Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week standing desks are overrated, the new EPA head is terrifying, and how mushrooms might save the bees.

Next week’s Mindful Meal Challenge will start again on Monday. Sign up now to join us!

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

I also share links on Twitter @summertomato and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

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Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

Next week’s Mindful Meal Challenge will start again on Monday. Sign up now to join us!

This week ticks spread meat allergies, gut bacteria increase lifespan, and your Italian tomatoes are probably fake.

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

I also share links on Twitter @summertomato and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

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Healthy bolognese with extra vegetables

As winter drags on you’ll find yourself craving hearty food—I know I do this time of year. Sometimes nothing will satisfy that hunger except a classic bowl of spaghetti topped with a rich meat sauce.

My homemade bolognese sauce is loaded with vegetables, but won’t disappoint the meat lover in your family. I created this recipe for Lily, my 18-month-old who absolutely loves pasta, as a means to sneak more veggies into her life.

I prefer to make bolognese sauce with 85% lean grass-fed ground beef, but any ground meat will work (just not the really lean stuff). Try making the sauce with ground bison, lamb or turkey, or go meatless and swap in tempeh (grind the tempeh in a food processor).

This sauce is memorable served on top of pasta, but you can also serve it on top of spaghetti squash for a lighter meal. The gluten-free crowd will love it spooned on top of brown rice or a baked potato.

I highly recommend making a double batch and freezing half so you get two family dinners for the time-commitment of one.

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black rice breakfast bowl

Porridge made from black rice, also called “forbidden rice,” is a creative and delicious alternative to oatmeal.

This recipe was inspired by a memorable brunch I had a couple months ago at a tiny neighborhood restaurant, The Sudra, in SE Portland. The Sudra is beloved for its vegan, deeply spiced Indian cuisine.

Black rice has a rich, nutty flavor, chewy texture, and powerful color, while sautéed apples spiked with cinnamon and cardamom take on a beautiful crimson hue, making this bowl impressive enough to serve for weekend brunch.

You can use any type of milk, but for a creamy treat I recommend making it with rich coconut milk. Unsweetened canned coconut milk is available at most grocery stores.

To be able to prepare this breakfast in less than 15 minutes, cook the rice the night before while you’re cleaning up from dinner.

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Since figs are in season just once a year, for a short period when summer fades into fall, this is the salad I’m devouring right now. The bitter radicchio paired with the sweet, caramelized, roasted figs and the salty crumbles of goat cheese satisfies every craving in one forkful.

Figs are one of those rare fruits that producers haven’t yet figured out how to grow out of season, ship from halfway around the world, or pick under-ripe and store for months on end. Therefore the figs you’re seeing right now at your grocery store or farmers market are at peak perfection.

Transform this salad into a nourishing meal, perfect for lunch or dinner, by tossing in a cup of cooked farro, wheat berries, or brown rice.

When figs are not in season, pears or grapes make impressive stand-ins.

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Grilled eggplant with chickpeas and tomatoes

Vegans, vegetarians, and vegetable aficionados rejoice—you need not be a meat-lover to have fun grilling this summer. Vibrant vegetables (and fruit!) can benefit from the sear of a hot grill as much as a juicy burger or steak.

Thick slabs of eggplant brushed with olive oil and spices, transform into melt-in-your-mouth goodness when charred to perfection.

Grilling is faster than cooking on the stovetop and it requires less cleanup. Ready to get your grill on?! Here are a few tips to get you started:

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For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

Exciting announcement! Prevention Magazine has launched a new site dedicated to healthy living called EatClean, and I’m one of their featured writers. Check out my first article, This Is Why Your Attempts to Eat Healthy are Backfiring. If you like Summer Tomato it will be totally up your alley. (Don’t forget to subscribe).

This week why you’ll never eat Thai shrimp again, new rules on preventing peanut allergies, and how the food industry has gotten even shadier.

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app I just discovered to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you. (Yes, I took that picture of the pepper heart myself.)

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baked apples

I can’t decide what wins me over more, the aroma of apples baking or the first steaming bite of a bursting baked apple. When it comes to these Maple and Spice Baked Apples both are equally mesmerizing.

If you’re hunkered down due to the snow and rain slamming much of the country, here’s a heartwarming sweet treat guaranteed to turn this winter slog around. This dressed up version of classic, whole baked apples calls on browned butter, sweet spices and maple syrup.

Follow the recipe below or get creative and stuff your apples with whatever variation of nuts, dried fruit, chocolate or nut butters you have on hand.

Bonus: you have our full permission to eat the leftovers for breakfast—simply warm and serve with a spoonful of whole milk yogurt.

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grain-free tabouleh

This grainless variation of a Lebanese classic was specially requested by Darya’s husband, Kevin. Kevin came across a tabouleh salad made with cauliflower instead of bulgur while on a work trip and has been craving it ever since.

Because just about everyone can benefit from more veggies and many of us are sensitive to grains, it seemed like a genius substitution.

I love how much the roasted cauliflower resembles couscous once pulsed a couple times in the food processor, only sweeter and fluffier. A definite keeper!

Tomatoes in the wintertime remind me of soggy cardboard—flavorless and mealy—so I used reconstituted sun-dried tomatoes. Of course come summertime, feel free to swap back in fresh cherry tomatoes.

Thanks for the inspiration, Kevin!

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turmeric pumpkin seeds

Boo!

It’s finally time to carve that giant pumpkin that’s been hanging out on your front steps for the last couple of weeks. I know I’ve been anxiously awaiting this moment, not because I can’t wait to carve a scary face (my carving skills are seriously lackluster), but because I can’t wait to get my hands on those slimy seeds.

The best part about carving pumpkins has gotta be the seeds. They’re a gooey, stringy mess coming out, but with a little love they can be transformed into a crunchy, crave-worthy salty snack. If you overdo it with sugar on Halloween night, they’ll provide some much-needed balance.

And here’s one more reason to not toss your seeds: pumpkin seeds are high in zinc, a mineral we could all use a little extra boost of this time of year. Zinc helps your body fight off nasty cold and flu viruses.

Happy carving!

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