Getting That Plant Based Diet

Going green dietwise means eating more plants. Some may think this is a task but it's easy thanks to  a new advice/cookbook. Anyone can eat and live healthier with delicious dishes that revolve around more natural ingredients. 

How To Eat More Plants (Penguin Books UK 2022) was written by Dr Megan Rossi and it's a great how to along with being  a must have in every home chef's library.Dr. Rossi is an internationally known gut health specialist  She is also the founder of the Gut Health Clinic, and the creator of the health food company BIO&Me along with being a practicing nutrionist and dietitian. She gives case examples along with excellent advice to anyone thinking of switching to a meat free diet.There is are pages on gut metabolism explained in detail that are fascinating and explain how what we eat works with it.Another good thing is a chapter on how to read labels and to fully pore over the inredient lsits. Dr. Rossi also write about how to de-stress and sleep better. It could be "forest bathing" a walk through nature or cuddling up with someone special. There is also a FODMAP chart and guide for those who have some intestinal distress  along with a how healthy is your gut test. As with any cookbook there are guides on what legumes and grains to buy along with a shopping list with the right ingredients.

How are the recipes? Not all are plant based, surprisingly.There are chicken meatballs and orange glazed salmon along with smoked mackerel and Thai inspired fish cakes. Some recipes also have cheese in them as well. Most, though are veggie based.Dr, Rossi includes everything from breakfasts to packed lunches to even homemade probiotic sodas. There is a fiber filled breakfast wrap, filled with yogurt, tofu and avocado and spiked with a fiery wasabi. Her mushroom bacon looks yummy on toast, The dinner recipes are wonderful. There are many variations on stir-fry from Indian to Italian along with an Indonesian version. All The Greens Phyllo pie is a tasty, flaky pie filled with spinach green beans and feta. It'll make for a good dinner or even Sunday lunch. She includes packed lunches. These include a chunky veggie and feta frittata.It can be served hot or cold, perfect in a school or office lunch. She has reinvented chicken burgers that have whole grain  breadcrumbs and egg in them. Yes there are sweets too and with chocolate too. like her probiotic Rocky Road  bark and zucchini chocolate chip cookie. She has a lemon and ricotta cheesecake and a hidden veggie (!) ice cream that holds cabbage and baby spinach. Try her drink recipes like the ginger soda ro the frothy cashew latte.

How To Eat More Plants is the perfect advice and cookbook for those who want a healthier diet. There are some great tips. Better yet there are recipes that are delicious to make for better eating.

Bake Sale Gems

Right about now schools and clubs are  planning their first bake sales of the season.These are crucial in bringing in funds for books, equipment and uniforms. To do that , fundraisers need popular along with unique recipes to bring in buyers.The products need to be tasty and tempting to make a bake sale profitable..

Cupcakes are always a big bake sale draw. Who doesn't love a tender little cake with a mound of buttercream icing? Yet they can be boring if done in vanilla with vanilla icing. A fun cupcake means a bought cupcake.  You can still have vanilla cake as the base but have a ball with the icing.If you're good at making buttercream flowers, then add them on top. Kids, especially love roses and they'd appreciate one topping a cake If you're not that artistic, then ice  cake tops like soccer balls and basketballs. This is perfect for any team involved in a bake sale. For cheer leading squads , why not carry the theme over to the treats? Pompoms can be made using paper, toothpicks and a glue gun.Dye the icing in the squad's colors and then match the pompoms to them . Another attention grabber? A riff on the classic Hostess squiggle cupcake. These can be a bit labor intensive to make so enlist another mom or one of the kids to help. The result will be worth it because you can charge a bit more for them.Clever taste combinations will also draw in customers. Think a stout-chocolate cupcake paired with an Irish Cream icing. For real zing try chili pepper cupcakes, an interesting marriage of heat and chocolate, guaranteed to peak interests and bring in cash.

Cookies are another pillar of a bake sale. The chocolate chip kind are always best sellers. Do they need to be tweaked? Just a little. They could be made with whole wheat instead of refined white flour, or instead of walnuts add chopped macadamia nuts for a different spin. Homemade Oreo cookies can be another crowd pleaser. The recipe is an easy one, especially if two people do the assembly. You can also make the filling mint and tint the icing green or pink. Sell them two or three to a bag with a mix of the two flavors. Unusual cookies such as cinnamon swirls and rocky roads will  pique a potential buyer's interest. Cinnamon swirls  again are an easy bake,It's just rolling out the dough, sprinkling a mix of sugar and the spice on it and then rolling the dough into a log. Chill and then cut into slices. You can even vary the spice by using nutmeg.Rocky road cookies are a guaranteed seller. Who wouldn't want a mix of chocolate , marshmallows, walnuts and more chocolate? The recipe is a basic chocolate snap that's topped with mini marshmallows and then popped back into the oven for two to three minutes. This toasts the marshmallows to a golden brown Chopped walnuts are then added and melted dark chocolate is drizzled over the entire cookie. You can even vary the chocolates by also using milk and white chocolate.

Make your bake sale a lucrative one with fun and interesting cupcakes and cookies. The result will be much needed funds for buying the class essentials or the team fundamentals. It starts with not just team spirit but with team creativity.

Edy's All American Ice Cream

Now that the warm weather has arrived in some areas of the US it's time to start thinking of ice cream. A favorite is Edy's Everyone loves this brand. It's creamy and smooth. Even its' light calorie treats are just as rich tasting as the regular brands. Edy's is the ice cream to have during for hot days ahead. It's perfect as a snack and even better for dessert. Edy;s started with William Dreyer, a German immigrant and ice cream maker teaming up with Joseph Edy, an American candy maker. The result was a delicious ice cream. The two were also responsible for introducing a beloved flavor to the American public. It was Rocky Road after Dreyer decided to add walnuts (and later almonds) and cut marshmallows to chocolate ice cream. The company later expanded nationwide and also created the first slow churned low calorie ice cream in 2006. Edy's has a great array of fun flavors. It's one of the few that has added Girl Scout Cookie flavors such as Samoas, Tagalongs and Thin Mints. It also has a wide variety of flavors in slow churned. This allows calorie counters to enjoy such sinful treats such as Chocolate Chip Mint, Neapolitan and Cookies and Cream. There are also sherberts and fruit bars too, if you want something more refreshing. With warm weather around the corner, it's time to start thinking about cooling treats. Edy's definitely fits that bill. Think of it when you want a refreshing snack or dessert.