Keeping Warm with your 5 a day

Yea, that's right the 5-a-day initiative is still going strong!

I'll admit, there've been some days, where I didn't get all 5 cups of fruits and veggies I

Souce:Epicurious

needed. Those days were awful, I'd get sluggish, start craving more junk, my attention span went out the window. Basically mental and physical health took a nose-dive.  Just more proof that eating fruits and veggies is a good thing to do.

It's easy to eat smoothies, salads, veggies and hummus when it's warm out, even on our cool NorCal nights. But when winter comes through that gets tough. We've been going through a recent cold spell here in the Bay and I know it's been very cold back East as winter sets in.  Still I've been finding ways to keep the 5-a-day up.

Soups are great and simple way to get in some vegetables. As I write this I'm enjoying an ode to Obasaan: miso ginger broth with rice noodles, kale, eggplant, and atsu-age(deep-fried tofu...surprisingly not as unhealthy as you would think at 110 cals and 9g a protein per serving). Getting 1.5 cups of veggies and warmed up at the same time!

A new soup I discovered this month is Fennel Greens soup. I've made it twice this month and it's the 10th. The first time I made it was basically to recipe. The second time I made it vegan, no butter, and almond milk it came out actually better than with the half n half. The whole batch has about 2lbs of vegetables in it and it's about 6-10 servings. So 1-2 cups of veggies.

Source Chow.com

As much as I love soups, living in a 350 sq ft apartment with electric heat (read: I never ever turn on the heat even during frost warnings. Thank-you Mama for the electric blanket!) it's not the most efficient use of gas. Roasting veggies is a great way to get in some veggies and warm up your place. Some of my favourite roasting combinations:

• sweet potatoes and parsnips, oriental 5 spice, cayenne powder, sesame oil
• eggplant, red peppers, garlic, with sea salt, pepper, and olive oil
• butternut squash, apples, walnuts, with white pepper, cinnamon, touch of brown sugar
• cauliflower with salsa verde 

Bonus: You can use leftovers to easily make a soup. Toss em in the food processor. Then add to a pot with stock/broth/, maybe some cream. Break out the immersion blender for a super smooth.   (My mother gave me my immersion blender too. Ironic, even as an adult Mama’s still helping me stay warm ^_^)

Please remember if you're using a gas or propane stove to keep your place ventilated. Check to make sure your hood ventilates to outside/unconditoned space, you'd be surprised how many ventilate right back into the kitchen. If you don't have an oven hood, open the window while you're cooking. It helps prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, remember there is no safe level of CO and even at low amounts without proper ventilation over time can cause problems such as dizziness, fatigue, headaches, and fainting.

*steps off of energy audit soapbox*

Aren't you glad you read an engineers' blog? Even with the window open your place should stay plenty warm and you can close it after you finish cooking.

Review: Tomato Sherpa

Recently Tomato Sherpa came to my office for a demo about their product. They're one of those recipe-in-box companies that's popping up allot lately. Prepped local ingredients and a recipe delivered or picked up. Then you cook it up at home. It's in servings of two, you can order multiples.

I have to admit that I thought those things were pretty silly. As a seasoned cook I thought "Oh so I pay you and I still have to cook this marginal recipe." It was more an assumption over anything. Images of weight loss programs came to mind. #Chubbygirlproblems. Well I can say that I stand completely corrected.

There are many nights when I'm just too tired to go to the grocer and have no idea what I want to cook. These nites usually end up in take-away or eating out half-sleep at one of my Temescal haunts. If there was a kit with a really good meal all prepped and all I had to do was cook it, I would totally do that. 

Kimia was super friendly and great at answering all of our questions.  You can order one-off or sign up for subscription which saves you a bit overall, they have meals to fit most diets(vegan, gluten free, carnivore, etc.)  and state all their ingredients should you have any allergies.  

Tomato Sherpa generously gave us our choice of their meals for that week. The choices were:

Carrot Miso Soup with Sesame Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Fig-Prosciutto Pizza with Fresh Mozzarella and Red MustardSpiced Lamb and Potatoes with Citrus Tahini Sauce

I was leaning towards the lamb but that Fig Prosciuto Pizza was too tempting.   

Recipe Directions front

The directions were very easy to follow, there was some olive oil (not provided) that was stated in the ingredients but wasn't in the recipe. I like how they also clearly stated the hardware needed at the beginning of the recipe. It's annoying to get mid-way through a recipe and have to start searching for another bowl, etc. 

Wasn't expecting the pre-made crusts. In fact as I was cooking without my glasses when I saw the small balls of smoked mozzerella I thought that was the crust, lol. It took me about 10 minutes of prep.

Shallot, dressing, fig jam

The fig jam was AMAZING, proscuitto not too salty not too bland. the smoked mozzerlla really rounded it out. I loved that it had a healthy dose of greens and the vinagrette was nice, not too over the top so I still tasted the flavor of the greens especially that fennel. mmm.

Recipe Directions Back

Unfortunately the pre-made crust was not good and I'm not that picky about crusts. I'll eat a frozen lean cuisne pizza. I can't quite describe what was wrong with that crust. It tasted as if it was trying to be gluten free or something with an odd aftertaste. I made a "baguette pizza" with the other half of the ingredients. And it was so delicious.  I understand that the goal of this is to be ultra convient but I feel that even for the novice cook, stretching out some pizza dough isn't too hard. Or maybe making it flatbread pizza?  

Pre-made crust...not so muchy

Everybody else in my office enjoyed the other dishes.Especially the Carrot-Miso Soup. Though my co-worker who also had the pizza said the same thing about the crust. She ended up making a salad with the ingredients instead. My boss also chose the pizza and made after hearing our opinion so she made it with pizza dough she had and said it was really good. I feel like I'll definitely order from then again. 

Tomato Sherpa is currently a SF Bay area local operation.  They deliver to offices and to homes through Good Eggs. They have several selections for the week. You either order by 11pm Saturday for Tuesday delivery, or by 2pm Tuesday for Thursday delivery. All orders are available for pickup between 1-4pm. Lucky for me their pick-up location is near my work in West Berkeley. I kinda wish they offered something for us singles, Though in reality when I cook dinner, the left overs usually end up as lunch the next day anyway.  Bonus points for having nutritional content.

Full disclosure: Tomato Sherpa gave me and my other co-workers a meal of our choice free of charge. My review was not affected by this. 

   

Giving Tuesday: 3 Great Non-Profits to Donate to!

Y'know all that money you saved on Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

How about using it to support organizations that help people in your community become more environmentally and mentally healthy?

Today is Giving Tuesday and if you're surfing the  social media wave today I'm sure you're going to see a ton of recommendations to help many great causes.  For me, Sustainability and Suicide Prevention/Mental Health Parity are the causes that I'm most active in supporting.

I think this is a very unique set of recommendations as I've volunteered and/or worked with each one so I can provide a bit more insight at what the great non-profits do.


Community Energy Services Corporation(Marin, Alameda, and Contra Costa Counties in CA)

Okay, I admit extreme bias here. This is where I currently work, where I spend my days helping small business owners become more energy efficient through lighting and refrigeration in the SmartLights program. SmartLights manages lighting and refrigeration rebates that help customers save 40-80% on average on their projects, some projects are even free.  Also assisting in developing more comprehensive measures that target HVAC and Food Service equipment.   So yes, by donating to CESC in a way you're helping me keep my job which while a great cause is hardly inclusive.
CESC does so much more, we're part of the East Bay Energy Watch and Marin Energy Watch. We work with Marin Clean Energy, one of the first Community Choice Aggregations in the country. The SmartSolar program guides homeowners and business owners in Alameda county through the Solar (Electric or Hotwater) process. We do free assessments based on their indivual energy usage to see if Solar is a viable options (Sometimes Energy Efficiency is a better idea, albeit not as sexy). We analyze up to 3 bids and have a recommended contractor list.
In the Residential Department they have several programs to help home owners and renters alike in home repairs, asthma patients have healthier homes, and use less energy thus having lower energy bills. Some programs are free while others are low-cost.
The residential department also perform RECO audits. For property sales or transfers in the City of Berkeley, you must take steps to meet energy efficiency standards and pass an audit. CESC conducts these audits quickly and at a low cost.

So as you can see we're pretty awesome. You can donate to CESC online or by mailing check/money order directly to our office. More info here


GRID Alternatives (California, Colorado, NYC/NJ area and growing)

GRID is non-profit dear to my heart. They are a non-profit solar contractor that provides solar electric systems to low-income homeowners at no cost to them. That's right, free solar!  GRID does this with the help of volunteers and job trainees, who install the systems. That's right again, if you're in an area that does GRID installs you can attend a training and then learn how to install Photovoltaics (PV).  In California they also manage the Single Affordable Solar Homes (SASH) rebate, similarly to CESC's SmartLights rebates. GRID works with Habitat for Humanity, Native American tribes, and others for new construction projects. They also receive donations from companies like: Google, Wells Fargo, Sungevity, and Clif Bar.
Longtime readers of this blog know that I worked at GRID's Bay Area office as the Volunteer and Training Coordinator back in 2011-2012 and continue to volunteer there to this day.  It's one of the best jobs I've ever had and no doubt a big reason I have my current job.  As an Americorps (ClimateCorps) I learned so much about project management and working with different departments. Out in the field I learnt how to bend conduit, wire inverters, and install some of the latest PV technology like Enphase microinverters.  As an engineer I feel this helps me in project management as I've real-word experience of what installers do, I know how difficult it can be, doing a conduit run.

 I worked with the local job-training partners and it was truly inspiring and heart warming to see job-trainees of every type: young, old, high-school drop-outs, veterans, college grads trying to gain valueable skills. Helping them find jobs in the Solar industry was my favourite part of my job. There's a former job-trainee from Laney College who's been working for Solar City as an installer since I helped referred him back 2012 and he recently has been promoted to crew lead!
GRID's growing too and donating to GRID helps them to continue to grow. So if you want GRID to come to your solar state, donating is great way to start. I'm looking at you North Carolina!
You can donate to GRID here. There are options or you can enter your own amount


American Foundation for Suicide  Prevention (Nationwide)
Suicide Prevention is a cause near and dear to my heart. So far I've participated in 2 Out of Darkness walks. I've had a few friends who've died from suicide, and a few more that have attempted suicide. When I was an engineering student I once read that just having an engineering department is one of the factors in determining "Most Stressful schools in America", that really stayed with me.  AFSP helps by doing suicide prevention programs for many including special program targeted at :Veterans, LGBT, Youth, and Minorities. Known for their support for "Survivors of Suicide", the family and friends of people who've died from suicide, they are gradually offering help to a very underserved part of this cause: those who've attempted suicide. This is the group of people who are most at risk, in fact a previous attempt is the greatest risk factor! Unfortunately this group is meant to recover, cope with any mental illness they have and never ever mention it again outside a individual therapist session. It's discouraged in group therapy and understandably, the friends and family of attempters aren't always open to talking about it after time has passed.  Some see it as setback in therapy but I had a friend who attempted who sometimes brings it up to me. They refer to it as their 'reference point' a sign of either taking things out of proportion or that they really need to seek active help so they don't go down that path again. Still, at times they see it as a "I can overcome this, it doesn't have to go there" as a victory even. Attempters too are survivors of suicide and I'm glad that AFSP is helping more.
There are many ways to donate to AFSP learn more about them here.



Thanks for taking the time to read this. No matter what you cause you decided to donate to, it's great. It helps people and communities in need, it keeps people employed. Did you know that while donations during the recession went down, employment in nonprofits went up? After working over 5 years in the non-profit sector I can say there's nothing more fulfilling than doing what you loove and helping people. And after the past year at CESC, making a living wage, that's good too.

Till next time,