Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

As a mom, I appreciate homemade gifts from my children more than store bought ones. Especially as they get older, the trinkets and cards they have made me over the years are symbols of them in various stages of life, and are very significant to me. I’m not only a mom, though – I’m also a daughter so it’s important for me to give my mom something special that says I appreciate her, too. I almost always make my gifts and card because I think it is more personal, and usually more environmentally friendly and cost-effective (things that make Mom proud).

This Mother’s Day, for me, is all about herbs. I love how creative you can get with herbs and that they are useful, earth-friendly, beautiful and inexpensive. Most herbs can be purchased young from your local garden center or farmers market for a few dollars. The best parts about herbs, though, are their health benefits. Chopped basil, which I add to my sauces and salads, is a very good source of calcium, iron and vitamin A. Thyme, which I put in mashed potatoes, salads and rice, gives me vitamin K, Iron, and calcium. Rosemary contains substances that stimulate the immune system and aid in digestion. Parsley is an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C and folate. The list of incredible herb nutrients goes on and on. See below for some adorable ways to present herbs to your mom this Mother’s Day!

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A simple idea can make a big difference. This became evident on March 21^st, 2012 at the Lunchbox Fund’s most recent fundraiser – an auction of one-of-kind books at New York City’s Del Posto that raised over $200,000 for the cause. Albeit a magical evening, the best part of is the funds from this event are already being put to work.

I’ve just returned from a recent trip to South Africa to visit schools within the program and am happy to report our new feeding program at a school in Manenberg, a town in the Western Cape, is up and running. Manenberg is a poverty and crime-stricken area with approximately 66% unemployment, well above the national average. Parents actively encourage their children to drop out of school to look for jobs and girls as young as 12 are pregnant and at risk for contraction of HIV and AIDS. The teachers are extremely dedicated, often facing crowded classrooms of 40 or more students. The Lunchbox Fund’s assistance will be instrumental in continuing the schools efforts to convince these children that they do have the ability to influence their futures by staying in school. We want to let the students know that they are important and deserve to have a safe, clean place to learn, without being hungry.

We couldn’t do this without the help of kind benefactors and sponsors like, Pure Bar and people who support brands that are doing good.

The Power of Baking Soda

With spring cleaning starting to commence in households across the nation, I can’t help but worry about all the pollutants and toxic chemicals that are being released into our houses and environment in the name of spotlessness. Luckily there are natural, safe alternatives – like baking soda! One of my favorite ingredients to clean with, baking soda, is effective, non-toxic, and very inexpensive!

Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is a completely natural substance used as a cleaning agent since ancient times. It neutralizes acids and bases, thus eliminating orders, and acts as an antiseptic to kill germs. Simply sprinkle on a sponge and scrub your tubs, toilets, countertops, sink. It will even clean the scuffs off of your walls.

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I wait all year for cherry season! When the first cherries hit our local farmers’market, every chef in town is at the market early, buying up the first of the season. I have gone cherry picking quite a few times out in the Leona Valley where most of our local cherries come from. Once you pick cherries yourself (usually in very hot weather), you have a new found respect for your local farmer, since cherry picking is one hard job!

One year we picked sour cherries, which are pretty rare in our area. Sour cherries are very delicate, and once picked, they need to be used fast, or frozen right away. I am so obsessed with sour cherries that I once bought enough at the New York Green Market to fill a suitcase and took them home with me! Sour cherries are the only type that makes a proper cherry pie, so when available I get whatever I can. If you are lucky enough to live in Michigan, Utah, New York or Washington, you can get local sour cherries in season.

Fortunately we get plenty of red Bing cherries in California, and they can be used in so many delicious ways. Cherries make great preserves and chutneys, and can be preserved in syrup to last all year long. If you live in an area where you can pick or buy a lot of cherries, you can also freeze them to use later in the year. I love to add fresh or frozen Bing cherries to lemonade, cocktails, cheesecakes and ice cream. They are also great in salads and with cheeses like ricotta and soft goat cheese. You can add cherries to coffee cakes or chocolate cakes, muffins, and these scones that are lower in fat than a traditional scone. I have been doing a lot of baking with almond milk, but feel free to use buttermilk or a non-dairy milk you like in this recipe.

Cherry-Almond Scones

1 &1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 cup almond milk mixed with 2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/4 cup sunflower oil

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 cup pitted cherries (pit cherries, then measure)

4 tablespoon finely chopped almonds

Additional sugar

Preheat oven to 375°.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond milk, oil and lemon zest. Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour the wet mixture into the dry and mix together with a wooden spoon or spatula, stirring with as few strokes as possible. Lightly fold in the chopped cherries.

Scoop the batter on to parchment lined baking sheets, making 12 scones total. Sprinkle each scone with 1 teaspoon chopped almonds and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until tops are lightly browned.

Flavorful Fennel

One of my favorite early spring veggies is fennel. Its sweet, crunchy texture compliments salads and vegetable dishes, and nothing beats the smell of roasted or sautéed fennel! You can eat the bulb raw or roasted and use the greens in a salad. Sometimes I make a simple dish of Vidalia onions and fennel sautéed in sesame oil to serve alongside fish or on top of basmati rice.

Fennel is a high antioxidant food that is an excellent source of vitamin C. It also contains oil called anethole, which studies link to reduced inflammation and protection against cancer. It is high in fiber, folate and potassium. Fennel season is almost over so if you haven’t experimented with this versatile little bulb make sure to pick some up the next time you are at the store or farmers market. Below is a refreshing and impressive spring salad, packed with nutrients and oh so delicious. In fact, often I eat the salad with no dressing because it is so good alone. Happy spring!

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Treeless Tuesdays

With Earth Day right around the corner (Sunday, April 22!), I find myself thinking of mindless little habits I have that could be easily changed for the better of the earth. Incidental things like having a straw in my drink, taking more than one napkin, and using paper towels are quite meaningless to me, so much so that not doing them is no problem. And yet not doing them multiplied by a hundred people (let alone a thousand) can make a big impact on the health of the earth.

I’ve written before about Meatless Mondays which is hugely beneficial to our earth and our bodies, but what if we all participated in “Treeless Tuesdays”? Think of the impact if we spent one day a week significantly minimizing our use of paper, cutting out napkins, paper towels, paper plates, paper cups, paper memos, paper bills or at the very least use recycled paper if necessary. Small exercises like this teach us how dependent we are on certain luxuries, but also how simple it is to give them up. I don’t have paper towels, paper plates, or paper cups in my home anymore. And I don’t miss them.

Good habits start with small, simple changes. This Sunday, love your earth even more than you already do by making some simple changes for the better.

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