I want to eat, eat, eat, apples or bananas?

Pick your Produce Wisely

It is fairly obvious by now that eating lower down on the food chain will save energy and fossil fuels, thus reducing your overall carbon footprint. A mass movement to vegetarianism would do wonders for the prevention of further global warming. But in today’s world of industrial agriculture, are all veggies equal in terms of their impacts on the planet? Of course not! Even a diet consisting solely of produce will produce a significant environmental impact because of the pesticides, fertilizers, and water that went into growing these foods. Each crop differs in the amounts of these inputs it demands. So now that you have increased the proportion of plants in your diet, it is time to consider which plants to eat and which to avoid.

In terms of fertilizer consumption, bananas are the worst villain, followed by beets and citrus fruits. Growing bananas requires 427 pounds of NPK fertilizer per acre compared to just 35 pounds per acre for beans and other nitrogen-fixing legumes. Legumes have a symbiotic relationship with bacteria in their roots that allows them to absorb N2 from the air and convert it into nitrate that they can use to make proteins. Thus, beans do not require much extra nitrogen to be added in the form of inorganic fertilizers. In fact, they actually fertilize the soil themselves!

As for pesticides, raspberries are responsibly for the greatest volume of chemicals (10.2 pounds per acre), followed by carrots and strawberries. Avocados and citrus need significantly less pesticides, but still fall near the middle in the rankings. The absolute best crops to eat if you want to decrease your pesticide use include beans, grains, spinach, and broccoli. These data are based on the volume of pesticides used per acre in growing the crops, but has nothing to do with the amount of pesticide residue left on the produce when it reaches your mouth. According to studies done to determine the amounts of pesticides remaining on fruits and vegetables, the “dirty dozen”, as they are popularly called, include peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, and strawberries. These are foods that would be best to buy organic if you are worried about the possible negative effects of pesticide consumption on your personal health.

Next time you go shopping for your favorite produce, think about what it is that your food consumes before you decide what food you want to consume. Every seemingly insignificant little choice you make affects not only you but the people and environment all around you. So what will you have in your morning cereal today? Strawberries, peaches, or bananas? So many choices, so many consequences.

Sara

One Fish, Two Fish...

Saving the oceans from disaster, one fish at a time

Every day we hear more about the perils of global warming, and how rising ocean levels will wipe out coastal populations and decimate coral reefs. Yet, for as long as humans have been pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, we have also been destroying or oceans in an even more obvious yet equally disruptive manner. Over the past few centuries, new technology and soaring population levels have both contributed to massive overharvesting of the world’s seafood. Currently scientists estimate that humans are responsible for removing 90% of all large fish. This has dramatically upset the delicately balanced food webs in marine ecosystems, and the consequences for all ocean life, as well as the humans that depend upon them, could be disastrous.

Besides the sheer number of fish being taken from the oceans each year, many fishing practices degrade the environment and harm non-target marine organisms. Practices such as bottom trawling, which involves dragging a fishing net across the ocean floor, dramatically disrupt benthic habitats, and may remove up to one quarter of all deep sea life in a single run. Also, since fishers have no way to magically attract only the fish species that are in highest demand, many additional fish species and even marine mammals are often caught in fishing nets. These non-target species are usually thrown back in the ocean, but they are usually injured or killed by the experience.

As three quarters of the world’s fisheries are either overexploited or have already collapsed, people have been turning more and more to aquaculture, or fish farming. These farms cause many of the same environmental and health problems as cattle feedlots, and for many of the same reasons. Concentrating so many animals in a relatively small volume leads to infections from pathogens, such as sea lice, and pollution to nearby waters. The spread of pathogens from fish farms have been shown to dramatically reduce the populations of wild fish living nearby, and water pollution from feces and antibiotics can affect all kinds of marine organisms as well as humans.

Now that you are probably exhausted after hearing all these sad facts about the poor state of our oceans, here is some good news: human populations worldwide are working to implement more sustainable methods of harvesting fish. Many fish farms are being certified for their sustainable and environmentally friendly practices and new rules are being enforced to prevent overfishing. The most powerful force behind these changes is you, the consumer. By buying only seafood that has been sustainably caught or raised, you can help save our ocean ecosystems from disaster. The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch has published guides explaining which seafood species are good to buy, and which should be avoided. They also have lists of chefs and restaurants that have pledged to only purchase sustainable seafood. Go to http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_recommendations.aspx to download your own handy pocket guide and become a savvy seafood shopper today!

Sara

Delight in your Dairy

Cinnamon Honey Yogurt

Make an individualized yogurt flavor suited to your exact flavor and sweetness preferences. Feel free to play with the recipe and use whatever ingredients you have on hand: honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, etc.

Ingredients:
4 cups (2 lbs) plain nonfat yogurt
2-3 tablespoons honey (or more if you so desire)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:
1. Mix the honey and cinnamon into the yogurt. I do this directly in the original container, so no bowls are needed.
2. Taste your concoction and add more honey or cinnamon if needed. Enjoy!

Hints:
• Mix in some chopped nuts, granola, Cheerios, graham cracker crumbs, or whatever else you can think of, along with chopped fruits and berries for a comforting breakfast parfait.
• Another suggestion for sweetening plain yogurt is to add your favorite fruits preserves or jams. That way, you can control the sweetness and avoid yogurts full of refined sugars and corn syrup.
• For another twist, try adding a couple teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa powder instead of the cinnamon. Chocolate yogurt is one of my personal all-time comfort foods.

Hooray for the Grass-Fed Revolution!

From Happy Animals to Healthy People

Except for the strictly vegan minority, most of us consume animal products on a daily basis. Whether you go for meat, milk, eggs, butter, or an occasional frozen yogurt, by eating these foods you are undeniably linking your own well being to that of domesticated animals such as cows and chickens. I would also be willing to bet that at some point in your life you heard about the inhumane treatment of animals in feedlots and felt guilty for eating that omelet or yogurt parfait for breakfast. In the past, that was all you could do: feel guilty. You had to choose between eating your favorite foods and doing your part to prevent brutal animal treatment. With the recent increase in publicity concerning food safety, nutrition, and environmental health, however, you no longer have to make that choice. You can now eat eggs, milk, and even meat with the knowledge that the animals that produced these foods lived a happy and relatively pain-free life.

My solution is simply to do some research before you purchase animal products. Make sure you buy meat, milk, and eggs from cows and chickens that have been allowed to wander through open pastures instead of being locked up in dark feedlots and fed an unnatural diet of corn, soy, meat, and antibiotics. Cows are particularly susceptible to health problems as a result of a grain-based diet. They are ruminants designed to eat grass, and so large amounts of corn and soy lead to serious gastrointestinal difficulties. To solve this problem, feedlot operators simply stuff the cattle with antibiotics and other drugs and slaughter them at a young age.

Buying grass-fed and pastured animal products will not only help the animals, it is beneficial to your health as well. Innumerable studies have shown that meat, milk, and eggs from pastured animals are higher in omega 3 fatty acids, vitamins E and C, beta-carotene, and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a natural cancer-fighting compound. Grain fed animal products, in contrast, have higher concentrations of saturated fat as well as total fat. Happy, healthy animals lead to happy, healthy people.

On a final note, farms that raise pastured animals are more likely to follow sustainable practices and thus produce far less pollution and waste than feedlots, or CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations). CAFOs are notorious for pumping out tons of animal waste contaminated with antibiotics and other synthetic chemicals, leading to water pollution and environmental degradation for hundreds of miles. Do some research into sustainable cattle, pig, and chicken farms, and you will find that many rotate their animals through different fields, promoting a symbiotic relationship where the grass feeds the animals while the animals fertilize the grass. Many farms are extremely low-waste and reduce fossil fuel pollution by not consuming the hundreds of tons of corn and soy needed for a grain-fed diet.

A good source for information on grass-fed animal products is www.eatwild.com. At this site you will find statistics on the nutritional benefits of grass-fed meat, milk, and eggs, as well as rules for sustainable farming, and lists of farmers' markets, grocery stores, and restaurants near you that sell pastured animal products. So if you don’t have what it takes to go completely vegan (I could never give up honey myself), then at least take a step to protect the animals, your health, and our environment by consuming only pastured animal products.

~Sara

Gluten-Free Goodness

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cake

This is a delicious way to satisfy your sweet tooth even if you cannot eat gluten or dairy products.

Ingredients:
1 cup corn meal
1 cup brown sugar
½ teaspoons baking soda
2 eggs
1 cup peanut butter
¼ cup canola oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
½ cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Mix together the corn meal, brown sugar, and baking soda.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, and mix in the peanut butter, canola oil, and vanilla.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture and mix well.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips if desired.
6. Pour the batter into a greased or parchment paper lined cake pan. A 9x13” pan works well but a slightly smaller pan or two 8” round pans would be fine as well.
7. Bake the cake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Hints:
• If you use unsalted peanut butter, you may want to add ¼ teaspoon of salt to the dry ingredients before mixing in the peanut butter.
• Using crunchy peanut butter adds tiny peanut pieces to the cake, which I quite enjoy. If you don’t want the nut pieces, however, go for creamy peanut butter.
• If you or someone you are serving this to have celiac disease or some other gluten intolerance, make sure you use gluten-free vanilla and wash out all cooking utensils to avoid wheat contamination.
• If you wish to frost the cake, I would recommend making either a peanut butter or a chocolate cream cheese frosting. For peanut butter, just mix cream cheese, peanut butter, and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. For chocolate you could melt chocolate chips and then mix in the cream cheese and powdered sugar. Alternatively, you could use cocoa powder instead. For any of these methods, using electric beaters is the best way to avoid cream cheese clumps and get a smooth and creamy result.

Cooking to Save the World

Make it Yourself

If you’re reading this newest post now, you have probably already perused our plethora of tasty recipes, and maybe even tried out a few for yourself. Our main goal with these recipes is to help people understand how easy, fun, inexpensive, and delicious cooking homemade meals really is. In particular, we have directed many of our posts directly at college students living in dorms, just as we are. Even in our small dorm room, we have been able to prepare scrumptious muffins, puddings, hummus, smoothies, cookies, and much more. Our main message is: you can do it too!

There are many more reasons to home cook than simply having fun, staying healthy, and eating delicious food. As much as you and I benefit from cooking our own food, the environment around us benefits even more. By simply blending your own hummus, you avoid buying several small plastic containers that most likely cannot be recycled and will end up in a landfill. You benefit by saving at least $10 and being able to adjust the recipe to your personal taste preferences. The environment benefits from your decreased consumption of plastics that require large quantities of fossil fuels to produce, and end up polluting the environment through carbon emissions and nonbiodegradable plastic.

The same story could be told of preparing homemade pudding, as we frequently do in our microwave, instead of buying prepackaged pudding snack packs. Puddings usually come in individual ½ cup servings in plastic containers bound together by cardboard, contributing both to plastic and paper consumption. Or imagine how many fruit parfaits and smoothies you see around campus, each one consuming a large plastic cup. Instead, you could make your own granola (I make granola practically every day just to keep the smell of warm cinnamon in my room) and mix up your own parfait with yogurt and fresh berries. The same thing goes for the smoothies, which are simple to prepare in either a blender or food processor and great for using up over ripe fruit.

The moral of the story is that cooking for yourself instead of buying prepackaged, highly processed foods will make you healthier and happier, keep your food bill low, and most importantly, reduce your carbon footprint and protect the environment. So get out there, start experimenting, and make it YOURSELF!

Honey, and Peanuts, and Oats! Oh My!!!

Cinnamon Honey Granola

Looking for the perfect snack to munch on during those excruciatingly long lectures? Well, here it is: homemade granola that can be prepared in your room in about as much time as it takes to walk to the nearest vending machine and back. This recipe is healthy, satisfying and very flexible. Make sure to experiment with it and adapt it to your personal dietary restrictions and desires.

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon peanut butter or almond butter
2 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ cups raisins, cranberries, or currants (optional)
¼ cup chopped walnuts, almonds, or peanuts (optional)

Directions:
1. Mix the oats, honey, peanut butter, honey, and nuts together in a large bowl.
2. Spread the granola onto a large microwave-safe plate.
3. Microwave on high for 2 minutes, stir the mixture slightly, and then microwave for another 1 minute.
4. Stir in the dried fruits if desired.
5. Let the granola cool before storing it in an airtight container.

Hints:
• Play around with the spices! Add ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, or anything you happen to crave.
• Use whatever dried fruits and nuts you have on hand. My favorites are walnuts, almonds, dried cranberries, and dried apricots. I also like to add chocolate chunks and coconut flakes.
• Don’t hesitate to double or triple the recipe. It stores well and goes fast!

Delicious Brain Energy for Midterms!!!

Halvah (Sesame Honey Candy)

OK, so this is not the most authentic recipe in the world as I am definitely no expert at making Middle Eastern sweets. But these super easy candies are packed with the wonderful flavor of traditional sesame halvah, even if they don’t require hours of stovetop work to prepare. Just mix together four simple ingredients, and chill the dough for a few hours before serving. If you are a sesame lover like I am, you are sure to enjoy this decadent treat. If you are not so familiar with sesame-rich foods, I am sure that the honey and brown sugar content will make you a true fan.

Ingredients:
1 cup sesame tahini
1 cup honey
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups white flour

Directions:
1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Make sure everything is well incorporated to make a thick dough.
2. Press the dough into a pan, a shallow bowl, or onto aluminum foil.
3. Chill in the freezer for at least an hour.
4. Cut the halvah into small cubes or rectangular pieces and serve or store in an airtight container in the freezer.

Hints:
• Make sure to use good quality honey for optimal taste. My favorite kinds are orange blossom honey, sage honey, and mesquite honey.
• At a certain point, it will become much easier to mix the dough with your hands instead of a spoon. Don’t resist the urge, just dig in and lick your fingers well afterwards!
• Keep the halvah in easy reach in your freezer, as it is an optimal food to snack on throughout the day. Use it for that needed energy boost and stress break.

Pumpkin Pie Through a Straw

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Homesick for the taste of your grandma’s pumpkin pie? Counting down the days until Thanksgiving desserts? Well, now you can have all the potent, pumpkiny goodness of a homemade pie in a glass. Best of all, it only takes a couple of minutes to make!

Ingredients:

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 ½ cups milk

1 tablespoon peanut butter (optional)

½ to ¾ cups brown sugar (depending on your sweet tooth)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon cloves

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

2. Enjoy your smoothie cold or hot.

Hints:

· Adjust the spice and sugar amounts to your personal desires.

· If the pumpkin flavor is too strong, you can substitute some applesauce or even a banana.

· You could make an equally delicious sweet potato pie smoothie by substituting one orange root vegetable for another.

Missing Maman's Persian Rice Pudding

This rice pudding isn’t creamy and heavy, instead it has a mildly sweet fragrance and taste, and is refreshing served cold.

Ingredients:
1 cup of basmati rice
2 ¼ cups water
2 ½ cups milk
1 ½ teaspoons rose water
2 teaspoons vanilla
¼ cup sugar if you like your pudding sweet…if not, good for you
Cinnamon and cardamom to taste

Directions:
In a large pyrex bowl, mix the rice and 2 cups of the water. Microwave partially covered on high for 6 minutes. Leave to steam for 15 minutes (don’t get impatient and open the microwave door!). Add the milk and microwave (always covered)for 6 more minutes, this time leaving to steam for 20 minutes. Finally, add the last ¼ cup of water, and microwave for 3 minutes. When the bowl is safe to take out of the microwave, remove it and add your rosewater, vanilla, sugar, and spices. Makes: 6 servings

Hints:

• The heating times I outlined for this recipe are what worked for my 900 watt microwave. When you try making the pudding, make sure to test your rice between heatings to make sure it is cooking fully; you may need more or less time, depending on the power of your oven. Don't burn yourself please!
  


• I think this pudding tastes best cold and drizzled with honey.

Savoring My Sweet Sesame!!

Tahini Cookies

Makes 3 dozen cookies packed with an intense sesame flavor. They are butter free, easy to make, and delicious dipped in a steaming cup of coffee or tea.

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups brown sugar

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup tahini (crushed sesame seeds)

1 egg

¼ cup honey

Directions:

Mix together the sugar, flour, soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, mix together the tahini, egg, and honey.

Pour the flour mixture into the tahini mixture and stir until well incorporated (you may have to use your hands).

Shape the dough into approximately 3 dozen balls and flatten on a cookie pan to about ½ thick and 2 inches wide.

Bake at 325°F for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown and slightly firm.

Hints:

If you cannot find tahini in your local grocery store, or if you simply have an excess of sesame seeds, you can roast them and then grind them up in a food processor. However, be warned that you must grind them fully until there are no more kernels, only a smooth and creamy sesame “butter”.

For added decoration, try sprinkling sesame seeds on top of the cookies before baking them. If you have them, use black sesame seeds for added color contrast.

Late-Night Indulgence

Super Simple Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

Makes 24 servings of delectable, low cholesterol, (almost)dairy-free fudge.

Ingredients:
½ cup natural peanut butter
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup white sugar

Directions:
5. Mix together the peanut butter, chocolate chips, and sugar in a microwave safe bowl.
6. Microwave on high for 1 minute and mix vigorously.
7. Pour the fudge onto a plate or pan lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
8. Freeze for one hour.
9. Remove the pan, peel off the paper or foil, and cut into small cubes.
10. Enjoy immediately or store in the freezer for later consumption.

Hints:
• Use chunky peanut butter if you would like small pieces of nuts in your fudge. If you prefer to avoid the nutty bites, then go for creamy peanut butter.
• This fudge melts rapidly! Don’t leave it sitting out for too long or you will end up with peanut butter chocolate frosting instead of fudge (unless that is what you desire).
• For those with peanut allergies or simply craving some even more gourmet nut fudges, substitute almond butter, hazelnut butter, or cashew butter instead of the peanut butter.

Humming for Hummus

Homemade Hummus

Makes approximately 1 ½ cups of hummus.

Ingredients:
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans
2 teaspoons tahini (crushed sesame seeds)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt
1 clove of garlic

Directions:
1. Drain the garbanzo beans and put them in a food processor or blender.
2. Add the tahini, lemon juice, salt, and garlic to the food processor.
3. Close the lid, and blend until smooth and creamy.
4. Taste it, and add more salt, lemon, or tahini if needed.

Hints:
• This is just a basic recipe. Be creative with it! Add basil, sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, etc. The possibilities are endless!
• Tahini can be hard to find, but one jar is enough to make many batches of hummus. It will keep well in the fridge for months and if you have a jar on hand you will be able to make hummus al the time.
• You can enjoy this hummus on pita, in sandwiches, with fresh veggies, or as a healthy salad dressing. Or you can do it my way and simply dip your fingers in for a delicious snack!

Little Cocoa Bites

Microwave Cocoa Mini Muffins

Makes about 40 mini muffins.

Ingredients:

1 cup white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ cup cocoa powder

¼ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup applesauce

Directions:

1. Mix together the flours, baking soda, cocoa, sugar, and salt.

2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and mix in the applesauce.

3. Pour the dry mix in with the eggs and applesauce and mix well.

4. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and flatten slightly on a ceramic plate.

5. Microwave on high for 1 minute and let them cool slightly before eating.

Hints:

· You will need to make multiple batches in order to cook all 40 mini muffins. When the first batch is done, transfer the muffins to another plate to cool, and continue making more muffins on the same plate.

· You may add walnuts, almonds, raisins, chocolate chips, etc.

· You could also make the muffins in a microwaveable muffin tray or make a flat bread on the ceramic plate.

Pizza Party (the VEG way)

Fresh Veggie Pizza

Makes one intense, 12”, deep dish, vegetable-laden pie.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1 bag (1 lb) of premade pizza dough
1 cup tomato sauce
2 medium tomatoes (heirloom is best)
½ pound mushrooms (white button, crimini, etc.)
1 bell pepper (any color)
¼ onion
½ zucchini
3/4 cup (6 oz) mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Sprinkle the cornmeal over a baking stone or pizza pan. Take the dough out of its bag and let it “rest” on the pan for 20 minutes.
2. While waiting, thinly slice the tomatoes and bell peppers, and finely chop the mushrooms, onion, and zucchini.
3. Stretch the dough out to cover the pan (it should make a circle of approximately 12 inches in diameter).
4. Pour the sauce on and spread it around to evenly coat the dough, leaving a crust of about one inch.
5. Sprinkle about a third of the cheese over the sauce.
6. Place the sliced tomatoes on top, followed by the next third of the cheese.
7. Sprinkle the remaining veggies evenly over the pizza, and finally end with the last third of the cheese.
8. Bake the pizza for 10 minutes at 450°F.
9. Cut the pizza into slices and enjoy!

Hints:
• Vary the toppings according to your (and your roommate’s) personal desires. This recipe can also be adapted to fit whatever vegetables are currently in season.
• For the best tasting, most ecologically friendly pizza, buy as many of the vegetables as possible at a local farmers’ market. The veggies will be fresh, and organic, and you can enjoy your pizza with the peace of mind that comes from making a positive contribution to your community and your environment.
• If you are feeling ambitious, you may want to attempt making your own pizza dough from scratch. If you have the time and ingredients for a homemade crust, go for it! Otherwise, buy premade dough from Trader Joe’s (available in garlic herb, whole wheat or white flour varieties).

Bursting with Berries!

Wild Blackberry Syrup

We used blackberries picked from the Strawberry Canyon fire trail, up in the hills of Berkeley. This is a great way to combine an exciting berry picking adventure with a deliciously comforting pancake breakfast. We paired this syrup with our chocolate chip banana pancakes (see previous post) but it would be equally delectable poured on French toast, waffles, muffins, or any kind of bread. This recipe makes about 2 cups of syrup, but you can easily adjust it to the amount of blackberries that you manage to come procure.

Ingredients:
3 cups fresh blackberries
1 tablespoon corn starch
3 tablespoons sugar

Directions:
1. Mix the blackberries, corn starch, and sugar together in a small saucepan.
2. Mash the blackberries slightly with a wooden spoon.
3. Simmer the syrup on low heat for at least half an hour, stirring constantly.
4. Pour the syrup over your desired bread product and enjoy warm.

Hints:
• Taste the syrup as you cook it. You may want to add more sugar, or other spices such as cinnamon.
• If there are a couple people in the kitchen, one person can make the syrup while the other prepares the pancakes. This way they will both be hot at the same time, and you will end up with an extra exotic breakfast!
• Wild blackberries are fun to pick, but make sure to wear jeans and go prepared to get scratched. Blackberry thorns are brutal!

PANCAKES!!!

Chocolate Chip Banana Berry Pancakes

Serves 5-6 people

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 cups nonfat milk
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup (8 oz) blueberries (optional)
2 bananas, chopped or mashed (optional)
½ cup (4 oz) chocolate chips (optional)
canola or coconut oil

Directions:
1. Mix together the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, and mix in the milk and yogurt.
3. Pour the flour mixture into the egg mixture and stir well.
4. Add in the fruits and chocolate as desired.
5. Heat up a griddle or pan on the stove and pour enough oil on to barely coat the surface.
6. Drop about ½ cup of the mixture on the heated pan. Repeat for as many pancakes as you can easily fit on the pan without their edges touching.
7. When bubbles begin to form, use a spatula to flip the pancakes to their other side and continue heating until cooked throughout.
8. Serve warm and top with maple syrup, honey, jam, or applesauce.

Hints:
• Frozen blueberries can be used if you don’t have fresh ones available.
• If the batter is too thin, add more flour, and if it is too thick, add more milk.
• If you are having trouble flipping the pancakes, make them smaller.

Missing the smell of homemade cookies?

Peanut Butter n' Honey Cheerio Cookies

This recipe makes about two dozen chewy little treats. Without butter or sugar, you can feel free to snack away at these healthy cookies that feature the most wonderful combo on earth: peanut butter and honey! The best part is that they are cooked in the microwave in just three minutes.

Ingredients:

¼ cup peanut butter

½ cup honey

¼ cup plain yogurt

1 egg

½ cup whole wheat flour

4 cups cheerios

½ cup raisins

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter, honey, yogurt, and egg.

2. Mix in the flour, and then the cheerios and raisins. Make sure that all the cheerios are well coated in the honey mixture.

3. With a wooden spoon, mash the mixture evenly onto a large microwave-safe plate. Press down firmly with the back of the spoon.

4. Microwave it on high for three minutes.

5. Allow the mixture to cool for a few minutes and then break off small chunks and smoosh them into balls. Place these balls onto another plate and flatten them to about half an inch thick.

6. Place the plate in the refrigerator and chill the cookies for at least half an hour.

7. Enjoy the cookies cold or heated slightly.

Hints:

· Feel free to add chocolate chips, peanuts, almonds, etc.

· If the cheerio mixture falls apart and is difficult to form into balls, make smaller cookies.

· Don’t be afraid to get your hands messy! It’s just part of the fun.

Baking withdrawal takes its toll

3-Minute Sweet Bread in a Bowl

Makes two servings of delectable, healthy sweet bread.

Ingredients:
½ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup oats
¼ cup brown sugar ½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
1 tablespoon honey

Directions:
1. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, oats, sugar, soda, and cinnamon.
2. In a glass or ceramic (not metal) bowl, beat the eggs.
3. Mix the milk and honey in with the eggs.
4. Pour the dry ingredients in with the wet, and mix well.
5. Put the bowl into the microwave and heat on high for three minutes.
6. Remove the bowl and invert it onto a plate. Enjoy!

Hints:
• If you would like sweeter, moister bread, drizzle honey generously over the top as soon as it is done cooking.
• In place of a bowl, you may pour the batter into several mugs, decrease the cooking time to two minutes, and make muffins instead.
• Make sure that your bowl is microwave safe before you begin!
• This is a basic recipe, so adjust it according to your preferences. I would recommend adding other spices such as nutmeg and cloves if you have them.

You say "moo" I say "booo!"

Thus far on our still-fledgling blog, the question of “why eat vegetarian?” hasn’t been explicitly addressed. Let me remedy that. Of the myriad reasons to eat a plant-based diet, “animal rights,” thanks to groups like PETA, has been the most highly publicized. Touching though the argument may be, the environmental and nutritional reasons to abstain from meat are far more relevant to a much larger demographic (basically everyone except PETA head-honchos and slaughterhouse workers).

A vegetarian diet low in processed foods uses much less land and many fewer resources than a diet that includes meat. Consider first the undeniably large amount of land, water, and labor that goes into producing a crop of any plant. Then imagine feeding all of that crop to cattle which need their own land, water, and care, in addition to the crop we just fed them. By now, the cattle have become an expensive investment; in essence, we’ve grown food to feed to more food. Cattle (or any livestock) aren’t only an expensive investment;they are an investment that returns only 10% of the input. Get it now? We’ve grown all this food, only to ultimately consume 10% of its original yield.

In the simplest economic terms, this is a nonsensical practice. Some will argue that meat is worth more than plant-food; I argue that worth is a relative term. A pound of corn no doubt brings the farmer less money than a pound of beef, but we forget to include all of the externalities associated with beef or any other meat. A short comparison of the negative environmental side effects of growing a plant crop versus livestock: plant crops use copious amounts of water and industrial fertilizers, which cause runoff that pollutes rivers and lakes. Raising livestock in crowded feedlots—themselves breeding grounds for disease—magnifies all these effects, and then goes on to additionally create massive amounts of excrement that pollute waterways.

Obviously any diet one chooses to follow has its costs, but we have to eat, right?! Many of the negative aspects of vegetarian and omnivorous diets can be minimized by eating organic and local produce or (if you must eat meat) grass-fed animal products. If I haven’t just guilted you into becoming a vegetarian for the environmental reasons, check back for the (scarily) compelling nutritional reasons to make the switch.

~Grace

Don't let that apple fly far from its tree!

Some people may claim that the major attractions of living in California are the mild weather, sunny beaches, and progressive political spirit. For me, however, California is the land of abundant produce. I tremble at the mere thought of living someplace where the grocery stores are not constantly stocked with ten types of citrus and an abundance of apples, grapes, carrots, and celery.

Of course, in today’s modern world of globalization and mass transport, it has become easy to buy mangoes and starfruit in the dead of winter in Vermont. Yet this phenomenon has led to massive increases in the nation’s use of fossil fuels. The average piece of fresh produce travels over 1500 miles from where it is grown to where it is consumed. Because of domestic food transportation in the United States alone, 120 million tons of CO₂ are released into the atmosphere each year.

This story is not all doom and gloom, however, at least not for people lucky enough to be living in California. Approximately 90% of all fresh vegetables consumed in this country were grown in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California. Now it is true that UC Berkeley was not built in the middle of a farm by any means. However, there are a plethora of local farmers around the area, and innumerable sources of fresh, healthy, local produce available to students here.

Doing your part to decrease the country’s carbon footprint is easy if you are a Berkeley student. Personally, my favorite way to get delicious local foods is to take a trip to the farmers’ market. At these markets, you will not only find fresh fruits and vegetables, but also organic cheeses, yogurts, baked goods, and more, all grown and made by locals. There is a farmers’ market every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, each at a different location close to campus. For more information, go to http://ecologycenter.org/bfm/.

Of course, many students feel restrained by meal plans and dining commons. Fortunately, Cal Dining has entered into an alliance with the “Buy Fresh, Buy Local” campaign, with the result that 60% of their produce (in season) comes from farmers in the surrounding area. That “in season” part is where you come in though. A high demand for fruits and veggies that are naturally ripe right here and right now will encourage store owners to purchase local produce instead of ordering a shipment of peaches from the tropics in the middle of January. For more information on what crops are ripe during what months in this area, go to http://www.seasonalchef.com/cropchart3.htm.

Also remember that locally grown foods are more likely to be fresh and free of toxins or other harmful contaminants. So get out there to a farmers’ market, buy only what is in season, and always look for that “grown in California” sticker. You will be doing the earth, the farmers, and your body a huge favor!

~Sara

Dorm Cooking 101: Our first success!

Easy Microwave Pudding

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons sugar (or sugar substitute)
1 tablespoon cocoa powder (optional)
1 cup nonfat milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. In a microwave-safe bowl, mix together the cornstarch, sugar, and cocoa until uniform and lump-free.
2. Pour in the milk and stir well.
3. Place the bowl on a large plate and microwave it on high for 4 minutes. Remove the pudding every 30 seconds and stir it well making sure there are no lumps.
4. Stir in the vanilla.
5. Chill it in the refrigerator for an hour or more and then enjoy!

Hints:
· For chocolate pudding, use cocoa powder, and for vanilla pudding, omit the cocoa. You could also make different flavored puddings using orange extract, lemon extract, mint extract, honey, maple syrup, or spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.
· For a thicker pudding, use more cornstarch, and for a thinner consistency, use less.
· This pudding is delicious served warm or cold, and pairs well with fresh berries or bananas.

Appealing Piles of Peels!

Have you been wondering what actually happens when you throw your banana peel in one of those bins marked “Compost: Food Scraps Only”? Is it worth the extra effort to collect your food waste separately from your trash and find a compost bin to throw it in? Or does it all end up in the same place in the end?

The city of Berkeley has fairly recently joined its neighbor cities in implementing a highly successful curbside recycling program. As most students at Cal come from other areas of California or even farther abroad, we are largely unfamiliar with this system and its benefits. In the past, residents of urban areas such as Oakland and Berkeley would never have considered composting without a large yard or garden at their disposal. Now, however, everyone can compost all the time, even college students living in dorms or apartments.

All the waste that goes into those large green bins is collected and sent to a composting facility (not a landfill) where it is made into large mounds 50 yards long and 5 feet high. These mounds are periodically stirred and kept moist for another 2-3 months, after which time all that “trash” has become fertile black soil chock full of nutrients. This soil is used in city landscaping, sold to local farmers, and sometimes even donated to small nonprofit organizations such as school gardens. In this way, no actual waste is produced, and the size of landfills is significantly reduced. More importantly, there is less need for inorganic fertilizers that may leach excess nutrients into groundwater and streams. Instead of using gallons of fossil fuels to create nitrogen-rich fertilizers for our crops, we can let nature do it instead, and avoid polluting our waters in the process!

I know that all this sounds too good to be true, but now let me make it even better. Composting is easy! All you have to do is keep an extra trash bin in your room and designate as your compost bin. Then, whenever it gets full of food waste, take it out to one of the zillions of official compost bins in you dorms, on campus, or elsewhere in the city of Berkeley. Any fruit or vegetable peels, bones, paper products, or plastic that is clearly marked as being compostable can be thrown in a compost bin. Since city officials are already doing most of the work for you, why not compost? Just remember that with each banana peel you toss in the green bin, you are saving energy, helping local farmers, reducing pollution, driving down the size of landfills, and allowing the environment replenish itself the natural way.

Oh, and if you’re not fortunate enough to live in beautiful Berkeley, composting
still an incredibly easy process. Though special composting bins are prevalent, and no doubt effective, making rich compost is as easy as keeping a special pile or box or bin for your plant and food scraps in your yard and turning it every once in a while.

-Sara

For the love of a tasty autotroph!

Ever met a person with whom you had one thing so much in common that almost all of your conversations revolved around that specific topic? Welcome to the relationship between me (Grace) and my roommate (Sara). For the past week (we've known each other for a week and a day) virtually all of our conversation has somehow meandered to the topic of food. Specifically vegetarian food. Homesickness (we are college freshmen) manifests itself in rhapsodic memories of favorite family recipes; fierce attempts at studying consitently crumble the moment one of us feels a craving for homemade hummus or suddenly recalls that interesting flavor combination (rice pudding flavored oatmeal anyone?) that she had to tell the other.

So, a little more about us. We're vegetarian, aspiring scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, who love the environment and belong to a living community specifically oriented around low-impact living. We've learned to use our low-flow toilets like pros (no clogs or overflowing for us!), we can take a shower in 10 min. or less, and we recycle or compost pretty much everything we can. The only difficulty we've faced in our college lives has been finding healthy, varied, and good-tasting vegetarian food. Our ambition is to make this blog a source of information for anyone (and especially students like us) who wants tips, motivation, and of course, recipes, all having to do with easy, delicious, environmentally-friendly vegetarian cooking.