The Basket Case: Bountiful Baskets 411

I have mentioned how I started a site but haven't really clarified what Bountiful Baskets is exactly.


Bountiful Baskets is a food cooperative.  Bountiful Basket Food Co-op (BBFC) provides produce baskets, organic produce baskets, artisan bread and sandwich bread every other week. If you like eating healthy and also saving money you might want to consider this food co-op. BBFC is entirely volunteer-run. Did I mention it also operates in 19 states? How awesome is that! I think its so refreshing to see so many people active and willing to eat healthy and provide healthy options for their families! I also love that it is so affordable. I'm just a single gal and can afford this basket on a small budget. I try to live on just my basket and a few other items meats and dairy as much as I can. So I'm looking at a grocery bill of under $50 for the MONTH! WOWZA folks - that's a lotta savings - imagine what a family could save.


Not only am I able to save money but I feel so much better because I am eating good, REAL foods. I've currently been on a quest to wean myself off of processed foods until I realized how much I love M&M's and Oreos (and the list could go on!) but I really do try to eat real foods as much as I can and BBFC has helped with that! 


Alrighty - back to BBFC stuff:


What is a food co-op?
Food Co-ops take advantage of the buying power of the group to get better prices on food, typically locally-grown produce or organic food products.
There are no long-term committments.
Try it once and if you think it's not for you - you never have to participate again (but I doubt you'll feel that way!)
How much does it cost?
A conventional basket is $15 for returning participants. The first time you participate there is a one time fee of $3.00 making the total cost $18.00. Each week there are also extra items available such as breads and seasoncal cases of fruits and vegetables. 
An organic basket is also available for a $10 upgrade fee. ($25.00)
What's in a basket?
Produce baskets are 50% fruit and 50% veggies and 100% delicious!
How do I participate?
Follow this link to get step-by-step directions!


The Shawnee site is located at 1414 N Kennedy, Shawnee, OK 74804 inside the Doctor's Building/Gateway to Prevention and Recovery. This location is located off Hwy 177 taking the Kickapoo Spur to North Kennedy. If you have any questions about the BBFC - contact me! Our pick-up is this upcoming Saturday, March 3, 2012 at 11:45am. See ya then!


-Jennifer  

The Basket Case: Starting a site

A few months ago, I was home visiting my parents and went with my mom to pick up her "Bountiful Basket". For months I had heard my mom excitedly (and maybe a bit obsessively) rave about Bountiful Basket Food Co-op. While picking up my basket that Saturday, I met Stefani the Oklahoma volunteer area coordinator. I casually mentioned what a great thing this was and how I’d love it if there was one in Shawnee. I gave her a business card and we hit the ground running. By the time I got to my office Monday morning, Stefani had e-mailed me and was working on getting a Shawnee site started.

I was more than overwhelmed, at first.

There was a guidebook, training, conference calls. I was looking at my schedule and all the paperwork and thought – is this really do-able?

Once I volunteered, I realized this can be done and I want it for my community. We just had to train, find a location and get people interested! Finding a location was our hardest obstacle to overcome. Training was easily done (Thanks to my mom who trained under the Altus site then drove up here for 3 weeks to train me!) A location finally came through at the first of the year and we had a start date. We have been an active site since January 21. With a background in marketing, getting people involved - was the easiest and most fun for me!

Our first week we had 18 participants, then 32, then 50. Overall, around 65 people have participated. I now see why my mom was so excited (and obsessed) with this co-op. It’s such an amazing opportunity for families to eat healthy and on a budget. I am so hooked on my produce baskets and love telling other people about it.

Today marks the 4^th week of participation. I love “Bountiful Basket” weeks. I cannot wait to see how many people will participate! Then I cannot wait until Saturday morning to find out what produce we will receive! (I love that surprise – I think everyone else does too)

Want to know more about Bountiful Baskets? I would love to tell you about it. Just ask.

www.bountifulbaskets.org

Mini Makeover

I had a little work done.

Okay, not me personally-- but I found this adorable site: The Cutest Blog on the Block. They offer free blog designs. I LOVE IT.

Enjoy.

How you doin?

Wow, it has been forever since I logged on to this thing. My ol' laptop had been running on the slow side for awhile now. Finally, this weekend it got a little makeover. A little open heart surgery, one might say. Okay, I'm the only "one" who would probably use that analogy - and I just did. It is now running quite a bit faster...which means I'm actually going to start blogging again. Which means my parents and grandparents will have something to read. (Hello to each of you!)

My lack of blogging has not just been due to a slow computer but a mixture of that with no time which leads to no crafts or cooking - which means NOTHING to blog about.

Today after work I decided to clean up my "office space" just a bit. I live in a rent house with two other girls - we don't have a ton of free space. So my "office" is just the other side of my bedroom, but nonetheless I spruced it up just a bit! My mom and I have been working on starting this wonderful food co-op in Shawnee (Bountiful Baskets - I will share more on this whole thing tomorrow) and the need for a work space at home will be pretty important when I have to start flying solo( - after this weekend YIKES)
Excuse the crummy iPhone pictures - but you get the point.
SO before:

AFTER:

Hash Brown and Egg Casserole

Looking for a last minute breakfast idea for tomorrow morning? I've got just the thing.
A few weeks ago, I had a few girls over for a dinner party and I went with a breakfast theme. I tried out two casseroles - this was a crowd favorite.  Normally on Christmas morning we have a large family breakfast. This year we will be attending church services together so we will need a quicker breakfast, so this will be perfect!

Ingredients:
1 (2 pound package) frozen hash browns potatoes, thawed
1 pound pork sausage
1 small onion, diced
7 eggs
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
12 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2 quart baking dish. Place the hash browns in the bottom of the baking dish.
2. Heat a skillet and cook and stir the sausage and onion until sausage is crumbly, evenly browned and no longer pink; drain.
3. Whisk together the eggs, milks, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and pour over the hash brown potatoes. Layer with half the cheddar cheese, the sausage mixture, and the remaining cheese. Cover with foil.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Remove the cover; return the casserole to the oven and bake until a knife insterted into the cetner comes out clean, about 10 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.


This recipe was originally from AllRecipes.com and has been slightly adapted for our preferences.
Enjoy and Merry Christmas.

Boomer Sooner!

Over the Thanksgiving holiday my family had to celebrate in true Oklahoma fashion - we dawned our Crimson and Cream and cheered on our Sooners. We were thankful for football, family and of course, a Sooner victory!

 My face in this picture makes me laugh.. I'm not sure what is it ....maybe it was because I was thinking "Dad, will you please shave the goatee!!??"

I love going to the games. I just love seeing people who are so passionate for their team and the loyalty of fans. Anyways - Boomer Sooner. Beat OSU tomorrow! (Had to add that - I couldn't call myself an Okie if I didn't!)

Guess Who's Back!

I knew it had been awhile since I've posted..but I didn't realize it had been THAT long since I've posted! A lot has happened since September!

I had high hopes of posting a beautiful sentiment on Thanksgiving..but that never happened. I really enjoy Thanksgiving. You get the family time and food just like Christmas but everyone is so rushed and frazzled many people want the day to just be over. Thanksgiving is just a nice time to relax and enjoy family without the stress of gift-giving (and honestly, should it be that stressful to give - I think not!) 

I haven't been blogging much since the arrival of the iPad. I have been leaving my ol' laptop at my office and only having my iPad for home. It would take me a lot longer to type an entire blog entry on my iPad - I guess I could try..but I feel like it'd be more trouble than it's worth..so any way that is my explanation for the lack of blog entries as of late.

I'm going to try to get back into writing some.
Maybe I will just write about being Thankful in December still. I know- gasp- we can only be thankful in November right before we eat turkey. It's just uncalled for to be grateful the rest of the year!

But for now I leave you with this - a look into what it was like to have my mom as a mom .

When I was little I would come home from school/church/someone's house--and my room would look at little like this..but add in toys. My mom would come in and clean everything off the floor and pile it up on my bed. She'd even take everything from underneath the bed and closets. It was a MEAN and dirty thing to do..because you'd have to clean it all up before you could get into bed{..or sleep on top of it all or on the floor (both of which- I am sure I tried to do) }
Well now that I am older. I will do this to myself. I have lovingly defined this as "mom-ing myself" and have to do it often but frankly - I HATE hanging up my laundry/clothes..and yes, I shouldn't air my dirty laundry on the internet--but have no fears that's all clean laundry you're lookin' at! ;)

Now... I feel the need to clarify this - I love my mom and at the time I HATED when she would do this to me..but her annoying OCD ways of cleaning that drove me into sarcastic fits of rage as a child have now become the way I enjoy cleaning...

So..thanks mom for all that you've taught me and the monster you've created. I really do appreciate it!