10 Ways to Celebrate Food Day

Food Day, held each year on October 24, is dedicated to raising awareness about the impact our diets have on our health, the environment, and the people who produce our food. Want to join in the fun?

Here are ten ideas for making the most of this national celebration of healthy, affordable, and sustainable food.

1. Make a real meal. It doesn’t actually take that much longer to put a “real” meal on the table, rather than some concoction that’s frozen, over-processed, and not even particularly tasty. Need recipes for quick and easy suppers? Here you go.

2. Host a potluck supper. Like the idea of real food but hate to cook? Invite friends and family over for a potluck. Someone else can bring the appetizers, main dish, side dish and dessert. You supply the atmosphere, the location, and the drinks. Easy peasy!

3. Eat at a restaurant that offers local, organic food. More and more restaurants and fast food chains are choosing quality as well as convenience, by sourcing their ingredients from local farmers who have committed to growing their food sustainably. Here’s a list of some of the best.

4. Shop at a farmer’s market. Is there any better place to find locally grown, organic food? Plus, when you shop at a farmers market you’re putting money back into your local economy and helping to protect land from urban sprawl.

5. Join a CSA. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) enables you to buy a share in the food a farmer produces. You’ll enjoy an abundance of fruits and vegetables you love, but probably be introduced to some delicious new varieties, as well. Kohlrabi, anyone?

6. Go meatless for a day, a week, or…? Some people don’t like the idea of “becoming” vegetarian, but what about going meatless one day a week? Here are some delicious vegetarian recipes that will give meatless new meaning.

7. Convene a community forum. You can make big changes happen by involving friends, neighbors, elected officials and policy makers in the conversation. You’ll find ideas here to help you get a community forum off the ground.

8. Watch a movie. Check out the Food Day organization’s Film Screening Guide. You’ll find reviews of compelling films about food and agriculture, plus suggestions on how to organize a film screening for friends, neighbors, elected officials and policy makers.

9. Eat everything in your refrigerator. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, consumers waste almost 30% of the food they buy. How? It gets “lost” in a cupboard. No one remembers to eat the leftovers and they rot. We simply buy too much. On Food Day, take stock of the food you already have. Eat what’s there before you buy more. If you’re putting food in the freezer, label it and date it so you know what it is and when you put it away.

10. Tell 5 friends about Food Day. The success of Food Day lies in people participating in it. Tell your friends and neighbors about it, and mention it on your social networks. Post pictures of the meals you make on Pinterest and Instagram, and share recipes on Facebook and Twitter. Make Food Day so much fun this year that you can’t wait until October 24 rolls around again next year.

[via Care2]

Carrot + Zucchini Ribbons + Cilantro Pepita Pesto Recipe

[The Simple Veganista] I have a ton of pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds) that I need to use up and thought this was a great way to use them. I also had some cilantro on hand and decided to use that. What I really love about cilantro, besides the lovely flavor, is that it's available in bunches and so easy to find. In general, it's hard to find basil in large amounts enough to make pesto, making cilantro a great alternative to the traditional basil pesto. I also added a small amount of garam masala to this pesto but feel free to omit it if you don't have it on hand or don't care for it. I have yet to use my garam masala and thought why not try it here for something unusual. So I tested it out and found that I rather liked it as it adds an interesting layer of flavor and pairs well with the fresh vegetable ribbons. I even used my left over pesto as a dip for carrot sticks...so good! But keep in mind that I'm quite strange and can eat the weirdest combinations. So If you feel like experimenting, go for it...if in doubt, leave it out. I also added in some hemp hearts as well, two tablespoons or so, if you have some on hand this is a great place to use them!

The ribbons are easy to create. I used a mandolin to ribbon the zucchini and a peeler to do the carrots. It's best to use smaller sized zucchini so the mandolin will be wider. This will help keep the zucchini edges cleaner looking instead of scoured. But do it however your comfortable and use whatever tools you have. If you only have a peeler you can just as easily use that to ribbon the zucchini too. You can also simply use a julienne tool for thinner ribbons or julienne everything by hand if need be.

Below is a final look with a light dusting of almond parmesan (the best topping ever when I'm not using sriracha!). And if you want to see what my 'real' bowl looked like when I sat to eat this wonderful bowl of raw goodness after all was done, scroll on down to the bottom. It's real life style, the way I truly eat!

Carrot + Zucchini Ribbons + Cilantro Pepita Pesto

Ingredients

    3 large carrots
    3 small zucchini
    pepitas, for serving
    mineral salt & cracked pepper to taste
    almond parmesan, for serving

Cilantro Pepita Pesto

    1 large bunch cilantro (3 cups loosely packed), ends removed, leaves and small stems ok
    1/3 cup pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds), toasted or raw
    2 tablespoons hemp hearts, optional
    2 cloves garlic
    1 small jalepeno, seed removed (leave a few seeds for heat if you like)
    3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
    juice of 1 large lemon
    1/2 teaspoon himilayan salt
    1/2 teaspoon garam masala, optional

Start with your pesto, place pepitas in your food processor and pulse a few times until seeds are broken down fairly well. Add remaining ingredients and blend until well combined and fairly smooth, stopping to scrap down the sides as needed. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to thin if needed (no need to add more oil unless you want). Taste for flavor and season to taste. Set aside.

Peel the outer layer of your carrots and discard. Using the peeler, ribbon the carrots. Wash your zucchini, cut the ends off and using a mandoline, or tool of choice, ribbon the zucchini. You can just as well julienne your carrots and zucchini with a julienne tool or by hand if you would rather have thinner strands.

In a medium size bowl, place carrots and zucchini, add a few spoonfuls of pesto and mix to combine. You will have pesto leftover unless you really love the stuff and use it all!

Plate your ribbons, top with a sprinkle of pepitas and a nice dusting of almond parmesan. For a little extra color you could add some red pepper flakes to the top.

Serves two.

Store leftover pesto in an air tight container in the fridge for up to a week. Use the pesto for pasta, as a dip for vegetables, as a spread for sandwiches, thin it out with water or lemon juice and make a dressing for salads, etc. Lot's of ways to use pesto.

Notes: Use almonds in place of pepitas if needed. I used raw pepitas instead of toasting them.

For the garam marsla, if pairing this with regular pasta I would leave it out. It pairs well with the freshness of the carrot & zucchini ribbons. Also, I found that it tasted fine with almond parmesan. But like I said earlier, I can eat some really unusual combinations. If you feel like experimenting, try it out...if in doubt, skip it.

Enjoy!

Breakfast: The Most Important Meal of Every Day

Arch Design House shows us that Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day...every single day. 

"Breakfast is the most important meal."

93% of Americans totally agree with this statement

But surprisingly, 56% SKIP breakfast every day

People who skip breakfast tend to have: 

-Higher cholesterol

-Elevated insulin levels

-Larger waist circumferences

Benefits of eating breakfast: 

-Improved concentration & performance

-More strength & endurance to engage in physical activity

-Lower cholesterol levels

Breakfast eaters by age: 

18-24 : 53%

34-44 : 55%

45-54 : 54%

55-64 : 71%

65+    : 83%

The Most odd breakfast: 

39% of Americans have at some point, eaten cold pizza for breakfast

This is a phenomenon documented by singer Christine Lavin back in 1986: 

"I want cold pizza for breakfast and a pinch 'o cold spaghetti will do but there's nothing in the world that I like better than eatin' cold pizza with you"

and here's what normal Americans eat for breakfast: 

31%: Cold Cereal

13%: Meat & Eggs

12%: Toast, French Toast, Bagels

9%: Eggs

9%: Hot Cereal

6%: Fruit

4%: Muffins & Pastries

3%: Bacon

3%: Yogurt & Smoothies

2%: Pancakes & Waffles

8%: Other

So what should I eat for breakfast?

-Oatmeal with flaxseed, blueberries, almonds

-Cereal with milk

-Yogurt with fresh berries, granola

-Fruit: Cut up apples, melons, berries, oranges, pears, bananas, grapes (and cottage cheese if you're brave)

-Eggs: Hard boiled, omelet, scrambled, sunny side up

-Muffins: Blueberry, banana, oat bran

-Toast & Bread: French toast, pizza toast, cream cheese, PB & J

-Waffles & Pancakes with maple syrup

"All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast"

     - John Gunther