Month: April 2014

Bulk Bins for Earth Day

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I’m big on milestones. New Year’s for reflecting and prioritizing, spring for weeding and cleaning out clutter (both literally and metaphorically).

So with April being Earth Month, it seemed a good time to look for ways to move the needle a bit on the carbon footprint front. I’m trying to ride my bike into town more instead of hopping in the car. I just built a new compost bin (we’ll see if I can keep a few worms alive this time!). And I was psyched to get an e-mail from Ashley at the Bulk is Green Council reminding me how buying from the bulk bins significantly cuts down on packaging waste.

If you’ve ever been in a grocery store with me, you know how very much I love the bulk bins. The variety! The beauty! The BARGAINS! It can get a bit embarrassing. But really truly, the bulk bins are a treasure trove, and an easy, dare-I-say enjoyable way to shave a good bit off your eco-impact.

Did you know that if all Americans bought their almonds from the bulk bins (instead of in packages) for ONE WEEK, we would save 1,500,000 pounds of waste from the landfills?

If you’re intimidated by the bulk bins, I hear you. At first, I found it tedious filling up the bags and writing those little tags. But now I’ve got it down to a rhythm.

First, I’m careful to get just what I need, so I’m not overwhelmed with all sorts of random extras later. Then when I write the bulk bin number on the tag, I also write what, exactly, I’m putting in the bag, along with any cooking directions that come along with it. That way I don’t find a bag of sandy colored nubbins two months from now and wonder whether they’re couscous or bulgur, or get home with my barley and have to look up how much liquid to use and how long to cook it.

If you’re new to shopping the bulk bins, you may be surprised by the huge variety. You’ll likely find half the ingredients for this recipe–all the spices, the chickpeas, the dates–in the bulk bins, for instance.

Get adventurous this week and take a spin down the bulk aisle … you know it’s where I’ll be hanging out on Earth Day!

Cookbook Giveaway: The Blender Girl

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OK, so here’s the deal: I never jumped on the smoothie bandwagon. Sure, smoothies are BIG these days, but they’re just not my thing. So when Tess Masters’ popular blog, The Blender Girl, started crossing my radar, I thought, Oh, yeah, smoothies.

Well, it is that, but not just that, as a peek at her new cookbook, The Blender Girl: Super-Easy, Super-Healthy Meals, Snacks, Desserts & Drinks (Ten Speed Press), proves — deliciously. Nor is it a liquid diet. “No, we didn’t check our teeth at the door,” jokes Masters, a self-confessed blendaholic. To celebrate, we’re hosting a giveaway for one lucky reader to win a copy of her book (keep reading for details to enter).

the-blender-girl-cookbook-cover

Masters has plenty of smoothies in there, to be sure, and a whole lot more among the book’s 100 gluten-free, vegan recipes, all of which involve using your blender. You’ll also find creative soups, salad dressings, entrees, desserts, some raw fruit butter and jam that looks really intriguing, and concoctions for nut milk and nut cheese. There’s even her margarita recipe — a nice touch with Cinco de Mayo around the corner.

But why blenders? Masters loves them for the same reason we all do — they make quick work of healthy, tasty meals. And for Masters, who was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr as a teenager and embarked on her own NOURISH Evolution to find a diet that was healthy and delicious, her “s’blended” appliance was the key.

She also shares her tips for choosing a blender (she’s tried them all so you don’t have to) and how to use it wisely. (Tip: Always wash your blender by hand, even if the manufacturer claims it’s dishwasher-safe. Your investment will last longer.)

So if you need some fun ideas to get more mileage out of your blender, Masters has ’em. I’m certainly digging in. Heck, I may even whirl up a smoothie or two.

FOR THE GIVEAWAY: We’re giving away one copy of The Blender Girl to one lucky reader. Here’s how to enter: Just leave a comment below. We’ll draw a winner at random and announce the lucky duck on the site on Wednesday, April 16, 2014.

In the meantime, you can try a taste of The Blender Girl with Masters’ recipe for Creamy Cauliflower Soup.

UPDATE (4/16/14): We have a winner: Nina S! Thank you to all who entered. Please check back for future giveaways!

The Blender Girl’s Cauliflower Soup

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This vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free cauliflower soup from Tess Masters’ cookbook The Blender Girl (Ten Speed Press) gets its luscious, creamy texture from soaked nuts. Masters is a big fan of soaking nuts, seeds, dried fruits and grains to improve the texture (for nuts, seeds and dried fruit) and reduce cooking time (for grains). Soaking the nuts is also easier on your blender and ensures they break down to a creamy consistency. Masters uses a high-powered Vitamix blender, which pulverizes the soup to a silky-smooth consistency. If you’re using a less high-powered blender or food processor and want a perfectly smooth texture, strain the soup through a fine-mesh sieve after blending. You can also take a cue from Masters and stir a protein-rich cooked grain, such as quinoa or millet, into the finished soup to give it extra nutritional punch. However you garnish it, this cauliflower soup is even tastier the next day. (Want your own copy of The Blender Girl? We’re giving away one copy to one lucky reader. Click here to enter.)

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White Beans with Rosemary, Lemon and Bay

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This is one of my favorite basic recipes. I use these white beans in salads with tuna, in pasta, and often as a main dish … they’re almost to good to serve as a side! A couple of notes: 1) use any kind of white bean you want for this–just be aware you may need to adjust the cooking time depending on type of bean; 2) these freeze really well, so bag up whatever you don’t eat right away to have on hand; and 3) you can use all water or any combination of water and whatever kind of broth you might have on hand–vegetable, chicken, mushroom, whatever–adding broth adds flavor.

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