Earthly Eating

• Honey Twists
Serves: 6 to 8

1/4 cup honey
1 tbs. butter
2/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 tbs. sesame seeds
1 (11.5 oz) container refrigerated cornbread twists or 1 (11oz.) container refrigerated breadsticks

Combine honey and butter in a small saucepan and heat gently, stirring until the butter is melted. Pour onto dinner plate. Mix nuts and sesame seeds or on a separate plate. Separate the refrigerated dough into 12 to 16 strips. Dip two strips into honey-butter mixture, turning to lightly coat both sides. Dip each strip into the nuts to lightly coat. Twist the two strips together and pinch the ends. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining strips. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes or until baked and golden brown.

• Sweet and Spicy Avocados
Serves: 6

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup catsup
2 tbs. cider vinegar
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Few drops of hot pepper sauce
2 avocados
Fresh orange and pink grapefruit slices, optional
Fresh cilantro or herbs, optional

Combine butter, honey, catsup, vinegar, Worcestershire and pepper sauce in a small saucepan and heat, stirring until smooth. Keep warm. Halve and seed and skin the avocados. Place cut-side down on a board and slice crosswise into crescents. Overlap slices on an appetizer plates. Add orange and grapefruit slices to plates if desired. Drizzle 2 tbs. warmed sauce over each plate, allowing it to pool underneath the avocado. Add a sprig of cilantro or fresh herb to each plate if desired.

• Honeyed Carrots
Serves: 8

2 lbs. carrots, pared trimmed and cut into narrow 2 to 3 inch sticks
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup butter, cut into pats
1/4 cup dry sherry or apple juice
1 tsp. rosemary, crushed
1 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. salt

Place carrots in a 10-inch skillet with 2 cups water; cover and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 8 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Drain water. Add honey, butter, sherry or apple juice, rosemary, thyme and salt to the skillet. Cook, turning carrots in the sauce until glazed and hot.

• Thai Chicken Salad
Serves: 1 (2/3 cup)

2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into short sticks (1-1/2 cups)
1 apple, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
2 tbs. chopped cilantro
1 tbs. sesame seeds
Honey Vinaigrette Dressing: Combine 3 tbs. olive oil, 3 tbs. rice vinegar, 1/4 cup honey, 1 tbs. soy sauce and 1 tbs. yellow mustard in a jar. Shake to blend.

Combine chicken, bell pepper, apple and cilantro in a bowl. Pour Honey Vinaigrette Dressing over and toss well to combine. Spoon over greens on plates and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

• Meatloaf with Pine Nuts
Serves: 6 to 8

1/4 cup plus 1 tbs. honey
2 lbs. ground chuck or ground round
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs, softened in 1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, simmered in boiling water for 5 minutes, drained and chopped
1 tbs. thyme
1 1/2 tsp. each ground cumin and black pepper

Combine 1/4 cup honey with all other ingredients until evenly mixed. Press into 9×5 inch metal loaf pan. Drizzle remaining 1 tbs. honey over meatloaf and spread to cover the top. Bake uncovered at 400°F for 50 to 60 minutes or until meat thermometer inserted into center registers 155 to 160°F. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.
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Earthly Eating Recipe

Grilled Lamb Skewer with Bay Leaves
Serves: 4

Grill the meat for about 2 to 5 minutes a side, depending on the heat of the fire and the desired doneness. Remove from the skewers and serve.

Happy Eating!

To become a more health-savvy meat consumer, you have to know what you’re reading., Here are some of the most common key-terms used and how to read them and learn their concepts.

• NO HORMONES AND/OR NO ANTIBIOTICS USED: Raised without growth -promoting hormones and/or antibiotics, buty not necessarily organic or grass-fed. Often less expensice than organic meat, this is a good choice when organic is hard to find or for shoppers on a budget.

•GRASS-FED ONLY: Cattle are fed gress instead of grain or corn, which results in meat that is leaner, lower in fat and calories, and higher in vitamin E and antioxidants. Grass-fed beef also boasts a healthier ratio of omerga-3 to omega-6 fatty acids. Hormones and antibiotics are rare but may be used.

• NATURAL: Minimal processing with no artifical additives.

• CERTIFIED HUMANE: Ensures humane treatment of animals. The animals are allowed to engage in their natural behaviors, and are rasied with sufficent space, ample fresh water, and a diet free from added antibiotics or hormones.

• USDA GRADES: These voluntary lables refer to how much marbling (or intramuscular fat) the meat has, as well as to color and maturity. The higher the grass, the younger and more tender the meat, and the greater the fat content. Prime tops the list and is found almost exclusively in restaurants, follwed by Choice, Select, and Standard. The designations can be misleading: It is almost impossible to find a USDA Choice cut of grass-fed meat, which by its nature is very low fat-yet a lesser grade may still be an excellent piece of meat.

• UNLABELED: A growing number of producers try to do right by their animals and the land, but for various reasons use no labels, orgainc or otherwise., If you have questions about what you are buying, ask your butcher, or contact the producer directly to find out how the animal was raised.
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Earthly Eating Recipe:

Spicy Beef and Tomato Couscous:
Serves 6

Shred jerky in the blender or food processor. Mix all ingredients except water, ghee, and couscous, and seal in a zip-top bag. When ever you want to use the mix, which is great while camping, just bring water and ghee to a boil in a medium saucepan. Mix in contents of bag, boiling for 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in couscous, cover and remove from heat. Wait 5 minutes for flavors to set, toss and serve.

Happy Eating!

Looking for Limited Edition Foods? Find them here on 451 Press.

Spinach, nutritionally, outscores even the much-praised broccoli, with a long list of vitamins and minerals. Spinach itself also is one of the richest sources of lutein, a plant chemical that protects against age-related blindness. This leafy wonder is convient too: Just open a bag of prewashed spinach for salads or sandwiches. For cooking, you can choose the more economical frozen package.
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Earthly Eating Recipe:

Dried Tomatoes
Makes 16 pieces

Use this robust, colorful additive to invigorate a bland meal.
Slice 8 plum tomatoes in half length wise. Set on baking rack, cut side up, and sprinkle with fine sea salt. Place in a 140°F oven for 12 hours until brittle. Cool and seal in a zip-top bag or plastic container. They will keep at room temperature for a week, or several months refrigerated.

Happy Eating!

Want to boost your nutrition intake, cut fat, and calories, and still reatin the flavor of your favorite foods? Mix them with these healthy alternatives:

Sugary Ceral + High Fiber Cereal: Mix your favorite sweet brand with an equal part of Fiber One, All Bran, or any other cereal that has five grams or more of fiber per serving. Every cup gets you from 20 percent to more than 50 percent of the Daily Value of fiber.

Creamy Salad Dressing + Vinegar: Combine your regular blue cheese or ranch dressing with an equal parts low-fat or fat-free versions of the same cheeses. For every half-cup combo, you save 90 calories and 10 grams of fat and still get all the calcium.

Full-Fat Cheese + Low-Fat or Fat-Free Cheese: For best flavor, use regular grated cheddar or jack cheeses with equal parts low-fat or fat-free versions of the same cheeses. For every half-cup combo, you save 90 calories and 10 grams of fat and still get all the calcium.

Ground Beef + “faux” Meat: In your next burger or for any other ground-beef dish-substitute soy or another textured vegetable for half of the lean ground beef. You’ll save more than 150 calories and 13 brams of fat for every mixed half pound.

Fruit Juice + Sparkling Water: Get the antioxidants you need for muscvle recovery from cranberry, blueberry, or pomegranate juices without all the calories by adding equal parts sparkiling water. Per cup, the 50/50 juice-water mix saves 60 calories.
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Earthly Eating Recipe:

Chicken Scallopini With Linguine And Spinach
Serves Four

Cook pasta according to package directions. Season chicken with salt, pepper, and thyme. Preheat a nonstick sauté skillet on medium-high heat. Brown chicken on both sides and cook until done (about seven minutes each side). Remove from pan. In skillet, sauté garlic, spinach, and basil with olive oil over high heat. Drain pasta and add it to the skillet, remove from heat, and combine with spinach mixture. Place pasta in serving dish, top with heats tomato sauce and sliced chicken breasts. Garnish with parsley and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Happy Eating!

•It takes only six weeks of eating right (a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains) and exercising (30 minutes a day) to lower your blood pressure and cholesterol-and to trim body fat.

•A cup of low-fat plain yogurt topped with fresh or frozen berries and sprinkled with high fiber cereal. With little prep and no cooking-you’ll get a big chunk of your dairy, fruit, and whole-grain requirements. (Drizzle with honey if you like.)

•Cook your vegetables or eat your salad with a small amount of oil. In recent study, dieters who tried this trick ate more veggies-and dropped more pounds-than a group who went the nonfat route.
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Maple-Glazed Tofu With Spaghetti Squash:
serves 6

4. Scoop the squash strands out and into bowls. Top with the tofu, drizzle on the glaze, and serve.

Happy Eating!

It’s Labor Day, go ahead eat a watermelon.

Watermelon’s botanical name, Citrullus vulgaris, comes from the diminutive form of citrus, referring to the color and shape of the fruit, and vulgaris meaning common or ordinary fruit. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where its English common name, watermelon, comes from. The flesh of this succulent fruit is over 90 percent water. Native to Africa, it was a valuable and portable source of water for desert situations and when natural water supplies were contaminated.

Watermelons were cultivated in Egypt and India as far back as 2500 B.C. as evidenced in ancient hieroglyphics.

The more than five hundred varieties of watermelon grown worldwide give consumers many choices, with a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and colors to choose from. They are generally divided into icebox and picnic categories. The icebox category is so called because the size of the melons, ranging from five to fifteen pounds, allows them to fit more easily into the refrigerator. Picnics are larger, weighing from fifteen to fifty pounds, yet they can grow much larger. In 1991, Bill Rogerson of North Carolina, USA, won a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for his gigantic 279-pound watermelon!

Happy Labor Day Eating!