{Meatless Monday} Curious About Kelp Noodles…

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Hola, dear readers!! Hope you all had a marvelous weekend. 

We had a nice one but it went WAY TOO FAST. We added three more chicks to our brood and finally put them into the coop with the hens but separated them until they get bigger (more on that later).

It’s time to share another meatless meal with everyone …

On our last monthly trip to the Whole Foods market, I decided on buying some kelp noodles. I’ve been curious about kelp noodles after reading several posts throughout raw foodie blogosphere. I figured I’d give them a go, so in the basket they went.

At first, I wasn’t quite sure what to think of the translucent yet rubbery feeling noodles.. but once you rinse them off they feel just like pasta noodles. Really! If you have more time you can soak them in water and little lemon juice to bring more life into them and get rid of the packaged flavor.

They have a neutral taste so they take on whatever flavor you mesh them with just like with tofu. The noodles weren’t part of my menu plan so the purchase and the sauce we made for it was definitely on a whim…we ended up making a sauce from the uncook book “Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen” called Garlic Cashew Aioli.

It was really yummy and satisfying. The sauce was creamy like and alfredo and sooo flavorful. I definitely enjoyed the kelp noodle experience and think it’s a wonderful alternative to starchy pasta.  Since the noodles don’t require any heating and the sauce was a simple blend of under 10 ingredients… it was an easy peasy meal to put together.

We served it with cooked asparagus from the dehydrator (2 hrs),  and a yummy green salad  My husband whipped up a quick  vinaigrette dressing that consisted of EVOO, S&P, Balsamic & ACV mix, with Italian spice seasoning for the salad and it was good. Organic raw vegan goodness all around.

I’ve fallen in love with eating uncooked goods off the dehydrator… the asparagus was so perfectly enhanced I’ve been uncooking it that way ever since (including other veggies as well). Who would have thought that I’d be using my Mr. Foods dehydrator so often and lovin’ it.  It was only used twice before I took it out of the dungeon garage just last July.  Experimenting with it and making fun treats has been super fun.  Soon, I’d like to upgrade to one of these babies!

Kelp Garlic Aioli + dehydrated asparagus & yummy green salad = happy honey, tots  and mama!

The only downside to this lovely sea vegetable (kelp) is the fact, it’s packaged in plastic that cannot be recycled.

Other than that…my curiosity filled my starchy needs…AND I’d like to try these variations

Kelp Kraut Noodles

Kelp Noodles in Peanut Sauce

Thai Kelp Noodle Bowl

Creamy Miso Noodle Soup

Mmmm!

What are you cooking or uncooking the kitch this week?

Exit for Non Toxic Highway, On Back!

Photo credit: Jeff Keen via flickr

Yesterday, I didn’t have the time to elaborate in yesterday’s post… but the message in A Wake Up Story really hits home, doesn’t it? Just last week, I was feeling discouraged about all the toxic chemicals us moms have to worry about. A friend and I were talking about toxic chemicals (more of a rant) and I was giving her a toxic 411 lesson on all the yucky chemicals. Both she and I have tried to eliminate product containing harmful chemicals but every time we turn around; we learn about another pesky and toxic chemical to lookout for. I’m so sick of having to flipping items around to look for harmful ingredients. These companies are poisoning us AND as long as we continue to support them with our hard earned cash they won’t stop!

It’s not an easy task (nor easy being green, for that matter!) but avoiding products that don’t contain nasty chemicals is important for the sake of our lives and the planet.

The simplest item such as toothpaste can contain numerous chemicals that are known to cause cancer (found this out the other night when trying to make a decision on which one to buy; basically, it was which one is least harmful). Does this mean I need to start making my own toothpaste too? In my opinion, hell yes it does! Plus, Tom’s of Maine isn’t cheap and it STILL has propylene glycol in it! ARGH! An organic version (Jason Organics) is $8 bucks and I’m not going to spend a pretty penny on toothpaste, thank you very much (or any other overpriced “natural” product). Not right now, anyway.

Everything and it seems like everything sold in stores is bad for you. It’s impossible to avoid all of it the chemicals whether in our homes, outside, or at the movies!  What we can do as consumers and as FRIENDS is make a difference.

Tell all your friends as the Healthy Child Healthy World video implies and help spread the word! Secondly, stop buying the product and try to find an alternative. Finally, start writing to the companies and DEMAND change. This could seriously devote ones time since there are so many companies out there who are polluting the planet and our bodies (toxins + plastic). As a consumer we need to start standing up for what’s right- not wrong!  The FDA (Food and Drug Adminstration) does not require premarket health or safety studies or testing on products that hit store shelves which means were the guinea pigs who suffer!

What To Look For

(derived from better nutrition magazine)

Phthalates: found in synthetic fragrances, are endocrine disruptors that have been linked to developmental and reproductive toxicity, immunotoxicity, and organ system toxicity. If it contains the word FRAGRANCE- stay away!

Propylene glycol: found in tortillas, lotions & potions, deodorant, many snack foods, etc., is linked to cancer, developmental and reproductive toxicity, allergies, immunotoxicity, and skin and eye irritation.  Also listed as 1,2-dihydroxypropane; 2-hydroxypropanol; methylethyl glycol; 1,2-propanediol; or propane- ,2-diol.

Parabens: used as preservatives in a wide variety of body care products. Also linked to cancer and developmental and reproductive damage. AKA 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, benzoic acid, p-salicyclic acid or zoic acid.

Mineral Oil: Petroleum based, linked to cancer and can be listed as paraffin.

Sodium lauryl sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate: used as a foaming or sudsing agent – found in bubble baths and body washes, shampoos and hand washes. It can cause organ toxicity and irritation of the skin, eyes and hair. May be listed as PEG 1-4 or lauryl ether sulfate, sodium slat, polyethylene glycol (1-4)

Oxybenzone: widely used in sunscreens and other skin care products with SPF protection, is linked to endocrine disruption, reproductive damage and cell damage. AKA benzophenone-3, 2-benzoyl-5-methoxyphenol, phenylmethanone and other names.

Familiarizing yourself with these chemicals is your exit sign for the non toxic highway!

Resources

Healthy Child Healthy World

Enviroblog

MomsRising

I’m always checking out these helpful sites for the latest information! I know I’ve mentioned it before but if you’re curious to know what’s in your products be sure to check out the Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetic Safety Database. Be sure to also check out their chemical index!

Beware!

Just because a product advertises “all natural” or “organic” doesn’t always mean that it’s non toxic! Reading labels is a huge preventive measure when it comes to buying products that may contain harmful ingredients.

Have you recently switched out a product because it contained unsafe chemicals?

Please, share your thoughts!

Go Banana’s- Raw Fro-Yo!

I’m always amazed how the raw food diet can mimic much of what an unraw diet consists of.

Like ice-cream or soft serve for instance! You know; that soft, creamy, and sweet texture that seems to get anyone to smile.

You must believe me when I tell you bananas as ice cream is DA-BANANA-BOMB! It’ll have you buying up all the ripe banana’s at your grocery store. I swear. It’s the truth.

Don’t believe?! Try it!

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A Boo-rific Meatless Monday with Top 5 Healthier Hallogreen Treats

Hey guys! It’s me again!

Time for another round of Meatless Monday- ding, ding!!

With Halloween on Saturday how about a ghoulish dish for those goblins or guests you may be having over. The dish I’m going to share with you happens to be another eggplant dish because the plant is still flourishing in my mother in law’s garden and giving us beautiful eggplants to nourish ourselves with. Oh, and my love for eggplants may have something to do with it too.

PLUS- after finding the Faken’ Bacon recipe I also found this recipe…

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Summary of Summer

Hey guys! Happy 09-09-09!  Still around. Database crashed and I wasn’t able to get to it until last night. Sorry about that!!

We had a jam packed weekend full of fun!

We took Tristan bowling and I even wore Clark for part of it. Don’t worry, I played it safe… & Tristan had a ball… LOL!

And as a last consolation for the summer and because our  membership is going to expire at the end of the month; we went to the zoo!

We BBQ’d yesterday at my in laws. I made a nice spinach salad and the neighbors actually made a raw dish! I was so impressed. It was a zucchini salad with lemon zest and sun dried tomatoes. Yum, yum!

This summer I’ve tried a few raw dishes and some new cooked ones. Our garden didn’t do as well as we’d hoped. This is the first year in five years that we’ve planted a garden and have not had much of a harvest. The insane high temps killed most of our plants or slowed their growth. We normally have tons and tons of tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant and peppers.  We hardly had any harvest of what we planted.  It was a bit discouraging but also part of gardening and the challenges you face. We’re determined to research some of the challenges through winter in hopes of a more successful garden next year. Hopefully, we  master composting by then and are able to provide the much needed nutrients we were possibly lacking and time of all things.  Thankfully, my mother in laws garden was flourishing because we’ve been eating some of her bounty.

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