The snow and frosts we have had recently have slowed our production immensely, as you would imagine. However production has not come to a screeching halt. Luckily we planted our winter Rye right before the snow came, so the slow melting really jump started our winter cover crop. We also have the cute little Easter egg radishes, beautiful turnips, and bright, healthy, lettuce and spinach still hanging on. It is so sad to see the garden turn back to the drab colors of the winter after getting used to the luscious green rows of tomatoes that are so full and tall that when you walk through the rows you feel like you are in a European hedge maze. Alas, we can no longer image this since the tomato plants have now turned brown and shrunk back to the ground. We are more likely to imagine a nuclear/apocalyptic scene at the garden soon.  [more]

This is a great time of year to start thinking about preserving your harvest. Over the next month or so, at least in the Texas Panhandle, temperatures will start fluctuating between hot, warm and cool. These changes can be hard on summer crops but are a great reminder to start looking for recipes to make those vegetables last for months to come! [more]

Lizzie Smith, Pan-handlers Cafe and Catering

Join us on September 8th for a special guest speaker, Lizzie Smith from Pan-handlers Cafe and Catering! Lizzie will share with us the tricks of the trade when it comes to preserving your harvest and filling your winter cabinets and plates with delicious fruits from the summer! You can visit the cafe for a weekday lunch at 410 S. Taylor (Amarillo National Bank, Plaza 1, Lower Level Restaurant) where you can try their delicious sandwiches and stocked salad bar. Our favorites are the homemade pickles, marinated olives, made-from-scratch salad dressings and much more!  [more]

Need a little help coming up with nutritious (and delicious) grocery lists? Do you have certain medical or dietary restrictions too? Let us introduce you to ShopWell!

www.shopwell.com is a website designed to do all the leg work of personalizing grocery shopping lists. The website sorts through all the technical, nutrition information found on food labels and offers simple suggestions for grocery lists based on your personal profile. Personal profile you may ask? The website prompts you to enter a few things about yourself, for example, do you have any food allergies? high cholesterol? are you trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy lifestyle? These simple questions will develop a profile so they can accurately suggest foods for you.  [more]

"The Cooking Room" Teaches Children to Make Healthy Meals Zak Pelaccio helped turn a New York City school's science classroom into "The Cooking Room," a demonstration kitchen dedicated to teaching elementary students how to prepare healthy meals using fresh ingredients. The program started by teaching students about taste, but this summer, Pelaccio and others are creating grade-appropriate curriculum so lessons are better integrated into the classroom.  Read more at www.huffingtonpost.com/zak-pelaccio/the-cooking-room_b_889305.html. [more]

Want to have your Cake and eat it too? Or was it a burger? Confused? Don't be! This great article from Health.com shows us that we can have a delicious treat (in this case a hamburger) and still get disease fighting properties from our food, how great is that! Food can certainly be our friend, not our enemy, if we make good and healthy choices. So take a look at this article, make a delicious burger and enjoy! [more]

Come let the Garden at the High Plains Food Bank get you ready for Spring!  April's Garden Workshop is all about preparing you and your garden for the sunny months ahead.  We will discuss soil preparation and season-long conditioning strategies, plant selection and planting techniques, and what to anticipate this year in your vegetable garden.  We will also be discussing common garden problems and answering any growing questions from previous years, so bring your stumpers!  For those who haven't come before, workshops are casual and fun and bring together lots of great people in the Amarillo area. We'd love to see you in April! [more]

What's the Deal with Whole Grains?

Being a conscious consumer requires you to do some "decoding" when shopping for food. Unfortunately, food labeling is one of the biggest culprits of this need to decode. Below is an interesting article, by Cooking Light, that helps us understand how to spot some faulty labeling tactics regarding whole grains. The article delightfully lists popular brands of snacks, cereals, flour, rice, and oatmeal that all make some type of claim on their box that the product contains whole grains. Even if you do not eat any of these 38 foods, you will learn some valuable tips on selecting quality foods on you next shopping trip! [more]

Who says that eating on a budget can't be gourmet?! Check out this article from Real Simple, featuring recipes that are delicious and nutritious and under $5 per serving! 

Budget tip of the day: Vegetables on sale at the grocery store is not only good for your wallet but most times it is good for your health too. Sale priced fruit and veggies usually indicate that variety is in season close by your location. Take advantage of these deals and start to notice how the prices shift throughout the year. [more]

It is time to start your mornings off right, really hit the ground running and what a better way than having a delicious and nutritious breakfast! These great recipe suggestions from Cooking Light illustrate the variety you can enjoy when you wake up, giving you that extra boost you have been looking for. It doesn't matter what type of breakfast person you are, there is something here for everyone: muffins, smoothies, cereals, sandwiches, burritos, waffles and more!  [more]