Snowville Creamery Farm Tour

Posted by yanti on Tuesday, June 9, 2015

snowville creamery farm tour

Snowville Creamery might be known best as one of the original cream suppliers for Jeni's Splendid ice creams.  As it gained popularity in the Ohio dairy market for its grassfed cow goodness, most grocery stores started carrying many of their products including Whole Foods, Giant Eagle and Kroger.  Snowville distributes milk and cream, obviously, as well as yogurt and creme fraiche... and I get all of mine delivered to my door through GreenBEAN.

Every year, Snowville opens their farm to their customers for a little free food, fun, and farm tour!  Not far from Athens, the rolling hills are quite scenic as you approach the main farm.  While the land may seem to go on forever, there are surprisingly very few structures that collect, process, and carton the milk we enjoy every week.  The milking barn, pictured below, has room for only 18 cows to be milked at a time while the cows enjoy a little grain snack in the trough.  The farmers are the ones down in the pit you see in the middle making sure everything is sanitary and the milk is flowing.  The cows get milked twice a day and then ushered to a new pasture where they roam freely and munch on grass.

 Snowville Creamery Farm Tour Snowville Creamery Farm Tour Snowville Creamery Farm Tour 
We tried some yogurt flavors I've been too nervous to get full cartons of like coffee-cardamom and gingamon.  I'm still not sure what cardamom tastes like, but I really like coffee yogurts and ice creams, so I'll be getting the coffee yogurt again.  The gingamon tastes a lot more like a greek yogurt with with a slight tang.  Snowvillians were also handing out ice cream... churned using a bicycle!  

We met some cute calves and their mamas... and this old Australian Shepard with beautiful blue eyes (even though she closed them went I went to take a picture after a long pet).  If you enjoy daily reminders of where your milk comes from, Snowville posts daily doses of cute to their Facebook page, usually of cute calves or cows licking their noses.  :)

Snowville Creamery Farm Tour Snowville Creamery Farm Tour Snowville Creamery Farm Tour Snowville Creamery Farm Tour
It's really quite amazing that just a few people and a lot of cows can produce enough milk to keep up with demand!  I love that Snowville's founder quit the commercialized dairy industry and wanted to give consumers a grassfed, pasture raised option rich in nutrients and connected to the community.  Here's his story which aired on PBS's Perennial Plate...


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Weekly Menu

Posted by yanti on Sunday, June 7, 2015

Hope your weekend was fabulous!  We had a great time on Snowville's farm (more on that soon), walking around Athens again, and finally getting the kayak and paddleboard on some water this year!  Pretty good weekend if you ask me.  ;)


snowville bagel street deli casa lopezAW Marion

Keeping it short and sweet this week, but wanted to say one thing about meal planning.  I think everyone knows that cooking for yourself is healthier than going out to eat.  Most businesses take many shortcuts on quality to keep profits increasing and then add fats/oils to make it taste like something.  Cooking at home can sound like a pain in the butt.  It does take some time every day, but it doesn't have to be much time.  Most of the meals I cook take less than 30 minutes, most of my go-to meals are even less than 10 minutes start to finish.  And yes, there is a small mess to clean up afterward, but you probably have a dishwasher.  And yes, some times what you make doesn't come out right, but you're learning.

The easiest thing to do that keeps me cooking at home all week is to have a plan.  Then buy the ingredients.  When everything you need is already in your kitchen, you start to run out of excuses.  You already spent the money.  There have been several times that I have come home from work or from a workout tired and wanting to just grab something on the way home.  Then I remember I have free-range chicken and local organic spinach at home ready to be turned into enchiladas... and I am infinitely happier with my custom-made enchiladas than something from a drive thru.

So this week's meal plan...

spinach enchiladas with homemade guac
stuffed peppers
creamy dijon chicken with spinach strawberry salad
homemade pizza (with peppers from the garden already!)
dinner at our friend's wedding reception!  :)
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Study Tip Sunday: Mind Over Matter

Posted by yanti


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Corn and Green Peas Appetizer

Posted by yanti on Saturday, June 6, 2015

A simple salad combination that's really delicious.

Ingredients for 6 servings:
1 cup corn
1 cup green peas
1 cup seedless olives
1 cup cherry tomato
2 tablespoons olive oil ( Extra Virgin)
salt to taste

Procedure:
1. Combine all the ingredients and mix well then serve.


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White Quinoa Salad

Posted by yanti on Thursday, June 4, 2015


Quinoa is a crop grain originated in the Andes region of  Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Colombia. It has been called a superfood due to its nutritional value. High in protein, essential amino acids and a good source of other vitamins and minerals. The time when I learned how nutritious Quinoa is, I fell in love with it and made it a part of my nutritious food list, a little expensive but its worth it :-).  Try it.

Ingredients for 5 servings:
1/2 cup white Quinoa
1 1/4 cup water
1 cup cherry or grape tomato
1/2 cup green peas
1/2  cup corn 
2 tablespoons olive oil (Extra Virgin)
salt to taste

Procedure:
1. In a pot, put the quinoa and the water then cook the same way as rice over medium heat. When it is done set aside to cool.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine everything then serve and enjoy.

Nutritional Value of uncooked Quinoa
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy1,539 kJ (368 kcal)
64 g
Dietary fibre7 g
6 g
Saturated0.7 g
Monounsaturated0.1.6 g
Polyunsaturated3.3 g
14 g
Vitamins
Vitamin A equiv.
(0%)
1 �g
Thiamine (B1)
(31%)
0.36 mg
Riboflavin (B2)
(27%)
0.32 mg
Niacin (B3)
(10%)
1.52 mg
(15%)
0.77 mg
Vitamin B6
(38%)
0.49 mg
Folate (B9)
(46%)
184 �g
Vitamin B12
(0%)
0 �g
Choline
(14%)
70.2 mg
Vitamin C
(0%)
0 mg
Vitamin E
(16%)
2.44 mg
Vitamin K
(0%)
0 �g
Trace metals
Calcium
(5%)
47 mg
Iron
(35%)
4.6 mg
Magnesium
(55%)
197 mg
Phosphorus
(65%)
457 mg
Potassium
(12%)
563 mg
Zinc
(33%)
3.1 mg
Source :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa
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2015 Columbus Festival Schedule

Posted by yanti on Wednesday, June 3, 2015


columbus ohio festival schedule

The summer festival season has officially kicked off here in Columbus!  It really just wouldn't be summer without some of these staple events.  When all of Columbus comes together to partake in the festivities, enjoy the weather and some good grub.  So it's time for a festival roundup to make sure your calendars are marked...

June
Park Street Festival (12-13th) - local music, food trucks, and fun all night
Columbus Arts Fest (12-14th) - browse 100's of artists' booths with jewelry, paintings, sculptures, and more
DigFest (13th) - day drinking at its finest with local brews
Pride Fest (19-21st) - come out and support our LGBTQ friends and listen to some good music
Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival (19-21st) - kick back and chill to the soothing sounds of blues and the Big Walnut Creek streaming by (plus Pigskin Brewery is there)
ComFest (26-28th) - let your inner hippie out :) a festival just about coming together as a community

July
Red, White, & BOOM (3rd) - largest fireworks display in the Midwest... and it's on a Friday this year... and we get that Friday off from work... what!?! 
Ohio Wine Festival (10-12th) - find a favorite local wine while strolling through North Market's wonderful vendors
Jazz & Rib Fest (17-19th) - I don't always eat ribs, but when I do, I chow them down!
Violet Festival (29-Aug 1st) - one of the smaller festivals on the list, but Pickerington is hosting Kansas this year

August
Ohio State Fair (Jul 29-Aug 9) - you're gonna need to do a lot of walking to walk off that deep-fried everything :)
Dublin Irish Festival (Jul 31-Aug 2nd) - we're all a wee bit Irish, so let's celebrate with food, beer, and live music
Festival Latino (8-9th) - Latin music makes way for Latin dancing...
All Ohio Balloon Festival (13-15th) - riding in a hot air balloon is definitely on my bucket list.  watching one shaped like Yoda float along the skyline is up there too
Summer Beer Fest (14-15th) - calling all beer aficionados and novices alike, a great way to find new favorite
Food Truck Festival (14-16th) - what's not to like about a bunch of artisan food vendors lined up at a park?
Reynoldsburg Tomato Festival (14-15th) - alright, this one makes the list solely because I live down the street from it ;)

September
Millersport Sweet Corn Festival (2-5th) - a bit outside Columbus, but a lot of good country fun
Greek Festival (4-7th) - fun dancing and delicious food, OPA!
FMMF (5-6th) - last year was the inaugural year for Fashion Meets Music Festival, and now that Cbus has been named the third largest fashion capital of the US, it's only going to get better
Independents' Day Festival (19-20th) - the first central Ohio town puts on a celebration of arts
New Albany Classic (20th) - not exactly a fair, but definitely some family fun with world-famous horses and a teen-pop concert to dance around to on the Wexner's estate
Oktoberfest (25-27th) - cheers to a great summer of festivals with some bier... prost!

For more festivals around Ohio, check out the never-ending list here.

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Earn Better Grades This Semester with Skooli Online Tutoring! (Sponsored)

Posted by yanti on Tuesday, June 2, 2015


(This post brought to you by Skooli. All opinions are 100% my own.)

I can't even begin to tell y'all how many hours of my high school life I spent in math tutoring. I did after school tutoring with my own teachers (or basically any teacher that didn't mind being in the room with me for an hour as I stared at numbers on my paper, crying "I'll never be able to do this... it's too h-h-haaard"). 

And to add to the fun, I also went to an off-campus tutoring center twice a week. (If I walked in there today, they'd still have me working on fractions!)

But honestly, the worst part of all that tutoring was just the TIME that it took. I had just spent 8 hours at school, got out at 2:15, got home at 2:45, grabbed a quick snack, then headed out the door again to be at tutoring by 3:20. Some days, you just want to come home and know you don't have any place else to be. 

Well, rejoice because guess what? You can now have your cake and eat it, too. That's right... you can now come home AND get the professional tutoring you need to boost your grades with Skooli!

Skooli is a website that matches you up with tutors (from all over the world!) for specifically what you need! The best part? You can get the help you need while at home in your yoga pants! 


Here are some of the coolest things about Skooli:


Online tutoring provides the safety and convenience that students and parents need.
There is no dropping off and picking up from a tutoring center. There is no driving to and from a tutoring center after a long day or in the rain. There isn't even a risk of poor college students running out of gas on the way to tutoring! You are safely in your own home, on your own computer, on your own time schedule the whole time! 

You commit to just one session per tutor so you can find the perfect tutor for you!
When I was in my tutoring center in high school, I never knew who my tutor for the day was until I got there. There was one tutor who could break down things really well for me (and deal with all my tears).  The others were too vague, too broad, or explained things in a way that didn't work for my brain. Here, you have control over who your tutor is so you can optimize your study time! 

Skooli confirms tutors' qualifications and educational background. 
Basically, enough said. But with Skooli, you can be sure you are getting the best of the best. A real teacher, with real knowledge of the content you're learning, and a knowledge of how to differentiate instruction for different learners! Interestingly enough, Skooli is one of the only online tutoring services that actually does this! 

Parent progress tracking.
That's right. If you're a parent, you can can sign up and create an account for your child. This gives you the control to choose the tutor(s) who works best with your child, schedule times that are convenient to your family/work schedule, and view your child's progress (without having to schedule and show up for another conference). 


So, how does it work? Let me walk you through what to expect!


STEP 1: Start out by heading over to the website and easily creating your own account!


STEP 2: Time to get started! Yes, it's that easy. Just type in whatever subject you need help with!


STEP 3: Skooli will provide a HUGE selection of tutors, including their bios, pics, & qualifications.


STEP 4: Specify your specific education level to ensure that the most relevant tutor selection! 


STEP 6: Start checking out tutors to find one who's absolutely perfect to help you ace this semester! 


STEP 7: Use the easy scheduling too to choose the most convenient time for YOU!



Once you're in, here are features to optimize your tutoring session:


- Fast and responsive (aka no messages like "waiting for page to load" or "buffering") YAY!

- High quality video and audio to clearly connect you with the best teachers in the world!

- Progress tracking so that you can set study goals and track your progress to achieve them!

- Real time tools so that you and your tutor can draw, create graphs, or whatever you need!

- Screensharing. Show websites where you found info, your citations, spreadsheets, etc! 

- Share files, notes, images. That paper you're working on, your math study guide, anything!


Ready to get the help you need?! You can do it right here! :D




Did you try any tutoring last semester? How did it go? Do you think that Skooli would be a better alternative to traditional tutoring centers? Share your experiences below! 
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