mustard

When winter rolls around, I like to mix up my salads with some delicious seasonal foods.

Do you ever find yourself realizing mid-recipe that you’re missing a key ingredient? Or, any ingredient, for that matter? Sometimes I do, and get a little frantic, mostly because I usually don’t want to drive to the store before I eat a warm homemade cookie…

Basically, mustard greens (sarson or rai, as they are called in India) have a superb nutrition-to-calorie ratio—which means you get the most nutrition out of a bite and don’t stack those calories either! Plus, their flavor is such that they can be made into many versatile dishes, and the taste tends to grow on you. But let’s talk about the health aspects first…

Many stay away from anything homemade and organic when it comes to beauty, usually because of the exhaustive list of ingredients and the many steps involved in making them. So why don’t we take the pain out of beauty from the gardens, and leave you with just the joys of good skin and pure ingredients? Here are 10 very easy face masks with just one (or two, we promise!) ingredients that help you achieve your skin goals the organic way.

The ubiquitous and humble chutney is often a staple on Indian tables—and it does more than just add heat or spice to the meal. More often than not, chutneys are digestive aids and tend to fire up the metabolism.

What essential oils are in your medicine cabinet?  Being commercially available doesn’t mean that an essential oil is safe to have around the house.

Name the first classic American condiments that pop into your mind. To me, those are undeniably ketchup and mustard. They're everywhere and taste great with a number of dishes. The only problem? Most commercial condiments are loaded with artificial ingredients. Not to mention they're almost always packaged in plastic (which isn't exactly good for the environment).

Okay, so you just spent approximately $3 on a salad dressing at the grocery store. The problem? It's loaded with way too many unnecessary ingredients. Have you ever read the label on most salad dressings? They put everything from sugar (yes, you heard that right) to Calcium Disodium EDTA in it (to "protect freshness"). No thanks. I'm good. Instead, I like to make my own salad dressings at home. Here are eight DIY salad dressings that are actually healthy for you and require no unnatural sweeteners.

For those of you who are looking for something easy and edible to plant in your garden or kitchen, look no further than microgreens!  Microgreens are small, leafy vegetables that are fairly easy to grow for most home and backyard gardeners.  They are grown from the same seeds as their full-sized counterparts, but the greens are harvested much earlier – earlier than baby greens, but later than you would harvest sprouts.

Condiments are as much a part of our fare as the food itself. Condiments include relishes, sauces like ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise or spicy salsas from Mexico, curries from India and Sriracha, the newest of the condiments created in the United States. They accompany served dishes, are usually found on the table with salt and pepper and can be added ingredients in recipes. They are easily made in the kitchen, adding to the variety.