I love you from my head TOMATOES, Gazpacho.

A few weeks back our family went to a community event. It was held at a very small local park and it was AWESOME! The event offered everything from line dancing lessons, scavenger hunts, and a plethora of informational booths. The whole purpose of the social gathering was supporting physical and mental health. We are very fortunate to live in a walking and biking friendly community. This is something our family really values, even though we do own two cars, we enjoy the bike ride to run our errands. Although we live in an active community, we sadly struggle with having a "healthy community". I loved seeing how many people turned out, and loved watching our fellow neighbors learn about better choices. From nutrition to just common exercises, our fellow beach goers were learning how to obtain a healthier lifestyle.

One of the booths that was our personal favorite was a local non-profit called Dig Local. They have a few community gardens all over Jacksonville, where anyone can have their own plot. On top of teaching gardening, they also run a few farmers market throughout town. Their goal is to educate people on good wholesome foods and sustainable farming. We did not leave this booth empty handed, we left with our very own (NON GMO) pea plant, but we also left with a bomb *** Gazpacho recipe.

We enjoyed the sample, and took the recipe hand out to recreate at home. As usual we read the recipe then tweaked it, we seldom follow any cooking recipe to a T. We loved this recipe so much we decided we had to share! This is a quick and easy recipe with minimal ingredients, and has quickly become a go to in our home. Gazpacho is a great addition to your next party, shower, or in our case a quick snack at the house. Only tip I have here, is buy organic if you can for these. Majority of these vegetables are on the dirty dozen list.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons of olive oil

• 1/2 tablespoon of salt

• 2-3 cloves of fresh garlic (we prefer fresh, but you could switch for powdered)

• 1/2 tablespoon of black pepper

• 1 cucumber - peeled and seeds removed

• 2 Roma tomatoes

• 1/2 bell pepper

• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

• 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar

• 1/4 cup of water

• 1 bag of pita chips or chips of choice

Tools:

• Knife

• Cutting board

• Food processor, or blender depending on texture preference

1) The first step is to chop your peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, onions and garlic so that it all fits into your food processor.

2) Once you have your veggies chopped and in the blender add your liquids, salt, pepper and breadcrumbs.

3) Blend for 1-2 minutes or until smooth. If your dip is too watery add a little more breadcrumbs and blend on low.

4) Let the Gazpacho "chill" in the refrigerator for a good hour and serve cold with pita chips.

5) Enjoy!