iEat Green with Bhavani

iEat Green - 05/02/12

Nick Brannigan is a consumer advocate who offers solutions that can help you to rid your life and body of Genetically Modified Foods. He is a trained speaker through the Institute of Responsible Technology with frequent speaking engagements around Las Vegas and features on Natural News TV. Nick has written a free online eBook called I'm Eating WHAT?!?: The Health Risks of Genetically Modified Food and 10 Real World Solutions to Avoid Them, in which he reveals the health risks, government support of GMOs, worldwide resistance, and most importantly, solutions.

iEat Green - 04/25/12

I interview LaDonna Redmond, a food activist and an inspirational speaker. I first met LaDonna at Shelburne Farms, while I was attending the Farm to Cafeteria conference. As the keynote speaker, LaDonna managed to bring humor and laughs into a serious talk about social justice and our food system.

iEat Green - 04/18/12

My guest is Julie Grimm, an avid skier, yogi and horsewoman, wife, and working mother of two daughters based in Golden, Colo. Although she is not a food activist, chef, or farmer, I believe she has an experience and a product that can help many of my listeners, so I am welcoming her onto my show. After undergoing treatment for a brain tumor, then breast cancer, Julie used a holistic healing philosophy to design the Ready for Recovery Cancer Treatment Planner, to help patients and their families navigate through the chaos of treatment and recovery with the support, comfort and insight she wished she had been given. The planner is beautiful, and having personally witnessed so many people going through illness, I believe this book will be helpful, and would be a wonderful gift to anyone going through a life altering disease. I hope you can join us!

iEat Green - 04/11/12

Guest: Ann Cooper who will be one of our keynote speakers at The Small Farm Summit this Saturday! Chef Ann Cooper is a celebrated author, chef, educator, and enduring advocate for better food for all children. In a nation where children are born with shorter estimated life expectancies than their parents because of diet-related illness, Ann is a relentless voice of reform by focusing on the links between food, family, farming and children's health and wellness.
 I know so many of you are concerned with the school lunches being fed to your children, and Ann is a person that is trying to change the system. Please listen in, and come hear her speak at the Small Farm Summit!

Roasted Butternut Squash Tapenade

Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash – washed, peeled and cut into small cubes ¼”
• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼  tsp. dried red chili flakes
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 onions, Spanish, quartered and sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• ½  tsp. course salt
• ¼  cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup cider vinegar
• ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse sea salt to taste

Preparation 1.     Combine squash and extra-virgin olive oil in bowl and season with the chili flakes and salt. 2.     Lay out on cookie sheet, lined with parchment paper, in one even layer. Roast at 500 degrees for approximately 8-10 minutes, stirring every few minutes, to prevent burning. Cook until lightly colored and tender. 3.     In a medium sauté pan, heat the oil and add the onions. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden brown. Add the vinegars and maple syrup and reduce heat. Cook until syrupy. 4.     Add squash to the onions and stir well. Transfer to bowl and cool completely. 5.     Top with coarse sea salt. 6.     Serve with crackers and pita chips

iEat Green - 04/04/12

My guest tomorrow will be Beatriz Beckford. She is the school food reform coordinator for the Brooklyn Food Coalition and has eight years of community organizing, education, advocacy, and activism experience, including work with the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and the Citizens Committee of NYC. Her vision for engagement, building consensus, and connecting the struggles impacting low income communities with the greatest food/social justice movement, is inspiring. Beatriz continues to be an active member of several grassroots organizations. She will also be a presenter in the upcoming Long Island Small Farm Summit.

iEat Green - 03/28/12

Interview with pharmacist Sharon Thompson.

iEat Green - 03/21/12

My guest is Scott Chaskey. Scott  is a farmer, poet and an educator.   He has worked as poet-in-residence in numerous schools and museums, in the U.S. and in England, and for over twenty years he has taught poetry to children of all ages.  Employed by the Peconic Land Trust as a steward of land, he has farmed garlic, potatoes, greens (and sixty other crops) for over twenty years at Quail Hill Farm, one of the original Community Supported Agriculture farms in the country.  He is a founding Board member of the Center for Whole Communities (Vt.) and of Sylvester Manor Educational Farm (NY), and is past president of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York.  In 2004, he edited “Free Concert,” the final book of poems by his teacher, Milton Kessler, published by the Etruscan Press. In 2005, his most recent book, “This Common Ground, Seasons on an Organic Farm” was published by Viking/Penguin.   He lives in Sag Harbor, NY, with his wife Megan, and their three children.

iEat Green - 03/14/12

My guest is Bill Telepan, owner of the Telepan Restaurant. Bill is one of New York’s first and most acclaimed devotees of Greenmarket cooking. He is committed to showcasing the season’s bounty through his cuisine. Bill insists on understanding where his ingredients come from, how they’ve been cared for and using the best of what is available — a  thoughtfulness that’s reflected in the vibrant dishes he creates at his namesake restaurant. Since 2008, he has been the Executive Chef of Wellness in the Schools (WITS), a non-profit organization dedicated to making school food healthy.  As the first chef involved with WITS, Bill has spearheaded its goals by developing nutritious school menus, training cafeteria workers and teaching culinary and nutrition concepts to students, parents and teachers.

iEat Green - 03/07/12

Debra Eschmeyer is the co-founder and director of policy and partnerships for FoodCorps, a national nonprofit organization that seeks to address the trend of childhood obesity and diet-related disease by increasing vulnerable children’s knowledge of, engagement with, and access to healthy food, while preparing the next generation of leaders for careers in food, health, and agriculture.

Eschmeyer oversees FoodCorps program development, policy, and partnerships. The centerpiece of the organization is an AmeriCorps public service program that places highly motivated young leaders in limited-resource communities of need where they conduct hands-on nutrition education, build and tend school gardens, and bring high-quality local food into public school cafeterias.

While serving as a Kellogg Food and Society Fellow, Eschmeyer created One Tray, a campaign that successfully encouraged Congress and the USDA to expand Farm to School programs. She was formerly the communications and outreach director of the National Farm to School Network and prior to that worked as the project director at the National Family Farm Coalition in Washington, D.C. Eschmeyer has also served as an editor for Food Justice, as a contributor to the documentary Lunch Line, and as the author of several Farm to School publications. Debra works from her 20 acre organic farm, Harvest Sun Farm, in Ohio.

T. L. T. (Tofu, Lettuce and Tomato) Sandwiches

1 cake extra firm organic tofu

½ cup good tasting nutritional yeast flakes

½ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. chili powder

safflower oil

tamari (to taste)

Organic tomatoes

Organic Romaine lettuce

Slice tofu very thin, and lay out on towel. Pat dry. Bread the tofu in the nutritional yeast mixture. Saute in oil until crisp on one side. Turn over and continue cooking on other side until crispy. When finished, sprinkle tamari over the tofu in the hot pan and allow it to sizzle and coat the tofu. Remove from pan and lay out on paper towel to absorb the oil.

Prepare the sandwiches on toasted organic whole wheat bread, mayo, sliced tomato and lettuce.

Seitan and Sauerkraut Sandwiches

1 package Bridge Seitan (or homemade)

organic safflower  or canola oil

tamari (to taste)

Organic Sauerkraut

Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

Stoneground Mustard

Slice seitan thin, and lay out on towel. Pat dry. Sauté in oil until crisp on one side. Turn over and continue cooking on other side until crispy. When finished, sprinkle with tamari in the hot pan and allow it to sizzle and coat the seitan. Remove from pan and lay out on paper towel to absorb the oil.

Prepare the sandwiches on toasted organic whole wheat sourdough bread, with mustard and warmed sauerkraut.

iEat Green

Julie Negrin julie@julienegrin.com

Julie Negrin, M.S., is a certified nutritionist, cooking instructor, and author of Easy Meals to Cook with Kids. She has been teaching adults and children how to cook for fourteen years. Julie is currently working for The Sylvia Center as the Director of Education and writing curriculum for The Cooking Room. Julie spent five years as the Director of Culinary Arts at the JCC in Manhattan where she developed recipes and curricula specifically for children. She teaches at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE), Natural Gourmet Institute, Home Cooking New York, New York City public schools, and consults for not-for-profit organizations. She has appeared on Sesame Street and the Today Show with Al Roker.

Vegan Stuffed Peppers

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Ingredients

3 Tbs Olive Oil

8 large Sweet Bell Peppers (Green, Red or

Yellow) –

1 lb tofu, pressed and cut into tiny cubes

1 Tbs. chopped garlic

1 large onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1 cup chopped peppers

¼ cup chopped parsley

¼ cup chopped dill

1 Tb. salt

1 t. paprika

4 cups cooked brown rice

1 can of black beans, drained

1 cup of cherry tomatoes, quartered

1 cup chopped Kalamata olives

1 cup chopped walnuts

2 Tbs. organic Worcestershire Sauce

3 Tbs. Tamari

Sauce

1 large can crushed tomatoes

½ cup tomato sauce

½ cup wine

½ cup water

½ t. salt

¼ t. pepper

3 Tbs. parsley

2 teaspoons garlic

3 Tbs. dill

Cut off the tops of the peppers and remove seeds with a spoon.  Chop 1 cup of peppers and set aside. Wrap the tofu in a clean dishtowel and lightly press, to remove excess water.  Cut tofu into tiny cubes, approx. 1/8” diameter. In wok or heavy skillet, heat olive oil. Add tofu and sauté 5 minutes, until golden brown on all sides.  Add 1-tablespoon garlic; continue sautéing for 1 minute, being careful not to burn the garlic.  Add the onions. When translucent, add the chopped carrots and sauté for 3 minutes.  Add peppers and mushrooms and continue sautéing for 5 more minutes. Add paprika, salt, parsley, and dill.  Add the rice, beans, tomatoes, olives, walnuts, Worcestershire Sauce and Tamari.  In Dutch over, combine sauce ingredients.  Fill peppers with rice mixture, and sit them facing up in bottom of pan.  Cover and bake for 1 1/2-2 hours, basting every half hour.