Cooking

Whether you’re looking to save a few bucks or just putting a DIY spin on this holiday season, making your own gifts can be a great idea.  In addition to saving you money, they’re full of love, time, and thoughtfulness, and the recipient nearly always appreciates the extra effort that goes into such a gift.  You can also control the ingredients, so you know that you’re giving your recipient a gift that aligns with his or her (or your!) values, be it organic, animal-friendly, fair trade, or something else.&n

Many people, once they go vegan, can become stuck in a rut of making sweet breakfasts every day, be it through maple syrup-sweetened oatmeal, banana-based green smoothies, or hemp seed

Turkey is synonymous with Thanksgiving in the United States and Canada, but Thanksgiving can be enjoyed by omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans alike with a few simple swaps. I’m not talking about replacing the carved turkey with Tofurkey, nor impressing your uncle with whipped tofu instead of his favorite mashed potatoes.

After, oh, roughly the age of 21, birthdays get a little less exciting for a lot of people.  Instead of counting down to your birthday, you might find it sneaking up on you, leaving you no time to plan any kind of celebration.  Or maybe as an adult, you’re stuck working on your birthday and don’t feel up to making a whole day of it—or even an evening.  In this global age, perhaps you’re living far away from most of your loved ones or a recent transplant to a new city without a large local social network.  Some of us are watching our wallets and want to celebrate our big

Have you ever used rose water?  Divine, isn’t it?  Real rose water—one of the most popular cosmetics in the world—is technically a hydrosol, a scented water produced by distillation of fresh rose petals.  Distillation is when you use steam to extract plant components, especially scented components.  Hydrosols&nbsp

Popeye had it all figured out: spinach makes you strong and healthy, equipped to tackle the day. Readily available all year round, this accessible and affordable green leafy vegetable, a member of the amaranthaceae family, is a durable and nutritious addition to almost any meal: breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even as an afternoon snack. While spinach may not always top the charts as a superfood, it warrants a place at the table.

Lentils might not look like much, but they certainly pack a punch. You’ve probably enjoyed them in lentil soup, where they stand out as the featured ingredient.

Stroll through any health food store and you’re guaranteed to see more than just sprouted broccoli.

Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are powerful little legumes with high amounts of fiber, vitamins A and E, manganese, and folate. They originated in the Middle East and were cultivated for thousands of years, with evidence of their origin dating back to 3000 B.C.. This study, published in 2016, suggests that chickpeas can play a role in weight management and both glucose and insulin regulation.

“We can think of food in general, as well as the very act of cooking, in a similar vein. Good, fresh, wholesome ingredients have tremendous capacity to support the body and all its systems. Preparing those foods in ways that bring out their best—that make them more nourishing for the body and a feast for the senses—is a powerful form of medicine that cultivates the health of the body, mind, and spirit.”

—Brittany Wood Nickerson, Recipes from the Herbalist’s Kitchen