Tofu Spread

I realize that the last recipe also had tofu! It is a light protein for the warmer months and I guess that is why I am drawn to it right now!

This spread is wonderful with salad, or cooked vegetables, or on a rice cake, or in a pita! This is a platform idea for you to use to add your own vegetables that are in the crisper of your refrigerator and herbs that are outside your door!

Tofu Spread
1/2 package tofu, drained
1 garlic scape, chopped finely or 1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 cup carrot, finely grated
1/3 cup cucumber, finely diced (skins on for color)
2 T parsley, chopped
1 t olive oil
Salt, pepper

Rinse the tofu then drain it in a kitchen towel (see photo). To do this wrap the tofu cube in the cloth, put a plate on top of the tofu and put something on the plate that will add some weight and allow more of the water to come out of the tofu. Careful, the plate may tip over, sending your "weight" off of the tofu! Let sit for 10 minutes.

Once drained, gently mash the tofu with a fork. Add the garlic, carrot, cucumber, parsley, olive oil and seasoning. Taste, adjust and let sit in the refrigerator, ready when you are hungry!

Shanthi

Easy Options!

Reduce everything with this easy lunch accompaniment. Easy on digestion, easy on the earth but great for taste and consistent blood sugar energy!

Tofu
Tamari
Tahini
Avocado

Slice a piece of tofu. Rinse and dry lightly in a kitchen towel. Place the tofu on a plate, pour over a little tamari, spread some tahini and then top with sliced avocado. Change the flavor around with chopped herbs! No need for salt or pepper - you are good to go!

Shanthi

A Powerful Experience

By Katie Beatrice

mothering Mother

Recently, I've been looking around for a soup kitchen or homeless shelter where we could donate many of our extra bags. After doing a bit of research, I spoke with an extremely positive woman who loved the idea of a big product donation from mothering Mother. She put me in touch with multiple organizations, and each call was better than the one before. Everyone was so grateful that I didn't mind the fact that I was going to have to spend hours and hours sorting through piles of bags to create these donations. After more than 5 hours, the boxes were packed up, and we had successfully put together 2,300 bags to donate.

The first big organization was for a bag lunch program at a shelter nearby where 1,600 of the bags in various sizes were going. Every day they go through multiple packages of brown paper bags, because that is the most financially practical solution for them. When Laura and I arrived, the older women I had spoken to the day before were over the moon when they saw the bags. One in particular told us how much she hated using paper and plastic because of their effects on the environment. Her energy was contagious and I felt this thrill when speaking with her in the office. They understand how important it is to reuse bags, and have even been teaching the children in the day care and pre-school how to reuse and recycle to reduce waste.

Laura and I made our other stops, and I just couldn't get over how excited these women were to receive the bags. They wanted to use them to hold toiletries for new arrivals at their shelters, or package food for children and adults. They asked about caring for the bags, and the best way to use them. Each office was extremely grateful to have these bags in their possession, and they were all so appreciative.

It makes you think about people who can afford to buy reusable bags, but choose the convenience of plastic, throwing it out after one use. Or those who buy food in large quantities, and let it sit in their refrigerator until the expiration date, throwing it out without a second thought. Next time you go to the grocery store, stop and grab some cotton bags. If you're already in the car, but still in the driveway, go back inside and get them. Buy what you need, and only what you need. Think about these women running the shelters and how a few bags can change an entire program, think about how they rely on food donations to keep everyone fed, and think about how fortunate you are. NEVER take that for granted. 

The mM Veggie Burger

This new take on a veggie burger created by Sydney was featured in our latest newsletter. Each bite is more delicious than the last!

Quick note from Sydney: Soy mimicks the hormone estrogen. A bit of soy is good. Like all things in life it is about balance. In excess it has been linked with some cancers, but in moderation it has been linked with cancer reduction. An issue with soy is that soy beans are most likely GMO'd, unless they say organic on the package. GMO foods are more difficult to digest. We are still learning about the effects of GMO food on the body long term. Eating tofu burgers and tofu hot dogs, and all of those vegetarian soy products is not a good thing. You are much better off to make your own tofu burgers, such as this one. Remember, a processed soy food is still a processed food! 

mM Veggie Burger 1/2 block firm tofu, rinsed and drained 1/2 cup sushi or other sticky rice, cooked (or cook 1/3 cup rice) 1 1/2 t chili powder 1/8 t cayenne 4 sundried tomatoes, rehydrated in 1/4 cup water for 3-4 hours 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced 1/3 cup carrot, grated Salt, pepper to taste 2-3 Portabello mushrooms (Optional in the place of a bun) Mash the tofu generously with a fork, add in the cooked sushi, chili powder, cayenne, sundried tomatoes, onion, carrot, salt and pepper. Mix together thoroughly. Form into patties with hands. Cut the stem from the mushrooms. Wipe the top with a damp cloth. Brush the top of the mushroom with olive oil.  (click photo to view) Lay a veggie burger onto the underside of a mushroom. Repeat with the other mushroom caps. Onto a hot grill place the mushroom patty and cook on a medium heat. Careful not to overcook. Allow for some firmness to remain in the mushroom, especially if eating with your hands! (click photo to view) Remove cooked mushroom patties from the grill. Top with diced tomatoes, shredded spinach.  Enjoy the delights of the summer cooking season!

Green Living Bites ~Tired of junk mail that has your name on it? Go todmachoice.org where you can choose to have your information removed from mailing lists for magazines, catalogues, credit cards. It is worth the 10 minutes of work to not be hauling all of that paper to the curb on recycling day! And then there are all of those trees that we love to not lose! ~ Spring and summer are party seasons! Looking for reusable plates and cutlery to feed a crowd without the cost of rental or the guilt of disposable? Try a local church or organization that is willing to loan the dishes in return for a tax deductible donation. After all of the work that goes into the food that you are serving, let your guests enjoy each morsel with the comfort of porcelain plates and stainless steel cutlery.   ~ European (includes Germany, UK, Italy, France, Spain, Ukraine, and Russia) total carbon footprint (in million metric tons of CO2): 672.71 ... American total carbon footprint (in million metric tons of CO2): 5,833 ... That's about 8.6X as much as Europe! New Video from mM! click the link above to view!

The mothering Mother newsletter seeks to address how integral  food and its connection with the Earth is to our everyday lives. Eating healthy foods is easy if you buy healthy and natural ingredients. Get familiar with your produce and bulk bags. You do so much for others, now do something for yourself. Buy fresh produce, fresh seeds and nuts, and follow the recipe below to good and natural eating. Can we eat our way out of the environmental challenges? One thoughtful meal at a time. See the continued "Eating Our Way Out" article at the bottom of this newsletter. Share your joy for the world by using cotton mothering Mother bags and sharing your home cooked foods with others. Namaste Sydney Big News for Plastic Bags this Past Month! These locations have joined the growing list of cities and states banning plastic bags: -State of Hawaii (passed by each of the 4 counties) -City of Los Angeles (largest city in the US to ban the bag) -City of Toronto (scrapped the existing plastic bag fee and the plastic bags themselves) What is happening in your hometown? Time to join the wave of change?! mM Veggie Burger During the barbeque season don't feel the need to let your dietary commitments restrict you or tempt you! Skip the doughy bun and let the flavor and texture of a mushroom compliment the flavors of your burger! mM Veggie Burger 1/2 block firm tofu, rinsed and drained 1/2 cup sushi or other sticky rice, cooked (or cook 1/3 cup rice) 1 1/2 t chili powder 1/8 t cayenne 4 sundried tomatoes, rehydrated in 1/4 cup water for 3-4 hours 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced 1/3 cup carrot, grated Salt, pepper to taste 2-3 Portabello mushrooms Mash the tofu generously with a fork, add in the cooked sushi, chili powder, cayenne, sundried tomatoes, onion, carrot, salt and pepper. Mix together thoroughly. Form into patties with hands. Cut the stem from the mushrooms. Wipe the top with a damp cloth. Brush the top of the mushroom with olive oil. Lay a veggie burger onto the underside of a mushroom. Repeat with the other mushroom caps. Onto a hot grill place the mushroom patty and cook on a medium heat. Careful not to overcook. Allow for some firmness to remain in the mushroom, especially if eating with your hands! Remove cooked mushroom patties from the grill. Top with diced tomatoes, shredded spinach. Enjoy the delights of the summer cooking season!    Start Earth Munching with the help of http://motheringmothernature.blogspot.com     Eating Our Way Out (Part 13)  Sydney MacInnis Founder mothering Mother Holistic Nutritionist and Yoga Instructor Last month I had the opportunity to shop at The Alternative Food Co-operative in Wakefield, RI.  With cotton bags in hand and appetite ready, from the moment that I walked in I knew that I was in a "different grocery shopping" space.  The store was clean, uncluttered, filled with light and almost no prepared and packaged foods. It was a store full of ingredients, full of potential! Bulk bins lined both sides of the center aisle with grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, flours, granola  and coffee etc. The back wall, pictured below, was filled with herbs for tea, healing, and for cooking, as well as a full selection of spices, all in bulk. Take just the amount that you need for the next couple of months and come back again to replenish. To the side were liquid bulk containers - shampoo, hand crème, laundry detergent, dish detergent, as well as honey, molasses, vinegars and oils, to name but a few.  The produce is pictured below - simple and clean and not overwhelming. There is a small café at the front of the store with foods made that day on location - minimal selection with maximum flavor and energy! I had a Thai soup, and a gluten free brownie with tea, in a real mug! The cooks at the coop are encouraged to "Love People. Cook them good food", noted on a sign that is posted over the refrigerator. This is the food that Nature gave to us for survival. Using the mothering Mother bags for the produce and for the bulk, bringing in your own jars or bottles for the liquid refills and nut butters, and grabbing a few additional items in the "grocery" aisle, you are now set! Composted soil was available in paper bags from a local children's school. It was just a moment of Bliss for me! Will there be a day when this is the norm for the grocery shopping experience? We can make it a reality, one meal at a time! Shopping consciously can lead to eating consciously which can lead to living consciously which can lead to... Namaste

mM Bag Giveaway!

Only a few more days to enter Thecheapskatemom's giveaway of our bags!!! 

http://www.thecheapskatemom.com/reusable-produce-bag-giveaway/

Rediscovering Food

Rediscovering Food

By Julia Barlow

A year ago I graduated college. Like many people my age struggling through art school, I gained a few bad habits. (Maybe more than a few, but who’s keeping track?) Unfortunately, my body bore the brunt of my bad decision-making. Have you heard of the “freshman 15?” Well I did that one better: let’s just call it the “senior 30.” On the bright side, the local pizza parlor down the street from my apartment appreciated my frequent patronage. My stress-induced greasy cheesy eating was their gain. In my final year of college, my daily consumption schedule was as follows: sausage, egg and cheese on a croissant for breakfast; for lunch an oversized chicken burrito that with all the fixings; and at the end of the day multiple slices of pizza and whatever else happened to be within a 10 foot radius of my mouth. 

Soon after graduating, I had an enlightening moment in which I recognized the importance of health and treating the single body I was given with respect and kindness. I immediately became a vegetarian and soon after that transitioned to a completely vegan lifestyle. The number of reasons that I am in love with this way of eating is infinite. I’ll explain the few that mean most to me. 

Firstly and most importantly, everything I eat now is immensely more deliciously, finger-lickingly GOOD! I have uncovered flavors and tastes I didn’t even know were possible before I became vegan. Oh gosh, and the tons of fruit and vegetables I eat! When I was ten-years-old, I would not eat an apple unless I were absolutely forced to. Now, I’m almost certain that apples are causing my bank account financial strain (I may have just solved my economic woes with that realization).

Natural foods with higher level of nutrients such as fruits, vegetables and grains helped shave off that “senior 30” I mentioned earlier. Barley, quinoa, bananas, broccoli - all of these and more fulfill my hunger more efficiently than a hot dog and potato chips. It has been approximately 6 months since I began eating vegan. I hereby name this chapter of my life “The Post Grad’ Negative 40.”

Another favorable outcome of my transition to veganism is that is has driven me to learn different styles of preparing food. Previously, I barely knew how to boil pasta, grill burgers, and microwave a meal that needed to be defrosted. Almost every night since modifying my eating habits, I’ve been sauteing up a storm on my stove top! Each evening my kitchen is a different restaurant. When I enter the kitchen and take out my knives and spices, the Barlow house transforms. Tonight the air will be filled with the fragrance of a Hibachi grill. Tomorrow might be deli style dinner with freshly sliced veggies between two pieces of whole grain bread. The notion that vegans don’t have much to eat or variety in their diet is deeply flawed. My problem is that I have too many ideas and my taste buds have more of a yearning for flavor than my stomach has room for!

I prepare delectable meals. I eat more healthily than I have in my entire life. I know every single ingredient that I put in my mouth. I am vegan, and it feels and tastes great!

A Popular Recipe of Mine - Western Style Tofu Scramble

1 package of extra firm tofu drained and crumbled

1/4 of a red pepper, diced

1/2 of a Vidalia onion, diced

a couple handfuls of spinach

a dash or 2 of cumin

a dash or 2 of tumeric

a few spoonfuls of your favorite salsa

shredded vegan cheese or nutritional yeast (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Spray a pan with olive oil cooking spray and heat to medium. Add the onion and pepper. Keep heat on medium for 5 minutes and stir periodically. Toss in the spices and mix it up. Add the tofu and stir for another couple minutes. Lastly stir in the spinach and cover. 

After the spinach is completely steamed and integrated into the recipe, mix in the salsa and turn heat to low. Once it’s all toasty and warm, you can add 1/3 cup of shredded vegan cheese or 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast (whichever you prefer). 

My mouth is watering just writing this! Kindly revamp this recipe however you please!

Photos show other ingredients such as scallions and olives

(click photo to view)

Exhilarating!

When was the last time that I rode my bike in the rain?! Many many moons ago! I went into the downtown of our small town to meet with someone, and I choose to ride my bike as the eco friendly and fresh air option. Additionally the thighs got a nice burn on the way there.

Then, during the meeting, the heavens opened! Down came the rain. It was still raining when I rode home. Nothing dangerous, just enough to take me back to the exhilarating feeling from the challenge of the elements!

I could have been all cozy in my car, and dashed into the house, to save my hair. Instead the hair on my hair is a loss and the hair on my arms is on end!

Thank you nature for the adventure.

Shanthi