Plant pruning 6/1/13

Decided to prune some of my tomatoes again this year, they're getting way too tall, and not warm enough outside this year yet

6/1/13 - tallest plant snipped

6/1/13 - then a few more tomatoes...the cherry tomatoes got the tallest

 6/1/13 -pruned one pepper plant too

6/1/13 - and another tomato plant

6/1/13 - this one already flowered! In desperate need of a bigger pot...and some water this morning to perk up!

6/1/13 -unfortunately I don't have the room to re-pot all my tomatoes!

Cilantro harvest & Soup

 5/31/13 - cilantro ready for harvest:)

  5/31/13 - just enough for my soup

 5/31/13 - made some veggie soup (my first day of 2nd liver flush cleanse) Soup made with organic veggie broth, zucchini, broccoli, cucumber, carrots and swiss chard steams...and organic spices and lots of cayenne pepper...topped off with freshly harvested cilantro^_^ Delicious!

Cocoa with date sugar

I've upgraded my cocoa yet again, a notch higher in the healthy category by substituting the coconut palm sugar with date sugar (which is basically dried ground up dates). It's delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 mug of unsweetened Almond milk
• 2 tsps date sugar
• 1 heap tsp raw cacao powder
• 1 tsp maca poweder
• 1/4 tsp betaine (from sugar beets)
• 3 drops Loving Energy
• 1/2 tsp Ho Shu Wu 
• 1/4 tsp Cordyceps (not included but usually add this) 

Recipe

Heat up the almond milk on the stove on high heat. After slightly warm, I sift in the cocoa powder, maca powder, ho shou wu, and add the date sugar. I then whisk it until optimally dissolved, not letting it reach a boil.  I turn off the stove, strain out whatever ho shou wu & cocoa doesn't dissolve. Strain it again back into the pan on high heat to warm it back up.  When it's hot enough, pour into mug, and add 3 drops of Loving Energy...which is an amazing tonic blend of herbs.  Delicious! Date sugar isn't as sweet as other alternatives, so add according to taste...2 tsps were enough for me, the maca and cocoa along with the ho shou wu add so much flavor for me that I don't need much to sweeten it up. 

Date Sugar

Date sugar is a wonderful sugar substitute that is healthy for kids and adults, and it tastes great. Date sugar  is not processed, or refined and it is loaded with  fiber, vitamins and minerals.  Date sugar is a light brown, pretty color and has a very wonderful taste.

Date sugar is just GROUND UP DATES!

Date sugar is a natural sugar made by grinding up dates. It is very healthy for you and tastes really good.

• 1 cup of refined processed sugar can be replaced by 2/3 cup of date sugar, to 1 cup of sugar depending on the taste you are going for.
•  

Health Benefits of Dates and Date Sugar

1. DATE SUGAR IS PACKED WITH VITAMINS AND MINERALS
Date sugar is loaded with vitamins and minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, iron, copper, manganese, and selenium; where white sugar does not.
What a wonderful thing to be able to make healthy muffins, healthy cookies, pancakes, waffles, bread and healthy desserts with a sugar substitute like date sugar that has vitamins and minerals it it.

2. DATES MAKE YOU FEEL FULL LONGER
Date sugar is packed with  fiber, protein and carbs which make you feel full much longer. This can help to curb hunger and help prevent weight gain.

3. HELP WITH CIRCULATION
Date sugar is loaded with Potassium and actually has more potassium per serving size than bananas do. Potassium has many health benefits including helping to prevent cramps in kids as they grow bigger.

4. DATE SUGAR IS LOW IN CALORIES
Date sugar is low in calories at 288 calories for a 1/2 of cup of date sugar; compared to white refined sugar which has 387 calories per 1/2 cup.

5. TIRED MOM’S CAN BOAST THEIR ENERGY WITH DATE SUGAR
Dates are considered to be one of the best energy boosting snacks as they are power-packed with 29 grams of natural sugars such as glucose, sucrose and fructose.

Within an hour of eating dates, you will notice an increase in energy.

6. DATES ARE KNOWN TO HELP PREVENT INTESTINAL PROBLEMS
Eating dates consistently helps to increase the good bacteria that is in the intestines.
What a fun way to eat dates by making living healthy desserts with date sugar.

7. FORTIFY YOUR HEART WITH DATE SUGAR
Eating dates even twice a week has been shown to help fortify the heart. Adding date sugar in your baked treats is a great way to add dates into your life.

8. DATES ARE WLL KNOWN IN HELPING TO PREVENT CONSTIPATION
Dates are known for being wonderful in helping to be regular and prevent constipation.

9. HIGH CONCENTRATION OF POLYPHENOLS-WHICH IS IN GREEN TEA
-According to researchers at the University of Scranton in Scranton Pennsylvania, dates have the highest concentration of poly-phenols among dried fruits. Poly-phenols is what is inside of wine and green tea that has gained so much attention for health practitioners.

By The Living Healthy Mom

Dates (Phoenix dactylifera), medjool,
Nutritive Value per 100 g
(Source: USDA National Nutrient data base)

Principle	Nutrient Value	Percentage of RDA
Energy	277 Kcal	14%
Carbohydrates	74.97 g	58%
Protein	1.81g	3%
Total Fat	0.15 g	<1%
Cholesterol	0 mg	0%
Dietary Fiber	6.7 g	18%
Vitamins
Folates	15 µg	4%
Niacin	1.610 mg	10%
Pantothenic acid	0.805 mg	16%
Pyridoxine	0.249 mg	19%
Riboflavin	0.060 mg	4.5%
Thiamin	0.050 mg	4%
Vitamin A	149 IU	5%
Vitamin C	0 mg	0%
Vitamin K	2.7 µg	2%
Electrolytes
Sodium	1 mg	0%
Potassium	696 mg	16%
Minerals
Calcium	64 mg	6.5%
Copper	0.362 mg	40%
Iron	0.90 mg	11%
Magnesium	54 mg	13%
Manganese	0.296 mg	13%
Phosphorus	62 mg	9%
Zinc	0.44 mg	4%
Phyto-nutrients
Carotene-ß	89 µg	--
Crypto-xanthin-ß	0 µg	--
Lutein-zeaxanthin	23 µg	--

Garden update 5/29/13

My garden isn't doing as well as I'd hoped:( I hadn't been by it for almost a week because it's been raining nonstop so I figured they were doing great...however I didn't let them get used to the outside by taking them outside a few hours a day for about a week before transplant...and some plain shrivled and died:( Like my 4 Zucchini, which I thought would be too many! but now there are none...aww

 Lettuces...some didn't make it

 chamomile seeds from last year coming up nicely

 about half the spinach in this row are coming up

 a majority of these spinach plants are coming up

 my poor poor zucchinis that didn't make it...they totally dried up! Regardless of the constant non-stop rain

 the Michihili cabbage are doing great!

 As are the bok choi...doing very well...better than last year because I covered them...last year they got eaten up when small, but still did great!

 The collard greens seem to be doing ok

 The Red Russian kale are doing ok too, at least this one....the other kales not so much:(

 The first row...with the michihili cabbage and bok choi and collard greens...this row is doing well

The others...not so much...but still will have a great season!

Plants update 5/29/13

 5/29/2013 - Cherry tomato getting super tall! Contemplating pruning it like last year or not...

 5/29/2013 - Cilantro ready to eat...

 5/29/2013 - Holy basil growing well ^_^

5/29/2013 - lots of marigold seeds

5/29/2013 - If anyone would like some just let me know...

Garden Plan 2014

My 2014 Garden plan:) I love the Garden planner on territorial seed company website.  It assures you can have a successful garden! It helped make my 1st garden last year a huge success, as well as this year. Allowing me to know where to, and where not to plant the same crops, how far to space them etc. Check out the site here... http://gardenplanner.territorialseed.com
Marked the crops with brown lines where I've planted so far...