Aha! V8 -- I need to remind myself to check the nutrients on the label next time I'm in the store. (Forgot to pick up blueberries today for cereal, so I guess I'll be back there Friday!). I know they have a different flavor available now other than the traditional tomato based. Will do a ground-chicken stir fry today with zucchini, red/green bell peppers, maybe some black beans. Kale is supposed to be the hottest veggie now -- but I was a bit wary of getting it today not knowing how to use it. Suggestions?

priswell... Thank you soooo much, that tip on alfalfa was great! On Thursday I went down to the local feed store and perused the horse feed aisle. I found alfalfa pellets @ $14 for 40lbs but saw alfalfa cubes on sale for $9 for a 40lbs bag. Got it. Yesterday after juicing, I just added my powdered-up layer mash to the wet pulp to suck up some excess moisture and then I opened the bag of alfalfa cubes (a strong scent of fresh hay filled the room... it really smells good) put just seven cubes (approx 1.5"x1.5" cubes) into the Vitamix, which didn't work so well because there just wasn't the weight of grains and so lacking sufficient gravity to get the proper flow going in the blender I ended up having to force the cubes into the blades (what a mess). However I finally did get it all powdered-up and added it to the pulp and immediately it suck up all the moisture and then some... the mix went from being slightly wet to grainy dry. I actually had to add a cup of milk to loosen it back up some. NOW, I see why you mention using it to adjust the moisture level in the bin... excellent tip. Depending upon where you're reading on the internet (the various horse feeding websites) "they" say alfalfa can absorb anywhere from 3X to 10X its volume in moisture... (some owners soak these cubes before feeding to their horses). Also the bag says not LESS than 17% protein which should work out to around 2.5-3% nitrogen... that's a lot... no wonder some people use this stuff as fertilizer in their gardens. I also read its C:N ratio is 24:1 which I think is nearly ideal for composting purposes. Also I added blackstrap molasses to my mix (been doing that for a while now without issue) and some powdered milk... That stuff is rather expensive as it works out to about $1 per quart (for the small size box)... it puts a LOT of calcium into the mix but still a bit pricey for me. In the end I got about three 8-10lbs bags of this mix into the freezer and will thaw and feed approx. one bag every 3-4 days. Even including our regular additions of kitchen scraps I'm beginning to fall behind on the feeding loads... these worms are voracious (not to mention how their numbers have just multiplied like crazy recently... honestly this increase in appetite has taken me by surprise). During my stroll down the horse feed aisle I spotted beet pulp (on sale $10 for 50lbs) and dried molasses called "sweet feed" @ $18 for a 50lbs bag of the premium (premium because of the underlying forage the molasses is sprayed onto is suppose to be the really good stuff horse-wise... I've read that cheaper stuff can be found for as little as $4 for 50lbs). 50lbs of any of this stuff will last me a couple years, so it is really cheap to feed through the winter months. I didn't put aside nearly enough pre-composted leaves for this winter and have been forced into giving the worms a lot of shredded cardboard lately, this new found source of nutrients (alfalfa) with an ideal C:N ratio (not to mention all the minerals and vitamins it contains) is just the ticket to get the bins through the winter until the snow and ice outside melts and the outdoor composting piles thaw so I again have access to the composting leaves... plus I'll now be able to keep up with the numbers of new worms provided I have bin space to hold them all. I really need to start a couple new bins... REALLY

I usually prep my breakfasts for the week on Sundays. I alternate between frittata in a parmesan “tortilla” or regular flour tortilla. Both are 6” tortillas. My alternative is a smoothie. For the frittatas, I dice all the ingredients, usually mushrooms, green onions, sweet red pepper, spinach and some kind of breakfast meat. In a small skillet, put a dab of butter and add a tablespoon of each of the diced ingredient except the spinach. Saute over medium heat for a minute of two, add a ¼ cup of chopped spinach and saute 30 seconds or so. Add two beaten eggs, pop the frittata under the broiler until the eggs have set. If I am using Parmesan “tortillas”, I grate some fresh parmesan cheese into a non-stick skillet over medium heat to form a 6” circle. Once the cheese is melted and starts to turn brown, flip the tortilla and put half the frittata on half the tortilla then fold the uncovered half of the tortilla over the egg. Cool on racks, wrap in a paper towel and store in a container. If I am using flour tortillas (I try to avoid them), I put a little grated cheese (whatever I have on hand) on half the tortilla, cut the frittata in half and place on top of the cheese, top egg with more cheese and fold the uncovered half of the tortilla over the egg. Then I throw it back in the pan and brown on both sides. Cool on racks, wrap in a paper towel and store in a container. The paper towel absorbs the moisture so the tortillas don’t get soggy. I reheat either in a fry pan for a minute on each side or microwave for 30 seconds or eat it cold. For the smoothies, I portion out each day’s ingredients in canning jars, one jar for each day. In the morning, I just dump the contents of the canning jar into a Ninja container along with some ice and blend it till smooth. Quick and easy. The recipe is not an exact science, it depends on what is in season and what I have on hand but here’s a guideline. You can eliminate the yogurt or substitute nut milk. 2.5 oz. (1/2 jar of Oui Plain Yogurt) 1 cup water Handful of Olivia’s Organic’s Power Green (Kale & Spinach) 1/3-1/2 avocado, depending on size 1/3 banana 1 strawberry 1/4 cup blueberries 1 tbs. flax seed 1 tsp. chia seed 1 tbs. Great Lakes protein powder 1 tsp. raw honey (I find raw local honey helps with my allergies. I have been doing it for years and can tell when I skip a day.) Ice

Thanks for the link to the Trader Joe's shopping list. I don't throw food nearly as much as she does, however, but I do already buy a lot of the things on her list, and quite a few I make myself rather than buy already prepared. This list does make me wish that my stand-up freezer had not died, but when I had it, I put way too much stuff in it and never seemed to get around to using all of it. I did shop at TJ's yesterday, and it was rather irritating. They had moved the nuts to where the bread used to be and vice versa, and so I asked someone who was stocking the shelves where the pita bread. I was already on the right aisle, and he said that the artisanal bread was all further down that aisle. I mentioned that it used to be by the front door, and he told me that it had been moved quite some time ago, in a rather surly tone of voice. I then went down the aisle to look for the pita and discovered that it was actually right in front of the person I had asked and was on the very bottom shelf, practically on the floor, which made it difficult to find. I was irritated that he didn't tell me that he was standing directly in front of it. Other people who were stocking items in the store pushed carts in front of me, forcing me to get out of their way instead of going around me, which they could have easily done. It was like they were annoyed that I was shopping there. I really need to shop at a different TJ's, as others are nicer, and there are quite a few that are reasonably close to me. I did buy some frozen mango plus some fresh plumcots. I don't know if these are the same as the pluots that we get at the farmers' markets, but they were in a hard, clear plastic container so that I could not tell how ripe they were. It turns out that they were nowhere near being ripe, but I guess that will be okay. They will probably be tart. I also bought some frozen corn that looked better than what I normally buy, but I did not have enough room in my freezer to buy any more frozen vegetables. I could not find any dried beans at TJ's, except for lentils, but they had a good selection of quinoa, and so I bought a small back of tri-color quinoa, since I have not had that type before. When I got home, I decided to order some dried fava beans from Amazon, and they seemed a bit expensive - $11 for a 20 oz bag. I'll wait to go to the Middle Eastern market to get more dried beans. I have the last of the garbanzos soaking for me to make falafel today, and so I need to get more of those. The Middle Eastern market by far has the best prices.