Weekly Menu and Recipes

Here is the first weekly menu plan with recipes... I usually plan for 6 dinners since we usually go out or order in one night a week. Some info about our menu... We usually eat vegetarian at least 3 times per week. If you think your husband won't do this, just try it! If Nick will eat meatless, anyone will! We don't eat perfectly by any means, but we do our best. The food we eat is healthy, but still very tasty! I have included links to recipes if they aren't my own which should tell you the number of servings. My recipes are made to serve two. Some recipes, I left the amounts up to you (the green beans for example) make as much or as little as your family will eat! Unless otherwise mentioned all pasta, rice, bread, etc... is whole grain, all produce is organic, and all meat is organic. I haven't switched all our dairy over to organic yet, but when it isn't organic I make sure there is no rBST (a yucky artificial growth hormone). Cabot doesn't use any milk containing antibiotics or rBST, so I generally use their cheese and sour cream or Trader Joe's. Check labels to find out which to use in your area. That said... here's the menu!

Day One.

Portobello Lasagna Rollups

Green Beans with Garlic

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/portobello-lasagna-rollups-recipe/index.html

Green Beans: Steam fresh green beans 5-7 minutes until crisp-tender. While they are steaming, mince a couple cloves of garlic (or more!). Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy bottom pan, saute garlic 1-2 minutes until softened and fragrant, being careful not to burn. Turn off the heat, toss the steamed green beans in the garlic add salt and pepper and serve.

Day Two.

Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Green Salsa 

"Refried" Black Beans

Shrimp Tacos 

Ingredients

1/2 lb raw medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 chipotle pepper in adobo (in a can, sometimes by the ethnic food... ask at the store)

1 tsp chili powder

1 TBSP olive oil

salt and pepper

4-6 whole wheat flour tortillas (depending on how many tacos you eat!) 

1 avocado

1 cup green tomatillo salsa (I love Pace)

1 lime

cilantro

Additional topping ideas: shredded red cabbage, thinly sliced red onion, cucumbers...

-Mince chipotle pepper with a little sauce, add chili powder, a little salt and pepper, and olive oil. Toss the shrimp in the mixture and cook on your grill or inside on a grill pan about 2 minutes on each side. Grill the tortillas until charred and pliable. Chop avocado and gently mix into the salsa. Serve tacos with cilantro and lime for garnish and with any additional toppings you'd like!

"Refried" Black Beans

1 can organic black beans

Skim milk

Shredded cheddar cheese (try Cabot's Habanero Cheddar!)

Cumin

Cook beans in a saucepan over medium heat until warm. Using a spoon, mash the beans in the pan until they are mostly smooshed (very technical word there). Add enough milk to thin the beans to "refried" consistency. Add a small amount of cheese (it doesn't take much!) and a sprinkle of cumin. 

Day Three.

Split Pea Soup

Whole Wheat Baguette

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/vegetarian-split-pea-soup-recipe.html 

Day Four.

Turkey Meatloaf

Mashed Potatoes

Garlic Brussels Sprouts  

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/moms-turkey-meatloaf-recipe/index.html  

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/smashed-potatoes-with-sour-cream-and-chives-recipe/index.html 

Garlic Brussels Sprouts

Steam fresh brussels sprouts 5-7 minutes until crisp-tender. While they are steaming, mince a couple cloves of garlic (or more!). Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy bottom pan, saute garlic 1-2 minutes until softened and fragrant, being careful not to burn. Turn off the heat, toss the steamed brussels sprouts in the garlic add salt and pepper and serve.

Day 5.

Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas

Brown Rice

Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas

Ingredients

Filling:

1 chicken breast, cooked and diced or shredded (often I buy a whole chicken, cook it, shred it, separate it into three containers and freeze it. Each container does one casserole type dinner).

1 can black beans, partially drained

1 TBSP cumin

1/2 cup green tomatillo salsa

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (Try the Cabot Habanero, again!)

Enchiladas

4-6 whole wheat tortillas

1/2 cup green tomatillo salsa

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
-Combine filling ingredients in a large bowl and divide amongst the tortillas. Roll up each enchilada and place in a greased baking dish. Combine the remaining salsa and sour cream and pour over the enchiladas. Sprinkle with additional cheddar and bake at 375 until bubbly (about 20 minutes?). Serve with cooked brown rice.

Day 6.

Tuscan Vegetable Soup

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/tuscan-vegetable-soup-recipe/index.html

The Non-Dairy Creamer Replacement

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.... coffee. Hot filtered water, the perfect blend of fresh roasted coffee beans, and... water, sugar, palm oil, corn syrup, sodium caseinate* (a milk derivative), dipotassium phosphate, natural and artificial flavors, mono and diglycerides, sodium stearoyl lactylate, carrageenan, salt. I mean, seriously!?! Who wants to drink that?

Well, my husband, as a matter of fact. 

Not anymore, thank goodness. As we have spent the past couple years re-examining the food that we eat and feed to our children, we made a point of eliminating that from our grocery list. For a long time, I was buying the Silk Soy Vanilla Creamer, until I realized that it isn't much better (or maybe any better at all...). So, what to do? Coffee is a necessity (obviously) and, to some, creamer is a necessity.

I myself am happy with organic half and half... others are happy with their coffee black. Here are the solutions for the rest of you french vanilla, hazelnut, mocha, caramel cream lovers! International Delight has come out with their "Breve" line. This made me nervous at first glance, because when I worked at Starbucks, a Breve drink was a latte made with half and half. That is like drinking 16oz of half and half in a grande latte. yikes! One day, I actually read the back and was pleasantly surprised. Here are the ingredients in the Vanilla Caramel Cream: Milk, sugar, cream, water, less than 1% natural and artificial flavors, potassium citrate, dipotassium phosphate, carrageean. Clearly, a vast improvement over the original International Delight. 

Now, I am not advocating this as a health food. Obviously, you would be better off with black coffee, organic half and half, or an organic non-dairy creamer (which I have yet to find). But since this blog is about shades of green living, and a gradual change to organic food, recommending this creamer over others seems reasonable. This is an easy, inexpensive change that eliminates some nasty stuff from your coffee. 

For those of you who want to take your change one step further. I found some recipes for homemade organic creamers. They look delicious; I'm planning on making some this weekend! Here is the recipe for the traditional vanilla.

French Vanilla

1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1 vanilla bean

Whisk together milk, cream and maple syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cut vanilla bean in half, and scrape out seeds. Add seeds and vanilla bean to milk mixture. Turn off heat, cover the pot and steep for 30 minutes. After mixture has steeped, strain through a fine mesh sieve, pour into a glass bottle and store in the refrigerator. (If you don’t have a vanilla bean on hand, simply replace it with 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract). 

You can find more recipes at:  http://deliciouslyorganic.net/homemade-coffee-creamer/

The Vinegar List

Distilled white vinegar. This is an item that 99% of households have sitting on a shelf somewhere. But do you use it? What's it there for? This simple stuff can replace many of the chemicals in your life! Here's how...


1. Mix equal parts vinegar and water in a spray bottle to wash windows and mirrors.
2. Add a splash of vinegar to your laundry to brighten whites and colors.
3. Mix one part vinegar to 3 parts water in a spray bottle to clean produce (rinse with water before eating!).
4. Undiluted vinegar in a spray bottle as a disinfectant. Kills 99% of germs, 82% of mold, and 80% of germs/viruses.
5. Pour a cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle of the dishwasher for sparkling dishes!
6. Spray it on full strength to cool sunburn, other burns, and soothe itching.
7. Gargle it for a sore throat.
8. Mix equal parts vinegar and water to clean tile floors.
9. Mix equal parts vinegar and water and run it through your coffee pot to clean it.
10. Full strength vinegar as weed killer- be careful to only spray the weeds!
11. Freeze equal parts vinegar and water in ice cube trays and put them through the garbage disposal to clean it.
12. Disinfect wood cutting boards with full strength vinegar.
13. Remove soap scum from shower doors with full strength vinegar.
14. Unclog the shower head by soaking it in vinegar.
15. Clean/deodorize the toilet bowl with full strength vinegar.
16. 1 tsp of vinegar in a quart bowl of your pet's water will keep fleas and ticks off of them.
17. Clean pet urine out of carpet by sprinkling it on the stain, wait a few minutes, and then sponge off (test an inconspicuous spot first). 
18. Full strength as an adhesive remover.
19. Remove deodorant stains from clothing by rubbing with vinegar and then laundering.
20. Mix equal parts vinegar, water, and dish soap as a bug spray for your skin.


This is only a small portion of the things that can be done with vinegar... there are literally hundreds of uses for it! The smell WILL go away when it dries!

Bottom line- go buy some spray bottles and a big bottle of vinegar. Portion it out and label the bottles. It will be ready to go and you will be a greener cleaner!

Nutritional Yeast

One of my favorite health food store products is nutritional yeast. Delicious little yellow flakes with a salty, cheesy flavor. I was first introduced to this wonderfood by my birthing class instructor, Holly. She suggested it as a healthful topping for popcorn. As a lover of popcorn I, of course, had to try it right away. Tried it. Loved it. Can't live without it.

Nutritional yeast should not be confused with brewers yeast (a by-product of beer) or baking yeast (a leavening agent). According to bestnaturalfoods.com, "Each batch of nutritional yeast is grown on a mixture of cane and beet molasses for a period of seven days. B-vitamins are added during the process to provide the yeast with the nutrients it needs to grow.  When harvested, the yeast is washed, pasteurized, and dried on roller drum dryers before it is ready for market". Nutritional yeast is produced specifically to be a nutritional food supplement. Speaking of the nutritional benefits of nutritional yeast, here they are:

Nutrients	Per 1 heaping tablespoon
Calories	60
Total Fat	1 gram
Carbohydrate	7 grams
Fiber	4 grams
Protein	8 grams
Sodium	5 milligrams
Vitamin B1 (thiamin)	640% Daily Value (DV)
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)	560% DV
Vitamin B3 (niacin)	280% DV
Vitamin B6	480% DV
Folic Acid	60% DV
Vitamin B12	130% DV
Selenium	30% DV
Zinc	20% DV

Clearly, nutritional yeast is an excellent source of B vitamins. According to associatedcontent.com, nutritional yeast is "one of the only non-animal sources of B12. B12 is important for healthy red blood cell production and is vital for normal nerve function since it maintains the myelin sheath that insulates nerve cells. A deficiency in B12 can cause irreversible nerve damage". It's also an excellent source of protein and fiber while low in fat, calories, and sodium. 

So how can you include this superfood in your diet? Try it in place of parmesan cheese or salt... on top of vegetables, popcorn, pizza, salad, chicken, pasta, soup, chili, etc... The possibilities are endless. Put some in a shaker and put it out with the salt and pepper. Make it accessible to yourself and your family and you'll find that you use it all the time! 

the myelin sheath that insulates nerve cells. A deficiency in B12 can cause irreversible nerve damage. One caveat. Not all nutritional yeast is a good source of B12, so it's important to do a little investigation before buying it". So how do you include this super food in your diet? Use it in the place of salt on things like popcorn, vegetables, eggs, rice, chicken, or potatoes. Put it in salad dressings, on toast or english muffins, or in soup or chili.

First Post!

I am so excited to begin this blog! Writing is something that I have always enjoyed and a blog is something I have often pondered.

These are the things that I want for this blog...

1. I want it to be relevant to the readers.

2. I want to it be full of useful information, yet concise and free of the verbosity that so many blogs are notorious for.

3. I want it to inspire a healthier and greener life.

Posts will be daily and be one of the following...

1. Articles: written by me about topics relating to nutrition, organics, and green living. These articles will be short, well researched and documented, and pertaining to things that we encounter daily. Examples of possible topics include: High Fructose Corn Syrup, Omega 3 and Omega 6 Fatty Acids, Parabens and Sulfates in beauty products, Green Cleaning, Organic food, etc...

2. Replacements: suggestions for easy replacements that make a big difference. A simple example would be whole wheat products for white flour products- but I have more ideas up my sleeve than that!

3. Lists: Quick, simple, to the point. A simple example would be the 12 most important foods to buy organic.

4. Weekly menus with recipes: this will be my family's weekly menu plan. Healthy, delicious food that is easy and inexpensive. This will include many vegetarian meals.

5. Reading for the week. Links to interesting news articles pertaining to green living with a short commentary.

I'm not suggesting that I am an expert in any of these areas. Green living is something that I'm passionate about and I want to know more about. A lot of the articles that I'm planning are on subjects that I have a limited knowledge of. I want to change that; ignorance is not bliss!

Please subscribe to my blog and join me in making the changes, big and small, that will transform our lives and the lives of our children.