From Kitchen

sustainable holiday meal planing eco conscious

Waste-Free Kitchen Holiday Tips

With the appropriate planning, you can save money this holiday season without throwing your food ethics out the window.  Forget canned green beans, factory farmed turkey and pre-packaged stuffing.  This year, serve your family a healthy, delicious holiday feast and avoid food waste. The winter holidays are all about abundance—being surrounded by friends and family,…
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vegan vietnamese cuisine
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Vegan Vietnamese Cuisine

The light, fresh flavors of traditional Vietnamese cuisine make a perfect base for exciting vegan cooking. Van, a Vietnamese vegan cook shares her passion for simple, healthy and delicious food.
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Red Thai Curry Recipe
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Red Thai Curry Recipe

Why order takeout when it’s so easy to cook at home? Try this easy Thai curry recipe at home for a simple, healthy and knockout delicious weeknight dinner.
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Soy Anise Braised Oxtail With Preserved Plum

Here’s an easy and delicious recipe for braised oxtail, an often overlooked cut in the US. This recipe can also be made with bone in short ribs, but I hope you’ll take this opportunity to experience how tender and flavorful oxtail can be. Ingredients Oxtails (pasture raised and 100% grassfed beef); here I’m using almost…
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classic pumpkin bread recipe and holiday pantry gift

Traditional Pumpkin Bread Recipe

How to make classic pumpkin bread, and an adjusted recipe that you can give as a pantry gift. I’ve noticed a trend in bakery pumpkin bread. It seems to be getting sweeter, with more fat added, resembling a ginger cake more than a traditional pumpkin quick bread. Here is a recipe for classic pumpkin bread…
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how to use thanksgiving leftovers

Holiday Leftovers: Vegan Cranberry Quickbread

Like many of us, Jenn Sebestyen, author of the Veggie Inspired Blog, found herself with plenty of holiday leftovers.  So what do you do with your gorgeous home made cranberry sauce?  How about transforming it into a treat you can enjoy for breakfast, with tea or as dessert.  Jenn shares this whole food, vegan recipe…
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Organic Diwali Healthy and Sustainable

Modern Organic Diwali Foods: Healthy & Sustainable 2020

This year on October 27, firecrackers will sound throughout the streets of India, as well as many other countries around the world, in celebration of Diwali—the festival of lights.  But as modern lifestyles focus on health and sustainability, the traditional festival foods are changing as well.
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Home Cooking September Soup Recipes

September Soups

These seasonal soup recipes will help you make the most of September’s bountiful harvests as you transition into autumn. Potato and green chili stew by vegetarian cookbook author Deborah MadisonSummer greens and rice soupSeptember garden soupVegan leek fennel walnut soupWild nettle soup, for those who like to forageA beautiful soup make with pumpkin flowers And…
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Cardamom Scented Grassfed Lamb Stew With Prunes Recipe

What do you think of prunes? This amazing pairing of lamb and prunes is guaranteed to give you a new perspective on this humble ingredient. Many people in the US aren’t familiar with prunes as a gourmet ingredient. Prunes are something old people eat to stay regular, right? We can take a cue from the…
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Chicken Ginger Broth for Spring Colds

Many people come down with colds, flu and sinus infections when the seasons change.  Here is a recipe for Chinese ginger chicken broth that, with a little bed rest, will have you feeling better in no time. Ingredients One organically raised, ethically sourced whole chicken (giblets removed).  For guidelines on buying healthy, humane chicken, check…
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Sheep milk curry and rose petal marinade for heritage breed turkey breast

Rose Petal And Indian Curry Heritage Breed Turkey Breast

Heritage breed turkeys taste richer, but can dry out when cooked. Here is an easy and delicious marinade that delivers a flavorful, moist turkey breast without a lot of fuss. I am excited to see BN Ranch heritage breed turkey at the market, a real seasonal treat. The BN stands for Bill Niman (of Niman…
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make your own coconut yogurt from whole coconuts

How to Make Yogurt From Fresh Whole Raw Coconuts

Thick, creamy homemade coconut yogurt made from coconut flesh—without the fillers and thickeners found in store bought coconut yogurt. If you do this entirely from scratch, it takes time and labor. In my opinion, the result is unquestionably worth it. There are also some shortcuts that will let you make this yogurt quickly. Many people…
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Juice Cleanse: Starting the New Year Right

Juicing is an excellent way to detox from the excesses of the holiday season and start the new year healthy and light. January is the perfect time to reset your eating habits after a season typically filled with indulgence. Replacing either breakfast and lunch, or breakfast and dinner, with freshly pressed juice is an easy…
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Green Clean: Kitchen Products Review

Eco-friendly kitchen cleaning products Full Circle Neat Nut Walnut Scour Pads Who knew that walnut shells could be so useful? These scour pads are tough enough to handle pots and pans without scratching. Sponges and scouring pads made from plant material take less energy to produce These pads are made from walnut shells, so they…
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Raw Coconut Mango Smoothie

This smoothie tastes a bit like a mango lassie. It’s made with raw, whole food and includes no additional sweeteners, no dairy, nuts or soy. Sustainable Food | Clean Eating | Raw Whole Food Smoothie To make this raw food smoothie, you’ll need to get your hands on some raw young coconut meat. You can…
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South Indian Lime Rice

This South Indian rice dish is easy to make and, besides being delicious, also has the added benefit of turmeric, a powerful anti-inflamatory. Ingredients 2 cups long grain rice, such as Basmati a few curry leaves 1/4 tsp turmeric powder 1/4 tsp asafoedita (hing) 1/4 tsp whole mustard seed 1/2 cup chana dal 1 tsp…
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Drink Tulsi Tea and Ward Off the Flu

Tulsi, also known as Holy Basil, is a remarkably delicious way to ease stress and boost your immune system this flu season. Many of you are familiar with the health benefits of echinacea and goldenseal, especially their ability to strengthen the immune system and ward off the flu. But if you’ve ever drunk them in…
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Recipe High Quality Chicken Stock
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How to Make High Quality Chicken Stock

A chicken stock recipe for serious eaters and serious cooks. Rich in flavor and high in nutrition, this stock will make everything you cook unmistakably better. This is the indispensable ingredient in so much good cooking. You’ll be amazed at how a truly well made stock will elevate all it touches, from rissotto to soup, braises…
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how to avoid salmonella

Avoid Salmonella Contamination in the Kitchen

Some people mistakenly believe that buying organic or sustainably raised chicken or poultry means they don’t have to worry about Salmonella. Following proper kitchen protocol when handling poultry can help you reduce the risk of food poisoning. Every year, a million people in the US are sickened by Salmonella. Nineteen thousand of them end up…
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braised escarole with mustard and bacon recipe
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Braised Escarole With Bacon and Mustard Recipe

This warm, easy and satisfying dish is perfect as lunch or a light dinner, or as a side dish. Braised escarole with bacon and mustard There are so many leafy greens to eat, and so little time! Don’t get stuck eating the same rounds of spinach, chard and kale. Perhaps you’ve never eaten escarole, or…
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Cooking From Scratch: Cilantro Lime Sauce

A blender is a quick cook’s best friend and sauces can be made in a snap.   Sometimes you just need a sprig or two of a herb, such as cilantro, and yet you have to buy it in a huge bunch. That’s one reason I grow nearly all my own kitchen herbs, but last…
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Green Jamu Recipe: Healing Indonesian Turmeric Juice

The health benefits of turmeric juice are many, it really is a superfood, even if it looks like an orange mummy finger.  If you’ve not tried it already, here is another jamu recipe that will also give you a solid helping of greens. Feel free to substitute other greens or herbs. It’s been unseasonably hot…
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Roast a Whole Cauliflower

A delicious vegetable side dish that takes nearly zero prep time.  Just throw it in whole. Here’s how: Buy an organic cauliflower, or better yet, grow one. Preheat your oven to 325 F Rinse, drain and pat dry your whole cauliflower. place head up on a baking sheet (with sides…if it’s a totally flat cookie…
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Roasted citrus slices

How To Eat Citrus: Roasting Slices

Next time you’re roasting veg or meat in your oven, throw in a sliced lemon or two.  You’ll be amazed at what heat and some good quality olive oil will produce. One way to enjoy citrus fruits is to roast them in olive oil, sprinkled with good sea salt.  You can slice them very thinly,…
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Amazing Pecan Banana Bread Recipe

Even though this recipe only uses a half stick of butter, the banana bread smells and tastes amazingly buttery. Chunks of high quality dark chocolate and whole pecan halves make this an indulgent treat with afternoon tea. This banana bread has a wonderful, tender texture and is not overly sweet. It’s better the day after…
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Easy Pot Au Feu

Cooking Notes Start with cold water. Put all your ingredients in a pot, fill with cold water and then bring to a boil. Don’t boil the water first. I’m not a big fan of long-cooked vegetables.  They make a tasty broth, but eating them? Nah. I throw out the veg once the pot au feu…
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vegan christmas recipes

Favorite Holiday Dinner Party Vegan and Vegetarian Cookbooks

Recipes for a gorgeous and festive holiday dinner party While there are many cookbooks out there that inspire you to cook healthy, simple every day vegan and vegetarian meals to get you through your workweek, here are some cookbooks that will help you plan and execute a holiday feast or festive dinner party. Even if you…
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Non-toxic Kitchen: Lemon Vinegar Cleaner

Make this easy, natural, non-toxic multi-purpose kitchen cleaner with lemon peels and white vinegar. Sustainable Food | Reuse and Compost | Non Toxic Kitchen Keep a glass jar filled with white vinegar in your kitchen cupboard or on the counter, and throw your lemon peels in it.  Make sure to keep the lid on tightly. …
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sous vide lamb with prunes

Sous Vide Lamb Shoulder Chop

Perfectly tender and medium rare all the way through, here is a method perfect for a thick lamb shoulder chop. Sustainable Food | Clean Eating | How To Cook Sous vide is technically cooking under vacuum seal, but here is an easy method I use that requires no vacuum and no special equipment. What you’ll…
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Non-Toxic Kitchen Remodel

by Dane O’Leary Whether due to personal health reasons or to be more conscious of our effects on the environment, some of us worry about the toxicity of health and beauty products, pesticides and preservatives in food and produce, and the leaching of chemicals. Buying organic has extended to most areas of our lives, so…
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Death By Ratatouille: Are You Allergic To Nightshades?

Nightshade vegetables may be secretly making you sick Okay, Death may be a bit extreme here, but you would be surprised how many people have a sensitivity to common nightshade vegetables. You’ve heard of the Deadly Nightshade. Hikers and foragers learn to avoid the tasty looking, yet poisonous, berries on this wild growing plant. But…
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recipes

Weekend Food Links

Our top picks for cooking this weekend Healthy and delicious recipes and inspiration from some of our favorite sites. Cinnamon Almond Baked Oatmeal TheHealthyApple.com Warm, crunchy, tart and sweet. An indulgent way to wake up this weekend. Amie’s recipe is gluten free, dairy free, vegan and soy-free, and packed with flavor and nutrition. Butter Hummus…
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What to Eat After Getting Your Wisdom Teeth Removed?

My housemate recently had one of his wisdom teeth removed.  It wasn’t impacted, so the surgery was fast and clean. He needed to have soft, healing foods for the first two days.  Here are some suggestions on what to eat after getting your wisdom teeth removed.   Pumpkin potato soup Ingredients One small roasted pumpkin…
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Crepes Make an Easy Fast Meal

Many people think of crepes as being French, but cultures all over the world enjoy their own style of crepes.  Here are some crepe recipes to spark your imagination. Crepe recipes Classic Crepes Suzette Delicate Lacey Crepes Basic Crepe Recipe Chinese Jian Bing (with duck eggs) Chinese Scallion Crepes Vegan Everyday Veggie Crepe Recipe (vegan) Vegan…
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Compost, Not Packaging

While it’s better to recycle than send rubbish to the landfill, it’s even better to start with whole foods. That way you make compost, not recycled packaging. I enjoyed a refreshing smoothie today and when I went to clean up, I realized a happy fact: all I had was compost.
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How to Compost at Home: The Basics

Although there are a plethora of books written on how to compost, before you start at home it is important to understand how composting works and the different methods that you can employ. As a form of waste recycling, composting at home is a great way to decrease the amount of refuse entering our already…
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DIY Non-toxic Natural Kitchen Cleaners

The household cleaning isle at your local grocery store will try to convince you that every thing in your house requires a specialized cleaning solution of its very own. There are specific cleaners for ovens, drains, tarnished silverware, and even a special wash to remove pesticides and wax from your fruits and vegetables. But why…
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Cooking From Scratch: How To Make Salad Dressing

Skip the weird flavors, cheap ingredients, chemicals, high price and packaging. Making salad dressing from scratch is easy.. Making your own salad dressing is healthier because you can control what goes in, as well as the quality and freshness of those ingredients.
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7 Easy, Fresh Sauce Recipes

Looking for something fast, fresh and healthy to spice up this week’s meals? Try one of these versatile, no-cooking necessary sauces that can be used as a marinade, a dip, a salad dressing, and in some cases even a side dish.
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budget organic meals

Eat Organic for Less: Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Here’s another example of how you can enjoy healthy organic food on a budget. When you think of eating organic, you probably don’t think of a meal for two for less than $5. Here is a real life example of what an inexpensive, nutritious and organic meal looks like.
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