Beware of Sabra Hummus – Who knew – the hummus contains GM (Genetically Modified) ingredients (soybean oil). As well, PepsiCo, the owner, spent over $8 million to help defeat the ‘right to know campaign’, seeking labeling of GM ingredients on food labels.
This is another reminder that the only way to know what is in your food is to make it yourself.
Homemade hummus is easy to make and you can flavor it according to your own likes. Try hummus themothering Mother way!
At Home: To help ensure that you eat all of the greens that you thoughtfully purchase, hopefully at your local green market, try washing, spinning and rolling the greens in kitchen towels when you arrive home. See the Video on How to Prepare Your Vegetable Drawer. Veggies keep best stored in the crisper. Now you can easily have freshly cooked green vegetables or a salad. See the mothering Mother Video onHow to Quickly Prepare a Salad.
Remember – Red Meat – it is the one food that creates the largest carbon footprint. By reducing or eliminating this food you are directly impacting the environment in a positive way (as well as numerous other benefits).
1 lb beef = 2400 gallons of water
1 lb beef = 16 lbs of grain
Cowspiracy is a documentary that addresses this and more. Get informed by attending a local screening, purchase a DVD or stream online.
What does mothering Mother nurturing Nature mean? It means taking care of Mother Nature through our daily actions. Here is a winning mothering Mother formula:
N – Nourish body-mind-spirit A – Aware of the impact our choices have on Mother Nature T – Thankful for Earth’s bounty U – Use cotton mM bags to nurture Nature R – 5 R’s – Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle & Repurpose
E – Eat vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds
It has been much more than a year since I committed to giving up eggs for a year. At the end of the 1 year period I decided to continue on without eggs (see Blogger Connecting). I am thankful to Lisa and young Luke, a friend and her son in NYC, who opened my eyes to eggs. What perfect timing for this article. It turns out that this is National Egg Month!
Over the past year I learned more about the way eggs are produced, treatment of the chickens and conditions at the farms, than I wanted to know. I was shocked and upset. Here are some highlights:
the beaks of almost all chicks are cut when they are days old
free range does not mean that the chickens go outside or have ample space
organic only refers to the feed for the chicken but has nothing to do with how the animal is treated and killed
90% of eggs come from factory farms where chickens are in battery cages, stacked one on top of the other
male chicks are mostly useless – I cannot even write what some facilities do with these chicks
Below is a chart that gives details of the labeling that is on your egg carton. The best way to read the chart is to download it to your computer. In our home we have printed it off and keep it on the bulletin board as a reminder of the choices that we make each time we purchase eggs.
When purchasing eggs, the farmers markets offer the most reliable source for eggs from naturally raised chickens.
Backyard chickens anyone?! Consider that as your best source for natural eggs. And chickens offer lots of benefits to soil health and beyond. Read more about the benefits.
This time without eggs has brought me closer to understanding otherbeings, not just human beings.
Eat well and be well.
Garden Dandelions
That’s right, dandelions, from your own lawn and garden!* Don’t bemoan their presence around your home. They are a sign that you are letting Nature express herself in a natural way! See these weeds as a source of nutrition and flavor, right from your own yard.
Method: Carefully dig up the dandelions, ideally before flowering, and wash well. Separate out the leaves, breaking them off at the core. To dry the leaves either spin in a salad spinner or roll in a kitchen towel. Chop or slice the dandelion greens. They can be added raw to any salad. If you have hot food, such as the soup below, add the dandelion when serving, stirring it in to gently cook the greens. That’s it!
Benefits: These greens are loaded with Vitamin K and A, as well as othertrace minerals and benefits. Dandelion roots can be cooked in boiling water, similar to carrots. Scrape off the outside peel, chop and cook for 5-8 minutes.
Dandelions are a bitter vegetable so a little as an accent may be enough.
* This is only recommended if you do NOT use pesticides on your lawn.
Simplified Vegetable Soup
5 cups of vegetable stock
1/4 cup red lentils, rinsed
11/2 cups chopped vegetables (onions, carrots, celery, green beans etc)
1 cup leafy greens (spinach, kale, collards, Swiss Chard etc)
1/4 cup fresh dandelion greens, washed, dried, chopped or sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
In a large saucepan, bring the stock to the boil. Add the red lentils, cover, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Add all of the chopped vegetables at one time, and the dried herbs if you are using them. Cook a further 10 minutes. Turn off the heat. Stir in the leafy greens, fresh herbs, and salt, stirring until all of the greens are wilted.
Pour into soup bowls. Add a couple of tablespoon of chopped dandelion greens to each bowl, and grate over with black pepper. Each person can stir the greens into the soup.
In an ongoing effort to find replacements for cows milk, replacements that are not filled with sweeteners and carrageenan, we have started making almond milk in our home. It is so simple, environmentally positive, and economical.
Soak 1 cup of rinsed raw almonds (preferably organic) for 12 hours in the refrigerator in plenty of water. Discard the soaking water, rinse the almonds well and put in a blender or VitaMix. Add 4 cups of filtered water. Puree well. Put through a strainer, using a spoon to stir the liquid through. Eat or compost the filtered almond bits.
Keep the almond milk in a covered jar in the refrigerator. Our milk lasted for 8 days.
