Earth Day Inspired
Celebrate our incredible planet by enjoying delicious, nourishing and beautiful food! Keep it simple or make it bright and bold depending on what you have available.
Convo Starters
Spark new conversation with family, friends or roommates with the questions of the night:
What about humanity inspires you? What about the earth inspires you?
Music
Check out National Geographic’s Earth Day WILD playlist on Spotify
Education
There’s something relaxing and special about spending time in the outdoors. Don’t forget that it’s still important to get outside, move your body, and enjoy the sunshine. The stay at home order allows responsible outdoor recreation in your local area. It is your responsibility to stay up to date and respect the health of others’ when doing recreating outside.
If you are staying indoors, you can still enjoy nature virtually. It’s National Parks Week and the National Parks Service is inviting you to bask in the beauty of nature wherever you are! Check out this link for sights, sounds, and ways to join in on the celebration.
Recipes
- DIY SALAD
Ingredients:
Serves 4
– 8 cups leafy salad greens, washed
– 8-12 ounces leftover cooked chicken, ham, turkey or fish, or a combination (substitute beans/lentils/tofu as desired)
– 4 ounces cheese
– 1 medium apple
– 1 bunch grapes
– 1/2 small cucumber
– 1 pint grape tomatoes or 1 large tomato
– 2 medium carrots
– 2 hard-boiled eggs (optional)
– 1/2 cup almonds or walnuts (substitute pumpkin or sunflower seeds as desired)
– Salad dressing of your choice
Directions:
Pile greens into a large bowl or platter. Cut meats into bite-sized pieces. Cube or shred cheeses. Arrange in small bowls or on a plate. Prepare the other vegetables and fruits as needed — dice apples, slice cucumbers, cut grapes and tomatoes in half as needed, slice carrots — and place in small bowls or arrange in piles on a platter. Cut hard boiled eggs in quarters and place in a small bowl.
Place nuts or seeds in a small bowl. Set out your family’s favorite salad dressings and let everyone make their own salads!
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- FIESTA WRAPS
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Ingredients:
Serves 6
– ¼ cup quinoa, dry
– 2 ¼ cups canned low-sodium black beans, drained, rinsed
– ¼ cup fresh red bell pepper, seeded, diced
– ¼ cup Fresh red onions, peeled, diced
– ½ cup Fresh carrots, peeled, shredded
– ¼ cup cheddar cheese, shredded (1 oz)
– 1 teaspoon Chili powder
– 1 ¼ teaspoon Ground cumin
– 1 ¼ teaspoon Fresh Lime juice
– 6 Whole-wheat tortillas, 6”
– 1 tablespoon Vegetable oil
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 °F.
Rinse quinoa in a fine mesh strainer until water runs clear, not cloudy. Combine quinoa and ¾ cup water in a small pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer until water is completely absorbed, about 10-15 minutes. When done, quinoa will be soft and a white ring will pop out of the kernel. The white ring will appear only when it is fully cooked. Fluff with a fork and set aside. A rice cooker may be used with the same quantity of quinoa and water.
Place black beans in a large mixing bowl. Lightly mash beans by squeezing them using gloved hands (at least 50 percent of the beans should appear whole). Be careful not to over-mash beans.
To make filling, add to the mashed beans the quinoa, red peppers, red onions, carrots, cheese, chili powder, cumin, and lime juice.
For each wrap, place ½ cup of filling on the bottom half of the tortilla and roll in the form of a burrito. The wrap may also be folded in half like a taco.
Brush filled wraps lightly with vegetable oil and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 325 °F. Wraps will be lightly brown. Serve hot.
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- QUINOA SALAD
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Serves 4
Ingredients:
– 1 cup of quinoa
– 2 kernels from 2 ears of corn, or 1 can of corn
– 1 (15 ounces) can black beans, rinsed and drained
– 1 red or green pepper, chopped in ½ inch squares
– 2 scallions, washed and chopped
– ½ cup parsley or cilantro, washed and chopped
– 1 mango, peach or nectarine, peeled and chopped into small cubes (could use canned or thawed frozen fruit)
– Italian or homemade dressing
– Salt and pepper, to taste
– Juice from half a lemon or lime
Directions:
Start with one part quinoa and two parts water. Bring water to a boil, then add quinoa
Cover the pan and turn the heat to very low for 15 minutes. Let the quinoa cool, then mix together with all the other ingredients. Add Italian or homemade salad dressing to taste. Serve cold or at room temperature
- THE EASIEST COOKIES IN THE WORLD
- Yields: 2 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
– 2 overripe bananas
– 1 cup quick oats
– ½ cup chocolate chips - Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 °F
Using a fork mash the bananas in a bowl. The consistency should be gooey, try to get the lumps out. Pour in oats and chocolate chips and mix well. With moist hands form 2-inch balls of mixture, place on a greased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart.Bake at 350 degrees For 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool and enjoy!
Try adding raisins, craisins or your favorite nut for variety.
This weeks recipes are from the thefamilydinnerproject.org
Download the BFT Meal Kit Earth Day here.