For truly pure, sustainable honey, Heavenly Organics has ventured deep into the heart of a conflict zone in India. The result of this surprising, revolutionary business model is a clean, renewable product that has brought work to more than 650 families in the region.

Last year, it was revealed through FDA testing that almost all honey sold in the United States – even organic mountain honey – was tainted with glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide. But as a new certification from the Detox Project shows, Heavenly Organics is the exception to that rule. This company is able to produce a completely glyphosate-free sustainable honey, and through the company’s new documentary, “Peace Collectors,” consumers can learn exactly how.

Most honey is contaminated not through any fault of the beekeeper, but rather because bees can and do forage between two and nine miles from the hive. Given the widespread use of glyphosate on conventional crops in the United States, it’s almost impossible to create a radius devoid of this chemical, which the World Health Organization deemed a “probable” carcinogen in 2015.

To produce a truly pure honey, Heavenly Organics ventured deep into the heart of the Indian jungle, far from agricultural pesticides. But as the documentary shows, the clean product is only one result of these efforts.

Sustainable Honey from a Conflict Zone

Heavenly Organics operates in central and northern India, where the Naxalite conflict has been raging since the 1960s. Maoist or Naxalite groups have long revolted against the Indian government in this region, and the conflict has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people every year. Heavenly Organics co-founder Amit Hooda was inspired by his own childhood in Punjab to create a sustainable solution for the victims of this conflict.

Hooda grew up during the Punjab insurgency, which originated in the late 1970s and lasted through the 1990s. But Hooda says that his parents’ values kept him from being swept up into the conflict.

“We are a tight-knit family,” he says. “Indian family values shielded a lot of us from the trauma of being near and around a conflict.”

Inspired by the way in which his own region was able to heal post-conflict by taking advantage of surrounding fertile land, Hooda decided to apply the same principles in regions affected by the Naxalite conflict. Alongside his father, agronomist Dr. I.S. Hooda, Amit Hooda created an ethical economic model, tapping into a natural resource to give work to those living in the conflict zone.

“The best way to achieve long term peace is through a stable ethical economy,” he explains. “Our economical model pairs agriculture, health, and food needs with traditional skills of the people in conflict zones to provide a great-tasting, healthy product that is special to that particular place.”

In this case, that product was sustainable honey. Wild beehives are plentiful in the jungles, and locals had long been harvesting their honey, albeit through unsustainable methods: either by chopping down the trees, stunting this naturally renewable resource, or by using smoke to calm the bees, increasing the risks of wildfires and deforestation.

Dr. Hooda developed a more sustainable method, whereby honey harvesters locate the wild beehives during the day and then return at night, when bees are naturally more docile, to harvest the honey. Harvesters cut away just the top portion of the hive, ensuring that it remains a renewable resource: the hive takes about 15 to 20 days to regenerate, and it is then ready to be harvested once more.

“I knew that we wanted to do things so that they had the least impact on nature,” Amit Hooda explains in the film.

The film shows the viewer just how impactful this company’s actions have been on the village. Local men become harvesters, while their wives work at home to clean the honey of any impurities.

“Working with honey allows me to spend time with my friends and neighbors,” one of the women says in the film. “We can work together as a group, and it unites our community.”

“People in conflict areas, they don’t need charity money. What they need is a job,” says Hooda. “I think that when you’re able to hang out as a family in a group, you’re shielded from conflict around you.”

Capturing the Reality of Sustainable Honey

Documentary director Mike Leibowitz notes that the conditions for filming the documentary weren’t always ideal.

“We wore thick bee suits in 100 degree heat while flying drones and operating camera equipment,” he recalls. “Once the harvest was over (it lasted about an hour), we had to keep our suits on until the bees relaxed. I remember just laying in the shade trying to cool my body down.”

Aside from the physical difficulties, there were also language barriers to overcome. Often two interpreters would need to be used to communicate with locals, first translating to Hindi and then to the local dialect. Most of the harvesters were also quite camera shy and reluctant to share their stories.

“They did not want to face the camera and some didn’t want to talk about their past as its not pretty,” says Hooda. “Once they were comfortable, everyone was excited to share the impact of Heavenly Organics on their lives.”

One family in the film relayed the ways in which this new career allowed them to move from a remote village to a city, where their children had access to education.

The harvesters also share a keen respect for the bees. Amit recalls that during filming, one of the harvesters told him, “Bees are my family.”

He relayed that through his work with Heavenly Organics, he had learned the value of doing positive work in spite of the conflict, “just like the bees do when we take their honey.”

The full documentary is available online, via Heavenly Organics’ website.

Related on EcoSalon
How Many Pesticides Are in Honeybees? The Answer Will Give You Chills
Ingredient Buzz: Honey Benefits for Summer
Could Captive Honey Bees Be Hurting Wild Bees?

The post Heavenly Organics Shares the Secrets of Sustainable Honey Harvesting in New Documentary appeared first on EcoSalon.

Keeping a well-stocked food pantry isn’t just beneficial to your cooking, it can also help in cleaning and other domestic uses. Here are six common food pantry items that you can easily use to do many other things with that aren’t food related.

1. Baking Soda

Baking soda is a wonder ingredient when it comes to the home. Well known as a non-toxic cleaning agent, it’s often used as an odor neutralizer. You can also use it to make your own toothpaste and as a freshener when you wash clothes and linens. Coffee and tea stained all of your mugs? Wash them with baking soda, or soak them overnight.

2. Coffee

Don’t get rid of those coffee grounds; they improve your compost, give you shiny hair and even help to exfoliate your skin. You can easily make your own exfoliating scrub by mixing a tablespoon of coffee grounds with half a tablespoon of olive oil. For an invigorating touch, add in a drop of your favorite essential oil.

3. Vinegar

If you’re looking for a natural hair conditioner, look no further than your pantry for apple cider vinegar, which you can use as a rinse for your hair. White vinegar works well as a fabric softener and is also commonly used as a non-toxic cleaner around the home. Just use a half water/half vinegar solution to clean down surfaces.

4. Olive Oil

Besides being an excellent addition to food, olive oil has a multitude of uses. It works as a natural eye makeup remover, shoe polish and even bath oil. You can also use it if you’re out of your usual skin moisturizer.

5. Salt

You can use salt to clean out grease stains in the oven, and it also helps to soothe bee stings as well as canker sores and sore throats. Because of its texture, it also works well as an exfoliant. Massage a mixture of salt and olive oil into your skin, leave it on for a few minutes and then wash it off for skin that feels fresh, clean and invigorated.

6. Honey

You can use honey to make your own lip balm. And because it has antiseptic qualities, you can use it to clean cuts and scrapes. It also works well as a moisturizer, which you can easily make at home by mixing a spoonful of honey with two tablespoons of warm water and massaging the mixture into your skin. And it’s nature energy boost. Try a spoonful of honey if you’re lagging.

Related on EcoSalon

20 Unusual Uses for Coconut Oil

20 Unusual Uses for Olive Oil

20 Unusual Uses for Garlic 

Image: Johnny Hughes

The post 6 Food Pantry Items You Can Use Around Your Home & In Your Beauty Routine appeared first on EcoSalon.

Raw honey is unique in that it is not processed, heated, or tampered with in any way. It is pure and unadulterated and retains its enzymatic strength. And as delicious and beneficial as honey is when you eat it, so is it when you apply it to your skin in natural beauty treatments.

Real honey is harder to come by than you’d think. A few years ago, a study revealed that 75 percent of honey sold in grocery stores is actually not honey because it has been filtered to the point where pollen no longer exists.

Raw honey isn’t filtered in the least, so it is able to soothe burns, has antibacterial properties, and is packed with anti-aging antioxidants. It is also anti-inflammatory, which means that it can help prevent the onset of a host of fatal diseases. This means that when ingested or applied topically, honey improves your life! On your skin, it fights bacteria and inflammation that cause acne and reduces the appearance of fine lines and other indicators of age with its smooth texture and antioxidants.

To benefit the most from honey, give yourself a simple facial. It is important that the honey is raw so that you get the most potency from its inherent nutrients and enzymes.

Raw Honey Facial

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon raw honey

Directions: Use your fingertips to rub the honey all over a clean face. Let sit for at least 15 minutes and no more than 1 hour before washing and drying clean.

Photo Credit: kthread

Related on EcoSalon

Foodie Underground: 20 Uses of Honey You Never Thought of

Is Raw Honey Really Worth all the Buzz?

Q&A with Los Angeles Beekeeper, Staci Valentine

The post The Natural Beauty Buzz: Raw Honey Skin Care appeared first on EcoSalon.

One of the most potent superfoods happens to be a very common pantry item. Honey is more than just a sweet, fragrant syrup — it is a powerhouse of nutrition that can take your health to new levels.

Most honey has been mainstreamed to the point that the typical brands hanging out on grocery store shelves are over-processed and devoid of enzymes and nutrients, which is why it is important to consume only “raw” honey. Unprocessed and not heated above 115 degrees Fahrenheit, raw honey is a powerful remedy to everyday ailments, and all it takes is a few teaspoons per day to taste and feel the benefits.

Honey use dates back some 8,000 years and is cherished in many religions. And while honey is mostly comprised of carbohydrates in the form of fructose and glucose, it has many medicinal applications. Unpasteurized, raw honey is full of live enzymes, healthy bacteria, antioxidants and vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6 and C. It is also loaded with minerals such as magnesium potassium, calcium sodium chlorine, calcium, copper, iron, manganese, sulfur, zinc and phosphate.

Raw honey provides an energy boost with its carbohydrate content — 17 grams per tablespoon — and can give you that extra morning or midday push. It also has a prebiotic and probiotic affect on the body, which contribute to the growth of healthy bacteria in the intestinal tract and a properly functioning digestive system. Raw honey also supports a strong immune system, as it has strong antibacterial and anti-fungal properties that fight bacterial and viral diseases. And with its antioxidant content, raw honey may help to slow the aging process and prevent cancer. Other reported benefits include treating infertility, eczema, anemia, acne, morning sickness, sore throats, and high cholesterol.

Because raw honey is not pasteurized, there is always the off-chance that you encounter a bad batch with harmful bacteria, but the benefits far outweigh the costs. The bees’ hard work shouldn’t be ignored either — raw honey is an underrated natural remedy to some of your most common ailments and it’s worth the slightly higher price. To benefit the most from raw honey, take a spoonful of it in the morning on an empty stomach or mix a teaspoon into warm tea or water.

Photo Credit: SionaKaren

The post Is Raw Honey Really Worth All the Buzz? appeared first on EcoSalon.

Would you pay 42 cents for this 1977 version of egg nests?

A 42 cent lunch would be nice! However, I’m not quite sure I’d even fork over that amount, measly it may be, for the above egg nest featured in a March 1977 publication of Homemakers. From the looks of the recipe, there’s nothing in the dish but the elements to a satisfying breakfast! The picture is what gets me. The egg yolk looks raw and the egg white puff looks like some sort of mold overgrowth – not the best thing to imagine on a sensitive morning stomach.

My modern adaptation of an egg nest breakfast uses similar ingredients to those in this retro recipe, but the result looks a lot less worse for wear. I use the egg whites to coat the bread and seal in the moisture, form a nest for the egg yolk, and then give the dish a hint of sweetness with honey and a touch of light earthiness with the fresh mint.

French Toast Egg Nests

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon milk or cream
• Dash of sea salt
• Dash of black pepper
• 2 slices of a thick, fluffy bread
• 1/2 teaspoon butter
• 1 tablespoon honey
• A few mint leaves for garnish

Directions:

Separate the egg white from the egg yolk. Reserve the egg yolks for later, keeping them whole.

In a small bowl that has the width (or greater) of the length of the bread slices, whisk together the egg whites, cream, salt, and pepper.

Over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Soak both sides of each piece of bread in the egg white mixture so that both faces’ areas are covered, and place in the saucepan.

Let the bread sit over the head for 1 minute, or until slightly browned, before flipping. Once you rotate the bread, delicately pull apart the center of each slice to create a small nest. Fill each nest with the reserved whole egg yolks, one for each bread.

Pour any remaining egg white mixture in the nests as well, equally distributing it among the two. Don’t worry about the egg whites leaking outside of the nests. Embrace the rustic look!

Immediately transfer the entire saucepan into the oven. Broil on high until the egg yolk cooks to your liking – approximately 2 minutes.

Remove from oven and present the dish in the center of the breakfast table while the toast is still in the saucepan. However, not before drizzling with honey and garnishing with mint.

Enjoy!

There is nothing quite like flipping through the pages of grandmother’s faded cookbooks in all their imperfect glory — the worn edges, the rampant sauce stains and the cluttered pencil marks. With their casseroles, ham dishes and affinity for elaborate presentation, the Betty Crockers and the Joy of Cookings provide a glimpse of food before it all became so much more complicated. At EcoSalon, we love good vintage inspiration, even when it comes to food. Welcome to Vintage Revamp, where we take old and classic recipes and refresh them with a modern-day twist.

Image: JBCurio, Aylin Erman

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post Vintage Recipe Revamp: Egg Nests With Fresh Mint and Honey appeared first on EcoSalon.

Who needs a small bag when you’ve got a pantry?

The most potent and effective remedies are often the natural ones already hanging out in the pantry. Aside from the remedy-specific nature of the following 10 homemade teas, one of the most exciting thing about them is that they don’t require a tea bag! Your spice cabinet, fresh ginger root, some green herbs, a few fruits and vegetables, and honey are all that stand between you and an elixir to treating a pesky ailment – 10 of them, to be more exact.

To put together the following recipes, make sure to mix them until evenly combined and let the teas involving herbs or fruit to steep for several minutes before drinking. Sweeten as you see fit and enjoy!

Morning Liver Tonic

When you wake up in the morning, you’re body is in a very special place. The reason we are usually instructed to take supplements in the morning is because our stomachs are empty and there is little to interfere with said supplements’ potency. This morning tea pulls you out on the right side of the bed, giving a morning cleansing body flush. The lemon juice is highly alkaline and turmeric is known for its detoxifying properties.

Turmeric dates back 2,500 years in India, where it is commonly used in Ayurvedic and Unani medicine. Turmeric packs a lot of health benefits, but for our purposes it should be regarded as a liver cleanser, antiseptic and antibacterial agent. But it doesn’t hurt that the spice lowers the risk of cancer, is anti-inflammatory and helps to lose weight. Turmeric additionally treats Alzheimer’s, depression and arthritis.

You can sweeten with honey to balance the earthiness of the tea.

The Formula:

• 8 ounces hot water
• 1/8 teaspoon turmeric
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

Deep Sleep Tea

Wind down at the end of the day with a tea that promotes a deep, comfortable sleep. Chamomile is a great stress reliever and has a calming effect on the body. It has been used for thousands of years to help people around the world get some shut eye, and a Japanese study put some legitimacy behind this widespread observation when it noticed that rats fed chamomile fell asleep just as quickly as those given a tranquilizer. Ginger is anti-inflammatory and helps to clear mucous from your passageways, allowing for more effective breathing and hence a more pleasant sleep.

The Formula:

• 8 ounces hot water
• Dried chamomile flowers to fill one sachet
• 1/2-inch nob of fresh ginger, crushed

Detox Elixir

Holding a bit more weight than you’d like? Cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and lemon join forces to rev up your metabolism and get your body back in shape. Cayenne pepper warms the body, speeding metabolism and burning more calories. Cinnamon reduces blood sugar and LDL (bad) cholesterol as well as boosts metabolism and increases insulin levels. Lemon packs some flavor and added cleansing power.

The Formula:

• 8 ounces hot water
• 2 dashes cayenne pepper
• 1 cinnamon stick (or 2 dashes cinnamon powder)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

Immune Booster Tea

Oranges are packed with vitamin C, a known antioxidant that may help protect your body from cell damage and boost resilience from disease and illness. Cinnamon and honey both have antiseptic, antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal properties, which means they are effective in warding off infections. Mint not only brings a fresh aroma, but it’s a leafy green that carries with it antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that keep you healthy.

The Formula:

• 8 ounces hot water
• Juice of 1/2 orange
• 1 cinnamon stick (or 2 dashes cinnamon powder)
• 1 teaspoon high-quality (raw) honey
• 4-5 mint leaves, muddled

Beautiful Skin Tea

This may seem like an unlikely concoction, but it’s actually quite delightful! Carrot juice is packed with beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A, an essential part of skin health. Sage inhibits the growth of bacteria and has anti-inflammatory properties. Cayenne contains vitamins A and C, which help to absorb free radicals that break down your skin’s collagen.

Warm this recipe, without bringing it to a simmer. You want to retain the carrot juice’s potency.  Let the leaves sit in the juice for a bit before drinking so that their flavors become infused into the tea.

The Formula:

• 8 ounces warmed carrot juice
• 2 sage leaves
• Dash of cayenne

Brain Power Formula

Blueberries contain anthocyanins and flavanols, which are able to cross the blood-brain barrier. These antioxidants rid the brain of free radicals, which can otherwise lead to oxidation, memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease. Ginger is commonly used to stave off migraines and basil naturally reduces tension and fatigue in the brain and mind.

The Formula:

• 8 ounces hot water
• 1/2-inch nob fresh ginger, crushed
• 1 tablespoon fresh blueberries, muddled
• 3-4 leaves fresh basil, muddled

Regularity Tonic

This tonic is geared towards those of you with difficulty digesting. The taste of this tea is very comforting and earthy. The pear and apple slices bring pectin to the mix, and pectin acts as soluble dietary fiber in humans. It helps promote healthy digestion, prevents diarrhea and constipation, and reduces the risk of colon and gastrointestinal tract cancers. Purple grapes contain quercetin, a plant pigment that contributes to healthy digestion, while cinnamon warms and stimulates metabolism.

The Formula:

• 8 ounces hot water
• 2 small slices of pear
• 2 small slices of apple
• 4-5 purple grapes, muddled
• Dash of cinnamon

Lady’s Tonic

For that time of month, this raspberry ginger tonic is just what the doctor ordered. Raspberries are a uterine tonic, relaxing and toning the uterine muscles as needed. The fruit is also beneficial during pregnancy, easing morning sickness, stabilizing digestion, and soothing the pelvic area. According to a 2009 study, women who take a dosage of ginger for three days from day one of their period witnesses the same pain relief as those who treated their menstrual cramps with ibuprofen.

The Formula:

• 8 ounces hot water
• 6-8 raspberries, muddled
• 1/4-inch fresh ginger

Aches and Pains Relieving Tea

Feeling sore as the Winter nears? Be ready to combat the worsening of your symptoms with a tea that cleanses your joints and puts them at ease. Cayenne pepper contains capsaicin, a compound that makes cayenne spicy. It lowers the levels of a chemical that relays pain signals to your brain. Fresh ginger and cardamom have both long been used in Ayurvedic medicine to reduce joint pain and inflammation.

The Formula:

• 8 ounces hot water
• Dash of cayenne
• 4-5 cardamom pods, crushed
• 1/2-inch fresh ginger, muddled

Nausea-Be-Gone Tonic

This recipe uses the soothing and potent effects of basil and honey to rid you of stomach pains, nausea, and vomiting symptoms. It is refreshing just as much as it is energizing, which will help to reverse your symptoms and keep you alert and feeling good.

The Formula:

• 8 ounces hot water
• 3-4 basil leaves, muddled
• 1 teaspoon of high-quality (raw) honey

Images: Aylin Erman, Steven Jackson, Leszet Lezsczynski, Cthoyes, Jennuine Captures, CLC Photography, Simply Bike, Clyde Robinson, Kodamakitty, Michael Newman, Cinnamon Cooper

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post 10 Healthy Tea Elixirs You Can Make Yourself appeared first on EcoSalon.

Start the day with a heart-healthy and digestion-friendly snack!

As the fig season is coming to a near end, I’m trying to get the most of my favorite fruit while it lasts. Lately, mornings have involved a makeshift Greek yogurt concoction, with figs, walnuts, and honey. It’s a light, fiber and protein-packed way to start the day.

Figs are a mainstay in the Mediterranean diet and are exceptionally beneficial. They are an excellent source of heart-healthy minerals potassium, magnesium, and calcium, effectively reduce blood pressure, and help to improve your digestive system and regularity. Dried figs concentrate more nutrition in a single serving, but fresh figs are lighter and water-rich.

Fresh Fig Greek Yogurt

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 large fig
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
• 1 teaspoon honey

Directions:

Cut off the pointed top of the fig. Place it upright on a plate with the sliced tip at the top. Slice the fig in half, without cutting through the bottom. Leave a little space intact so that the fig will hold together as one piece. Slice across the fig again, perpendicular to the previous cut.

Slightly pull open the edges of the fig so that it resembles a cup-like shape.

Fill the center with yogurt.

Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

And drizzle with honey.

Serve and enjoy!

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post Recipe: Fresh Fig Greek Yogurt appeared first on EcoSalon.

This cheesecake not only takes a vegan twist but lands itself in a cup.

It would be too good to be true if one of our most beloved desserts loved us back, but cheesecake fails to follow through. It’s a dessert that tastes phenomenal but is enjoyed rarely because of its heaviness and calorie concentration. Luckily, there are ways to make cheesecake lighter and healthier. This raw strawberry cheesecake recipe keeps the traditional cheesecake textures in check, but raises the bar on nutritional benefit.

The Cheesecake Factory’s Fresh Strawberry Cheesecake has 733 calories, 29 grams of saturated fat, 425 milligrams of sodium and 66 grams of carbohydrates in each slice. If these stats weren’t cringe-worthy enough, add a few other flavors, and the calorie count goes through the roof. A slice of the chain’s Adam’s Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple Cheesecake bears a whopping 1,326 calories, 20 grams of saturated fat, 700 milligrams of sodium, and 136 grams of carbohydrates – this dessert alone practically satisfies an entire day’s worth of caloric intake!

When you make your own homemade cheesecake using the traditional ingredients of cream cheese, eggs, and sugar, the nutritional information ranges, but can be relatively more redeeming if the portion size is kept in check. Still, the use of heavy, hard-to-digest cream cheese, fatty eggs, and empty-calorie sugar are in the ingredient list and aren’t doing your body or your health many favors.

This recipe is a raw version of cheesecake, no cooking needed! There is no sugar, no dairy, and no eggs. The recipe retains its richness with the use of nuts as the base, but because the cheesecake is served in “mini” cups, you can keep your portion control in check while still getting the definitive, dense dessert that cheesecake is all about.

Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

• 1.5 cups walnuts
• 1 ½ cups raisins
• Dash of sea salt

For the Filling:

• 2 cups cashews, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup honey (or maple syrup or agave nectar)
• Dash of sea salt

Directions:

For the filling, soak cashew overnight in room temperature water. This is an important step. Soaking helps to remove the enzyme inhibitors that the cashews carry to prevent them from sprouting in nature. Birds are too small to deal with the effects of live enzymes in their tiny bellies, so the inhibitors are ideal for them, but not so much for humans. Getting rid of the enzyme inhibitors through soaking helps us to more easily digest nuts. All nuts have to be soaked to get rid of these enzyme inhibitors, save for pistachios and walnuts.

For the crust, food process the raisins and walnuts until the mixture resembles chunky crumbs.

Press the crust mixture against the bottom and sides of small glass ramekins or muffin tins.

Drain and rinse the soaked cashews before use. Combine all the filling ingredients in a food processor and mix until smooth. This may take a few minutes. Be patient – it’ll come together.

Fill each walnut crusted ramekin with a generous tablespoon of the cashew cheesecake mixture.

Set in the refrigerator to help firm or to store for later. You can also eat them right away. Garnish with fresh strawberries before serving.

Bon Appetit!

Images: Zingy Yellow, Aylin Erman

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post Nutritional Breakdown: Vegan Cheesecake (In a Cup) appeared first on EcoSalon.

Revamping American classics.

This recipe is taking you back to the early 1950s, a November 1952 advertisement in Woman’s Day to be exact. The ad glorifies Del Monte peaches by providing readers with a recipe for Peach Kringle, which is essentially canned peach slices baked into cinnamon and sugar-coated biscuits. I’m not going to argue with that combo – it sounds delicious! My challenge in making this recipe modern is to give it a healthier twist.

Canned peaches are peaches sliced and poached in sugar water. One cup of it is nearly 200 calories, near 40 grams of sugar and under 5 grams of fiber. In order to enjoy this for breakfast, it’d be nice to up the ante on fiber and keep the sugar coming exclusively from the peach itself, not from add-ins.

This 2012 version of the Del Monte classic addresses all of these concerns. Using simple and makeshift whole-wheat biscuits and fresh, unadulterated peaches, this Peach Kringle deserves an ad of its own for both its taste and sight. Enjoy!

Peach Kringle

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter, chilled
• 3/4 cup almond, rice, or soy milk + 1/4 cup
• 2 large peaches
• Drizzle of honey (optional)
• Dash of cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine the whole-wheat flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until evenly combined. Add the butter, breaking it up with a fork or your fingers with the flour. Pour in the milk and use your hands to form a ball.

Break the dough into 6 pieces. Roll them into biscuit-sized balls and place them equal distance apart in a glass baking dish. Core and slice the peaches into wedges. Disperse them throughout the baking dish and in the crevices between the dough balls. Pour about 1/4 cup of milk into the bottom of the pan – I find that this helps keep the biscuits most while cooking and steams the peaches.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the biscuits brown. Drizzle with honey and give it a dash of cinnamon. Serve warm.

Enjoy!

There is nothing quite like flipping through the pages of grandmother’s faded cookbooks in all their imperfect glory — the worn edges, the rampant sauce stains and the cluttered pencil marks. With their casseroles, ham dishes and affinity for elaborate presentation, the Betty Crockers and the Joy of Cookings provide a glimpse of food before it all became so much more complicated. At EcoSalon, we love good vintage inspiration, even when it comes to food. Welcome to Vintage Revamp, where we take old and classic recipes and refresh them with a modern-day twist.

Images: JB Curio, Aylin Erman

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post Vintage Recipe Revamp: Del Monte’s Peach Kringle appeared first on EcoSalon.

Bringing new meaning to the term “granola girl.”

Food tip of the week: never buy granola ever again. It’s one of the easiest things to make yourself, and because it stores well, you can make up a big batch and have enough for many breakfasts to come.

The other great thing about granola? Once you have your base recipe of oats and a coating to make the granola crispy and sweet when you bake it, you can add pretty much anything you want. Chia seeds? Sure. Pepitas? Delicious. Figs? Certainly not an ingredient to ever go without.

If you want a breakfast that’s heartier, add more nuts, and if you’re in need of something sweeter, add some extra dried fruit.

Basic Coconut Granola

Ingredients:

• 3 cups old-fashioned oats
• 3/4 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• About 1 cup dried fruit of your choice (raisins, blueberries, cherries… get creative)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325F.

Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl.

In a saucepan, melt coconut oil and honey and whisk together. Pour over dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly coated.

Spread out evenly on a baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes, stirring mixture every 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool before putting in an airtight container for storage.

Want more food inspiration? Check out the rest of our Sunday Recipe series.

The post Sunday Recipe: How to Make Your Own Granola appeared first on EcoSalon.