Most dogs have a lot of toys, but they always have one that they deem “the best friend.” For example, one of my dog’s best friend’s is a very squeaky jack-o-lantern. The cute dog in video below has a best friend, too—it’s a moose.

However, this dog drops his friend like a hot potato once something more enticing arrives on the scene: pizza.

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The post Cute Dog Trades in Best Friend for Pizza [Video] appeared first on EcoSalon.

A round-up of what we’re reading right now.

The Koch Brothers have spent a lot of money to convince the American people that the Keystone XL pipeline is a safe idea. Too bad their own pipeline didn’t get the message: An eight-inch pipeline owned by the Kochs burst on Wednesday, spilling 17,00 gallons of crude oil in Texas. [Via Think Progress]

It’s hard to stick with your diet while eating out. This handy guide shows how to choose the healthiest pizza on the menu. [Via WellandGoodNYC]

Sriracha is a staple condiment among foodies and spice-lovers alike. Unforunately, neighbors say the Sriracha factory in California smells bad, and are trying to shut it down. [Via Smithsonian Mag]

Got wrinkles? Cellulite? Too much junk in the trunk? Find out why it’s high time we stopped complaining and learned to love the bodies we’re in. [Via Mamamia]

The Boston Red Sox are leading the World Series, and fans couldn’t be more thrilled. Too bad climate change means the much-loved Fenway Park could soon be under water. [Via National Wildlife Federation]

Image: Cookbookman

The post Link Love: Stupid Body Issues and Hot Sauce Scandals appeared first on EcoSalon.

This winter, try your hand at a different kind of homemade pizza. Add some seasonal vegetables to the mix and you’ll bring more excitement and diverse flavors to pizza night. This sweet potato and leek pizza recipe is just one way you can mix it up. Enjoy!

The stars of this pizza recipe are the leeks and sweet potatoes. As spring approaches, I’m trying to get the most out of my sweet potato kick and one of the ways I like to do that is to pair it with unlikely vegetables, such as leeks, and in unique ways, such as in a pizza. This recipe makes me appreciate the sweet potato — and pizza! — in an entirely different way.

Leeks reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol and are helpful in fighting certain cancers, such as colon and prostate cancer, with their carcinogen-fighting quercetin content. They also contain protective antioxidants, inlcuding the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, which help to prevent aging, lower high blood pressure, cleanse the blood, and heal wounds.

The sweet potato also offers incredible health benefits. It is packed with vitamins B6, C and D, contributing to healthy bones and nerves, clear skin and strong teeth. The sweet potato is also helpful in reducing stress and boosting the immune system. It is the better alternative to a white potato because it has sugars that are slowly released into the bloodstream and thus won’t cause sugar spikes. Like leeks, the sweet potato also wards off cancer.

Sweet Potato & Leek Winter Pizza

Makes one 10-inch pie

Ingredients

• 1 10-inch pizza crust (preferably whole-wheat)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (for brushing the crust)
• 2 leeks
• 1 medium white onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, stemmed and halved
• 1 sweet potato (baked at 400 degrees F for 40 minutes)
• 1 teaspoon chives, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Brush both sides of the crust with olive oil and place on a baking dish.

Spread the sweet potato over the crust so that it is evenly distributed.

Top the sweet potato with the leeks, onions, cherry tomatoes and chives.

Bake in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10-12 minutes, or until the crust browns slightly and the tomatoes cook to a withered look. Serve and enjoy!

Photo Credit: GlowKitchen

The post Winter Ingredient Twist: Sweet Potato and Leek Pizza Recipe appeared first on EcoSalon.

Slice the calories, fat, and sodium with a cauliflower-based alternative

Pizza very well may be the world’s favorite food, but it can really bust your diet. The more mainstream it has become, the further it has diverged from the use of authentic, high-quality ingredients as well as the larger the serving sizes have become – the bread is thicker, the number of toppings defy the point of the dish, and the amount of cheese is greater.

But one thing that has never changed is its difficulty to digest. The pairing of protein and starch, from the cheese and bread respectively, is a classic train-wreck in the stomach. Protein requires an acidic environment for stomach enzymes to digest it and the addition of starch weakens the mix, making it exhausting for your body to process a slice. This is why you may experience extra bloat on pizza night and feel tired quickly. Not to say you shouldn’t enjoy the traditional combination when you crave it, but whenever you’re looking to tighten those abs or avoid the sluggish feeling, keep this knowledge in mind!

This is even before we get to pizza’s nutritional stats. Using Pizza Hut as an example, in a 12-inch medium size pizza, one slice bears 240 calories, 10 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 530 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, and only 1 milligram of dietary fiber. And, let’s get real, who ever stops at just one slice? Double, triple, or quadruple those numbers and you’ll realize just how much saturated fat, sodium, and empty carbohydrates you are consuming in just one sitting. Regular consumption of pizza can lead to raised blood pressure, weight gain, an increase in blood-sugar levels, and cardiovascular diseases.

To avoid the hard-to-digest starch and protein combination and reduce the sodium, fat, and empty carbohydrate levels, I created a recipe that uses cauliflower as the base. Cauliflower has a natural cheesy aroma when cooked, so you can omit cheese altogether without missing out of the flavor. Full-fat yogurt holds together the cauliflower crust, and the “icing” on these mini pizza cupcakes is made up of a simple cooked cherry tomato sauce. Enjoy!

Mini Cauliflower Pizzas

Makes 12 servings

Ingredients:

For the Crust

• 1 head cauliflower, grated in food processor
• 2 egg whites
• 1 cup full-fat yogurt
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

For the Marinara

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Dash of salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

For the crust, pulse the florets of one head of cauliflower in the food processor until rice like. Cook in a saucepan over medium heat with 1/2 cup water. Cover saucepan with a lid and let steam for 5 minutes, mixing every minute or so to make sure the cauliflower does not brown. This step softens the cauliflower. Once softened, remove from heat and let cool in a large bowl before adding the wet ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whisk the yogurt, egg whites, basil, oregano, salt and garlic powder together. Pour the wet mixture into the cooled cauliflower mixture. Fold until thoroughly combined.

Scoop the cauliflower crust mixture into muffin cups that have been greased with coconut oil. Pack them in firmly until they reach the top of the tin. Flatten the top. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the tops have browned lightly and the edges begin to pull away from the tin.

While the pizzas bake, prepare the cherry tomato marinara sauce. Stem and slice in half 1 cup of tomatoes. In a saucepan over medium heat, sauté the tomatoes in 1 teaspoon of coconut oil with 1 diced garlic glove, 1 teaspoon oregano, and a dash of salt and pepper. Cook until the tomatoes have broken down.

One cooled, line the edges of the cauliflower crusts with a knife and remove each carefully.

Top each cauliflower crust pizza with a spoonful of the cherry tomato marina.

Photo Credit: Kohtzy, GlowKitchen

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

The post Nutritional Breakdown: Pizza’s Healthier Half Takes Center Stage appeared first on EcoSalon.

Taking an odd ingredient and finding even more unusual uses for it.

It’s not so much that the following uses are particularly unusual, but rather that nutritional yeast itself is an odd ingredient. It’s gaining popularity among foodies for its cheesy taste and nutritional benefits, but it still has a way to go in terms of becoming the pantry staple it’s meant to be. Nutritional yeast (nooch) is one of the only non-animal sources of vitamin B-12. It only takes 1/2-1 tbsp of nutritional yeast to get the daily requirement for B-12. Nutritional yeast is also an excellent source of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, chromium, selenium, and other minerals as well as 18 amino acids, protein, folic acid, biotin, and other vitamins.

And don’t worry about the yeast fermenting in your gut. It’s deactivated, so it will not give you the bloat. This is what distinguishes it from Brewer’s Yeast, which has not been deactivated.

Pop Corn

As if popcorn couldn’t get any more addicting, nooch had to get involved. Sprinkle the powder along with a drizzle olive oil and a dash of sea salt onto popcorn just popped for a cheesy touch. Add other spices, such as garlic powder, dried thyme or dried rosemary for an even more gourmet experience.

Pizza

Skip cheese and sprinkle a light layer of nutritional yeast onto pizza just after it leaves the oven. Cheese is hard to digest, especially when cooked, but that doesn’t mean you have to cede the taste completely. If you top a pizza with diverse textures and flavors, such as a robust marinara sauce, roasted vegetables and nutritional yeast, the cheese component is unnecessary.

Vegan Cheese Sauce

The food blog world is bursting with vegan “cheese” recipes – some simple, some elaborate – with nutritional yeast as the key ingredient. Check out Angela’s Low-Fat Vegan Cheeze Sauce on her blog Oh She Glows for a 5-ingredient approach. Head over to Epicurian Vegan for a heartier vegan cheese sauce that gets some extra bulk from cashews.

Bread Crumbs

Replace bread crumbs with nutritional yeast in any mixture requiring holding power. This cuts down on the carbs and adds an extra bite. Try using nutritional yeast to hold together veggie burgers or any other patty that would normally require bread crumbs.

Kale Chips

There’s nothing wrong with the standard kale chip recipe. But, nutritional yeast takes kale chips to a whole new level – a level that merits obsession and daily consumption. Try your hand at the Spicy & Cheesy Kale Chips presented by the blog Eating Bird Food.

Macaroni & Cheese

We’ve already given macaroni and cheese a serious makeover, and nutritional yeast was an crucial player in this feat. Not only is this recipe vegan, but thanks to nooch, it offers cheesy comfort to a creamy, sweet potato base.

Pasta

Skip the grated parmesan and sprinkle nutritional yeast atop warm pasta along with some garlic powder and a drizzle of olive oil. The combination of flavors makes for a dish that doesn’t miss a thing.

Mashed Potatoes

Stir nooch into mashed potatoes, not only saving calories by nixing cheese but also cutting down on the sodium. Indeed, mashed potatoes can be healthy.

Bean Dip

Emily Malone of the blog Daily Garnish makes a fabulous bean dip using nutritional yeast. If serving this at a party, no one would even be able to tell its vegan.

Roasted Vegetables

One of my favorite go-to meals is roasted vegetables topped with shredded cheese. On days I’d like to skip the cheese and opt for a healthier alternative, I stir nutritional yeast into the finished vegetables instead. When warmed by the vegetables, the yeast smoothens out and creates a creamy sauce with help from the vegetable juices and oils.

Roasted Nuts

Roast nuts that have been tossed in some nutritional yeast. The roasted flavor will be augmented and the nuts will have a slightly cheesy coating on the skin.

Onion Rings

Nutritional yeast has been showing up in onion ring recipes, and for good reason. It helps to increase the nutritional benefit of onion ring batter and adds an edge to each bite. Make the baked fat-free onion rings featured on vegan blog My Whole Deal.

Sauce Thickener

Much like flour and butter are used to thicken a sauce, nutritional yeast can replace the flour to do the same thing.

Gravy

Keeping your health on track during the holidays is all about cutting corners in small ways. Nutritional yeast can redefine gravy. Bring this simple recipe to the table and the cheer will only heighten.

Salad Dressing

Sneak in your B12 quota is by adding a tablespoon of nutritional yeast to a homemade salad dressing like the Hollyhock Salad Dressing, which you can find on A Passionate Plate blog.

French Fries

Want some added nutrition, crisp, and kick to a homemade version of baked French fries? Drizzle olive oil over cut root vegetables and then toss them in a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast. The flavor is out of this world.

Creamy Cooked Greens

Cooked spinach pairs well with cream and cheese, but you can replace those heavier add-ins with a tablespoon or two of nutritional yeast and then watch as the bare spinach suddenly becomes decadently creamy and bold in flavor.

Vegan Quiche

Experiment with this No-Soy Vegan Quiche recipe from blog Triumph Wellness. It’s the perfect example of where just a little bit of nooch makes a big difference.

Dog Food

Dogs need their vitamin B12 too, especially if your dog is on a plant-based diet. Mix some nutritional yeast in your furry friend’s nibbles and he or she will benefit in a major way.

Baby Formula

If a baby is using formula in place of breast feeding, it is recommended to add nutritional yeast to the infant formula.  Nutritional yeast provides B12, iron and folic acid, which are essential to growth.

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

Photo Credit: Artizone, Acquired Life

The post 20 Unusual Ways to Use Nutritional Yeast appeared first on EcoSalon.

Rethinking breakfast, one egg at a time.

Pizza for breakfast. We’ve all been there, but this time it doesn’t involve you shamelessly munching on the cold leftovers from last night’s dinner. Instead, it’s a fried egg, cheese and tomatoes served over a whole-grain toasted bagel.

The whole-grain bagel provides you with the fiber your body craves in the a.m. and the protein-packed egg and cheese are sure to keep you fuller for longer, all the while offering the comfort of a flavor combination you know all too well. Sometimes a savory breakfast fits the bill and this recipe takes pizza and gives it a morning makeover.

Egg Sandwich Pizza

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• Dash of salt and pepper
• 1 whole-grain/whole-wheat bagel, toasted
• 1 thin slice of parmesan cheese
• 1 slice tomato
• 3-4 sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, pulled from stems

Directions:

In a saucepan over high heat, add the butter. When melted, crack open the egg into the saucepan and let cook. Pull in the edges of the egg white as it cooks and break open the yoke slightly with a spatula to help it cook through.

When the egg is cooked through, but still soft on top, season with salt and pepper and remove the saucepan from the stove and set aside.

Over a toasted sliced bagel half, begin to add the fillings – the fried egg, then the cheese, tomato slice, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh oregano.

Cover the sandwich with the other half of the bagel and slice along the middle before serving.

Bon Appetit!

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

The post Sunday Recipe: Egg Sandwich Pizza appeared first on EcoSalon.

“What’s good here?” I asked my friend as we sat down to a crowded and lively brewpub in San Francisco. “Fried brussel sprouts,” she responded. “Excuse me?” My eyebrows shot up and scrunched together as I looked around at this place that believed in white linen table clothes and handpicked, recycled wine bottles for water carafes. This wasn’t the swankiest of restaurants, but it certainly wasn’t a hole-in-the-wall. I opened the menu and sure enough, boasting a central position on the appetizer list were the culprits: fried brussel sprouts. [Note: they were delicious]

Comfort food used to mean eating things that made you feel great emotionally but were probably less beneficial for you physically. Nowadays however, options with a healthier root are taking over the scene, from chips to cocktails.

Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are all over the place, from fries to pancakes. Thanks to their nutritional value, they make an excellent alternative to recipes with regular potatoes, and foodies (myself included) just can’t get enough. Test them out at home with this recipe for Roasted Sweet Potato Fries from EcoSalon’s very own Heather Brubaker.

Kale Chips

I am new to the kale chip fad, but let me tell you, it’s definitely all it’s cracked up to be. Plus, they’re super simple to make and you feel like you’re getting a good dose of junk food; despite chowing down on plenty of vitamins and olive oil. Here’s a quick and easy recipe:

• Tuscan Kale, rinsed and dried. Cut the leaves lengthwise to remove the stems, which give a very bitter taste
• Olive oil
• Sea salt

Place the kale leaves in a boil and toss with olive oil so leaves are fully covered. Place on a baking pan and sprinkle with salt.

Bake at 250°F for about 30-35 minutes until the kale leaves are crispy.

Kombucha Cocktails

I’ve already extensively covered kombucha here on Foodie Underground (in fact, I’m so obsessed with the stuff I could probably write about it every week), but a recent underground trend with the funky drink is turning it into a mixed drink. Here’s a recipe for a Sparkling Mango Margarita that you can’t go wrong with.

• Flesh from 1 mango
• Juice from 1 orange
• 1/2 to 1″³ piece of fresh orange peel (don’t include any of the white pith)”¦ use the larger amount if you really like the orangey flavor of Triple Sec used in margaritas
• 1-1/2 cups dark tequila
• 1 cup or so Kombucha, any flavor (I had guava and ginger flavored on hand, but most any kind will work nicely)
• 2 cups ice

Blend all the ingredients except the kombucha in a blender. Mix in kombucha, serve and call yourself an underground cocktail master.

Pizza

Yes, you read correctly. Even mainstream foods are taking a healthy direction, including the staple of every college all-nighter. Just ask Naked Pizza, a New Orleans based operation that’s in the midst of turning into a national franchise. Attempting to bring health food to the masses, the founders figured there was no better way than with a food that most of us have a hard time giving up, so they consulted biologists and food technologists to come up with the healthiest pie around. Their crusts are made with 12 whole grains, they’ve even got some probiotics, and the ultimate goal is to get people talking about food by using “this pizza to have a larger conversation with you about the food supply,” founder Jeff Leach told the New York Times. Viva la health food revolution.

Do you have a favorite pop up restaurant in your town? Tell us about it! Either in the comments below, or by using #FoodieUnderground on Twitter.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground. Each week, Anna will be taking a look at something new and different that’s taking place in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to culinary avant garde.

Image: elena’s pantry

The post Foodie Underground: When Healthy Food Is Hot appeared first on EcoSalon.

Mmmm. CANDY! Just smell the bowl full of those darling, little bars of CANDY. Just look at those chewy bites of CANDY!

Now, walk away. That’s right. Walk away and no one will get hurt.

Halloween is really one of the hardest nights to stay disciplined, to focus on staying healthy and stick to your local, organic fare and not endorse one night a year when it’s okay for kids to rot their teeth and poison their bodies with sugar and trans fats.

We get hundreds of visitors to our suburban-esque San Francisco hood and once the bell starts ringing, it tends to get frenetic. You can’t spend the evening just bobbing for organic apples but you can make some changes in your holiday routine.

Here are some good tips for staying focused for a  healthier Halloween:

1. Plan ahead pumpkin head!

Eat a really big, healthy dinner around 5 p.m. Give your kids a good dinner, too. Usually they’re too excited to eat, so just threaten them: No green stuff, no brown stuff. Growing up, we always had chili dogs on Halloween, but no one will eat that anymore. A veggie pizza is yummy and filling, and toss a massive salad for yourself and your friends. And don’t forget, many good foods stem from the pumpkins you carve, i.e. delicious and beneficial dried seeds, soups and desserts. Pumpkin is one of the super foods!

2. Pluck fruits of the vine, Frankenstein

Here’s something novel. Buy healthy treats to give away so if you have a few it won’t hurt: Organic fruit snacks, like the new ones from Amy’s,  Fair Trade organic dark chocolate squares, Z-bars. Don’t get carried away and give out toothbrushes, though. Everybody hates neighbors who give out toothbrushes. They deserve to get tee-peed.

3. Keep a Healthy Stash, Monster Mash

Keep a healthy, beat-the-blues treat aside for yourself, such as an organic dark chocolate bar, a bowl of fresh fruit or popcorn. I don’t know who made up the rule that giving away candy means you can’t snack on healthy treats throughout the night. Popcorn is high in fiber and I like to season mine with a bit of Cayenne pepper. Look out!

4. Slurp to your heart’s desire, thirsty vampire

Drink tons of water all night (from your reusable bottle, of course). Keep a water bottle by the front door, and keep sipping. Staying hydrated is a surefire way to keep up your energy throughout this high energy night, and to keep yourself from eating unhealthy foods that will just make you feel lousy in the morning  – you know, that Halloween hangover.

5. Sit on the porch and stay present

This is a great night to interact with neighbors, neighbors we are usually isolated from during the busy work week. Pull up a chair on the front steps with your bowl of healthy giveaways and haunt your old friends. It’s good for the spirit!

Top image: Doug88888

Image One: Organic Authority

The post Halloween Hangover? 5 Tips to Avoid the Scary Stuff and Stay Healthy appeared first on EcoSalon.