I love zucchini. It is one of my favorite vegetables. We used to grow plants that were bigger than me (and sometimes monstrous, mutant zucchinis as well) when I was younger. I have come to look forward to not only oven roasted or barbecued zucchini, but also healthy zucchini bread in the spring and summer. It seems wrong to bake a vegetable into something bad for you (unless its sweet potato fries, and then it’s just fine : ) ), so I tried my best to make my bread as healthy as possible.

Ingredients:
Makes one loaf

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Butter and flour your pan. (I always always always butter and flour pans instead of spraying with oil. Pam and other oils are not only bad for your health, they are also in extremely unsustainable packaging, take a great deal of energy to pack and ship to you, and they are more expensive than alternative methods (not to mention the weird taste they can have). Butter and flour is just as easy.)

3. Mix together sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
4. Mix in the grated zucchini and the melted butter.
5. Add baking soda and flour (I combined them first) a third at a time (if you have a stand mixer you can just slowly add it in).
6. Add cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix thoroughly.

7. Put batter into pan.
8. Bake for 40-60 minutes (it depends on your oven when you need to take it out. Mine was done at about 45 minutes). Remove from oven when a toothpick inserted to the center comes out clean.
9. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning it over onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

10. Spread with butter (optional) and enjoy.

I am sure by now that my distaste for plastic is completely clear. Because I am building my kitchen that will not only be for my last two years of college, but also for many years after, I am avoiding plastic as much as possible. I know it is tempting to just buy plastic containers to store food in, but I am trying to buy non-plastic pieces that can last me for at least the next 10 years.

In my search for sustainable food storage options, glass jars seemed like the best bet.

They are incredibly easy to wash and use. They are also attractive, so if we do not have enough room in our cabinets, having them out on the counter would be pleasing to look at. For people worried about the price, the reality is that these containers really are not all that much more expensive than plastic. I believe I paid less than $7 for the largest one, and they will last me significantly longer than the plastic alternatives anyways.

I put all of my main, bulk ingredients in some of the largest containers I could find. This includes four, sugar, and oats.

I also got containers to store my cereal and snacks. The container with the white lid is for storing leftovers or other smaller items. If I do not find a use for it in my kitchen it will surely end up holding rubber bands or some other office item in my desk. I have also been collecting used spice containers and other small containers to hold my spices. I plan on borrowing most of my spices from my parents and only buying those that I will use often (like cinnamon and oregano).

If you are worried about packing glass containers, I came up with many different ways to make it as safe as possible. In the photo above I packed other staple items in between the containers to keep them from banging together when moving (like rice and boxes). In my other crate I will use my kitchen towels and clothes to protect them.

1. Coat the pan with a light layer of butter. (I use a napkin and run it over room temperature butter before rubbing it onto the baking sheet in circular motions. You only need enough to make the flour stick.) Dust the pan with about 2 teaspoons of flour (I used a tablespoon and then put the rest of the flour back into the container.)

Every time I butter the pan I think of baking with my neighbor as a child. My mom was helping me and my neighbors (sisters, one 3 years older than me and one 3 years younger. We were probably 5, 8, and 11) make a cake. My mom gave the oldest sister a napkin with butter on it and asked her to butter the pan. When we turned around again we realized that she started to butter the outside of the pan. Having never really baked before she assumed the entire pan needed to be covered. It still makes me laugh).

The pan should be just barely coated in flour to keep the cake from sticking.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
3. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

4. In a small sauce pan combine water, butter, and cocoa. Bring to boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
5. Pour mixture straight from the stove into the flour mixture.
6. Beat at medium speed until well-blended.

8. Pour batter into prepared 15×10 inch pan (or 13×9, refer to longer cooking time).

Frosting ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup fat-free milk
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Combine butter, milk, and cocoa in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil stirring continuously.
2. Remove from heat and gradually stir in powdered sugar and vanilla.

When the cake is cut into 20 even servings, the nutrition ends up being:

I broke mine up into breakfast, veggies, sides and snacks, mains, and desserts. Feel free to make your dividers any way that makes sense to you.

Right now I only have about 30 recipes in my binder (and the majority are, of course, desserts), but as school gets closer I plan on finding and trying more recipes so I have more options before I have to cook on my own.

At work this summer (and at home) I was teased mericlessly for my stainless steal containers that I carried my lunch in. I have them in various sizes so my entire lunch fits snuggly inside their cool, shinny interiors. I am able to pack my entire meal without using a plastic container or a paper/plastic bag.

To some people it may sound like an incredible pain to carry around so many little containers of food instead of putting snacks in bags that can be tossed when empty, but there are incredibly benefits that make the extra bulk completely worth it.

1. Plastic containers leach chemicals into our foods. It is important to keep these carcenigens out of our bodies as much as possible. This is why it is especially impotant to not pack childrens’ lunches in plastic.

2. Plastic is often a sigle use product. When the cheap plastic containers first came out people were throwing them away right and left. Even though it has since become a practice to wash and reuse these containers, they are still part of our disposable culture.

3. Plastic “snack” or “sandwich” bags are used once before they are put into our landfills and waterways where they do not break down or decompose completly. We are creating mound and mounds of this pollution that we have no way of getting rid of or breaking down. We are constantly adding to the problem without considering the consequences.

4. Plastic absorbs colors and tastes from our foods. I am sure everyone has seen a plastic container stained by a tomato sauce. If it is that easy for plastic to absorb something else, how easy do you think it is for it to leach out as well?

5. Plastic is cheap. I mean this in two ways, the price of course, but also in the durability of the product. Plastic containers are always splitting or melting in the dishwasher.

6. They are plastic. I know I am constantly talking about the dangers of plastic, but it seems like most people do no understand the true risks they take when they purchase or use plastic (let alone the harm it does to the enviornment or the workers who created the product). (Check back soon for the truth about plastic.)

Discouraged yet? Do not worry, there are quite a few options for storing food that do not involve plastic or that reduce the amount of plastic (there typically has to be some type of plastic or silicone in the lids. Just remember to not heat food with the lids on).

1. Use glass food containers. Many come with silicone lids and are easily washed and stored. In the years my family has had glass containers I think we have only broken one (and we take them in our lunches as well as store food in them at home). Durability is certainly not a problem. The best feature: you can heat your food in them in the microwave. You can find them online as well as in most kitchen stores and major stores (such as target). Also do not be afraid of reusing old jars.

3. Cloth wraps and snack bags: These are great when you do not want to carry around the extra bulk of having every item in a container. They are washable and reusable. You can find them online on etsy.com as well as through market sites like eBay and Amazon. I have seen a few in some stores as well.

4. Ceramic: At work I am not allowed to have glass containers (glass is strictly forbidden around pools because of the dangers of bare feet and broken glass) so I bought two ceramic containers that I could bring food to heat up in. The only downside is that if you use them for food storage in the fridge you cannot see what is inside of them (in my house it turns into a stalemate of dares for someone to open it up and see how gross it is inside).

5. Vintage Pyrex: you can bake and store in them. However they are not good for traveling because the lids clearly leak and do not stay on well.

As a vegetarian I am often disappointed when I order a veggie burger in restaurants because they serve frozen, name-brand burgers instead of a homemade burger full of fresh veggies and whole grains. With a recent study finding hexane, an air pollutant and neurotoxin, in many popular veggie burgers, it’s even more important to me to know what I’m eating.

These homemade veggie burgers burgers are incredibly easy to make, and they are a satisfying alternative to a meat burger.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cleaned and grated carrots
1 and 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin (we usually use a little more because my mom loves cumin)
3 cups pinto or kidney beans (two 15 ounce cans, drained, or homemade beans)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup or 1 tablespoon tomato paste (I have made it with both and there is little difference in flavor. I usually use whatever I have on hand.)
1 and 1/2 cups rolled oats
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg (optional)
Oil for cooking

1. Mash the beans in a large bowl with a potato masher or the back of a fork.

2. Add in the mustard, soy sauce, ketchup or tomato paste, carrots, and spices.

3. Mix in oats.

4. Add in egg. The egg helps bind these burgers together. Without they egg they work just fine, they just tend to crumble apart a bit more.

5. Form into 6-8 burgers

6. Cook the burgers on medium-low heat for 5-8 minutes on each side. Add just enough olive oil to prevent the burgers from sticking before placing them on the pan. I used two pans to speed things up by making all of them at once. The recipe also says you can bake them at 350 degrees F for about 25 minutes (I have never tried this and the recipe strongly suggests cooking them in a pan on the stove top.)

These flavorful burgers are one of my favorite meals to make at home because of their simplicity and unbeatable taste. Even my meat-eating friends and family enjoy them.

Recipe adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Combine all crust ingredients with a mixer at low speed until it is “crumbly.” If you over mix, your crust will be difficult to bite through. Stop mixing when it looks like the picture here.

3. Press the mixture evenly in the bottom of an ungreased 13×9 inch pan. Do not press it into the pan as hard as you can. Instead, try to make sure there are not any visible air pockets or mixing places in the crust. Also, be sure to make your crust level or your lemon topping will be thinner on some than others.

9. Cool the bars completely. Add a light dusting of powdered sugar to the top and enjoy. Because of the filling these MUST be kept in the fridge.

Topping ingredients:

1. Butter and flour an 8 by 8 inch pan
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
3. In a small bowl combine the butter, brown sugar, flour cinnamon, and ginger until it resembles coarse meal (our brown sugar has more moisture because it is less refined, so our topping did not come out as course meal but rather more of a paste). Set aside.

Batter ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
2-3 cups wild blueberries (you can substitute frozen if fresh are not available)
2 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced

4. Make the batter by sifting together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
5. Use an electric mixer to combine the butter and brown sugar until creamy and soft (about 3-4 minutes)

6. Add the vanilla
7. Beat the eggs into the flour mixture one at a time until just combined.

10. Put your batter in the prepared dish and cover with the topping. You are supposed to be able to shake it on, but because ours was so moist we had to drop it on (sorry it looks so gross. I promise it still tasted good).

11. Bake for 45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean and the top of the buckle is golden.

Sorry, I unfortunately didn’t get pictures before it was eaten…

Recipe courtesy of “Handle With Care” by Jodi Picoult (A great book!)