Organic versus Non-Organic

Organically grown food:
- Farmers use natural fertilizers such as manure, cover crops, and compost to build up a healthy, nutritious soil.
- Control weeds by hand-weeding, crop rotation and mulching.
- Use birds and insects to help manage pests.
- Prohibit irridation.
- Genetically modified crops are not allowed.

Non-organic grown food:
- Synthetic or chemical fertilizers and sewage sludge bolster soil fertility.
- Control weeds by chemical herbicides.
- Pest, fungal and disease is controlled by chemical pesticides.
- Irradiation is permitted to kill pathogens in various foods.
- Genetically modified seeds are allowed.
Anna Lappé, 2010 

Here we have two different directions to choose, either a method that takes into account the environment and which also may help to reverse the climate crisis, or a method that requires more energy from the earth, and which is dependent on fossil fuels to keep things going. Why do we even have a choice to choose non-organic?

The most common argument is that organic production can´t feed the entire world's population, and that it is the poorest who would suffer the most. Is it then so that organic production would suppress food security in the world and be a threat to those who allready are poor? The truth is quite to the contrary if we look at recent research that shows organic production to be more resistant to chlimate changes and produce as much food over a longer timespan as non-organic.  As for the poorest and most hungry of us, they are actually farmers, who produce most of the food in the world but still go hungry. The richest of us are the ones that control the processing of raw materials and have the power to underpay the true value of what food actually costs to produce.  Organic production will, in that sense shift the distribution of power in the world, and acknowledge the farmers and their essential wisdom that have been passed down from generation to generation.


As consumers who want to buy organic, we just have to do our best, and select it as far as we can. It is nevertheless good to see that the demand for organic food is increasing, and that the offer is actually a tiny bit better. We have to pay a little more, but in the long run it will pay off!

 

Raw Mint-Chocolate Chip

This is the perfect snack to have in the freezer (if you don´t eat it all at once..). The recipe is similar to Raw Brownies but I think this shape is much better because the pieces are smaller and more suitably sized. Especially for a lady;). Visually they look too good with the green pistachio nuts, and for the taste, well you have to decide for yourself after you've made ​​it. All I can say is that they are my absolute favorite version of my raw-chocolate-brownie-chip experiment so far!


And they are easy to bring along for a tea-party as I will now...

Recipe:

6 dl dates
2 tablespoons agave
6 tablespoons cocoa
6 drops of peppermint oil
4 tablespoons extra-virgin coconut oil
1 teaspoon bourbon vanilla
1 pinch sea salt
1 handfull pistachio nuts
 
Use a good food processor or blender to mix all the ingredients except the pistachio into a dough. Place baking paper on a table, and put the dough in the middle of the baking paper in a long shape. Put the baking paper around, and pinch the dough together so that it becomes more compressed and even. When you are satisfied, sprinkle finely chopped pistachio nuts over the dough, and by holding both ends of the baking paper you can roll the dough back and forth until everything is covered with nuts. Keep in the freezer, and slice of your chocolate chips as you wish. Tastes even better with a cup peppermint tea.


Oppskrift:

6 dl dadler
2 ss agave sirup
6 ss kakao
6 dråper peppermynte olje
4 ss ekstra virgin kokosolje
1 ts bourbon vanilje
1 klype havsalt 
1 håndfull pistasjenøtter

Bland alle ingrediensene utenom pistasjenøttene sammen til en deig med en stavmikser. Legg bakepapir ut på et bord og legg deigen utover i midten i en pølseform. Rull bakepapiret over og klemm deigen sammen slik at den blir tettere og jevnere i formen. Når du er fornøyd, strø finhakkede pistasjenøtter over deigen, og ved å holde i begge endene på bakepapiret kan du rulle deigen frem og tilbake til alt er dekket med nøtter. Oppbevar i fryseren og skjær av dine sjokolade chips når du ønsker. Smaker ekstra godt med en kopp peppermynte te.

Organic Pampering Friday

Today I was treated with the best organic skin care treatment ever at Gimle Organic Perfumery. 1 full hour of massage, papaya peelinging, organic oils and creams suited to my skin. I don´t know if it was the creams or massage that was best, but after the treatment I felt completely happy. Thank you Marie, Gimle and Gunn-Turi!

When I came home after treatment this beautiful grapefruit added the finishing touch. So simple and so good. 


My pampering friday went on with a wonderful Kale Salad. I've wanted to make a raw dish with Kale, and found a recipe online that turned out to be heavenly good. Kale is a superfood, full of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and other healthful plant compounds. It has a high vitamin content, and is particularly rich in vitamin A and C. It also contains calcium and phosphorus, and is one of the vegetables with the highest iron contain. The dark green, crisp and juicy leaves are delicious to chew in this raw salad. 

Recipe Kale-Salad:

3 stalks of Kale
1 dl extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons sea salt
6 cherry tomatoes
1 / 2 avocado
1 / 2 lemon
2 spring onions

For this salad you have to use your hands to work the oil and sea salt into the slightly stiff leafs. 

Cut the cabbage into small pieces (1x1 cm), and place in a bowl. Pour olive oil over the leaves and use your hands to knead the oil into the leaves. Then add the salt and continue kneading the leaves. When you feel it´s enough, cut the tomatoes into 4 pieces and add in before you mush the avocado and stir into the salad. Cut up the spring onions and stir in at the end. Finally, press the lemon juice over.







 

Oppskrift Grønnkål-Salat :

3 stilker grønnkål
1 dl ekstra virgin oliven olje
2 ts havsalt
6 cherrytomater
1/2 avokado
1/2 sitron
2 vårløk 

Kutt kålen opp i små biter (1x1 cm), og legg i en bolle. Hell olivenolje over bladene og bruk hendene til å kna oljen inn i de krusete bladene. Tilsett så havsalt og fortsett å kna bladene lett. Deretter kutt tomatene i 4 biter og rør inn før avokadoen moses lett og røres inn i salaten. Til slutt press sitron saft over. Den kan med fordel stå litt før den serveres så smakene får satt seg.   

Reclaim your kitchen for a climate-friendly diet

 


























Diet For A Hot Planet, The Climate Change At The End Of Your Fork And What You Can Do About It, by Anna Lappé is a great and informative book about our non-climate friendly modern food system, and what you and I can do about it.

Our globalizing modern food system is characterized by distance. Distance in time, space and interpersonal relationships. This means that it can take a long time between harvesting and consumption of food, our contact with real food is lost, and so is the contact between producer and consumer.  How to close the gap?

Anna Lappé is listing 7 Principles of a Climate-Friendly Diet in her book:

1: Reach for real food
2: Put plants on your plate
3: Don´t panic, go organic
4: Lean toward local
5: Finish your peas...the ice caps are melting
6: Send packaging packing
7: Reclaim your own power to cook, grow, and create your own food

Each climate-friendly diet principle requires us to reclaim our kitchen and our hands! Get your cookbooks out and enjoy the pleasure of serving a nutritious meal to your loved ones!

Delicious Ginger-Oatmeal breakfast

I started making this breakfast in the kitchen at work where there is no stove, and I had to have something available on the days I rush in and have to make breakfast there. It is super easy and very convenient because all the ingredients except the apple and the ginger (you could also go for the dried ginger if thats easier, but it will taste different) can easily be stored in cabinets over time. In addition it is a satisfying breakfast that gives long-lasting energy. 

A comment to the recipe is that the amount of water must be adjusted slightly by the type of oatmeal you use. If you have large oats that are untreated, you need to increase the amount of water slightly so that the porridge wont be too thick. 


Recipe:

1 1 / 2 dl rolled oats
1 / 2 -1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 / 2 tablespoon cardamom
1 / 2 tablespoon cinnamon
1 pinch sea salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin coconut oil
1 apple
2 tablespoons of crushed flaxseed
3 dl water (try with 3 1/2 dl if you use large oats)

Boil water in a water boiler. Mix all other ingredients except flaxseeds and apple in a bowl, and pour boiling water over. Let stand while you cut the apple into cubes. Use a hand blender to mash the oatmeal, add the apple pieces over, and finally sprinkle flax seed on top. Voila!

Oppskrift:

1 1/2  dl havregryn
1/2 -1 ss raspet ingefær
1/2 ss kardemomme
1/2 ss kanel
1 klype havsalt
1 ss extra virgin kokosolje
1 eple
2 ss knuste linfrø
3 dl vann (øk vannmengden til 3 1/2 dl hvis du har store havregryn)

Kok opp vann i en vannkoker. Bland alle ingrediensene utenom linfrø og eple i en bolle, og hell det kokende vannet over. La stå mens du kutter opp eplet i terninger. Bruk en stavmikser til å mose havregrynene. Legg deretter over eplebitene, og tilslutt strø linfrø på toppen.

Raw After-Eight Brownies to go

Inspired by Caroline Fibæk's insanely good After-Eight Cake in the book RawCake, I got the idea to create a raw brownie with after-eight flavor. I followed the recipe to Raw Chai Brownies, but replaced chai tea with 6 drops of peppermint oil.

I made them to bring for a gathering, but I will have to make a new portion. These come straight out of the freezer and will be eaten up in just a short time .. So yummi!

Sesame covered tofu with raw pasta and sweet potato mash

Once in a blue moon I eat tofu. I make it very rare, but sometimes I just crave it. Tofu cubes rolled in sesame seeds served with sweet potato mash, was a hit in my former student collective and it brings back a lot of good memories...

Today I felt a little nostalgic after having immersed myself in my master thesis the whole day, so a natural consequence was craving tofu. As with all traditions, they are modernized with time, so this dish was upgraded with raw zucchini pasta. I am very pleased with the new addition:)


Recipe (2 people)

Sweet potato mash:
Begin with the sweet potato mash since it takes the longest time
 
2 large sweet potatoes
1-2 tablespoons butter / ghee / coconut oil
Sea salt to taste

Peel and divide the sweet potatoes into smaller pieces so that they cook faster. Let boil for about 10 minutes and check that they have become soft. When they are done, pour off the water, and mash the potatoes together with butter or oil using a hand blender.

Sesame covered tofu:

250 g tofu (always organic and GMO free)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Season with cayenne pepper and sea salt

Cut the tofu into cubes and heat in a pan with a little oil (extra virgin olive or coconut oil, depends on the flavor you prefer, and what you have available). Sprinkle cayenne pepper and sea salt over. When you think they are warmed enough pull the pan from the plate and mix in the sesame seeds.

Raw pasta

1 medium zucchini

Use a mandolin or a potato peeler to make a pasta-shapet squash. If you don´t have a mandolin it will be just as delicate with the potato peeler, but it will be more like a taglietelle shape. Add a little extra virgin oil and sea salt.

Oppskrift (2 pers)

Søtpotetmos:  
Begynn med søtpotetmosen siden den tar lengst tid

2 store søtpoteter
1-2 ss smør / ghee / kokosolje
Smaksett med havsalt

Skrell og del søtpotetene i mindre biter for at de skal koke fortere. La koke ca 10 minutter, og kjenn etter at de er blitt myke. Når de er passe myke hell av vannet, og mos potetene til en mos med smør eller kokosolje ved hjelp av en stavmikser.
 
Sesam dekket tofu:
250 g tofu naturell (alltid økologisk og GMO fri)
2 ss sesamfrø
Krydres med cayenne pepper og havsalt

Kutt tofuen i terninger og varm i pannen med litt olje (extra virgin oliven- eller kokos olje, kommer ann på smaken du foretrekker og hva du har tilgjengelig). Dryss cayenne pepper og havsalt over. Når du syns de er varmet nok, trekker du pannen av plata og blander inn sesamfrøene.

Raw pasta

1 mellomstor squash
Litt olje og havsalt

Bruk en mandolin eller en potetskreller for å lage pastaformet squash. Hvis du ikke har mandolin blir den like delikat med potetskrelleren, men vil ligne mer tagliatelle pasta. Tilsett litt olje og havsalt.