Potatoless Shepard's Pie

Ingredients:

1 kg Lean Ground Beef
1 kg Lean Ground Pork
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
1 each red & yellow pepper chopped
1 large onion chopped
2 packs Club House Shepard's Pie Mix
2 Heads cauliflower 

Instructions:

• Brown all meat, with chopped onion, and peppers until cooked through and veg is softened.
• While meat mixture is cooking; wash and large cut up cauliflower, and either steam or boil in a small amount of water until soft.

• Add frozen veg to meat mixture.
• Add the 2 packs of Mix to 1 or 1.5 cups of water (depending on how much gravy you want) and mix until incorporated- add to meat and simmer.
• Mash cauliflower with a stick of butter (if you want creaminess) salt and pepper.
• Place meat into casserole pan, top with mashed cauliflower
• Bake at 350F for 30 mins or until golden brown and bubbling.

A Vigil of Purpose

Moms for Real Food is a proud sponsor and participant of the Vigil of Purpose road trip!

We have had to change our original plans from seeking a travel sponsor and have shifted to a preliminary crowdfund to make the journey possible.

What are we doing?? So far, we are 5 Moms and 11 kids going on a tour of Northern BC, and the Lower Mainland to honour the lost lives of the Highway of Tears. We will hold nightly vigils. We will interview anyone who wants to share their story. We are linking arms, traveling new terrain and learning about a situation that deserves a solution at long last.

This is an edgy topic! it is difficult to request that a corporate sponsor align with this Vigil, so please hear our plea! YOU can make this possible. $5, $50, whatever you can give us. We will light a candle in your honour every night for the duration of the tour with your name on it, honouring the lives that have been lost while we all figure this out.

We will be blogging, live streaming, interviewing and singing!! We require money for Fuel, Fresh Food, Ferry rides, and Camping Fees. Please help us! We have 8 days until departure. We will be tenting, the kids will be scrapbooking and we will be coming together united without race to pay our hearts and our respect to those enveloped in the symptom of an age old wound. 

How you can help? With any amount of money

FREE - share the Facebook post and Group
$5 - $100: A Candle with your name on it that we will burn in your honour during our night time vigils

$100 and Up - A Candle + Please accept our thanks and receive an "Anything is Possible" temporary tattoo and a hand made card from the children (they will have lots of time while we drive!) in thanks for your contribution.

Please send your kind contributions to:
paypal.me/vigilofpurpose

We will be activating the crowdfunder the morning of June 28 and will be looking to cover approximately 8,000 kms and to raise $15,000 for Steffanie's plan for Owl Care, a program created to connect the elders and offer a wholistic self care program. We will return two weeks later with hearts full and wisdom deep. 

Here is our story and our website, please subscribe to our newsletter and receive updates of our journey.
www.vigilofpurpose.love

We can not do this alone, and we are so appreciative of you hearing our cry and our desire to stand for these stories of the heart.

Here we go Ladies!! (Oh and the ever talented camera man Todd) Charis Lynn Curtis
Steffanie Ali Howard Tracy B. Loeppky Keri Nelson Sarah Gwyneth Kyllo (I hope) Laura Olsson (with us in spirit) Violet Marie Pilkey (Movement Making first hand?) Joline Hardisty (our Cheerleader to the North)

Not Yo' Grannies Butter

Not Yo' Grannies Butter

Here's what you need:

• Whole Cream, whipping cream (any cream with high fat content)
• Food Processor 
• Salt (Optional)
• Herbs and Spices (If you want to flavour it)
• Colander 
• Sink of cold water
• Jar or butter dish

Here's how you do it:

Pour cream into food processor (watch for that little line that says fill or max or else you could end up with milk EVERYWHERE). 

Turn processor on start at low then up to high. 

Let 'er buck. 

As you work through the stages you will make whipped cream, keep going past that. All of a sudden you will here the change it will sound really wet. It should look like this:

Butter solids separated

Next carefully pour the milk out into a separate container.
Pour butter solids into the colander in the sink full of cold water. MAKE SURE THE SINK IS FULL OF COLD WATER or you can end yup with a big greasy mess.

Butter!

Now time to get your hands dirty, squish, squeeze, pull and mash any remaining milk out of the butter.
Empty sink refill with clean water.
Continue mashing, squishing and squeezing until water remains clear.
Put butter into a bowl if you're flavouring. Roasted garlic and herb is super rad.

BAM! Not Yo' Grannies Butta

Satisfying Vegetable Smoothie Soup

I recently went to a weekend retreat where many people came together and made food. One of the most memorable soups was this one.
So I give credit to my ladies Charis, Reneigh and Violet for inspiring me to make this once I got home.
I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do!

Ingredients:

• 2 whole Sweet Potatoes/Yams
• 6 Carrots
• 3 Stalks Celery
• 1 large Leek
• 1 carton Vegetable broth
• Butter/ Olive Oil/ Coconut oil
• 2 cups Coconut Milk
• Himalayan pink salt - to taste
• Pepper - to taste
• OPTIONAL: pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, goats cheese to garnish

Instructions:

1. Chop all ingredients into small cubes.
2. On Medium heat,  soften leek, celery in the oil of your choice until transparent.
3. Add the rest of your ingredients.
4. Continue to cook on medium heat until everything is somewhat softened.
5. Add broth.
6. Bring to a boil, turn heat down to minimum and allow to simmer until all ingredients are mushy.
7. Use a blender, food processor or hand held blender to whip up - incorporate coconut milk until smooth and creamy.
8. Heat through once more.
9. Serve hot or cold - ENJOY!

 

We made Mamavation's 100+ Healthy Mom Blog List!

WE DID IT! We made "Mamavation's 100+ Healthy Mom Blogs" list - we are #93.

Make sure to check out the link below to read about all the amazing mom blogs out there who are making our world a better place.

Moms For Real Food Initiative made Mamavation's 100+ Healthy Mom Blog List

Our Top Five Seed Companies 2018

With the influx of non-gmo, heritage seed saving and planting, we thought it might be helpful if we gave you our top five companies who supply Canada and the US.

It is very important to use heritage or heirloom and non-gmo seeds as many companies sell seeds treated with Neonicotinoids which are responsible for the massive bee collapse happening globally.

1. VESEYS

"It all began on a shoestring" is the way Arthur Vesey (the founder of Veseys Seeds) described the beginning days of Veseys Seeds. From a very young age, Mr. Vesey operated a market garden in the rural community of York, Prince Edward Island. During his market garden years, he was keenly interested in securing and testing seeds that were suitable for the cool, short growing seasons of Atlantic Canada.

Since 1939, Vesey's seed has been tested and packaged on the premises in York. Today, automated packaging has mostly replaced what had been done by hand. However, many small and delicate flower seeds are still packaged by hand using a combination of measuring devices not unlike the original spoons and scoops of Arthur's day."

 

2. HERITAGE HARVEST SEEDS

"Heritage Harvest Seed is a Canadian heirloom/heritage seed mail order company specializing in rare and endangered heirloom/heritage varieties of vegetables, flowers and herbs. With over 700 varieties to choose from, we'll surely have something to suit your taste. Over the past decade we have become Canada's #1 source for rare and endangered varieties of heirloom/heritage seed. Our heirloom/heritage tomato collection is among the best in North America!
Jessy Friesen and I, along with my mother Iris Stefanec, are working together to preserve heirloom varieties and offer their seed for sale to the public. This requires a lot of research and countless hours trying to track down rare seed sources, as well as delving into the histories of different varieties.
I am a member of Seeds of Diversity Canada and Seed Savers Exchange based in Decorah, Iowa. Both organizations are extremely worthwhile and I strongly recommend anyone with an interest in heirloom plants to join. I also have a Bachelor's Degree in Horticultural Technology and have been an avid gardener since I was a child."

3. HARMONIC HERBS

"We are a regional microSeedery, offering home gardeners seed for the finest vegetables, herbs and exotic botanicals you can grow in short season climates like central Alberta. We produce seed on a very small scale, focusing on quality before quantity. Our full line up is available here online (see Product selection on left menu), with our most popular choices also found in select retail stores across Alberta during seed season (February to June - see Ordering page for locations).
Seed is vital resource - it should be shared and celebrated, not patented and monopolized. All our seeds are open pollinated, non GMO. untreated, and seed saver friendly. We encourage seed saving - it's the important first step to food security. And it is a satisfying endeavour - just don't forget to wear your dust mask!"

4. WEST COAST SEEDS

"West Coast Seeds are very proud of our 2017 selection of untreated, non-gmo seeds for organic growing. We offer over 850 varieties of heirloom, open-pollinated, and hybrid vegetable seeds. Our vibrant selection of over 200 flower seeds is sure to delight both novice and master gardeners. They have been selected for use as edible flowers, to attract pollinators and beneficial insects, and for use in water-wise xeriscaping schemes. Also included are a host of fragrant culinary herb seeds to enhance and flavour meals year round. A full range of appetizer, soup, salad, and main course suggestions can be found in our West Coast Seeds Recipes page. These are accompanied by a host of Articles and Instructions, Growing Guides, and tools like our Regional Planting Charts and Plant Hardiness Zone Finder. Enjoy shopping our selection of West Coast Seeds Certified Organic and heirloom seeds."

5. WILD ROSE HERITAGE SEEDS

 "Wildrose Heritage Seed Company Limited offers only ‘heirloom’ vegetable seeds for one simple reason: These seeds represent our history from generation to generation and they represent our future food security as well. We encourage you to save the seed from our open-pollinated seed varieties that we offer.  With the proper growing techniques and the proper seed saving methods, you can reliably grow and enjoy the same plants for generations to come.  We strive to offer only the highest quality agricultural seed available that fits our ethical profile. Wildrose Heritage Seed Company Ltd. tests our seeds regularly for seed germination rates and purity to both determine the vigor of the seed and to determine the presence of weed seeds.  All of our seeds that we sell are tested by BioVision Seed Labs in St Albert, Alberta, to meet or exceed the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) standards and the Canadian standards established by the Commercial Seed Analysts Association of Canada for Seed quality.

Not one of our seeds is a ‘GMO’, genetically modified organism. They are all open pollinated varieties. They are nature’s first open pollinated seed types, ‘originals’. The original or ‘heirloom’ seeds were what nature designed for food sustainability.  It is within this application of growing and saving ‘heirloom’ seeds that we are able to help ensure sustainability of these remaining seed types for future generations. "

For more information on where to buy seeds, or if you have a question about planting a garden of your own, please contact us momsforrealfoodinitiative@gmail.com

My ShiftCon Experience

Leah Segedie; Creater ShiftCon, Tracy Loeppky

Let me tell you about my ShiftCon Social Media Conference experience. 
In a word? WOW.

So, what is ShiftCon?

“ShiftCon is an eco-wellness influencer conference focusing on food, wellness, health, sustainability and platform growth. Shifters are part of an online influencer community that seek healthier and more sustainable lives, promote brands that mirror their values, and help causes that speak to their soul. Our influencers span between newbies, light and deep green. Shift happens. Be part of it.” 

Via www.ShiftConMedia.com/about 

Some of the amazing team! And JP Sears.