F.A.V.E- Fruits and Vegetables Evansville

Hello Everyone!

It's great to be blogging again.  I have certainly missed it! I have been incredibly busy the past three weeks and have not been posting like I should.  Today I wanted to share the new community project I have the opportunity to part-take in. I have the unique opportunity to work alongside the University of Southern Indiana, St. Mary's Hospital, Deaconess Hospital, and the Welborn Baptist Foundation to improve the accessibility, quality, and selection of fruits and vegetables for the city of Evansville.  We arrive on campus every Friday at 8 am to unload our produce from the delivery trucks.  We then head over to the food lab where we wash, weigh, and bag the produce.  From there, we travel to three different community sites and sell the produce for the whole-sale cost it was purchased at.  We had a wonderful turnout and even had people waiting in line to buy our food!  Not only were we selling fruits and vegetables, but we also provided a nutrition education segment! This week, Brittany Smith, a dietetic student, demonstrated how to make caramelized bananas and banana muffins!  The demonstration was a hit and people were thrilled to taste samples.  It is a remarkable feeling to know we are able to make a difference in the community.  

 Kayla and I setting up the produce bins. 

Check out our fresh fruits and vegetables! 

 Chelsea modeling our personalized apron and baskets!

 The girls are eager to start work! 

 Brittany performing her nutrition education segment. 

Caramelized Bananas. YUM YUM

Recipes! Courtesy of Brittany Smith 

Banana Crumb Muffins

1.5 Cup Flour

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Salt

3 Large Bananas, Mashed

3/4 Cup Sugar

1 Egg Lightly Beaten

1/3 Cup Butter

Topping

1/3 Cup Packed Brown Sugar

1 T Flour

1/8 tsp. Cinnamon

1 T Cold Butter

Directions: 

Combine bananas, sugar, egg, butter. Mixed well. Stir in dry ingredients until moistened. Grease Muffin pan.  Fill pan 3/4 full.  Combine first 3 topping ingredients.  Cut up butter and add to mix until crumbly.  Spread over muffin.  Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes.  Cool for 10 minutes. 

Caramelized Honey Bananas

Ingredients

2 ripe bananas

1 Tbsp unsalted butter, or substitute preferred cooking oil such as grapeseed oil or canola oil

2 Tbsp Honey

½ tsp cinnamon

 Directions:

Using a sharp knife, start by cutting the bananas into ½ inch thick slices. Preheat your skillet to medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp unsalted butter or preferred cooking oil to the pan. Add in 2 Tbsp honey and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Let ingredients dissolve. Once melted and combined take banana slices and lay them flat in your pan. Once they are in, let them cook for 4-5 minutes until it starts to brown and caramelize on the bottom. Flip to the other side and let them cook for an additional 4-5 minutes. Once they are brown and caramelized all over you can remove them from the heat and serve!

Great to eat as a snack or to use as an ingredient or topping! 

Chelsea and I managing the register. 

 Don't they look delicious?!

Guest Blogger- Madison Duncan: Mind of Madison

Hi everyone and thank you in advance to Sylvia for allowing me to be a guest blogger on her site!

First off I'd like to say THANKS for stopping by. I'm not sure what brought you here. Maybe you saw my post on Facebook and wanted to stop by and keep tabs on the high school homecoming queen that went to college and got fat. Or maybe (hopefully) you're here for inspiration to get off the couch and get moving.  I've never been a size 0, nor will I ever be. God has blessed me with curves and I'm doing my best to embrace them. Unfortunately, I've used my God given curves as an excuse to eat and be lazy. A little extra to love is okay, right?So let me fill you in on my journey.. I started my freshman year of college @ Purdue University (BOILER UP) in 2010. Between a mixture of eating all-you-can-eat dining court meals three times a day, joining a sorority and drinking 4 nights a week, and only exercising when I had to walk 5 minutes to class.... you can imagine I gained a few pounds (or 30). I also developed a few health problems in my sinuses and was put on steroids for three months straight. Adding the constant consumption of calories and the weight gaining power of steroids, there was no hope. I was gaining weight and I didn't want to do anything about it.

It wasn't until a year and a half ago, when my life took an unfortunate turn for the worse, that I started to focus on living a healthier lifestyle. I think it took a seriously traumatic life experience for me to pull myself together. I was depressed and food was my vice. I spent 6 weeks laying in my dark bedroom watching Netflix before I decided that I should do something about my depression. I went to a doctor to get a second opinion on how to tackle my disease. After being put on enough medications to kill a small horse (just to be able to get out of bed and not be a sloth all day) I decided to take matters into my own hands. I HATE the fact that I was considered someone with a 'mental illness' and I was going to do my whatever it took to get rid of that title. So besides the obvious medication, another recommended tactic is diet and exercise. Sounds good to me.

I remember one morning a year and a half ago when I stepped on the scale and saw "the number." The largest number I'd ever seen on a scale. 173 pounds. I was never tiny. I graduated high school weighing 140 and I was happy with that weight.That morning I put on an old pair of running shoes and took my first step towards a healthier me. Fighting the heat of July, I completed two miles in 40 minutes. I was exhausted, but I didn't give up. I continued to run every day and started replacing fast food with healthier options. Fast forward to today. I am 35 pounds lighter, happy, and training to run my first half marathon.

(173 vs. 136)

It can happen to anyone. But, with hard work and determination I know that YOU can be healthy too.

You can follow more of my journey at MadisonDuncan.wordpress.com!