Category — Recipes

Last week, I had one of my proudest moments as a gardener and a dad. I was in the kitchen preparing a tomato salad when I realized I had forgotten to pick some fresh basil. I called out to my 2-almost-3-year-old daughter who was outside playing on the deck.

I said, “Could you please go down to the garden and pick me some basil leaves?”

It looked like she was about to say no (the terrible twos will often produce this response), but I could see her gears turning. She thought about it and realized that, yes, she could do it. She replied with a simple, “Sure,” and then disappeared from the deck and went out to the garden. I could have easily gone myself, but I was also cooking pasta and vegetables and didn’t want to leave the stove unattended. A few minutes later, she was at the door with a fistful of basil leaves, perfect and green.

I’m not sure I can fully articulate why I am so proud of her, but let me try: She didn’t need any other instruction beyond “please go get some basil.” I know plenty of adults who would need very specific instructions to perform this simple task. My daughter, on the other hand, knows what basil is, knows where it is growing in the garden, and knows about how much I need for tomato salad.

She loves to help. And by giving her simple but somewhat challenging tasks, I’m able to help strengthen her confidence and develop her problem-solving skills. The space between the kitchen and the garden may just be the perfect classroom.

Here’s our family’s recipe for a simple tomato salad:

You’ll need:

• 3 or 4 good-sized tomatoes
• 1 small onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 6 basil leaves
• ½ cup of a good extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt

Chop everything up and mix it together, adding the olive oil and salt last. Obviously, the amount of ingredients can be scaled up or down, depending on your taste. I like to use a variety of tomatoes—different colors, shapes, flavors, etc.

Serve with good crusty bread. It’s perfect for dipping. Be sure to refrigerate the leftovers; this salad seems to taste even better once all the flavors mix together overnight. Just let it return to room temp before serving.

Enjoy!

-Eric Hurlock is the online editor at Organic Gardening magazine. He lives and gardens in Chester County, PA, with his wife, daughter, and new baby. Follow his Real World Gardener blog at http://organicgardening.com/blogs/realworldgardener.

Let’s admit it. A farmers’ market can be an overwhelming place. Don’t get me wrong. I love them and won’t soon forgo my weekly visits. But there is something rather dizzying about them, especially during the height of the season when tent after tent is populated by dozens of different shapes and varieties of fruits and vegetables. Who hasn’t overbought at one time or another during summer’s zenith?

A CSA share, on the other hand, can be so comforting. For those unfamiliar with sustainable food jargon, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Many family-owned farms sell shares at the beginning of the growing season. The farm earns money during the planting season when they most need it. In exchange, CSA members pick up a box full of seasonal produce on a regular, usually weekly basis. I love my CSA not only because I get a manageable amount of certified organic produce, but also because I know that I’m cooking exactly what I should when I should. Before signing up for a CSA, I would agonize over meal planning. It could take me take me hours to create a weekly plan, one that I would change almost the instant I stepped into the circle of market tents. After signing up for our CSA, my menu plan was circumscribed by the contents of my produce box. In spring, we eat lots of greens, such as kale, chard, and spinach. In summer, I cull my cookbook collection for delicious and unusual recipes to use up the seemingly endless supply of cucumbers and summer squash. As the growing season slows, my family enjoys slow roasted squash and more cool weather greens. I may forgo the endless selection at the market, but my CSA better connects my family to the season and to the vicissitudes of Mother Nature by tying the fortune of our dinner table with those of our farmer’s.

These days, we’re enjoying garlic scapes, the curly cue tops of the garlic plant, a early summer delight. I use them like chives, finely chopping them and using them in marinades, dressings, and as garnish.

Buttermilk-Scape Marinated Pork Chops

3 garlic scapes

1/2 cup loosely packed mint leaves

1 cup buttermilk 1 teaspoon coarse salt

4 bone-in pork chops

Rip the scapes into large pieces and put into the bowl of a food processor with the mint leaves. Pour the buttermilk through the feed tube and process until finely chopped. Mix in salt. Place the pork chops into a large shallow dish. Pour over the marinade and turn to coat. Marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Grill on a charcoal or gas grill until the interior temperature reaches 150° F. Serve warm.

Serves 4

—Guest blogger Melissa Graham is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit Purple Asparagus.

Coleslaw’s a summertime cookout staple, but as far as I’m concerned, most traditional recipes don’t have much going for them. Thanks to gobs of mayonnaise, conventional coleslaw is usually loaded with saturated fat, plus you have to watch it like a hawk on your picnic table for potential spoilage. Not my idea of an ideal side dish! This tofu-based coleslaw is virtually free of saturated fat, and since it’s free of eggs and dairy, fares a little better when sitting outdoors (though I still wouldn’t leave it out for too long). Try it alongside some of the vegetarian barbecue recipes in our June/July issue for a seasonal, planet-friendly feast!

Creamy vegan coleslaw

Total time: 10 minutes
Active time: 10 minutes

1 medium head green cabbage, cored and shredded
2 medium carrots, peeled and shredded
12 ounces soft silken tofu, drained
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon raw cane sugar
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon celery salt
½ teaspoon salt

1. Place the shredded cabbage and carrots in a large bowl. Toss to combine and set  aside.
3. In a blender, add the tofu, water, olive oil, vinegar, sugar, mustard, celery salt, and salt. Blend until completely smooth.
4. Add the tofu dressing to the cabbage and carrots. Toss well to combine and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serves 8 to 10
Per serving: Calories 76, fat 4 g, protein 3 g, carbohydrates 9 g, dietary fiber 3 g

-Marygrace, staff writer

Image: Flickr user Lynda Giddens under a Creative Commons License

On weeknights when I’ve had a relatively low-stress day at work, the fridge is stocked with fresh ingredients, and my husband isn’t talking about how much he’s starving as soon as he walks in the door, I’m more than happy to spend some time in the kitchen trying out a yummy new recipe. Unfortunately, these nights don’t come as frequently as I’d like. More often, my Monday through Friday evenings are like this: I’m totally frazzled from work, I realize I’ve forgotten at least three items on my list during the last market run, and my husband and I are so hungry, a bowl of cereal with a side of frozen peas is starting to sound delicious.

Those are the nights where I go on cooking autopilot and turn to one of my could-do-it-in-my-sleep (or more like in-my-nap, since I need food ASAP!) recipes—pancakes, peanut noodles with broccoli, or if I’m really desperate, a big boring bowl of salad. But since these super hectic nights are becoming super common, I realized I needed to come up with a few new speedy standards to keep things interesting. Some of my favorites:

Superfast bean burritos Saute a diced onion in olive oil until softened. Add two 15-ounce cans of black beans (drained and rinsed) along with some minced garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, and a chopped jalapeno pepper, if your family likes the heat. Use a potato masher to mash some of the beans then toss in a few handfuls of shredded Cheddar cheese, cooking until melted. Scoop the mixture into four whole wheat tortillas, fold, and eat!

Green eggs and ham Breakfast for dinner! Add thin strips of ham and a few handfuls of baby spinach to a skillet of scrambled eggs and serve alongside whole wheat toast.

Bowties with chickpeas and pesto Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook a box of bowtie pasta according to package directions. While the pasta cooks, add a cup of fresh basil, a clove of garlic, half a cup of pine nuts or walnuts, and a quarter cup of Parmesan cheese to a food processor. While processing, drizzle in enough olive oil to make a thick pesto. Drain the pasta, then toss with the pesto and a 15-ounce can of drained and rinsed chickpeas.

Kitchen sink couscous A great way to use up leftovers—and it takes ten minutes flat: Cook whole wheat couscous according to package directions. Toss cooked couscous with items you already have in your fridge or pantry—like shredded chicken, baked tofu, frozen and thawed peas, roasted red peppers, or chopped apricots.

What’s your family’s go-to dinner for hectic nights? Tell us in the comments!

-Marygrace, staff writer

These great food apps will keep you shopping and eating healthy:

Shop Smart: Take control of your shopping with Fooducate and ShopNoGMO. With Fooducate, you can scan (or type in) a barcode to get a quick nutritional analysis–and a helpful letter grade for the item. Swap that sugary D+ cereal for something designed to get an A. ShopNoGMO is a helpful on-the-go resource for learning what to watch out for in every supermarket aisle. Still shopping for cereal? Learn about the potential GMOs in cereal in general, and find out which brands are certified by the Non-GMO Project. Do the same for more than a dozen categories of food. For lots more info on GMOs, check out our special report in the April/May issue (here’s a sneak peek at part of it).

Eat Well: For easy, delicious recipes using products you love, check out the free recipe apps from Eden Foods and Simply Organic. Both offer dozens of meal (and snack) ideas that are expert-tested. Plus, I’m a fan of iSpice, a completely one-stop guide to anything you could want to know about spices, from one of KIWI’s favorite recipe developers, Monica Bhide.

—Sarah, editorial director

Image: Flickr user Chiot's Run under a Creative Commons license

My family loves homemade pancakes, but for a long time, I thought this traditional weekend breakfast was too daunting to make midweek. I just couldn’t stand over a hot stove while trying to keep the baby and a hungry preschooler happy—not to mention deal with all those dishes when we were trying to get out the door.

But then a friend told me about her genius invention: freezer pancakes. I devised a plan to make big batches of them on the weekend to freeze and enjoy—stress-free—all week. Breakfast brilliance? My 3-year-old sure thinks so. When he asks for a pancake, all I have to do is grab one from the freezer and reheat it. They taste great, they’re healthy (hello whole wheat and fruit!), and they’re budget friendly (what else are you going to do with those over-ripe bananas?). The best part is that my son has grown to love our weekly bake-and-freeze pancake-making sessions. Here’s how you and your child can get in on the fun:

Whole Wheat Banana Cinnamon Pancakes

2¼ cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 egg
3 tablespoons vegetable oil or melted butter
2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 bananas, mashed (or try ½ cup mashed or pureed blueberries, or ½ cup canned pumpkin)
Cooking spray

Supplies for freezer storage:

1 airtight container

10 squares of wax paper

1 permanent marker

Parent and Child: Using measuring cups, pour flour into a large bowl.

Child: Carefully add the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and whisk together until well combined. Set aside.

Parent and Child: In a medium bowl, crack the egg, being sure to wash hands after touching any part of the raw egg.

Child: Whisk the egg until well blended.

Parent and Child: Measure the oil (or butter, if using) and add to the egg mixture.

Child: Pour in the buttermilk.

Parent and Child: Add the vanilla to the egg mixture and whisk well. Set aside.

Child: Peel the bananas and place in a small bowl. With a potato masher or a fork, mash the bananas well (small chunks are okay, but not large chunks). Add the mashed bananas to the egg mixture.

Parent and Child: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula until well combined. Set aside.

Parent: Heat a cast-iron or nonstick skillet, coated with cooking spray, over medium-high heat. Spoon the batter into the skillet, cooking two pancakes at a time, and let cook for about 2 minutes or until you see air bubbles forming. Then, carefully flip the pancakes over (they should be a light golden-brown color) and cook for an additional 2 minutes or so. Transfer to a plate to cool. Repeat process until all the batter is used up.

Child: While the parent is working on the pancakes, prepare the wax paper by cutting 10 squares to separate the pancakes for freezing (this helps them not stick together). Also, have a freezer container ready.

Parent and Child: Once the pancakes have cooled, stack them—separated by wax paper—and place in a bag or container.

Child: Write the date the pancakes were made on the front of the container and seal before storing in the freezer.

Reheating instructions: These pancakes can be reheated easily—either by heating for a few minutes in a toaster or toaster oven (just like you would warm frozen waffles) or 60 seconds in the microwave (though microwave settings vary, and it may take more or less time). Slather with jam, maple syrup, or your favorite pancake topping. P.S. These also make an amazing afternoon snack—for you or the kids!

Makes 8 to 10 medium pancakes

Per serving: calories 163, fat 5 g, protein 5 g, carbohydrates 27 g, dietary fiber 4 g

-Sarah Jio is a freelance magazine writer in Seattle and the health and fitness blogger for Glamour.com. Her first novel, The Violets of March, debuts in August from Penguin (Plume).

Some people give heartfelt cards and pretty flowers on Valentine’s Day—but for me, it’s another opportunity to enjoy some chocolate. And since the sweet stuff really is good for you (read all about it in KIWI’s February/March issue), I invite you to join me with this yummy gluten-free recipe from our friends at Simply Organic.

Brownie Graham Delight with Whipped Cocoa Cream

Prep time: 25 minutes

Bake time: 35 minutes

Ingredients
For the crust:

1 cup gluten-free graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter, melted

For the brownie layer:

1 package gluten-free Simply Organic Cocoa Brownie Mix
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten

For the whipped cocoa cream:

2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13×9-inch baking pan with enough parchment paper so that the paper hangs over the sides of the pan.
2. Make the crust. In a medium bowl, combine the graham crackers, sugar, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter and stir with a fork until combined. Press into the bottom of the parchment-lined pan and bake for 8 minutes.
2. Prepare the brownie layer. In a medium bowl, combine the brownie mix, sweetened condensed milk, water, vanilla, and eggs. Pour over the baked crust and bake for 25 minutes, or until the top looks glossy. When cool enough to touch, remove from the pan by lifting the brownie graham delight out by the edges of the parchment paper.

3. Just before serving, make the topping. In a medium chilled bowl, add the whipping cream and vanilla. Sift in the sugar and cocoa powder, then whip until light and fluffy. Top each serving with a dollop of cocoa cream.

Makes 24 servings

Per serving: Calories 170, fat 8 g, protein 2 g, carbohydrates 22 g

-Marygrace, staff writer

Last week, I wrote about sweet potatoes, and this week I’m writing about the plain old white kind. I can’t help it—when the temperature drops, I start craving the comforting, starchy spuds in all possible forms. These stovetop potatoes are especially easy to make (saute a few ingredients, add liquid, and cover with a lid to cook while you do other things), while the bright lemon is a welcome flavor on cold winter nights. Oh, and since they taste great with a generous squirt of all-natural ketchup, your kids will love them, too.

Lemon Oregano Stovetop Potatoes

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

1/4 cup olive oil
1 large yellow onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
Juice of 1/2 large lemon
1/2 to 1 cup water
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a Dutch oven or large, heavy-bottomed skillet, saute the onions in the olive oil over medium-high heat until soft and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute more.
2. Add the potatoes and oregano and cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes begin to brown on the surface.
3. Add the lemon juice and enough water to barely cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Partially cover with a lid and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, 12 to 16 minutes. Serve hot (and enjoy any leftovers alongside scrambled eggs for breakfast!)

Serves 6
Per serving: Calories 191, fat 9 g, protein 4 g, carbohydrates 29 g, dietary fiber 4 g

-Marygrace, staff writer

Sweet potatoes are good for you—really good for you: A spud is loaded with over 200 percent of your daily vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant), which boosts eye health and helps keep skin clear. Sweet potatoes are also packed with vitamin C, potassium, iron, plus satiating fiber—so it makes sense to eat them often.

Thing is, after a while (read: receiving 8 to 10 sweet potatoes in my weekly CSA box for the last four months!) I start to get tired of baked sweet potatoes or roasted sweet potato wedges. A few times, I used them to make sweet potato gnocchi, which was delicious, but also pretty labor-intensive. This weekend, I wanted something easier, so I used the flesh of a baked sweet potato to make this yummy breakfast bread. It’s a welcome change from my usual winter morning oatmeal, but since it’s full of whole grains, flaxseed, nuts—and of course, sweet potato—I know it’ll keep me nourished and satisfied all morning long.

Sweet potato pecan breakfast bread

Prep time: 10 minutes
Bake time: 45 to 50 minutes

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup expeller-pressed canola oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed whisked with 2 tablespoons warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sweet potato puree
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat the oven or toaster oven to 350F. Lightly grease a loaf pan.
2. In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Whisk to combine.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the canola oil, brown sugar, and molasses until well-combined. Add the flaxseed mixture, vanilla extract, and sweet potato puree.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the pecans.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake, 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before slicing.

Makes 12 slices
Per slice: Calories 251, fat 13 g, protein 3 g, carbohydrates 35 g, dietary fiber 4 g

-Marygrace, staff writer

Served alongside some crusty bread and a salad, soup is my perfect idea of a light fall or winter meal. But when the temperature really plunges, I’m usually too cold to munch on raw greens. Instead, I stick my spinach in my soup for a more warming—yet still veggie-packed—meal.

Lemony Lentil Soup with Spinach

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 55 minutes

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced (optional)
2 teaspoons cumin
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups green lentils, rinsed and picked over
6 cups water or vegetable stock
2 large handfuls baby spinach
Juice of 1 large lemon
Salt and pepper, to taste
1. In a soup pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil.
2. Add the onions and sauté 5-7 minutes, or until softened. Add the carrots, cooking 5 minutes more. Add the garlic, jalapeno pepper (if using), cumin, and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the lentils and the water or vegetable stock. Cover and bring to a boil, then simmer 40-45 minutes, or until lentils are fully cooked.
4. Add the spinach and stir until wilted, about 1 minute. Add the lemon juice and stir to combine. Remove from heat and serve.

Serves 6-8

Per serving: Calories 204, fat 2 g, protein 13 g, carbohydrates 33 g, dietary fiber 13 g

-Marygrace, staff writer

Baby, it’s cold outside! Cozy up with a vegetarian twist on the standard (and not-so-healthy) chicken and rice casserole. Cream of mushroom soup gets swapped for chickpeas, carrots, and sweet, golden raisins. The toasted almonds on top add the perfect crunch.

Sweet & Nutty Rice Casserole
Prep + cook time: 45 minutes

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into ¼-inch dice (about ¾ cup)
1 very small onion, finely diced (about ½ cup)
1½ cups brown basmati rice, rinsed under cold water and drained
1 32-ounce carton all-natural vegetable broth (4 cups)
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½ cup sliced almonds, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 350°.  Heat oil in a Dutch oven* over medium heat. Add carrots and onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add rice and stir until coated with the oil.
2. Add broth, chickpeas, honey, cinnamon, salt, and pepper and stir to combine. Increase heat and bring liquid to a simmer.
3. Cover and place in oven. Bake until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 25 minutes. Top with almonds and serve.
*Tip: If you don’t have a Dutch oven, prepare the rice in a large saucepan or skillet, transfer to a 3- or 4-quart casserole dish, cover with a fitted lid or aluminum foil, and bake for about 25 minutes.

Serves 6 to 8
Per serving: calories 340, fat 7 g, protein 8 g, carbohydrates 67 g, dietary fiber 6 g

-Recipe by Liz Weiss, MS, RD, and Janice Newell Bissex, MS, RD

Guest blogger Melissa Graham of Purple Asparagus shares the tradition her family started—somewhat inadvertently—after her son came home with a rather tall tale about their Thanksgiving dinner preparations:

Thor’s Turkey Recipe
“We get the turkey from whole foods. We all get it together. Stuff the turkey with French fries. We cook it in the oven at 100 degrees. We cook for an hour. Then we put mashed potatoes on the side before we serve it. We serve it on plates. We make it look like a turkey leg. It smells like a turkey. My grandma and grandpa, my mom and my dad and me eat it. We serve it with tater tots and mash potatoes. We will have the party at my house. I will have a Sherly temple for me and martinis for grandma and grandpa.”

So goes the little locavore’s story as told to a 5th grader and pasted onto a construction paper turkey’s fan. While we didn’t get to see the tail on the tale until the Friday before Thanksgiving, I had been given some advance warning about it when Thor began quizzing me on turkey prep.

“So we get our turkey from Whole Foods?”

“No Thor, we buy it directly from a local farmer.”

“We bake it at 100 . . . ”

“Well, not exactly.”

“for an hour?”

“Certainly, not at 100 degrees.”

[Cue frustration, curling brow] “But we’ll have tater tots, right?”

“Uh, no.” [Cue curled brow for me as I try to remember the last tater tot he ate with me].

[More frustration exhibited and a slightly mobile lower lip] “But, but, but, we do stuff it with french fries.”

Of course, the answer was no, but unlike the other questions, there was no logical reason why this one should be answered in the negative. And so we stuffed (or more accurately made stuffing) with French fries. And you know what? It was pretty good. Not as good as my usual corn bread-kielbasa recipe, which I’ll revive this year. Nevertheless, the story has inspired us to start a tradition. Each year, my son and I plan to brainstorm to create a truly innovative dish for our Thanksgiving table. We haven’t made a final selection yet, but I think that it may involve sweet potatoes and mint, which we recently learned is a surprisingly happy marriage.

Parents who cook with their children know that their little ones are more likely try food that they’ve had a hand in creating. Allowing kids to experiment takes this even further: It gives them a sense of ownership and pride and encourages them to become even more experimental in their eating as doing so provides fodder for their creations.

Our most successful collaborations created one of my favorite recipes: Carrot-Quinoa Cakes, a delicious vegetarian and gluten-free option, which is easy enough for everyday and yet equally elegant for a special occasion.

Carrot-Quinoa Cakes
6 servings

3 large carrots
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for sautéing
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped onion
3/4 teaspoon cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup quinoa, cooked according to the package
3 tablespoons quinoa or all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon dill, chopped

Peel and slice the carrots approximately 1/2 inch thick. Cover with water in a small saucepan and bring the water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and reduce to a simmer. Cook until tender approximately 20 minutes. Drain and then puree in a food processor or mash until smooth. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Cook the onion until softened and lightly caramelized, approximately 6 minutes. Add the cumin and cook for another minute. Mix the carrot puree, quinoa, onions and flour in a medium bowl. Form into cakes 2-inches in diameter and sauté in olive oil until golden on each side. Mix together the yogurt and dill. Top each cake with a dollop of yogurt.

With Thanksgiving only a week away, you probably started to plan some dessert options for your holiday outings. Without a doubt, there is nothing better (or more festive) than pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. Instead of making your traditional pie, opt for this delicious, vegan, and easy-to-make alternative that will be a sure hit among family and friends. You can add ingredients such as tofu cream cheese, raw cashews, and lemon juice to give your pie a healthier twist.

This recipe comes from vegan chef, Kathy Patalsky. For more tips and recipes, visit her blog.

Pure Pumpkin Pie

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

8 ounces tofu cream cheese
30 ounces (about 3¾ cups) canned Pumpkin Pie Mix, like this organic pumpkin mix
1¼ cups raw cashews, soaked for at least 6 hours or overnight in salted water and drained
3 tablespoons lemon or orange juice
2 teaspoons cinnamon (optional)
2 graham cracker piecrusts

Handful of cashews for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 375º.
2. Drain the nuts and set aside. Also set aside about 15-20 cashews for garnish.
3. In a food processor, add tofu cream cheese, pumpkin pie mix, cashews, cinnamon, and lemon or orange juice. Process until combined.
4. Pour your mixture into your two piecrusts.
5. Swirl and smooth top with fork. Add cashews around the edge and center for garnish.
7. Bake for 30 minutes. Insert a toothpick in the center to make sure it comes out clean. Let it cool for 20 minutes, and then put into refrigerator to chill before serving.

*For a sweeter taste, you can drizzle warm maple syrup or add a dollop of vegan soy or rice whipped cream.

Makes 2 pies, 9 servings per pie
Per serving: Calories 220, protein 3 g, fat 9 g, carbohydrates 33 g, dietary fiber 7g

-Amanda, KIWI intern

They call the egg incredible for a reason—it’s a tasty, quick-cooking source of filling protein, and contains hard-to-get vitamin D. What’s more, eggs are rich in choline, a nutrient that’s essential for healthy brain function. But when you add gobs of mayo to these yellow and white powerhouses, as is done in traditional egg salad, all those health benefits are sort of cancelled out. A better idea: Get the same creamy texture—plus a fun green hue—with heart-healthy avocado.
Green egg salad

Prep time: 5 minutes

6 large hardboiled eggs (organic, if possible), sliced in quarters
½ large avocado, diced
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste

Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mash with a fork until well-combined and the eggs are in small pieces. Season to taste, and serve alone, in a sandwich, or in lettuce cups.

Serves 3 to 4
Per serving: Calories 148, fat 11 g, protein 10 g, carbohydrates 3 g, dietary fiber 2 g

What’s better than beans? When it comes to planet-friendly veggie protein, not much. They’re incredibly versatile (chickpeas in hummus, navy beans in soup, kidney beans in curry), and super nutritious: A cup of cooked beans offers 10 to 17 grams of protein, 9 to 17 grams of fiber, plus important minerals like calcium, iron, and potassium. What’s more, they’re full of health-promoting antioxidants—black beans, especially. Which is great, because these little onyx gems are deeeelicious when made into refried beans, then scooped into tacos, nachos, or salads.

Refried beans often get a bad rap: Their name implies that they’re fried, and traditional recipes often call for pork or lard—neither of which are particularly healthy (though a little of either once in a while is probably fine, so if you find yourself at an authentic Mexican eatery, please just get the refried beans. You won’t regret it!). In reality, refried beans aren’t fried, and there’s really no need to add meat at all. I promise, they’re just as tasty without, garnering plenty of flavor from sauteed onions, garlic, and cumin.

I usually make my refried beans from dried beans, since I like to use some of the cooking liquid to add moisture to the refried beans without tons of fat. Of course, that adds a couple of hours to the overall cooking time—so if you’re in a hurry, you can use canned and sub vegetable stock or water.

Easy refried beans
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, shredded in a food processor
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced (optional)
1 tablespoon cumin
4 cups cooked black beans
1/2 to 1 cup cooking liquid from the beans, or water or vegetable stock
Salt, to taste

1. In a large skillet, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and salt to taste and saute 5 to 7 minutes, or until soft and translucent.
2. Add the garlic, serrano chile if using, and cumin. Cook 1-2 minutes more.
3. Pour in about 1/4 cup of the bean cooking liquid, stirring the onion mixture around for a minute. Add the black beans and salt to taste.
4. While in the pan, mash beans with a potato masher until you reach a creamy consistency, and there are no whole beans left. If the mixture begins to look dry, continue adding liquid. Cook 5 to 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally and adding liquid as needed.
5. Serve hot in tacos, burritos, fajitas, or over nachos. Or, let come to room temperature and toss in a salad.

Serves 6
Per serving: Calories 218, fat 7 g, protein 10 g, carbohydrates 29 g, fiber 10 g

-Marygrace, staff writer

There is nothing better than a warm, sweet treat on a fall day. With Halloween and Thanksgiving right around the corner, these vegan Pumpkin Spice Orange Banana Bars will be a sure crowd pleaser, and will put everyone in the holiday mood.

This recipe comes from Kathy Patalsky, founder of The Lunchbox Brunch, a line of books, apparel, and greeting cards that seek to inspire children to taste and experiment with different, healthier foods.  Check out her blog for other fun, fast, and delicious vegan meals and snacks.

The combination of spelt (a nutty-tasting, low-gluten flour that’s better tolerated by some with wheat sensitivies) and whole wheat flour gives these treats a healthy twist. Make them into bars or muffins.

Pumpkin Spice Orange Banana Bars
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 15-20 minutes

2 cups spelt flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 extra-ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash of cayenne
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons orange zest
1 large orange, juiced (about 1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup light coconut milk

1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted nuts/seeds)
1/3 cup agave nectar or maple syrup
1/2 cup crushed pecans or other nuts
1/4 cup dried cranberries (optional)
2 tablespoons crushed flax seeds

1. Preheat oven to 375º. Lay a sheet of parchment paper over an 8 x 14″ baking pan for bars, or line a muffin.
2. Add flour, dry spices, salt and baking powder to a large mixing bowl. Stir well.
3. Add in the coconut milk, oil, vanilla extract, bananas, pumpkin, orange juice and maple syrup. Stir well.
4. Add in pumpkin seeds, 1 teaspoon of orange zest, and pecans and dried cranberries, if using.
5. Pour batter into baking dish or muffin tin. For bars, use a spatula to smooth out the top of the batter.
6. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, the other teaspoon of orange zest and an extra drizzle of agave nectar or maple syrup over the top.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until bars are lightly browned on the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

* Letting the bread chill in the fridge is another option. Freeze to store for a few days.

Makes 12 bars of muffins

Per serving: Calories 291, protein 4 g, fat 10 g, carbohydrates 47 g, dietary fiber 6 g

-Amanda, Intern

Each fall, I get excited about pumpkin. Of course, because I love it’s taste and bright orange color, but also, I think, because I only ever eat pumpkin in October and November. So it always reminds me of wholesome fall days, complete with sweaters, crisp blue skies, and blustery winds. It also reminds me of being warm and cozy at home with my family, since we always eat pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. What’s more, I’m willing to bet you feel the same, because pumpkin seems to be one of those foods that evokes universal feelings and memories. Kind of like corn on the cob or watermelon.

For the last couple weeks, I’ve seen huge piles of pumpkins (plus gourds and squash) sitting outside of nearly every market around town. It really made me want pumpkin pie, but deep down I know it’s not quite time yet. Instead, I left the cinnamon and nutmeg in the spice cabinet, and made this savory stir fry. Served over rice, it’s a light meal, but you can bulk it up with cubed tofu or tempeh, too. What’s more, it’s cozy, invigorating, and satisfying—sort of like fall itself.

Pumpkin broccoli stir-fry
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 10-12 minutes

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons canola oil
½ of a medium sugar pumpkin*, peeled, seeded, and chopped into ½-inch cubes
2 cups broccoli florets
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (optional)
¼ cup pumpkin seeds, toasted

1. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, maple syrup, rice wine vinegar, and toasted sesame oil. Stir and set aside.
2. In a large skillet over high heat, warm the canola oil until shimmery. Add the pumpkin cubes and sauté, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the broccoli and sauté 5-7 minutes more.
3. Add the garlic and jalapeno pepper, stirring for 30 seconds. Add the soy sauce mixture, stir again, and remove from heat.
4. Transfer to a bowl and garnish with the toasted pumpkin seeds. Serve.

Serves 4
Per serving: Calories 163, fat 8 g, protein 3 g, carbohydrates 22 g, dietary fiber 5 g

*You can use the rest of the pumpkin to make a puree for use in pie, muffins, or pancakes. Peel, seed, and chop the other half of the pumpkin into 1-inch cubes and roast for 20-25 minutes. Remove the oven to cool. Once cooled, process in a food processor or blender until smooth, adding water to thin if necessary. The puree will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator, or up to six months in the freezer.

Want even more yummy ways to enjoy the orange squash? Check out our top five pumpkin recipes at kiwimagonline.com/pumpkin.

-Marygrace, KIWI staff writer

This week’s guest blogger, Melissa Graham, writes regularly about sustainability at her own blog, Little Locavores.

About five years ago, I left behind my first career as a big firm attorney to pursue a long time dream of working in the world of food. Giving up a comfortable income, I founded, with a small group of friends, Purple Asparagus, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing families back to the table by promoting and enjoying all the things associated with good eating. Our original intent was to be a kind of Slow Food for families, introducing children to the pleasures of the table through education and events. As time passed, however, our mission expanded to include advocacy and education in the schools. Over the last year, we have provided programming to thousands of parents and children at public schools, community centers, and farmers’ markets throughout Chicago and its surrounding suburbs.

Purple Asparagus’ education program is based on the simple notion that if you eat close to the ground, incorporating lots of diverse fruits and vegetables into your diet while getting the processed junk out, you’ll be well on your way towards a healthy lifestyle. At Purple Asparagus, we don’t view food as simply fuel to feed the body. Food can be, and should be, more than that. We believe that sharing food can strengthen family and community ties. I also find that teaching children about eating well can help them gain respect for the earth and for the diversity of cultures all over it.

The roots of this notion dig deep into my childhood. I inherited my love of cooking from my mom, a teacher who loved to entertain with entertaining friends. Through her and my dad, I was exposed to good food both in fine restaurants and in clam shacks. Growing up near the bounty of the Atlantic on Long Island instilled in me a respect for local and sustainable products. We clammed, caught crabs, and gathered beach plums that we transformed into jam. I loved our trips to the east end of the island returning home with bags heavy with local corn, peaches, and tomatoes. While my mother wasn’t a food snob and often used the tricks of the processed food industry, she also froze, canned, and dried the gifts of the growing season. Through food, we explored the world and connected as a family.

Having long since moved from Long Island and my parents, my husband and I continue these traditions here in the Midwest. My son, age six, is already an old hand at navigating the farmers’ markets. Our weekly, sometimes bi-weekly, visits have created so many wonderful memories, including trying his first strawberry plucked straight out of a pristine pile by the farmer, or his market play dates with the daughter of another farmer who lives in the same small Indiana town as my husband’s relatives. We too explore the world and connect as a family through food.

While we’re not perfect, we do our best to consume food that is good and clean, raised by farmers and producers whose practices replenish the earth. As a family, we also try to avoid any extremes in our diet. Our everyday eating is usually healthy, which allows us the opportunity to indulge, guilt-free, in “sometimes” foods. I’m no cupcake hater and a plate full of fries can make for a happy meal. It’s all about balance.

I was thinking of all this on Labor Day during a dinner that my family shared to mark summer’s unofficial end. My son started school the next day, moving, as he described it, into the grades (first that is) and out of the ‘gartens. To celebrate this important transition, I made a special meal of buttermilk-brined fried chicken. I paired it with the pride of summer produce: corn so sweet that buttering it would have been a sin and sliced tomatoes freshly plucked from our small urban garden. Homemade, puckery-tart, bread and butter pickles rounded out the plate. It was a meal to remember. Afterwards, we sat on our city stoop with watermelon slices, our bellies full, silently sharing our hopes for the coming school year. Reflecting on the many special occasion meals my mom prepared when I was a kid, the ones that comforted me and connected us as a family, it reminded me that a thoughtful and well-prepared meal can fill not just your stomach, but also your heart.

Because I didn’t think it appropriate to begin my blogging for Kiwi with my delicious, yet artery clogging, once-a-year indulgence, fried chicken recipe found here, I’ll instead share our everyday, heart healthy substitute. Parmesan Crusted Chicken is a delicious everyday dinner that both kids and adults love. Eat this now, so that you can indulge in that later.

Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Breasts

Serves 4

Of course, you could always buy bone-in chicken breasts for this recipe and remove the bone to use for stock. Since this is a regular dish in my after work repertoire, I often take the easy way out with pre-pounded chicken cutlets. I like to pair it with roasted, marinated, multi-colored peppers.

4 chicken cutlets or chicken breast halves, boned, skinned, and pounded between two pieces of plastic wrap or parchment

¼ cup all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons water

½ cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs

½ cup grated parmesan style cheese (I use a Midwestern cheese called Sarvecchio)

2 tablespoons snipped chives, optional

Zest from half of a lemon

1 teaspoon kosher salt

5 grinds of pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Place three shallow bowls side by side. Add the flour in the first, the eggs and water in the second, and the panko crumbs, parmiggiano-reggiano, chives, lemon zest, salt and pepper in the third. Mix together the water and egg in one bowl and then the bread crumbs, cheese, chives, lemon zest, salt and pepper in the other. Heat the olive oil in a non-stick sauté pan over medium high heat until hot but not smoking. Dredge the chicken first in the flour, then the egg mixture and finally the bread crumb mixture. Add each piece of meat into the pan and immediately turn the heat to medium. Sauté for approximately 4 minutes on one side, 3 minutes on the other. Serve warm with the following recipe for marinated peppers.

Mama Lena’s Roasted and Marinated Bell Peppers

Serves 4

4 bell peppers of various colors

4 garlic cloves

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon sherry vinegar

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Grill, broil or roast the peppers over an open flame. Put the peppers into bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap until cool to the touch. Remove the skins and the seeds from the peppers. Slice into ¼-inch slices. Very thinly slice garlic cloves. Mix together the peppers, sliced garlic cloves, olive oil, vinegar and salt in a medium-size bowl and marinate for at least an hour, preferably overnight.

Almost every Friday afternoon, the first thing I do after wrapping up work is head to my favorite yoga studio. Sometimes I’m feeling super energetic (a miracle for a Friday, I know!) and opt for a power or vinyasa class, and other times my body just wants to relax, so I take a more restorative hatha class. Regardless, for me, yoga’s the perfect opportunity to unwind, dump out any stress from the week, and settle into a relaxing weekend.

This past Friday, I enjoyed a super mellow hatha session. I almost fell asleep in Savasana, but then had to wake myself up to bike the four miles back home. Unfortunately, it was raining—meaning I was going to get soaked and the traffic around me was going to be moving slower than usual. The 25-minute ride turned into a 45-minute one, and by the time I got home I was wet, cold, and cranky. In other words, not relaxed. I was also starving, hadn’t made a plan for dinner, and didn’t feel like doing a ton of work in the kitchen.

So I made mujadara, a traditional Middle Eastern pilaf of rice, lentils, and caramelized onions. It took about 45 minutes to cook, but most of the time was unattended—leaving me to do other things, like take a hot shower and put on my coziest sweatpants. Of course, a meal isn’t a meal without vegetables (though I’m sure some kids would beg to differ), so I sliced up some small eggplants we got in our CSA box, drizzled them with olive oil and salt, and roasted them off while the rest of the food simmered on the stove. Served over a bed of arugula (another CSA offering!), this was a comfy, satisfying meal that definitely put me back on track for weekend relaxation.

Eggplant Mujadara
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes, largely unattended

1 cup brown basmati rice
1 cup green lentils
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1 large onion, sliced into rounds
4 small or 2 medium eggplant, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
Salt, to taste
Arugula or spinach, for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the rice, lentils, and bouillon cube. Cover and reduce to a simmer.
3. In a large skillet, warm 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and let it brown slowly, stirring every 10 minutes or so.
4. Arrange the eggplant slices on a baking sheet so none overlap. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Flip the slices, then drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and add another sprinkle of salt. Bake 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.
5. The rice and lentils should be ready at about the same time as the eggplant. Take them off the stove and put in a large bowl, then add the eggplant.
6. Add a sprinkle of salt to the onions, then add them to the bowl as well. Toss to combine. Top with toasted pine nuts.
7. Serve hot, over a bed of arugula or spinach, if desired.

Serves 4
Per serving: Calories 336, protein 9 g, fat 20 g, carbohydrates 33 g, dietary fiber 8 g

-Marygrace, KIWI staff writer

If intimidation had you avoiding the odd-shaped veggie all summer at the farmer’s market, fear not! Okra is simple to prepare (delicious and nutritious, too!)—but it’s season is almost over. Get it while you can, then make this tasty appetizer or finger food

Okra fingers with peanut dipping sauce
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

1 pound okra
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
Salt, to taste
1/3 cup natural peanut butter, smooth or crunchy
1/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1-2 teaspoons hot chili sauce (or to taste)
1 1/2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Spread the okra on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with the sesame oil and sprinkle with the salt, then toss to coat. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges of the okra just begin to brown.
3. While the okra bakes, make the peanut sauce. In a medium bowl, add the peanut butter, water, soy sauce, hot chili sauce (if using), rice wine vinegar, and garlic, and whisk to combine.
4. Take the okra out of the oven. Serve hot alongside the peanut sauce for dipping.

Serves 4
Per serving: Calories 175, fat 13 g, protein 8 g, carbohydrates 10 g, dietary fiber 5 g

-Marygrace, KIWI staff writer

By nature, weekends are indulgent, or at least more indulgent than the average work week. After all, it’s your family’s free time to do what you love, whether that means sleeping in, spending the entire afternoon at the park, or enjoying some extra delicious food. This weekend, I did all of the above–especially when it came to the food. Let’s see…Friday night I thoroughly enjoyed some homemade oatmeal raisin cookies crumbled over ice cream. Saturday night I thoroughly enjoyed a feast complete with wine, appetizers, and bread at a local Indian restaurant. Sunday afternoon I very much enjoyed sampling tons of different salsas at the annual Austin Hot Sauce Festival (to sample salsa, you need lots of tortilla chips) plus a snow cone to cool me down. Needless to say, I was not feeling my best by yesterday evening, and the only thing I wanted for dinner was refreshing, healthy fare.

And so, this light but satisfying noodle bowl was born. I used eggplant, shiitake mushrooms, and purslane (a wild green) because I had them on hand, but equal amounts of other summer vegetables would do just as well. Maybe zucchini, spinach, and green beans? Or summer squash and peppers? No matter the veggie combination, I guarantee you’ll thoroughly enjoy it.

Soba noodle bowl with summer veggies and miso tahini sauce
Prep time: 30 minutes (largely unattended)
Cook time: 15-20 minutes

1 large or 4 small eggplants, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 small bunch purslane or other greens
1 cup shelled edamame
1-2 hot peppers (optional)
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1/3 cup tahini
1/3 cup yellow miso paste
8 ounces soba noodles
Salt, to taste

1. Place the eggplant pieces on a towel-lined pan or wire rack. Sprinkle liberally with salt. (This draws excess moisture out of the eggplant, and will make it taste smooth and creamy instead of spongy.) Don’t be afraid to use a lot of salt, as you’ll be rinsing it off. Allow to sit for 30 minutes.
2. Place the eggplant pieces in a colander and rinse with cold water. Pat dry with a towel.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
4. Over medium-high heat, warm 1 tablespoon canola oil in a saute pan. Add the eggplant, stirring every few minutes, until soft, about 10 minutes. Transfer eggplant to a bowl and set aside.
5. Add the other tablespoon of canola oil to the pan, then add the mushrooms. Let cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the purslane, edamame, and hot peppers and cook 2-3 minutes more. Add to the eggplant.
6. Add the soba noodles to the boiling water and cook according to package directions.
7. In a bowl, combine the tahini and miso paste with 1/4 cup water and mix well.
8. Drain noodles and combine with vegetables and miso tahini sauce. Serve hot.

Serves 4
Per serving: Calories 360, fat 21 g, protein 14 g, carbohydrates 35 g, dietary fiber 6 g

-Marygrace, KIWI staff writer

Once upon a time, I was a third grader who only ate grilled cheese (okay, I probably ate some cookies, too). But broccoli? Sick. Bananas? Gag! Hummus? NO WAY, what the heck is that? It wasn’t until the tail end of high school that I started trying new, healthy foods—and it turned out I really loved all of the above. Especially hummus.

At first, I thought you could only get the stuff from a plastic tub in the grocery store. In a pinch, this is still a welcome option, but once I learned that hummus was super easy to make mysekf, I started doing it all the time. And the results spoke for themselves (and still do!): When I lived at home, my sister would devour the entire batch (with a side of baby carrots) upon arriving back from work late at night, famished. Now, if my husband knows there’s a batch of fresh hummus in the fridge, it’s sure not to last very long. He’ll pile it on top of a piece of toast with some avocado and happily munch (while I silently mutter that he’s not going to have any room left for the dinner I’m preparing).

The bottom line: Fresh hummus doesn’t hold a candle to the prepackaged stuff, and with cooked or canned chickpeas, you can whip up the versatile spread in about 3 minutes.  Here’s my version.

My favorite hummus

4 cups cooked chickpeas, or 2 16-ounce cans, drained and rinsed
1 large clove garlic
4 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 large lemon
2 tablespoons water
Big pinch of salt

Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and mix until smooth and creamy. Hummus will keep covered, in the refrigerator, for 4 days (if you don’t eat it all before that).

Serves many, depending on how you eat it.

-Marygrace, KIWI staff writer

Last week, my husband and I picked up our first CSA share from Johnson’s Backyard Garden, a certified-organic farm right outside of Austin. You might think it’s a little late in the year to just be joining a CSA, but here in central Texas, the growing season runs year round. (Lucky, I know—but we pay for it in other ways, like three months straight of triple-digit temperatures outside.) In fact, while August is peak harvesting time for fresh fruits and veggies in most parts of the country, the brutal sun and super hot weather make late summer the leanest produce months ’round these parts. The tomatoes, corn, and squash will be back next month once things start to cool off a bit, but right now, we’ve got peppers. I added them to a bunch of different dishes (have to use them up before we get more this week!), but putting them in this black bean bowl was by far our favorite.

This dish is delicious hot or cold. We ate it with cornmeal biscuits, but wheat or corn tortillas would be another good choice.

Black bean and pepper bowl
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
3 bell peppers, sliced into matchsticks (we had one red, one green, and one purple, but any color combination will do)
2 long sweet peppers, sliced into matchsticks
1 serrano chile, diced (if your family isn’t a fan of heat, leave this out!)
2 teaspoons cumin
4 cups cooked black beans (or 2 16-ounce cans, drained and rinsed)
Salt, to taste
1 large avocado, peeled, pitted, and cut into cubes

1. In a skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring every few minutes, until browned, 5-7 minutes.
2. Add the bell pepper and sweet pepper slices and cook another 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the chile and cumin and cook for 30 seconds.
4. Add the black beans and stir the mixture a few times to combine well. Add 1/4 cup water and cook for 2-3 minutes to allow the flavors to combine. Remove from heat.
5. Serve the beans and peppers in a bowl, garnished with chopped avocado. If you’d like, you can stir and lightly mash the mixture so the avocado forms a sort of dressing.

Serves 6
Per serving: Calories 280, fat 10 g, protein 12 g, carbohydrates 39 g, dietary fiber 14 g

-Marygrace, KIWI staff writer

Some people have a rotation of standards meals they cook, making it really easy to figure out what’s for dinner. I’m not one of them. With a way too big collection of cookbooks and an unhealthy obsession with food blogs, I’m constantly finding new recipes to try (tomato cobbler, anyone?). Sometimes they’re good and sometimes they aren’t, but no matter what they taste like, I usually never remember to make them again. Except for these peanut noodles.

When it comes to not having a list of standards or stand-bys, this dish is the exception. It comes together in about a half hour, I always have the ingredients on hand, and when I’m staring off into space trying to decide what on earth I feel like eating for dinner—always fits the bill. Try peanut noodles with tofu and vegetables hot or cold, I promise you’ll love it!

Peanut noodles with tofu and vegetables
Prep + cook time: 35 minutes

1 pound extra firm tofu, drained and patted dry
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon canola oil, divided
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
2 cups red cabbage, shredded
1 pound broccoli, cut into florets
3/4 cup natural peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup warm water
1 pound whole wheat spaghetti

1. Preheat the oven or toaster oven to 425F. Grease a baking sheet with 1 teaspoon canola oil.
2. Slice tofu into 8 pieces and place on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt, flip the pieces, and sprinkle the other side with salt. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove from the oven and cut into 1-2″ pieces.
3. In a large saute pan over medium heat, add the onion and canola oil. Saute 5-7 minutes, until translucent, then add the mushrooms. Saute 5-7 minutes more, and transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
4. Place the saute pan back over the heat and saute the cabbage until crunchy-tender, 3-5 minutes. Add to the onion-mushroom mixture.
5. Set a large pot of water to boil.
6. Make the peanut sauce: In a medium container, add the peanut butter, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, garlic, and warm water. Put the lid on the container and shake until combined.
7. Once the water is boiling, cook the spaghetti according to package directions. 1 minute before the spaghetti is ready to drain, add the broccoli to the boiling water. Drain.
8. Combine the spaghetti and broccoli with the onions, mushrooms, and cabbage. Add the tofu pieces and the peanut sauce, and toss to combine. Serve.

Serves 8
Per serving: Calories 432, fat 19 g, protein 23 g, carbohydrates 55 g, dietary fiber 12 g

-Marygrace, KIWI staff writer

Over the weekend, my husband and I had some friends over for dinner (barbecue tofu, corn on the cob, potato salad with avocado dressing, and homemade ice cream sandwiches—yum!). When we invite people over to share a meal they usually bring wine or an appetizer, a gesture that’s much appreciated. Instead, these friends brought a bag of farm-fresh okra from their weekly CSA box, and we were thrilled.

I’d only eaten okra prepared by other people a handful of times and had never made it myself. In fact, as someone who considers herself an experienced home cook, I was a little embarrassed that I’d never even tried preparing okra. It just looks so strange, I always walk right past it at the market. But last night, I had to use that okra—and use it I did. 

As the name implies, this dish is a little soup-y, so it’s great served over quinoa, brown rice, or alongside some crusty bread to sop up the juices. Add a side of bean salad, and you’ve got yourself a tasty, summertime meat-free meal.

Stewed okra with tomatoes

Prep time: 10-15 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour, largely unattended

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 onion, sliced into rings

1 1/2 pounds okra, tops removed, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 large tomatoes, chopped

1 cup vegetable stock (water is fine, too)

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Salt, to taste

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until they start to brown, 5 to 7 minutes.

2. Add okra and the remaining olive oil, and saute another 5 minutes. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt to taste, and cook 1 minute more.

3. Add the chopped tomatoes and vegetable stock or water. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 40 to 45 minutes, or until okra is tender. Remove from heat and serve.

Serves 4 to 6

Per serving: Calories 88, fat 5 g, protein 3 g, carbohydrates 11 g, dietary fiber 4 g

-Marygrace, KIWI staff writer

I’m a nut and seed butter fanatic: I devour whole wheat peanut noodles, toss salads with tahini dressing, stir globs of walnut butter into my morning oatmeal, and even eat almond butter straight off the spoon for a snack. High in healthy fat, nut and seed butters are creamy, satisfying, and will add bulk to a meal so you’ll stay full for hours. And since they’re a plant-based protein, they’re easy on the environment.

One thing that’s not so awesome about nut and seed butters? The price. With the exception of peanut butter, these spreads cost a pretty penny. My local co-op sells almond butter and tahini at around $9 a pound, and walnut butter at a whopping $15 a pound (hempseed, pumpkin seed, and pistachio butters cost even more. Yikes!). As a vegetarian, it’s easier for me to justify the cost—hormone-free, humanely raised meat would, per pound, cost a whole lot more, and since I’m not eating that, I can splurge on the nut butters instead. Still, I don’t always feel like spending half my grocery budget on the stuff, so I make my own.

DIY nut butter is simple: Toss at least a cup’s worth of nuts or seeds into your food processor, and whirl away. You might think it’s not working at first, but after a few minutes (and maybe a good scrape or two down the side of the processor with a spatula), you’ll end up with a rich nut or seed butter. Add a pinch of salt, if you’d like, or additional flavoring like maple sugar or cinnamon, and you’ve got some seriously tasty stuff. Happy eating!

-Marygrace, KIWI staff writer

If it wasn’t so bad for me, I’d probably have a cone of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream every afternoon in the summer (and maybe during the other seasons, too—I love it that much!). I do make sure I treat myself to the real deal at least once or twice a week, but on most days, I tend to opt for something a lot less indulgent: banana soft-serve. It’s sweet, cold, and creamy like my favorite pints, but contains a fraction of the calories, fat, and sugar. It’s also loaded with fiber plus energizing potassium and B vitamins. How’s that for a sweet treat?

Best of all, making the stuff couldn’t be easier. For an individual serving, you just whiz one frozen, chopped banana in your food processor until smooth (add an additional banana per extra serving). Afterwards, you can fold in extras like:

•  Peanut or almond butter
• Cinnamon
• Chopped pecans
• Dark chocolate chips
• Raisins or chopped dates

Sounds too good to be true? Try it—then see what you think!

-Marygrace, KIWI staff writer

Invited to a last-minute barbecue? Spent all afternoon at the pool with your kids and looking for something healthy to throw together for dinner? I’ve got just the recipe. This corn, black bean, and avocado salad comes together in twenty minutes flat, tastes delicious warm or cold, and makes use of some of summer’s best offerings.

Caramelized corn, black bean, and avocado salad
Prep time: 20 minutes

4 ears white or yellow corn, husked
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 clove garlic, minced
1 16 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large avocado, flesh scooped out and cubed
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
1/2 small red onion, diced
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. For the corn, chop off one end of each ear so it stands up straight. With a sharp knife, slice the kernels from the cob by running the side of the blade down the ear along all sides. (If you’ve got a bundt pan, leave the long “handle” of the cob attached and stand cob in the hole of the pan, then remove the kernels. The hole will keep the corn cob steady will the kernels fall into the bottom of the pan.)
2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a cast iron or nonstick skillet over high heat. When the oil is shiny in the pan, add the corn kernels, garlic, and salt to taste. Let corn kernels sit, untouched, for 2-3 minutes, until browned on one side. Give a quick stir to toss, then let kernels brown 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl, then add corn. Toss gently, taking care not to mush the avocado cubes. Serve with whole wheat tortillas or corn chips.

Serves 4-6
Per serving: Calories 225, fat 12 g, protein 7 g, carbohydrates 26 g, dietary fiber 8 g

-Marygrace Taylor, KIWI staff writer

Looking for crowd-pleasing recipes that are good for you, too? Our meals, snacks, sides, and desserts will have kids and grownups coming back for seconds.

Meals
Grilled Pizza Margherita
Grilled Fish Sandwiches
Taco Salad with Salsa Dressing

Sides
Mac & Cheese & Carrots
Kitchen Sink Pasta Salad
Asian Slaw

Snacks
Campfire Crunch
Mediterranean Pita Chips
Almond Butter Clusters

Desserts
Grilled Peaches with Caramelized Pecan Sauce
Seasonal Fruit Cobbler
Vegan Oat ‘n’ Maple Cream Sandwich Cookies

What are your family’s must-have cookout dishes? For me, a barbecue’s not complete without some veggie hot dogs and potato salad with avocado dressing. Yum!

-Marygrace, KIWI staffer

A bowl of porridge topped with honey, nuts, and fruit is my default breakfast for much of the year, until the weather warms up (Austin is already in the 90′s!) and I can’t stand the thought of eating anything hot. This week, I’ve been revving up my day with a cool Chocolate Monkey Smoothie. It’s filling, it’s nourishing—and it tastes great, too! Try whipping this portable breakfast shake up the next time your kid needs a lightning-fast breakfast on a hot day.

Chocolate Monkey Smoothie
Serves 1-2
1 large frozen banana, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons natural peanut butter
1/2 cup organic milk (dairy, soy, or almond all work equally well)
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon honey (optional)
2-3 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until creamy and smooth. Serve immediately.

Do you or your kid have a favorite smoothie recipe? Let us know!

-Marygrace, KIWI staff writer

In honor of a new program called The Kids Cook Monday” (by the folks who’ve brought us Meatless Monday), I thought I’d share my own experiences of cooking with my daughter, Maylee.

At KIWI, we believe that teaching kids to cook helps them learn early on about good nutrition and better-for-you choices. When a child helps to pick out fresh, all-natural ingredients and prepare a recipe, she is empowered to live healthier and greener. Here’s some things that I do with Maylee to foster her enthusiasm for cooking:

• First, we make the shopping list together. She tells me what we need and even writes the list herself (she’s old enough to do that), then we head to the market. Because she’s already so familiar with the list, it makes for a much faster and more pleasant trip. (Less “are we done yet?”).

• While shopping, I help her figure out which options are best for her and the environment. We pick out the organic pasta sauce, the eggs that are labeled “cage-free”, the Fair Trade sugar, and the cookie mix whose ingredients don’t include artificial colors or flavors. By turning shopping into a fun game, she learns to read labels and make healthier choices.

• Once we get back to the kitchen, I get Maylee involved by relating cooking to another one of her interests. For example, Maylee is an artist, so I like to show her how cooking is not only something we do every day to feed ourselves, but something many people do creatively and with passion. So we watch cooking shows on TV together like Top Chef Masters on Bravo, the Food Network challenges, and Food Wars on the Travel Channel.

• I also encourage her to have her “specialties”; her own recipes that she can feel proud of and include in her recipe box. She loves to make Pookie Pumpkin Pie at Thanksgiving; she has her own special smoothie recipe (in the April/May issue of KIWI Magazine) to serve to friends; and she has an eggs and rice recipe that she proudly prepares when her grandparents come to visit.

• I teach Maylee about healthy ingredients by keeping these items in our own refrigerator and pantry. Since she is exposed on a daily basis to foods that are organic, all-natural, fair trade, and high in omega-3/DHA, that is her frame of reference

As Maylee gets older, I know we might not see eye-to-eye on everything. However, I hope my healthy choices become her healthy choices—and that she continues to one day share this tradition with her own children!

- Maxine Wolf, Maylee’s mom and CEO & Publisher, KIWI Magazine

I’ve come across some great contests for kids lately. Is your kid ready to win big?

• Got a kid who loves to cook? Don’t miss KIWI’s own Next Great Young Chef contest. You still have a few weeks left to enter his or her favorite recipe. We’ve received lots of adorable videos already–don’t miss out on showing us how cute and talented your kid is! Not only do the winning kids get featured in KIWI, but they get cash too ($2500 for the grand prize winner!).
• Is your kid great at building things? In honor of Earth Day, PBS KIDS GO!’s Design Squad recently launched the Trash to Treasure contest, which challenges kids (ages 5 to 19) to create a new invention out of—you guessed it—trash. Three winners will get to go to Boston and be on the Design Squad show. Super cool!
• Does your kid have great ideas for helping others? The Be BIG in Your Community Contest is sponsored by Scholastic (and Clifford the Big Red Dog), and encourages kids to think of big ways to help out their communities (last year’s grand prize winner wanted a playground that would work for everyone, including kids with special needs). The winning team gets $25,000 to make their big dream happen!
  

-Sarah, KIWI Editorial Director

As a long-time vegetarian, my list of reasons for loving tofu goes on forever (did you know you, for instance, that you can use a block to make a delicious coconut cream pie that’s egg- and dairy-free?). However, I’m aware that not everyone shares my enthusiasm—in fact, I’ve met a lot of people (kids and grown-ups) who think the stuff is downright gross.

Don’t worry, tofu-haters: I hear you. The first time I tried bean curd, I wasn’t a fan either. Why? ‘Cause I tried to eat it raw, straight out of the plastic container. Um, not too tasty. But after a few kitchen experiments, I came to find that tofu is yummy stuff—as long as it’s prepared right. What’s more, I’m convinced that once someone else gets a taste of tofu that’s been treated with culinary care, they’ll enjoy it, too.

This recipe for tofu balls (originally from the Post Punk Kitchen) might sound weird (peanut butter?) but it’s spot-on, and really is delicious over a plate of spaghetti and marinara sauce (or placed in a toasty roll and smothered with said sauce for a delightfully messy sandwich). Even better, it can be whipped up in under 30 minutes, and is super kid-friendly. Go ahead, try it (please!).

Tofu Balls
1 lb. extra firm tofu, drained
1 small onion, chopped fine
3 tbsp. soy sauce
3 tbsp. all-natural peanut butter (I like crunchy)
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
Pinch dried basil and oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste
Canola oil, to pan-fry

1. Place tofu in a large mixing bowl and crumble into small pieces with clean hands or a fork.
2. Add remaining ingredients and mix to combine.
3. Roll into 1 1/2-inch balls and drop into a pre-heated skillet. Cook until medium brown on all sides. Serve hot.

-Marygrace, KIWI staff writer

Whether you forgot to buy (cow’s) milk at the grocery store, have a kid with dairy allergies, or just try to avoid eating animal products, almond milk is a sweet, creamy, and nutritious alternative you can whip up right at home. Here’s how you do it:

1. Soak 1 cup raw almonds in a bowl of water overnight.

2. Drain almonds, then place in a blender with 1 cup water. Blend on high for about a minute.

3. Add 3 more cups of water, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, a pinch of salt, plus natural sweetener to taste (I like agave nectar, but honey or maple syrup are great, too). Blend on high until combined.

4. Strain mixture with a cheesecloth or fine-mesh strainer, and enjoy in cereal, porridge, or straight out of the glass. Almond milk will keep, covered, for up to three days in the refrigerator.

-Marygrace, KIWI staff writer

Last year, my New Year’s resolution was to try a new recipe every week. And I actually did it! Well, up until March or so (at some point, tuna sandwiches for dinner started looking like a gourmet meal!).

But since I at least had some success with it, I decided to resolve the same thing again this year. I’m a big fan of easy recipes, because even though I know spending 2 hours making a wonderful meal is worth it in the end, anything over 45 minutes is usually too big of a commitment for me. Fortunately, I work at a magazine that has some great, healthy recipes that are made especially so kids can help their parents cook!

Right now, I’m working my way through Marygrace Taylor’s fantastic meal ideas in The Great Pantry Challenge. And one of my hands-down, all-time favorite KIWI recipes is our budget-friendly Chicken Picatta with Spinach Mashed Potatoes dish. It’s such an easy recipe that’s more delicious than you’d think by looking at the simple ingredient list. The best part? It averages out to about $3.69 a serving. That’s money well spent!

Do you cook with your kids? Or–even better–do your kids sometimes cook the whole meal themselves? Check out our Next Great Young Chef contest. We’re looking for kids who like to get creative in the kitchen. Just enter your kid’s recipe along with a video of her whipping it up, and she could win thousands of dollars in prizes plus a feature in KIWI!

-Michelle Carlton, KIWI editor

Winter is prime time for soup, but if you’ve been making a lot of it lately, you might be in a bit of a rut. Instead of another bowl of chicken noodle or butternut squash, try sunflower butter soup. Full good-for-you veggies, protein-packed chicken and nut butter, plus warming ginger, I’m willing to bet you’ve never had anything like it (but will want to it eat again and again!).

Sunflower butter soup

Recipe by Cricket Azima

INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 small white onion
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp. ginger
1 lb. chicken breast, cubed (optional)
1 large carrot
1 6″ to 8″ sweet potato
1 11-oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 cup sunflower butter
4 to 6 cups chicken broth (depending on desired consistency)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds
1/2 bunch scallions, chopped
1 cup cilantro leaves
3 limes, cut into wedges

METHOD:
1. In a large stockpot, warm oil over medium heat.
2. Dice onion and mince garlic and ginger. Add to warm oil and cook for 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent.
3. Add diced chicken; raise heat to medium-high temperature and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 to 8 minutes, until cooked through.
4. While chicken is cooking, peel the carrot and sweet potato and cut both into fine dice.
5. Add carrot and sweet potato to pot.
6. Add the crushed tomatoes and sunflower butter; mix to combine.
7. Add broth and raise heat to high temperature. Bring to boil, and then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
8. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
9. Ladle soup into bowls; serve with a sprinkle of sunflower seeds, scallions, cilantro leaves and a wedge of lime (to be juiced into bowl prior to eating).

Serves 6-8

NUTRITION FACTS:
Per serving: calories 322, fat 22g, protein 16g, carbohydrate 20g, dietary fiber 2g

Looking for more? Check out the rest of our winter soups to keep you cozy.

-Marygrace, KIWI staff writer

Carrots for Kris Kringle? While some argue that Santa’s round belly and love of sugary treats sends an unhealthy message to kids, I’m sticking with tradition. To me, it’s not Christmas Eve without a plate of cookies and a glass of milk (organic, please!) left near the tree. After all, if you can’t enjoy a few sweets during the most festive time of year, when can you? Fortunately, this year Santa can have his cookies and eat them too. Check out these better-for-you recipes:

• Super Sugar Cookies are loaded with fiber from whole wheat flour, plus protein and healthy fat from almonds.
• Sugar Plums are sweetened with dried fruit and agave nectar, so Santa’s (or your) blood sugar won’t spike.
• Peppermint Meringue Snowballs are made light and fluffy with egg whites. Best of all, they’re gluten-free and low in fat.

Marygrace, KIWI staff writer

More good news on the keep-em-happy-without-feeling-guilty front: PBS, the icon of educational fun, is delving into the web in a much bigger way than ever. Fire up the internet!

PBS’ new online-only show, Fizzy’s Lunch Lab, is the most fun (and least irritatingly earnest) way for kids to learn about healthy eating I’ve seen. Animated Professor Fizzy, a scatterbrained kitchen scientist, squares off against his greasy nemesis, Fast Food Freddie, and shows kids what’s really in their food. He’s helped by Sully the Cell (a taxi driver through your anatomy) and amusing kitchen helpers—together, they make whole wheat pizza seem like a triumph, not a sacrifice.

Your kids can watch webisodes and other videos, play games, learn fun facts (a lemon has more sugar than a strawberry! Who knew?), and more. (Don’t miss the super-easy recipes!) This is definitely a site to bookmark. 

–Sarah, KIWI Editorial Director

Planning on baking a pumpkin pie as part of your family’s Thanksgiving spread? You might want to think about skipping the canned puree in favor of homemade. A recent Consumer Reports test found measurable levels of BPA in various canned foods, including those labeled “organic” and “BPA-free”. Yikes! What’s more, making your own puree from a fresh pumpkin uses less resources (there’s no factory processing involved)—so it’s better for the environment and your budget. (It might also be better for your sanity, since there’ll be no fighting over the last can of pumpkin puree at the grocery store!)

How to make the fresh stuff? It’s easy!

1. Cut your pie pumpkin in half, placing face-down on an oiled baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until a fork easily inserts into the pumpkin flesh.
2. Remove the pumpkin halves from the oven. When cool enough to handle, scoop out the stringy insides and seeds (but save the seeds for snacking!).
3. Scoop the pumpkin flesh into a large bowl—make sure to go all the way to the skin!
4. Transfer flesh to a blender or food processor, and puree until smooth. The puree will last in the fridge for 2-3 days, or in the freezer for months.

-Marygrace, KIWI staffer

Even though World Vegetarian Awareness Month is nearly over, there’s still time for your family to squeeze in a few meatless meals. Since studies have shown that vegetarian and vegan diets have a much lower carbon footprint than their omnivorous counterparts, going meat-free—whether every day or just once in a while—can have a positive impact on the planet. Here are some of our favorite kid-friendly vegetarian recipes:

• Start the day off right with a fruit and yogurt shake bursting with blueberries and banana.
• Need an on-the-go lunch that will keep your kid’s tummy satisfied for hours? Try tofu and cheese quesadillas.
• Almond butter clusters are the perfect balance of sweet and salty—and are perfect for on-the-go.
• Quinoa corn chowder is a warming soup that’s perfect for a fall supper. Bonus: Quinoa is a complete protein!

-Marygrace, KIWI staffer

Celebrating Labor Day weekend with a family cookout or barbecue? Get one last taste of summer with these recipes, which use the best of the season’s fruits and vegetables.

• Thai shrimp lettuce wraps
• Quinoa chopped salad
• Grilled fish sandwiches
• Kiwi and summer fruit kebabs
• Lemon blueberry sorbet

-Marygrace, KIWI Staffer

Once the summer squash and zucchini start popping up, they don’t really stop–not for a while at least. (Anyone who’s ever grown either of them in a garden before will definitely be familiar with this!) While most of us could probably eat warm-weather treats like strawberries and blueberries by the bucket, however, eating plain, raw summer squash can get sort of boring after a while. Sure, its cool and crunchy, and goes well in salads or with any number of dips, but after that, you need to branch out–probably one of the reasons there are so many great recipes utilizing the veggies in all sorts of ways. If you’re looking for a way (or more than one!) to use up your summer squash and zucchini, check out some of these deliciously good-for-you recipes:

• Ditch cold cereal in favor of a savory breakfast cake loaded with eggs and summer veggies–including zucchini–courtesy of KIWI’s Food Editor, Cricket Azima.
• 101 Cookbook’s Special Zucchini Bread certainly lives up to its name, made with whole wheat pastry flour and walnuts, plus some crystallized ginger for added zing.
• With its mild flavor, zucchini works well in many raw food dishes, including a bean-free zucchini hummus and “noodle” dishes like zucchini marinara or zucchini alfredo with basil and cherry tomatoes, all whipped up by Choosing Raw.
• Thinly sliced zucchini carpaccio with grated Parmesan from the Smitten Kitchen is the perfect stand-in for your typical romaine side salad.
• Finally, you can’t forget dessert! (Albeit a super healthy one.) Try SweetSavvy’s recipe for zucchini brownies, made with whole wheat pastry flour, date sugar, yogurt, and of course–tons of zucchini.

Got a favorite way to use up all of your zucchini and summer squash? Tell us about it!

-Marygrace, KIWI Staffer

Looking for a fun family activity for a hot summer’s day? Make scrumptious homemade ice cream-in-a-bag with your kids. Not only will it beat the heat, it’s a great activity for a play date! All it takes is a little milk, vanilla, sugar, salt, ice and 15 minutes. Add your own twist with fresh fruit, candy, or sprinkles and whip cream on top.

Ingredients:
½ cup organic milk
½ tsp. organic vanilla extract
1 ½ tbsp. organic sugar (or to taste)
6 tbsp. rock salt
Ice

Supplies:
1 quart-sized plastic bag
1 gallon-sized plastic bag

Preparation:
1. Pour the milk, vanilla, and sugar in the quart-sized bag. Make sure it’s sealed tight, so salty water won’t get in it!
2. Fill the gallon-sized bag with ice and add the salt.
3. Place the quart bag into the gallon bag and seal tight.
4. Now for the fun part! Set a timer and tell your little tike to shake the bag as fast as he can for 10 minutes. Don’t be afraid to get creative with this part: “I combined it with a trampoline one time and asked my kids how many bounces it takes to become ice cream,” said Lynn Brunelle, kids’-science-book author and mother of two.
5. Remove the smaller bag from the ice, and wipe it down so you don’t get salt in your ice cream. Scoop out your cold treat and enjoy!

*Tip: The bag will get very cold, so wrap it in a towel or have your child wear gloves.

Serves 1

—Stephanie Hacker

Are you a creative cook?  Carlson Fish Oil is looking for delicious new ways to encourage people to get their omega-3′s.  If you have a great, healthy recipe incorporating fish oil, enter their contest for a chance to win $500!  To learn more, click here.  Looking for inspiration?  Check out Carlson’s recipe for Scott’s Secret Salad Dressing.

Celebrate National S’Mores Day With a better-for-you S’Mores Recipe

1. Gather your ingredients: graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows.

2. With an adult’s help, put marshmallows on a stick and toast over a campfire or grill. If it’s raining, try melting them in themicrowave!

3. Place the melty marshmallow on a graham cracker, add a square of chocolate, then top with another graham cracker to make a sandwich. Enjoy—the messier, the better!

“If there’s one thing that’s commonly and incorrectly assumed about vegan baking,” warns Hannah Kaminsky, blogger and author of My Sweet Vegan, “it’s that it can only create joyless, tasteless, ‘health food’ that won’t be as good as dairy- and egg-based baked goods.” The fact of the matter is, though, that vegan baked goods can be really delicious, and are a great alternative to more traditional treats.

Hannah’s blog (http://bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/) and cookbook are just two resources out of many that have recently begun to push vegan baking into the spotlight. Along with the publication of other books, including Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and The Joy of Vegan Baking, My Sweet Vegan has popularized the notion that vegan treats are tasty, satisfying, and easy to make. Additionally, many grocery stores, coffee shops, and bakeries are beginning to carry vegan baked goods, resulting in a more mainstream acceptance of cookies, cakes, and pastries made without animal products.

In a case similar to many longtime vegans, Hannah learned the techniques of vegan baking through trial and error. “Becoming vegan forced me to start working for my own treats, since no one in my family shared my ideas on a vegan diet, and there were few edible packaged sweets at the time. In dire need of satisfying my sweet tooth, I was on my own to figure things out, and learning the basics of baking simply baking par for the course,” she explains.

Fortunately, with the numerous vegan baking resources that exist today, successful results are almost guaranteed when trying to make your first egg- and dairy-free treats. How to start? Checking out a great vegan cookbook (like one of those mentioned above) is an option, or, veganize a recipe you already have. Hannah says that “cookies in general are the easiest to convert. Typically calling for butter and perhaps one egg, it’s a simple matter of switching the butter out for [non-hydrogenated] margarine, and some ground flaxseeds and water for the egg.”

While vegan baking is the obvious answer for those eschewing all animal products as part of an entire vegan lifestyle, animal-free treats are also an option for people with dairy allergies or those looking to consume less saturated fat or cholesterol. To those who are curious, Hannah suggests, “just give it a shot.” Whatever the reason for cutting out or lowering the amount of animal products you consume, “you shouldn’t have to sacrifice anything.”

Hannah’s Root Beer Float cupcakes are a great treat to make over the weekend with kids, who will enjoy drizzling the cupcakes with chocolate ganache, then topping with thick, vanilla frosting. Get the recipe at http://bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/2007/02/24/float-away/ .

-Marygrace Stergakos, Editorial Intern with KIWI Magazine

Gaining momentum across the country, the raw food movement advocates a diet consisting mostly or completely of whole, uncooked, and often organic foods, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and sprouted grains and legumes.

Many turn to a raw diet with the belief that it promotes greater health. Raw foodists feel that valuable digestive enzymes, as well as an abundance of nutrients, are destroyed when food is heated above 120 degrees. Additionally, raw foods have the potential to aid in the management of chronic diseases, and promote weight maintenance.

Of course, you don’t have to be a raw foodist to benefit from whole, unprocessed food – try eating raw just once or twice a week. The meal could be as simple as a romaine lettuce and fresh vegetable salad tossed with a raw, pine nut-based Caesar dressing. For something more elaborate, experiment with zucchini “noodles” in a raw tomato sauce.

Raw desserts are also great to try. Rich and satisfying to any sweet tooth, these fruit and nut-based treats pack a nutritional punch not found in traditional desserts. Raw pies work well for those with gluten intolerances, as the crusts and fillings are always wheat free. This strawberry one by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau is perfect for summer. Ani Phyo’s raw donut holes are a great option for kids, who can help roll and shape the balls.

Interested in learning more? Check out the Raw Freedom Community, a message board with discussions about raw diets, raw parenting, and eco-friendly living.

-Marygrace Stergakos, Editorial Intern with KIWI Magazine