoxifies intestines and liver.)
• seaweed...we prefer dried nori, sprinkled on the top of the salad. (Eliminate Radio active waste and heavy metals from the body.)

Dressing of Champions (Again, these are just some great additions to help boost the health properties of your dressing):

• flaxseed oil (An amazing source of Omega-3 fatty acid which is an incredible full body cleaner.)
• lemon
• turmeric (Comes in a powder form, cleanses the body of viruses and antioxidants has cancer and arthritis fighting properties; detoxifies the liver.)

Garlic Fries (A great side dish while cleansing to alleviate any feelings of deprivation):

• Cauliflower Veggie Wedgies (fat-free and vegan and contain one serving of veggies)
• garlic (Cleanses respiratory tract as well as eliminates bacteria and parasites from the blood and intestines. In)
• parsley (Cleanses the kidneys and boosts the immune system)
• olive oil (Controls inflammation and boosts the immune system)