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Eating for the Planet Recipe List

April 1, 2022
The USDA estimates that Americans waste 30-40% of the food supply. Everyone has bought
fruit with the good intention of eating a healthy diet, just to have that fruit age past it’s prime.
When bananas are overripe, they are perfect for banana bread! This version is both vegan and delicious!

Andrea’s Banana Bread

Mix:
2-4 ripe bananas – mashed
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy milk
In a separate bowl, mix:
1 + 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Combine ingredients. Pour into an oiled loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for around 50
minutes or until done. This banana bread is very moist so just press down on the cake. If it is pretty solid and bounces back a bit, it is done.


April 3, 2022
Sunday is a great day to have an easy and fun vegan meal!

Gail’s Fast Dirty Rice Salad
Plan for a ½ cup cooked rice for each person.
Cook 1 cup rice (2 cups finished rice) and set aside.
In a large salad bowl, mix:
1 small red onion diced
2 T minced garlic
2-3 T capers, without liquid
3 ounce package julienne cut sundried tomatoes*
1/3 -1/2 cup pitted Greek style black olive
2 cups shredded either lettuce, fresh spinach or arugula or combination
½ cup fresh basil sliced/chopped
Opt: zucchini diced
Opt: 1 cup soy veggie crumbles or other meat substitute
1. Cook rice
2. Dice and toss everything together with 2-3 T olive oil
*If you have marinated sundried tomatoes, you can use entire jar and no additional oil is
needed.

April 5, 2022

You have been recycling, upcycling, reducing waste, limiting driving and doing everything you can to stop climate change and save our planet. You deserve a Tuesday Treat! How about an eggless cookie recipe?
Cashew Cookies
1 cup margarine
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract)
1 cup flour
1 cup cornstarch
1 cup chopped cashews
Cream margarine, sugar and extract. Add dry ingredients and chill. Shape dough into small balls.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 12 minutes. While still warm, cover cookies with powdered
sugar. Enjoy!

April 7. 2022

The Environmental Working Group has released its Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists of fresh produce items that consumers should avoid and seek, based on pesticide residue levels. One way to avoid this concern is to buy organic! Here is a simple recipe to try.

Easy Vegan Blueberry Muffins

Mix wet ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup soy milk

1/2 cup oil

Mix dry ingredients:

2 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Combine wet and dry ingredients. Do not overmix.  Add 1 -2 cups organic blueberries and fold in gently. Bake at 400 degrees for 18 minutes or until done. Makes 12 muffins.

April 9, 2022

Earlier this week we learned that Fungi (which included mushrooms) can have a significant impact on sustainability. Here is a link for another excellent mushroom recipe from Lauren Toyota and her hot for food blog. 

Vegan Pulled BBQ Mushroom Sandwiches https://www.hotforfoodblog.com/recipes/2016/07/08/vegan-pulled-bbq-mushroom-sandwiches/ 

April 11, 2022

Here is another idea for Meatless Monday. Lentils are an excellent protein option. Our GGHP member says, “this recipe from Melanie McDonald is a major crowd-pleaser vegan recipe I like to make for dinner parties.”

Lentil Shepard’s Pie

https://avirtualvegan.com/lentil-shepherds-pie/#recipe 

 

April 13, 2022

A good way to find great vegan and vegetarian recipes is look to the east! India has an amazing and rich history of vegetarian cooking. Here is a recipe for Vegan Palak Paneer from the Minimalist Baker at https://minimalistbaker.com/vegan-palak-paneer-with-curried-tofu/ 

April 14, 2022

Making recipes that are savory and toothsome is a good way to feel satisfied and well fed, even without meat! Try this hearty curry as a main course or as a side dish. 

 Vegan, Gluten Free Curry 

Add a little oil to a Dutch over or large pot and sauté one diced onion until translucent – remove onions and set a side. 

In the same pan, add 6 tablespoons of oil, 2 tablespoons curry powder, 6 tablespoons gluten free flour to the pan to make a roux. For extra heat add some crushed red pepper or additional garlic powder. Gradually add water or vegetable broth until you get the consistency of a thin gravy. Add two large diced potatoes and 3-4 diced carrots. Add back the onions. Simmer uncovered until the potatoes and carrots are cooked. Serve over rice or noodles. 

April 16, 2022

Growing you own food reduces fossil fuels used to transport food. Some of the easiest things to grow in Highland Park are cherry tomatoes and green beans. This recipe uses these two ingredients to make a delicious veggie side dish. 

Green Beans with Tomatoes

You will need a few cloves of fresh garlic and, if you choose, a small pepper like a Hungarian hot pepper, both finely sliced. 

2 tablespoons olive oil 

2 cups fresh green beans 

1-2 cups cherry tomatoes 

1/2 teaspoon oregano 

Salt and pepper to taste 

 Prep the cherry tomatoes by putting them into boiling water until they float to the surface. Spoon them out and place in ice water. Once cooled, the skins will easily pop off. Reserve the skinless tomatoes for later.  Snap the end off the beans and break into 1-2 inch pieces and reserve. In a saucepan, add olive oil and your finely sliced garlic and pepper. Heat until fragrant, do not burn. Add beans and tomatoes and just cover with water. Add oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until the beans are cooked to your liking. If you eat cheese, try grating some parmesan into the cooked beans and tomatoes. Enjoy! 

April 18, 2022

Are you running out of ideas for Meatless Monday? Here are some good sources recommended
by Kim S. from GGHP.
https://www.101cookbooks.com/
https://www.loveandlemons.com/
https://cookieandkate.com/

April 20, 2022

It takes a lot of water 💧, land, and resources to produce meat, especially beef. 🐄 For example, a ¼ lb hamburger 🍔 takes 425 gallons of water and the equivalent energy to charging your phone for six months to produce. 🥙🥗🌱Eating a more plant-based diet can help reduce agricultural water use by 50%, land use by 80%, and fight species loss. 🦁🦊🦧🐅 #MeatlessMonday 🥦🥬🌽🥕
Andrea N says start every day with a good choice. Most people don’t get enough fruit, or greens, or drink enough water. Plus lots of fruit and greens go bad as they languish uneaten. Start every day with a good choice, a fruit and greens smoothie!
Life Changing Smoothies for Two
Choose three fruits and your favorite greens; for instance, a browning banana, a handful of overripe strawberries or some blueberries. I always add some grapes for sweetness.
Put the banana in the blender and add your greens on top – about a cup or a big handful. Next add the rest of the fruit. Fill the blender half way with cold water and add a few ice cubes on top. Blend until smooth and frothy.
In the winter I use organic spinach, but all summer I grow Swiss chard, any green will do! Enjoy!

April 21, 2022

This beautiful chilled soup from Yotam Ottolenghi is a dream on a hot summer day or anytime you want something quick and delicious. Swap out tofu or white beans for the yogurt to make this dish vegan. Don’t skip the croutons, the crunch is divine!
Yotam Ottolenghi’s Green Gazpacho

April 22, 2022

Happy Earth Day! We hope you have enjoyed our Eating for the Earth campaign and will visit our recipe page to try all the tasty submissions. You really can make a difference by choosing local foods, eating a few plant based meals a week and getting creative with leftovers. Mix up a batch of these Vegan Earth Cookies to share with friends and tell them all about these great recipes.
Vegan Earth Cookies-Meghan Rodgers
Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegan butter
1/4 cup applesauce
1 tsp high-quality vanilla extract
2 tbsp almond milk (or milk of your choice)
green vegan all-natural food coloring
blue vegan all-natural food coloring
Directions
Lightly grease a baking sheet and set aside. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, brown sugar, flour, baking soda and salt. Next, add the vegan butter, applesauce, vanilla, and milk. Stir until blended well. Separate the dough into about 2/5 and 3/5 dough balls. (This can be very rough. It just accounts for the fact that real Earth has more water than land, so your cookies might like to have more blue visible than green, as well.)
Start by adding 6 drops of green to the smaller dough ball. Work dough just until color is distributed. Add more green food coloring and repeat to reach desired color. Add 10 drops of blue food coloring to the larger dough ball. Work dough just until color is distributed. Add more blue food coloring and repeat to reach desired color.
Place both dough balls in a bowl and cover. Freeze for 5 minutes.
Remove dough from freezer. Take several small pinches of each color and press together to make earth-like looking cookie dough ball about 3/4-inch wide. Place each on the prepared baking sheet — no more than 8 at a time (these are spreaders!).
Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool for 2-3 minutes before removing from baking sheet and transferring to a wire rack to cool.

April 2, 2022
Most people know that meat production is a big contributor to Climate Change. According to Vox.com, about 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock. There is no need to give up on your favorite flavors! Try a meatless version of a classic.

Vegan Quinoa Sloppy Joes
Original recipe from Plant Power: Transform Your Kitchen, Plate, and Life with More than 150 Fresh and Flavorful Vegan Recipes by Nava Atlas.

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1 T olive oil or 3T broth or water
1 medium onion finely chopped
1/2 medium green or other color pepper (suit your taste) finely diced
1&1/2 cups cooked pinto or red beans = 1 15 to 16 oz. Can
1 15 to 16oz. can tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
1 finely diced medium tomato
1 T soy or tamari sauce
1 t agave nectar or maple syrup, a little catsup is a good addition
2 t chili powder or more to taste
1 t paprika
1/2 t dried oregano
Directions:
Bring 1 cup water and quinoa to boil, lower heat and cover. Simmer about 15 min. or until
water absorbed. Heat oil or liquid in medium skillet and sauté onion briefly, then adding
peppers until softened. Add remaining ingredients including quinoa and cook at low simmer
partially covered for 5 to 10 min. Let stand for about 5 minutes before spooning on to your
choice of bun.

April 4, 2022
Not everyone is ready to become a vegetarian, much less a vegan. In 2003 Sid Lerner, the Founder of The Monday Campaigns, in association with the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future created the idea of Meatless Monday. Going meatless one day a week is a small sacrifice anyone can make to help save our beautiful planet!
Cheating Chili
Dice and sauté one medium onion and one green pepper. Add one can diced tomatoes (fire roasted add a nice smoky flavor). Use the empty can to add a can of water. Add one can drained kidney beans.
Now the cheats…stir in 2 packages of commercial chili seasoning and one-two tablespoons of bulgur wheat. Simmer for at least a half hour. Add more water to create your favorite chili consistency.

April 6, 2022

Check out the amazing blog post that came with this submission.

Four Mushroom Bisque 

  • 2 C each chopped mushrooms (use a variety of 4, but not portabella or white)
  • 2 Shallots, chopped
  • 4 Cloves garlic, minced
  • 5 T butter (or vegetable oil)
  • 64 oz vegetable stock
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
  • Optional: ¼ teaspoon sriracha or ¼ teaspoon truffle oil
  1. In a 3 quart pot, melt butter, sauté shallots until soft. 
  2. Add garlic for 30 seconds 
  3. Add mushrooms, mix and cover until soft, stirring occasionally (5-7 minutes) 
  4. Add stock and bring to boil 
  5. Simmer uncovered on medium heat for 40 minutes 
  6. Remove about ½ to 1 cup of mushrooms and set aside. 
  7. Blend mixture until creamy. 
  8. Add mushrooms that were set aside to the bisque for chunkiness. 
  9. Salt and pepper to taste.
  10. Serve hot. 

If soup is thick, add vegetable stock or plant-based milk product for the consistency you like.  Or, leave it thick and chunky and serve over pasta or rice. 

Unused soup can be frozen for later use.

April 8, 2022 

Mushroom and Spinach Crepes 

Crepes: 

Mix 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour, 3 eggs,1/2 tsp salt and 2 Tbs of melted butter in a bowl. Heat 10 inch skillet over medium heat with a small amount of oil or butter.  Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and swirl to spread the batter thin. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until edges start to curl. Flip the crepe and cook an additional 1-2 minutes until lightly golden. Stack cooked crepes on a plate and cover with a towel to keep warm. 

Filling:

Cook down onion, baby portabella mushrooms and spinach.  Season with salt and pepper and herbs of your choice. I used thyme, garlic powder and a little tabasco sauce Stir in some lightly scrambled eggs and some herbed goat cheese if you like. Roll the filling into the crepe, top with some creme fraiche and enjoy. 

April 10, 2022

Have you ever wondered about the climate impact of your favorite protein? Check out https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/food-and-farms/chart-which-foods-are-worst-for-the-climate 

It might be time to try some tofu recipes…this one from Julie Chiou looks good! https://tablefortwoblog.com/pan-fried-sesame-garlic-tofu/ 

 

April 12, 2022

Tuesday Treat Day! Rhubarb and strawberries will be coming to market before you know it, so save this recipe and celebrate the fresh flavors of spring.

Eat What’s Fresh Fruit Crumble
Filling:
3C of any seasonally available fresh fruit (strawberries, raspberries, cherries, blueberries, apples, peaches, plums, nectarines, etc.).
2-4 T sugar (honey, brown sugar, monk sugar, maple syrup, molasses)
2T flour (all purpose or almond)
1T lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Toss berries in sugar, flour, lemon juice and salt. If using stone fruits or apples, slice or chop before tossing. Place in pie dish or any 2qt baking dish.
Crumble Topping:
2C old fashioned rolled oats
¼ C flour (all purpose or almond)
1C chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans work well)
½ C sugar (honey, brown sugar, monk sugar, maple syrup, molasses)
½ C melted coconut oil
Pinch of salt
Combine ingredients and cover fruit. Topping can be clumped rather than spread evenly. Use your hands. Bake at 350 degrees until fruit is bubbling and topping is golden brown. About 25-35 minutes.

 

April 15, 2022 

It has been a long week fighting climate change, open a bottle of organic wine or a local micro brew and make yourself a snack!

Cut some firm or extra firm tofu into sticks. Spray the strips with some olive oil and roll them in corn starch. Spray again and bake at 350 degrees until the edges are crispy. Dip in some Thai Chili sauce and enjoy! 

April 17, 2022

Food waste is a huge waste of Earth’s resources and contributes methane to the atmosphere as food rots on landfills. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is  25 times more potent than CO2. Many people buy fruit with good intentions but don’t get around to eating it. Fruit pies are a great way to use less than perfect fruit. If you missed a few pieces, try composting them instead of tossing them in the trash.
Basic Fruit Pies
Use any pie crust you like or make the classic Crisco pie crust, it’s vegan! Trader Joe’s has a pretty awesome frozen gluten free crust.
Choose your fruit. Remember to peel and slice fruits like apple and peaches (to peel peaches, blanch in boiling water first.) When I was a child, we collected mulberries to make pie! If you choose apple, feel free to add 1 tablespoon of cinnamon.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Add five cups of fruit to a saucepan with 1 cup sugar, 4 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix the ingredients and heat to a low simmer stirring often. Gently simmer until the mixture starts to thicken, about 15 minutes.
Add pie to unbaked crust, dot filling with your favorite vegan butter substitute and add top crust.
Bake for around 30 minutes, but if the crust gets too dark too fast, lower the heat to 350 degrees and increase the cooking time 15 minutes.

 

April 19, 2022

It’s Tuesday, you deserve a treat! These no-bake vegan truffles come together in no time and can be popped into the fridge for quick chilling. Look for fair trade chocolate to coat these date based goodies. I’ve been asked for the recipe every time I bring them somewhere, enjoy!

Coconut Date Truffle Bites-Randy Mayor

Total time 1 hr 20 mins

Hands-On: 20 mins

Yield: Serves 28 (serving size: 1 truffle)

Ingredients

⅔ cup roasted, salted almonds

30 whole pitted dates

½ cup flaked unsweetened coconut

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1 tablespoon coconut oil

⅛ teaspoon salt

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Directions 

Step 1 

Place almonds in a food processor; process until finely ground. Add dates; process until finely ground. Add coconut and next 3 ingredients (through salt); pulse until combined. 

Scoop about 2 teaspoons cocoa mixture with a spoon, and roll into a ball. Repeat the procedure with remaining cocoa mixture. Place the truffles on a platter lined with parchment paper; refrigerate 1 hour. 

Place chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl; microwave at HIGH 1 minute and 20 seconds or until melted, stirring every 20 seconds. Add truffles, stirring gently to coat. Return truffles to platter until the chocolate sets.