Ever come home from the farmer’s market with tomatillos and the best intentions only to have no idea what to make? This simple tomatillo and poblano salsa is a delicious and quick way to use tomatillos as well as delicious poblano and spicy serrano peppers. It comes together quickly and stores in the fridge for about a week.
Serve this salsa with chips for dipping, as a sauce for enchiladas or tacos, or even on top of eggs for a Mexican-inspired breakfast.
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I can’t wait to share Harvest with you. It’s a program that’s been years in the making and brings together 3 of my passions - healthy eating, social justice, and living lighter on the planet. I have spent years studying health, international trade, and global warming, and realized that where we shop for food, how we prepare it, and what we eat can change our lives and change the world.
The program provides simple principles for purchasing ingredients and cooking delicious meals. It will guide you through 3 weeks of this new lifestyle so you can practice your knife skills, try new foods, explore new farmer’s markets and local restaurants, and know you’ll be making a positive impact that goes far beyond you - supporting your local and global communities and the environment. Let’s look at the first element of the program - why it’s good for you. There’s nothing like fresh corn on the cob. Steamed, grilled, even roasted, it’s delicious. And sometimes, if you have a few extra minutes, it’s worth cutting that fresh corn off the cob and throwing it into a salad, taco, or simple summer soup.
It’s another vegan recipe day, this one is a simple corn chowder made with the freshest summer ingredients and topped with homemade vegan bacon. The creaminess comes from a squash, my ever-helpful immersion blender, and a splash of coconut milk. The vegan bacon is not so much like the real thing but the salty smoky flavor is a nice complement to the fresh, sweet corn. Imagine a friend asks you to sign up for a triathlon to take place next May. The only catch is you’re not allowed to prepare. No training schedule, outdoor swims, or weekend bike rides for the 9 months leading up to the event. I’d venture to guess you wouldn’t sign up. Many women argue that labor and delivery is the most physically and mentally intense experience that we can put our bodies through. So why would we not prepare? We’re told to indulge in ice cream and prop our feet up, but why not work also to strengthen our bodies, calm our minds, and prepare for welcoming our babies into the world?
Beyond the aspects we can see and feel, maintaining a yoga practice can actually improve birth outcomes. Women in a study in India who practiced yoga postures, breathing, and meditation saw improved birth weight and a decrease in preterm labor as compared to women who simply walked 30 minutes twice a day.
It’s best to attend a prenatal yoga class or work one-on-one with a certified instructor to ensure you are practicing safely. Prenatal classes are also a wonderful way to connect with other mamas-to-be and build a community to support your pregnancy, labor, and little one after his or her arrival. It is important to check with your doctor or midwife before starting a prenatal yoga practice. Once you have the all-clear, get started with the following simple 10-minute sequence you can try at home (or on the beach!).
Before you totally write this recipe off - raw lasagne? no cheese? - think about the flavors of summer. Fresh juicy heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil and tangy garlic. Consider it a stacked salad if you’re not into raw or vegan food. I promise that 3 meat eaters at our dinner party last weekend scraped their plates clean.
The “noodles” are extra thinly sliced summer squash - I found yellow squash gave the most noodle-like appearance, but you can use zucchini as well. I HIGHLY recommend (demand?) using a mandoline slicer set on the smallest setting of 1/16 of an inch so the noodles are uniformly and very thinly sliced. Heirloom tomatoes are pretty much the star of this dish and the homemade vegan ricotta and pesto bring the flavors together. To save a little prep. time you can make the pesto ahead of time with the vegan ricotta and store both in the fridge for up to a week. It is best to chop the vegetables and assemble the lasagne right before you’re going to eat it - refrigerating fresh heirloom tomatoes will cause them to lose flavor, texture, and nutrients. You should, of course, store leftovers in the fridge, but it’s unlikely you’ll have any. Our top 5 ways to prepare for pregnancyYou are a busy, hard-working woman who is prepared for whatever the office, friendships, or your significant other throws at you. You feel ready for anything, but are you ready for pregnancy? Even if getting pregnant isn’t part of your short-term plan, you should still keep your body healthy and ready, just in case.
The key to this recipe is soaking the raw cashews overnight. So to get a head start, take one cup of raw cashews and put them in a small container with about 2 cups of water now. Go ahead, I'll be patient and you can thank me when you're eating this vegan ricotta by the spoonful tomorrow. The best news is that once your cashews are soaked (at least 8 hours) the whole thing comes together in about 10 minutes in a cuisinart or other food processor/blender.
You can purchase all of the ingredients at your local co-op (which you can find on Local Harvest) and it will keep for about a week in the fridge. I bet you could even freeze it (if you don't eat the whole recipe in 2 days...).
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