Oh, Yoplait. Don’t you know that moms have names and do care about what their kids eat? Especially when sugary yogurt is involved? I mean, this commercial has some good points… but yeesh.

Related on EcoSalon
Sugar-Free Homemade Vegan Yogurt Recipe with Chia Seeds
4-Ingredient Vegan Frozen Yogurt Recipe
Goat Milk Yogurt Ranch Dressing Recipe

The post Is This the Most Annoying Yogurt Commercial Ever? appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnForget the trendy foods, we need all the boring real foods back in our lives.

Pro tip: if you want to eat well you do not need to buy all of the trendy health foods at the store. Sparkly probiotic drinks, omega 3-antioxidant infused vegan ice creams, supercharged gluten-free miracle cookies? You need none of it. You need real food. The boring stuff. The stuff that doesn’t have a marketing campaign behind it, or its own blog or Twitter feed.

We’ve come to a day and age where food trends win out over real foods, even in the health food department, and in turn we put some foods on a pedestal and forget a whole lot of other ones. That’s a shame, because there’s a lot of good food out there. A lot of good real food that’s easy to prepare and good for the budget.

I keep thinking of my friend Amy and her tried and true cookbook “Ecological Cooking” that has been on her shelf for years. With recipes like Carrot Rice Loaf, you could say that the book is the definition of simple, budget-friendly foods that are sort of boring and unfashionable.

But that’s exactly what we need.

We do not need the new cupcake. We need a resurrection of the foods that are good for us, and easy to cook. And not all of them are sexy, or cool or trendy. That’s ok. Eat them anyway.

1. Beans

Black beans, pinto beans, navy beans; who cares as long as you are eating legumes. Ok, so black beans are sort of popular because of tacos, but for the most part beans are definitely in the boring real food category. But white beans make for an easy dip, and you can in fact make brownies out of black beans.

2. Buckwheat

No, it’s not a grain, buckwheat is actually a seed, which means that it’s gluten-free. You can use it to make hot cereals and you can grind buckwheat down into a flour, that’s got an earthy, nutty flavor to it, perfect for dense breads.

3. Cabbage

Kale is hot, cabbage is not. Which is weird considering they are in the same damn family. Ferment it, grate it, cook it, steam it, use it to wrap things. Become the cabbage lover you always wanted to be.

4. Flaxseeds

Embrace the flaxseeds. Love the flaxseeds. Grind them up and add a little warm water and you get a vegan egg replacement. Grind up even more and you can use flaxseed meal as a replacement for flour. Who knew seeds could be so versatile?

5. Millet

Most people equate millet with birdseed, but it’s actually a very nutritious grain that’s drought tolerant and can compete with the best of the trendy grains, like quinoa. You can even pop it like popcorn. Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks even uses raw millet thrown into a muffin recipe to add a little extra crunch. I can get behind that.

6. Oats

Oatmeal is not the sexiest of breakfasts. Unless of course you make a savory one with pesto and put a poached egg on top. But while oats are on the bottom of the list of exciting grains, they deserve some respect. You can grind oats into flour, and even make milk out of them. And who doesn’t love a good berry oat crumble or a classic oatmeal cookie?

7. Sprouts

I grew up with sandwiches that had sprouts hanging out the edges. I was of course slightly embarrassed, but ate them anyway. And thank god my mother fed me sprouts, they’re healthy and easy to make at home. Lentils, chickpeas, alfalfa, mung beans – they can all be turned into sprouts, and to do so it’s as easy as growing them in a jar. How much simpler does it get?

8. Turnips

Of all the root vegetables, I think turnips don’t get a whole lot of love. Maybe simply because we don’t know what to do with them. But it has been used for human consumption since prehistoric times, so it has to have something going for it. You can roast them, and you can even sauté up the greens, which makes for whole vegetable cooking. Or you can turn it into a soup or a creative mash.

9. Yogurt

No, not the cute packaged version that’s full of “fruit.” (Hint: it’s not fruit, it’s sugar.) I mean good old plain yogurt. It’s a fermented food, so it’s full of probiotics. You can cook with it. You can make sauces out of it. You can eat it with homemade granola.

10. Water

Yes, water. Not coconut water. Not an overly priced raw juice. Just water. From the tap. Into your reusable bottle. It’s free and nutritious!

Now, with our boring pantries stocked, let’s start the real food revolution.

Related on EcoSalon

11 Ingredients That Make Healthy Food Fun: Foodie Underground

10 Essential Items for a Vegan Pantry

Bygone Food Trends: What if We Ate Like it Was 1994?

59 Unfortunate Nicknames

This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’ weekly column at EcoSalon: Foodie Underground, an exploration of what’s new and different in the underground movement, and how we make the topic of good food more accessible to everyone. More musings on the topic can be found at www.foodieunderground.com.

Image: Nick Saltmarsh

The post 10 Boring Real Foods That Should Be Trendy: Foodie Underground appeared first on EcoSalon.

Read on to discover why you should be more discerning about your yogurt choices and learn how to make your very own vegan yogurt in the comfort of your home.

Yogurt is widely considered a health food and a tool in facilitating weight loss. However, if we are being thoughtful about the yogurt we nab off grocery store shelves, we’d learn that yogurt, Greek-style yogurt included, is often over processed and full of preservatives, colorants, and other chemicals that do more harm than good.

Conventional milk used to make yogurt is hurting your health. First there’s the calcium myth, an invention of the food industry, that has led you to believe that strong bones are a direct result of milk consumption. Sure, in the short-term bones do get stronger; however, long term effects aren’t so peachy. Read: osteoporosis. In a Harvard-conducted study over 12 years, participants who drank milk three-times per day broke more bones than those who rarely drank milk. Dairy milk increases bone density, but it increases the risk of osteoporosis by eroding bone-making cells.

Meanwhile, there is all this talk about probiotics. Now, healthy bacteria is a natural byproduct of raw milk. Raw yogurt, however, is not something you can find in your regular grocery store, so the yogurt you are most likely eating has been pasteurized and processed to the point where any natural probiotics have been eradicated. So yogurt’s nutritional profile is lost through pasteurization.

And then there are reports of GMOs in yogurt, and GMOs, as we know, are detrimental to your health in more ways than one.

So, instead of eating yogurt that, after being homogenized, pasteurized and processed is virtually devoid of natural nutrition, make your own vegan yogurt instead.

Homemade Vegan Yogurt

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups raw almonds
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 3 cups spring or distilled water
• Dash of salt
• 1 probiotic capsule
• 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon chia seeds

Directions

Soak almonds and seeds in water overnight. The next day, drain and rinse the almonds and seeds and place them into a blender along with the water and salt. Blend until broken down and smooth. Use a cheese cloth to separate the fibers from the liquid, reserving the liquid in a bowl. Open the probiotic capsule and stir the powder into the nut “milk” with a wooden or plastic spoon (not metal).

Cover the bowl with a cloth and place in a dark, warm area in the house. Let it sit for at least 24 hours. When you remove the cloth, give the mixture a stir and taste it. You want it to be sour. If it isn’t sour yet, let it sit longer. Once ready, stir in chia seeds and continue to stir until they grow in size. Let them assimilate for 30 minutes, stir, and then transfer to the fridge to cool and thicken more.

Related on EcoSalon

Chobani Greek Yogurt: Naturally Healthy or Not? Behind the Label

Recipe: Fresh Fig Greek Yogurt

Braised Chickpeas and Carrots with Yogurt Topping

Image: floridecires

The post Sugar-Free Homemade Vegan Yogurt Recipe with Chia Seeds appeared first on EcoSalon.

Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that help balance your internal flora and maintain a healthy metabolism. The truth is, most of us could use more of them on a daily basis. You could take a pill, sure, but there are more delicious ways to ensure that you incorporate enough probiotics into your diet. Here are five of our favorite ways.

1. Kefir and Greek Yogurt
Yogurt and kefir are two of the most familiar source of probiotics. Both contain tons of good bacteria like acidophilus, lactobacillus or bifidobacteria that help balance your delicate internal flora. If you’re worried about dairy, there are studies that suggest that probiotics can help ease lactose intolerance. Any brand that lists “live and active cultures” among the ingredients is a good choice, but make sure it’s organic to avoid other potential side effects of dairy.

image: Omar de Armas

2. Kombucha
Arguably the hottest thing in the beverage industry right now (even Celestial Seasonings is making their version), kombucha is a form of fermented tea. It’s been used for centuries for various purposes, like increasing your energy levels and maintaining a healthy weight. The large amounts of healthy gut bacteria formed during the fermentation process are the key to kombucha’s health benefits. Always read the ingredients to make sure you are getting authentic kombucha, not a kombucha-flavored beverage. Or, best of all, try and make your own.

image: sarea

3. Sauerkraut and Kimchee
Long heralded in Europe for its health benefits, sauerkraut contains the probiotics leuconostoc, pediococcus and lactobacillus. The health benefits of this fermented cabbage is limited to the homemade or more artisanal varieties, as pasteurization (used to treat most supermarket sauerkraut) kills virtually all the helpful bacteria. The spicy Korean version of sauerkraut, kimchee, is equally loaded with probiotics, as well as vitamins that help ward off infections.

image: Quinn Dombrowski

4. Miso Soup
It’s time to look at miso soup as more than a sushi lunch accoutrement. This fermented soybean paste can really get your digestive system moving, as it contains hundreds or beneficial bacteria strains. In Japan, it’s often enjoyed as a breakfast food, perhaps to kickstart the metabolism.

image: Kathie Lapcevic

5. Pickles
Like most fermented foods, pickles contain lots of good probiotics. Look for naturally fermented varieties that were pickled without vinegar. A pure mix of sea salt and water makes a great pickle brine, that encourages the growth of beneficial bacteria.

When you’ve managed to fill your gut with beneficial probiotic strains, it’s important to keep them happy. Prebiotics feed the good bacteria that already live in your system and can be found in foods like asparagus, bananas, oatmeal, legumes, honey, maple syrup and red wine. Consider mixing foods rich in probiotics with those rich in prebiotics (red wine and pickles anyone?) to maximize your body’s ability to absorb them.

Top image: haley. s

The post 5 Delicious Ways to Get Your Probiotics 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.

Hummus and other foods as quintessential nut busters.

One thing we can all agree on is that for the most part, human existence is life in a grotesque series of soul-crushing indignities punctuated by intermittent, alternating bouts of boredom and suffering. All this yet you refuse to make things a little bit easier on yourself, instead insisting upon mediocrity at every turn.

With that, please stop eating protein bars; you’re going to die someday and that will be the end of you. Try to snatch a moment of pleasure in between the twin blacknesses of the cradle and the grave. You are a human being and the entire universe is an unending frozen scream; don’t make things harder than they already are. You can do better than this – you will do better. Keep some of the following precepts in mind and throw a wrench in the Machine.

Assuming you still have a job, and assuming said job takes place in an office building – please stop eating microwaveable oatmeal at your desk every morning. It’s hard enough watching someone make breakfast at the office, but the fact that it’s oatmeal somehow makes it worse. You already have to eat lunch here, you’re actually going to deprive yourself of the few moments of peace breakfast affords you by heating up a packet of oatmeal in a ceramic mug? You don’t even put it in a bowl! It’s the same mug you use for your coffee. I can see you giving up on joy before my very eyes.

Greek yogurt. Remember when everyone was still mad at yogurt for being bland and watery and marketed in a weirdly sexist fashion? Women rose up en masse and declared that nobody was going to confuse a picture of a slice of Boston Cream Pie with decadence.

But now yogurt is back, and that’s awful. Every company is selling their own version of Greek yogurt (it tastes the same, but thicker! Mmm) and touting the increased protein content. Did you know that no one ever in the history of anything has ever gotten enough protein? It’s true. If you are a woman, your mother has asked you this question at least once a week for the entirety of your adult life (“You know, I’ve been feeling kind of tired latel–” “ARE YOU EATING ENOUGH PROTEIN? I’M SENDING YOU A ROAST CHICKEN MADE OF STEAK EGGS AND TURKEY WRAPS!”). If you are a vegetarian or a vegan, it gets even worse. Complete strangers will dash across the street, flinging themselves at you, screaming, “But your protein, where do you get your protein from!”

Sorry, John Stamos, but I’m not buying it. Yogurt isn’t a naughty, sensual treat I get for being a woman and you have dead eyes.

Coconut water. You didn’t listen when I tried to warn you about kombucha, so I have no idea why I think you’ll listen now. All I’ll say is it’s utterly mystifying that you would shell out $4 for a Tetra-Pak of cloying and vapid coconut water when coconut milk is both cheaper and more delicious (you can put it in both coffee and curry; can you do that with your precious coconut water?). Fine; do what you want; it’s your life.

The discrepancy between hummus‘ perceived value and its actual value is staggering. It’s a bunch of chickpeas that have been mushed together with extruded, viscous sesame juice and oil to form a mucilaginous paste. “Oooh,” you protest, “it’s got little hunks of dried-out garlic mixed in, I must be having fun.”

You are already dead and in Hell, though you do not know it.

By rights it is no better than spinach and artichoke dip, and yet many people – people who, under ordinary circumstances, appear to possess a fully functioning sense of aesthetics – accord it the enthusiasm ordinarily reserved for V-E Day. Try this little experiment sometime: throw a party and tell half your guests you’ll be serving “dip” (no need to get specific). Watch them show moderate enthusiasm and say something along the lines of, “I’ll try to make it.”

Now for the other half of your guests – tell them they can expect homemade hummus. The men will start to weep unashamedly; the women will spontaneously turn into brightly colored songbirds. Everyone will lose their minds. It’s as if you promised them a personal benediction from Alice Waters. But by what rights does hummus hold such a claim on the human imagination?

“But,” you equivocate, “you haven’t tried my hummus. I like to use white beans and a little bit of–” No. Shh. “There’s this wonderful Mediterranean market on 34th that does–” Hush now. Stop talking. I’m sure your method of whirling beans together is both glorious and unique, but hummus can never become anything better than itself.

Hummus is grey and tan and dull; it is the color of hopelessness. Dip your pre-sliced carrot sticks in something – anything – else. It is a lie designed to convince you that you are having fun; it is not an adequate substitute for joy.

Now go outside, if it’s nice out where you are, and eat something wonderful.

The post You Are Better Than Hummus appeared first on EcoSalon.

Here are 12 real food alternatives to falling prey to the “junk food jones.” Some of these may seem high in fat, and they are, such as olives, nuts or cheese. However, the idea is quality not quantity. Enjoy the good things in life, but within reason, and you’ll find you are more than satisfied.

The trick is to keep real food snacks around, or bring them with you, so you’re not tempted with impulse buys near the register when you’re filling up at the gas station or buying office supplies. It’s all about retraining your palette and your habits.

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1. Nuts: Almonds, Pistachios, Cashews

I’ve gotten in the habit of keeping a bag of roasted almonds in my bag at all times. Yum!

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2. Fresh Fruit

I’ve been really enjoying oranges recently, especially tangerines. Other easy fresh fruit snacks are grapes, apples or pears.

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3. Dried fruit

Great on the go.

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4. Vegetables with hummus

An excellent source of fiber all around.

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5. Rice cakes with natural peanut butter or almond butter

Or celery with peanut butter. Remember the old days of “ants-on-a-log?”

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6. Cheese

Yes. Really. But good cheese! I’m still a believer that a few slices of cheese are better than eating a bag of potato chips. Try eating with rye crackers, thinly sliced, toasted pain au levain bread or simply on its own. My current favorites are aged gouda or goat gouda, gruyere, and manchego.

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7. Olives

Greek olives are nice to have on hand, especially when you’re eating cheese. You may need to shop around a bit to find your favorite style and olives can vary in quality depending on where you buy them from.

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8. Roasted vegetables

I’m a big fan of sweet potato fries. Mind you, when I say sweet potato fries, I don’t mean the ones at the pub down the street. Oven roast your own with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh thyme. Delicious! Asparagus, which is currently in season, is another great option. Eat the spears like fries. Or, make a roasted beet salad to have on hand with onions and feta cheese.

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9. Straight up avocado

With salt. What’s not to love.

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10. Natural granola or fruit bars

Try 18 Rabbits or Larabars.

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11. The combination. Plain yogurt with granola, fruit and nuts

This is like dessert! Try experimenting with different fruit combinations or adding shredded coconut or a dusting of ground flax seed.

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12. Dark chocolate

Instead of reaching for cookies, try this alternative. A few squares of dark chocolate are inimitably satisfying.

Images: inside_man, minianna.com, givingitatry, aggleton, prakhar, Sashertootie, JC handmade, mwhammer,  MGF Lady Disdain,  aSILVA, CaseyJ

The post The Junk Food Jones: Retraining Your Palate with 12 Real Food Alternatives appeared first on EcoSalon.