Grilled Beer Crust Pizzas

 

Friday the 13th is a special day in our lives. It's the day we got engaged (7/13/07)! Now, we always celebrate when it comes along.  One of our favorite celebration meals is grilled pizzas. Since we discovered them, W asks for them just about every year on his birthday. We have them way more often than that, although not as often as either of us would like!

 

It seemed fitting to share them today, since it's Friday the 13th. We won't be having them for dinner because W has to work, but I'm hoping to make them again soon!

 

I've shared pizza ideas with you before here & here, as well as our go-to crust, but recently I discovered a new crust. An Easy Beer Crust, to be exact. I've started making a combination of that & our go-to crust that uses whole grain flour. It's perfect on the grill!

 

 

When we do pizza, I like to top it with as many veggies as possible. On the long tray above, from top to bottom, we had red bell pepper, roasted Brussels sprouts, mushroom slices, onions, grilled ramps, & chopped ramp greens. Not shown was grilled eggplant. For sauces, we used homemade pesto, homemade tomato sauce, & Trader Joe's BBQ sauce. Cheeses included vegan parmesan, raw milk cheddar (we have a local farm that makes it & it's awesome!), & a syrah soaked romano. I like to grate our own cheese because then we don't go overboard with it & because freshly grated cheese doesn't have additives like the bagged variety from the stores.

 

 

About the controlling of the cheese...you can tell W grated it this time. He made the 2 on the cookie sheet that have a blizzard of cheese on them. :-)

The hardest part of grilled pizzas is getting the dough thin enough while still being able to pick it up to transfer it to the grill. Once it's on there, the rest is easy!

 

Grilled Beer Crust Pizzas
Serves 4 generously
Crust adapted from BevCooks & this crust

1 packet active yeast
1/4 c lukewarm water
1 tsp sugar (I use coconut sugar)
3-4 c spelt flour (or use white whole wheat flour)
1/2 tsp salt
1 c beer (I usually use Yuengling Lager, but most kinds will do!)

Topping Ideas:
tomato sauce
pesto
bbq sauce
bell pepper
greens (spinach, kale, chard, etc.)
onion
mushrooms
eggplant
zucchini
Brussels sprouts
broccoli
vegan parmesan cheese
freshly shredded cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, asiago, provolone, etc.)

In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the water, sugar, and yeast. Allow to sit for 15 minutes, or until you see the yeast start to bubble.

Meanwhile, combine 3 cups of flour & the salt together in a large bowl. Once yeast mixture is bubbly, add it to the flour. Stir, then slowly pour in the beer. Mix until a dough comes together, adding more flour if it looks too runny. Dough should form a ball. Turn dough out onto a floured counter top & knead until smooth. If dough is still super wet, add more flour as needed. Lightly coat the empty bowl with cooking spray, then return the dough to the bowl, cover with a towel, and allow to rise in a warm, draft free spot. (I usually use our oven, keeping it turned off.) Let dough rise for 1 hour, then divide it into 4 balls. Cover and allow dough to rest for 30-40 minutes longer.

Preheat the grill to 425 (high). Here's the tricky part! Spray two large cookie sheets (make sure whatever you use doesn't have edges!) with cooking spray. Spread two balls per sheet into pizza crusts. Make sure you don't spread the dough too thin or you will not be able to move them from the sheets to the grill. Gently pick up/slide the dough from the cookie sheets onto the grill. Don't worry if it doesn't come off perfectly - you can gently pull any holes together once it's on the grill (just don't touch the grates). Close the lid & let bake for 10 minutes. Check frequently after that - you're aiming for a crisp bottom but not burnt. The top will look slightly underdone, but no longer be shiny.

Remove crusts from the grill, flipping them so that you are topping the side that was already grilled. Add desired sauces, toppings, & cheese. (See the third picture above.) Return the pizzas to the grill for another 10 minutes, checking frequently after that to ensure the cheese is melted but the bottom doesn't burn. Remove from the grill & enjoy!

Chocolate Bunny Butt Cake + Healthy Peanut Butter Frosting

Last weekend, we had my grandparents over for dinner & to play pinochle. Since we won't see them on Easter, I wanted to have it be an Easter-ish dinner. I asked the Bup what he wanted for dessert and he said, "Chocolate cake!" Surprise! That's what he always wants...

I started thinking of how to make chocolate cake more spring/Easter themed, & stumbled on the Bunny Butt Cake, courtesy of Betty Crocker. Of course, I had to healthify it, so I made my own cake & frosting.

This cake is dense & chocolatey. It's my favorite chocolate cake - one of the few cakes that I could eat without any frosting. That's really saying something, because usually I'm a frosting nut & don't much care about the cake part. While I'm not going to say this is a health food & you should have it every day, it is fairly healthy for chocolate cake.

And the frosting!!!! It's delicious! This is my new go-to peanut butter frosting. It has no butter & no refined sugars, yet it's sweet & smooth, just like it should be. Even if you don't make the cake, you could still use the frosting for other cakes/cupcakes. Believe me, it's yummy!

If you need a dessert for Easter, I hope you'll try this!

Chocolate Bunny Butt Cake
Adapted from Eating Well
Serves 8-10

1 3/4 c white whole wheat flour or spelt flour

3/4 c evaporated cane juice (or organic sugar)

2/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 c buttermilk (I used 2 T apple cider vinegar + 1 c unsweetened almond milk)

3/4 c packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 c coconut oil, melted

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 c hot strong black coffee

1 batch Healthy Peanut Butter Frosting (see recipe below)

2-4 T shredded coconut.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat a 1 1/2-quart ovenproof bowl (8 inches across top) and 6 muffin cups from a regular-size muffin tin with coooking spray.  

Whisk flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add buttermilk, brown sugar, egg, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add hot coffee and beat to blend. Don't worry - the batter is supposed to be thin.

Pour cake batter into the muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Pour remaining batter into the ovenproof bowl.

Bake cupcakes 20-22 minutes, and the bowl 60-70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes each before removing from muffin cups and bowl. Cool completely on wire racks.

Place large dome cake, flat side down, on a large serving platter. Coat with frosting to desired thickness, reserving some frosting for the feet and tail.  Place 2 cupcakes for feet on the bottom of the cake. Place 1 cupcake for the tail a few inches up, centered between the feet. Secure each cupcake with a toothpick through the center, pushing in until it does not show. Carefully coat feet and tail with frosting. Sprinkle shredded coconut onto the tail, pressing gently so that it sticks to the frosting.

Note: This chocolate cake can also be made in 2 round 9" or 8" pans, or a 9x13 pan. Baking times will vary.


Healthy Peanut Butter Frosting
Makes 2.5 cups of frosting

1 1/3 c natural peanut butter
16 dates
2/3 c water
1/4-1/2 tsp. salt (if your pb has salt in it, use the lesser amount and adjust to taste)
1/3 c old-fashioned oats
3 T maple syrup
1/2 c unsweetened almond milk

Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor. Process until smooth and creamy, adding more milk if necessary. Refrigerate in an airtight container for 2 hours to allow flavors to meld and frosting to thicken. This can be done ahead of time; I made mine the night before. When the cakes are cooling, remove from fridge to allow to come to room temperature for easier spreading. Extra frosting can be frozen in an airtight container for about 3 months.

Buckwheat Pesto Salad

This stuff is delicious! It's my first experience with using buckwheat in a savory dish & I'll definitely be using it more in the future. Cooked whole buckwheat groats have a consistancy similar to rice, with the slight chew, & it has a nuttier of flavor.

I first discovered buckwheat groats through another blog I read, Edible Perspective. Ashley introduced me to Buckwheat Bakes (like this Zucchini Bread Buckwheat Bake) as a breakfast item & I really like them! They're very filling & last me through the morning without hunger pains.

When I started making the bakes, I needed to purchase raw buckwheat groats. They were not available in our local stores, so I bought a multi-pack box from Amazon.com. That was best price I found & I knew I'd use them all! The basis for this recipe was on the back of the Bob's Red Mill bag.

Buckwheat is a fairly uncommon food to cook with. It's a little misleading, because while it has "wheat" in the name, it's actually not wheat at all. It's gluten-free, in fact! Even though it's used like a grain, it's actually a seed. It's also high in protein, manganese, magnesium & fiber. Lots of healthy goodness here!

We'll be enjoying this alongside leftovers or with a big salad. I hope you try it!

Buckwheat Pesto Salad
Adapted from Bob's Red Mill
Serves 6-8

1 c Buckwheat Groats
2-1/2 c water
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 Batch Parsley Walnut Pesto
4 cloves garlic
1/4 c fresh basil
1/2 c chopped Walnuts
1 c freshley grated Parmesan cheese

 

In a medium saucpan, bring water and salt to a boil. Add buckwheat groats, cover, and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from stove and leave covered for 5 minutes. Remove lid & fluff with fork.

 

In the meantime, make your parsley walnut pesto. Clean out the food processor and pulse the garlic cloves a few times to chop. Add basil & pulse again until it is chopped and mixed with the garlic.

 

Mix olive oil, parsley pesto, and the garlic-basil together. Stir this into the cooked buckwheat groats. Add walnuts and parmesan cheese. Salt to taste, if needed. Serve warm, or refrigerate in a sealed container & serve cold. It's great both ways!

Millet & Oat Granola

We've been in the mood for granola lately. With all the fresh strawberries we have, it's the perfect combination!

Due to all of the horrors of the dairy industry, I buy organic yogurt. We've tried & enjoyed a variety of yogurts from Stonyfield, but our new favorite is a raw milk yogurt from our local real food emporium.

Now I have to take a moment & do a little plug for this emporium. I'll be the first to admit that some of their products are pricey. It's a small, local store, & it's a matter of business fact that they are going to have to charge more than the super stores.

But where else are you going to get to the register with your $15, only to have your bill total $15.75, & have the owner tell you to just bring the 75 cents next week? We were prepared to put one of the items we wanted back on the shelves, but he said no need, you can owe us. SO NICE!

We also love the Bee's Juice Bar that's in the emporium. The fresh juices are fantastic. I can't wait to try the vegan ice cream on one of our visits. It sounds so good!

So this granola...it's crunchy, it's low in fat, & it's delicious. Granola is very flexible, so if you don't have puffed millet, you could use puffed rice or more oats. Sub another nut for the walnuts. Use almond butter instead of peanut butter. It'll still be delicious, I promise.

Millet & Oat Granola

Adapted from Chocolate & Toast

4 c rolled oats

2 c puffed millet cereal (like this from Arrowhead Mills)

1 c flaked coconut
1 c raw walnuts, chopped
1/2 c ground flax seed
1 c applesauce
2 T maple syrup
2 T honey
3 T natural peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 T cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a large bowl.  Combine the remaining ingredients and pour over dry ingredients. Mix well.  Using either 1 very large baking pan or 2 smaller ones, spread mixture in an even layer.  Bake at 325 for approximately 1 hour. Every 15 to 20 minutes, remove granola from the oven and give it a stir. Granola will continue to crisp once you finish baking it, so keep that in mind when gauging how done it is.

Once granola reaches your desired level of crunch, allow it to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.



Whole Wheat Sourdough Pancakes

Yay for breakfast! Double yay for pancake breafasts!!

I don't know about you, but I love fluffy pancakes. I want them to be thick, fluffy, & filling. Plus, I want them to be a blank slate for any topping I'm in the mood for. I ended up topping these with pure maple syrup, cashew butter, & leftover rhubarb puree. Triple yum!

Ever since my friend Jen posted her quest for perfect sourdough pancakes, I kept thinking about them. And thinking about them. And possibly drooling while thinking about them. So finally I had to make them.

Of course, I can't leave well enough alone. My ideal pancake breakfast would keep me full for several hours. Whole grains are a great way to fuel the body for longer periods of time because they have more fiber & take longer to digest. So I did some research & altered the recipe to include whole grains.

The Bup is very happy about these pancakes because I've been experimenting with a variety of flavors for awhile. Every time, we'd both take one bite & realize we'd rather have a plain pancake. But then the next week, I'd try something new again. There are so many recipes out there that look delicious! This one is here to stay, however, & we've eaten these for 3 Saturdays in a row. I'm sticking with them for as long as I have my sourdough starter. Actually, I think it's an incentive to keep it alive!

If you have a starter going, prep these tonight for your breakfast tomorrow morning!

Whole Wheat Sourdough Pancakes
Makes 8 3-4" round pancakes

1/2 c sourdough starter
3/4 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c water
2 T honey
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 egg, beaten
1 T butter
1 c white whole wheat flour

Combine starter, whole wheat flour, and water. Cover lightly and let stand overnight, or at least 4 hours. Add honey, salt, baking soda, egg, and butter. Stir just until combined. Do not over stir. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Heat skillet to 375*F. Gently stir white whole wheat flour into batter. Pour onto hot skillet, about 1/4-1/3 cup batter per pancake. Allow to cook until edges and middle are covered in tiny bubbles. Flip and cook for another 45 seconds or until cooked through the middle. Serve hot.

Note: Any sourdough starter should work here. I got the recipe for mine from the book How to Bake the Perfect Life & it includes rye flour. I've been feeding it for about 2 months now with whole wheat flour, so I think the rye is eaten up by now! If this one ever dies, I think I'd try making Mama Pea's. The pineapple juice in it intrigues me.

Chewy Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookies & milk, anyone?

I've never really been one to dunk my cookies, but occasionally I'm in the mood for a warm cookie with milk. I love almond milk & that's what I buy for us to drink. Neither of us are really the type to sit down with a glass of milk, so we usually use it in cooking, baking, or cereal. Almond Breeze just came out with almond coconut milk, which is delicious.

It's perfect to pair with a chewy cookie!

I actually like eating cookie dough more than baked cookies, so it's a real testament to these cookies that I've eaten so many already.

Ever since I started doing vegan baking, it's extra dangerous for me to bake cookies. The horrors of eating raw eggs scares me off enough that I'd usually eat maybe 1 or 2 bites of dough. Now, with no raw egg, it's free game. For all of you cookie dough lovers, this is great news!

Whether you like the dough or the actual cookies, these are for you. The tart cranberries are perfect paired with the dark chocolate & the chewy texture of the dough really brings it all together.

Enjoy!

Chewy Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Makes 2 dozen cookies

1 flax egg (1 T ground flax + 3 T warm water)
1/3 c coconut oil
3/4 c light brown sugar
2 T orange juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/3 c white whole wheat flour
1 c dark chocolate chips
1 c dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350*F. In a small bowl, combine ground flax and water. Set aside to let gel. Beat the coconut oil in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy. Add brown sugar & mix. Once combined, add  orange juice, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, & salt. Mix on low until just combined, then add flax egg. Stri in flour, mixing just until no dry flour shows. Use a wooden spoon to fold in chocolate chips & cranberries. Do not overmix! If your dough is super soft, refrigerate for 30 minutes before baking (optional step, but your cookies will be spread less & be thicker). Drop by tablespoons onto baking sheets, keeping cookies about 2" apart as they will spread. Bake for about 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then carefully move to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Apple Pumpkin Beer Bread

Fall is slowly winding down. Daylight savings has come & gone, so now it's dark in both the morning & evening. This makes me want to curl up on the couch with a blanket & a mug of hot tea every.single.night. Not good. Especially when things like meetings & life get in the way.

You're probably ready for me to let go of fall, since I've been talking about it for months now, but I'm trying to hang on a little big longer.

This bread, with its fall flavors of pumpkin, apple, & spices helped just a bit. It's sweet enough to be dessert, but healthy enough for breakfast. Or as a mid-day snack to tide me over until dinner.

Start by mixing up the dry stuff, complete with lots of warming spices! Depending on how spiced the pumpkin beer you use is, you may want to reduce or increase the spices. I used Post Road Pumpkin Ale, which is slightly spiced but not over the top.

Chop up the apples & stir together the wet ingredients. There will be leftover beer, but don't worry about that. I'm sure you'll find a good place for it. ;-)

Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry and mix away.

Then add the apple chunks, stirring just until they're combined. Don't over stir.

Pour the batter into a loaf pan. I put a baking sheet under my loaf pan while baking, just in case, and it did catch a few drippings of batter. I wanted a nice big loaf, so I didn't want to cut back on the ingredients, but I also didn't want to have to clean the oven!

 

Once it cools, you can slice it up & enjoy!

The chunks of apple cooked into little pockets of sweetness, complimenting the spiced bread. Each bite has all the fall flavors, kicked up a notch with the slight hint of beer. I hope you enjoy it!

Apple Pumpkin Beer Bread

Yield: 12 slices

2 1/2 c white whole wheat flour

1/4 c ground flax

1/4 c toasted wheat germ

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

pinch nutmeg

2 c chopped apples

1/4 c coconut oil, melted

1/2 c pumpkin puree

3/4 c agave nectar or maple syrup

3/4 c pumpkin beer

1 T vanilla

Preheat oven to 350*F. Spray a glass loaf pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine white whole wheat flour, flax, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.  In a separate bowl, mix together coconut oil, pumpkin, agave nectar, pumpkin beer and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until no dry ingredients remain. Add apples and stir just until combined. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cook in pan 10 minutes. Invert onto a cooling rack and cool completely before slicing.

Veggies & Amaranth

This weekend we tried some new foods.

I'm always looking for more ways to eat veggies & for grains with great nutritional value.

To start with, I made amaranth for the second time ever. The first time, I popped it to eat as cereal & stunk up the whole house by burning the first 3 batches. This time, I decided to go the safer route & boil it in water. It turned out with a similar consistency to polenta & without any overwhelming flavor, making it a nice blank slate for any flavoring I chose to add.

Amaranth is an ancient grain that has tons of health benefits. It's gluten-free, high in protein & is full of vitamins A & C, folate, thiamine, niacin, calcium, zinc, manganese, iron, & more. It was also very filling. We worked in the garden all afternoon after our lunch & I didn't get hungry!

I'm usually a fresh veggie person, so this was something new for me. I remember as a teen I always wanted those single frozen packs of broccoli with cheese sauce. They weren't even good! Some of the broccoli would heat up to the point of mush and the rest would be ice cold. Not to mention all those weird ingredients.

Frozen veggies that you can cook in their package have come a long way since then. I tried Green Giant Steamers for the first time when the Foodbuzz Tastemaker progam offered me the opportunity. This was my first time trying anything similar to this, & I really didn't know what to expect. The ingredient list is just ok - it's mostly the veggies (mine had potatoes, sugar snap peas & red peppers) with 1% of a bunch of stuff including herbs. All of the veggies were heated completely through without being mushy, but the pepper did get slightly softer than I like them.

 It was a great mix for a quick & easy lunch, although I wouldn't rely on these for every day. I still prefer my fresh veggies & to season them myself.

The amaranth & veggie mixture went very well together & wound up being much more filling than I expected. Great for a quick lunch when you're short on time or just super hungry!

Veggies & Amaranth

Serves 2

This is a tasty & quick 20 minute lunch that is nutritious, filling, & requires minimal cleanup!

1 c amaranth

2 1/2 c water

1 package Green Giant Steamers or other frozen veggies in light sauce

In a medium pot, bring amaranth and water to a boil. Simmer for 18-20 minutes. In the meantime, prepare vegetables according to package directions. Spoon 3/4-1 cup of cooked amaranth into a bowl & top with half of the vegetable mixture. There will be leftover amaranth, which can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.*

*I ate leftover amaranth mixed with banana and apple chunks, a heavy sprinkling of cinnamon, and almond milk for breakfast the next day.

Mini Pita Tea Sandwiches

I'm obsessed with all things mini. Mini automatically equals cute. When I saw the mini pitas at Trader Joe's the first time, I restrained myself. But when I went back a week later & saw them again, I had to get some.

I'm also obsessed with hummus. Any vehicle that will get more into my mouth makes me happy. When I started thinking of what to do with the mini pitas, the two automatically had to go together.

It seemed like they needed a crunch, so I added a slice of zucchini in each pita. They were the perfect size!

So cute! So crunchy! So good!

We had ours with Cranberry Green Tea, an apple, bell pepper slices & popcorn. It was a cute little Sunday lunch. The Bup felt very un-manly but somehow he got over it and ate every last bite. 

I packed more in my lunch box for work the next day. They're very transportable & make a packed lunch feel more elegant.

Mini Pita Tea Sandwiches

Serves 2

10 mini whole wheat pitas

3-5 T hummus, any variety (I used Roasted Red Pepper & White Bean Basil)

1 small zucchini, sliced into 1/4" thick coins

Carefully open the pitas by cutting around the edge. Place a slice of zucchini into each pita and top with 1-2 teaspoons of hummus. Close pitas. Enjoy!

Eating Whole Foods: Breakfast

Two of my friends recently asked me about helping them eat a healthier diet. I love that kind of stuff, so I decided to do a segment on the blog about it.

One of the first questions was about breakfast, and since that's the first meal of the day, that's where we'll start. 

Tip #1: Don't skip breakfast. Ever. 

When you wake up, you most likely haven't eaten for at least 8 hours. That's fine when all you're doing is sleeping, but your body needs fuel to carry you through to lunch.

Tip #2: Eat a piece of fruit.

If you really can't handle eating in the morning, at least eat a piece of fruit. No, it's not really a big enough breakfast to tide you over until lunch, but at least you are eating something healthy to start the day. I like to add fruit to whatever I'm eating, like a banana on pb toast or peaches on oatmeal.

Another option is to make a smoothie. They're a great way to get in your daily servings of fruit and veggies. It's easy to make your smoothie the night before and keep it in the fridge to grab on the way out the door in the morning,

Kale Green Smoothies

Tip #3: Learn to like oatmeal. 

For me to talk about breakfast, I have to do an ode to oatmeal. Just hear me out.

I didn't always like oatmeal. My mom ate it for breakfast pretty often and I thought she was crazy. Then one day I thought maybe this was something I should try, so I asked her to get me some packets of cinnamon oatmeal, please!

It was like eating running, clumpy, sugary goo. Back to cereal and english muffins, thanks.

Then one day I had baked oatmeal when we were out. This stuff is incredible, like a muffin and cereal all rolled into one food. I figured maybe I could like oatmeal then, so I kept trying. I made my own baked oatmeal a few times and ate leftovers for a few days, but oatmeal still wasn't part of my daily breakfasts.

When I started reading more blogs, I got some great ideas that looked like they'd make oatmeal better. Making it on the stove or in the crock-pot with old-fashioned or steelcut oats tastes so much better than the packets.

Best discovery ever: top it with peanut butter!

Crock-Pot Steel Cut Oats

Oatmeal for Breakfast (with Wheat Berries)

Tip #4 Aim for whole grains.

No matter what you're having for breakfast, be it pancakes, muffins, bagels, toast, etc., have the whole grain version. If you're buying it, look for the first ingredient on the list to say whole grain. If you're making it, use white whole wheat or regular whole wheat flour in place of all or at least part of the flour. Unrefined carbohydrates give you energy for a longer period of time.

Stacked Strawberry Pancakes

Tip #5: Add protein to the meal. 

As much as it pains me to dwell on protein, since Americans are always hung up on it and actually get much more than is needed, it really does help keep you full longer. If you're going to eat breakfast, it should be worth your while. No one wants to be hungry 2 hours later. My favorite way to incorporate protein is by topping my breakfast with nut butter, but there are a lot of ways to get some protein. 

I like my breakfast to be on the sweet side, but if you like savory, eggs are a great option. They make a filling, protein rich breakfast and they're very versatile. Add some veggies for extra nutrients! 

Yogurt can also be a good way to get in some protein, but watch the sugar content because some of the varieties are full of it!

Dried Cranberry Yogurt

*I am not a nutritionist, these tips are simply what I have picked up through much research and personal experience. Everyone's bodies are different, so listen to your own body's needs.**

Homegrown Tomatoes & A Quick Sauce Recipe

Twitter is always teaching me something. Someone that I follow always finds a great article or picture that interests me. I can't get enough of it!

Usually the things I learn are interesting and useful, maybe funny or slightly alarming, but it's rare that I read something that shocks me to the core.

This article about industrial tomatoes by Barry Estabrook from GiltTaste did. It shocked me like reading Skinny Bitch and watching Food, Inc. did. This is the factory farming of vegetables and harmful to all numbers of people. I'm pulling some (okay, a lot) of quotes from the article to share with you so that just in case you don't want to or have time to read it, you still know.

"Of all the fruits and vegetables we eat, none suffers at the hands of factory farming more than a tomato grown in the wintertime fields of Florida."

**I would love if you would read this information with an open mind. But if you don't have time or just aren't interested, there is a recipe at the end, so don't miss that!**



You're eating hard unripened tomatoes and paying for juicy ripe ones. Those lovely green tomatoes that you pick off your vines because you just can't wait another day are forced to turn red and then sold like they're the real deal. Fact: they're not going to drip with juice like the ones you wait for from the garden.

"It takes a tough tomato to stand up to the indignity of such industrial scale farming, so most Florida tomatoes are bred for hardness, picked when still firm and green (the merest trace of pink is taboo), and artificially gassed with ethylene in warehouses until they acquire the rosy red skin tones of a ripe tomato."

Why are we wasting so much money on something that tastes nothing like what it should? We don't buy unbaked brown bread and expect it to taste like a bake loaf. Tomatoes are no different.

"Americans bought $5 billion worth of perfectly round, perfectly red, and, in the opinion of many consumers, perfectly tasteless fresh tomatoes in 2009"

All that money for less nutrients and more sodium. What a deal!

"...fresh tomatoes today have 30 percent less vitamin C, 30 percent less thiamin, 19 percent less niacin, and 62 percent less calcium than they did in the 1960s. But the modern tomato does shame its 1960s counterpart in one area: It contains fourteen times as much sodium."

Just in case it wasn't a good enough deal, they're throwing in plenty of herbicides & pesticides for us, too.

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture has found residues of 35 pesticides on tomatoes destined for supermarkets."
"And although Florida's sandy soil makes for great beaches, it is devoid of plant nutrients. To get a successful crop, they pump the sand full of chemical fertilizers and can blast the plants with more than one hundred different herbicides and pesticides, including some of the most toxic in agribusiness's arsenal."

 Yikes!!

"Florida's tomato fields provide a stark example of what a food system looks like when all elements of sustainability are violated."

If we can get past the horrible taste, the money, and the pesticides, then we're hit with the poor treatment of the workers.

"Paid on a "piece" basis for every bushel-sized basket they gather, tomato pickers are lucky to earn 70 dollars on a good day." And apparently, these "good days" are very rare."

The Civil War was centuries ago. Those men fought and died to set things right in this country. We have no right to go back on that because we want a rock hard, tasteless tomato.

"When I asked Molloy if it was safe to assume that a consumer who has eaten a fresh tomato from a grocery store, fast food restaurant, or food-service company in the winter has eaten a fruit picked by the hand of a slave, he corrected my choice of words. "It's not an assumption. It is a fact.""

The Land of the Free.

"I began to see that the Florida tomato industry constitutes a parallel world unto itself, a place where many of the assumptions I had taken for granted about living in the United States are turned on their heads."

Not only do the companies not pay their workers proper wages & subject them to slave labor, but then this...

"Pesticides, so toxic to humans and so bad for the environment that they are banned outright for most crops, are routinely sprayed on virtually every Florida tomato field, and in too many cases, sprayed directly on workers, despite federally mandated periods when fields are supposed to remain empty after chemical application."

Change this. Of all the big tough decisions in life, it's easy to decide never to buy a grocery store tomato. Such a simple choice.

It is yours.

"...a real tomato's taste is the distilled essence of sun, warm soil, and fine summer days."

If you made it through all that, thank you for reading! This is something that is important to me and I want to be able to share my thoughts with you openly. I'm sure all this serious talk made you hungry (I am!), so I'm offering you a recipe for a quick sauce, easy to throw together after a day at work, especially when company is coming. It's also great for lunch leftovers throughout the week.



Quick Tomato Veggie Pasta
Serves 6-81 large yellow onion, chopped
1 medium patty pan squash, chopped
4 mushrooms, sliced (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 c fresh basil, chopped
6 fresh tomatoes, any variety (I used long johns from our garden)
28 oz. canned crushed tomatoes (either home-canned or organic)
1/4 c ricotta cheese (optional)
1 lb. whole wheat rotelle (spiral) noodles

In a large non-stick pan, cook onions over medium-high heat until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add squash and cook 3-5 minutes more. If using mushrooms, add them now. Once squash starts to become translucent, add garlic, salt, pepper, oregano & basil. Stir to combine and then add fresh tomatoes. Cook until the juices from the tomatoes are bubbly. Add canned tomatoes and let simmer while preparing the noodles according to package directions. Stir occasionally. When noodles are done cooking, stir ricotta cheese, if using, into sauce. Drain noodles, combine with sauce and serve.

*Feel free to add other veggies, too. Eggplant or zucchini would be good substitutes for the squash. Bell peppers or hot peppers would be a great addition. Just throw them in with the onions.



Quick Tomato Veggie Pasta