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 packaged ramen soups that you buy are plagued by two health eroding ingredients, high sodium and MSG. Most of that comes from the nasty little flavor packet that they throw in there. With a few little tweaks, and a little research, I was able to use a 95 cent package of ramen noodles, some fresh veggies, some broth and a little miso and make a healthy meal that lasted us all week but cost less than $10 to make. This is also another great use for some of the ingredients used in my Simple Summer Soba Noodle Recipe

Savvy’s Healthy Ramen Redo Recipe

Ingredients:

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: 

I’d never tried any of Karen’s Body Beautiful Skin products before. So when I picked up Creamylicious and Butter Love the last time I was at the store, I thought I would try out some of the Face Wash and review it here.

Karen’s Body Hydrating Face Wash for Dry/Sensitive Skin $12.99 (4oz/120ml)

Ingredients: Purified Water, Aloe Vera, Saponified Coconut & Safflower Oils, Vegetable Glycerin, Panthenol, Essential Oils & Vitamin E

The first thing I noticed about this product is the consistency. It has a thick lotion-like feel, and reminds me of castille soap. The scent was the next thing that got my attention. It doesn’t have a fragrance, per se, but it did remind me of plain, frangrance-free Dr. Bronner’s liquid castille soap again. When I tool another look at the ingredients, I understood why. It has saponified coconut oil, (which is basically what castille is made of).

I substituted this cleanser for the black soap in my Morning Skin Routine. This product did a great job of washing my face,

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 love spa anything, and these gifts are truly easy, and can be given individually, or as a complete set for Mom on her special day. The following recipes are some of my favorites!

For those of you who are new to the celebration checkout What Is Earth Day?. It really is more than just recycling. This year, I’ve decided to actually start composting, and growing even more veggies in my garden, like I did last year. I’ll be blogging about it as soon as I get my bin!

For other Earth Day ideas, check out these sites.

Earth Day Network (this is a great resource for checking out earth day events in your area)

Natural Resources Defense Council

And for even more green ideas, check out