Mushroom Tacos with Salsa Verde

Thinking about getting your veggie diet on but think you’ll miss meat too much? Well, Vegetarianized.com won’t make you give it a second thought with their mouth-watering recipes like the Grilled Cheese Elvis full of gooey goodness and bananas, asparagus muffin pudding, pretzel cheese soup, and more! The site gives step-by-step instructions along with photos. Right now we’re salivating over the Mushroom Tacos with Salsa Verde. Try whipping it up this weekend — it only takes 30 minutes!

Mushroom Tacos with Salsa Verde
Adapted from a recipe in Vegetarian Times April 2010
Servings: 6
Time: 15 minutes active; 20 minutes total
Price: About $17.75 total; about $3.00 per serving
Nutrition (per serving):
Calories: 387.1
Protein: 11.5g
Fat: 16.1g
Saturated Fat: 2g
Carbohydrates: 57.7g
Fiber: 12.1g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 241.2mg

Marinade:
1 Tbsp canola oil
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp black pepper

Tacos:
6 large portobello caps, washed and stems removed
18 6″ corn tortillas
2 avocados, sliced
3 tomatoes, chopped
1/4 head of cabbage, sliced

Salsa Verde:
12oz can of tomatillos, drained
1 large poblano pepper, roughly chopped
1 bunch of fresh cilantro, leaves only
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp SnP, each

1. Preheat grill or grill pan. Meanwhile marinate mushrooms by mixing canola oil, balsamic and pepper in a shallow dish. Place mushrooms in marinade and coat. Set aside.

2. To make salsa verde, put all the ingredients in a processor and process until smooth.

3. When grill is hot, grill mushrooms for 3-5 minutes per side. Remove from heat and let cool. Slice.

4. Lay out three tortillas per person and divide sliced mushrooms, avocado, tomatoes and cabbage evenly  between each. Top with several spoonfuls of salsa verde.

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What’s the Deal with High Fructose Corn Syrup?

So you’ve seen the commercials with the ladies talking about how HFCS is just like sugar and it’s fine in moderation. But did you also see the SNL skit mocking them? Hilarious! But it got us thinking … what’s really the deal with HFCS?

Basically, along with the HFCS you’re also getting helpings of caustic soda, hydrochloric acid, alpha-amylase, gluco-amylase, isomerase, filter aid, powdered carbon, calcium chloride and magnesium sulfate. Phew!

The one you have to watch out for is hydrochloric acid. It’s a necessary chemical in the creation of HFCS that yields traces of the heavy metal mercury at levels that are high enough to cause some serious damage.

Plus, HFCS can lead to diabetes, obesity and other heart conditions. So Greenista Girls, don’t fall for those “it’s fine in moderation” HFCS commercials.

Soup de jour: Gluten-free Soups

On these cold winter days, don’t you wish you could cuddle up with a warm bowl of some delish soup? Abe’s Market, the online marketplace for great natural products, is the place to order four different yummy gluten-free soups from Cook-In-The-Kitchen. How to choose from Harvest Garden, Mediterranean Lentil, Welsh Potato, and Dilled Tomato? Decisions decisions! And what makes this soup even more tempting is that it is shipped right to your door and ready to prepare. We love that they can be enjoyed just the way they are, or extra ingredients can be added, such as fresh cilantro to the lentil soup. And extra soup can be frozen for later…but we sure don’t plan on having leftovers!

Written by Greenista Girl Shubhra

Photos by Abe’s Market

Pomegranate Puzzle Solved

Does the thought of opening up a pomegranate leave you dazed and confused? This is the season to find beautiful red pomegranates at your grocery store, and with these easy tips from Greenista Girl Shubhra’s award winning cookbook, Entice with Spice – Easy Indian Recipes for Busy People, you can enjoy the fruit (actually seeds), of your labor! We enjoy eating the ruby red jeweled seeds as they are, and sometimes even with a sprinkle of salt on them. Or try them in salads, couscous, sprinkled over chicken or fish dishes, or in yogurt or ice cream. Mmmm!

How to Extract Seeds from a Pomegranate

• Cut off the crown (the small protruding knob) with a knife.
• Score the pomegranate from the crown end down to the other end, cutting only skin-deep, into four or five sections.
• Pry the wedges apart with your hands. Working over a bowl, face a wedge downwards and bend it back to allow the seeds to come loose, picking out the seeds with your fingers.
• Repeat with the other wedges. Enjoy!

Written by Greenista Girl Shubhra

Photos by Alive and Well

Tip courtesy of Shubhra Ramineni. www.enticewithspice.com

Grow Your Own Secret Garden

Make a fairytale come true and have your own real secret garden.  The Secret Garden kit is perfect for a child, or even a gift to yourself to get you in the springtime mood.  This cute kit comes with 6 varieties of flowering seeds, growing directions, and a “secret garden” plan to grow a sunflower walls and a snow flower carpet. We love that it comes so cutely packaged in a recycled steel case with its own “magic” key and reusable storage tins for seeds.  Unlock the magic and get started growing your garden today to experience beautiful colors and wonderful scents.

Written by Greenista Girl Shubhra

Photos by Branch Home