These two dishes are staples at my house. They are essentially the same recipe but the mac and cheese calls for a bit more of the first four ingredients. I use a quinoa pasta in the mac and cheese recipe but you can use any pasta. Nutritional yeast can be found in the bulk section of Whole Foods and many grocery stores.
If you read this blog regularly, you know I am a huge proponent of juicing. I drink a green juice every morning because it provides micronutrients that go straight to the cells. Recently, I have added in a smoothie as part of my daily ritual. It provides fiber, macronutrients, vitamins and it goes a long way to keeping me satiated and full of energy.
Here are some of the ingredients that I use regularly. As always, USE ORGANIC only or you will be ingesting lots of pesticides.
WARNING: Consult your doctor if you are on a blood thinner, including aspirin because most of these ingredients are natural blood thinners. Continue reading “Berry Kale Smoothie”
The Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) are terrified that the people of Vermont will soon know what is in their food. Vermont just passed the first no strings attached genetically modified Organism (GMO) labeling laws. Not only will foods that are GMO/genetically engineered (GE) be labeled, but they will no longer be able to make the false claim that GE food is “all natural.”
The GMA is wants to make sure that other states do not follow Vermont’s lead. They are trying to enact voluntary, watered down federal legislation that will prevent states from passing their own GMO labeling laws.
Please consider boycotting the brands below. These impostor organic brands such as Naked Juice, Muir Glen, Odwalla and Honest Tea are owned by big food companies who contribute millions to the GMA and want to keep you in the dark about your food. Vote with your dollars.
Who are the Traitor Brands? Here are the worst culprits, their parent companies, and the amount they spent just to defeat Prop 37 and I-522 (GMO labeling laws in California and Washington):
This is a pivotal moment in the fight to know what is in our food. The integrity of organic food and labeling issues are very much in flux right now.
As it stands about 90% of all corn, soy, cotton, canola, sugar beets grown in the U.S. contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or are considered genetically engineered (GE). About 50% of zucchini, yellow squash and Hawaiian papaya are GE.
What does that mean? According to the Institute of Responsible Technology, “A GMO (genetically modified organism) is the result of a laboratory process where genes from the DNA of one species are extracted and artificially forced into the genes of an unrelated plant or animal. The foreign genes may come from bacteria, viruses, insects, animals or even humans. Because this involves the transfer of genes, GMOs are also known as “transgenic” organisms.”
Why does this matter to you? 85- 90% of all processed foods contain one or more GMO ingredient. GMOs were introduced to the market in the mid 90’s without any long-term testing. That’s right. You’ve been the guinea pig for about twenty years.
Perhaps over the last twenty years you’ve noticed a rise in some disease states such as cancer (specifically kidney, breast, colon and anal), diabetes, allergies, gastro-intestinal disorders, infertility, autism, auto-immune disease, ADHD etc. I’m not saying the two are linked, but I would say that there needs to be long-term studies on the effects of GMOs. Continue reading “The Fight to Know What is in Our Food”
It’s a snow day here in Austin (technically, an icy cold mess, but hey, no school). My 13 year old son made this delicious, double-decker concoction. He also took this photo. Yep, there’s not much to do when your steep driveway is iced over. Of course, there is the obvious, go down said driveway on a knee-board all morning, crash many times, then make a smoothie.
I realized this smoothie had 3 of the 8 most nutrient dense foods (hemp seed – in this case hemp milk, chia seeds and berries) listed by Drew Canole; a juicing and health expert.
I think it dropped below 70 degrees here in Austin, TX yesterday so I made this. You can make it vegan or vegetarian or even use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth. I made mine vegan and it was creamy and delicious.
2 Tbs. Butter or Earth Balance (for vegan recipe)
1 chopped organic onion
1 organic Granny Smith Apple (medium to large)
1 box or can of organic pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 small butternut squash
Vegetable broth (about 3 cups)
Salt and pepper
Dash of nutmeg
Can be topped with crème fraiche
Cook the squash until a little tender but not mushy (375 degrees for 15-20 minutes).
In the meantime, sauté the onion and chopped green apple in the butter or earth balance for about five to seven minutes.
When the squash is finished cooking remove the seeds and discard, then scrape out the guts and put it in a pot with onion and apple. Add the pumpkin, vegetable broth, dash of nutmeg and salt and pepper. Heat but don’t boil, reduce to simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour.
Either puree in a blender, food processor or my preferred method, emulsion blender.
