Cooking and preparing food is one of the easiest ways to start living mindfully and sustainably. Sure, it may not happen every night, but do your best to slow down and enjoy the process of creating a delicious homemade meal for your family. Be thankful for the high-quality organic and local ingredients you buy and for the people who grow them. Appreciate the act of sitting down at the table with your loved ones. Then dig in and reap the benefits of your labors!
For all the recipes in this chapter, use organic and sustainably produced ingredients whenever possible.
Just like we learn to take a balanced approach to healthy eating, we can take a balanced approach to eating with the environment in mind. Instead of an all-or-nothing green mandate, take the “earth-balanced” approach. The earth-balanced approach allows for a practical mix of earth-friendly, healthy and convenient ingredients: organic and conventional, local and imported, homemade and store-bought—you get the picture. If I make a homemade birthday cake using organic milk and cage-free eggs, I won’t sweat the fact that I used conventional all-purpose flour. If I serve vegetarian meals a couple times a week, I’m not going to feel guilty about buying a steak for a special occasion. Try substituting an earth-friendly ingredient or two in your next meal.
In my attempts to make more earth-balanced meals, I’ve been actively trying to cut back the amount of meat I use. One of my strategies is to use only half a package of meat at a time. For example, if I’m making a stir-fry, I might use half a typical package of chicken breasts and make up the difference in veggies. The remaining meat goes in the freezer for another day.
Next time you’re about to grab a frozen pizza, try making Pizza Puffys instead. Kids just love this egg-based dish that is a cross between a pancake, an omelet and a pizza! It puffs up dramatically in the oven, and you can customize with whatever ingredients you or your children like. Much tastier than a frozen pizza, Pizza Puffys are homemade from healthy ingredients with no preservatives and can be the centerpiece of a meat-free or low-meat meal.
1⁄2 cup (114g) all-purpose, unbleached flour
1⁄2 cup (117ml) milk
2 T (28g) butter
Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C). Mix flour, eggs and milk together. Batter will be a bit lumpy. Melt butter in a 9" (23cm) pie dish. Pour in batter. Bake for 20 minutes or until light golden brown and puffy.
Serve immediately as is, or sprinkle with shredded cheese and other topping ingredients and pop it back in the oven for another 5 minutes.
Serves 4-6.
1⁄4 cup (58ml) tomato sauce, spread on bottom of puffy
1⁄2 cup (114g) shredded mozzarella cheese
1⁄2 cup (114g) sliced pepperoni or salami (optional)
1⁄2 cup (114g) chopped, cooked broccoli
1⁄2 cup (114g) cooked corn kernels
1⁄2 cup (114g) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1⁄4 cup (58ml) salsa, spread on bottom of puffy
1⁄2 cup (114g) black beans
1⁄2 cup (114g) shredded cheddar cheese
Instead of a boring old meat loaf, try this delicious and super-healthy veggie loaf. It is loaded with fresh vegetables, brown rice, nuts and cheese and can easily be customized with your favorite ingredients.
2 T (30ml) vegetable oil, plus oil for loaf pan
1 cup (228g) diced onion
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 cups (457g) grated carrot
21⁄2 cups (571g) cooked brown rice
1 cup (228g) cottage cheese
2 cups (457g) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup (228g) chopped, toasted cashews
4 large eggs
1 tsp. (5g) cumin
1⁄2 tsp. (2g) salt
2 T (28g) chopped parsley
Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Coat a 9"x5" (25cmx13cm) loaf pan with oil or cooking spray.
Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until softened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add grated carrot and sauté another 5 minutes. Let cool.
In a large mixing bowl, combine rice, cottage cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, cashews and eggs together. Stir in carrot mixture. Add cumin, salt and parsley and mix well.
Pack mixture into prepared loaf pan. Bake for about 60 minutes until firm to the touch and brown around the edges. Let cool for at least 15 minutes. Unmold and slice to serve.
Serves 4–6.
Use the same ingredients and directions as above, with the following changes:
Substitute 2 cups (457g) broccoli florets for grated carrot.
Substitute 1 cup (228g) toasted walnuts for cashews.
Substitute 2 T (28g) prepared pesto for chopped parsley.
Eliminate cumin.
Try your hand at a homemade fruit crisp that is much healthier than store-bought desserts loaded with ingredients you can’t pronounce. Pick up whatever fresh, seasonal fruit you find at your local farmer’s market—peaches, plums, apples or a mix of seasonal berries—any combination will work. Add a crunchy oat topping and pop it in the oven. In no time you will have a yummy homemade dessert that you will feel good about serving to your family.
1⁄2 cup (114g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (228g) rolled oats
1⁄2 cup (114g) chopped walnuts or pecans
1⁄3 cup (78g) raw cane sugar or packed brown sugar)
1⁄2 tsp. (2g) cinnamon (optional-goes best with apples, peaches and nectarines)
1⁄2 cup (113g) chilled butter
4 cups (914g) fresh fruit
1⁄2 cup (114g) raw cane sugar (or packed brown sugar)
Note: For apple crisp, add 2 T (30ml) lemon juice and 1 T (14g) flour to the filling mix.
Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Butter a 21⁄2 quart (2.5L) baking dish.
Stir together flour, oats, nuts, sugar and cinnamon in a medium-sized bowl. Cut in the butter in small pieces and mix with your fingertips until well blended. Mixture will be crumbly.
Toss all filling ingredients together in another bowl. Pour into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle fruit is bubbling and topping is crisp, about
Serves 8–10.
HealthyHintsRaw cane sugar is a type of minimally processed sugar with a rich caramel flavor. Originally popular as a sweetener for coffee or tea, it also works well granulated white and brown sugars. Its coarse texture makes it perfect for sprinkling on desserts for a little extra crunch.
We are a nation hooked on snacking. Everywhere we turn, we find more snacks and smart marketers have made it oh-so-easy to take snacks with us everywhere we go. Bars, pouches, tubes, even snacks made to fit in our car’s cup holders are available at the nearest convenience store at any time of day or night. If you have kids, you probably don’t dare leave the house for long without something for them to munch on. But what about all that packaging that ends up in the landfill?
Check out these recipes for portable snacks that let you leave the wasteful packaging behind.
These little snacks are packed with good nutrition and energy-boosting ingredients and are a great alternative to prepackaged energy bars. Give them to your kids before the big game or bring them to work to help you through that afternoon slump. The secret ingredient in these tasty treats is dates. Dates are naturally sweet and a great source of minerals like potassium, magnesium and calcium as well as vitamin A and many important B vitamins.
1⁄2 cup (114g) chopped dates
1⁄3 cup (78g) almonds
1⁄4 cup (57g) dried cherries
1⁄8 tsp. (.6g) cinnamon
Mix all ingredients together in a food processor until well blended. Shape mixture into 1” (3cm) balls. Makes approximately 8–10 pieces. Store in a sealed container.
1⁄2 cup (114g) chopped dates
1⁄3 cup (78g) cashews
1⁄4 cup (57g) coconut
1⁄2 tsp. (2.5ml) vanilla or coconut extract
1⁄2 cup (114g) chopped dates
1⁄3 cup (78g) peanuts
1⁄4 cup (57g) chocolate chips
1⁄2 tsp. (2.5ml) vanilla extract
Next time you need a healthy snack to take on the go, skip the individually packaged granola or snack bars and try these yummy, homemade Go Bars instead. The easy, no-bake recipe is adaptable to your favorite combination of nuts, dried fruits and sweeteners.
11⁄2 (343g) cups rolled oats
1⁄2 cup (114g) wheat germ (flaxseed meal or oat bran can be substituted)
11⁄2 cups (343g) crisped rice cereal (use crisped brown rice cereal if you can find it)
1 cup (228g) nuts (slivered almonds, chopped walnuts, chopped pecans, peanuts etc.)
1 cup (228g) dried fruit (cranberries, cherries, apricots, golden raisins etc.)
1⁄2 cup (117ml) liquid sweetener (honey, agave nectar, brown rice syrup or maple syrup)
1⁄2 cup (114g) raw cane sugar (or packed brown sugar)
1 T (15ml) canola or other vegetable oil
1 tsp. (5ml) vanilla
1⁄4 tsp. (1g) salt
Grease a 9" x 13" (23cm x 33cm) pan.
Mix rolled oats, wheat germ, crisped rice cereal, nuts and dried fruit together in a large bowl.
Combine the liquid sweetener, cane sugar, oil, vanilla and salt in a small saucepan. Heat on medium until cane sugar dissolves and mixture gets just slightly thick (3 to 4 minutes). Pour liquid over the oat mixture and stir until evenly incorporated.
Spread into the prepared pan. Cool to room temperature and cut into bars. (Hint: For firmer, easier-to-cut bars, press the mixture down with a piece of waxed paper.)
Once you taste these incredible cheese crackers, you’ll have a hard time going back to the box. Made with real cheddar cheese, these crackers are free of preservatives and artificial flavors or colors. Your kids can help by cutting them into their favorite animal shapes. Pack them in a snack box, and you’re ready to go!
1⁄2 cup (113g) butter
2 cups (457g) shredded cheddar cheese
11⁄2 cups (342g) all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1 tsp. (5g) salt
2 T ice (30ml) water (use only as much as needed to make dough stay together)
Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C).
Mix butter, cheddar cheese, flour and salt in a food processor. Pulse until well mixed. Add ice water 1 teaspoon at a time until dough just starts to hold together. (Don’t add too much water, or the crackers will be tough instead of flaky.)
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a ball. (If the dough is still too dry, sprinkle 1 more teaspoon of water over the dough and try again.)
Refrigerate dough for 15 minutes.
Roll dough out to desired thickness, about ⅛" to 1⁄4" (3mm to 6mm). Use cookie cutters to cut into animal shapes. Lay the shapes onto a baking sheet.
Bake for 10–15 minutes or until edges just start to brown. Time will vary depending on the thickness of the cracker.
Let crackers cool for 10 minutes before diving in.
Lunchtime is the perfect time to introduce your kids to a rainbow of food choices. Instead of sending them off with highly processed, prepackaged food, make fresh, healthy lunches they will gobble up! Here are a few ideas just to get you started.
A typical lunch box is loaded with disposables—plastic bags, paper napkins and single serving foods are to be expected. By transforming just one person’s daily lunch from wasteful to waste-free, you can keep over one hundred pounds of trash out of the landfill. For more information and tips on reducing lunchtime waste, see www.wastefreelunches.org.
| Instead of | Try |
|---|---|
| Paper bag | Durable, reusable lunch bag or box (see Chapter 3 for more information about sustainable lunch containers) |
| Plastic wrap and plastic bags | Reusable food containers (glass, stainless steel or plastic) |
| Disposable utensils | Reusable utensils (easy to find at thrift stores or garage sales) |
| Paper napkin | Cloth napkin |
| Soda, water or juice in disposable containers | Reusable drink bottle (stainless steel, lined aluminum or plastic) |
| Individually packaged foods like granola bars and crackers | Homemade versions of those snacks |
| Individual apple sauce and fruit cups | Whole fruits instead of packaged |
Savory but with a hint of sweetness, these mini muffins are healthy and filling—sure to be a lunch box hit!
21⁄2 cups (571g) white whole-wheat flour
1 T (14g) baking powder
1⁄2 tsp. (2g) salt
1⁄2 cup (113g) butter, plus more for tin
1⁄2 cup (114g) raw cane sugar (or packed brown sugar)
2 large eggs
3⁄4 cup (171g) milk
1 cup (228g) diced apples (Granny Smith or Braeburn work well)
1⁄2 cup (114g) shredded cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Butter a mini muffin tin. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, cream the butter and sugar with a hand mixer until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the milk and mix until well combined. Stir in the diced apples and shredded cheese. Add the flour mixture, mixing by hand until just barely combined. Do not overmix. Spoon mixture into the muffin tin.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until muffins spring back to the touch and are lightly browned. Makes approximately 36 mini (or 12 regular-sized) muffins.
HealthyHintsHere’s a trick for making homemade muffins and cookies healthier without scaring away the kids: Use white whole-wheat flour. White whole-wheat flour is naturally milder and sweeter tasting than traditional whole-wheat flour but is significantly higher in whole grains than all-purpose flour. Whole grains are important for maintaining heart health, so sneak in more wherever you can!
Kids love this mild, low- or no-garlic version of hummus made with orange juice, tahini and just a touch of cumin.
1 15-oz (429g) can garbanzo beans, drained
1⁄2 cup (117ml) orange juice
3 T (43g) tahini
2 T (30ml) olive oil
1 small clove garlic (optional)
1⁄4 tsp. (1g) cumin
1⁄4 tsp. (1g) salt
Mix all ingredients together in a food processor until smooth.
This is a great dip for apple slices. Or spread it between two gingersnaps to make a delicious dessert.
1 8-oz (116g) package cream cheese
1⁄2 cup (114g) canned or fresh pumpkin puree
1⁄4 cup (57g) brown sugar
2 T (30ml) maple syrup
1⁄2 tsp. (2g) pumpkin pie spice
Mix all ingredients together with an electric mixer in a medium bowl until smooth.
This year, try growing your own basil so you can make your own pesto! Basil can easily be grown in container pots if you don’t have garden space.
1⁄3 cup (68g) pine nuts or walnuts
3 cups (686g) packed basil leaves
3 garlic cloves
1⁄2 cup (114g) grated Parmesan cheese
1⁄2 cup (117ml) olive oil
1⁄2 tsp. (2g) salt
Pulverize nuts in a food processor. Add remaining ingredients and puree until smooth. This recipe makes approximately 1 cup (228g).
Almost anyone will be willing to eat their veggies if they have this to dip them in!
1⁄2 cup (114g) mayonnaise
1⁄4 cup (57g) pesto (store-bought or homemade)
1⁄4 tsp. (1g) salt
Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl.