Green Divas Blog is Moving . . .

Hi Green Diva Bloggers!

We are slooooooowly migrating our content to our new URL - TheGreenDivas.com. That site is also set up as a blog, but there are a couple of odd quirks we are working out. I've posted a few new posts there, but we aren't quite ready for full-scale launch.

Please visit it, bookmark it and we hope to add all kinds of groovy features, including podcasts of our Green Diva Radio Shows.

Please check in here for updates and of course, until then . . .

eat. blog. be merry!
GD Meg

Recipe - Salmon Marbella

Co-host of Green Divas Radio Show and foodie mentor, Green Diva Jen turned me on to the Silver Palate recipe for Chicken Marbella last year. I’ve had this cookbook forever, but I am not a huge fan of chicken, so I never tried this one.

Okay, every recipe as a story, right? I have to give a hearty blog shout-out to Jenifer’s Aunt Elaine, who introduced this staple into their family’s regular feast rotation years ago. I love Aunt Elaine for many reasons, but for introducing this recipe to Jen, I’m very grateful. Thanks Aunt Elaine.

After customizing the recipe (more garlic - of course - less wine, added dried cherries and sundried tomatoes), I made it with the chicken last year and my family loved it. This recipe has a full and robust blend of flavors from a mess of garlic and oregano to the capers, prunes, wine and vinegar. I LOVE the sauce. I just wasn’t in love with the chicken.

I started fantasizing about converting this for some type of fish. Here’s what I came up with . . . so far . . .

GD Meg’s Salmon Marbella Recipe

Ingredients
1 - 2 pounds salmon fillet (w/ skin on)
5 or 6 cloves garlic crushed
1/4 c. dried oregano
3/4 c. red wine vinegar
1/2 c. olive oil
1/2 - 1 c. pitted prunes
1/4 c. dried cherries
1/4 c. sundried tomatoes (un marinated)
1/2 c. pitted Spanish green olives
1/2 c. capers (with some of the juice)
4 - 5 bay leavessalt & pepper to taste
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white wine
1/4 c. chopped cilantro

Instructions
Mix together first 11 ingredients (everything but brown sugar, wine and cilantro) and get salmon marinating in the mix (we marinated for about an hour and it seemed to work).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put salmon and marinate in large glass baking dish, then sprinkle the brown sugar on top of salmon and pour white wine around it.

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until the fattest part of the salmon is done in the middle.
Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with rice pilaf and maybe something green.

Eat. Blog. Be Merry!

GD Meg

Tea Time with Terra Keramik

Anyone who spends any time with me knows I don’t go for more than an hour during daylight hours without a cup of tea. So, any opportunity to test new tea-related products is very welcome.

I received this beautiful blue mug from Terra Keramik, a socially and environmentally responsible ceramics manufacturer that uses renewable energy and energy efficient clays. Everything is designed and produced by Felix Volger, founder and creative director, who personally signs every piece in platinum. Apparently, the production of tableware can be seriously detrimental to the environment. Terra Keramik has gone to great lengths to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about Terra Keramik’s sustainable manufacturing practices.

The tea/coffee mug in the picture above is indeed my very own, containing one of my very favorite green darjeeling teas from the Boston Tea Campaign. I love their loose teas, but I couldn’t enjoy it without my biodegradable t-sacs, which are essential to my loose tea ritual.
And yes, that is my cozy cat spooky snuggled on the pillow!

eat. blog. be merry!

GD Meg

Green Divas Back on the Internet Airwaves

Green Divas Meg & Jen are thrilled to announce their return to their Internet Radio home-away-from-home, HomeGrownRadioNJ.com. We'll be doing a weekly, one-hour show every Thursday evening from 7 - 8pm EST.

Starting this Thursday, January 8!

Join us and hear some interesting bits, some musical bits, some funny bits and hopefully some informative bits about low-stress sustainable living. We are already lining up some awesome interviews from our local green heroes, to some very inspiring celebrity folks.

Click in, log on, listen up!

Happy HomeGrown Homecoming for the Green Divas!

5 Reasons to go Nuts (or eat them anyway)

In addition to being a nut job, I am a nut lover. I really haven’t tasted a nut I didn’t like - even the peanut, which is technically a legume. I feel dreadfully sorry for those who have the dangerous nut allergy. My fiance has an allergy to chocolate, which I’m actually jealous of, but that’s for another post . . .

Some history about our hard-shelled friends
There is evidence that nuts have been around feeding us and our ancient ancestors since prehistoric times. The oldest evidence are some walnut remains which were found in Iraq and are thought to be over 50,000 years old!

The almond dates back to 3100-1100BC in the region around Turkey, Cyprus and Greece. By the way, did you know that almonds are related to peaches?

Pine nuts have been providing powerful nutrition to those living in the ‘Great Basin’ region of the US for many thousands of years. According to PineNut.com, “Understand that the pine nut was to the people of the Great Basin what the buffalo was to the plains people.”

Another popular nut (other than me with some of my friends) is the pistachio. These also have been getting cracked open and savored for thousands of years, dating back 7000 years or so to the Middle East. Long used along with almonds by travelers because of the compact, but potent nutritional value, this nut inspired some interesting legends, including one that says the Queen of Sheba declared it an exclusively ‘royal’ food, forbidding commoners to grow and eat it.

5 Reasons to Love Nuts

1. Nutritional Power Food- High in protein, fiber, antioxidants and monosaturated fat (good fat) - good for the heart, lowering blood pressure AND reducing risk for type 2 diabetes.

2. Weight Control - According to an article found in Johns Hopkins Health Alert, people who eat nuts are more likely to weigh less than those that don’t. (just remember moderation is key here)

3. Easy, Awesome Snack Food - I like to roast my own favorites and mix them up with dried fruits to make a custom trail mix.

4. Vegan and Raw Foodie Approved - If you are eating vegan or raw for reasons of health, ethics or to reduce your carbon stamp on the earth, nuts are essential. (but, I really don’t know about ‘locally’ grown in some regions - I think those of us in the north east would suffer a bit on this one) See my cashew yogurt recipe.

5. Excellent Party Food- Tis the season, so get creative or keep it simple! (Just make sure to let your guests know in case someone has an allergy)

Some nutty links:
Detailed Nutritional Chart for Various Nuts
More Details on Various Nuts + Recipes
My Favorite Nut Loaf Recipe (based on Crank’s cookbook)

eat. blog. be merry!

GD Meg

Best Earth-Friendly Bags of 2008

I’m proud to be evolving into quite the eco-bag lady! I have amassed an amazing collection of various earth-friendly bags - canvas, bioplastic and organic cotton totes for shopping; a wonderfully useful computer bag made of recycled plastic bottles; and a couple of great purses that make a fashion statement while keeping all kinds of materials out of our landfills.

There are so many reasons to NOT use plastic or even paper bags for shopping and to adopt a few reusable bags to handle most shopping needs. There are also great reasons to buy some of these great funky stylish accessory bags that are made from recycled materials - keeping more non-biodegradable materials out of landfills.

The Eco-Bag Lady’s Picks for Best Eco-Bags of 2008

I have gotten so many bags as gifts, for review and I have even purchased a couple! It is hard to pick only a few, but these represent ones that I’ve not only tested and liked, but use frequently or regularly:

Save the Plastic Bottles - Save the World: Laptop Bag
In addition to using primarily a stainless steel water bottle these days, I did my part this year, by using a laptop bag that is made from 100% recycled plastic bottles! Act2 GreenSmart has a Bottles 2 Bags line that is awesome. Read my full review to get more details.

Eco-Bags for Style
gg2g has kept literally thousands of pounds of billboard materials out of our landfills, while creating a variety of chic bags. More on gg2g and other cool bags.

My very cool and frequently in use English Retreads purse is a social lubricant. It is as useful for carrying stuff as it is interesting to discuss. Read my full review of this great bag.

Shopping in Good Conscience
EcoBags has a series of great ‘totes’ for shopping and hauling stuff (read the review and see the awful picture of me), but they have partnered with DoSomething.org, an organization dedicated to empowering young people to take action in their communities, to create a great new bag - Yes We Can! Will! It is on sale for the holidays.

Oooooh, the Goody Green Bag is so cute! I’ve got Dottie and I love it. They fold up nice, neat and compact.

So many great bags . . . so little shopping to do!

eat. blog. be merry!
GD Meg

Best Organic Skincare of 2008

I have had the wonderful privilege to test many natural and organic skincare products over the last couple of years. If I had any illusions about how sensitive my skin really is, they are now shattered. I’ve had adverse reactions to some of the most ‘clean’ sounding products out there. So, as I’ve said before in previous posts on skincare reviews, I am like the canary in the coal mine - if there is anything even slightly off about a product, my skin will react - with blooming color usually!

I still can’t keep all the ‘good for me’ from ‘you DON’T want this on your skin’ ingredients straight. I start breaking out in a rash trying to pronounce the name of some of these ingredients - both natural and synthetic. So, if you are wanting a breakdown of the ingredients and what to use and what not to use, please don’t expect that kind of detail here. I’ll give you a couple of good links at the end of the post for better resources.

I do look for simple, organic ingredients that are put together with some consciousness, which perhaps is why I do well with stuff made from biodynamically grown herbs. It is easy for me - it is either clean or I break out, but I would encourage others who may have heartier skin to do additional homework on safe ingredients.

Meg’s Organic Skincare Favs for 2008

Facial Cleanser
Right now and for quite a while, my one and only is Beyond Organic Skincare’s Natural Detoxifying Cleanser. It is a new experience in face washing - smooth, gentle. I always want to sigh when I’m done. They are one of the biodynamic farmer-based companies I really love, based in England.

Facial Hydration
Instead of using traditional ‘toner’ on my face, I’ve learned to use a gentle misting spray and so far, my very favorite are the Healing Hydration Mists from actress Marsha Mason’s biodynamic herb farm in New Mexico, Resting in the River. I had the opportunity to speak with Ms. Mason - read or watch the interview!

Facial Firming
I wouldn’t have necessarily tried this on my own, but the folks at Mod Skin Labs sent it to me and I fell in love with it - Face Sculpt Serum Excalibur DMAE & Blue Green Algea. I guess I’m in denial that I may be at an age where stuff like this can be helpful! I know there are similar products out there, but I have avoided them, because there seems to be a lot of harsh synthetic materials in them. Mod Skin is very clean.

Facial Moisturizing
For daily use, I’ve gotten very comfortable with Beyond Organic’s Organic Moisturizing Day Cream. Leaves my face feeling like soft, silky velvet. This is one of those products that can destroy my face, but Beyond Organics is so clear, I’ll keep using this one as long as possible!

Body Wash
Can’t say enough good things about Shea Terra Organic’s African Lemongrass Indigenous Black Soap Elixir. Well, it is a mouthful - who needs to say more? Honestly, it is a unique and divine experience. I don’t usually use body wash, other than my wonderful handmade soap from my local bee lady, but this soap made by the Yoruba Tribe of West Africa is exotic and amazing.

Body Scrub
Still on the Shea Terra Organics binge, their Miombo Mango Dead Sea Shea Butter Salt Scrub is going to become a regular fixture in my shower/bath.

Body Butter
Marsha Mason has created an amazing formula with her Healing Body butter from Resting in the River. Among the organic ingredients (including shea butter of course) is spilanthes flower, which has some amazing properties. Ms. Mason is among the few using it in her organic skincare lines.

eat. blog. be merry!