Shrimp DeJour

Today I want to share some really useful info about one of my favorite protein-rich food favorites: Shrimp! Whenever we go out, I always order shrimp. It just seems like such an indulgence, however, after reading this information, you'll see why shrimp is actually a good everyday protein source!

Research reveals that shrimp falls far short of gaining its fair share of attention in America’s kitchens. The per capita consumption of seafood is less than ½ the USDA recommended amount. In 2008, Americans consumed only 16 lbs. of fish and shellfish per person versus a whopping 62.7 pounds of beef and 83.4 pounds of broilers (chicken raised specifically for consumption). Clearly we need to talk more about the huge benefits of shrimp as a nutrition powerhouse!

As you may already be aware, the calorie-for-calorie benefits of shrimp are unmatched. A five ounce serving of shrimp (with no sauce or coating) has just 83 calories and 1 gram of fat, and delivers more than twice as much iron and less than 1/3 the amount of saturated fat found in the leanest cuts of beef. It also provides more than 20 grams of protein per serving – which is nearly 50% of the recommended daily amount for a 35-year-old female! It’s convenient, nutritious and delicious, and with a price per pound similar to many cuts of chicken and beef, it’s more affordable than ever.

This green mom approves and recommends shrimp at your next meal! Here's a super e-z shrimp recipe:

TROPICAL SHRIMP SALAD WITH LIME-CILANTRO DRESSING

Number of Servings: 4

Ingredients (shrimp and salad):

1 lb OLA! Raw Peeled & Deveined Shrimp

2 garlic cloves (minced)

4 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 lb mixed greens

1 ripe avocado cut in slices

1 orange, peeled and cut in slices

1 jicama, peeled and cut Julianne style

1 red pepper cut Julianne style



Ingredients (Lime Cilantro Dressing):

2 limes (juice)

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup olive oil

pinch oregano

Instructions:
Shrimp: Whisk together garlic and olive oil in large bowl. Add Shrimp and toss to coat. Marinate 1 hour. Grill Shrimp 3 minutes on each side. Set aside.

Dressing: Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend on low speed until smooth.

Salad: Toss together mixed greens, avocado, orange slices, jicama, red pepper and 1/2 of the lime-cilantro dressing.

To serve: Divide salad on 4 plates and place 4 grilled shrimp on top of each salad. Drizzle remaining lime-cilantro dressing over top of shrimp.

Recipe and Image Courtesy of: The Shrimp Council and Sea Port Products Corporation

Earth Day Green Product Media Tour

Well, it's just over a week until Earth Day and I have decided to participate in a national media tour on Wednesday, April 14th, to promote some interesting green products.

Here's a quick overview of this year's choices. Once I get a copy of one of the interviews, I'll add it to my next blog post!

echoice DayLighting Systems from Solatube International, Solatube.com
This lighting system offers the beauty of outside light "inside" your home by using their system to transfer sunlight from the roof of your home down a highly reflectable tube to deliver daylight into the dark rooms of your house! Very Cool!

Eco-Friendly Carpet by Mohawk's StartStrand with Dupont Sorona, Mohawkflooring.com
It's one of the most eco-friendly flooring for your home. Made from renewable resources, like sugar from corn, this carpet also boasts a lifetime stain resistant fibers, as well.

Tide Coldwater laundry detergent, TideColdwater.com.

This detergent is specially formulated to help remove challenging stains in a cold water wash and it is the first detergent to receive the new Green GoodHousekeeping Seal. Yay!

Rainbird Irrigation Controler, Rainbird.com. This is no regular sprikler system for your garden and yard. This system actually calculates how much water your yard and garden needs and then calculates historical and real time weather data to ensure that you conserve up to 80% of your water.

Bic Ecolutions ReAction Ball Pen, www.Bicworldusa.com.
This pen is made from 75% recycled plastic and is perfect for older students; it features the easy-glide system ink technology which provides up to 45% smoother writing compared to Bic's other roll ball pens.

Bic Ecolutions Wite-Out Brand Mini Correction Tape is made from 51% recycled plastic and is almost 20 feet long for a real eco-savings.

Remember Earth Day is every day for the Green Mom!

Sugar is a Spice that Isn't Too Nice!

Ok, I know sugar isn't really a spice, but it rhymed for the the title.

Seriously, sugar directly affects your power levels-and not in a good way. Oh sure, it pops you up quickly, but it also lets you down even quicker. The average American consumes roughly two-three pounds of some form of sugar each week; it’s easy to see why when you consider that sugar lurks in breads, breakfast cereals, mayonnaise, peanut butter, ketchup, spaghetti sauce, and the list goes on and on. We have an epidemic of sugar addictions and cravings in this country. It seems, when we feel stress in our life, we often consume more sugar. When other aspects in your diet or life are imbalanced, such as purpose, connection to others or movement, it shows up in sugar cravings; when we are not happy with another aspect of our life, sugar seems to fix it all, temporarily.

Your Diet Soda is Making Your FAT!!
A University of Texas Health Science Center survey in 2005 found that people who drink diet soft drinks may actually gain weight; in that study, for every can of diet soda people consumed each day, there was a 41% increased risk of being overweight.

Other forms of sugar are carbohydrate both simple and complex. Made up of sugar, simple carbohydrates are completely stripped of all fiber, minerals and nutrients, such as candy, pasta, bread, cookies, and processed boxed foods. It’s like a pure injection of sugar in the body, with a spike in blood sugar then a sudden drop. When you eat sugar, it pulls on the nutrients and mineral reserves that are currently in your body, which really pulls your power from you. If a product can sit on a shelf for a long time, it most likely will have sugar in it. Also, the more advertising a food has, most likely there is sugar in it. When was the last time you saw an ad for carrots or broccoli?

12 Safest Non-Organic Foods

The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization that advocates for policies that protect global and individual health, produces the Shoppers' Guide to Pesticides in Produce. It is based on the results of nearly 43,000 pesticide tests.

Organic fruits and vegetables are by definition grown without the use of pesticides. But some find the expense of organic foods prohibitive.

Of the 43 different fruit and vegetable categories in the Guide to Pesticides, the following twelve foods had the lowest pesticide load when conventionally grown. Consequently, they are the safest conventionally grown crops to consume:

* Broccoli
* Eggplant
* Cabbage
* Banana
* Kiwi
* Asparagus
* Sweet peas (frozen)
* Mango
* Pineapple
* Sweet corn (frozen)
* Avocado
* Onion

Sources:
* DrWeil.com July 30, 2008; * FoodNews.org Printable Shopper’s Guide

Casteel Coffee Celebrates Grand Opening of new Chicago Cafe with Week of Promotions

Hey Green Moms, check this out if you're in Chicago!

Renowned for its "fresh from our roaster to your cup" quality, Casteel Coffee of Evanston announces a new cafe site in the famed Aqua building on Columbus in Chicago with a week of special promotions February 22 through February 26, with the Grand Opening Day on February 25.

Casteel Coffee @ Aqua offers freshly roasted coffee, baked goods, sandwiches and paninis Monday through Friday from 6AM to 5PM and Saturdays and Sundays from 7AM to 4PM. Carol Harris, founder and owner of Casteel Coffee emphasizes, "At Casteel, our artisan approach to coffee provides a difference that our customers have appreciated for more than a decade in Evanston, so we are pleased and proud to offer another cafe site, now in downtown Chicago."

As part of the week long celebration, Casteel Coffee @ Aqua's Grand Opening Day is Thursday, February 25. From 8AM to 11AM, customers will be treated to a Fair Trade market of tastes and treats: bakery and Mariage Freres tea product samples, Fair Trade displays, special 20% off on all World of Good purchases, free coffee travel mugs ($8 value) with coffee drink purchase and live music. Roastmaster Joshua Millman will be on site to offer free coffee tastings and roasting information.

February 22, Monday through Friday, Casteel @ Aqua welcomes all to the new site at 225 N Columbus with:

Monday: $1 Small Lattes
Tuesday: Free Small Drip Coffee with purchase of any baked good
Wednesday: Free Soft Drink with purchase of any sandwich or panini
Thursday: Grand Opening Thank you--Free Stainless Travel Mug ($8 value) with purchase of any coffee drink (while supplies last, one per customer) and 20% off all World of Good purchases
Friday: 25% off Fair Trade Guatemala at $9 per lb per lb special price

With an eco friendly design and easy to find location at 225 N Columbus, Casteel @ Aqua is a destination coffee cafe with the added value of high speed wifi. The cafe offers fair trade coffees as part of its corporate mission to protect and support coffee farmers, and is an active community supporter, with outreach to schools, community centers, religious organizations and not for profit events.

For more information, visit www.casteelcoffee.com.

Demand Healthy Funding Boost for Child Nutrition Act

Renegade Lunch Lady launches letter-writing campaign: One More Dollar for Healthy School Food

The Child Nutrition Act, slated for reauthorization this year, serves up a rare opportunity for healthier funding of school lunches. Chef Ann Cooper, aka the Renegade Lunch Lady, in partnership with Slow Food USA, Roots of Change, and Healthy Schools Campaign, is rallying a million moms and dads to write Congress demanding an additional subsidy of $1 per lunch.

Cooper is providing templates of letters requesting a budget increase to underwrite real (not highly processed) food for school kids: fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, clean proteins and natural dairy products, with a priority on regionally produced food. This letter-writing campaign launches on the heels of the Obama administration's proposed $1 billion budget increase for school lunch subsidies. Cooper and her allies say this increase is not enough to feed our children well.

"We have the opportunity to make a positive impact and teach children about healthy food choices, which will influence their long-term health," said Cooper. "The Child Nutrition Act has not changed in 15 years and the time to help 31 million schoolchildren is now."

The Child Nutrition Act, reauthorized every five years, pays $12 billion to feed breakfast and lunch to schoolchildren, averaging only $2.68 per day for each child. Cooper and numerous nonprofit organizations and health-conscious companies are calling for an increase in funding - a dollar a day per student - dedicated 100 percent to food that promotes better health.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, obesity is the most commonly diagnosed medical condition of childhood and is a risk factor for many other diseases, including high blood pressure, asthma and type 2 diabetes.

Constituents can find the advocacy letter template at www.lunchboxadvocates.org and view informational videos at http://vimeo.com/9185123 and http://vimeo.com/9181529.

Supe Supe Super Bowl Green

I love the Super Bowl. Maybe it's because I have three sons, or maybe it's because I have such cherished memories of watching the Super Bowl with my husband when we were dating (back when the Giants were the team to watch!).

Now, as a Green Mom, I'm still enjoying the Super Bowl but with a eco-twist. I put together some ideas for you to enjoy your get together this year, guilt-free-and-earth-friendly!

When Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints square off with Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday, February 7, 2010, you want to have your party packed with good friends, good food and plenty of taking-care-of-the-planet food and drink. When I define something as green, it goes like this: locally made/produced/manufactured=less travel time, hence kinder on the environment, organic or made without harmful preservative, chemicals, pesticides or dyes and recycle-able or biodegradable. Now, there are other options, but for today, that's what we're going to stick with.

Here are some of my suggestions:

Tip #1: MIND YOUR PAPERWARES

-Send out electronic invites or emails; about 1/3 of all household waste is paper-cut back on invites and save some trees
-Using sustainable serving wares is a great way to make your party green and still convenient and functional. In other words, you want the convenience of using disposables, but you don’t want to create a ton of waste. Chicago-based Solo Cup recently rolled out a line of plates, bowls and containers called Bare by Solo, which are made from compostable, renewable, or recyclable materials. The square plates, for example, are made from renewable sugarcane, and the clear cups are made with 20% post-consumer recycled plastic and are recyclable themselves.
-Don’t buy decorations you’ll use once and throw away, instead display your husband’s jerseys, team shirts, hats, footballs and any sports paraphernalia you have hanging around the house. It sets the mood for football with zero waste!

Tip #2: BUY LOCAL

-No Super Bowl party is complete without tasty beverages, including beer! So why not buy local brands? Buying local in kinder to Mother Earth, as the products don’t have to ship across country just to make it to your Super Bowl bash.

Goose Island beer is not only brewed locally, but also it is a brand that promotes a sustainable lifestyle and has sustainable practices. All of its brewing facilities use renewable energy and the majority of its packaging is from local vendors who use recycled materials too.

Going along with the buy local theme, Wild Blossom is Chicago's first winery and Illinois’ only meadery on the Northern Illinois Wine Trail. The company uses local honey (produced from local honey bees that collect nectar from the prairies of Illinois and the sand dunes of Lake Michigan) and fruits. They also do tours of their winery. Very cool! Wine tastes delicious too.

Tip #3: GO GREEN – AND HEALTHY – WITH YOUR FOOD SPREAD

A Super Bowl party can be fun – and healthy too! Here are some regional food companies that can help make your party more eco-friendly… and healthier too!

-Amylu’s Chicken Sausage Chili – Below I posted a recipe using Amylu’s chicken sausage. I simply love this brand (which is found at Whole Foods Market) because it is made from skinless, all natural chicken. It’s fresh, never frozen, adding a healthy spin for your party.
-Chef Earl’s Dips: These fantastic dips are found locally at local Whole Foods Market stores and are healthier dip options vs. your traditional ranch and sour cream based dips. The fresh ingredients used in the dips are all locally grown/made (no artificial ingredients). All natural and smooth unlike factory made hummuses. She will be showcasing both the Jardinière Hummus (pronounced Jar-din-air) hummus made with spicy Jardinière and made with freshly cooked garbanzo beans (garbanzo bean consumption in the US increased by 19% in 2009). You should also try the Cucumber Dill Hummus (made with fresh cucumbers and dill). A fresh departure from your everyday bland dips. Great with veggie plates, pita bread or even chips!
-Jamie’s Flour Tortilla Chips are a little gem that I discovered at the Food Stuffs store in Glenview. There are no preservatives or trans fats and the chips are handmade by Jamie herself here in Chicago and are a great addition to your green Super Bowl party. It has been said that Jamie’s chips are so addicting, you’ll eat the whole bag…have a taste and you can see for yourself.

Tip #4: GREEN YOUR CLEAN UP

Clean up without a lot of excess waste – here are some easy tips:

-If you used plastic utensils, you can hand wash them or even run them in your dishwasher. No need to throw them away. Better yet, just use regular silverware. Easier to clean up than plates and you do a small part to be a little greener.
-If you ordered pizza like most party-goers, did you know you can recycle the pizza box? Just tear off the greasy part and recycle the rest.
-Make sure you recycle or compost your paper plates and cups if possible. Throw away as little as possible.
-Remember to use recycled paper towels and napkins and biodegradable trash bags to keep your party green through and through.

RECIPE:
Sausages by Amylu Chicken Sausage Chili
Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS:
4 links Sausages by Amylu Gourmet Andouille Chicken Sausage
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 large Onion, chopped (frozen diced works great, too!)
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
4 oz. Mushrooms, quartered
2 cans Black beans, drained, rinsed
16-oz. can Chicken broth
14.5-oz. can Diced tomatoes, drained
2 Tbsp. Tomato paste
1 Chipotle pepper, seeded and diced
1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. Dried oregano
1 tsp. Ground cumin
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. White pepper

Optional Garnishes:
2 Green onions, sliced
2 Tbsp. Green or black olives, sliced
2 Tbsp. Cilantro, finely chopped
Shredded Cheddar cheese and/or sour cream

DIRECTIONS:
Dice Sausages by Amylu Andouille Chicken sausage into bite size chunks.
Heat oil in a large dutch-oven or pot; sauté onions, garlic, jalapeño; cook 5 minutes.
Add diced Chicken Sausage and mushrooms; cook about 5 minutes (until lightly browned).
Add beans, broth, tomatoes, tomato paste and herbs; heat to a boil.
Reduce heat to low; simmer until vegetables are tender about 10-15 minutes.

Get Your Game On!!