Handpicked Links February 2009

A selection of online finds that have caught my eye recently:

Spicy Chick-Wheat Savory Muffins from Have Cake Will Travel are very cute and would make a great breakfast on the go, snack or lunch accompaniment.  These savoury muffins are made with chickpea flour, wholewheat flour and tahini, spiced to taste with cumin, masala and chilli flakes.

Sarah Raven’s seed catalog – I’ve wondered for a while now where people get those appealing and unusual heritage vegetable varieties like candy stripe beetroot, purple french beans and ‘Turks Turban’ gourds.  Gardener and cookbook author Sarah Raven stocks many of them in her wonderful online seed shop .  If, like me, you aren’t very green fingered and have no idea where to start try Seeds to sow now or the Beginner’s Vegetable Collection.

How to Eat Less Meat from Shauna over at Dietgirl is full of practical tips for vegetarian wannabes
on approaches like making vegetables the center of your meal, veggifying your old favourites and making use of
big and bold flavours.

The 20 Healthiest Foods for Under $1 over at Divine Caroline.  Normally I’m not big on list posts but this one reinforces an important point. You don’t need to spend lots of money on goji berries or pomegranate juice or whatever is superfood of the month.  You just need to avoid high fat, high sugar junk and choose good, nutritious normal foods like oats, apples, bananas, nuts, beans, sardines and spinach.

How long does it take to prepare an instant meal? is the question posed by Kathryn Elliott over at Limes and Lycopene. She asks if us nutritionists and recipe writers should lay off the “instant”,
“quick” and “easy” adjectives when it comes to recipes and just admit that if you want to eat well then you have to put a little bit of time and effort into it.

Martha Rose Schulman writes recipes for the New York Times that are an enticing mix of unprocessed ingredients and global home cooking.  I look forward to Rose’s recipe every week and just a few that I have bookmarked to try are Barley Risotto With Cauliflower and Red Wine, Sicilian Pistachio Sauce and Sweet and Sour Cabbage With Tofu and Grains. I’ve recently found the page where you can check out the full Recipes for Health collection organised by ingredient.  If you are on Twitter you can catch new recipes by following @nytimeshealth.

Shoppers guide to Pesticides in Produce seems particularly relevant in the current financial climate where some shoppers are having to reduce the amount of organic fruit and veg that they buy. This printable guide outlines the dirty dozen (buy these organic) and the cleanest 12 (lowest in pesticides) to help you prioritise your shopping.