Last time I told you about one the new things we’re doing on the farm this year with the composting.

What else is going on at The Farm?

First we’ve expanded the entire thing to about double what it was last year. Instead of the raised mounds we had, Bill has built us some great boxes to plant our crops in, there’s eight of them. We’ll go into what we’re planting later. Next we’ve built a much sturdier fence. Last year it was just a few posts with the deer netting stapled to them. This year we have a beautiful split rail fence that really makes the backyard look amazing. We’re still using the deer netting on the fence since those guys are serious about eating my plants.

What are we growing?

Tomatoes already have flowers

Last year we grew peas, cucumbers, eggplant and better boy tomatoes. Since we had so much success with that, we’ve added cherry tomatoes, three different types of peppers, carrots and potatoes to our list of crops.

Peas Please

This year we also have a table that was built using leftover pieces of the fence to put potted plants on. We have chives, parsley, basil, cilantro and a strawberry plant on our table.

Pest control:

We have the deer fence to keep the animals out of the garden. Along the bottom of the fence we added wood boards to keep creatures from going under the fence. What are we doing to protect our crops from the things that the fence can’t keep out?

Organic pesticide? We’ll see about that.

We’ve got Ladybugs. I have to say that I had no clue about any of this and I am extremely skeptical of the whole idea. So evidently by releasing the ladybugs in the garden (at night so they don’t just fly away) they will eat all the bad bugs and leave the plants alone. I’ll let you know how the whole ladybug thing turns out later.

Anyone have any experience with the ladybugs in the garden? I never even knew you could buy a box of bugs to set free in the garden.

The Mommyland Farm is complete, all we need now are some tasty veggies! Stay tuned for more from the farm.

One of my New Year’s Goals this year was to finally start eating better. I am a junk food junkie and probably always will be, but I know I need to make a more conscience effort to add some healthy foods to the mix.

I’ve been working really hard to make sure there are fresh veggies in the fridge. To make it more likely that I’ll actually eat them, I try and do some prep work ahead of time. I cut up my peppers and cucumbers to make them grab and go items. All my veggies hangout on the same shelf in the fridge so they don’t get lost, again to make them grab and go. Can you tell I need all the help I can get?

Lunch is the hardest meal for me, it’s the meal that I’m most likely to graze and/or eat crap.

Trying to come up with something quick, easy AND good for me has been a challenge. Today I found a winner…The rice bowl.

I boiled up a few servings of whole grain, brown rice and separated it into serving sizes taking advantage of my extensive Tupperware supply. All I have to do is reach in the fridge and grab a bowl of rice. How easy is that? To that I add the good stuff…The veggies. I keep the basics on hand these days, carrots, peppers, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes. I sliced up a few and tossed them in the bowl of rice. To that I added some kidney beans and topped it off with some soy sauce.

My rice bowls waiting for another day

In less than ten minutes I made a low calorie lunch that was pretty decent in the nutrition department. Since I get bored easily, this is a great option since I can change it up by adding different veggies and using different sauces. I can’t wait to use the veggies from The Mommyland Farm this summer!

I like that my rice bowl has less calories and sodium than the frozen food version. It’s also A LOT cheaper to make these at home than to buy them at the store, double bonus!

It was tasty and it filled me up too. More importantly, it was fast. It wasn’t until I scarfed it all down that I realized I should have taken a picture of the yumminess. Sorry.

Do you do prep work ahead of time to make mealtime a little less work? How about lunch, how do you get in a healthy meal in the middle of your day? Do you have any suggestions for quick, healthy lunches? Please share.