Tuesday, June 26, 2012

100+ lbs of Tomatoes

Phew! What a day!!! It all started bright and early, just before 6am, with a green drink and devotions. It was so beautiful outside this morning -  I couldn't resist smiling :)

Monday I took a break from running as I was babying my leg. I think I pulled something on Saturday... Not going to tell you what I was doing- in the interest of your health, of course! It was totally avoidable so don't ask :P If I tell you what I was doing you just might die from laughter.

Instead of running today, I did low impact squats & lunges with light weights and then stretched. I am planning to hit the trail running tomorrow!

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Mary & I helped some friends put up approx. 100 lbs of tomatoes today. Every last tomato was fresh from the garden! Take a look and try not to get bitten by the green bug :)


It doesn't get better than this! Now, imagine a field with dozens of tomato plants just like this one. 


The work stations. 


Fresh herbs. Ahh, the aroma was heavenly...


Lots and lots of garlic :-)


So beautiful.


Leftover tomato juice that I decided to sample. Yum! So nutritious


We took a mid-day break for lunch. From scratch tomato soup with freshly grated Parmesan cheese!


After making 28 quarts of spaghetti sauce - Mary & I headed home. By this time it was late afternoon and when we walked in the door there was a pan of fresh cookies just sitting there all alone on the counter.

Being the girlie girls that we are, I must admit that we love cookies! A few minutes after digging in - it hit me that maybe these aren't for us. "uh, Mary...". She must have been reading my mind, because in her typical think the best of everyone way, she replied. "Who else would they be for!" Ha! Love her!!! Thankfully, the person who made them was more than happy for us to indulge ourselves :-) They were pretty healthy, too! Flour-less & vegan carob chips to boot. Thanks Kris - you're the best!!!

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Eating fresh, healthy foods is something I want to be apart of me; not something I idolize, but still it needs its proper place.

Do you ever feel confused about where the balance is with food?

On the one hand, you have the people who just plain don't care about what they eat and seem to accept hospitals & needles as a way of life; on the other hand, you have people who think conventional doctors & nurses are in some kind of conspiracy to keep us all sick. It t can be overwhelming to sort through all the hype! What's true & what isn't?

My family has experienced life-changing benefits from both sides of the health world. I'm thankful for the advancements of modern medicine, very thankful. But, I'm also thankful for food and the healing effects found in them.

I guess, in short, this is what this blog is about... an attempt to find truth and the proper balance with healthy eating.
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We got home from helping our friends about 4:30 and starting our own batch of spaghetti sauce at 6:30, finishing up around 9:30pm.

Here's a taste of the before & after:


And, finally- this was the result (+ one more jar)!


Well... if I taste one more tomato I'm convinced I'll turn in to one! I've throughly enjoyed the day and as a result I'm throughly exhaustified (is that a word?) :)))

More recipes coming up! Anyone else putting up fresh food for the winter months?

3 comments:

Emma | Fork and Good said...

Looks fantastic! I love tomato soup, that one looks fab! I know what you mena about finding the balance, I find it hard some days, but that's the fun in finding out =]

Ellen B Cookery said...

WOW! It might be a lot of work, but the reward is priceless! The tomato sauce looks great! Nice soup too!

Dash Interiors said...

WOWWWW great work that must have taken all freakin' day great work!