Earthly Edibles

Get the tomatoes while they are still plentiful. This tomato salad includes purple Cherokee, yellow pear, stripey,and rose from our garden with a brandywine, red and green zebra ones from the Asheville City tail gate market. I then added purple and green basil leaves and some local mozzarella cheese! I tossed the salad with a [...]

When I think of Labor Day weekend, two of the things that I think about are the fact that the peaches will become few and far between locally and the apples will become plentiful! Two weeks ago my husband and I headed to the farmer’s market and bought a big basket of peaches and froze [...]

It is wild blueberry season here in Western North Carolina. Be sure to save some for the bears and birds. Blue berries and other berries are rich in vitamin C, fiber and phytochemicals that add benefits to our health. They are also make a low calorie dessert! This year, I froze a few berries and [...]

I have just turned a new leaf! If you have read my previous posts, you may have noticed my focus on local, fresh plant -based foods.  There is now  a new name and look for my blog to capture this. Stay tuned for more recipes using fresh, whole ingredients, stories of local families farmers, restaurants [...]

In Western North Carolina, there is a vast availability of wonderful and healthy local food and I am going to share some of these with you in my series titled “Healthy Mountain Harvest”. I am starting with one of my new favorites, the Sunburst Trout Farm outside of Canton, North Carolina. Recently, I had the [...]

For many people the barbeque grill is not the same without a serving of meat. Choices should be lean, such as sirloin, pork loin, loin chops, chicken or fish. To lower saturated fat, take off the skin from poultry even after grilling and trim off visible fat. Try fish in a foil packet, this prevents [...]

As Fourth of July and summertime in general slips upon us, I think of spending more time outdoors which includes eating there also. Whether you are having a picnic or a barbeque with family and friends, make your choices healthy and delicious. Choose the majority of your meal as low calorie, seasonal veggies such as [...]

I love this time of year when trees and flowers start to bloom and the local produce becomes available. This month in Asheville will be the grand opening of the City Market downtown and also it is the time of year for the Mountain Tailgate Markets to be springing up around the area. Some foods [...]

With today’s focus on eating less, it can be refreshing to be encouraged to eat more of a food group. Vegetables are rich in vitamins and minerals and have many other plant properties that help prevent disease. They are very low in calories with an average of about 25 calories per one-half cup to one [...]

I am helping coordinate a program called 31 Days of Nutrition in honor of National Nutrition Month for our local dietetic association (Western North Carolina Dietetic Association). Together, we are trying to teach a class 31 days to area elementary schools on nutrition and local foods. Appalachian Sustainable Agricultural Project (ASAP) www.asapconnections.org is partnering with [...]