Fair Trade Mother’s Day Brunch and giveaway
Hi friends! Happy humpday! Hope you had some fun Cinco de Mayo adventures. I’ll be back later today with a recap of ours, but in the meantime, how about a little brunch date??
When my friends at Fair Trade asked me to participate in their virtual Mother’s Day brunch, I definitely wanted to join in the fun. I picked a recipe that’s quick to put together yet special enough for holiday. This one includes two of my savory favorites: California toast and sweet potato hash.
Sometimes the most delicious breakfasts are the simplest. The best part: the company surrounding you at the table. <3
For the California toast, I grabbed some brown rice bread to put in the toaster, pico de gallo, goat cheese and avocado. Next, I chopped two small red bell peppers, 1/2 a sweet onion, and 8 very small sweet potatoes.
(You can find Fair Trade avocados and bell peppers at Whole Foods)
I boiled the potatoes for about 5 minutes to soften them, then drained.
Next, I added them back to the same pot with 1 heaping tablespoon of coconut oil, the onion, 2 minced garlic cloves, the chopped bell pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika, salt and pepper. I cooked these on medium while the Pilot made perfect poached eggs.
To get each toast ready, I topped with sliced avocado, salt and pepper,
added the poached egg, then pico, crumbled goat cheese, and cilantro.
It’s my dream perfect savory brunch: something I’d happily order at a restaurant, but simple enough to make for a weekday quick breakfast.
My friends at Fair Trade kindly sent me a box of goodies, packed with treats from some of my favorite brands.
Here’s some more info on the Fair Trade mission, which has a significant positive impact on fair wages, safe working conditions, and environmental sustainability across the world.
Similar to my last post, they paired me up with a Fair Trade mom so I could learn more about her story and experience with Fair Trade. This is Basingwa Maria, an inspirational coffee farmer & member of the Dukunde Kawa Cooperative in Rwanda.
(doesn’t her beautiful spirit just radiate from her smile?)
Basingwa Maria started farming in 1974. She says that after her husband died in the war she poured her heart into her coffee trees. Coffee was her family’s sole source of income, and she had to make it profitable. She joined the cooperative in 2000, and with the increased income she has received from her fair trade coffee over the years, she has been able to bring running water to her home and invest in solar panels on her roof. She hopes to bring electricity to her house soon.She has also been able to diversify her family’s nutrition. They used to eat potatoes and beans everyday with no change, and they could not afford food at the market or oil for cooking. Now her family is able to buy food from the market and do not have to soly rely on growing everything they eat.
While she never attended school, she says that because of the cooperative all of her children were able to attend school and two of them are currently in university.
“After the war I never believed we could get this kind of life. Having this beautiful house, sitting with my children having discussions of how to improve our lives.”
She has twice won the cup of excellence award from her cooperative, and she says that her high quality coffee is due to following the agronomist’s advice and also from investing in cows which provide organic fertilizer.
My friends at Fair Trade offered to send one lucky reader the same package they sent me, filled with these awesome treats:
(Thank you to Simple Truth, Vosges, Cascadian Farm, Near East, Arrowhead Mills, Prana, Unreal, Eco Lips, Numi Organic Tea, Nutiva, Wholesome!, Lake Champlain, Bark Thins, Just Love Coffee Roasters and Whole Foods!)
Here’s how to enter:
Leave a comment below with your all-time favorite brunch spot or order
Pin an image from this post, and leave an extra comment with the link to your pin
I’ll pick a lucky winner this Sunday (5/10) at midnight (EST) and will announce the winner Monday morning.
Ready, set, go!
xoxo
Gina
This post is not sponsored. I’m just excited to spread the word about fair Trade and share some fabulous goodies with a lucky winner. xo
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https://www.pinterest.com/chelseaherold/recipes/
Pinned it here! 🙂
i love getting a greek omelet when i go out to brunch!
I always go for something savory – my fav is probably smoked salmon eggs benedict with avocado!
I love eggs benedict for brunch! And mimosas of course.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/59532026300816350/
Eggs Benedict will always be my favorite!
Here’s my pin!
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/53058101836961821/
Eggs Benedict or an omelet is my favorite thing to order. And I steal from my husband who likes french toast or waffles!
Favorite brunch spot is First Watch and the veggie omelet (add avocado) with dressed greens is my all time favorite!
Omelette with goat cheese, sweet potato, and spinach! My favorite every time, with lots of coffee or a Bloody Mary on the side.
Haha!! I will echo the vote for Snooze
Definitely a delicious omelet with a side of coffee cake 🙂
I love Snooze too! So so good.
The link to my pin:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/79094537182877860/
Pinned it!!
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/259871840974812745/
I adore Briggs, it’s the most amazing French toast ever!
Illium Cafe! They were on the food network, they have whole wheat banana macadamia nut pancakes with tropical green tea in white kettles!
P.s. I tried pinning from your website and it keeps sending me to an error message, Does this disqualify me from the contest?
Thank you!
OMG snooze really is the best. For some reason at higher altitudes, I’m STARVING all the time, so when we got to the one in Denver, I couldn’t decide whether to get the breakfast burrito or a sweet potato pancake. The waiter told me a woman in her 90’s came in the other morning and ordered both and finished them, so you can imagine what I did 😉
My favorite brunch spot it Applebee’s here in Topeka. I always order a Mimosa.
I usually go for an omelet when I’m out to breakfast/brunch, but I always hope my husband gets a pancake so I can steal a few bites of that too!
My all time favorite brunch is eggs Benedict!
Here is a link to my pin: http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/1200x/65/b8/d4/65b8d4d250f35b3da9c0ba1e99c5a6a5.jpg
I love French toast!
Eggs Benedict!
From a local SD reader – Snooze…chilaquiles Benedict is amazing…and all the pancakes!
for brunch, i love going to a local cafe called square cafe (in pittsburgh, pa) and getting their special scramble!
here’s my pin!
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/292874781994908512/
I love to order veggie eggs benedict! Thanks for the giveaway!
My all time favorite brunch spot is Norma’s in New York City–it’s hard to beat all of the amazing, decadent pancake options!
I love a place called the Denver Biscuit Company. They make the most incredible biscuits and have some unique combinations.
The Range Cafe in Bernalillo, New Mexico haunts my dreams — so good!!!
My favorite is fancy french toast 🙂
Mel’s Diner in Los Angeles for my Steven’s Favorite omelet
I will always order Eggs Benedict and determine my love for the brunch spot based on that.
pinned! https://www.pinterest.com/pin/58969076347533080/
I love French toast! It’s something I never make for myself.
favorite brunch spot, hands down, is The Original Breakfast in little ol Albany, Oregon. sad that we live 3,000+ miles away. 🙁
I love ordering veggie hash with an egg on top for brunch! So savory and delicious 🙂
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/108016091039797786/ pinned it! I’ll have to make this recipe soon!
my favorite has to be veggie omlets and sweet potato hash 🙂
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/152066924895030681/
My brunch favorites are raspberry and walnut pancakes with a spicy bloody mary on the side!
I love eggs Benedict with homefries!
I love pancakes from Snooze, the best!
Brunch…yumm! The very idea of combining breakfast and lunch makes me drool. To pick one favorite is hard, but I guess I’ll go with an egg scramble or bake – loaded with goodness.
Pinned! –> https://www.pinterest.com/pin/437552920023904754/
I love the Huevos Rancheros from the Redwood Café in Northern Cali that I created it at home! It’s brown rice, black beans, a fried egg, cheese, pico de gallo and sliced jalapenos. So delicious!
favorite brunch place is HOME in LA (the los feliz location). I usually choose a savory breakfast but there’s some pancakes from Clinton’s in NY that I would choose over any savory breakfast.
The Ramos House Café in San Juan Capistrano legitimately has the best brunch I’ve ever had. Too bad I live on the other side of the country now!
Mo’s in Campbell, CA has to be my favorite brunch spot…I like to try something new everytime but there benedicts are amazing and the bottomless all day mimosas aren’t bad either. 😉