Buffalo Shrimp Salad

Hot and Spicy are two of my fave words! Hot and spicy shrimp salad just makes my mouth water thinking about it! If you are a vegetarian you can substitute the shrimp for tofu or even tempeh.
I found this recipe on a list of Super Bowl party foods which I feel is a different but probably healthier choice from other options one would usually have on game day. I will say that this recipe would be good for parties (heck even dinner) and can be used for a multitude of different events from spring through summer depending on the event and theme, I’m just not sure how it would go over on game day but I could be wrong. The buffalo shrimp salad is quick, delish and could be a different take on what Super Bowl food can look like.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup low-fat organic buttermilk
1/2 cup organic sour cream
2 teaspoons organic apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons fresh organic parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons organic chives, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons organic garlic, minced
Sea Salt and fresh ground pepper
2 heads organic romaine lettuce, torn into pieces (4 cups)
2 cups organic carrots, grated
2 cups organic celery, sliced
1/2 cup organic scallions, sliced
2 tablespoons organic vegetable oil
2 tablespoons Brummel & Brown or organic butter
2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1/4 cup bottled buffalo-wing sauce or hot sauce

DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine buttermilk, sour cream, apple cider vinegar, parsley, chives and garlic in a bowl
2. Stir well and season with salt and pepper.
3. Chill for 30 minutes.
4. Toss lettuce, carrots, celery and scallions with buttermilk dressing in a large bowl.
5. Place in serving bowl.
6. Warm a large skillet over medium-high heat.
7. Add oil and butter.
8. When butter sizzles, add shrimp and cook, stirring, until opaque, about 4 minutes.
9. Add buffalo-wing sauce, stir to coat shrimp and cook 1 minute longer.
10. Pour shrimp and sauce over salad.

Vegan Eggnog

Believe it or not I was never really much of a fan of eggnog. I always thought it was gross. The BF however loves it and would probably drink it by the gallon from November through February. In an effort to keep crap consumption down I found a healthier more peaceful version of eggnog that I thought many of you might appreciate. I will admit I haven’t tried it yet but after perusing many-a-recipe this seems to be the best.

Ingredients:

•21 oz extra-firm silken tofu
•2 cups soymilk (almond,rice or any other milk you prefer)
•2/3 cup light brown sugar or organic honey
•1/4 tsp salt
•1 cup cold water
•1 cup rum or brandy
•4 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
•20 ice cubes
• organic cinnamon
• organic nutmeg

Preparation:

1. Place the crumbled tofu and soymilk in a blender with the sugar and salt.
2. Blend until very smooth.
3. Scrape this into a large bowl or pitcher, and whisk in the water, rum or brandy, and vanilla.
4. Mix well, cover, and refrigerate until serving time.
5. To serve, blend half of the mixture in the blender with 10 of the ice cubes until frothy.
6. Repeat with the other half.
7. Serve in glasses with nutmeg and cinnamon sprinkled on top.

Gravely Scary Veggie Party Platter

Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh organic spinach (you could use artichokes or any other green veggie you want to mix with the hummus)
10 ounces organic plain hummus
Organic Broccoli
Organic Celery
Organic Kale (or Kale Chips)
Organic Pretzels
Hard-boiled organic eggs
Fresh Mozzarella Balls
Organic Crackers (any type you prefer)
Organic large black olives
Organic carrot sticks
Edible Black Marker

Instructions:

1.In a food processor, puree the spinach and hummus together. You can use plain hummus to keep the dip the normal sandy color hummus usually is or get crazy and add a fun colored vegetable to make your grave yard floor.

2.To make the ghosts you can use either hard boiled eggs or mozzarella balls, cut the black olives up into the desired features for your ghosts and then simply place on to your egg or mozzarella ghost.

3. Use an edible marker to turn crackers into tombstones. If you have cake decorating tools and have a fine icing tip you can use a vegetable puree to write on the tombstones. It is easiest to write on the tombstones first before placing them into the dip.

4. Once you have all of the components made and ready put your hummus into your desired display dish. Leave the dip uneven like real ground would be. Stick in your broccoli, celery and/or kale trees and bushes in first. Then carefully place the tombstones lastly ghosts. Get creative and add other things like maybe edible bats made out of cut out pieces of pumpernickel bread. Get as spooky as you can!

5. Once everything is in place use the pretzels as your fence to outline your graveyard. You can use pretzel flats or good old twisty pretzels! All of it make for a gravely delish snack that will wow party attendees!!

Pizza Pancakes

 
I saw this on another blog this morning but I knew this couldn’t be the only recipe. Incase you didn’t know half of The Green Beagle Team is one hearty Italian lady and I love me some pizza. That may sound stereotypical but what can I tell you, it’s true! When I saw a recipe for pizza pancakes I started drooling almost immediately!  I have never really been a fan of breakfast foods for breakfast anyway.  I prefer lunch or dinner type meals in the morning.  Also, why have I not thought about making these already? Different cheese, vegetable and herb mixtures are popping into to my mind and apparently into others as well seeing as there are plenty of pizza pancake variations out there. I decided to go a little simple with this one because your first attempt isn’t always your best when it comes to cooking new things.

Ingredients
•2 cups organic baking mix
•1 cup organic fat free milk or a plain soy milk (A flavor, Almond or Rice milk may make the batter too sweet but that could be a yummy option as well)
•2 organic eggs
•3/4 cup shredded fresh mozzarella
•1/4 cup grated organic Parmesan cheese
•4 leaves fresh organic basil chopped
•1/4 teaspoon organic oregano
•1/4 teaspoon organic parsley
•1/4 teaspoon organic garlic powder (or fresh minced garlic)
•Organic Tomato sauce for dipping
•Parmesan Cheese to sprinkle on top

Instructions

1. Heat griddle or skillet and grease with olive oil, if necessary.
2. In a large bowl, combine the baking mix, basil, oregano, parsley * garlic powder.
3. Then combine eggs and milk and stir into dry ingredients until moistened and evenly mixed.
4. Add the cheeses into the mixture and mix.
5.Pour a little less than a 1/4 cup onto hot griddle & cook until bubbles form on top. Flip until you reach desired color and texture of your pancake.
6. Once all pancakes are cooked you can cut the pieces into wedges and garnish with fresh basil leaves and Parmesan cheese. You can also put a cup of tomato sauce on the side for dipping or drizzle the sauce on top of the pancakes.

Dairy-Free Chocolate Pudding

This is a quick recipe that you can make for an after school snack or as a yummy dessert for a party. You can do so much with this simple pudding to make it your own.

Ingredients:

14 oz soft silken organic tofu
1/4 cup unsweetened organic cocoa powder
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup organic raspberries (fresh)
2 tbsp chopped organic pistachios

Directions:

1. Puree all of the ingredients except the raspberries & pistachios. (You can puree a small amount of the raspberries and pistachios in with the mixture if you like.)

2. After pureeing the mixture put in serving cups or dishes to chill.

3. When ready to serve top with raspberries and pistachios.

You can use any fruit or nut you prefer. Try different variations to make the pudding your own like using almond extract or adding your favorite sweet snacks in with the pudding.

New Face of Eggs

Ingredients:

* Organic Free Range Hard-boiled eggs
* Organic Round crackers (any shape will do but round tends to be the easiest shape)
* Organic Vegetable and herb garnishes
* Organic Cold cuts, organic pepperoni or organic bacon (vegetarian options also)
* Organic or non-dairy cheese (sliced or grated anything that will add some fun)
* Condiments (mustard, mayo, ketchup, Sriracha anything to add the fun)

Directions:

1. Slice hard boiled eggs evenly and thinly.
2. Place the egg slices on crackers
3. Place out the herbs, garnishes, veggies, cheeses, meats or anything else you want to use for decorating.
4. Have fun, be creative and go healthy!

How are these for a super fun snack? Let your kids be creative and healthy while doing it!  Not all children may like eggs so lunch meats can be a great alternative! Allergies are always an issue too but these days there are excellent substitutes. Keeping your children interested in being healthy is a constant challenge so do what you can to keep them having fun with their food.

Super Cool Sandwich

Back to school season is here for everyone and even some are already in school! Crazy! The summer just started I feel like. Either way here is a super cool sandwich idea to cheer up your child and maybe brighten up the boring old lunch routine.

Ingredients:

* Cups (that you can put food coloring in)
* Organic Milk
* Natural or Organic Food Coloring
* New Paint Brushes
* Organic Wheat bread (white bread may yield better results but it isn’t very healthy)
* Toaster

Instructions:

1. Fill each cup with two tbsp. of milk.
2. Add a few drops of food coloring to each cup.
3. Paint any pictures or designs on the bread using the colored milk and brushes.
4. Toast your food art lightly but make sure the bread doesn’t burn.
5. Once the bread has cooled off a little make put the sandwich together.
6. Add a little note to let your children know how much you love them!

You can use this project as an after school snack also! Experiment with other breads or even wraps and pitas! You could even use pizza dough and make super cool pizzas! You will be the coolest parent ever with this simple yet creative lunch idea!

Organic Cooking Classes

I know that this particular class is in Texas but I think the idea is exceptional. I always say it is important to start you children out young when learning about the environment and their health. Why not enroll them in Organic Cooking Classes. If you have the time you can even be their teacher. I know this may not be something all children are interested in but if you do it correctly you can keep them having fun and learning all at once. Do you have classes like this in your area? If not go to local schools or community centers to see if anyone would be interested in starting a program like this. This is an excellent after school activity or even a weekend thing for children.

Time: Wednesday, August 24 · 3:30pm – 5:30pm

Location: League City, Tx

Created: By Natural Living

More Info: Kids Organic Cooking class 2011-2012

This class is for Children ages 6-18.
This class will meet each week for 2 hours on Wednesdays 3:30pm-5:30pm at my house in League City.
This will be a 32 week course starting Aug. 24 to Dec 14 and Jan 11- May 09

Here are the details of the class:Learn Organic culinary Alton Brown style! This class will combine the science of food with the importance of organic nutrition in a fun and exciting way. It will cover specific Organic nutrition on veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds; manners; simple 1 dish meal prep to full complete nutrition meal prep. Students will learn Meat handling and food prep safety; the art of soups, stock making and rues; how to use mother natures sweeteners; Meal planning; kitchen equipment usage and more! Each student will take home a complete notebook with handouts and all recipes at the end of the class.
All ingredients will be organic, natural or local and gluten free (my kitchen is gluten free).

The inclusive Cost of the class:
$259 per semester OR
$79 a month (8 payments)

Class is limited to 9 spaces (due to limited kitchen space)
**Note about the teacher- I have my raw food certification, nutritional counseling certification, nutritional life coach certification and TX food handlers certification. I have also been a personal organic chef as well as sold organic culinary foods at local farmers markets.

contact me for more information and registration
shopnaturalliving@gmail.co​m

About Equal Exchange:

Equal Exchange has created Big Change for over 20 years. It all started with an idea: what if food could be traded in a way that is honest and fair, a way that empowers both farmers and consumers? What if trade supported family farms that use organic methods, rather than industrialized agribusinesses that rely on harmful chemicals?

Our founders Rink Dickinson, Jonathan Rosenthal and Michael Rozyne asked these questions as they envisioned a trade model that values the farmers, consumers and the earth. So they took a big risk and plunged full-force into changing a broken food system. In 1986, they started with fairly traded coffee from Nicaragua and didn’t look back. Read more about our story.

Today, Equal Exchange continues to find new and powerful ways to build a better food system. Our products now include fairly traded and organic coffee, tea, chocolate and snacks from farmers all over the world, including here in the United States.

Our worker-owned co-op is based in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Because Equal Exchange was founded with democratic principles in mind, we strongly believe in a one-person, one-vote workplace without a corporate hierarchy. We partner with co-operatives of small-scale farmers who make their own decisions on business and community matters.

From the farmers co-ops to our co-op, we’re providing the best-tasting foods – while also making Big Changes to the way food ends up on your table. We’ll keep the ideas coming.

Bamboo Salad Set

I have always loved these! I’ve seen bamboo salad mixers before but I love the over sized ones. Buy Greens Bamboo Salad set is perfect as a housewarming gift or for yourself. Having cute salad sets could even get you to eat more salads which is always a good thing. Being that the set is made from bamboo ,which is one of the most sustainable materials in the world, you can feel safe and secure you have purchased the right product and made more than just the healthy choice.

Product Info:
Serve salads easily with these 100% bamboo salad hands. Our 2 Piece Bamboo Salad Hand Set are light in color. These stylish salad servers will be a statement of eco-friendly style.
These 2 Piece Bamboo Salad Hand Set and other bamboo are durable, safe and environmentally- friendly. Stronger than oak, bamboo is a sustainable hardwood that reaches full maturity in four years, renews itself quickly and doesn’t require the use of pesticides.