Disclosure: I received product from Sprout in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

Summer is HERE!  I’m parternering with the Blogging Mamas Network on their latest Event to help you Keep Cool in the Sun!

We’ve come together with a great group of bloggers who have a ton of prizes to help celebrate the Summer season and give you the chance to win!

Photo courtesy of Sprout Organic Foods

Photo courtesy of Sprout Organic Foods

A lot of our summer is spent outdoors or at the pool and when we make the day to day decisions about where to go, it’s great to have some snacks that we can grab on the fly in order to stay healthy on the go. One of the ways that we are helping our little one stay well fed and take a snack break in the shade is with Sprout Organic Foods new blend pouches and chewy snacks. We’ve had the pleasure of sampling Sprout’s line before and these new products were enjoyed by myself and Tomato in the last few weeks. Great flavors such as Pear Oatmeal with Maple and Carrot in the new Textured Grain Medley pouches and the Tropical Fruit and Pumpkin and the Purple Berry and Carrot Crispy Fruit & Veggie Chews  are great additions to our pantry and pool bags. Tomato said that she liked the Crispy Chews Snacks because they were “tasty and crunchy” and before I knew it the bag was empty. So, if you are looking for organic snacks for your “on the go” family this summer, take a moment and enter below for a chance to win. Best of luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
After you’ve entered my giveaway, don’t forget to hop around to all the others in the linky below.  Be sure to enter to win the GRAND PRIZES for this Event too!  You have a chance to win… In the KIDS package you could win:  a pair of Julbo USA looping sunglasses for baby, a trio of TruKids products including Sunny Days sunscreen and Hero Stick, a Hearthsong Camping Tent {chair not included}, a Swim Diaper from Red Barn Cloth Diapers, and a reusable snack tube SqueeZurts Starter Kit! AND A second prize package including a $100 Gift Certificate to Claudia Alan Eyewear and Winner’s Choice of any item from UV Skinz – makers of protective sunwear! Enter the GRAND PRIZES HERE! According to Jenny, So Easy Being Green, the Blogging Mamas Network, and the Keeping Cool in the Sun participating bloggers are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations.

The post Keeping Cool in the Sun Giveaway Hop appeared first on Crafty Garden Mama.

We’re taking a much needed break here at home. A little staycation, a little mid year analysis of what might be coming next, and a little need for nice, long walks and fresh air. So, I will catch everyone on the flip side in July. I hope everyone has a happy and safe end of the school year and enjoy your June!

The post Tuesday Greens Shall Return in July appeared first on Crafty Garden Mama.

Welcome to Tuesday Greens #34!

This week the hits keep on coming with the weather and the weeds in the Northeast. We unearthed some pokeweed in a couple of our raised beds, so we will be turning those into flower beds and declaring this “The Summer of Container Gardening” at our house. I took some pictures of all of the verdant green that is popping up. Pictured above are some potted peppers and tomatoes, others waiting to be potted, some cucumbers popping through, the world’s saddest zucchini plant that is trying nonetheless and our fig tree. That giant forsythia is currently up for debate here and I am thinking it won’t be here for long. Considering that it is where the current rabbit warren resides and they have a great affinity for all of the perennials that I got at Glick’s, it will probably go in order to encourage their relocation. They don’t eat those yellow flowers though, which I think are Sundrops, so I will be setting out some more of those over the course of the summer. My mom has a ton of them, so we can separate and bring them over to fill in along the fence.

Healthy Lemonade from Titus 2 Homemaker

It’s great to see how others’ gardens are picking up and the recipes have been so much fun to see and pin! Last week’s top post was Healthy Lemonade from Titus 2 Homemaker. Stop over and see how she is staying cool this summer.

I can’t wait to see everyone’s posts this week! Hope all is well and have a great time in your gardens and kitchens!

The post Tuesday Greens #34: June Garden Update appeared first on Crafty Garden Mama.

Photo courtesy of Julia Lehman-Jewellea photography

Disclosure: I was provided with a complimentary class pass in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

Balance. It’s a word that I have been trying to embrace a lot lately.

I have been taking on a lot lately and have felt off kilter. So, when the opportunity to head over to Chestnut Hill, PA and check out Balance, I jumped at it. I had started to get back into working out a few months ago and then I got busy. Taking care of myself is always what I let slide by the wayside first when I get overwhelmed. As a former Division I athlete, I have always done best when I have a practice time to report for, so having an appointment at Balance was a step towards regaining my own balance.

Tomato came with me to the class because it was being held for parents and kids. One of the reasons that I have been feeling defeated in my fitness lately is that I feel like she is growing up without watching me take care of myself. So a parent/child class was a great place to restart. Parking was easy by the studio and when we walked in and saw the equipment, it was like being taken back into the weight room and fitness workouts at Jadwin Gym and Palmer Stadium. Medicine balls, heavy ropes to throw and free weights were all available in the wide open main room. I loved how open everything was and that you didn’t feel like you were going to trip over anything or hamper anyone else’s workout.

Photo courtesy of Julia Lehman-Jewellea photography

We started the class down in the yoga room with Kathy and it was a great way to open up our lungs and stretch before getting into the heart of it. Tomato was enjoying the poses, was doing well with the balance exercises and loved being next to me as we worked our way through the class. After yoga, we headed back up into the main room (ellipticals and treadmills are located in a side room) and began our cross training with owner, Amy Carolla. We ran through ladders, did squats, worked our abs with the medicine balls and did a slew of jumping jacks. Wall sits, and more squats and using our arms to make waves with the heave ropes were all great fun throughout the hour. I was back in my element of dryland practices before the swim season began. And the best part, was that Tomato did it all. I mean all of it. She definitely is born of two distance athletes with the stamina that she has.

Photo courtesy of Julia Lehman-Jewellea photography

Photo courtesy of Julia Lehman-Jewellea photography

My fear of trying to fit a workout in while also being an at home mom started to lift. I think we can actually swing some of this in the backyard or at the playground. We even have a chance to head back a couple of more times to do a class together. Oh, how I wish this place was closer to get to it more than once a week. If you are in the Philly suburbs, it is well worth checking out. The staff was courteous and encouraging and it was a positive environment. You don’t get that intimidating feeling you get at some chain gyms. It feels like they are working with you and moving you toward your goal. Class descriptions, schedules and pricing are all on their website. You can buy single classes or packages and even schedule semi-private classes to split with your friends. They offer a wide variety of group fitness classes from Zumba to yoga to Boot Camp and Barre/Pilates Fusion. Group fitness classes (60 minutes) are only $15 (at a single class price) or less with a package deal, which is a great price for the attention and training that you are getting. They even have Family Fun nights on certain Fridays and if you have teenagers, give them a call at 267-335-2271 to see when their teen strength and training classes are this summer in order to keep them fit for their varsity seasons.

I am happy that it has gotten me to rethink how I am attaining balance in my life and setting a good example for my daughter. How do you find time to fit in fitness in your life? What classes would you want to attend at Balance?

The post Balance: Chestnut Hill appeared first on Crafty Garden Mama.

Welcome to the Green Your Summer Event!  The Blogging Mamas Network has come together with like-minded bloggers to make sure your grass isn’t all that is green this Summer!

Each blogger in the Event is bringing readers a great green prize to win.  You have until June 13th to enter, so be sure to hop around to them all and find great eco-friendly products to help you go green!

While you’re hopping, be sure to enter the TWO Grand Prizes for to Green Your Summer for Mom and Baby!  You’ll find prizes including a Lunette Menstrual Cup, Amber Necklace and Bracelet Set, a Merino Wool Sleepsack, re-usable Snack Pouches, and earth-friendly Vinyl Wall Decals from Walls Need Love!

So, what do we have up for grabs here at Crafty Garden Mama?? I am running a giveaway for Troipcal Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil. One of the great ways that you can go green this summer is by incorporating organic ingredients into your cooking.

Win 1 quart of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil!

Tropical Traditions is America’s source for coconut oil. Their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is hand crafted in small batches by family producers, and it is the highest quality coconut oil they offer. You can read more about how virgin coconut oil is different from other coconut oils on their website: What is Virgin Coconut Oil?

You can also watch the video they produced about Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil:

Tropical Traditions also carries other varieties of affordable high quality coconut oil. Visit their website to check on current sales, to learn about the many uses of coconut oil, and to read about all the advantages of buying coconut oil online. Since the FDA does not want us to discuss the health benefits of coconut oil on a page where it is being sold or given away, here is the best website to read about the health benefits of coconut oil.

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

According to Jenny, So Easy Being Green, the Blogging Mamas Network, and the Green Your Summer participating bloggers are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Green Your Summer Giveaway Hop appeared first on Crafty Garden Mama.

Welcome to Tuesday Greens #33!

So, has the weather been driving any other gardeners batty this year? We’re having a tough time getting things in the ground for a number of reasons. A handyman needs to finish work on our garage, the rain, the heat, the cold, and of course, there is potty training going on. So, we’re a little slow this year, and it’s been a struggle for me. I want it all done and all done perfectly, but I keep hearing my yoga teacher’s voice in my head saying that I can only worry about what is happening right now, not what may happen. And I am struggling with that. We tackled a whole bunch in the yard this weekend and I wish I could show you, but I was in such a zone, that I didn’t take any pictures. Silly blogger! So, instead, here’s what I did:

• Trimmed the hedges – with an old-fashioned clipper – my arms are now buff and sore
• Raked out all leaves under the hedges
• Shook my fist at the rabbits who are noshing on my new flowers from Glick’s
• Talked out yard plans with DH
• Mowed the lawn and did the weed whacker in the front (the back is on this week’s list)
• Watered
• Weeded behind our garage and laid down Easy Gardener WeedBlock Biodegradable Paper Mulch in an effort to knock out the weeds so that Tomato can play
• Researched more organic soil options so that we can continue to garden safely and in a healthy manner
• Had a conversation with the birds about the impending arrival of the blueberries. I am pretty sure the robin gave me the stink eye.

So, what are you tackling in your yards?

Last week’s top post was from A Life Unprocessed. Mellow shared some tips about getting chlorine out of tap water, so be sure to check out her post!

I look forward to checking out what folks have to offer this week. Have a great week in your gardens and kitchens!

The post Tuesday Greens #33 appeared first on Crafty Garden Mama.

Photo courtesy of NRDC

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) bestowed one of its Growing Green Awards on Larry Jacobs of Jacobs Farm Organic and Del Cabo Organic.

Larry Jacobs is the founder of Jacobs Farm Organic and Del Cabo Organic and a passionate organic farming advocate. He has joined Briana Sandoval as one of the four awardess of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Growing Green Award. I had the opportunity to interview Larry about his efforts and his food philosophy. I admire his work to help people secure jobs that maintain healthy work conditions and support their families financially. Jacobs Farm Organic cultivates organic herbs in California and their slogan is “Healthy Soils, Healthy Plants, Healthy People.” It’s a great way to view the interconnected of us and what we eat and how we grow it. Del Cabo is based in Mexico and produces a wide range of fruits and vegetables. It is a hub of sustainable farming and community support and is a venture well worth supporting. Below is the interview we had and you will quickly see why the Natural Resources Defense Council selected him as an honoree this year.

CGM: Why do you choose to farm with sustainable practices?

LJ: Sustainable practices makes sense. This wasn’t a choice, but a common sense decision to consider the environment and our health as part of the equation. From a resource management perspective, we value “frugality” and making the best use of the resources we have. So, employing drip irrigation was a good choice for water savings, weed reduction and improved field working conditions (less slugging around in the mud). Building soil fertility by growing cover crops and adding compost made more sense than using chemical fertilizers as does striving to mitigate insect problems by providing habitats for beneficial insects.

CGM: Can you elaborate on how your coop business model works?

LJ: We’ve made a career of empowering small scale growers to work together, learn organic farming practices and connect them to markets outside their communities. It sounds simple but getting farmers to work as a cohesive unit is challenging. It requires listening and patience. The model works by aggregating growers into community groups which facilities opportunities of scale. This lowers the cost of packing and farm supplies by ordering in large quantities and lowers freight costs. On the food side, bringing each farm’s product to a central packing facility helps standardize packs for different markets, lowers the costs of packing, handling, cooling and shipping as well as making it possible to supply large retailers with crops grown on very small farms, some as small as ½ acre. The big plus to Del Cabo has been for many a ten fold increase in family income and the opportunity to farm in an environmentally friendly way without the health risks of handling toxic materials.

CGM: Where can people find your products for sale in stores?

LJ: Our products are found in the produce section of many different stores including “corner stores”, regional supermarkets and national retailers Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Safeway, and Krogers. We have stronger distribution in west but a lot of what we grow is enjoyed in the Midwest and East.

CGM: How can “backyard farmers” use beneficial insects to help maintain their gardening efforts?

LJ: Great question. Backyard farmers can start by who they have in their garden and what species sees those insects that feed on their plants as a source of food, like syphrid larvae<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoverfly>, or a desirable place to lay their eggs like trichogramma wasps<http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/homehort/pest/trichogramma.htm>. Learning what flowers your beneficial friends like to “hang-in” provides a guide for what you can do to create your own “beneficial insect habitats”. The insect world opens a door for young and old to explore nature in our back yards. Most people don’t realize that spiders play a significant role in moderating insect populations in landscapes that aren’t impacted by pesticides.

I hope that Larry Jacobs motivates you, as he does me and the folks at the Natural Resources Defense Council, in your green living efforts and your choices at the supermarket. It’s always good to find companies who are working to not only support the planet, but also the humanity which resides on its surface. If you want to learn more about Larry and his work, be sure to check out his blog post on the Natural Resources Defense Council website.

How do you support sustainable practices in your garden or via your wallet at the store?

The post Natural Resources Defense Council & Larry Jacobs appeared first on Crafty Garden Mama.

Welcome to Tuesday Greens #32! In this edition, we tour Rodale Institute, Eckerton Hill Farm and Glick’s Greenhouse.

A few days ago, I had the pleasure of meeting up with two friends, Barb from A Life in Balance and Frugal Local Kitchen, and Lauryn, from The Vintage Mom, and their kids and take some great farm tours in the Oley and Kutztown, PA areas. Driving through farmland always put me in the right zone and it was a treat to listen to Tomato shout, “Cows!” and “I love covered bridges!” from the back seat.

We started our day at Eckerton Hill Farm. This farm is the CSA where Lauryn gets her winter and summer CSA shares. She does an amazing job each week to explain how they use their fresh produce. Collard green enchiladas, need I say more. Eckerton Hill Farm has been in existence for 15 years, first on a rooftop in Brooklyn and now in the Oley Valley in PA. Their slogan is “Home of the Tomato People,” so naturally my little Tomato felt right at home running through the fields and checking out the animals. Farmer Tim Stark is well known for the heirloom tomatoes that they harvest and they have been hosting Dinners in the Dell, where folks can eat right in the fields.

After a great walk through the fields and talking with some of the farmers, we had a picnic and hopped back into our cars to get to the Rodale Institute. Rodale has been on my bucket list of places to visit. As the home of organic gardening in America, Rodale hosts an Organic Apple Festival in the fall and had their plant sale a few weeks ago. Open Houses at Rodale are a great way to see the grounds and purchase gardening goodies from their gift shop. We picked up a ton of plantlings and looked at some new organic fertilizer options.

If you are looking to visit Rodale, there will be a Best Kept Secrets Tour from June 14-29 to see some of the gems in Berks County and Rodale will be a stop. Tickets are $7 a person and details are here. I am anxious to head back and take a full tour and watch Tomato run through the orchard to pick apples in the fall.

Our final stop for the day was at Glick’s Greenhouse. Lauryn and I were laughing that we were being good and not buying out the place. With all of the new flower bed potential that I have, I need to buy perennials slowly and think about bloom times, colors and heights before I go too crazy. I did get some coreopsis and phlox for the front yard and love the contrast of pinks, blues and purples.

If you want to see what Barb picked up on our outing, she has a post about Glick’s and a post about Eckerton Hill and Rodale. I am looking forward to more farm adventures with these ladies this summer! Barb’s post about Glick’s also happens to be our featured post of the week, so be sure to check it out.

The post Rodale and More: TG #32 appeared first on Crafty Garden Mama.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions and Jersey Strong pride is my own.

Family fun on your summer bucket list this year? Tuckerton Seaport in Tuckerton, NJ has a ton to offer for all ages.

We had a marvelous opportunity for family fun as we went to check out Tuckerton Seaport yesterday. Invited to enjoy their Bluegrass & BBQ Festival, we were able to take a tour of the facility, learn about the history of the area and help them to celebrate their first event post-Hurricane Sandy. For those of you who were not in the path of the storm last fall, it’s blow to the Jersey Shore was devastating. I grew up spending summers on Long Beach Island, but somehow we never found the gem of a daytrip that is Tuckerton Seaport.

Tuckerton Seaport is a maritime village that serves as a historical register for the Barnegat Bay area. Across 40 acres, it houses the recreated Tuckerton Lighthouse (pictured above), 17 historic and recreated buildings, a boatworks shop and a maritime railway.

We started our day in the Hunting Shanty where we saw a wide array of decoys. Decoys and how they were/are used are a big part of Barnegat Bay history.

They were hosting one of their many festivals for the season, so after a brief chat with our guide, we moved down through the museum to Todd’s Musical Petting Zoo. If you have a chance to see his musical instruments, please do! The kids all had a blast trying folk instruments that they might otherwise never see. It was a such a great way for them to explore and have fun!

In addition, the Adventure Aquarium was on hand to talk about the environment at the shore and how Hurricane Sandy affected things. We spent some time under the tent with the bluegrass music and had lunch.

They have a ton of events at the Seaport, including the Privateers and Pirates Festival on June 8th, so we will have to check out more of the music later this summer. Next, we went on a tour of the grounds. They have so many different sections to visit. They maintain chickens, goats and sheep and some quail. They have a cute maritime themed playground for the little ones and miniature golf is set up for kids of all ages too. Family fun for all!

This history buff in me was excited to tour their maritme and surfing museums. We were able to learn about the lighthouses of NJ, check out a beautiful floor map, climb the lighthouse and check out the gorgeous collection of historical surfboards.

I am looking forward to heading back for more family fun at Tuckerton Seaport in the near future. I would love to wander through the museum and talk about the exhibits with Tomato and DH. I’d love to hear what her questions are when we aren’t in a large group.

So, if you are looking for some family fun options at the Jersey Shore this summer, be sure to put Tuckerton Seaport on your list of destinations. It’s a great place to find value in the traditions of the shore, understand its history a bit more, and explore the environment by the sea. Finally, be sure to check out their online auction this summer too in order to benefit their educational programs!

The post Family Fun at Tuckerton Seaport appeared first on Crafty Garden Mama.

Welcome to Tuesday Greens #31!

Last week, I joined up with Barb, from A Life in Balance and Frugal Local Kitchen, and Lauryn, from The Vintage Mom, for a field trip day! We ventured up to the Oley and Kutztown, PA areas and had a blast going from Eckerton Hill Farm to the Rodale Institute and then to Glick’s Greenhouses and Nursery. Between us, we had 8 kids in tow and Tomato had so much fun “playing with the big kids.” Photos and details of places we visited will be coming tomorrow, so pop back to see our adventures.

This week’s featured post is Brussel Sprouts Even Your Kid Will Eat and it is from MishMash Mama. It’s a great recipe to get one of my favorite vegetables on the dinner table for all to enjoy. Make sure you pin it for when they start to show up at the markets!

I am looking forward to everyone’s posts this week. Please be sure to visit each other’s pages too!! Have a great week!

The post Tuesday Greens #31 appeared first on Crafty Garden Mama.