Go Visit: Jules Thin Crust Pizza

Jules Thin Crust Pizza is a BYOB after my own heart~ not only do they use local and organic ingredients whenever possible, they offer salads and pizza with three types of crust~ organic white, organic wheat, AND gluten-free! They have vegan cheese available by request, nitrate-free bacon, hormone-free meats, and tons of veggies!  Customers can purchase by the slice or they can custom-make their pies in the store, online, or by phone. 
My favorite combination: brie, sliced pears, toasted almonds and rosemary, and mozzarella

My hubby's favorite: hormone-free roasted chicken, portobello mushroom, caramelized onion, mozzarella, balsamic BBQ sauce, chives
Our daughter's favorite: Kids Pie~ mozzarella, organic tomato sauce

They have three locations: Doylestown, Newtown, and Jenkintown



This post was originally written for another blog I write for: Eat Local Philly

Make Your Own: White Bean Hummus

I really need to do a post about the awesome nutrition class I am taking, but in the meantime I will tell you this- I am learning all about my blood type and what types of food work best in my body.  You can learn all about yours here.

I love, love, love hummus, but according to The Blood Type Diet, chickpeas are not the best type of food for me, white beans are a much better choice. My body is better able to break down and process white beans. Interesting, huh?

In planning my daughter's second birthday party, I figured I'd buy pita chips and hummus to serve with pizza to the family who will be coming  back for dinner/cake. My friend Kate asked me what I'd be cooking and I was kind of stumped. Fruit salad? That's all I had planned. I started googling white bean hummus, and came up with this delicious recipe. It could not have been any easier, it was SIMPLE! (For the record, I spent most of the day preparing, and even made some salsa instead of buying it! Go me!)

White Bean Basil Hummus (Makes 1 1/2 Cups) 

Found on Weelicious

1 Can Cannelini or Northern White Beans, rinsed and drained
1 Cup Fresh Basil
1 Small Garlic Clove
Juice of 1 Lemon
2 Tbsp Tahini
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Olive Oil

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth.
2. Serve with vegetables, pita chips or as a sandwich spread.




I made a double batch and couldn't help myself from snacking on it this afternoon! The fresh basil and lemon juice take it to a whole new level!

Oh Snap! There's an App for That!

App:  Locavore

Price: $2.99

Why it's Awesome: If you're like me, you're constantly striving to eat seasonally and locally. This app tells you what is currently in season, and where to find it (markets!).  The app also has a database of recipes to coincide with in-season ingredients. Mmmm!

Giveaway: Growums!!!

As I told you in a previous post, I will be posting some reviews of really fun products.  I am not really ready to post about Growums yet, but I just had to let you know what I'll be doing in the next few weeks!

Today, these showed up at my door:

When I left the Toy Expo, I was also given this:

Growums are themed garden kits, that have an interactive platform on Growums.com to teach children all about growing their own food, "from seed to harvest".  Cartoon characters represent each type of herb/veggie/fruit and really make gardening exciting for children!  I thought it would be neat to do an on-going post about these little gardens to help you get the full effect. Stay tuned!

The Giveaway:

Want to garden along with me? Growums is offering two of you the chance to win your own Growums Garden!

How to Win:

1. Mandatory: Leave a comment with your email address, telling us why you'd like to win one of these gardens.
2. Check out Growums' website.  Come back here and leave a comment, with your email address, and let us know what your favorite Growums kit is!
3. Become a fan of Growums on Facebook. Leave a comment here, with your email address in the comment, and tell me that you are now a fan.
4. Become a fan of Baby in the Kitchen on Facebook. Leave a comment here, with your email address in the comment, and tell me that you are now a fan.

This contest will run until Wednesday, May 11 at 8pm EST. The winner will be chosen by using the random number generator on random.org.  The winners will be emailed.  The winners will have 48 hours to respond to our email. After 48 hours, if there is no response, new winners will be chosen.

Prizes will ship directly from Growums.

Thank you to Growums for providing us with samples of the aforementioned gardens and for sponsoring the giveaway, I'm so psyched to test them out!

Traveling without Breaking Your "Diet"

I've been working really hard to completely change my family's lifestyle over the last year or two.  We have changed what kind of milk we consume, we have become active, and we have cut 99% of the processed foods we used to eat out of our diets.

As I packed and prepared for a visit with family in Texas, I grew a little anxious. What would I eat? Are they going to think we're snobs with our free-range eggs? Will I be able to find organic milk that is not ultra-pasteurized?  Thankfully, I worried for no reason! My step-mother and I did the grocery shopping together and she was very interested in seeing what I was buying and why.  We planned deliciously healthy meals at home, visited the farmer's market, and even had dinner at a restaurant that serves local, organic, seasonal menus!

We primarily shopped at a grocery store called Market Street.  Philly locals can compare Market Street with Wegmans, it's just as awesome. Lots of local brands are featured, and there is a decent organic selection.  We enjoyed picking out local, organic hummus, local raw honey, and local beef!

We really wanted to try out Restaurant Ava and mistakenly left it for our last night- a Monday, and they were closed! Bummer! Luckily, my dad came up with another great idea- Seasons 52.  Seasons 52 is a more upscale restaurant that serves fun martinis, fine wines, and deliciously fresh meals. We all had yummy meals and left feeling very satisfied.  Guess what? We have one right in King of Prussia! Awesome!

On the way home, we had lunch at the airport. I looked the menu up and down and nothing really seemed appealing. I finally decided on a yummy tex-mex salad, and was really disappointed when my salad arrived and it was SKY-HIGH with iceburg lettuce. Blech. I haaaaaaate iceburg, mainly because it lacks taste and does not boast many nutrients.  I felt completely awful but I asked the server if the menu had specified that it would include iceburg.  The menu actually said salad greens (which to me, would be much more green than iceburg lettuce), and he graciously offered to get me a new one. I have NEVER EVER sent a meal back and I was purple with embarrassment, but I took him up on his offer and received a beautifully green salad in exchange.  Phew.

We also packed KIND bars, organic raisins, and almonds that we bought and roasted ourselves.

We had a wonderful visit and I feel really good about the choices I was able to make throughout.

Did I eat some nachos and sloppy tex mex? Yes! Did I eat a Philly cheesesteak and some ice cream for dessert? Yes! But hey, it's vacation:)