04/09/2026
Greetings Friends! We wanted to officially announce that The IllumiNation Project and our community outreach program, Rising Light, has reached its next stage. After over a decade visiting and learning about intentional communities and taking part in our own form of decentralized intentional community in St. Pete, FL, we took to the wind like seeds and are replanting ourselves in the northeast of U.S. for much of the year.
We are continuing to visit intentional communities and regenerative farms but this time for longer stints. We are finding the right fit for us to live, learn, and continue our work of offering educational experiences related environmental regeneration, personal growth and healthy self-expression.
As we travel, we continue to practice minimal, eco-friendly living as best we can. In our next few posts we’ll share our latest edition of travel tips that are light on the budget and on the Earth.
Tip 1: Food Planning
Food planning is essential on a roadtrip. We strive to eat fresh, organic, unprocessed food and that’s generally not easy to do cheaply on the fly. Food prep enables us to eat well fast. Prepared tofu, broccoli salad, hummus, pesto, salsa, variety of fresh produce that we flash-freeze before we leave helps make cooking a breeze. We also stock up on non-perishables like canned beans, tomatoes, potatoes. We also find that up north, most veggies and fruits don’t need to be in a cooler until they’re cut. Before we left St. Pete, we harvested the last of our mustard greens and bananas and made the following yummy dishes.
Mustard greens-Feta-Balsamic-White Bean Dish:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or pressed through a garlic press
- 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes, optional
- 2 (14-ounce) cans white beans, drained and rinsed, liquid reserved
-5 shiitake mushrooms sliced
-1 medium carrot
-1 medium yellow squash quartered
- 5 cups of mustard greens (3 bunches) chopped into bite-sized pieces
-1 yellow onion chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 to 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- Feta cheese for serving, optional
Heat olive oil at low-medium in 12 in pan
Add onion and cook til almost translucent
Add mushrooms ad cook til most of the liquid is gone
Add carrots cook til almost soft and then
Add yellow squash cook tll it starts to soften
Add beans, liquid, chili flakes, and balsamic. You can also add a tsp of corn starch and stir til dissolved and creamy
Add greens a handful at a time and stir. The heat will make them wilt, add more to the pan
Top with feta cheese if desired
* 6 very ripe bananas, mashed (3 cup)
* ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, more for brushing
* ¼ cup almond milk
* 2 eggs
* 3 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1½ cups All-Purpose Baking Flour
* ½ cup almond flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* ¼ teaspoon baking soda
* ½ teaspoon sea salt
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* ½ cup chopped walnuts, plus 2 tablespoons for topping
* Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease an 8x4 or 9x5-inch loaf pan.
* In a large bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, butter, eggs, and vanilla.�
* In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon
* Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Don’t overmix. Fold in the ½ cup walnuts.
* Pour the batter into the prepared pan and top with the remaining 2 tablespoons walnuts.
* Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the top springs back to the touch. I like to check the loaf after 40 minutes. If the top is golden brown, I cover it with foil for the remaining bake time to prevent further browning.
Tastes great with peanut butter or cream cheese!
Stayed tuned for our next post when we share about Hal’s Compost Travel Toilet!
