Green Kitchen: Vegan Creamed Kale

Green Kitchen is a bi-weekly column about nutritious, inexpensive, and ethical food and cooking. It's penned by the lovely Jaime Green.There are lots of reasons one might want to avoid dairy. One might be allergic. One might be vegan. One might be omnivorous but prefer dairy from happy, grass-fed cows, which can be expensive or hard to come by. One might be lactose intolerant and rationing those pricey lactase pills.Or one might like that experimenting with non-dairy versions of usually-dairy meals can lead one to delicious dishes one might never have eaten otherwise.A little of column A, a little of column B.I ended up at creamed kale the other night by an internet/culinary odyssey – my original plan for cold sesame broccoli was thwarted by...

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Posted in: Green Kitchen,Sides,Vegan

Ask the Internet: What DON'T You Spend Money On?

Simple Organized Living started it. Then, Money Saving Mom picked it up. Today, Casual Kitchen's Daniel puts his own twist on it. I think it's officially a meme:Q: What ten things DON'T you spend money on?A: Okay, here goes:Beef (Thank you, chickens.)Bottled water and soda (Thank you, tap.)Lawn care (Thank you, Brooklyn concrete.)Mayonnaise, radishes, scallops, cauliflower, and anise. (Thank you, food aversions.)Name brand clothes (Thank you, lack of fashion sense.)Cable TV (Thank you, Netflix.)DVDs (Thanks again, Netflix.)Books (Thank you, public library.)A car (Thank you, feet.)Kitchen gadgets (Thank you, limited cabinet space.)Readers, fire away. This is a fun one.Want to ask the interweb a question? Post one in the comment section, or write to Cheaphealthygood@gmail.com. Then,...

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Posted in: Ask the Internet

Guest Post: Pioneer Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe

Shane can be found at ShaneHalbach.com, blogging about the zombie apocalypse, bacon, and his adorable kids (not necessarily in that order).My daughter Evie likes pancakes. A lot. It's not really Sunday at our house if you're not in your PJs at noon eating pancakes while batter slowly drips off your daughter (and the stove, and the walls...). I can't say I blame her, they're fun to make, they're delicious, and they're really not that bad for you.(This is assuming you don't put chocolate chips inside and then slather them with whipped cream and who knows what else - I mean, you can do that, I'm not judging. I won't even call the health police on you. However, if she was going to be eating pancakes that often, I figured we should at least try.)So...

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Posted in: Breakfast,Vegetarian

Guest Post: Companies Vs. Consumers: A Manifesto

Today's guest post comes from Daniel Koontz. Dan is the author of Casual Kitchen, a kick-butt blog that helps readers cook more, think more, and spend less. It's my (Kris') favorite food blog. Er, beyond this one.Why are so many people convinced that all food companies and retailers are evil, greedy, and exist solely to exploit their customers? If you hold that kind of simplistic, generalized world view, you are committing an act of personal disempowerment. You may not know it, but you are willingly giving your power away to these companies. This is not to say that some companies aren't greedy. And it's not to say that consumers aren't at times unfairly separated from their money. But it is the height of enfeebled hypocrisy to whine and complain about "greedy companies" when they merely make...

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Posted in: Buying Food

Ask the Internet: Radish Recipes?

This week's question comes from reader Allison.Q: The other week I was perusing the veggie section and came across these massive red radishes, and I wondered, What could I do with radishes besides slice them up raw for salads? Can they even be cooked? They never appear in any recipes I read. (I feel like maybe I have seen them in an Asian recipe, but I very rarely cook any kind of Asian cuisine at home, so I could be wrong.) I suppose I could steam some up and try but hey, that's what Ask the Internet is for, right?A: Hi Allison! I have to admit, I'm not a big radish fan myself (also see: mayonnaise, Michael Bolton, wedgies), but Leigh (of Veggie Might fame) likes 'em muchly. Her write-up of Braised Radishes with Tarragon looks particularly enticing.Beyond that ... readers? It's a non-Thanksgiving...

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Posted in: Ask the Internet

Guest Post: Butternut Squash Soup - Test Kitchen Tuesday

Angela is on a mission to eat healthy one new meal at a time. You can catch up with her at Test Kitchen Tuesday.  Hi everyone! Before we get started, I just want to say how happy I am to be here. So, my fellow CHG-lovers, it’s so nice to meet you!And, now that we’re on a first name basis, I have a confession to make. I am a lot of things: a wife, a small business owner, a triathlete, a skier, and an animal lover, among others. Until recently, I was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a cook. In fact, I used to pretty much avoid cooking as much as possible, aside from maybe boiling water for pasta. My husband and I have fully remodeled two houses together, which left little time to think about what we were eating. When you’re covered...

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Posted in: Mains,Sides,Soups and Stocks,Vegan,Vegetarian

Top 10 Links of the Week: 11/12/10 – 11/18/10

No time to waste! Let’s get right to it. 1) The Kitchn: 10 Things to Buy in the Next 60 Days to Save You MoneySupermarket are holding some huge sales right now, meaning you can stock up on food used all year-round. Butter it up, everybody.2) Casual Kitchen: Organic Food, Chemicals, and Worrying About All the Wrong ThingsComPLETELY agree with Dan here. Sometimes, our fears are amplified so much by hype, we get distracted from the real issues. Case in point, pesticides.3) 344 Pounds: Discrimination Against Fat & Obese PeopleInteresting viewpoint on prejudice leading to an even more eye-opening discussion thread. 4) Divine Caroline: 10 Sugary Cereals to AvoidMarshmallow Froot Loops are 48 PERCENT SUGAR? Are you JOSHING ME? It’s one of those...

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Posted in: Links

Veggie Might: The Battle of Pumpkin Spice Biscuits

Written by the fabulous Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about all things Vegetarian.Do you ever have an idea that you're convinced is the Best Idea Ever? Do you then have the utmost confidence that this idea will be Really Easy to Execute?Last month, CB and I ventured north where I bought a farm stand's worth of squash. I have since made soup, a pie, and frozen the rest for Thanksgiving.Then I had the Best Idea Ever. I should make pumpkin biscuits for Thanksgiving dinner. Doesn't that sound amazing?! I pictured them: light, flaky, fragrant with clove and nutmeg, steamy and dripping with butter.But I decided I should not look in any of my cookbooks or on the Internet for recipes. I would make this happen on my own, armed only...

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Posted in: Breads,Vegan,Vegetarian,Veggie Might

Thank You!

Sweet readers! The response to yesterday's Call for Guest Posts, er, post has been really wonderful. There are a ton of great ideas, and it's going to take a little while to wade through all of them, but I can't wait to read the finished pieces. I think we'll have more than enough content moving forward.Thank you so much. Veggie Might coming so...

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A Call for Guest Posts

Sweet readers! Hi there. It’s Kris. And I have a favor to ask yis.First, some background: We’re all about life changes at the CHG Mansion lately. HOTUS and I are still cleaning up from the wedding. I started a new job last week. We’re buying a car, even though I’ve driven exactly once since 2004. Our cat barfed. And now, the latest, most unexpected (but happy) development: we’re moving right after Thanksgiving. As they say in France, LES YIKES.Among many other fabulous things, this means there's not much time to blog, much less pack, much less see the new Harry Potter. (Crap!) Leigh and Jaime are taking up some of the slack, but we’re gonna need backup. So, I was wondering if any of y’all would be interested in providing it. With guest posts, I mean.If you’re not interested, no worries....

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Posted in: About Cheap Healthy Good

Green Kitchen: Mashed Cauliflower and Freezing Food

Green Kitchen is a bi-weekly column about nutritious, inexpensive, and ethical food and cooking. It's penned by the lovely Jaime Green.Oh man, guys. I just had the best/worst idea for how to start today’s column.It’s getting icy. Brr, y’know, cause winter’s coming? But also because I want to talk about freezing food. Like, for storage.I know, it’s awful. My dad would be proud.I could also aim this in the direction of Thanksgiving sides. The recipe herein is an amazing Thanksgiving side, and I will be making it for my family next week. (Oh crap, next week?!) But the food-blog corner of the internet is already overflowing with Thanksgiving recipes right now, and they really just serve to make me panic about the fact that Thanksgiving...

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Posted in: Green Kitchen,Sides,Vegetarian

Ask the Internet: Toaster Oven Recipes?

We interrupt this regularly scheduled Monday Recipe to instead bring you Ask the Internet, a feature that usually appears on Tuesday. You could say it was kismet, or you could say that over the last seven days, I attempted four new recipes that failed worse than this poor squirrel. They ran the gamut from bland (corn pudding) to a dish that might actually qualify as a WMD (Thai-inspired rutabaga puree). From AmazonSo, instead, please give a warm round of applause for Alex, who has a most excellent question: Q: I have a microwave, toaster oven, slow cooker, rice cooker, and hot plate. I've found a number of ways to use all of these to make meals, except the toaster oven. Do you have any resources for fun/creative/healthy ways to employ my toaster...

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Posted in: Ask the Internet

Saturday Throwback: 100+ Thanksgiving Recipes and Links - the Only Turkey Day Post You'll Ever Need

 Every Saturday, we post an article from the CHG archives. This originally appeared in November 2008, and was updated in 2009.Thanksgiving is upon us, and I don’t know about you, but I’ve read approximately 40,000,000 blog posts and magazine articles dealing with next Thursday's dinner. And that’s just this morning.Yeah, Turkey Day can overwhelming, and with so many experts on the subject, sometimes it’s difficult to find information on any single aspect the holiday. And that’s where CHG comes in. What follows are more than 100 links, organized by the following subjects:Appetizers Turkey Sides Stuffing Pies & Desserts Drinks General Menu Planning Affordable Thanksgivings Healthy Thanksgivings Vegetarian Thanksgivings Seating & Tablesetting Troubleshooting Leftovers CHG RecipesWith...

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Top 10 Links of the Week: 11/5/10 – 11/11/10

This week, the links deal primarily with the art of food marketing. Oh. And Mark Bittman. Jeez. That guy.1) New York Times: 101 Head Starts on the DayMinimalist Mark Bittman brainstorms over 100 (hee) make-ahead recipes for the greatest of eating holidays. How does he find the time to do this stuff? Oh, because he makes recipes ahead.From Wiki Commons2) MSNBC: Hunt for value has taken stigma off Goodwill, store brands, fast foodWoo hoo! You guys! We’re the cool kids! Let’s celebrate with some discount macaroni. 3) LA Times: The Food-Mood ConnectionIn which the times busts some myths and explore the relationships between feelings and sugar (not so bad!), coffee (good!), carbs (meh), chocolate (NOOOOO), turkey (false), fish (pick-me-upper!),...

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Posted in: Links