Meadowbrook School in Rapid City receives grant to encourage kids to move more

Getting kids moving is so important to overall health. Nice to see an elementary school in Rapid City moving in the right direction. As reported by the Rapid City Journal, Meadowbrook School will receive a $168,000 state grant to expand education and infrastructure to encourage its students to walk and bike to school. Nice!

Now, if we can just look at those school lunches...

Six items or less .. it's a clothavore challenge!

Okay, another fun game. We've done the uber-locavore project, "Eat what is in your house ALREADY before trotting off to the grocery store" and the "Eat on $25 a week challenge". Here's something new!

What if you only had SIX items hanging in your closet and that was all you could choose to wear from for a month? According to the website, http://www.sixitemsorless.com/, there are some exceptions to the game: undergarments, coats, socks, shoes, work out clothes, pj's and accessories. Work-out clothes, hmmm... the issue is that you would actually have to work-out if you were wearing them.

What does this have to do with being a locavore? Well, locavores are interested in being smart with our time and resources. Who wants to waste a thing! So if I only have a few things in my closet, choosing an outfit will be a snap. It will be the month of the clothavore! Now, not only will I still be a regular at Crow Peak Brewing Co., I will look the same for a month sipping my frosty pint of IPA. Nice!

Why would you want to self-limit yourself (again, I am sure there is a therapist out there to tell me why I like to do these little challenges)? I think it's about freedom and thankfulness. When we have less choices, we actually have MORE freedom. IMHO with less, you don't spend time dealing with all the "stuff" which can equal more time to do what is really important to you. The second benefit is thankfulness. When we don't have as many choices, we become thankful for the choices we do have. I learned this first hand in my $25 a week challenge.

The fine people at http://www.sixitemsorless.com/ have already done this once and will be set for the second experiment mid September. Of course, you can do it yourself but it's really more fun with others.

Are you in?

You can sign up here.

Beet Greens!

Fresh Spearfish beet greens from Gage's Gardens

Popped these beet greens on top of pasta.  Delicious!

Don't toss your beet greens!  This recipe from www.simplyrecipes.com and is so delicious (I changed it just a bit).  My beet greens came from a huge pile of greens at Gage's Gardens and most of the stems were small and totally usable in this recipe.  Make sure to ask for them.  Any woody stems and those leaves that needed to go, went into my compost pile out behind the shed in the backyard.

Beet Greens

1 lb beet greens (I used one very packed plastic grocery bag full) - you can use the stems if small
1 tbl bacon fat and one piece of crispy bacon
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 large minced garlic clove
3/4 cup water
1 tbl sugar
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/6 cup cider vinegar

1.  Wash greens in sink filled with cold water, drain and do it again.  Cut into bit sized pieces.
2.  In a large skillet, cook bacon until lightly brown with the bacon fat.  I know, this sounds weird but makes it extra good.  Add onion, cook over medium heat about 5-7 minutes, stirring a bit until onions start to brown.  Stir in garlic and add water to hot pan to loosen any brown particles from the bottom of the pan (really scrape).  Stir in sugar and red pepper. Bring mixture to boil.
3.  Add the beet greens, gently toss in the onion mixture so the greens are well coated.  Reduce to low, cover and simmer about 10 minutes until the greens are tender.  Stir in vinegar.

Add this mixture to pasta and wow, a full meal!