Healthy Recipes

I’ve been blogging on Cheeseslave for 5 1/2 years now. I started in November of 2007. When I first started this blog, I just did it for myself, and to seek out other like-minded folks out on the internet. I had transitioned our family to “real food,” I felt pretty alone. Kate was a baby and most of the other moms I knew (from the moms group I started) were feeding their babies Cheerios and powdered infant formula. I knew their had to be lots of other people out there who were into this way of eating, and I wanted to connect with them. And connect with you I did! Cheeseslave now has a readership of over 120,000 unique visitors per month. A year after I started the blog, I started Village Green Network (formerly Real Food Media,) a blog network for blogs about healthy living. Our little blog network has grown to over 500 blogs and it supports our family. I feel blessed to be able to make a living spreading the word about real food and healthy living. I’ll be honest, it’s been a lot of work to get VGN off the ground. A LOT of work! So much work, that I haven’t had the time I wanted to devote to my blog. I am always wishing I could blog more. 60 Posts in 60 Day Challenge Yesterday on our VGN private forum, a couple of bloggers who are just starting out, Simple Paleo Life and Real Fit Mama, were chatting about how to get more traffic to their blogs. I told them they should blog more often (ideally 5-7 times per week) and somehow a crazy challenge was instigated: we all committed to writing 60 blog posts in 60 days. Since then we’ve had about 10 or 15 others commit to the challenge. I initially said I’d do it just to show solidarity, but then I realized I really do want to get my blog traffic up. I want to get my message out to more people. My goal: over 200,000 unique visitors. I also realized that I really want to get back to the freedom I had in the early days of blogging. If you go back and read my old posts, they were just about what I was doing, what I was eating, and yeah there were more formal posts — recipes and “how to” posts — but mostly it was just slices of my life. I want to get back to that because (a) it’s a lot more fun and (b) does there has to be a b? If it’s not fun, it’s not worth doing, and I want this blog to be fun! (Yes, educational, too, but FUN FIRST!) Want to Join Us? If you are a blogger, join our challenge! It starts today and ends July 17th. 60 posts in 60 days. And yes, you can start late and double up on some days. Guest posts, carnival posts, and giveaways are all A-OK. If you are a healthy living blogger, click here to join VGN so you can chat with us on the forum and get encouragement. Want to Help Me Meet My Goal? Help me spread the word about Cheeseslave. I need over 200,000 UNIQUE visitors per month — which means it doesn’t matter how often you read the blog — but how many people you tell about the blog. Here are a few things you can do to help: Follow me on Facebook. Sign up for my weekly or daily newsletters (or both) to get email updates. Share my posts on Facebook, Google+, Twitter and Pinterest (click the links at the top or bottom of the posts). The more you share, the faster we’ll get there. My pledge to you: to post awesome content that you will want to share. This is post number one — check! 59 more to go. Thank you for reading! I love you guys!

People avoid lactose or dairy for different reasons and lactose-free and dairy-free products are not equal. Learning the difference is important to those with special dietary needs. ** This is only a summary of our content.**

Beth Krauss Memorial Day kicks off grilling season and for many people, meat’s on the menu. We believe that the best meat comes from animals raised as nature intended – with plenty of room to move and things to do, in environments where they can be clean and safe. In the spirit of enjoying meat from animals raised with respect I asked Anne Malleau, Whole Foods Market’s global animal production and welfare coordinator to point out how five of Whole Foods Market’s suppliers put the animals first. White Oak Pastures – Beef "I love all those trees. Many farmers cut down the trees because that makes it easier to move equipment around the farm, or because cattle tend to hang out under the trees, which can pack down the land. But not here – these cattle have trees for protection from wind break and shade. They love to rub up against the trees too; you can see one in the back right, going to town. That’s grooming and it feels good to them, like a big scratching post. It’s also nice to see mamas and babies together; they’re not being weaned too early. They’re clean, too – no muddy bellies or sides. And lastly, the pasture looks great. Even though it’s brown, it’s full with plenty of grass, not matted down. You can tell the cattle have been moving around it." Thompson Farms – Pork "The first thing I see here is a muddy sow – which is great! That tells me she’s got wallows, which pigs love. Wallows provide a place to cool down and protection from insects and the sun (pigs have sensitive skin!). I can tell it’s outside of the growing season, but the pasture still looks good and isn’t denuded. This shows that the animals are moved around, and also they’re not rooting around in the soil. In some systems, nose rings are used to discourage animals from rooting. This sow doesn’t have a nose ring AND the land’s not denuded – that’s a sign of an effective management system. Now let’s get to those babies. She’s got lots of piglets and they all have their tails. There are mixed breeds here; these guys will do well outside. With darker skin, they won’t sunburn as badly as pink or white-skinned pigs." Pitman Farms – Chicken "When I look at the birds themselves, I notice their full feathers and that they’re ranging freely. They’re also sticking around for the photo, which means they’re not freaked out by the presence of a human. I also like seeing the right breed in the right system. David Pitman is holding a California Bronze. This is a bird that was born to be outside as they’ve got strong legs and a good immune system. When I look at the environment, I see perches, with lots of room for the chickens to get up onto those perches without banging into each other. They have a house they can go into at night and spots to crawl underneath for shade or to escape from aerial predators. Short and tall grass means some variability for their diets, too, as they peck around. Their food and water is available inside or out, and the pasture looks great. This is a mobile system – by the look of the pasture you can tell it’s moved regularly so the birds have fresh area to forage all the time." Niman Ranch – Pork "These pigs look great. They’re evenly sized, and they’re the right breed for the system. Their darker skins protect them against sunburn and they have their tails. What I especially like here is seeing the Quonset huts, which are used for gestation and farrowing (having piglets!). It looks like here each sow has her own individual hut, which is nice because they tend to isolate themselves and want to nest before they give birth. The huts are also good because the sows can stay there with their piglets for the first week or two while the piglets grow past the age/size where they might get picked up by hawks or eagles. In a good system, farmers place the huts strategically with prevailing winds so the animals inside get the air flow they need. They insulate the huts, too, so they’re not little ovens when the sun is shining. Last thin

4.56 / 5 Stars | 17 Reviews by Rhonda "Tri-color corkscrew pasta makes a colorful salad along with the green peppers and red, red tomatoes. And it 's fat-free. Serves eight." View Complete Recipe Details and Reviews

4.25 / 5 Stars | 8 Reviews by AUSSIE GIRL "This beetroot relish is delicious, especially when served with lamb. The texture can be adjusted to your own liking, and I suggest it be somewhat chunky to give a contrast to the smoothness of the lamb. This recipe was in a book of notes from my grandmother, and tastes amazing." View Complete Recipe Details and Reviews

4.47 / 5 Stars | 14 Reviews by DAFFY2 "There is so much flavor in this tasty bean dip that your guests will never dream that it 's low-fat. Everything is layered into a bowl, so when you 're ready to eat, all you need are some sturdy tortilla chips for deep dipping." View Complete Recipe Details and Reviews

3.81 / 5 Stars | 11 Reviews by SPEEDSTER356 "Steamed asparagus with a lowfat raspberry sauce for a quick and easy side dish. Compliments almost any beef, chicken or seafood meal." View Complete Recipe Details and Reviews

4.05 / 5 Stars | 73 Reviews by A_GREELEY "Chicken is brushed with an herbed honey mustard sauce, and cooked in white wine. Plenty of tarragon evokes a distinctively French flavor!" View Complete Recipe Details and Reviews

4.54 / 5 Stars | 41 Reviews by Lois Nimal "Sweet and sour meatballs that will be a hit at any party." View Complete Recipe Details and Reviews

4.37 / 5 Stars | 67 Reviews by Rosa "A summer/fall specialty, blending the flavors of garden fresh basil and juicy tomatoes. Make this soup when you are feeling tomato rich." View Complete Recipe Details and Reviews