I was in a hurry the other morning and lamented the fact that I really wanted a smoothie for breakfast. I also hadn’t gotten much sleep and I really needed some coffee, and then this happened…

I’m always looking for recipes that can make enough to last more than one day, something vegan for Sexy, or can be eaten over more than one meal. This is all three! I adapted this from a recipe I found on allrecipes. This corn bread isn’t dessert sweet, but it’s definitely not bland either. Now, some purists might say that corn bread should never be sweet.

I disagree.

But, for those of you who subscribe to that point of view, feel free to decrease the sugar in this recipe.

This is a great weeknight dish to make and is simpler than you think! It’s basically a rice and bean dish served in bell peppers. The whole thing takes little over an hour to make, and only 35 minutes if you’re using pre-cooked rice!

I found this recipe over at Post Punk Kitchen (love her!) It comes out really moist and yummy and Sexy can’t get enough of the stuff. The only change I made is I used Earth Balance vegan shortening instead of margarine. This is a great way to get rid of those spotted bananas on your kitchen counter.

I swear you won’t care that there’s no butter or eggs in this!

Last month, my good friend and “green twin” Yoli Ouiya contacted me. She’s one of the new hosts over at DeliciousTV and she wanted to use my kitchen. The kitchen in our Brooklyn brownstone often gets used for shoots and I always love it when other people cook, so of course I accepted. The DeliciousTV folks were nice enough to ask me to do a couple of mini-segments with Yoli too!

This episode you’ll learn how to make Stuffed Zucchni Blossoms with Truffle Oil. (It sounds complicated, but it’s really easy, who knew you could cook with flowers?)

The original version of this recipe asked for apples and cinnamon to be added. But since I was out of apples that day. I decided to use what I had on hand…blueberries. I’m so glad I did! As with all muffins I make, I use a larger muffin tin with smaller forms. I get more muffins in a batch, and less calories per serving. I also included some low fat options for you in the ingredients. Enjoy!

Savvy’s Blueberry Muffin Recipe

Ingredients for muffins:

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar (I use turbinado sugar)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used Smart Balance)
• 1 egg (I used 3 tbsp liquid egg whites)
• 1/3 cup milk (I used organic lowfat soymilk)
• 1/2 cup fresh organic blueberries, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup water

One of the things I can’t stand in the hot summer is a hot kitchen. So I’ve been looking for recipes lately that require very little use of the stove or the oven lately. I stumbled upon a few recipes making use of cold Japanese Soba noodles. Soba noodles are wheat and buckwheat noodles that look a lot like spaghetti, except they are darker in color, lighter in taste, and firmer in consistency. They can be found in the “ethnic” aisle of most grocery stores, or in an asian market, or right here in the Savvy Shop. In Japanese cooking, soba noodles can be served hot or cold, in soups, salads, or even as the main dish as with this recipe.

Simple Summer Soba Noodle Recipe

Ingredients: 

Intake of large quantities of harmful pesticides that are used on most fruits and veggies in conventional farming methods can lead neurological or reproductive damage, especially in developing fetuses and children. Now, don’t get it twisted, organic dos not mean no pesticide is used, it just means a safer, more earth-friendly version is used. And many times, if a fruit or vegetable hasn’t been harmfully sprayed, it’s probably been genetically modified.

Not everyone has access to all organic produce or can afford to eat organic all the time, (I know I can’t). However, it’s hard to know what fruit and vegetables are the best to eat organic and those that we can let pass with a good washing with a Fruit and Vegetable Wash. In my opinion, the best way to save money on organic produce is to buy seasonal produce from a local from a farmer or farmer’s market that doesn’t use harmful pesticides, or a local co-op or grow it yourself. If you don’t have the room/time/inclination to grow your produce yourself and other options are not available in your area, here’s a little guide to 8 foods with the least pesticide residue that you can get away with buying conventional instead of organic and saving a few bucks.

Onions – Onions don’t really get many pests because of their scent. They’re skins also provide a barrier. Make sure they don’t have dark or soft spots and that their smell isn’t overpowering.

Pineapples – Their thick, spiny sins, protect them from most pesticides. You still need to rinse the meat once you get it out. The fruit should be free of soft or dark spots, and shouldn’t smell overly sweet, because that means it’s over ripe.

It seems like every week I’m buying salsa, either to add to a recipe, or to have with some chips, and the other day, when I looked in the cabinets, I suddenly realized that I was out. But, I had a can of organic chopped tomatoes, a can of pineapple, some cilantro….and the internets!!! Here’s what I cobbled together from a few recipes I found. I think it turned out great. (Next time I gonna try it with fresh organic tomatoes!)

Easy Tomato-Pineapple Salsa

Ingredients:

• 1/2 med onion (chopped)
• 4 garlic cloves (pressed*)
• 14.5oz can organic diced tomatoes drained (or about 4 or 5 plum tomatoes chopped)

I was at the local Foodtown the other day and came across this package of root vegetables and herbs for $2.99. It was labeled “Soup Greens”. No recipe or anything just a bunch of ingredients that, I guessed, if magically thrown in a pot, would make soup. Well my curiosity got the better of me so I bought it. This is what was in the package….

So I picked up a box of Unsalted Vegetable Broth and went home to experiment. I poked around allrecipes.com and cobbled together a couple of recipes until I came up with this one. I’m happy to say the soup was delicious! It was great with some crusty bread. And most importantly..

IT WAS CHEAP AND EASY.