Archive | FOOD AND DRINK

Are You Going Organic? Where Do You Start?


The first article that I wrote for Cascadian Farm was about going organic and where to start. Are you thinking of going organic but wonder what is the best way to begin. Visit my blog at Cascadian Farm for tips on how to begin and let me know what you think?

Do you eat organic?
Are you going to go organic?

Photo via Cascadian Farm.

Mambo Sprouts: Healthy Natural and Organic Coupons


Are you a coupon clipper? Do you purchase natural and organic foods? If you answers were yes, then you need to check out Mambo Sprouts. Mambo Sprouts is your source to healthy, natural and organic coupons. You can sign up to receive printable email coupons or mailable coupon books that are full of excellent coupons for natural and organic products. Who doesn’t want to save money on the natural and organic products that we are going to purchase anyway?

What other sites do you use to find great deals on natural and organic products?

Snapware Glasslock Green Food Storage

The mister and I finally went through all of our food storage containers and unfortunately found that a lot of them contained BPA. We just couldn’t have this, so out they went. Then on our last shopping trip to Costco, we purchased two large sets of Snapware Glasslock and we are both in love. First of all, the containers are glass. Yay! Second the locking lids are BPA free and snap securely closed. I love the glass containers, they are fabulous and are so much nicer than any plastic ware that we previously had. I can see this set lasting us for a long, long time.

What type of food storage containers do you have?

How to Make Grown Up Organic Baked Pasta and Cheese


The wanted to whip up a cozy meal last night and decided to make homemade grown up macaroni and cheese. We were out of elbow pasta and cheddar cheese, a problem? Not for Mr. Sweet Greens. He decided to make it with what we had available and it was fabulous. It is a grown up version of macaroni and cheese, however, Eben loved it as well. It is perfect for a cool crisp November day.
 

What you will need:

  • 2 1/2 Cups. Organic Milk
  • 1 lb. Organic Whole Wheat Pasta {any type, Mr. Sweet Greens used a small spiral cut pasta}
  • 4 Tablespoons Smart or Earth Balance
  • 3 Tablespoons Organic Flour
  • 1 1/2 Cups Grated Cheese {Mr. Sweet Greens used Mozzarella}
  • 1/2 Cup. Organic Parmesan
  • 1/2 Cup. Organic Bread Crumbs
  • Sea Salt and Organic Black Pepper {to taste}

Preparation:

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Boil a large pot of water.
2. Cook the milk over low heat for 5 minutes, turn off heat and let sit.
3. Salt boiling water and cook pasta until it needs another 2 minutes to become tender, drain it, rinse it and put in a large bowl.
4. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter over medium/low heat, then add flour and cook and stir for 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of the heated milk to the hot flour mixture and whisk while adding the rest of the milk mixture. Add the cheese and stir.
5. Pour the sauce over the pasta , toss with Parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Use the remaining butter to grease a baking dish and place the pasta mixture into it. Top with bread crumbs and bake until the bread crumbs turn brown, approximately 15 minutes.

Makes 6 servings

How To Host An Eco-Friendly Wine And Cheese Party

Since it is the harvest season, I thought it would be fun to host an organic wine and cheese tasting party. Doesn’t it sound lovely to invite a few of your friends over on a chilly fall night to try different types of cheeses and wines from all over the world? I think it would be fun to choose a region of the world and ask each guest to bring either a bottle of wine or a wedge cheese from that region to share. A wine and cheese party is a simple and fun way to spend the evening. Read on to learn how I am preparing for this fun night.

Here’s what you will need:
  • 4-6 bottles of organic wine
  • 4 ounces of organic cheese per person
  • organic plain crackers
  • water

Set up:

Pour 2 ounce tastes for each of the wines and serve the water and crackers as palate cleansers. You could also serve other appetizers. The organic cheeses that I chose for this particular night include; organic Brie, Gouda and Le Gruyere.

When setting up this party, I used items from my own kitchen including dinnerware, silverware, stemware and linens. This party had almost zero landfill waste since the bottles are recyclable and most of the packaging was too.

Would you host an eco-friendly wine and cheese party?
What are your favorite types of organic wine and cheese?

photo courtesy of Palinkas Tamara.