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Jan 14 2015

Little Changes Bring Big Results

In my journey this last year I’ve learned some hard truths about myself. Some were great learning experiences, some were downright humbling. One thing is a constant though…I’m a different person than who I thought I was.

Whoa. I guess I never realized what kind of opinion I had of myself until I really saw myself through eyes that weren’t my own. This doesn’t mean it was always someone else’s opinion that changed mine.

I simply used the world as my eyes for some of these growing experiences. I realized that I’m not as materialistic as I thought I was. I realized that being a smoker goes against every holistic bone in my body. I realized I’m stronger than any force out there trying to knock me out.

My life morphed from one of entitled privilege to humble survival. I know the real definitions of need and want. I have gone from eating out for 99% of our meals to only 1% of our meals coming from somewhere other than my own kitchen.

Fast food to organic. Organic to vegetarian. Vegetarian to vegan.

It’s strange and exciting to acknowledge how different I feel. I feel powerful, in control and most of all, vibrant and alive. Today was my first trip to Natural Grocer where I only bought vegan foods. I was so proud of myself for passing up the eggs and cheese, two of my biggest vices! Instead I got hemp seeds and coconut oil. Yesss!

For me it’s a win/win these days. Eat better, spend less, feel amazing, wake up happy and content.
It’s the little changes that make life sweet!

Jan 03 2015

What is a “Tower Garden” Anyway?

Happy Saturday all of you Urban Farmers and Newbies!

You may be a new visitor to the site, and if so, I wanted to use today’s post as a way to give you a crash course in Tower Garden Farming and how it is revolutionizing the farming and food production industries.

More and more people are discovering what Tower Garden actually means, as brand recognition gets broader and word of mouth spreads. This has been a grass roots movement from the start, it took root and flourished. No fancy advertising budget, simply happy growers letting others know abut this innovative technology.

What is a Tower Garden Anyway?

Sometimes it’s easier to see what something is rather than just reading some text, so I wanted to add this cute little video, enjoy!

That is the basic breakdown of the Tower Garden. Easy to use, innovative technology and a great way to grow heirlom organic seeds without all the mess and chemicals or hard work, for that matter! Aeroponics requires no growing medium inside the growing chamber, which lowers costs and eliminates disposal issues. Because the Tower Garden technology recycles 100% of the nutrient solution, it uses up to 95% less water as compared with conventional organic farming. We also use up to 90% less land by growing vertically. Win/Win!

tower tomatos

There are so many different ways that the Tower Garden is being used today. From home gardeners growing one tower, to the San Francisco Giants adding them to their stadium garden. The possibilities are endless. At Dallas Urban Farms, we want to inspire you to get growing, and to assist in making that happen, no job is too small or too big!

I’d like to close with a couple of

“Notes from the Author”

I find the Tower Garden the most amazing product in the world because of the outreach opportunities that have become available to me since the birth of DUF. I constantly dream of urban farms in the worst parts of town, where hungry people can pick their own healthy, nourishing food. If you’re inspired by this kind of thing too, lets connect and see where our minds can take us. COMMUNITY outreach is a COMMUNITY responsibility.

Our elderly are missing the magic they felt in watching things grow. I am working on an initiative to donate Towers to Nursing Homes for residents to not only enjoy the therapeutic benefits of gardening, but the nutrition that comes from the food grown on Tower Gardens. If you are interested in this program, please click on “Hook Up” on the menu and contact me directly.

Education is another area that Dallas Urban Farms takes seriously. There have been many successful school applications for teaching kids about the science of food production. Check out this exciting video.
DISCLAIMER: I am not really a Wal-Mart supporter, but in this case I think they did a great thing.

All in all my journey with Tower Gardens has been encouraging, but the possibilities of what is still to come for Dallas Urban Farms is even more exciting! I believe that everyone deserves clean, affordable food. Lets get the word out and get everyone growing!

As always, thanks for reading, and I look forward hearing from you!

Peace and plenty to you and yours.

Jan 02 2015

A Survival Guide for 2015 and Beyond

It’s a brand new year! I’m so grateful for the ways in which my life has changed over the past year as the president of Dallas Urban Farms. I took about a year off from putting up new content in order to focus on the inner workings of the business. I have learned a lot of great new skills in the sales and marketing arenas. I’m excited to get started on using the website to speak to our community. I have also recently started utilizing social media as a way to get my message of clean eating and sustainable growing practices out to the masses; it’s so amazing to connect with people from all over the world who share some of the same passions as me simply through the internet. If you’re a first time visitor to the site, or if you’ve been a loyal follower, I welcome you back and look forward to where this year will lead us.

Now that I’ve laid out the welcome mat, I want to get into the nitty-gritty of today’s post. What exactly does “survival in 2015” mean? For me, the two basics that are most vital for the survival of the human race are easy: clean water and clean food. Sounds so simple, but in reality, we are living in a world that is systematically poisoning our bodies.

Let’s start with water. One only has to look at your local city government website and check out the water department. Do some digging, and you’ll find shocking revelations. In the vast majority of American cities and towns, the city actually pays for chemical wastes to be added to your water supply. I was shocked at how easy it is to find this information. If you think you’re drinking water with naturally occurring fluoride that “experts” say is beneficial, you’re probably going to be blown away. It’s an outrage that these huge chemical companies are able to dispose of harmful chemical production wastes by SELLING it to municipalities and in turn to the population through our water bills. If you would like a good starting point for your research into water, why not start with this well researched article? http://healthwyze.org/index.php/component/content/article/69-the-dangers-of-tap-water.html

Unfortunately the only way around drinking tap water that is filled with impurities and harmful chemicals, is to buy your water (in GLASS containers), utilize a rain catchment and filtration system or possibly dig a well. None of your options here are free. I find it deplorable that we cannot trust the water that comes to our homes to be safe for human consumption. The positive side of this would be that by changing the way you get the water that you need, you will send a message to the water department simply by using less of their tainted water. By supporting clean water initiatives and companies, you are taking a stand for your right to clean water. You need clean water, and if that means a new cost in your budget, it’s worth it to find something you can take out, like that cable bill, maybe ;)

This brings me to food. As many of you know, I am a fanatic when it comes to dirty and poisoned foods and all those food like substances being peddled about everywhere you turn. There has been a systematic and greed driven movement whose main goal is feeding corporate bank accounts rather than feeding humans real, unadulterated food. In the last couple of years I have dedicated hundreds of hours to researching food, and where it comes from. There is simply no excuse for humans anywhere to be hungry and in need of wholesome, nutritious food. Our planet, our home has provided us with exactly what we need. We’ve dyed it, sprayed it, killed it and changed its DNA. We’ve ruined entire natural ecosystems, practically bankrupted organic farmers and made saving seed a crime by actually patenting seeds. Wait, what?!? You cannot patent life! How dare anyone try to force people across the globe to use seed that they cannot trust nor save for the next planting season?

In America especially, where health concerns are constantly getting worse, we must be even more vigilant! If your food was made in a plant, it’s probably not food. Simply Google “Organic Restaurants” and your zip code right now. I’ll wait. Now if you would please, either comment on this post, or on either Instagram, Twitter or Facebook about what you found. Should be pretty interesting. I live in Dallas, a huge metro area, and there are a whole two organic eateries. TWO. And as a savvy consumer, I checked them out before I chose to eat there. One of the places actually had Borden Whole Milk in the glass front fridge. Um, no thanks. So that leaves me with one option if I want to eat out with friends or family. It’s amazing, I love the place, and if you’re ever in Dallas, hit up The Company Cafe on Lower Greenville. Great food and atmosphere, and adult beverages to boot. ORGANIC BOOZE for the win, folks.

Outside of this one place, I can’t go out to eat anymore. I know too much about what I would be paying for. It’s so disheartening to see 5000 fast food joints selling tacos, when they all use GMO corn and meat fed by GMO grains. They don’t offer organic veggies on those tacos either. A life without tacos sounded way to bleak for me. So my family decided to go 100% organic and to prepare our own delicious, safe foods. I am not going to lie and say it was an easy transition. There were challenges for sure, but the trade off has been truly amazing. Our health has improved to the point where we don’t use medicines anymore. We eat like kings, or better yet, like our great-grand parents did!

But isn’t it too expensive to eat only organic? I hear this all the time If you spend your food dollars wisely, it is NOT too expensive to be organic. I understand the challenge here. I really do. I hate to knock a “natural food” store, but I know from personal experience and interviews with several people, that a lot of folks think Whole Foods or Central Market are the only places to shop for clean organic foods. The sad reality here is that more that 80% of the food items at Whole Foods and CM are processed and contain GMOs. Here’s where knowledge becomes power. You must learn where in your community you can find sources for clean foods. If you can make the decision to eat only organic, you’ll actually SAVE money. It’s true. Think of every trip to the convenience store for soda and snacks, think of the highway robbery at the movie concession stand. Coffee retailers, vending machines, overpriced food at sporting events, liquor out at bars; the list goes on and on.

There’s a lot of money being spent within those different little “budgets” that are rarely taken into account when you look at where you spend money on food. Now think about shopping like a chef would shop. You want the freshest and best quality ingredients for your creations. If you’re into pizza, make your own organic pizza, and you’ll never pay for another pizza delivery again. This holds true for pretty much anything you could possibly want to eat. Natural Grocer is a great place to start in your search for organic food to prepare at home. The point here is that you must care enough to try. You’ll quickly see how eating at home and putting thought into what you prepare will help you afford better ingredients and quality time making the food that you eat.

As I move forward this year, I hope to offer better food production solutions to gardeners, farmers, restaurants, moms and dads, college students and corporations all around the world. I have honed my skills this last year, and I am ready to take on the world. If you are local to Dallas and would like to discuss collaborative efforts to bring awareness and activism to those in our local community, please reach out. I am always looking for ways that I can make a difference and take part in a larger movement.

Great news for Dallas Urban Farms! More and more people are seeing the amazing results you get by growing up! This holiday season both Jessica Alba and Reese Witherspoon posted on instagram about their towers, how cool is that? They were also featured in Better Homes and Gardens this past May! And last but not least, the SF Giants included towers in their new stadium design to offer food grown on-site.  We are serious in our mission to bring locally grown, beyond organic produce to everyone. I feel so blessed and thankful for what owing this business has done for my inner peace. Knowing scary problems is just horrible, having a sustainable solution makes me feel so much better, every day.

Peace and plenty!

Feb 24 2014

For the Love of Strawberries

fresh

Strawberry lovers rejoice and unite! There’s a great little secret that many people don’t know, that I want to shout from the rooftops…HEY AMERICA! it’s SUPER EASY to grow your own delicious STRAWBERRIES! The folate and vitamin c packed into these tasty little power houses of flavor is reason enough to grow them yourself. Let alone the free available berries at your fingertips whenever you want them!

In my internet travels I have come across some tasty sounding strawberry lemonade recipes. The kicker is that none of them were healthy in the sense that they used non-organic items, and processed foods. Being newly organic myself, I find it frustrating to be left out of the cute pinned recipe crowd! What a bummer.

This got my mind going. I grow strawberries. I’m a pretty good chef. I can create something super tasty that follows my family’s strict organic guidelines. Yes! Problem solved.

Check out my freshest recipe below, and let me know if you love it as much as I do!

strawberry lemonade

Ingredients

46 ounces of chilled fresh organic pineapple juice

2 ¼ cups of distilled/purified or filtered water

Juice of 7 lemons

½ cup of local honey

1 bag frozen organic strawberries

1 cup organic cream

2 ½ quarts Organic ginger-ale

1 pint fresh strawberries- sliced

Yields about 6 quarts

Instructions:

  1. In a blender, combine the honey, frozen strawberries and cream until smooth, set aside
  2. In a large punch bowl combine pineapple juice, water, lemon juice, and your frozen strawberry mixture with the ginger ale, stirring ever so gently.
  3. Enjoy!

Try this decadent punch the next time you’re looking for a quick, organic, non-alcoholic drink to serve your guests!

strawberry-lemonade-2Hint: You can freeze left over punch in 8oz portions and defrost to enjoy on a day that you just need the extra zip that only a frosty glass of tangy strawberry lemonade can provide.

Once again, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy growing your own food as much as I do. Small changes can make huge differences in your life. I wanted to come up with this little recipe to remind myself that going organic and making healthy choices that are right for my family doesn’t limit our options. It creates in me a renegade heart that strives for delicious alternatives  to the poison being peddled everywhere. Strawberries in particular make me a very happy farmer indeed.

peace and plenty, yall

Cate

Feb 16 2014

Yummiez!

With all the scary new info out there, I realize that in addition to pointing out the negative and the downright criminal levels of poison in our food, water and air supplies, I need to highlight the positive steps that we as a people have made, and the small little victories that I find in everyday life.

I’ve said it before, I was just a regular working mother of two. This new role of being a revolutionary was not one that I was looking for. In fact, tonight, as I drove down the road with Max I looked around me at all the shiny neon lights and the signs for places to eat that we used to frequent. I noticed the cars at all of these places, and I literally thought to myself, “I should print up flyers and let everyone know that they are being tricked!”, the problem with that plan is that most people require a solution before they will acknowledge a problem, especially a glaringly important issue such as the very food we eat.  So, here I am, that mom of two, now I’m on a mission, I’m a caged lioness ready to attack. Suburban renegade at the ready when the call comes to take action to make change!

Now what?

Well, my answer so far is to go 100% organic. It’s true my family doesn’t go out to eat anymore. No more Sunday lunches after church, or quick meals on the run. But, and this is a biggie…we eat the most delicious foods now.  You don’t have to be scared of your grocery store. Just don’t expect to find nutritious, unadulterated whole foods at Walmart. In Dallas, you can check out Natural Grocers or Sprouts can get you by in a pinch. Take a look at the foods we have been eating below. I’m not going to toot my own horn and say I am a culinary whiz, but I have watched my fair share of Anthony Bourdain. With delicious and fresh, locally sourced foods, I am able to prepare the most amazing meals for my family. Organic doesn’t mean devoid of flavor, it means this meal is going to kick ass. Experiment. None of the food I have cooked lately has come from a recipe. I buy what I want, and then create something from there.

We can’t stop eating, but we can stop eating poison.  Photograph

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