If none of these seem like the perfect gift for the special people in your life, and you’re thinking of maybe even staying away from mass-produced items entirely, here’s another suggestion: Give the gift of homemade food.

Everybody eats. And while there are lots of delicious items you can buy in stores, there’s really nothing that compares to food made with love and care. And it’s even better when that food was created with you in mind.

Now, let’s put the oven mitt on the other hand and consider how cool it would be for you to make delicious homemade treats for the special people on your “nice” list. Whether for holidays, birthdays, or — my personal favorite reason for gift giving — “just because,”  there’s a unique joy in both giving and receiving something homemade, especially when it’s edible!

Unlike mass-produced food items, food gifts are not just about what’s inside the package but also about the love, effort, and care that you pour into the final product.

In this article, we’ll explore the art of giving homemade food gifts with seven delicious recipes that you can easily give any time of year. And in keeping with our mission here at Food Revolution Network, they all pass our triple test of “healthy, ethical, and sustainable” — in addition to being totally delicious and festive!

Why Homemade Food Makes a Great Gift

Gifting something homemade rather than store-bought is great for you, the recipient, and the planet.

1. Save Money on Gifts

For one thing, you can save money by making gifts in bulk for multiple recipients. For example, the toasted spice blend recipe below includes sunflower and sesame seeds, as well as small amounts of several spices. You might pay up to $15 for just one spice blend from the store — or you can spend $20 on ingredients and get up to a dozen homemade batches that you can gift to others.

2. Reduce Plastic Waste

The planet benefits when you avoid the plastic waste that often serves as packaging for store-bought food and gifts. (I hereby declare that you get bonus points for gifting the food in a reusable container like these stainless steel food storage containers or even wide mouth mason jars.

3. Practical and Useable

The recipient of a food gift gets something usable and delicious, and, if you’ve done your homework, something they actually want. And — since it’s made with your love — they’ll get something unique. You and your recipient will also know the item was made and given with love (and received with love), which can strengthen and enrich your connection.

4. Controlled Ingredients

Speaking of homework, I’d recommend finding out about your recipients’ taste preferences, dietary restrictions, and allergies, so you can tailor your homemade food gifts to each person. Not only does this ensure a personal touch that store-bought gifts often lack, but it can also avoid the unfortunate situation where your holiday nut brittle sends your favorite aunt to the emergency room in anaphylactic shock.

Even without allergies to think about, when you make food gifts yourself, you get to control the ingredients. You can choose high-quality, whole-food ingredients without any refined sugar or questionable additives.

5. It’s Fun!

Homemade food gifting can also be fun for kids and adults, both as givers and receivers. Let your creativity go wild and create something you’re proud of!

Tips for Choosing a Food to Gift

When choosing a food item to gift, do so with the recipient’s likes and dislikes in mind. The easiest way to gather this information is also the most straightforward: Ask them.

A high-probability strategy to avoid seriously bad outcomes — especially if kids are involved — is to make something that does not contain any of the nine major allergens (milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat, soy, and sesame seeds). If you stick to 100% plant-based treats, you automatically avoid four of them, so you just have to be cognizant of the nuts and seeds, wheat, and soy.

As I mentioned earlier, one of the benefits of food gifting is the chance to cook in bulk, saving both time and money. If you’re unfamiliar with the practice of batch cooking, our meal prep guide has you covered.

Since you’re not FedEx, you may also want to consider making food gifts that are small or at least portable and easy to transport. If you’re going to gift wrap them, think about a form that’s easy to wrap, or at least to stick a bow on.

Some ideas of small and conveniently transported food gifts include the following:

• Baked goods
• Homemade canned goods, quick pickles, preserves, etc. (here’s where mason jars come in very handy)
• Dried herbs, spice mixes, and loose-leaf teas (also a good use of mason jars — look for fancy ones often sold as wedding favors for that extra dash of class)
• Spiced nuts and seeds or granola
• Fire cider or kombucha
• Sauces, soups, dressings, spreads (and DIY kits to make them)
• Fruits, vegetables, and herbs from your garden

Unless you know that your recipient will want to consume the gift right away, it’s typically more convenient for them if the food is shelf-stable and doesn’t require refrigeration.

Alternatively, you can always gift a coupon for an item that the recipient can redeem at your mutual convenience (and you can have fun and use all your artistic creativity creating the coupon).

Where to Get Food Gift Ideas From

To get ideas for food gifts, peruse your favorite cookbooks, or think about cherished family recipes. At the risk of immodesty, this feels like a good time to mention the very first Food Revolution Network hardcover recipe book, Real Superfoods: Everyday Ingredients to Elevate Your Health.

Some of the recipes in that book that might qualify as excellent gifts include Golden Glow Lemonade (an awesome and delicious healing tonic), Crispy Miso Onion Chickpeas, Super Seedy Granola (seedy in a good way, I assure you), Velvety Chocolate Berry Dessert Cups (yes, healthy, although your recipient may not believe it after taking a bite), and Sublime Sweet Potato Mini Drop Biscuits. To whet your appetite, I’ve included two giftalicious recipes from Real Superfoods below: Sweet and Savory Spiced Pecans and FRN’s Fuel the Fire Cider.

You can also find candidates for food gifts in many other wonderful health-focused, plant-based cookbooks that we love. Check out the cookbook roundup on our blog for additional inspiration.

Practice Food Safety

Since you probably aren’t going to be preparing these food gifts in a commercial kitchen that has to undergo regular safety inspections, it’s really important that you practice fundamental food safety protocols. You do not want to share a side of salmonella with that jam because you did a slapdash job of washing a cutting board.

For kicks, let’s take a minute to review the basics:

1. Keep things clean: wash your hands and food prep surfaces often.
2. Separate: don’t cross-contaminate. Don’t chop veggies, for example, on a cutting board where you prepared a block of tofu (or meat if you eat it).
3. Cook: heat all foods to proper temperatures to kill any pathogens, checking with a food thermometer to be on the safe side.
4. Chill: refrigerate promptly to prevent bacteria from colonizing foods left for too long at room temperature.

If you will be canning items, be sure to also follow recommended food preservation guidelines to prevent spoilage.

What to Store or Wrap Your Gift In

While the food inside is the main attraction, the food gift packaging can also add fun, sparkle, and class to the experience. You won’t care how great your friend’s homemade applesauce is if they just ladle a pint of it into your lap — which I realize is an extreme example. But this is what my mind sometimes does when I’m a bit hungry while writing about food.

As we’ve seen, another great thing about homemade food gifts is the opportunity for sustainable or zero-waste packaging. And you can decorate this packaging with love and the help of your cleverness and creativity.

Mason jars — and here are a pair of very fancy ones that just scream “vintage” — or upcycled glass containers work well because they’re see-through, so a beautiful spice mix or granola can serve as its own decoration. You can also paint on the glass, or adorn it with ribbons (which I realized just moments ago is an anagram of my last name) and other accents.

You can wrap baked goods in a classy tea towel, a pretty fabric scrap left over from a project, or a reusable food wrap. Then you can deliver them in a basket, tin, or decorated produce bag.

Cereals and mixes can go in reusable silicone bags, which themselves make lovely and thoughtful gifts for someone who likes cooking. If you enjoy secondhand shops and garage sales, you might be able to amass a collection of vintage cookware that would make excellent containers for your homemade food gifts.

Recipes to Give as Food Gifts

Giving can be just as fun as receiving, especially when you tap into your creative talents as an expression of thoughtfulness, care, and gratitude. Giving the gift of scrumptious food not only provides an exciting and rewarding experience for you, it makes sharing delicious plant-based foods even more fun. We hope you enjoy creating and giving these wholesome gifts from the heart with the help of these nourishing recipes!

1. FRN’s Fuel the Fire Cider

Give the gift of warmth this holiday season with Food Revolution’s Fire Cider. Warming and immune-supporting ginger, turmeric, onion, garlic, and horseradish root create an invigorating, nourishing, and healing tonic that is the perfect gift to give those who could use a little plant magic. What’s more, it’s the gift that keeps on giving. When the vinegar runs out, simply refill and steep again!

2. Toasted Spice Blend

Creating your own homemade spice blend as a gift is a thoughtful and tasty way to express your love and appreciation any time of year. This easy-to-make blend is bursting with flavor from the variety of healthy seeds and spices and can transform any meh meal into a fantastic one in a snap. Plus, it’s guaranteed to put a huge smile on the receiver’s face!

3. Pickled Beets

Vibrant jewel-colored beets set the tone for a merry and bright gift that is as delicious as it is festive! These sweet and tangy beauties are quick to make and don’t require complicated canning. Just stick them in the fridge overnight and enjoy! Pickled beets are an affordable, sustainable, and unique gift that the receiver can enjoy again and again on their own or as an ingredient in a variety of plant-based recipes.

4. Sweet and Savory Pecans

When giving the gift of Sweet and Savory Pecans, be prepared for many thank-yous and compliments. What may seem like a rather complex and elegant gift actually couldn’t be more simple to create. These easy-to-make pecans are perfectly sweet, a little savory, and plenty crunchy. To gift them, add them to a mason jar, reusable box, or storage container. In fact, you may spend more time considering how you’d like to present the gift than making the gift itself!

Editor’s Note: Obviously, this is not a recipe for those with nut allergies. If you or your recipient is allergic to nuts, you could make a variation of this with sunflower and pumpkin seeds or try our Super Seedy Granola instead.

5. Balsamic Fig Jam

This jam is sweet, savory, and just a little bit tangy. A delightful fusion of caramel figs, tart-yet-sweet balsamic, and minty thyme, Balsamic Fig Jam makes a great hostess gift to bring to your next gathering or to contribute to a celebratory vegan charcuterie board! We highly encourage you to whip up a few batches to gift to those on your list who love a sweet and sentimental gift made from whole fruit.

6. Crispy Rosemary Cracker Thins

Cracker-making in your own kitchen?! It’s not only a fun activity for you and your family to do together, but it can also make gift-giving even more exciting! These homemade crispy cracker thins are a simple way to express your thoughtfulness and care. Best of all there are no natural or artificial flavorings needed. Thanks to the addition of rosemary, you’re left with a festive and delightfully herby flavor that’s perfect for the gift-giving season!

7. Pecan Cranberry Snowball Cookies

Show your appreciation to friends, family, and neighbors this year with the gift of these tasty snowball cookies. You can gift them in a recyclable container or large mason jar. And don’t forget to include a handwritten note about how much you appreciate them (the recipient, that is, not the cookies). Once they try these snowballs, however, they’ll likely send some appreciation right back to you. (P.S. Double the batch so you have some to keep for yourself!)

Editor’s Note: For a nut-free version of this recipe, replace the almond meal with another cup of oat flour and use seeds in place of the pecans.

The Gift of Food Is the Gift of Health

Homemade gifts can be incredibly special both for the giver and receiver. And food, in particular, makes a great gift. You know it’ll get used, and it won’t take up space the way many consumer goods do.

There are many different ways to give food as a gift. But you can start by unleashing your creativity in the kitchen. And then keep that creativity going by using reusable or upcycled items for packaging and containers. Because with homemade food gifts, you’re also giving a piece of your heart, time, and effort, which is a beautiful way to express your love and care for the recipient.

Tell us in the comments:

• Have you ever received a homemade food gift? What was your favorite thing about the experience?
• What are some dishes you make that might make great gifts?
• Who are three people you can think of who would be grateful recipients of the gift of homemade food?

Featured Image: iStock.com/Daisy-Daisy

Read Next:

• Healthy Crunchy Snacks to Beat Those Potato Chip Cravings
• Food Revolution Network’s Holiday Gift Guide — 37 Healthy, Ethical, & Sustainable Wellness Gifts

The post From the Heart: Homemade Food Gifts That Speak Volumes appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

Millennia later, walnuts have seamlessly transitioned from “the food of gods” to modern superfoods, thanks to science-backed research proving their remarkable nutritional benefits. Beyond taste, walnuts boast an exceptional nutritional profile, containing one of the best vegan sources of omega-3 fatty acids. They’re also good sources of vitamin E, B vitamins, and minerals like magnesium, potassium, copper, and zinc.

A 2023 analysis of recent US dietary patterns found that many people are not consuming enough nutrients such as magnesium, fiber, and potassium. For kicks, the researchers asked their computer what would happen if those people added just ¼ cup or about 12–14 halves of walnuts a day to their usual diets, with no other changes. Even that tiny change improved their diet quality and brought their levels of under-consumed nutrients into the “adequate” range.

So what types of walnuts are out there? And if you want to add walnuts to your daily diet (and eat like a Roman god), what are some of the best ways to do so?

Types of Walnuts

There are two main types of walnuts you may encounter in stores and farm stands: English (aka Persian) walnuts and black walnuts. The walnuts you find in the grocery store are almost certainly the English kind. They’re also the ones most often used in cooking, especially in baked goods. They have a soft shell that’s pretty easy to crack with a regular nutcracker.

Black walnuts are the Fort Knox of nuts. They have an extremely hard shell and require industrial-strength tools to open. A friend with a black walnut tree harvests them by spreading them on his driveway and running his truck back and forth over them until the green hulls split open. (He says you can also use a grout mixing bit attached to a corded power drill, but the truck is more fun.)

While there are traditional walnut recipes that include black walnuts or their flour, such as the Pennsylvania Dutch Black John cake, black walnuts are now mainly used in complementary medicine. They’ve been shown to reduce inflammation, which is an underlying cause and contributor to many chronic diseases.

You can also buy or make black walnut oil for sauces and dressings. Handle with care, though; the oil can stain your skin, and the stains can last for weeks, regardless of how much you scrub.

You can easily find shelled English walnuts in most grocery stores. But the unshelled ones are a bit harder to find, especially black walnuts (unless you have your own tree). Look in the bulk bins of natural food stores or in specialty and farmers markets.

How to Store Walnuts

Because walnuts are high in oil, they can go rancid when exposed to warm temperatures for a long period of time. If you’re unsure if they’re still good, give that walnut a sniff. Fresh walnuts smell mildly nutty and have a slightly sweet taste. Rancid walnuts, on the other hand, smell like paint thinner (I’m happy to report that I don’t know what paint thinner tastes like); please don’t eat them.

To keep your walnuts from turning into turpentine, keep them cool, cold, or even frozen. After buying a bag of walnuts, store them unopened in their original packaging. Once you’ve opened the bag, or if you got scoops of them from a bulk bin, keep them in an airtight container. (Here’s a set that we recommend.)

Keep walnuts whole until you’re ready to use them. The happy life span of a chopped walnut is quite short as rancidity is caused by oxidation, and the more exposed surfaces, the quicker the oxygen in the air will turn the oil into something akin to an industrial solvent.

Frozen walnuts can last up to a year or even longer. When you’re ready to use them, transfer them to a refrigerator to thaw, where they’ll remain fresh for up to three months. (Unless, of course, that refrigerator is in a spaceship traveling at the speed of light, in which case something weird happens to time, according to this movie I watched in middle school.)

In the fridge, keep your walnuts separate from strong-smelling foods to prevent them from taking on unwanted flavors. (“Hey, who wants a Fudgy Chocolate Chip and Walnut and Garlic Pesto Brownie?”)

How to Toast Walnuts

Raw walnuts are awesome, and I would never argue with anyone who says that. At the same time, toasting your walnuts can enhance their natural flavor and impart them with a satisfying crunch that goes really well in many dishes.

There are a couple of techniques you can use to toast your walnuts. One is to place them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake in a 350° F (175° C) oven for 8–10 minutes until just starting to turn golden brown.

Here’s a short video demonstrating this process, courtesy of the folks at the California Walnut Board:

If you want a more intimate and hands-on experience of walnut toasting, you can toss them in a pan on your stovetop for 2–5 minutes. Since they burn easily, toss and stir often and use medium heat (or even a bit lower, depending on your stove). Do not get distracted, even if your child or significant other comes in, puts on oven mitts, and pretends to be a lobster. Also, make sure not to overcrowd the pan to ensure even roasting.

Walnut Uses

Walnuts just want to be your friend, and they’ll happily fit into both sweet and savory recipes. Here are some sweet ways to include walnuts in your diet:

• Baked goods
• As a topping for oatmeal, yogurt, or smoothie bowls
• Nut and seed butters
• In granola

And if it’s savory you’re after, here are a bunch of options:

• Mixed with lentils for fillings in tacos or veggie burgers
• As a topping for salad
• Blended into dressings, sauces, and spreads
• Stuffed into vegetables
• In a vegan charcuterie board
• In homemade crackers

Walnut Recipes

Walnuts are so much more than just your average tree nut. They’re a delicious and crunchy topping to add to your morning oats or salad. They make an excellent base for sweet or savory sauces and spreads. And they add a bonus bit of texture and nutrition to delectable baked goods. From dressings to brownies to porridge, there’s something for everyone in this walnut recipe roundup!

1. Walnut Apple Amaranth Porridge

Walnut Apple Amaranth Porridge is a harmonious blend of naturally sweet apple, nutty amaranth, and buttery walnuts creating a warm breakfast that is equal parts cozy and nutritious. Plus, the satisfying crunch of walnuts in your porridge not only adds a delightful texture but also offers a healthy source of fats and protein. This fall-themed porridge will keep you full and satisfied, making breakfast time an autumn delight!

2. Roasted Fig and Walnut Arugula Salad with Wheat Berries and Vegan Feta

Walnuts are the pièce de résistance in this Roasted Fig and Walnut Arugula Salad with Wheat Berries and Vegan Feta. With so many delicious ingredients, walnuts not only tie all of them together but also manage to stand out in the crowd, too. They add a significant helping of omega-3 fatty acids along with essential minerals, including magnesium, manganese, and copper. Meanwhile, you’ll also experience a sweetness from the roasted fig, bitterness from the arugula, and tanginess from the vegan feta. This walnut salad recipe is a veritable feast for your taste buds!

3. Apple Walnut Sage Dressing

Plant-based dressings like this sweet and savory Apple Walnut Dressing are incredibly versatile — and much healthier than a store-bought salad dressing. You can easily make this dressing with whole foods and without oil (thanks to walnuts!). This walnut recipe is also super fast to make, usually coming together in minutes. Plus, it’s nutrient-packed, making plant-based meals extra scrumptious. The versatility of walnuts never ceases to amaze!

4. Walnut Pesto Angel Hair Pasta

Introducing Walnut Pesto Angel Hair Pasta! The combination of kale, avocado, basil, garlic, and nutritional yeast makes the pesto super nourishing. And it’s even more elevated when you add omega-3-rich walnuts to it. Walnuts offer the perfect balance of nutty flavor and buttery texture, which makes them a fantastic addition to plant-based sauces and dressings. Altogether, with warm angel hair pasta, you’ll get a comforting, wholesome, and flavorful dish the whole family will love!

5. Vegan Walnut Parmesan

This Vegan Walnut Parmesan offers a similar flavor profile to traditional parmesan cheese, thanks in part to walnuts’ healthy fats carrying the nutritional yeast’s umami flavor! Seasoned with umami flavors from the nutritional yeast, onion powder, and garlic powder, this walnut and sunflower seed parmesan is an easy-to-sprinkle and delicious-to-devour plant-based condiment. It’s a wonderful complement to many dishes, including pasta, steamed vegetables, casseroles, and stews — or anything that calls for a crumbly cheese topping.

6. Cashew Walnut Butter

Making homemade nut butter can be one of the most simple yet rewarding things you can do to better your health. Plus, it’s fun and delicious! This recipe combines cashews and walnuts, resulting in a creamy, slightly sweet, and buttery spread. You can also stir in chia or hemp seeds or add cacao powder for a chocolate-infused nut butter.

7. Fudgy Chocolate Chip and Walnut Brownies

What’s better than a warm fudgy brownie? If you guessed a warm fudgy brownie with walnuts, you’d be correct! These Fudgy Chocolate Chip and Walnut Brownies may seem too good to be true, but you certainly can have your (plant-based) brownie and eat it, too. Made with fiber-rich oat flour, fair-trade dark chocolate, applesauce, and mashed banana, these brownies will have you coming back for more with their dense, fudgy texture. Make these walnut brownie recipes anytime for a naturally sweet treat you’ll be excited to sink your teeth into!

Go Nuts with Walnuts!

From ancient Rome to contemporary kitchens, walnuts have stood the test of time. Their impressive nutritional profile makes them an easy choice for health-conscious people, and their nutty, earthy taste ensures that even gourmands will enjoy dishes that feature walnuts. In a nutshell — ha! — whether you’re cooking sweet or savory recipes, consider walnuts as a lovely addition to everyday and festive meals.

Tell us in the comments:

• Have you ever eaten a dish made with black walnuts?

• What are your favorite ways to eat English walnuts?

• Which walnut recipe will you try next?

Featured Image: iStock.com/Gokcemim

Read Next:

• You Won’t Believe How Healthy Nuts Are for You
• Healthy Crunchy Snacks to Beat Those Potato Chip Cravings

The post Nuts About Walnuts: 7 Tasty Recipes to Try appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

Since then, more and more fruits have become available as juices. But it wasn’t until the 1960s that home juicing became a “thing” — as companies started manufacturing juicers small enough to fit on a kitchen counter. Soon citrus wasn’t the only kind of fruit that could be juiced; even vegetables could now be consumed in liquid form.

These days, juicing predictably pops up as a health craze every few years (the most recent phenomenon was the celery juice fervor promoted by “Medical Medium,” Anthony William). And with the juice extractor market size estimated at $2–3 billion, there’s a lot of marketing of those homemade juices as a quick, easy, delicious, and convenient way to harness the nutritional benefits of fruits and vegetables.

While I’m as gung-ho as anyone about getting more fruits and veggies into our diets, there is one issue with juicing that few people are talking about: food waste.

Juicing, by definition, extracts juice from fruits and vegetables, which means there’s always some stuff left over, typically referred to as pulp. If you’ve ever juiced, you’re familiar with this residue. It can feel weird to just throw it away — after all, it was a super nutritious carrot or celery stalk or apple wedge just seconds earlier.

The good news is, you don’t have to discard the pulp. There are several ways to reuse it and give it a second life — keeping it out of the waste stream.

In this article, we’ll explore the art of repurposing juicer pulp. And some of those methods even involve recipes!

What Is the Pulp from Your Juicer?

If juicing is about removing juice from produce, what’s left when the juice is gone? While different types and brands of juicers do slightly different things — aficionados can talk for hours about the relative merits and downsides of cold press (aka masticating), auger, centrifugal, and other types — they all break down plant cell walls and separate the juice from, well, the stuff that’s left over.

The fancy name for that leftover stuff is “pomace,” which the Messrs Merriam and Webster define as “the dry or pulpy residue of material (such as fruit, seeds, or fish) from which a liquid (such as juice or oil) has been pressed or extracted.” Essentially, it’s the remaining solids — that is, fiber — plus whatever juice hasn’t been fully extracted.

The reason juicing works is that lots of fruits and veggies consist mostly of water. But the leftover fiber is also very good for you. And while most people have heard about drinking enough water (although roughly half of all US adults aren’t heeding the message), the necessity of sufficient dietary fiber hasn’t yet made it to prime time (unless you’re a reader of this or similar websites!).

I’d even go so far as to say that fiber is the nutrient most severely lacking in the modern industrial diet — upwards of 94% of all Americans are deficient — with catastrophic results for individual and public health. Fiber delivers many profound health benefits, including feeding the beneficial gut bacteria, supporting blood sugar control, and helping to prevent cancer.

Find out more about fiber — including the different kinds and the best sources.

So Then, Is Juicing Bad for You?

If fiber is so important, and most of us are sorely deficient, doesn’t that mean that juicing — which removes the fiber from perfectly innocent fruits and vegetables — is a bad idea?

Well, not necessarily; it depends on what you’re juicing, what the rest of your diet looks like, and what you’re replacing with the juice.

Since the fiber, which slows down the absorption of sugar, is gone, juicing high-sugar fruits (and some vegetables, like carrots) can lead to unhealthy spikes in blood sugar in some individuals. That’s not to say that sweet produce has no place anywhere near a juicer’s food chute — a bit of apple and citrus can flavor an otherwise bland veggie juice. But a glass of straight grape or apple juice could challenge your blood sugar level in ways that turn out to be problematic.

At the same time, juicing can give you a concentrated and rapidly absorbed source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that are easy and enjoyable to consume. For folks who “hate fruits and veggies” and wouldn’t eat a whole apple unless it was the only food left on Earth, juicing may be the most agreeable and beneficial way to get those wonderful plant nutrients into their bodies. A single cup of veggie or fruit juice can go a long way toward fulfilling the 5-a-day recommendation for fruits and vegetables.

So as we look at the various ways to give juice pulp a second chance to be useful, especially if you’re someone who’s falling short on fiber intake, you may also want to prioritize ways that involve eating it (you’ll find those in the recipe section, below).

Juicer Pulp Ideas and Uses

Let’s look at four ways to reuse juicer pulp, with the value that you can extract from the pulp increasing along the way.

1. Compost

The simplest way to reuse juicer pulp is to compost it. Honoring the composting principle that “anything that once lived can live again,” you can keep juicer pulp out of the waste stream.

If you have an outdoor compost pile, you can add the pulp to the “green” (high-nitrogen) layer and then cover it with “brown” (high-carbon) plant matter to keep down the smell and deter scavenging critters.

Check out our beginner’s guide to home composting here.

If you don’t have an outdoor composting setup, a countertop composting bin might be just the ticket. In just four hours, these compact composters process food scraps to create fertile soil for your garden — all while cutting down on your landfill impact and making your kitchen garbage bin smell a whole lot less funky.

If you live in a city with a food scrap or curbside composting program, you can include juicer pulp with the rest of your food scraps.

2. Create DIY Beauty Products

Have you ever seen those stock photos of luxurious spa treatments that feature cucumber slices over the eyes? Well, you don’t need to sacrifice perfectly good cucumbers to beautify your peepers, hair, or skin. Just use juicer pulp instead!

Fruits and vegetables are loaded with antioxidants, many of which can help fight free radicals (i.e., the nasty buggers that accelerate aging) externally as well as inside your body. Depending on what fruits and vegetables you use, using them as beauty products may help you to achieve different results.

Thanks to its texture (rougher than whole or cut produce), juice pulp can also make an exquisitely excellent exfoliant. Pulp can create face masks, lip and body scrubs, and hair masks.

For example, here’s a face mask that uses cucumber and strawberry pulp mixed with lemon and bentonite clay.

3. Create Pet Treats

You can also mix juicer pulp with your cat or dog’s wet food, or create DIY pet treats — provided the pulp only has foods in it that are safe for them. (It’s not just chocolate that dogs should avoid; you should probably also keep them away from tomatoes, avocados, grapes, cherries, and a few other plant foods, as well).

Help keep your fur baby safe by getting a full list of which fruits and vegetables are safe for cats and dogs: Here’s one from the American Kennel Club, and another from a veterinary hospital.

To make pet treats, try mixing juicer pulp with ground flax and sunflower seeds, flavoring the mixture with some soy sauce, and dehydrating them into crispy crackers. (These sound kind of yummy, and I’m a human!)

Or you can also make these green dog “bones” featuring juicer pulp, peanut butter, and rolled oats.

4. Use Juicer Pulp in Recipes

Finally, you can make recipes for humans with leftover juicer pulp. It’s still totally edible, after all. You can dehydrate juice pulp and use the “flour” in crackers or fruit leathers. Add savory (i.e., not sweet) juicer pulp to soups, stews, and chilis. And use sweet pulp from fruit juices to add bulk, flavor, and nutrition to baked goods like muffins.

One word of advice from a friend: Do not assume that you can use juicer pulp as an exact substitute for the same vegetables, grated. The carrot cake he made for his son’s 5th birthday ended up with the name “compost cake” — nearly ruining an otherwise fun party.

Juicer Pulp Recipes

It’s time to get crafty in the kitchen with these delicious and creative juicer pulp recipes. Juicing can be a great way to get potent nutrients quickly, but there’s no need to toss out your pulp after enjoying your favorite fruit and veggie juice blend. Juicer pulp has lots of fiber and plenty of nutrients left behind, so take full advantage of all that nature has to offer. Good things come to those who think outside of the box (or should we say juicer?), so prepare to have some wholesome fun with these nourishing recipes!

1. Juice Pulp Carrot Cake Muffins

Turn your fresh veggie pulp into deliciously moist, naturally sweet, and nutrient-dense Juice Pulp Carrot Cake Muffins! Sweet and warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves blend harmoniously with any custom veggie pulp mix. Along with bananas, shredded carrots, and nutty walnuts, this recipe is a delicious veggie-packed treat to enjoy any time of day!

2. Veggie Scrap Bouillon

Veggie Scrap Bouillon is a tasty way to repurpose your juicer pulp scraps into a savory base for your favorite soups and stews! This easy-to-make recipe requires just a handful of ingredients and a food processor to transform juicer pulp scraps into a whole-food veggie paste that’s ideal for adding concentrated and robust veggie flavor (plus plenty of fiber!) to any dish where you’d use vegetable broth.

3. Dehydrated Juice Pulp Crackers

Curious about what to do with all that leftover veggie pulp after making a big, delicious batch of fresh vegetable juice? Our suggestion: Make crunchy and tasty Dehydrated Juice Pulp Crackers! Complete with wholesome plant-based nutrition, lots of fiber, and a savory umami flavor, these crackers are the perfect solution to your food scrap conundrum. Plus, they make a fun (and nourishing) vehicle to scoop up a variety of scrumptious plant-based dips!

4. Watermelon Poke

Watermelon Poke is an absolutely delicious and exciting way to repurpose your fruit pulp into a sweet and savory plant-based creation. What makes this recipe special is the texture watermelon pulp creates as it melds with rice vinegar, kelp, and sesame seeds. It’s truly amazing to see (and taste!) the delicious creations you can enjoy when you reuse leftover juicer pulp.

5. Veggie Pulp Seedy Salad Topper

After sprinkling a hearty serving of Veggie Pulp Seedy Salad Topper on your favorite salad or grain bowl creations, you’ll fall in love with this innovative way to reuse juicer pulp. What’s great about this recipe is that, due to the dehydration of the veggie pulp and the savory seed and spice mix, this salad topper’s subtle veggie flavor mixed with fragrant aromatics makes it simply irresistible!

Don’t Throw Away Your Pulp

Juicer pulp doesn’t have to go to waste; you can reuse it in a number of creative ways. Not only can you save money and keep organic matter out of garbage dumps, you can also feel good knowing you’ve extracted every ounce of goodness from your fruits and vegetables, embracing their full potential as health and nutrition superstars.

This nutrient-rich residue can have a second life — as compost, in DIY beauty products or pet treats, and in many different types of recipes. The possibilities are endless and limited only by your imagination.

Tell us in the comments:

• Do you juice? If so, what have you been doing with your pulp until now?

• Do you compost? If so, what method(s) do you use?

• What recipes from this article will you try?

Featured Image: iStock.com/simpson33

Read Next:

• Blenders vs Juicers: Pros & Cons of Blending and Juicing
• How to Make Healthy Smoothie Recipes That Are Nutritious & Delicious!

The post What to Do with Juicer Pulp: Recipes and Creative Uses appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

The sheer variety of plant-based sauces, plus the ease with which they are made means they enhance the flavor and nutritional value of your favorite meals with minimal effort. What’s more, many sauces are so versatile that they can be incorporated into a variety of dishes, allowing you to add a healthy new sauce for a fresh take on a classic recipe.

The creative culinary opportunities that sauces offer are endless. For example, you can make homemade salad dressings, condiments, pasta sauces, dips, and spreads. I’d also bet that nine times out of ten when a recipe is “missing that something,” a healthy sauce could do the trick! A sauce can provide a wide variety of mouthwatering flavors — including creamy, savory, tangy, cheesy, umami, and spicy — that can take just about any dish from drab to downright delicious.

In this article, we’ll dive into the benefits of homemade sauces and then get into the nitty-gritty of how to create healthy plant-based sauces using whole food ingredients that pack not only a ton of flavor but plenty of nutritional value to boot. And last but not least, we’ll deliver seven healthy plant-based sauce recipes that you can add to a salad, grain bowl, pasta dish, or tacos, or serve as a dip for veggies. Before you know it, instead of saying, “Pass the salt and pepper,” you’ll be saying, “Pass the sauce, please!”

The Benefits of Making Homemade Sauces

Homemade Sauces are Cheaper and Healthier

Along with infusing tons of flavor, homemade sauces can also be a much healthier and less expensive option than store-bought sauces because you can control the ingredients that go into (and stay out of) them. Store-bought brands — even natural and organic food brands — often contain refined sugars, sodium, ultrarefined oils, additives, or all of the above.

You Can Sneak More Plant Foods Into Your Diet

Sauces are a fantastic way to sneak more whole foods into your diet. For example, you can add fruit for sweetness and flavor, veggies for color and nutrition, and nuts or seeds for creaminess. Using whole food ingredients boosts the nutritional benefits (think fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients) of the sauce — perks that are often lacking in store-bought versions.

A great example of this is avocado: Using the whole flesh of an avocado can create a creamy texture that also includes lots of fiber, water, vitamin E, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and more, in addition to its healthy monounsaturated fat; whereas avocado oil, which may be found in store-bought sauces, only includes the fat from the avocado and little to none of the other health-promoting nutrients.

Sauces can be a great way to make a meal more nutrient dense for your family, too. Since sauces can also enhance flavor, adding them to a meal can encourage children — and picky eaters of any age — to eat more healthy foods.

Sauces Add Versatility to Meals

Another helpful benefit of sauces is that they can greatly expand your meal repertoire. For example, you can use the same weekly batch of whole grains, legumes, fruit, and vegetables and simply switch out the sauce for a completely different, tasty, and healthy dish each night of the week!

Many Homemade Sauces Are Simple to Make

Sauces can come together effortlessly with minimal ingredients, steps, and kitchen tools. Oftentimes you only need a blender or a mixing bowl for a sauce recipe that’s usually five steps or less. Many sauce recipes also require no cooking — a big plus!

DIY Sauces Are More Sustainable

Making your own homemade sauce is also kinder to the planet. First, you can reuse old condiment jars or mason jars to store them, eliminating packaging and reducing your plastic footprint. Second, cooking at home can help you minimize waste by making only what you need. Third, substituting plant-based ingredients for dairy can significantly reduce your contribution to greenhouse gases.

You Can Batch Cook Sauces

Finally, you can batch-prep several sauces at once for multiple meals throughout the week. Whatever you don’t use right away can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer for you to enjoy later.

Tips for Creating Homemade Sauce Recipe Masterpieces

1. Get inspired!

Before making your homemade sauce masterpiece, it can help to turn to specific cuisines for inspiration. First, consider the origins of the meal you’re preparing and match your sauce to suit. For example, an Italian-inspired dish may call for a creamy alfredo or tomato sauce, while a Mexican-inspired recipe (e.g., burrito bowl, tacos) may call for some fresh salsa or a bit of (avocado) cream.

2. Craft your flavor base.

Most healthy homemade vegan sauce recipes have at least two of the following flavor components: umami, sweet, and tangy. Examples of umami flavors include miso, reduced-sodium tamari, coconut aminos, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, and nutritional yeast. Choose whole food or minimally processed ingredients for your sauces like dates and date paste, maple syrup, or fresh fruit for sweetness. Bring on the tang with some freshly squeezed lemon or lime, vinegar, yogurt, or mustard.

3. Use healthy fats to combine and thicken sauces.

The key to creating rich, creamy homemade sauces is using plant-based ingredients that are rich in healthy fats — including cashews, sunflower seeds, tahini, avocado, nut or seed butters, tofu, and plant-based yogurts — as a base. To thicken sauces with whole foods, add chia seeds, flaxseed, tofu, rolled oats, nut or seed butter, and even beans to the mix. You can also adjust the amount of water, so add it as the last ingredient and in small increments — just 1–2 tablespoons at a time — until you reach your desired consistency. You can always add more water but can’t take any out.

4. Add herbs and spices — and lots of them!

Is something still missing? Explore nature’s wide variety of spices and herbs to give your sauce that extra flavor boost and create a truly unique flavor experience. Options include aromatics like onion, shallots, garlic, ginger, and turmeric; herbs such as basil, cilantro, parsley, chives, oregano, dill, thyme, mint, and rosemary; and spices like coriander, cumin, mustard, celery seeds, cayenne, cinnamon, and turmeric — lots of choices!

5. Taste-test your sauces.

Taste-test your DIY sauces as you go to see what flavors and textures they need. More acid for a bite? Add some lemon or lime. More natural sweetness to balance the acidity? Add a little date paste. More plant-based fat for a creamier texture? Add more of the fatty base that’s used in the recipe. You get the drift…

Tip: Want to make your sauce taste cheesy without dairy? Nutritional yeast and miso can do the trick!

Healthy Homemade Sauce Recipes

Sauces often add that special quality to meals, so much so that some dishes wouldn’t be the same without that finishing touch. These restaurant-worthy sauces can zest up even the simplest of homemade dishes. And with many of them being ready in 10 minutes or less, you might just find yourself adding them to your plant-based menu, well, every day of the week!

1. Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

This sauce may take a little longer than your average throw-it-together-and-blend-it 5-minute sauce, but it’s worth every minute! Thanks to the roasted red peppers, it also makes a tasty alternative to traditional tomato sauce, so give it a try with your favorite whole grain pasta or as a part of an Italian casserole. This “cheesy” roasted red pepper sauce is also delicious poured over a grain bowl, topped on spaghetti squash, or drizzled over steamed veggies!

2. Lemon Tahini Sauce

Just a few simple ingredients give you bright and zesty flavor in one of our favorite sauces. Nutty tahini combined with lemon and cumin makes for the perfect blend in this healthy sauce that’s so good it’s almost drinkable (no judgment here)! For a bit more punch, zest an organic lemon before juicing to add even more vibrant and zesty citrus notes to this rich and creamy sauce!

3. Avocado Yogurt Sauce

Equal parts creamy, tangy, fresh, and savory, Avocado Yogurt Sauce comes together in minutes! Use it as a delectable dressing in your favorite wrap, grain bowl, salad, chili, or any recipe that could use a touch of velvety avocado goodness.

4. Cauliflower Squash Cheese Sauce

This cheesy, creamy, dreamy sauce isn’t made with cheese or cream at all. So much better, it’s made from whole, nourishing, fiber-filled cauliflower and butternut squash. They give the sauce its creamy texture, and the nutritional yeast and miso provide the cheesy flavor. It’s perfectly versatile on everything from whole grain pasta to bean tacos to steamed veggies and more!

5. Miso Peanut Sauce

This Asian-inspired sauce has just the right combination of sweet, savory, tangy, nutty, and umami flavors all blended into a delightful drizzle. There’s something crave-worthy about peanut-based sauces, and this one is all the more special because it’s made with 100% whole food, plant-based ingredients. Also, this healthy sauce tastes pretty darn delish on everything from grain bowls to salads to sandwiches, making it an easy way to get in a daily dose of probiotics (thanks, miso!).

6. Plant-Based Tzatziki

One word — yum! Your confidence is going to soar when you add this sauce to just about everything (except the kitchen sink — hopefully, that isn’t in your weekly meal plan!). It’s creamy, flavorful, and nutritious and will elevate grain bowls, grilled tofu, avocado toast, and more. Plus, it’s full of nourishing and wholesome plant ingredients your body will love!

7. Fresh Cream Sauce

Talk about versatility — you can use this sauce in so many ways! Make it savory by adding a few of your favorite fresh herbs and spices, or make it sweet by adding flavor combinations such as date paste, vanilla, and cinnamon. Try it drizzled over hot pizza, baked burritos, soup, baked spuds, or steamed greens. Use it as a dip or a condiment for sandwiches. And for a sweet treat, it makes a luscious topping for desserts or pancakes. We love all of the plant-based possibilities this creamy sauce offers!

Give Healthier Sauces a Try!

Whether preparing meals for the week, making a cozy dinner for two, or cooking in bulk for a family gathering, sauces can enhance the flavor and enjoyment of practically any meal. While store-bought sauces are convenient, they often sacrifice nutrition and include ingredients that may be detrimental to health. Not only can homemade sauces be healthier, less expensive, and actually more delicious, they often come together in minutes. Incorporating the tips above can help you create healthy homemade sauces that your family and friends will love (they might not believe you made them yourself!) Give these seven homemade sauce recipes a try and let us know which of them is your favorite. Get creative, taste along the way, and make them your own!

Tell us in the comments:

• Which healthy homemade sauce are you going to try first?
• What’s your favorite base to use when creating homemade sauces?
• What other seasonings or whole food ingredients do you like to use?

Featured Image: iStock.com/LumenSt

Read Next:

• 10 Healthy Condiments Your Body and Your Taste Buds Will Love

The post It’s All About the Sauce! Level Up Your Plant-Based Recipes with These 7 Homemade Sauces appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

Yeasts have also pointed to our future. The first nonbacterial organism to have its genome fully sequenced was Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the yeast that’s used to make bread, beer, and wine. Geneticists accomplished this feat in 1996, a full 10 years before the same technology cracked the human genome.

And then there’s nutritional yeast — also of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae clan — affectionately referred to as “nooch.” I know quite a few people who view it as at least as important as beer, wine, and bread — if not more so. And that’s because nutritional yeast has the ability to impart a delicious, nutty-cheesy flavor to plant-based dishes.

The History of Nutritional Yeast

Nutritional yeast entered the food supply in the 1920s when yeast manufacturers were worried about the shrinking market caused by the advent of store-bought bread. They commissioned a marketing campaign touting deactivated yeast as a health food, one that could be ingested directly (sprinkled on food or dissolved in a beverage).

In addition to the flaked product, yeasts were incorporated into health spreads such as Marmite (UK) and Vegemite (Australia), which are either beloved with a fervor bordering on fanaticism or reviled as tasting like salty axle grease. Regardless of taste, the spreads immediately appeared to improve public health — in the 1930s, the folic acid provided by Marmite treated anemic mill workers in Mumbai (then Bombay) and Sri Lankans suffering from malaria.

Nutritional yeast rode the coattails of the hippie vegetarian movement of the 1970s, thanks in part to Bob’s Red Mill company, which fortified the stuff with a bunch of B vitamins, including B12, and marketed it as a health supplement that provided meat-abstainers with the nutrients they might otherwise be missing.

And more recently, nooch has gone mainstream. The increased popularity of vegan and plant-based diets has helped, along with an appreciation for its unique taste by many culinary influencers. More and more, nutritional yeast is appearing as an ingredient in both plant-based and non-plant-based restaurants and dishes.

If you’re unfamiliar with nooch, you may be wondering what it looks or tastes like, and how to use it. If you’re already a fan, you’re probably eager to discover new uses for the delicious golden flakes. In this article, we’ll show you several different ways to use nutritional yeast, and end with seven delicious nutritional yeast recipes that will allow you to put that nooch to good use.

What Is Nutritional Yeast?

Nutritional yeast is a food product typically used as a seasoning, although you might also think of it as a flavorful dietary supplement. It’s made by growing the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae on some sugar source — usually cane or beet molasses. FYI: Some sugar beets used to make molasses may be bioengineered (BE); if you want to avoid BE (also known as genetically modified) nooch, look for certified non-GMO or organic nutritional yeast brands.

Once fermented, the yeast is harvested, washed, pasteurized, and dried. These last two steps deactivate the yeast, meaning that it can no longer leaven bread or ferment hops into beer.

Nutritional yeast contains a wide variety of important nutrients. Non-fortified nooch contains a variety of B vitamins, protein (a whopping eight grams per serving — or about a tablespoon and a half), and varying amounts of sodium, potassium, iron, calcium, and other minerals. Some nooch also contains vitamin B12, which can be challenging to get on a plant-based diet, along with higher amounts of other nutrients.

If you’re hankering for a deep dive into the health benefits (and any downsides) of nutritional yeast, check out FRN’s comprehensive article on the health effects of nutritional yeast.

What Does Nutritional Yeast Taste Like & Look Like?

Despite growing on a sweet medium, the resulting yeast isn’t itself sweet. Instead, it has a savory, umami flavor. Nutritional yeast has been described as having a “cheesy” or “nutty” flavor. That said, you’re not likely to mistake it for cheddar or pecans. Rather, nooch may remind your taste buds of other umami foods due to the tang of fermentation combined with its salt content.

Some nutritional yeast brands have even added flavors to it in order to promote its use as a seasoning. For example, Bragg offers garlic and smoky BBQ flavored nutritional yeasts.

Nutritional yeast can look like little flakes (think “fish food,” but for humans), crumbs, or sometimes a finer powder. Its traditional yellow hue derives from its B vitamin content, although some brands sport more of a tan or light brown color. You can buy it in bags, as well as shaker bottles.

For best results, store your nooch in an airtight container, where it can last for up to two years.

How to Use Nutritional Yeast

Nooch’s uses are limited only by your imagination. Riffing on the fact that it’s got something of a cheesy flavor, you can substitute nutritional yeast for dairy products like grated parmesan or romano cheese. Anywhere someone might use a parmesan shaker that you’d find at the table of a pizzeria, you can shake some nooch. Liberally sprinkle the magic yellow flakes on plant-based pizzas, pasta dishes, salads, soups, and so on.

You can also add your own seeds, nuts, herbs, and spices to your nutritional yeast recipe (for a parmesan substitute). For example, you can simulate the fattiness of cheese by grinding your nooch in a food processor along with toasted cashews, sunflower seeds, or sesame seeds. Create a pleasing flavor by adding garlic powder, smoked paprika, or ground caraway, fennel, or cumin seeds — or pretty much any spice that strikes your fancy.

You can also take advantage of nooch’s taste and texture by using it as a base or flavoring in homemade nut cheeses, as well as plant-based cheese sauces, spreads, or dips such as queso or a spinach artichoke dip.

Nooch makes a great popcorn seasoning, too. You can get it to stick by spritzing the popped kernels with a bit of Bragg Aminos or tamari (or olive oil) before shaking it over the bowl. It also peps up crunchy chickpeas and kale chips, and can be added to homemade crackers to mimic a Cheez-It or Nut Thin.

Nooch is your friend when it comes to savory breakfasts. You can stir it into a savory oatmeal bowl and mix it into a breakfast hash consisting of diced potatoes and other veggies. Both its flavor and color complement tofu scrambles, and you can simply sprinkle it on avocado toast.

And nutritional yeast recipes and uses just get better as the day goes on. You can easily incorporate it into lunch and dinner dishes such as casseroles, veggie burgers, dinner loaves, or as a topping for stuffed potatoes. Nooch is also great for breading tofu, cauliflower, and broccoli that’s going in an air fryer.

Because it’s so flavorful and lightweight, nutritional yeast makes an excellent condiment for travel. If you’re concerned about finding healthy food on the road, a shaker of nooch can turn even bland steamed veggies into a yummy dish. (And if you also bring a squeeze bottle of sriracha, you can spice up just about anything that’s edible. Possibly even a cardboard box, although I don’t recommend trying it.)

Nutritional Yeast Recipes

Nutritional yeast is a versatile and transformative flavor agent that brings the beloved “cheesy” umami flavor to plant-based cooking without the potentially harmful side effects that come with dairy cheese. We’re sharing the seven nutritional yeast recipes below (plus the ones scattered throughout the article!) because, well, they’re delicious (and we’re not just saying that because we created them). And because they showcase a range of dishes in which nooch really takes things up a notch. With a savory breakfast polenta, a smoky kale salad, three plant-based versions of what, for many, are childhood classics, and finishing up with a condiment and sauce, you might just use nutritional yeast on everything (ok, almost everything — I don’t recommend it on chocolate cake, and I speak from experience on this one!). Your nutritional yeast recipe library is now open!!

1. Savory Breakfast Polenta with Mushrooms and Arugula

Polenta is made from finely ground yellow corn and cooked as a breakfast cereal with milk, butter, and cheese. This plant-based version offers that same creamy, silky, and cheesy flavor, but without some potentially harmful ingredients. Plus, nutritional yeast helps boost the nutritional profile of this meal with added plant-based protein, B vitamins, and trace minerals. When consumed with antioxidant- and mineral-rich greens, you’ve got a meal that will help you feel unstoppable!

2. Smoky and Cheesy Kale Salad

These cheesy golden flakes make a lusciously creamy, zesty, and tangy salad dressing when combined with tahini, lemon juice, and savory spices. Tossing it with earthy and slightly sweet kale makes for one of the most delicious salad experiences yet!

3. Spinach Artichoke Dip

Nutritional yeast elevates the flavor in our plant-based take on this classic, ooey-gooey dip. Not only is it pretty irresistible, but it also delivers prebiotic fiber and nutrient-rich minerals — such as magnesium, potassium, copper, and zinc — in every delicious umami bite. Serve this nutritional yeast-filled recipe as a veggie dip, spread it on flatbread, or layer it with potatoes and then bake it as a casserole.

4. Broccoli and Tomato Pasta Bake

What’s not to love about a rich and cheesy pasta dish? In our pasta bake, nutritional yeast complements the sweet and savory tones of broccoli and tomato to create a captivating combination of textures, flavors, and nutrients. We encourage you to add other veggies that you know the family will love as well — after all, this recipe is likely going to be in continuous rotation!

5. Chili Mac ‘n Cheese

New to nutritional yeast? This one’s for you. Nooch lover? This recipe is for you — and your recipe library, too! Turn to your pantry for whole grain or legume macaroni, cashews (or raw sunflower seeds), nutritional yeast, black beans, refried beans, and plenty of spices. Making this Chili Mac ‘n Cheese will give you a direct experience of what it’s like to create a mouth-watering, plant-based nutritional yeast recipe!

6. 3-Ingredient 2-Minute Cheesy Topping

One of the top concerns we hear about going plant-based is the notion of giving up cheese. This 3-Ingredient 2-Minute Cheesy Topping makes ditching cheese for plants a piece of (plant-based) cake! Not only is it simple to make, but it’s bursting with umami flavor from the garlic and nutritional yeast — and richness from the hemp seeds. Sprinkle this nooch mixture on top of soup, pasta, salads, grain bowls, or anywhere you’re craving cheesy goodness!

7. Cheesy Cashew Sauce

What do you get when you blend creamy cashews, tart lemon juice, and savory spices with nutritional yeast? The ultimate cheesy sauce, of course! It’s also another recipe to turn to when dairy cravings strike — it, along with our Cheesy Topping, is on our always-have-on-hand list, so we won’t be surprised if they become go-tos for you, too!

You Can Use Nooch on Almost Anything

Nutritional yeast is a delicious addition to many dishes, both as an ingredient and a seasoning. Not only does it add rich umami flavor and vibrant color to recipes, but it also delivers a bunch of important nutrients. And it’s a great source of plant-based protein.

There are many ways to use nutritional yeast in recipes, from savory breakfasts to salty snacks. In addition to the suggestions and recipes we’ve shared here, I hope you enjoy playing with your food and trying out new and creative uses for this wonderful gift from the fungus kingdom.

Tell us in the comments:

• Do you remember the first time you tried nooch? What did you think?

• How do you use nutritional yeast now? What are your favorite ways to add it to foods?

• What ideas do you have for using nooch in your upcoming meals and snacks?

Feature Image: iStock.com/Gema Alvarez Fernandez

The post How to Use Nutritional Yeast in Recipes appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

The actor who played the Wicked Witch, Margaret Hamilton, had a lot to be scared of as well. Her skin was tinted green using toxic, copper-based makeup, which caused first-degree burns to her face when it caught fire in a mishap during filming. And she retained that green hue for weeks after they finished shooting her scenes for The Wizard of Oz.

But then in 1975, the 73-year-old Hamilton, now a grandmother of three, appeared on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood in a segment intended to help kids get over their fear of the witch. After chatting amiably, Rogers invited Hamilton to don her costume — long skirt, long cape, and pointy witch’s hat — over her pastel dress and pearl necklace. She even performed her terrifying laugh, as she and Rogers kept returning to the fact that she was just a regular person who was playing make-believe. And it sure helped that they omitted the green makeup this time.

Thanks to the magic of movies, makeup was able to transform a sweet woman into a frightening villain. But over the past couple of decades, a different kind of green powder keeps making headlines — one made from food and with a very different function: promoting health and fighting disease. Hundreds of commercially produced green powder supplements are now on the market, with different ingredients and varied health claims.

Manufacturers and social media influencers tout green health powders as an easy way to get all the benefits of vegetables, fruit, and other nutritious foods. But are they actually good for you? Are they worth the cost, or are you better off just eating the greens whole? And are green powders just another superfluous or even potentially harmful supplement?

In this article, we’ll take a look at green powders, and see whether they’re good, wicked, or somewhere in between.

What Are Green Powders?

Green powders are typically a concentrated mixture of dried and powdered leafy greens and other whole plant foods.

Brands and products differ, but common ingredients in green powders include:

• Leafy greens
• Vegetables
• Seaweed or algae (such as spirulina or chlorella)
• Fruit
• Probiotics
• Herbs (including adaptogens)
• Natural extracts
• Grasses (some may be fermented or sprouted)

Some green powders are also fortified with vitamins and minerals, digestive enzymes, and additives to enhance flavor, color, or texture.

Even though they come from whole foods, green powders are considered supplements. You can generally find them in the supermarket supplement aisle, online, in the health and beauty section of natural foods stores, and in dedicated supplement shops.

Green powders are often marketed as an easy and convenient way to get the benefits of high concentrations of healthy foods — leafy greens, herbs, fruits, and veggies — that you’re probably not getting enough of. Some proponents see them as “the next best thing” to eating copious quantities of whole plant foods. Others argue that the concentrated formulations can be nutritionally superior to food, not only keeping your body optimally functional but treating specific conditions as well. But what does the research say about green powders?

Do Green Powders Work?

This is the part of the article where I usually share the latest scientific research on the food or supplement under discussion. Stuff like, “Researchers found that people who ate the most orange bell peppers solved Wordle puzzles 18.4% faster than those who ate the least.” (I’m totally making that up, by the way — my guess is that mushrooms are much more significant contributors to Wordle prowess.)

The problem is, that there’s almost no independent research on the actual effects of green powders on performance, mood, or health. And in any case, since different formulations can contain vastly different ingredient profiles, there’s no blanket statement to be made about whether green powders work or not.

Instead, what we have are competing claims by different brands, touting their products’ benefits for things like weight loss, reducing gas and bloating, increasing collagen production (for that lovely un-Wicked-Witch-of-the-West skin), balancing mood, or just boosting health in general thanks to their concentrated “superfoods.”

There’s no way to confirm or rebut most of these claims since they usually come from the company selling the product and typically aren’t backed up by unbiased research studies — which is to say, studies that haven’t been funded by the company that stands to gain from a positive result.

Study Conclusions Are Often Biased

You might think that funding wouldn’t necessarily make a huge difference to the study conclusions, but there’s ample evidence that it does in a variety of nutritional domains. A 2005 anonymous survey published in the prestigious science journal Nature found that fully 20% of mid-career scientists admitted to “changing the design, methodology, or results of a study in response to pressure from a funding source.”

Take research into whether sugary drinks are bad for you. In 2016, researchers analyzed 60 studies on the relationship between sugary drinks and obesity and/or diabetes. Twenty-six of them were funded partially or fully by soft drink companies, and 34 were not. Not a single one of the 26 industry-funded studies found an association between sugar-sweetened beverages and poor health outcomes. Yet 33 out of 34 independently funded studies did show such an effect.

In my opinion, relying upon and relaying the claims generated by studies commissioned and paid for by the companies who stand to profit from sales would be irresponsible. If you have a green powder brand that you like, you can check out the research on their website, take it with a grain of (low-sodium) salt, and make your own decision about whether to invest in their product.

That said, it’s reasonable to assume some basic benefits of at least some varieties of green powders since they’re made by drying and grinding leafy greens, which are known to be some of the healthiest foods on the planet. While some industrial processes seriously diminish the nutritional value of foods (like turning whole wheat berries into bleached white flour, or deep frying and salting potatoes to make potato chips and French fries), dehydrating and powdering greens is unlikely to dramatically rob them of their nutritional oomph, let alone make them unhealthy.

What Are the Benefits of Green Powders?

Green powders can be an easy way to consume more fruits and vegetables, which is a good strategy for boosting your nutritional intake. Especially if you find it hard to prepare healthy home-cooked meals, you travel a lot, or you are (or live with) a picky eater who’s not thrilled with eating vegetables and fruits on a daily basis. Green powders can help fill the gap.

Green powders can also provide you with the benefits of greens when they’re out of season and you can’t access fresh ones. In some regions of the world, leafy greens tend to bolt in response to long, hot summer days, and if you want greens during those months, you either have to import them, use frozen ones, or rely on powdered greens. The powders have the added benefit of a longer shelf life than fresh or frozen produce. And if you’re short on freezer space, they don’t take up very much real estate.

Because green powders are concentrated (largely through the removal of water), you need only a small amount of powder to get the nutritional equivalent of multiple servings of greens, vegetables, and fruits.

It also makes sense that properly formulated green powders can support gut health. Like the veggies and fruits they’re made from, green powders also contain organic compounds like polyphenols and antioxidants, which promote beneficial gut bacteria. And some green powders also have added prebiotics, probiotics, and/or digestive enzymes.

Green powders can also deliver a potent mix of antioxidants, which have been shown to increase the levels of these beneficial compounds in blood. Antioxidants combat oxidative stress, a process that can contribute to heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer’s, as well as conditions associated with aging, such as cataracts.

Are Green Powders Worth It?

The answer to “Are green powders worth it?”, like the answer to most questions, is, “It depends.” For someone who eats almost no produce — fresh or frozen, raw or cooked — a well-formulated green powder may provide immensely valuable nutritional supplementation. But for someone already eating the recommended amount of fruits and veggies (which, according to the CDC, describes only 10% of the US population), there may be much less benefit.

For one thing, while most green powders contain high amounts of vitamins and minerals, there isn’t enough research to understand how bioavailable they are — that is, how much your body can absorb and use. Whole foods aren’t just static collections of nutrients — a tomato is far more biologically potent than the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients in it taken on their own. It’s not at all clear whether fiber plays a big role in helping your body get the most out of the other nutrients, or whether fresh or “living” foods have something important that dehydrated foods do not.

And while green powders are sometimes described as whole foods, they are, in fact, missing two extremely important nutrients: water and fiber. Processing renders them shelf-stable and highly concentrated, making them easier to transport, store, and display for sale. But it also comes with downsides. For one, fiber and water trigger satiety, so replacing whole fruits and veggies with powder represents a missed opportunity to help your body know when it’s time to stop eating, especially if you’re sprinkling the powder on things like pasta dishes or drinking it in sweet smoothies. And most people don’t drink enough water to begin with, so the hydration provided by whole produce is important.

It’s clear that green powders can’t fully replace a whole foods diet. Eating these foods in their whole food state is still the best way to get all the nutrients your body needs. But green powders may give you a boost, nutritionally, especially if you’re easing into eating healthier, don’t always have time to sit down to a full meal, or travel a lot and appreciate having healthier dehydrated foods. But some green powders are also fortified with additional vitamins and minerals, which may not be necessary if you’re already taking other vitamins or supplements, in addition to eating a healthy balanced diet.

Green Powder Side Effects and Downsides

In fact, it’s possible to get too much of certain vitamins and minerals. Two nutrients that can be problematic in excess are vitamin D and iron. And not all synthetic vitamins are beneficial, so you may want to check how much is in your green powder (and pay attention to serving size — you may be adding a quarter-cup scoop when the manufacturer has calculated nutrition facts based on a serving of a single tablespoon).

Many green powders provide high amounts of vitamin K, which is generally good for you, but can interact with a variety of prescription medications like antacids, certain blood thinners, antibiotics, aspirin, and drugs for cancer, seizures, and high cholesterol, among other conditions. If you take any of these pharmaceuticals, you may want to consult your health care team before adding a green powder to your supplement regimen.

While you’re checking the label of your green powder of choice, be on the lookout for certain ingredients that can cause side effects or allergies in some people. But even if nothing on the label concerns you, you’re not necessarily in the clear.

Like all supplements, green powders are not tested or approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Worldwide, oversight and compliance vary by country or region. That is, no official authority exists to verify that supplements contain what they claim to contain; whether the included ingredients are safe; and even whether they contain heavy metals, bacteria, or pesticides. You either have to trust the brand’s label or check whether a particular product has undergone testing by an independent third-party service such as ConsumerLab, NSF, or USP.

Many green powders also contain ingredients that could be concerning for some people. For example, spirulina and chlorella powders may contain sulfites and can trigger allergic reactions in those sensitive to those compounds.

If you have a wheat allergy or celiac disease, make sure your green powder is certified gluten-free. And if you’re dealing with an autoimmune disorder such as lupus or MS, you may want to avoid powders that contain alfalfa sprouts or seeds because of their immune system-stimulating effects.

That’s not an exhaustive list. There may be other troublesome ingredients, including additives and natural flavors in green powders, not to mention added sweeteners, so make sure to read ingredient labels before ingesting.

Also, there’s the question of cost. Like many other supplements, green powders can be pricey for some. Most cost upwards of $30 per 10 ounces, which can come out to more than a dollar per serving. Fortunately, you can cut that cost significantly by making your own green powder at home — using whole leafy greens, vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, and/or herbs.

DIY Green Powder

If you have access to fresh greens, veggies, fruits, mushrooms, and herbs in bulk, you can dehydrate and grind them into your own green powder blend, which will contain exactly what you put into it, and nothing more. You can use a dehydrator, your oven, or sun drying methods. (Here’s our detailed guide to dehydrating food.)

If you use a dehydrator, put it at the lowest temperature setting (ideally no higher than 110℉) to preserve as many nutrients as possible. Figure on 3–4 hours to complete the job, but use your judgment rather than a timer, and make sure there’s no moisture at all in the dehydrated produce before removing it from the machine. When dry enough, blend the dried greens and other foods in a blender or food processor.

Here’s a video showing how to turn garden greens into a DIY green powder, using a dehydrator and food processor.

If you don’t feel like making the effort to create your own green powders, there are a number of brands that use organic whole food ingredients with no added dairy, sweeteners, or harmful additives, and have undergone third-party testing. For example, Complement Daily Greens is organic, third-party tested, contains no sugars, and comes in compostable packaging (for more about Daily Greens, see the Editor’s Note at the end of this article).

How Are Green Powders Used?

Green powders can be quite bitter or have a grassy taste, so they’ll generally go down easier when mixed with other more palatable foods. If you decide to include green powders in your diet, you might start by using them in a green smoothie or other beverage. Here’s a comprehensive guide to smoothies to get you going.

If you don’t mind the taste, you can also mix your powder into a glass of water, or add it to oatmeal, overnight oats, or chia pudding to add a fun burst of color and nutrients to your breakfast. You can blend green powders into homemade salad dressings and sauces. And for snacks, mix it into energy balls and homemade granola bars.

If your green powder isn’t sweet, with no fruit or other sweetener added, you can even add it to savory dishes such as soups, stews, and chilis, as well as vegetable dips. Finally, you can just sprinkle the powder over any hot meal you like.

Green Powder Recipes

Think outside of the box when it comes to creating a delicious vehicle to deliver your favorite green powder. They’re highly versatile and can add a vibrant hue to your breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as our five recipes below demonstrate. The Green Magic Smoothie or Green Bliss Energy Bites would be great places to start if this is your first culinary adventure with green powders. From there, expand your green powder recipe repertoire with Mighty Green Chia Pudding, Superfood Pesto, and Green Paradise Dressing. They’re all green superfood heroes in our kitchen!

1. Green Magic Smoothie

Blend up some whimsy with this enchanting Green Magic Smoothie. What makes this smoothie magical (aside from all the wholesome plant ingredients) is the addition of daily greens in powder form. This nutrient-dense smoothie is a supercharged source of protein, vitamins, minerals, and powerful antioxidants lending to its antiinflammatory properties. Plus, it’s heart healthy and gives a fantastical bright green hue!

2. Green Bliss Energy Bites

Help your family (big and small) get their leafy greens by incorporating greens powder in these nutty-flavored Green Bliss Energy Bites. Peanut Butter and coconut shine through and disguise the leafy green flavor. For those with nut allergies, substitute sunflower butter for the peanut butter (they are just as scrumptious). Enjoy these as a snack or a grab-n-go green breakfast!

3. Mighty Green Chia Pudding

Want to get in your daily dose of greens, but searching for a new way to enjoy them? Mighty Green Chia Pudding is a delicious alternative to your daily green smoothie and works as an invigorating breakfast, light afternoon snack, or a wholesome green dessert. Greens powder and organic spinach are blended together with nutrient-rich chia seeds, sweet dates, creamy plant milk, and healing spices for a luscious green pudding that is simply a treat to eat!

4. Superfood Pesto

Plant-based pesto already tops the nutrition charts with its combination of healthy fats from nuts, leafy greens, fresh garlic, and, of course, herbaceous sweet basil. Adding a scoop of your favorite green powder kicks it up a notch in the nutrition department. What’s great about adding greens powder to savory recipes is the super concentrated source of plant nutrients like vitamin K, beta carotene, folate, and antioxidants you get from whichever green powder you use. If you feel like your nutrition has been lacking, Superfood Pesto may be the tastiest way to get a boost of nutrients!

5. Green Paradise Dressing

Greens powders can be used in many innovative ways, like in this delicious Green Paradise Dressing. Impress your loved ones with this bright green dressing that is protein-packed, mineral-rich, and delightfully creamy! Serve alongside a salad or grilled veggies at your next plant-based gathering. Or, make it for yourself to enjoy throughout the week on salads and grain bowls. Adding greens in powder form is one delicious way to enjoy your greens!

The Best Green Powders Are Homemade

Green powders are supplements that contain powdered greens, and sometimes vegetables, fruits, herbs, and other ingredients as well. Their marketing often touts specific health benefits, but as of yet, these claims haven’t been put to the test in a rigorous way.

We do know, however, that many of the fruits and vegetables that go into them are health-promoting, so it’s not unreasonable to assume there could be benefits in their concentrated form as well. For people who don’t regularly consume fruits, vegetables, and other healthful foods, green powders may indeed provide vital nutrients that they’re currently lacking.

If you’re trying to decide between getting your nutrients from a whole foods diet and green powders, there are many reasons to lean toward the first option. You can get all the claimed benefits from eating whole foods in their fresh or frozen state, in addition to water and fiber. Plus, some ingredients in green powders can trigger side effects and can interact with prescription drugs, so be sure to consult with your health care team before adding them to your diet.

If you do like the idea of green powders as a convenient way to add more plants to your diet, you may want to make your own, so you have total control over the mix and quality of ingredients.

Tell us in the comments:

• Have you tried green powders? If so, what’s your experience?
• What vegetables or fruits do you want to consume in greater quantity?
• Do you grow greens in your garden? How do you use them in your cooking?

Read Next:

• 5 Key Supplements for Vegans and Vegetarians to Thrive on A Plant-Based Diet
• Leafy Greens: How to Source, Wash, Store, & Prepare Them

The post Are Green Powders Healthy? appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

If you’re a fan of conspiracy theories, you’ll love the one about miracle berries.

There’s a plant that grows in West Africa called Synsepalum dulcificum, which produces berries that do a remarkable thing — they flip your taste buds’ sensation of sour, making those foods taste sweet. Immediately after eating some of the mildly sweet berries, you’ll experience acidic foods like lemons and limes as extremely sweet. The effect lasts for about an hour.

The mechanism was discovered by a Japanese researcher, Kenzo Kurihara, in 1968, when he isolated a glycoprotein in these “miracle berries” that he called “miraculin.” It binds with taste receptors on your tongue and convinces them that sour is now sweet.

If your mind tends towards entrepreneurship, you might be thinking, “Holy cannoli, I could make a fortune adding this stuff to berry recipes and sugar-free desserts that people would go nuts over.” You might even see yourself on a platform on a sunny day in Stockholm, Sweden, accepting the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for having single-handedly solved the global obesity crisis. But you’d be 50 years too late.

Nefarious Berry-Busting

In the 1970s, a biochemistry student named Robert Harvey started a company named, fittingly enough, Miraculin, which produced very sweet and very sugar-free desserts. In blind taste tests, schoolchildren, whom everyone knows are the toughest food critics in the world, preferred the miracle berry desserts to those sweetened with table sugar. The sky was the limit!

Until things got weird. Harvey reported that he was being followed, his office was broken into, and his files were stolen. Shortly thereafter, in 1974, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) forbade the use of miraculin in food, calling it an additive and thus requiring extensive testing to prove its safety (despite its use in traditional West African cooking for centuries).

Harvey blamed nefarious interference by the powerful sugar lobby, whom he accused of influencing FDA officials and shutting down his young company.

And half a century later, we’re still trying to find healthy sweeteners that can help our society kick its sugar habit. But we may not be trying hard enough. While the Synsepalum dulcificum berries trick our tongues into the perception of sweetness, there are plenty of other berries that are at once healthy for us and, at the same time, pretty darn sweet all by themselves — no deception required.

And that’s what I want to talk about today — the wonderful world of berries. Or, if you prefer, “Currant Events.” (Sorry about that.)

Three Cheers for Berries

When you think of “superfoods,” you may conjure images of powders made from the roots of rare Amazonian vines, or expensive syrups produced from the extracts of smelly Himalayan fruits. In short: exotic plants from foreign climes (with high price tags, to boot). But there are many superfoods right under our collective noses — foods so familiar that we can overlook them in our zealous quest for optimal health.

Regular old leafy greens come to mind; so do many common herbs and spices. And one of the most powerful kinds of superfoods is the much-beloved family of fruits known as berries.

No less an expert than Dr. Joel Fuhrman considers berries one of the healthiest classes of foods you can eat. They are the second B in his acronym G-BOMBS, a list of awesome, cancer-fighting foods that includes greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, BERRIES, and seeds.

Most folks associate berries with dessert foods. And it’s true that berries are nature’s candy, thanks to their natural sweetness — which appears to be a very clever way to get primates to spread their seeds.

But berry desserts — like blueberry pies and raspberry chocolate bonbons — often contain added refined sugar, and they’re often combined with less than optimally healthy dairy products.

Luckily, desserts are far from the only kind of berry recipes you can make. And if you do make berry desserts, you can absolutely skip (or greatly reduce) the refined sugar. Stick with me, and you’ll discover many ways to use berries, and a bunch of healthy berry recipes, no matter what kind of berry you have on hand. Even a miracle berry, if you can find one!

What Are Berries?

Botanically speaking, a berry is a fleshy fruit that contains lots of seeds. While technically accurate, that’s not a particularly helpful definition since it includes not only plants we think of as berries, but also bananas, tomatoes, and cucumbers.

And to further confuse us, the fruits that leap to mind when we think of berries — strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries — are actually aggregate fruit, with each seeded segment being its own individual fruit. Cranberries and blueberries are, on the other hand, “real” berries.

But let’s be fructo-fluid here, and include any fruit that contains the word “berry” in the category. Oh, and grapes, because they’re eaten like berries (even if most of them have gone seedless), they’re the right size, and they’re so versatile and delicious.

Popular Types of Berries

• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Cranberries
• Blackberries
• Raspberries
• Grapes
• Açai berries
• Goji berries
• Boysenberries
• Lingonberries
• Gooseberries
• And many more!

Health Benefits of Berries

This section could really be a very long book because there are so many berries with so many health benefits. Since they’re so delicious, however, I don’t think they need as much promotional help as, say, rutabagas.

The short story is that berries contain a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, including vitamin C, folate, and potassium. Many berries’ red or blue/dark purple hues are caused by high levels of ellagic acid and anthocyanins — compounds with so many medicinal benefits that they could get together and open their own pharmacy.

The health benefits of berries may include the following:

Berries and Metabolic Syndrome

Berries can help prevent and treat metabolic syndrome, which is highly associated with many other chronic conditions including obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, high blood levels of triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. A 2016 review paper stated that “regular long-term consumption of different berries could potentially delay the progression of metabolic syndrome” and the other diseases that accompany it.

Berries Anti-inflammatory Effects in Humans

The polyphenols in berries counter inflammation and oxidative stress, a process often likened to rusting which is responsible for the progression of many diseases and disorders including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer.

Antimicrobial Activity of Berries

Berries also exhibit antimicrobial properties, although this should not encourage you to wash your hands with them. The berries that are most antimicrobial are the black ones, thanks to high concentrations of anthocyanins.

Berries Fight Cancer

Berries help fight cancer. Again, the blacker the berry, the stronger the effect — blackberries and blackcurrants are among the foods highest in anthocyanins and ellagic acid that could keep cancer from forming and growing.

Berries Are Good for Your Brain

Berries also protect your brain. One study found that participants who ate blueberries had increased blood flow to key areas of their brains, as well as improvements in memory and attention. Other tests with seniors have found that eating strawberries and blueberries for several months led to improved memory. And a 2012 study published in the Annals of Neurology found that regular consumption of berries was linked to slower rates of cognitive decline — correlating with up to 2 ½ years of added healthy brain function.

Healthiest Berries

Want to play “Berry March Madness” to discover the absolute healthiest berries out there? Here’s a video from Dr. Michael Greger that compares common berries in terms of their antioxidant activity. You might be surprised at some of the rankings.

What to Do With Berries

You can eat berries on their own as a delicious snack or side dish — fresh, frozen, or even dried. Many berries require nothing more than washing and popping them in your mouth (ripe blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries come to mind). Or if you’re lucky enough to live near an edible berry patch, you can simply pick and eat them, right on the spot.

But you can also use them fresh, frozen, or even dried in a variety of recipes and dishes:

• Berry desserts (berry cobblers, crumbles, pies)
• Oatmeals and other breakfast foods
• Berry smoothies
• Fruit salad with berries
• Berry dressings and sauces
• Berry jam
• Fruit popsicles
• Use them as a garnish in drinks like mocktails

Fresh Berries vs Frozen Berries

You can use fresh berries for all of the above. The upside of fresh is, well, they’re fresh. The downside is that fresh berries go bad quickly, which shouldn’t be a problem as long as you consume them right away. When purchasing a carton of berries from a grocery store, look carefully to avoid picking up a box that already has a mold situation going on.

For all their health power, berries are delicate, and they don’t travel very well. (If you read that and imagine bushels of blueberries in the truck all going, “Are we there yet?” every five minutes, that’s not what I mean.) Because fresh berries are such finicky travelers — generally preferring climate-controlled air travel to ships and trucks — they can sometimes bring sizable carbon footprints.

Fresh berries can also get expensive. If you’ve ever picked your own, you’ll appreciate that a lot of the expense goes to labor, since hand-picking is almost always better than machine-picking in terms of not damaging the delicate fruits. After spending a couple of hours on your knees on a hot Saturday afternoon tugging raspberries from prickly bushes, you may gladly pay five bucks for a pint that somebody else picked.

And here’s where frozen berries really shine. They are typically less expensive than fresh. They can be picked at the peak of ripeness, and all their nutrients and flavor get locked in by flash freezing. Plus, they don’t degrade nearly as quickly, which eliminates waste and gives them a much longer shelf life. Frozen berries are best in smoothies and popsicles where the whole berry is getting blended. Freezing can also be a good answer for anyone with a hankering for berries in the middle of the winter.

It’s also worth noting, for your health’s sake, to avoid any berries or berry products packed in syrup.

How to Keep Berry Recipes Healthy

If you need proof that commercial berry products aren’t always good for you, I have two words —“pop” and “tart.” Making berry recipes yourself is almost always going to be healthier than commercially available options because you control the ingredients.

There’s no need to add refined sugar to berry recipes. If your taste buds want some extra sweetness, you can add a whole food sweetener. You can also add a bit of fresh citrus juice, whose acid makes the flavor more tart (without the pop).

For berry-based baked goods, avoid bleached and heavily refined flours, and instead use flours that are whole grain and, if you wish, gluten-free — such as legume, oat, or almond flours.

If your budget allows, opt for organic berries to avoid pesticides. This is particularly important with strawberries. Conventional (i.e., non-organic) strawberries are among the “dirtiest” foods when it comes to pesticides, achieving the dubious rank of #1 on the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list.

Vegan Berry Recipes

Oh, the things you can do with berries to make the most unique, appetizing, and nurturing vegan berry dishes! We’ve got vegan blueberry recipes, healthy mixed berry recipes, breakfast recipes with berries, and berry desserts.

Start with a vibrant-colored Pink (Raspberry) Oatmeal breakfast that will satisfy your belly and energize your morning.

Make the Blueberry Ginger Smoothie when you want a little zing with your sweetness. This healing beverage is also a great way to incorporate leafy greens!

Then make the (so yummy it’s drinkable!) creamy Blueberry Balsamic Walnut Dressing and add it to salads and grain bowls.

You can also double the Strawberry Pear Jam so that you can share your healthy and tasty creation with family and friends, while still keeping some for yourself.

Finally, feel like you’re indulging in a rich dessert fruit bar, but know you’re nourishing your body with raw and nutrient-dense, plant-based ingredients, by whipping up the super yummy Strawberry Shortcake Bars!

1.Pink (Raspberry) Oatmeal!

Give your morning oatmeal a boost by adding frozen raspberries to make a flavor-filled and colorful berry dish! Frozen berries can sometimes pack more nutrients and flavor than fresh store-bought ones since they’re picked ripe and frozen soon after being harvested, which helps to preserve both nutrition and flavor. This simple berry recipe is satisfying and nourishing!

2. Blueberry Ginger Smoothie

Naturally sweet blueberries, zesty ginger, and earthy greens make a refreshing and energizing berry smoothie to jumpstart your morning or invigorate your afternoon. This nourishing beverage could also be named the “gut-loving smoothie” given the substantial amount of anthocyanins in the blueberries, fiber in the oats, and gingerol in the ginger — all of which have been shown to contribute to optimal gut health and digestion.

3. Blueberry Balsamic Walnut Dressing

Give your salad or grain bowl a boost in flavor, nutrition, and color with this almost-too-pretty-to-eat Blueberry Balsamic Walnut Dressing. Walnuts make it rich and creamy while offering omega-3 fatty acids and protein. Blueberries make it slightly sweet with a little tart, plus lots of vitamin C, anthocyanins, and fiber. All of the ingredients together make this dressing an outstanding addition to any meal.

4. Strawberry Pear Jam

Say bye-bye to that sugar-laden, store-bought jam, and say hello to your very own homemade version that is fruit-filled and easy to prepare! First, cook down the strawberries and pears to transform them into a sweet and juicy reduction. Then combine them with fiber and omega-3-rich chia seeds to make the perfect jam. P.S. Double the batch and store small portions in tiny mason jars so you can share this ultra-tasty spread with family and friends.

5. Strawberry Shortcake Bars

What happens when you start with a nutty crust; add a creamy filling, and top it with fresh fruit? You get whole (raw!) plant-based berry bars that are packed with gobs of nutrition, a variety of textures, AND lots of flavor. These Strawberry Shortcake Bars are one of many ways strawberries can add natural sweetness to healthy desserts, like fruit bars, and avoid the need for added sugar.

Thank You Berry Much!

Berries are among the world’s healthiest (and tastiest!) foods. There are many different types of berries, all with impressive health benefits and nutritional profiles. However, the health benefits of berries are undermined when they’re served with refined sugar, as in many berry desserts. But there are healthier ways to eat berries — including ways that are showcased in the five fabulous recipes we’ve provided. Try them, and you’ll be saying, “Thank you berry much!”

Tell us in the comments:

• What are your favorite ways to eat berries?

• What’s one berry that you want to try?

• What’s your favorite fresh berry? Frozen berry?

Read Next:

• 7 Healthier Ways to Enjoy Warm Desserts
• Fruit Has Fantastic Health Benefits, But Can You Eat Too Much Fruit?

The post 5 Healthy Berry Recipes & How to Use Berries appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

The hairy mystery foods in the back of your fridge may be humorous in and of themselves, but when you multiply food waste by billions of people, it becomes tragic.

One-third of the planet’s food goes to waste — enough to feed two billion people. A lot of food waste happens before it reaches the consumer — fruits and vegetables rot in fields or warehouses, packaged items not sold by their expiration dates end up in supermarket dumpsters, and restaurants dispose of unused food at the end of the day.

Reducing Food Waste

The United States is the largest producer of food waste. The US Department of Agriculture estimates that 30–40% of the entire US food supply goes to waste. A report by the Natural Resources Defense Council put this collective behavior into an individual context — imagine going shopping, filling five grocery bags, and leaving two of them in the supermarket parking lot before driving off.

While we don’t routinely leave bags behind at the grocery store, each US resident does waste, on average, about 400 pounds of food every single year. Four hundred pounds! That’s about the weight of a full-grown female muskox, in case you were wondering.

While most of us don’t have direct control over wasteful supply chains, we can do our part with the food that makes it into our homes. In addition to eating what we buy before it starts to go bad, we can also give otherwise unused food scraps a second life, and benefit people and the planet, by not adding them to our landfills.

So what are the benefits of saving or recycling food scraps, what kinds of food scraps can you reuse, and what are some ways to use them that can help create a zero-waste kitchen?

Why Save Food Scraps?

Some food scraps can be used to make new foods. With others, you can grow new plants or feed companion animals. Some can even be turned into homemade DIY beauty and household cleaning products. And almost all of them can be used to make compost that can enrich your soil and your garden.

If you’ve never saved or repurposed food scraps before, you might be wondering what difference you can make by starting. It turns out that there are plenty of benefits to doing so (and not contributing to food waste), a few of which I’ll discuss below.

Supports Environmental Health

Repurposing your food waste keeps it out of landfills, and that’s a good thing. Food accounts for nearly a quarter of solid waste in US landfills, which are themselves the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the country. Food in landfills is deprived of oxygen (and insects), both of which are needed to accelerate the decomposition of that food into carbon, nitrogen, nutrients, and water that can return to the earth. As a result, food trapped in landfills putrifies, but doesn’t properly decompose.

Aside from air pollution caused by methane and the stench of a giant pile of rotting food, food waste can also contribute to soil and water pollution in the form of landfill leachate. This is what happens when rainwater enters a landfill, mixes with rotting food waste, and seeps down into the ground (and groundwater) below.

Food waste can also lead to resource overuse, which is a fancy way of saying that along with the food itself, we’re also wasting all the water that went into producing that food. And since water shortages are plaguing more and more communities (just ask anyone from California or Brazil or Madagascar or Arizona or Mexico or Oregon or the Middle East), this wasted water is contributing to water scarcity.

Compostable Food Improves Your Soil

Food scraps can also help improve the health and quality of your garden soil if you use them to make compost. If you grow your own food, you can create fertile soil for growing fruits and veggies by composting leftover scraps. Organic matter attracts more life to your soil by providing yummy meals for decomposers like earthworms. Earthworms — red wigglers, in particular, if you practice vermicomposting — can repair damaged soil, improve its structure, recycle nutrients, and help create an overall better growing environment.

Using food compost can also improve water retention and buffer the pH of your soil, promoting healthier plants. Compost is nature’s ultimate closed-loop system, utilizing food waste from one cycle to make a whole new generation of food to feed others.

Recycled Food Scraps Save You Money

Saving food scraps can even help you save money? Yes! On average, households could save about $370 per person annually by reducing food waste. For a five-person household, this comes out to $1,850 saved in a year. That’s a lot of cabbage!

Not only does reducing your food waste save you money on food in the long run, but depending on what you do with them, repurposing your food scraps can also help you save money on soil and fertilizer (if you turn them into compost), new plants (if you use them to grow more vegetables), animal feed (if you feed them to companion animals), or beauty and cleaning products (if you use them to make these).

Examples of Food Scraps That Can Have a Second Life

With all the food scraps we tend to toss away, where do you start to turn things around in your own kitchen? Here are some parts of foods you might commonly chop and discard that are great to save as recycled food.

• Fruit and vegetable seeds
• Ends of vegetables (e.g., green beans, onions, celery, zucchini, and lettuce)
• Fruit cores
• Green tops of root vegetables (e.g., carrots, radishes, beets)
• Herb stems (e.g., basil, parsley, mint, cilantro)
• Fruit and vegetable peels, rinds, and skins
• Almond or other nut or legume pulp (from making nut milk, soy milk, etc.)
• Fruit or vegetable pulp from juicing
• Coffee grounds, tea leaves, and unbleached tea bags
• Stems from mushrooms and stalky veggies like broccoli and cauliflower (the parts you don’t eat, that is!)
• Pretty much anything on a picky eater’s plate

What to Do with Food Scraps

Curious what your most frequently discarded food waste can still be used for? Here are some ways you can turn would-be trash into (repurposed) treasure for a zero-waste kitchen.

Make Your Own Compost

As you’re prepping food or cooking, have a designated bag or food scrap container to save scraps as you go. Rather than throwing scraps into the trash or garbage disposal, toss them in your kitchen scrap container instead. Once your bin is filled, bring it to your compost area. (Pro tip: In warmer climates or during summer months, you may want to make the trip daily, unless you want to DIY a solution for fruit flies.)

Your compost setup might also include vermiculture, or using worms to decompose organic food waste into the nutrient-rich matter you can then use in your soil and garden. Kitchen scraps like vegetable trimmings, green leaves, tea bags, coffee grounds, and seaweed can make up the “greens” of your pile.

Or you can pile everything up in an enclosed space in your yard and let nature take its course without the intentional acceleration provided by red wigglers (chances are that earthworms of one variety or another will turn up to help). Commercially available food waste composters come in a few different styles. One popular design consists of a drum that can turn via a hand crank, which aerates the pile and speeds up the transformation from kitchen trash to soil.

And if you’re in a hurry and have the time and energy to tend to it, consider the Berkeley Hot Compost method, which promises to turn food scraps into rich humus in under 21 days. (That’s humus, not hummus. But if you suddenly find yourself craving hummus, here’s our favorite red pepper version.)

And if you like the latest technological gadgets, you might want to consider a food recycler, which turns compost into soil that’s ready to go into the garden in just a few hours. Seriously. Here’s a popular food recycler from Vitamix.

Check out this post for more information on how to compost at home.

Contribute to a Commercial Composting Program

If you don’t have use for compost at home (no garden or garden space), save food scraps and include them with your regular municipal green waste pickup, if offered. This includes things like garden waste, leaves, or grass clippings. Some forward-looking states and cities have enacted composting programs. For example, Vermont is one of a growing number of states that have “no landfill” laws for organic waste. With a full ban on such waste in landfills, residents can use curbside pickup, bring scraps to local collection points, or compost at home.

And the Los Angeles County composting law went into effect on January 1, 2022, and requires consumers to recycle their food scraps and other leftovers instead of throwing them away. And just to be clear, this doesn’t include throwing your food scraps onto the Staples Center floor to protest the Lakers’ terrible outside shooting this season. That is not OK.

To find a composting program in the US, check out CompostNow. There you’ll find programs where people will pick up food scraps from your home, as well as locations where you can drop them off. Europeans will find abundant composting resources here.

There are also apps that can help match you with people who need food scraps for their compost. One example is ShareWaste, which connects composters with people who have food scraps to share, as well as cafes that may have coffee grounds and other organic materials to give away. (Coffee grounds are a great addition to any compost pile — especially if you prefer the smell of espresso to the smell of a typical compost pile.)

Make Vegetable Stock with Food Scraps

If vegetable stock is a pantry staple in your home, consider making your own using food scraps — it can be far more flavorful than commercial stocks or those made from salt and palm oil-filled bouillon cubes and saves you from having to buy these packaged foods. 

To make vegetable stock from food scraps, save your vegetable scraps in a resealable, freezer-safe bag or container, where they can live for up to six months if you keep them in the freezer. Stock scraps can include peels, stems, and ends from things like carrots, onions, mushrooms, herbs, zucchini and yellow squash, potatoes, and more. The only categories you’ll want to avoid are Brassica vegetables, like broccoli and Brussels sprouts, as well as artichoke stalks, and most varieties of lettuce (these will make the stock bitter).

When your freezer bag or container is full, transfer the contents to a large pot on the stove. Fill the pot with water until the vegetables are floating, around ¾ of the way full. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes to allow the most flavor and nutrients to be released into the liquid. Then, strain out your solids, leaving the stock liquid. This homemade stock can be kept in the fridge for three to five days, or, once cooled, it can be stored in the freezer for up to three months. Use it for soups, sauces, slow cooker dishes, as a base for cooking grains, and in stir-fries.

If you just need a couple of tablespoons of vegetable stock at a time, say for oil-free sautéing, you can freeze some of it in ice cube trays. Once frozen, pop the cubes out of the tray and into a labeled freezer bag or container. Nobody wants to play “Guess what this is” with some unidentified frozen lumps at the bottom of your freezer.

Regrow Plants From Scraps or Seeds

Leafy greens and herbs are some of the easiest plants to regrow from scraps. When preparing fruits and veggies to eat, save the seeds from different varieties so that you can plant them in your garden or in containers. It can be fun to try a number of different kinds and see what grows best.

Especially if you have kids who are growing up thinking that food comes from the supermarket, it can be fun and exciting to see a carrot growing out of a carrot top, or a puny garlic clove transform into a plant that can go into the ground and regenerate.

Many people have had success using market-bought produce and kitchen scraps to grow new plants, like apricots, bok choy, garlic, red onion, pineapple, basil, melon, carrot tops, squash, mint, green onion, ginger, celery, potatoes, and more. For more specific guidance on regrowing plants from food scraps, see this post.

Feed Scraps to Companion Animals

Food scraps make great, healthy supplemental food for certain kinds of animals you may have at home. Just make sure to check which foods might be toxic to certain species before offering them free range to all of your scraps.

Rabbits love to munch on leafy greens and herb scraps, beet and carrot tops, and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli. Cats can safely enjoy a variety of herbs and herb scraps like mint and basil. As long as you don’t have bears and other large visiting wildlife where you live, backyard birds can flock to feeders filled with pantry grains, nuts, seeds, and fruit scraps. Backyard chickens, some of the most famously non-picky eaters in the animal kingdom, enjoy vegetable peels, bananas, apples, berries, carrots, bok choy, silverbeet, spinach, cabbage, and broccoli. And some scraps will also be enjoyed by dogs (though there are also some dangers to be aware of — as described here).

Get Creative With Food Scrap Arts & Crafts

The beauty of colorful fruits, vegetables, and grains isn’t limited to the kitchen. You can also put these kinds of scraps to creative use in a number of food scrap art and craft projects. Some ideas include decorative and aromatic citrus peel garlands and candles, potato stamps, veggie-based watercolors, and hot-glued pistachio shell artificial succulents.

Good advice — if you carve Michelangelo’s David out of an old turnip, make sure you list it on eBay before it gets wrinkled and starts smelling like old socks.

DIY Beauty & Cleaning Products

You can even use food scraps to make eco-friendly and non-toxic products for your home and personal care routine. After you eat the inner flesh, the insides of avocado shells can be rubbed on elbows as a natural moisturizer. The pit can be dipped in olive oil and used as a softening foot massager. You can mix coffee grounds with coconut oil and sugar for an exfoliating scrub. You can even throw unused oats into your bath water for an extra creamy and softening soak.

As for cleaning products, you can use fruit peels, pulp, and juice to make “garbage enzymes” that can kill problematic bacteria and fungi around your home. You can use them to mop your floors, wash your dishes, and clean your sink. One way to do this is by collecting fruit peel scraps in a bag with some sugar and water, allowing them to sit for around three months, and then using the residual enzymes — which are found in the vinegar-smelling brown liquid. It might not smell or look appetizing, but it sure does the trick when it comes to cleaning the house.

Citrus peels and vinegar can make a quick DIY cleaning spray, leaving parts of your home clean and smelling good. One simple recipe is this gentle lemon cleanser, which combines lemon rinds, white vinegar, water, and liquid castile soap. It takes two to seven days to make, but once it has ample time to sit, you’ve got yourself a non-toxic, gentle, all-purpose cleanser. If you don’t feel like making your own cleaning products, a company called Veles sells a cleaning product made up of 97% food waste.

Reuse Food Scraps in Recipes

Of course, you can keep your food scraps in the kitchen by repurposing them for a variety of recipes. Herb scraps, carrot or radish tops, and other leafy greens can make pesto. Use apple scraps to make homemade apple cider vinegar, which can then be included in dressings and other recipes.

If you have nut pulp leftover from making nut milk, use it in baked goods like crackers, muffins, or even dog treats, to add nutrients and texture. Save stems of veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, and kale and create a sheet pan meal by seasoning and roasting them as a side dish or to top a grain salad. You can also make jams, dressings, or purees out of fruit that’s nearing the end of its useful life in your fridge. And you can pickle or lacto-ferment vegetable scraps or slices that would otherwise go unused — for example, celery stalks, cucumber slices, or the stems of rainbow chard.

Recipes Using Food Scraps

Minimizing waste while preparing delicious, plant-based dishes can be its own fun adventure. Now for some recipes! 

Homemade Vegetable Bouillon skips the scraps stage entirely by blending the whole plant, which means you get exponentially more nutrition (think fiber) and flavor! 

You can rename Creamy Squash Soup each time you make it by adding just about any leftover vegetables you have on hand to the sauté process and blending them into the creamy base. 

Instead of ditching those pesky fibrous kale stems, use them in the Kale Walnut Basil Pesto. With this pesto’s perfect texture and flavor, you won’t even know they’re there, but your body will recognize the abundance of nutrition. 

If you’re ever unsure if you’ll be able to finish fruit in the fridge before its expiration date, freeze it. Then, when you happen upon that fruit one day and wonder what you’ll do with it, make delicious and nutritious jam — either our Strawberry Pear blend or whatever fruit you have on hand. 

Finally, a tasty and crunchy way to elevate just about any meal is by adding pickled veggies. Pickling, especially our Vietnamese-Inspired version, is simple, yummy, and a great way to expand veggies’ shelf life!

1. Homemade Vegetable Bouillon

If you enjoy maximizing nutrition while minimizing food waste then you’ve come to the right recipe. Vegetable broth might be something you keep on hand to use in soups, whole grain dishes, and casseroles. Why not use vegetable parts (stems, roots, or leaves) that you’re not using in traditional recipes, or vegetables nearing expiration, and make a bouillon? Rather than boiling and then simmering vegetable scraps (which is another way to make homemade broth), you’ll use the entire plant by adding it to your food processor to make a bouillon. This means that, in addition to the phytonutrients, you’ll also get plenty of fiber — a huge bonus! Not only are you minimizing food waste, but you’ll also save on packaging costs and trips to the grocery store.

2. Creamy Squash Soup

Have you ever made a recipe and had just one small extra piece of an ingredient or a few items leftover? Oftentimes, it’s a few potatoes left over from a five-pound bag, a leftover piece of squash from a recipe calling for one cup cubed, or the relentless half an onion which always seems perched up in the fridge. While this recipe is called Creamy Squash Soup, you can add a variety of vegetables that you need to use to the sauté portion of this recipe, just before blending.

3. Kale Walnut Basil Pesto

Often, the fibrous stems, or ribs, of leafy greens are ditched because of their ultra-chewy texture and extra bitter compounds. However, there are fun and delicious ways to disguise them in recipes so that you can enjoy all of the nutrition they offer while minimizing waste. For example, Kale Walnut Basil Pesto is so appetizing and tasty that you won’t even know that stems are included! Use this flavorful pesto on top of avocado toast, as a pasta sauce, or as a pizza spread.

4. Strawberry Pear Jam

When in doubt, freeze it! This is a good motto to keep in mind whenever you have fruit that is nearing expiration and you’re unsure if you’ll enjoy it before it’s time to say goodbye. At some point, you may open your freezer door and find that fruit, wondering what the heck you’re going to do with it now. We have a solution — make nutritiously delicious homemade jam! Pears, strawberries, and chia pack a ton of fiber. Strawberries contain phytonutrients that have been shown to help with skin, brain, and heart health. And chia seeds bring lots of bone-supporting minerals like magnesium, calcium, iron, and phosphorus. Share this jam with friends and family and let them know that your homemade jam is not only delicious but also good for their health!

5. Vietnamese Inspired Pickled Veggies

Have you ever experienced the excitement of finding a new farmers market veggie to try or growing unique vegetables in your garden that seemed interesting to you at the time, but then you’re left with, “what the heck do I do with it?” We have a healthy fix for you — make pickled veggies! Not only will you have an opportunity to use new-to-you veggies in a fun and tasty way, but you’ll also exponentially expand their shelf life with the help of the brine solution. Pickled veggies are also simple to make! Use them on top of plant-based burgers, grain bowls, and avocado toast. P.S. Kudos to you for exploring and experimenting with new plant-based foods!

Be Scrappy with Food Waste

Food waste is a worldwide problem that’s contributing to global warming — and can be affecting your pocketbook, too. There are many ways to make use of your food scraps — like composting them, making household or personal care products with them, or including them in recipes, so they don’t end up in landfills. By thinking about your food scraps in a new light, and using them in new ways, you can contribute to a better world for people and the planet, both inside and outside of your home.

Tell us in the comments:

• Do you compost? If so, share your composting tips (and favorite scraps to use) below!
• How do you already reuse food scraps in your home, or what are some ways you can start?
• Have you ever used food scraps to make a household cleaning product?

Feature Image: iStock.com/chameleonseye

Read Next:

• Infographic: 19 Foods You Can Regrow from Scraps
• You Have More Power to Reduce Food Waste Than You Think! 17 Things You Can Do to Take a Bite Out of This Massive Global Problem

The post How to Use Food Scraps to Reduce Kitchen Waste appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

In the intervening decades, there’s been good news on two fronts of this movement. Firstly, you can find vegan substitutions for just about every animal-based product on the market, from milk to bacon. And secondly, you don’t have to rely on commercially formulated products to cook and bake delicious food minus the old staples of dairy, eggs, and meat. Plant-based bloggers, cookbook authors, and chefs have discovered plenty of clever kitchen hacks that will have your family and friends exclaiming, “I can’t believe it’s not butter/eggs/yogurt/cream/cheese!”

The Healthy Diet Challenge

Transitioning to a healthier diet isn’t always easy. One of the big challenges for many people is the belief that they have to throw out their family cookbook. After all, those delicious recipes handed down from generation to generation are almost always full of unhealthy ingredients. Baking often depends on the unholy trinity of sugar, butter, and white flour. Savory dishes are often drenched in butter, salt, and cheese. Stocks and stews often start with meat, a bone, or chicken stock. Changing your diet can feel like orphaning yourself from your familiar and cultural heritage.

If you’re trying to reduce or eliminate animal products, there’s lots of room for confusion. What ingredients are completely off-limits, and which should you just limit? Can you leave them out of a recipe without ruining it? What are some good (and not-so-good) replacements? Do plant-based versions exist? Are they truly plant-based, or, like I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!, do they still contain animal products in sneaky packaging? And if you do find a substitute, how much should you use?

If you adopt a specialty diet, such as Bright Line Eating, which eliminates flour and sugar entirely, or the SOS-free diet (avoiding sugar, oil, and salt), you may also find yourself craving or missing the forbidden ingredients and wondering how you can replace them in ways that feel good while still supporting your health and weight goals.

In this article, I’ll share the best ways to replace animal products, as well as sugar, salt, oil, and gluten flours, in your favorite recipes. You’ll discover the most common vegan recipe substitutions — and how to use them in your cooking and baking.

Vegan & Plant-Based Recipe Substitutions

1. Milk

Milk is one of the easiest foods to replace with a plant-based analog. Store brands of soy, almond, cashew, coconut, hemp, and oat milk are readily available these days, even in mainstream supermarkets and warehouse stores. The downsides are, they’re typically more expensive than cow’s milk (which is a tribute to the power of ill-advised farm subsidies), they usually come in wasteful packaging, and they often contain not-so-healthy ingredients like added sugar, carrageenan, and natural flavors.

Fortunately, plant-based milk is one of the simplest foods to make from scratch. Soy and nut milks, in particular, lend themselves to home preparation. You can use a blender and a pot over the stove, or you can buy a nifty gadget that enables you to make a wide range of non-dairy milk options at the push of a button. Almond Cow is one such machine, retailing for a couple hundred dollars, that can pay for itself within a few months, depending on the intensity of your Silk or Oatly habit.

The different kinds of plant milks have different properties, such as protein, fat, and sugar content, as well as slightly different flavor profiles that make them more or less suitable for various applications. For most recipes, you can use the same amount of plant milk as dairy milk, which is nice since it eliminates the need for math.

Soy Milk

Soy milk, the only readily available milk option for a long time, is the one most similar to dairy milk due to its thickness and nutritional composition. For example, soy milk’s protein content, which is roughly the same as that of cow’s milk, allows for the Maillard reaction, which is when proteins and sugars heat up and create that lovely and delicious “browning” effect. If you like your bread and pie crusts to be brown-but-not-burnt, soy may be the milk substitute for you. Just make sure to go for organic or non-GMO to avoid GMO soy.

Almond Milk

Almond milk works well in baking and recipes that can stand a hint of sweetness. Because of its lower protein content, baked goods that include almond milk won’t crisp on the surface.

Cashew Milk

Cashew milk, like its nut-cousin almond milk, is lower in protein than dairy milk. It’s not ideal for baking, but its high-fat content and creaminess makes it ideal for creamy sauces like alfredo.

Coconut Milk

Coconut milk (the beverage, not the canned version) is good for baking when you don’t mind a hint of coconut flavor in the mix. Avoid using it in savory dishes that will clash with coconut. One good place to use coconut milk is in Thai soups and stews.

Rice Milk

Rice milk is much thinner than the other non-dairy milk types and may require additional thickening agents to maintain consistency. Organic corn starch and rice flour are two effective thickeners you can use with rice milk.

Oat Milk

Oat milk is all the rage these days, with baristas introducing it into fancy, non-dairy coffee drinks. It’s similar in properties to low-fat dairy milk and has a mild, slightly sweet taste. It’s great over cereals, in smoothies, and in savory cream soups and sauces. You can also use it in baking with good results.

Hemp Milk

Hemp milk is high in protein, which makes it a good choice for baking. With its strong taste, you may prefer it in savory rather than sweet dishes.

Flax Milk

Flax milk, which consists of flaxseed oil and water, is high in fat and completely devoid of protein or anything resembling good flavor. Commercial varieties add thickeners, sweetener, and natural flavor to fill in for these gaps. But if you’re concerned about getting enough omega-3 fatty acids in your diet without consuming fish, flax milk may be part of the equation. It’s a versatile milk, able to blend into both sweet and savory dishes.

Tip: Since many store-bought plant milks come flavored or sweetened, make sure to buy unsweetened, especially for savory recipes. Nobody wants broccoli and pasta alfredo with the overwhelming taste of vanilla.

Check out our article about non-dairy milks here.

2. Buttermilk

You can’t buy vegan buttermilk in the store (at least, not yet). But not to worry. It’s really easy to make your own for use in pancakes, muffins, and other recipes that call for slightly fermented, tangy milk.

Buttermilk gets its name from its origin, namely the fermented liquid left over from the process of churning butter. Because of all those active bacteria, buttermilk contributes a light, fluffy texture to many baked goods. To make a non-dairy version, you need a neutral ingredient and an acid ingredient.

For one cup of buttermilk, here are three easy options:

• 1 cup of plant-based milk + 1 Tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar
• 1 cup of plant-based milk + 1 ½ Tbsp of cream of tartar
• ¼ cup of silken tofu, pinch of salt, 1 Tbsp vinegar or lemon juice, and ½ cup water, all blended in a blender

3. Cheese

Since this is an article about healthy vegan substitutions for cooking, I’m not going to talk about what you can eat to replace a giant block of cheddar. Instead, let’s focus on replacing cheese as an ingredient in other dishes.

Cheese is often used as a topping to add gooeyness, saltiness, and a mouthwatering appearance. The simplest and healthiest alternative is sometimes to just leave it off completely. While there are plenty of non-dairy cheese substitutes available these days, including ones that melt and stretch and taste a lot like real cheese, they’re typically highly processed — and full of added flavorings and artificial ingredients. If you’re looking for a healthy option, you’ll want to pass on those. There are also some (generally pricey) fermented, non-dairy cheeses that are surprisingly delicious and nutritious, such as Miyoko’s.

Vegan Parmesan

Healthier and more affordable options include nutritional yeast, which you can sprinkle on top of dishes before or after baking for a cheesy flavor. You can add other ingredients, like toasted cashews and sesame seeds, and spices like fennel and caraway, to create a pretty convincing vegan parmesan. You can make a batch in bulk and keep it in a shaker in the fridge for whenever your Italian food calls for a sprinkle.

Cheese Sauce

You can make a cheese sauce with a base of cashews and various boiled vegetables like potato, sweet potato, and butternut squash. It can coat pasta and steamed veggies for a very satisfactory non-dairy version of mac n’ cheese. You can experiment with different ingredients and flavor profiles like Dijon mustard, nutritional yeast, and even miso paste to increase the umami-ness (probably not a word until just now) of your dishes.

Vegan Ricotta

If you’re looking for a plant-based ricotta substitute for lasagnas, baked shells, and cannolis, try tofu “cheeze,” which consists of firm tofu that’s been processed or blended into curds. Depending on how long you blend the tofu, you can also turn it into the texture of a cheese spread like cream cheese. If you keep the tofu in blocks, you can marinate it with vinegar and herbs to create a tangy feta alternative. And if mozzarella is your thing, here’s a great web page with several plant-based alternatives.

Check out our article about cheese here, and our article about nut cheeses here.

4. Eggs

Vegans aren’t the only ones who sometimes want egg substitutes. Even if you eat eggs, you may find yourself without them when you need one for a recipe. Because eggs function in different ways, you’ll want to choose an option that fills the need in question. Eggs serve four basic purposes in cooking and baking: binding (holding things together), leavening (helping the dish rise), moisture, and foaming.

Flax or Chia Egg

For binding and moisture, one of the simplest substitutions is a flax or chia “egg.” Stir one tablespoon of ground flaxseeds or chia seeds into three tablespoons of water, and leave it to thicken for 15-30 minutes. A word of caution: if your recipe calls for three eggs or more, the seeds-and-water trick may not work well. Dishes with that many eggs, like soufflés, are meant to rise in the middle, and flax or chia will not accomplish this.

Applesauce or Aquafaba

Applesauce and aquafaba (the liquid from canned chickpeas) can also provide moisture and some binding ability. Add ¼ cup of applesauce for every egg called for in baked goods, or three tablespoons of aquafaba. You can also whip aquafaba into a meringue to replace egg whites.

Pureed Fruit

If the liquid replacement is the primary concern, you can substitute pureed fruits, such as banana, avocado, or canned pumpkin, in the amount of ¼ cup per egg. Make sure the flavor you’re adding doesn’t clash with the dish, however.

Tofu

Tofu can substitute for eggs in some recipes, especially to replace scrambled eggs. You can either puree the tofu, or just break it apart with your hands for use in breakfast scrambles and burritos. Make sure to buy organic tofu to avoid GMOs.

Store-Bought Egg-Free Substitutions

Finally, there are store-bought egg substitutes that behave remarkably like real beaten eggs. They aren’t healthy, and are highly processed, but may be acceptable to you if used sparingly in recipes.

Check out our article about eggs here.

5. Yogurt

These days, there are more plant-based yogurt options available than ever before. You can buy soy, cashew, almond, and coconut-based yogurts at most health food stores and even some mainstream supermarkets. You can substitute vegan buttermilk for yogurt on a 1-to-1 basis, or use coconut cream if you don’t mind a thicker consistency and a coconut taste. Blended silken tofu can also be used in a pinch. And given a day’s lead time and the right equipment, you can make your own plant-based yogurt. Vitaclay Chef makes a combo slow cooker and yogurt maker that features a clay insert for the yogurt. Many of the newer Instant-Pots also come with a yogurt button.

6. Butter

In baking, butter contributes moisture and fat, much like oil, and binds the other ingredients together, much like eggs, while also providing flavor. In cooking, butter is often used to saute or as the base of a sauce like bechamel or garlic butter. There are commercial vegan butters, but again, they are typically highly processed and not a lot healthier than regular butter. That said, Miyoko’s Creamery butter is amazingly similar to real butter. It can be a great way to introduce die-hard dairy lovers to the idea that they can enjoy their favorite dishes, cow-free.

If your recipe calls for melted butter, you can also substitute a vegetable oil such as coconut, avocado, or olive. Use ¾ of a cup of oil for one cup of butter. If it asks for hard butter, then you’ll need more of a solid equivalent. Coconut oil, which is solid at room temperature (depending on the temperature of the room, of course), may fit the bill. Applesauce, avocados (at half the amount of butter called for), and nut butters can also substitute in baked dishes.

7. Cream

Heavy and sour cream will thicken sauces and provide that creamy mouth-feel to soups and stews. You can approximate the function of dairy cream with blended silken tofu (which is softer and smoother than firm tofu), nuts or seeds blended with water, or full-fat coconut cream. If you want to dive into the details of plant-based cream substitutes, check out this guide at Go Dairy Free.

8. Meat

The standard American diet typically includes some form of meat at almost every meal. For some recipes, you can just omit the meat if it’s not a major focus of the dish. For example, you can leave the chunks of ham out of the pea soup, and the bacon out of the steamed collards. But that leaves recipes in which the meat is the main player. Luckily, we now live in a world full of ever more convincing plant-based analogs of meat. From beef to chicken to bacon to sushi fish, somewhere out there, you can find an alternative that can satisfy, if not fool, the staunchest meat lover.

But like store-bought cheese substitutes, meat substitutes can be unhealthy in their own right because they’re often highly processed and have added flavorings and artificial ingredients. They make useful transition foods and are helpful in showing meat-eaters that they can eliminate animal products from their diets without deprivation, but for everyday use, there are plenty of healthier options.

From a functional nutrition perspective, you can keep the protein and the chewiness of meat while jettisoning the saturated fat, heme iron, hormones, persistent organic pollutants, and cruelty by replacing it with cooked beans. For an umami taste and meat-like chewiness, mushrooms can also serve as a satisfying replacement. If you like seafood, there are several varieties of mushrooms that have a “fishy” taste — in a good way.

If you want that additional meaty chewiness, relatively unprocessed soy foods like tempeh and tofu can substitute in stews and soups. If you don’t need to avoid gluten, you can also marinate and cook seitan in ways that resemble cubed beef or chicken nuggets. And if you still have a thing for bacon, check out this cool coconut bacon recipe for a vegan option.

Healthy Recipe Substitutions

You may want to find alternatives not just to animal-based foods, but other ingredients as well. Let’s look at how to cook delicious dishes without sugar, white flour, salt, or oil.

Sugar

You have a lot of options for replacing white sugar. In fact, we’ve written an entire article on the subject. Dates are a particularly versatile non-sugar sweetener. As a quick summary, you can substitute date sugar 1-for-1 for refined sugars. Date syrup is even sweeter, as it lacks the fiber, so you can replace sugar in a recipe with ⅔ the amount of date syrup. And if you want to stay completely unprocessed, you can use dried dates to add sweetness. Soak them in warm water and then blend them to create date paste, which you can use in the same amount as the sugar called for in the recipe.

Another sweet replacement is molasses, which is a thick dark syrup that’s a byproduct of the refining of beets or cane into white sugar. It’s got a very strong and distinctive flavor, so you’ll definitely know it’s in there. You can substitute 1:1 for sugar, but it’s wet, so you’ll have to compensate by adding a tablespoon of flour for every ¼ cup of molasses if there’s no liquid you can remove from the recipe.

If you don’t want to fully eliminate sugar, but just reduce the amount in a recipe, you can do that with fruit puree. Bananas, pears, apples, and figs, along with dates, can replace ⅓ to ½ of the sugar — or all of it in some recipes. 

White Flour

White flour can be a challenging ingredient to replace, especially in baked goods that have been formulated to take advantage of all the properties of wheat gluten. The flours from grains other than wheat have different properties that are suitable in some recipes and not others. You can find commercial baking blends for breads and cakes that combine many different flours and starches and other ingredients. King Arthur, for example, sells an all-purpose, gluten-free baking mix that features a couple different kinds of rice flour, potato and tapioca starch, cellulose (a food additive often sourced from wood), and xanthan gum (which mimics the stickiness that gluten provides). You can also make your own mix.

In some recipes, almond meal or almond flour can replace regular flour 1:1. You can buy them already ground, or grind your own almonds in a blender or food processor. Just don’t overprocess, or you’ll end up with almond butter.

Rolled oats can also serve in the place of flour, especially in cookies and other sweets that don’t have to rise much. You can lightly toast the oats and then process or blend them into flour. Just be aware that if you’re avoiding gluten, you need to make sure to get certified gluten-free oats.

For thickening sauces, you have more options. Cornstarch, arrowroot powder, and tapioca starch can all substitute for flour. Typically, you’ll mix the starch with cold water before adding to the sauce you want to thicken.

If you are going to use flour, the healthiest options include whole wheat, almond, coconut, buckwheat (despite the name, it’s not related to wheat and contains no gluten), rice, and quinoa. For bread baking, you’ll need to add a higher protein flour, which is typically made from legumes like garbanzo or soybeans.

Salt

If you’re trying to limit sodium in your diet for heart health, the simplest way is to simply omit or reduce the amount of salt you add to food. Your taste buds will adjust within a few weeks or months, and you won’t miss the salt. When you do stumble upon a “normal” dish at a restaurant or gathering, you’ll be amazed at how salty it now tastes.

One trick to reduce your salt intake is to add it at the table rather than during cooking. The tiny bit of salt on top of food will taste saltier than teaspoons added at the beginning of the cooking process.

You can also substitute other sources of sodium, such as miso paste, tamari, liquid aminos, or coconut aminos. Kelp granules (from seaweed) add both saltiness and “fishiness” to dishes, so they’re great when you’re making mock crab cakes and other seafood analogs.

And there’s a world of sodium-free herbs and spices that you can use to amplify the taste of cooked dishes that are salt-free. Benson’s Table Tasty is available online and shares its ingredient list if you want to make your own version: Nutritional yeast extract, carrot, red bell pepper, onion, lemon, arrowroot, celery, dill, paprika, allspice, sweet basil, and parsley. Other premade blends include Penzeys’ Mural of Flavor, Bragg’s Organic Sprinkle, and Mrs. Dash.

Oil

Oil is one of the easiest ingredients to replace in cooking. If you’re used to frying in oil on a stovetop, you’ll get very similar results without the grease if you just saute with water or broth. Some cooks add the water first and get it hot before adding their onions and peppers, while others begin by dry-sauteing and add the liquid once the veggies begin to caramelize and stick to the bottom of the pan. Steaming veggies can replace stir-frying completely. And a good sauce can compensate for any reduction in flavor.

If you want to omit the oil from deep frying, there are a couple of options. You can oven bake items like cauliflower cutlets and potato spears, using the broiler for the last minute or two to generate exterior crispiness. And modern air fryers, using intense halogen lamp heat and strong convection fans, can mimic deep frying in minutes with absolutely no oil.

You can also replace oil in baking with applesauce. For denser sweets like brownies, go with a 1:1 ratio. In fluffier treats, use ¾ cup of applesauce to replace a cup of oil. Also, be aware that baked goods cook faster using applesauce, so be sure to test doneness with a toothpick or fork sooner than you would ordinarily.

Other oil substitutes in baking include purees of other fruits, avocado, and nut butters.

Popular Recipes with Vegan Substitutions

Take a journey through the plant-based kitchen with the recipes below. You might find many common ingredients that you already have on hand, taking on an entire new role! Substitute plant-based milk for dairy milk in the yummy Strawberry Shortcake Overnight Oats. Watch raw cashews transform right before your eyes when you make Vegan Cream Cheese. Be amazed at the magical flax meal as it helps to form a plant-based version of meatloaf in the Lentil Flax Loaf. See how oats can be more than just a breakfast staple in the Sneaky Chickpea Burgers. And finally, a DIY caramel sauce that will blow your mind — dates take on a new meaning of naturally healthy meets naturally sweet in the Healthy Caramel Sauce.

1. Strawberry Shortcake Overnight Oats

With the plethora of plant-based milk available in markets, you have probably tried one of the varieties by now. However, if you haven’t, now’s your chance! Opt for soy milk if you’re looking to replace the protein in dairy milk (soy milk also has eight grams of protein per cup). Or, choose almond milk — a popular all-around milk substitute. Or be adventurous and give hazelnut, hemp, or walnut milk a try. No matter which you choose, these overnight oats make for an exciting, dairy-free breakfast.

2. Vegan Cream Cheese

If there’s one essential ingredient you’ll find in any plant-based kitchen, it’s cashews. They might be one of the most versatile plant-based foods, able to transform themselves into cheese, sauces, creams, and dips. In this recipe, they create rich and velvety cream cheese. Serve it alongside fresh fruit to impress your family and friends!

3. Lentil Flax Loaf

If you’ve tuned into the plant-based culinary world recently, you may have heard the term “flax egg.” Well, this recipe offers a chance to see the “flax egg” in action. Due to flax meal’s binding properties, it has the ability to replace eggs in both baking and cooking. In this recipe, it helps the ingredients stay together to form a loaf. This is just one of the many wonders of flax, and it’s not too shabby in nutrition, either — it has omega-3s, fiber, B vitamins, and lots of phytonutrients!

4. Sneaky Chickpea Burgers

Not only are veggie burgers a great substitute for traditional burgers due to the health benefits, but with the proper ingredients, they also hold together perfectly well. In this Sneaky Chickpea Burger recipe, oats are the “flour” and act as a binder, helping the veggies and beans stay together to form the patties. Have no fear, take these burgers outside and give them the ol’ grill test! You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

5. Healthy Caramel Sauce

Next to cashews, dates might be the other “must-have” ingredient in the whole foods plant-based kitchen. Before you finish this recipe, take a moment to smell the aroma of pureed dates after you’ve blended them. You might be surprised that they actually smell like caramel! It makes one wonder if the caramel sauce inspiration originated from dates — naturally!

Embrace Vegan Substitutions

With so many plant-based alternatives available now, it’s easier than ever to make ingredient substitutions in recipes. While some vegan substitutions may require a little extra work if you’re making your own at home, the health benefits are worth it. Whether you’re cooking or baking, you can refer to this article on recipe substitutions to guide you on your culinary journey.

Tell us in the comments:

• What’s your favorite dairy substitute?
• Are there ingredients you want to reduce or eliminate from your diet? Did you get any ideas from this article?
• What was the most surprising vegan substitution you read about here?

Feature image: iStock.com/jchizhe

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• Does a Good Sweetener Exist? A Review of 15 Popular Sugar Substitutes

The post Vegan Substitutions for Cooking & Baking appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

Somewhat similarly, there’s a lot of debate over what foods qualify as “condiments.” Some are pretty obvious: ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard. But what about dressings? Bacon bits? Hummus? Rather than come up with a condiment definition, definitive condiment list, or file any Supreme Court briefs about it, let’s just say that any spice, sauce, dip, or topping that adds potent flavor or texture to a dish is, for our purposes, a condiment.

Many foods can go either way, depending on how you use them. Add barbecue sauce to a lentil sloppy joe recipe, and it’s an ingredient. Drizzle it on top of an already baked lentil loaf, and voila — a condiment. Top your salad with ranch dressing, and it’s a condiment. Put it in a bowl next to a raw veggie platter, and it’s a dip.

Typically, condiments add strong flavors to dishes. They can be sweet (maple syrup), salty (soy sauce), spicy (sriracha), savory (tartar sauce), or frequently, a combination. All cultures have their own popular condiments. In fact, condiments are often the most emblematic foods representing particular cultures. Think of Cajun hot pepper sauces like Tabasco and Crystal, Indonesian peanut sauce, Japanese miso, and Mexican salsa.

Popular Condiments List

While there are lots of exotic and niche condiments (the Wikipedia entry listed so many that my hand got bored with scrolling before I reached the P’s in an alphabetical list), many of us rely on a short condiments list when we want to amp up our food. In the United States it typically includes:

• Ketchup
• Mayo
• BBQ & steak sauce
• Pancake syrup
• Soy sauce
• Ranch dressing
• Chocolate syrup
• Whipped cream
• Butter
• Margarine
• Teriyaki sauce
• Cheese

The Problem with Most of These Condiments

To be clear, I don’t hold condiments to the same standards of nutritional excellence as other foods. If a condiment is a little high in unhealthy fat or sodium, that may not be a big deal as long as we treat it as a condiment. Which is to say, in small amounts. We all know a person or two who will drown their burgers in ketchup and go through pancake syrup by the cup instead of the tablespoon. That’s not healthy! Condiments can be a bit saltier than our regular foods without causing harm, though only if we consume them in small amounts.

If a condiment is a little high in unhealthy fat or sodium, that may not be a big deal as long as we treat it as a condiment. Which is to say, in small amounts.

And even when we treat condiments as condiments, a lot of them are problematic. Many mayos and dressings are full of GMO ingredients like canola or soybean oil. Some condiments try to pack an extra punch of flavor by including the flavor enhancer MSG, which reportedly can cause headaches, heart palpitations, and nausea in susceptible people. And many are full of so-called “natural flavors,” most of which are far from natural. And they’re deemed safe by the US government via various loopholes that hide the fact that there’s no testing done, and we really have no idea how they’re affecting our health.

Many condiments are shockingly high in added sugar, either as the familiar white crystals or in the form of high fructose corn syrup, which almost always comes from genetically modified corn. They’re also very often high in sodium, which contributes to heart disease. And a lot of conventional condiments are made pretty with harmful artificial food dyes.

A number of the most popular condiments are dairy-based, like shredded cheese, whipped cream, sour cream, creamy dressings, margarine, and butter. Dairy is linked to cancer, heart disease, and many allergies, as well as being fraught with environmental and ethical concerns.

And most store-bought condiments are highly processed, with all the fiber stripped out to intensify the remaining flavors.

Top 10 Healthy Condiments

But fear not! Just because many popular condiments don’t belong in a healthy diet, doesn’t mean you have to eat plain celery sticks or naked tofu dogs. There are plenty of delicious and healthy condiments you can buy. And many of them are actually really easy to make at home, with minimal ingredients and tools.

Here are some healthier condiments that will satisfy your taste buds without damaging the rest of you:

Mustard

Of all the store-bought condiments, mustard is usually the cleanest — with the fewest ingredients. Even a national brand like Heinz offers a decent yellow mustard. Its ingredients include distilled white vinegar (warning: it could come from GMO grains), mustard seed, water, salt, turmeric, natural flavor, and spices. The only red flag here, other than possible GMOs in the vinegar, is the “natural flavor.” And, good news here, Heinz organic version of its yellow mustard is non-GMO and natural flavor-free.

Look for mustards that are colored with turmeric rather than food dyes (not only are food dyes problematic, turmeric is a pretty amazing superfood). Whole grain mustards use whole mustard seeds rather than ground powder — an extra bonus. And make sure the manufacturer hasn’t added sugar or other flavorings.

Hot Sauce

Most hot sauces, like mustards, contain a few key ingredients like peppers, vinegar, and salt. Vinegar can be healthy (aim for organic or non-GMO certified), and hot peppers can aid digestion, contribute to healthy gut bacteria, and are even associated with longer life expectancy.

When choosing a hot sauce, watch out for excess sodium. Tabasco’s original red sauce has just 35 mg of sodium per teaspoon-sized serving, while Louisiana hot sauce delivers 210 mg per serving. But if, like most people, you’re consuming your hot sauce by the splash, or at most by the teaspoon, sodium likely isn’t a huge concern. A little can go a long way, especially with names like Spontaneous Combustion, Belligerent Blaze, and Dave’s Insanity Sauce. (And those are the PG ones!)

Fermented Foods

These add a ton of flavor and are typically high in probiotics and vitamins. Also, they’re less likely to include preservatives, since the fermentation process itself preserves the food. Look for kimchis and sauerkrauts that need refrigeration. And, if possible, buy from local, small-batch producers that get their veggies from the farmers near you. Fermented foods can be very salty, so use them moderately (or make them the salt source in a dish). Again, a little goes a long way with tangy, and especially spicy, fermented foods.

Herbs and Spices

Condiments don’t have to be fancy sauces, of course. Herbs and spices can add new flavors, as well as bring out the flavors already in your food. Researchers found that people enjoyed broccoli much more when flavored with a combination of garlic, onion, pepper, and basil. Fresh or dried thyme leaf is a good friend to beans and lentils. And you can add pop and zest to your steamed carrots, beets, and cauliflower by sprinkling fresh or dried dill just before serving.

Many herbs and spices have powerful health benefits, too, so you can enjoy both their health-enhancing and culinary properties.

Salsa and Tomato Sauce

Tomatoes are an excellent source of biotin, potassium, iron, and zinc. They’re one of the best sources of lycopene, an antioxidant that reduces inflammation as well as conditions related to oxidative stress. And they’re good for heart health, too. So bring on the salsas and tomato sauces!

Classic red salsa, made from tomatoes, onions, and jalapeno peppers, can perk up bean and lentil dishes, as well as anything in the Tex-Mex category. But you can also shake salsa on really simple dishes to turn them into satisfying meals. Pour salsa onto a baked potato or a bowl of steamed greens, to go from bland and boring to ultra-yummy. You can also use salsa as a salad dressing, especially over chunky salads with carrots, bell peppers, red onions, and tomato wedges.

Even regular old tomato sauce can serve as a condiment over baked or air-fried potatoes or sweet potatoes, or on top of a freshly cut bowl of zoodles (zucchini spiralized into noodle shapes). Tomato sauce gets even healthier and more flavorful with the addition of mushrooms, garlic, and basil. For a wild time, toss in some chopped olive and red pepper flakes to create a piquant puttanesca sauce.

You can often find clean and organic salsas and tomato sauces in supermarkets (look for lower sodium and avoid unhealthy oils and dairy, especially in the tomato sauces). And another option is to make your own. That way, you can have it fresh, flavor it exactly to your tastes, and maximize the antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals in your condiments.

Ketchup

While most store-bought ketchup contains a lot of sugar (even in healthy-looking organic ones, sugar is often the second ingredient after tomato paste), you can make your own tangy and sweet, sugar-free version that takes advantage of the synergistic health effects of tomatoes cooked with herbs and spices. If you’re looking for a specific brand, Primal Kitchen makes some pretty delicious sugar-free ketchup.

Tahini

Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds that’s very popular in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries, where it’s used to top falafel, salads, and main dishes. In its classic form, the thick paste is mixed with a combination of water and lemon juice to a runny consistency, then drizzled over just about any savory dish. Thanks to the sesame seeds, it provides iron, calcium, and protein, and is good for heart health. Tahini is a great replacement for fatty and creamy condiments made from processed oils and dairy.

Horseradish

This spicy root can be grated and used to top veggie dishes, casseroles, and stews. It’s not the “mouth-on-fire” spicy you get from hot peppers; instead, it’s more of the “blow your sinuses off” spicy you might be familiar with if you’ve eaten sushi with wasabi paste. Horseradish is a nutritional as well as flavor powerhouse, sporting anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as being great for gut health. If you’re wondering about its pedigree, horseradish does not, in fact, have any known historical relationship to large hooved mammals. Instead, it belongs to the royal family of brassicas, which includes nutritional superstars like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, and other antioxidant heroes.

Fresh and Frozen Fruit

Why not chop some apples and pears on your veggie or rice salad? Or drizzle the defrosted juice and berries from a bag of frozen raspberries onto a green salad. Fruit gives you sweetness in a healthy package and adds antioxidants, minerals, and fiber. What’s not to love?

Nutritional Yeast

No plant-based list of healthy condiments would be complete without mentioning the terribly-named yet incredibly-delicious nutritional yeast, which comes in either flake or powder form. Nooch, as it’s sometimes called (and what other food has a nickname that adorable?) is high in plant-based protein and B vitamins. And it is frequently deployed as a substitute for cheese. You can mix nooch in a food processor with lightly pan-roasted nuts and seeds (cashews and sunflower do nicely), along with a little salt and some caraway and fennel seed), and end up with a delicious alternative to grated parmesan cheese for Italian dishes.

Healthy Condiment Recipes

If you love mayonnaise or ketchup, you can certainly find store-bought versions much healthier than Hellman’s and Heinz. Look for versions without GMOs, unhealthy oils, sugars, “natural” flavorings. And, in the case of mayonnaise-type products, look for versions made without industrial eggs. Generally, avoid any “diet” versions, as these tend to contain artificial sweeteners and possibly weird thickeners as well. To be extra-safe, look for organic varieties. Or, take matters into your own hands and make your favorite condiments at home using healthy, whole foods. Here are some healthy condiments you can whip up whenever the mood strikes.

Easy Vegan Mayo

This simple, plant-based vegan condiment is mayo and then some. Not only can it be your go-to spread for plant-based burgers, bowls, and sandwiches, but you can also use it as a base for other flavored sauces. Add garlic to make an aioli, jalapeño to make a spicy dip, or curry to make an Indian-inspired spread. The options are endless!

Lemon Tahini Sauce

The nutty tahini combined with lemon and cumin makes for the perfect blend in this sauce that’s so good, it’s almost drinkable (no judgment here)!  Add a little more water than what’s listed in the recipe for a delicious salad dressing. Or leave it as is for a flavorful sauce that’s yummy on top of grain bowls, sweet potatoes, or as a dip for veggies.

Garlicky Cheesy Hemp Spread

The nutritional analysis for this cheesy topper is pretty impressive — generous amounts of B vitamins, five grams of fiber per 2-tablespoon serving, with respectable levels of zinc and selenium, as well. Nutritional yeast gives it a cheesy taste, while miso lends an umami flavor. And hemp offers an extra boost in nutrition. Made with only five ingredients, this may be the simplest plant-based “cheese” you’ll ever make!

Vegan BBQ Sauce

Enjoy this sweet and tangy vegan condiment in a sandwich, on top of baked organic tempeh or tofu, or with grilled vegetables. This homemade version tempts your taste buds with a savory blend of spices in nutrient-dense organic tomato paste without excessive sugar.

Mint Chutney

Can condiments be refreshing? This chutney sure is! Made with fresh mint, cilantro, avocado, and lemon, you’re receiving a pleasant blend of nutrients with each tablespoon. This Mint Chutney contains healthy fat from avocado, vitamin C from the greens, and citrus, not to mention plenty of phytonutrients!

Healthy Condiments for the Win

Condiments are a great way to liven up ordinary dishes and meals. By thinking “outside the squeeze bottle,” you can bring fabulous flavors and great textures into your diet without filling yourself with junky ingredients. Healthy condiments can delight your palate and enhance your life!

Tell us in the comments:

• What are your favorite healthy condiments?
• What new condiment do you want to try next? And what will you put it on?
• Are there any unusual condiments that you like?

Feature image: iStock.com/Olesia Shadrina

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• 5 Easy Oil-Free Salad Dressings for a Healthier Mealtime

The post 10 Healthy Condiments Your Body and Your Taste Buds Will Love appeared first on Food Revolution Network.