There’s Just So Much Green – Garden Newsletter 3
Note: The Garden Newsletter is an internal newsletter sent to employees of TS Designs on a weekly basis. It’s purpose is to keep the team connected with activity happening in the Company Garden. TS Designs believes in supporting this endeavor as a way to stay connected to the ground and to provide an added benefit to each team member (fresh, organic produce). We’ve posted it to our blog so that you can share in our Company’s adventure in gardening, learn gardening tips and enjoy the great recipes that we share with each other!
Ah…what are we going to do with all the greens available?!
Last week, I posted some ideas highlighting sautéed Swiss Chard. This week…let’s look at keeping it raw.
UM….RAW?!
It’s actually really (REALLY) healthy to eat more raw foods. Why?
- Heating food over 118 degrees Fahrenheit destroys much of the nutrients in your food.
- Cooking food destroys much of the natural enzymes (your body can also create enzymes, but can only do so much) in your food that are needed to break down nutrients
- Eating raw gives you an amazing boost in energy
- Less packaging, which means less clean up (also less trash)
- More regularity…um, you know what I mean, your body just works better
Learn more at Zen Habits
JUICING YOUR GREENS
Darlene mentioned that she’s got a juicer and has been coming up with some really great juices using the greens that come from the TS Designs garden.
Do you have a juicer at home? Maybe you have one tucked away in a closet collecting dust (like my parents)…
Try this recipe for a Mean Green Juice and thank Darlene for sharing it!
In a juicing machine juice…
2 Granny Smith Apples
A small knuckle of ginger
1 large orange
10 large leaves of swiss chard
12 large leaves of spinach
1 large cucumber
2 medium tomatoes
2 handfuls of fresh green beans
1 red bell pepper
– Makes about 4, 16 oz. glasses of juice
GOT A BLENDER?
There may be a few more of us that have blenders (than juicers) in the house – and since it’s getting a little warmer, it’s a perfect time to make smoothies. Whether you’re just tossing in some fruit chunks with juice for a snack or really hard core about meal-replacement smoothies packed with protein powder, you can use greens to change up your normal smoothie routine.
Here’s what I did last week:
1 Banana – medium to large
Sliced Peaches – about 1/3 of a can
1 cup Juice – any kind will do, but just so you know, I used Orange
1/2 cup Yogurt – I used Greek Yogurt because it’s a little thicker
*Handful of Greens – some Spinach or a couple leaves of Kale
The smoothie will come out bright green…there’s no helping that; but it tastes sweet and delicious because there’s enough fruit to hide “green” taste.
DO YOU HAVE A RECIPE?
I’d love it if you wanted to pass it along so that I can share it with the rest of the group. I’ve got two really great ones that I’m already planning to share next week. Send me more!!
Update On Colors: True Black is Now Available!
True Black is now available! Order today!
We’re so happy to announce that True Black is now available!
Wait. What does that mean?
It means that until now, we’ve only offered Soft Black as a color option for our t-shirt orders.
Why was that?
Because our printing technology was still being tweaked. We love our REHANCE printing method. It means that we’re able to print colors on dark t-shirt colors without using harsh chemicals. It’s a feat that most printers can’t pull off and still claim to be earth-friendly.
So, what’s difference?
Here’s the deal: we’re never satisfied with the status quo. We love moving forward and out doing ourselves. We love making our process better, faster and more efficient. And we recently tweaked our formula so that we can include True Black (a really, really dark color) in our list of available t-shirt colors.
Why the big announcement?
People love our Soft Black and it has been a really popular option, but we can’t tell you how many customers ask if we offer a True Black. Now we do.
What does it look like?
Well, just take a look for yourself. We’ve got a recent order for Weaver Street Market pictured as an example. The top print is on True Black. The bottom print is on Navy.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to let us know! You can Request a Quote through our options page or you can email us directly!
What Do You Do With Swiss Chard Anyway? – Garden Newsletter 2
Note: The Garden Newsletter is an internal newsletter sent to employees of TS Designs on a weekly basis. It’s purpose is to keep the team connected with activity happening in the Company Garden. TS Designs believes in supporting this endeavor as a way to stay connected to the ground and to provide an added benefit to each team member (fresh, organic produce). We’ve posted it to our blog so that you can share in our Company’s adventure in gardening, learn gardening tips and enjoy the great recipes that we share with each other!
We’ve got a ton of greens coming out of the garden at the moment!
Isn’t nice to have such healthy goodness right outside the building?!
But, um, if you’re like me…I don’t actually buy Swiss Chard at the store – so I have no idea what to do with it, even if it is at my fingertips.
Thank goodness for online recipes!
MAKE YUMMY-GOODNESS with SWISS CHARD
Simple recipe. This one is quick and easy.
Like cheese? Check this one out! Get your cheesy-fix!
Are you a fan of hot n’ spicy stuff? This one is for you!
CHANGE UP YOUR SALAD
There’s only so much salad you can eat…well – there’s only so much salad I can eat. I have to admit, it gets tiring after a while. But this recipe sounded really good and we have plenty of red lettuce coming in!
WE HAVE 3 DIFFERENT KINDS OF KALE
Erin told me about a great recipe for Kale and it’s super simple! Add some oil to a pan and add some coriander seeds. Cook the seeds until they start to pop…
(The heat should be medium to medium-high. You don’t want all-out high, because you may burn the seeds and then it won’t be so tasty anymore.)
When the seeds are popping, add a bunch of kale (that you’ve already prepped: washed, dried, chopped to your liking), and put the lid on the pan and turn off the heat. In about 3 mins, give the kale a stir and you’re going to be ready to add it to your plate – and ultimately, your belly!
SEE SOMETHING ODD?
If something is off in the garden, let me know.
- Is it looking a little dry?
- Do we need to spend a little extra time harvesting? Or pulling weeds?
- Does it look like some critter is getting in and feasting on our goodies?
You may be out in the garden for just a few mins to pick some greens for dinner, but if you see something that might take a little extra time to handle…just let me know so that we can nip it in the bud…(no pun intended, or maybe it was).
May Open House at TS Designs
Every month, TS Designs hosts an Open House. It’s one of the ways we backup our claim of being a transparent business. We open our doors and say, “Yes! Come in! Spend the afternoon with us and see what’s behind the scenes!”
Our next Open House is scheduled for Friday, May 10th. As always, it will be from 2pm to 5pm. Wear comfortable shoes that are appropriate for the outdoors.
Not only will you be walking around our Production Area (where we print the t-shirts), but we’re also going to take you out to the garden.
**Remember that it’s still a little soggy from all the recent rain. So, good sturdy shoes that aren’t afraid of a little mud are the best bet for footwear. **
And don’t forget to bring $5 in case you want to grab a tee from our Extras Bins.
Email jen@tsdesigns.com to confirm your attendance.
We can’t wait to see you!
TS Designs in the Huffington Post
It’s pretty exciting. Getting an email from the President of the company that he recently did an interview with The Huffington Post. The publication has an impressive reach to the online community – and the more people who hear about how TS Designs is impacting the sustainable apparel market, the better our chance to keep having the opportunity to do what we all love – offering people sustainable t-shirts and Eco-friendly printing options.
Comments on online articles are often a lively place. It’s a great place for continued discussion and debates to develop, or…as in the case with this article written by Kim Bhason: name calling, mud slinging and much-to-much use of symbols like !!!! and $$$$. Kidding aside, it’s really interesting to see such a wide range of feedback from readers.
These are just two comments that were grabbed early after the article was posted. At the time of this blog post, there were 490+ comments. Just taking a few minutes to read through them gives us the confirmation that there’s still a lot of education that needs to happen, so that consumers can understand the real cost of apparel and how important it is to support sustainable initiatives within the industry.
And that’s what we’ll keep doing, because we feel that it is an important message.
Want a Salad Tonight? — Garden Newsletter 1
Note: The Garden Newsletter is an internal newsletter sent to employees of TS Designs on a weekly basis. It’s purpose is to keep the team connected with activity happening in the Company Garden. TS Designs believes in supporting this endeavor as a way to stay connected to the ground and to provide an added benefit to each team member (fresh, organic produce). We’ve posted it to our blog so that you can share in our Company’s adventure in gardening, learn gardening tips and enjoy the great recipes that we share with each other!
It’s amazing how quickly the garden is yielding yummy-goodness!
Right now, there’s spinach, lettuce, swiss chard and kale ready for harvesting!
HARVESTING TIPS:
1. Pick leaves as close to the stem as possible.
2. Start with the bigger leaves that are towards the bottom of the plant. The itty-bitties in the middle are still a-growin’ and need a little more time.
3. Lettuce greens like being picked — as you harvest leaves, they’ll grow more!
4. Pick between 2 to 4 leaves per harvesting session — we don’t want to leave the plant bare.
DO YOU HAVE A LITTLE TIME TO SPARE?
If you have 10 minutes and can get out to the garden area this week, we encourage you to do it! There are a few weeds feeding off the good soil and we need to pick them.
TIP: Pull carefully so that you can get them by the roots. Getting rid of a few weeds while you’re harvest a few leaves for a dinner salad would be GREAT!!
If you get out there today, keep in mind that the ground is pretty soggy…so be careful!
COMING SOON!
The potatoes, broccoli and onions are still growing. We’ll keep you posted when they’re ready!
Eric plans to stop by this weekend to get tomatoes, okra, cucumbers and eggplant in the ground. If you have a little extra time this weekend and don’t mind helping out, follow up with Eric to coordinate a time.
**If you have any questions or want to know how you can help, send me a holler!
Limited Edition Carolina or Bust Tees
click to zoom
Congrats to Meghan and Duncan at High Street Design! They are the winners of our first design contest of 2013.
For a month only, you can order this awesome limited edition graphic.
Here’s what you need to know:
- These shirts are from our Cotton of the Carolinas line – made entirely, dirt-to-shirt, right here in North Carolina and impacting over 500 jobs along the way.
- The fabric is ringspun and printed with REHANCE – it’s soft, durable and has a no-feel print.
- We’re taking orders until the end of May and then will produce the shirts to order. You’ll receive yours by the end of June.
- Sizes available are Adult S – XXL and Ladies S – XL.
Bringing It Home – Hemp Documentary Screening
The filmmakers of Bringing It Home are excited to announce their North Carolina premiere and audience engagement campaign fundraiser with The Abundance Foundation.
Bringing It Home is a documentary tells the story of hemp’s past, present and future through interviews with hemp business leaders and entrepreneurs from all over the globe, historical images and media clips, and footage filmed in the U.K, Spain, Washington D.C., California and North Carolina. The documentary aims to magnify dialogue about hemp in order to facilitate America’s transition to a more informed, sustainable, and healthy future. You can learn more on the main website.
At TS Designs, we see how bringing industrial hemp back to the States would improve our economy. Hemp is easy to grow and it has so many uses, can be made into so many different useful products – and that means new jobs! And, to address the marijuana discussion, industrial hemp is not the same plant. In fact, it cross pollinates with marijuana and makes it less powerful. It’s time to realize industrial hemp and marijuana are not the same thing, so they shouldn’t be regulated in the same way.
We encourage you to attend the Bringing It Home screening to learn more!
When: Friday May 17th, 7:00 -10:00 p.m. (Rate Date: May 18th)
Where: Piedmont Biofuels, 220 Lorax Lane, Pittsboro, NC
Advance tickets are $15 and $20 at door day of event. But why wait? Go ahead and buy them now on the Bringing It Home website! Plan to bring your lawn chairs (or blankets) and your eco-friendly, reusable water bottle! There will be refreshments and live music too! Invite you friends and make it a night out!
The Logistics of Cotton of the Carolinas
We absolutely love hearing from groups who want to use TS Designs and the Cotton of the Carolinas project within an educational setting.
It happened again just recently. Jennifer H. from Caldwell Community College (Watauga Campus) in Boone, NC reached out to let us know that her team had chosen to research our company and present our process in their Logistics Class. As you can see, they highlighted some important facts from our Cotton of the Carolinas project.
Collaboration of Farmers and Manufacturers
When the Cotton of the Carolinas concept was introduced, industry professionals scoffed at the idea that farmers and manufacturers would actually make a concerted effort to work together to create a final product. Industry standard is that cotton is grown somewhere; and manufactures get their goods from that “somewhere.” It’s never as real as buying from the cotton farmer in the next county within the same state. And that is what Cotton of the Carolinas wanted to be – REAL.
Dirt to Shirt
We say made in America with pride. But it goes even beyond that. It starts by being grown in America – American soil and American farmers growing both conventional and organic cotton. And Cotton of the Carolinas gets even a little more detailed than that! We use NC dirt on NC farms to grow our cotton. We really like calling Carolina home – and we want to do all that we can to support our local area! So, we keep our cotton and make sure that our neighbors, who also happen to be textile experts, are the ones who benefit from what’s been grown. It’s really a great way to support local business!
Low Transportation Footprint
Because we keep all the activity right here in our country and within our state, we can keep our transportation footprint lower than the industry standard. All the stages that make up a supply chain could require thousands and thousands of miles of traveling. Just think about it – importing cotton from India or Egypt so that a tee can be made in the USA already puts a lot of miles on the final product. The Cotton of the Carolinas project keeps everything within about 700 miles. We’re doing everything we can to make sustainable choices.
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We send our thanks to Jennifer H. and her Team for highlighting our work here at TS Designs!
Fracking North Carolina
Image Source: http://on.fb.me/12BrfT5 | Say no to fracking in NC on Facebook
Fracking is a hot topic these days. You hear it just about everywhere. And it’s being highlighted in North Carolina as Lee County has been zeroed-on as a prime location for fracking.
What is fracking?
Basic definition: it’s a technique used to release petroleum (i.e. natural gas) from underground.
The process of fracking creates some serious consequences for the environment, and there’s a lot of concern from the community about what the long term affects are going to be.
For example: hydraulic fracturing creates millions of gallons of toxic waste water.
Long after the economic boost, what bruises with the environment be nursing?
WUNC is hosting a new series entitled: Fracking North Carolina.
You can read the first story written by Richard Ziglar here.
There is also a vocal online community on Facebook: Say no to fracking in NC
Share your thoughts on fracking in our comments section.
Cotton of the Carolinas is a collaboration of farmers and manufacturers across the state dedicated to growing, making, and selling its t-shirts in the Southeast.