More Growing Raw

Newsletter October 2011

Dear Friends of Growing Raw,

Spring is being very good to us out on our bush block in sunny Carwoola, Australia. The bathtub of herbs is in riot, the roses are flourishing and the deciduous trees are reminding us that they’re here with a vibrant show of bright, glossy leaves. Parrots, magpies and finches have been pairing up like crazy and sing to each other all day. The kids even seem to grow faster in Spring!

I’ve been busily planting lettuce, spinach, cabbage, chillies, tomatoes and celery in my bathtub planters on the deck. Down in Polytown Bruce has filled up seven out of eight beds already with zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, beetroot, onions, garlic, coriander, basil and cucumbers. He’s planted double the squash this year as it seems to be our baby nephew Vin’s favourite now that he’s experimenting with solids. Bruce is a far more meticulous gardener than I am, so whilst he takes three times as long to plant, the survival rate of his seedlings is at least double mine. I still prefer to do it more quickly, but I have to plant twice as much.

The Weekly Vegetable Juicing Project

I’m really looking forward to a glut of garden-fresh cucumbers this year, because I’ve launched the family into a weekly vegetable juicing project. On Juicy Mondays, I experiment with a different fresh vegetable juice recipe and try it out on the family. We’re about a month in and already enjoying higher energy levels and clearer skin.

Vegetable juicing also helps me make sure that the kids are reaching their target of 3 vegetable servings each day. As long as there isn’t anything too strongly flavoured in the juice, such as ginger or coriander, they happily suck it down. Their favourite so far has been this outstandingly purple Beetroot and Carrot Juice. The pink wees the following day were the icing on the cake...

I’d love more people to join us on this adventure, so check out our progress and try some of the recipes yourself at freshvegetablejuicerecipes.com.

New Articles on Growing Raw

Vegetable Gardening
For those of you with limited time (or motivation) for growing your own food, check out this page on Vegetable Garden Projects That Take Only Ten Minutes A Day. For those of you who are well on your way, but looking out the window and finding your garden in a bit of a mess, check out these 3 Tips for Decluttering Your Vegetable Garden.

Raw Food Diet
I updated my Easy Raw Food Recipes page to include 5 great time-saving tips for preparing raw snacks and meals. If you’ve invented some of your own Raw Living Food Recipes you can share them here. If you’re feeling adventurous and interested in trying out some fancier recipes, then take a look at my top 3 recommendations for Gourmet Raw Diet Recipes.

Blenders for Smoothies
I’ve been using blenders to make smoothies on a daily basis for years now, so I decided to share what I think makes a good blender. If you’re in the market for a new blender, check out these 12 Questions to Help You Find the Best Blender.

Til next month, wishing you all the best in health...

Trina

p.s. Think about what a regular vegetable juicing habit could do for your health and get on board with the weekly juicing project at FreshVegetableJuiceRecipes.com

p.p.s. Don’t forget Growing Raw’s first e-book is now available. Veg Up shows you how to build healthy habits for a lifetime.


User Reviews of
Starwest Botanicals

My selection of herbs and spices were delivered quickly and were of the best quality I have seen. Great service, fantastic products. Fresh organic herbs from a supplier I trust. - Susan S.

Overall, it was a very positive experience.... they treated me in an exemplary manner when I first ordered from them. I got exactly the product I needed/ordered/expected vis-a-vis the sprouting wheatgrass seeds. I would certainly order from them again for anything that specific. - geo442