Go GREEN, and remember to eat your GREENS!

So while the world is worrying about their carbon footprint, and going GREEN, do we really know what green is and do you really know what greens are??? In honor of earth day lets take a minute and figure out what we are talking about.

Limiting your impact on the earth with everything you do is only part of the story, what you eat effects the Earth more than you think, eating your greens can be the most environmental thing you do all day. Greens is a general term for dark, leafy green vegetables that are some of the most nutritious plants on earth, containing more vitamins and minerals than a plate of high fat and calorie, not to mention the fiber. I know what you are thinking how on earth can I get anybody to eat that soggy, slimy, tasteless mess that seems to only be eaten when cooked with a slab of pork that is cooked to death? Well here is an idea, greens have more vitamins when they are slightly cooked, even more than the favorite way to eat them in salad with tons of dressing. The following recipe is anything but boring and would be a treat for anybody that likes flavor and loves nutrition.

Spinach and Mushroom Enchiladas

What you need from the store:

Spinach (2 pounds of fresh).
Mushrooms (as much or little as you like, whatever kind you like).
Onion (1 large sweet onion)
Garlic (to taste)
Corn Tortillas
Oil
Enchilada Sauce (red or green, if you prefer to make your own go for it).
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Ground Cumin
Chilies (Optional)
1 tsp. Oregano
Nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In large skillet (cast iron is my preference), saute onions in 1 tsp. until translucent, add chilies and garlic cook until fragrant. Add sliced mushrooms (wipe them off, DON'T wash them in water), add salt, oregano and cumin saute until mushrooms are browned, and remove mixture to bowl. In same pan add spinach (YES all of it) and saute until bright green and soft add a sprinkle of nutmeg and dash of salt to taste to the spinach, strain spinach and add back to pan with onion mushroom mixture and cook for a minute more.

In separate skillet heat oil over medium heat, add tortillas and cook for about 20 seconds per side or until soft and pliable remove to drain. Cook 10 to 12 tortillas and set aside.

Add half of the enchilada sauce to a pie pan for dredging tortillas in, and one-quarter to bottom of 8 X 10 pan. Dredge tortillas in sauce, place in pan add a couple of spoonfuls of the spinach mushroom mixture to center of tortilla and roll over with seam side down. Repeat this until done, pour the remainder of sauce over the top of enchiladas. Place in oven the pre-heated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.

I serve it with brown Spanish rice and black beans. YUM.

Tastes Great, Good For You!: Nuts about nuts.

Tastes Great, Good For You!: Nuts about nuts.

Nuts about nuts.

Yeah, yeah, yeah nuts are high in fat and calories, so how come all of the skinny vegetarians eats nuts all of the time? Let's start by being specific we are not talking about salty peanuts, we are talking about the nuts with the "good fats" omega-3 fatty acids are found in almonds, cashews macadamia nuts, hazelnuts and walnuts, just to mention a few. BTW omega-3 fatty acids fight obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

So how do you get nuts in your diet, without just eating a handful of nuts? I start the day with a cup of tea or coffee (caffeine is good in small amounts) and a bowl of my homemade granola, the nuts I use are; almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts (when available) and pecans, I also use some other things you may have heard about in the news, flax seed meal, grape seed oil, oats, oat bran and of course to make it yummy maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Kids love this granola, even the ones who hate nuts, my nephew calls in "cookies in a bowl", and you can add all of the fresh or dried fruit you like, we like blueberries and bananas. E-mail me at mroseknowsfood@gmail.com if you want a word version of the recipe or if you are interested in buying some. Hopefully someday soon, it will be available at some farmer's markets in the San Diego area.