Simple Green Living with Modern Style
Time for another juice of the week. I’m calling this one Power-C because it’s another citrus-based juice I’m using for immunity boosting.
Blitz all the ingredients through a juicer and enjoy. The carrots and parsley cut the acidity, so it’s very smooth. Don’t worry — you can’t taste the parsley!
Photo by MaplessInSeattle/Flickr
This is a guest post by Meredith K. on behalf of Hunt’s®. For other tomato recipes perfect for easy spring dinners, visit www.hunts.com.
Spring is one of the best times of year for cooking — dozens of fresh fruits and vegetables that you probably missed all winter long are finally coming to come back into season, and it’s the perfect time to try cooking lighter recipes that disappeared when the weather turned chilly.
If you’re trying to make the transition from heavier winter comfort-food to fresher spring eating, there are a few cooking tips that are helpful to keep up your sleeve. Use the following suggestions to get the most out of your spring cooking this season and to take full advantage of all spring has to offer:
Asparagus, artichokes, new potatoes, spring onions, apricots and strawberries are just some of the foods that come back into season in the spring, so go ahead and use them! Eating foods that are in season is not only a wonderful way to appreciate fresh spring flavors, but can also potentially save you money. Seasonal foods often sell for much less than foods not currently in season, making seasonal eating a budget-friendly decision.
Cooking outside is a luxury that most people don’t have during the winter months, so be sure to take advantage of it during the spring. Grilling is an easy, low-mess way to cook lunch and dinner when it’s warm outside. It tends to be healthier than many “indoor” meals, too, since you don’t need lots of oil or creams for grilling recipes. Experiment with grilling dinner ideas, from grilled pizzas and panini sandwiches to burgers and wings.
Just because you made comfort foods like lasagna, pasta and casseroles in the winter doesn’t mean you can’t bring these recipes into spring with you. Simply put some spring twists on your favorite easy dinner recipes: add fresh spring vegetables to your favorite lasagna recipe, chill pasta and mix it with basil pesto, or turn a tuna noodle casserole into a lighter tuna noodle salad pasta salad.
Stocking your pantry and refrigerator with spring flavors will make cooking spring meals that much easier. Freezing spring produce like peas makes it easy to use them any time without worrying that they will go bad — if you want to brighten them up a bit, simply add ½ teaspoon sugar to water when you cook them. Similarly, you can freeze rinds from used lemons to grate lemon zest whenever a recipe calls for it.
There’s no use in buying produce if you don’t know what to do with it once it’s in the kitchen! This spring, teach yourself basic produce skills, such as how to hull strawberries, how to trim asparagus, and how to peel hard boiled eggs to save yourself trouble with seasonal spring recipes.
Salad is a spring food staple for a reason; it uses fresh ingredients, won’t weigh you down and is the perfect addition to a lighter warm-weather diet. Don’t limit yourself to just the simple green salad this spring — there are dozens of salad varieties out there, from pasta salads to bean salads, that don’t require lettuce.
This recipe for Orzo and Tomato Salad is a great example of just how easy it is to update winter pasta dishes for spring. Pasta or orzo and tomato sauce recipes make warm and hearty entrees when it’s cold outside, but this updated take — which uses chilled orzo, fresh basil and mint, lemon juice and diced tomatoes — is absolutely perfect for spring.
Cook orzo according to package directions; drain. Combine orzo with oil in a large bowl and cool to room temperature. You may refrigerate to speed up the process. Once cooled, add all remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight for flavors to blend.
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