Happy Food Revolution Day, y’all.

We’ve been celebrating Food Revolution Day over here since 2012. We believe in the mission of Jamie Oliver and millions of others: everyone deserves food education. Preferably in school at a young age, so people learn how to eat properly.

I don’t get into issues too often here, but I am going to start educating you more about what I know, because I think you deserve to know. And I think you need to know. I know too many adults that do not eat a lot of foods because they don’t know how to cook them, they don’t know how to buy them, or they didn’t eat them as a youngster and now they are afraid, unwilling, or apathetic about trying new things. But this cycle has to stop now, because our future kids deserve better. And you guys, YOU DESERVE BETTER.

I hope that you agree that a food revolution has to happen and that you’ll sign the petition here to enact some real change across the globe.

I started GMS with Corelyn partially because I was shocked at what our friends didn’t know about eating. Not about cooking – about eating. People don’t know how to feed themselves. And people did not care and that’s what scares me. I write recipes that I hope you’ll find delicious and that I try to make healthy so that you can cook and eat from GMS without much thought, but the truth is, your heart has to be in it, too, or else we’re all effed. So I write every week to get the word out about eating, and cooking, and sharing what I do know, and learning more so I can tell you more. If you’re interested right now, watch Jamie Oliver’s TED Talk, below.

This year, I finally signed up to be a Food Revolution Day Ambassador for the LA area. Once approved, I can go to work on programs in and around LA to make a real difference in kids’ lives. Did you know: Diet related diseases are the number one killer of people in the US. If that’s not terrifying I don’t know what is. But we can change that.

Let’s talk about food and culture: if you don’t learn to cook when you’re young, you’re not going to cook when you’re an adult. Then you’ll eat out, and you’ll try to make good choices but you’re not controlling what goes into that food (especially if it’s processed.) Children learn at school, at home, and in their communities, and if they’re not getting a food culture education at school then their parents grow up and don’t teach them at home, either.

And now, a Giveaway:

I have been thinking for weeks about how I can celebrate this day with you guys, and I think that I’ve come up with a good idea. At least, I hope you like it.

I want you to sign the petition. Then I want you to share it online somewhere – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, wherever. After you do that, let me know you have – tag me on your social post or else comment below.

For 3 lucky readers*, I will be giving out 2-Hour Cooking Classes at random to those who sign and share it. I will schedule a 2-hour cooking class tailored to what YOU want to learn. Hosted at your house, or mine, I will give you an intro to cooking and eating. I will teach you what I know. Please comment on this post (or on social media!) by midnight Sunday, May 17, to enter!

Join me today to celebrate food and eating and cooking, but most of all, education. Happy FoodRev Day, and I hope you’ll sign it, share it, and let me know so you can win a class!

Meanwhile, watch this amazing music video brought to you by two of my biggest loves, Jamie Oliver & Ed Sheeran.

*Just a note: I am based in LA; winners must be within 30 miles of Hollywood, CA, or else you must pay for your own travel. 

This is one of the tastiest paleo recipes we’ve made and it’s one of our favorites! We love making this dish for lunch or dinner. You can make a big batch and use it as left overs for the week. It doesn’t take long to make and it’s full of protein and flavor!

(Jennie’s note: You guys, I ate the leftovers from the photoshoot, one of the perks of shooting friends’ recipes, and let me tell you this was AMAZING. Make it now! I dare you!)

Ingredients

4-5 heads of Baby Bok Choy
1 pound shrimp
1 pound bag of roasted and unsalted cashews
2 cups mushrooms
1 tbsp garlic powder (or 2 cloves fresh garlic)
kosher salt to taste
lemon pepper to taste
paprika to taste
21 Seasoning Salute to taste (recommended, available at Trader Joes)
1/2 lemon (for juice)
Olive oil
Optional: use coconut aminos as a substitution for soy sauce if desired.

Directions

1. Coat wok with olive oil and put on high heat
2. Add cashews and mushrooms and sauté
3. Add seasoning
4. Cook until cashews are browned
5. Add shrimp and baby bok choy. Add lemon.
6. Cook until shrimp is done and bok choy is soft and tender
*if using frozen shrimp, you can add them when you start cooking the cashews and mushrooms

Enjoy! What’s your go-to paleo dinner? Let me know – I always love trying new dishes!

I love banana bread. I used to make it all the time back in the day (before GMS existed and I used my personal blog as a cooking blog, too.) Then I stopped eating bananas circa 2010 because they were never local and I felt badly about the miles they were traveling. I stopped eating bananas for about 5 years and it was a bummer because I love a banana, and because they make so many delicious things! (For the record, I don’t eat other fruits or veggies that aren’t local, either, but because I didn’t grow up with those ones as much, somehow I don’t miss them.)

In fact, there is a great story from the night of my friend Katie’s wedding where I did eat a banana without realizing what I was doing, and then midst emotional sob about how much I loved her and was so happy for her I did realize what I was doing and yelled, “I DON’T EVEN EAT BANANAS.” That was in 2013.

Well folks, a couple of months ago in the desperation of winter after having one too many mealy apples and sub-par pomegranates in the darkest months, I decided that I would start eating bananas again, at least until the spring came and the berries were in. It’s been an interesting transition and I don’t know where I’ll be in a few months, but for now I am buying organic bananas and enjoying it.

So enter this banana bread. Ana had made some awhile back (basically I steal all Ana’s good ideas) and I had a piece at book club and was hooked, so when I started eating bananas again I asked for the recipe. And then, I modified it because avocados as a sub for butter is genius, and because I love walnuts, and because chocolate is just a dream.

Ingredients:

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
2 tbsp melted butter
3 tbsp mashed avocado
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 honey
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
a pinch of salt
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 dark chocolate chips

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients, add flour last. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown.

That’s it. This is easy, it’s delicious, and it’s a perfect breakfast (toast the pieces before you eat them for a little added magic.) You can leave the chocolate out if you want to be healthier, or the nuts if you don’t like nuts. Do what you feel in your heart. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I have been. Let me know what else you love to eat with bananas – I am looking to expand my options!

Mondays can be hard. Coming off a weekend of sunshine and great weather and hanging with friends, sitting in your office (or wherever you work!) might not seem as…well, free. This weekend I worked on some wedding stuff for my friends A and E, and I also spent some time in my kitchen whipping some new items up for you.

Now that Monday has rolled around, I wish I was back outside in the sunshine, spray painting things gold…but a glass of strawberry lemonade someone makes the world seems a little brighter, like I am still sitting outside making my Pinterest dreams come true.

I don’t often drink sweet drinks, but something about strawberries makes me want to sip ice cold glasses of lemonade and dream of long summer evenings.

This recipe is pretty similar to my Rosemary Blueberry Lemonade, but you know, with strawberries and basil. The point is this: get an herb you like, and a berry you like, and you’re on your way to a drink that’ll make Mondays seem like the new Thursday (even I can’t make Monday a Friday.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 cup lemon juice (about 8 lemons, see below)
8-10 leaves basil
1 cup strawberries
water, to taste

Directions:

1. Mix the sugar with one cup of water over medium heat. Once all the sugar is dissolved, add your basil leaves and turn off heat.
2. While your basil simple syrup is melding, prepare a pitcher with a handful or two of berries, and lots of ice.
3. Freshly squeeze lemons to get about one cup of lemon juice. I used about eight lemons, but honestly this can vary depending on the size and juiciness of your lemons. The good news is you can never have too many lemons, so just grab a bag and you’ll be OK.
4. Put your lemon juice in the pitcher. Remove the basil leaves and add your simple syrup to your pitcher. Now, add water to taste – keep in mind that the ice will dilute the drink, too!

Happy Monday, y’all. Let us know what you do on Mondays to make them a little shinier – we’re all in this together, after all.

Happy Friday, y’all! This week we want to talk to you about spring cleaning and how to get back on track.

Last weekend I spent the last weekend of 5 in a row traveling (that’s our pool in Palm Springs, how sick is that?!), and now I have two weeks to get on track before I head to London. But, before I do that, I have been thinking a lot about spring cleaning.

I personally think that New Year’s is at the wrong part of the year. It’s cold, it’s dark, there are leftover treats from the holidays, you’re rolling into another few months of winter…and suddenly you’re supposed to start eating healthier and working out every day?

No, no, no. The year should start in May. May is when the days are getting so long you can hardly believe winter exists, when the temperature heads to 70 and 80 and the sunshine pushed Vitamin D into your skin, and the CSAs abound with fruit and veggies and happiness.

It’s time for your New Year’s resolutions to kick off, and that starts with some Spring Cleaning.

1. So first up, I am into this article about Creating a Food Budget. It’s not a focus of GMS, but I am an advocate of healthy doesn’t mean expensive, and these tips can help you figure out what you’re spending, and where you’re spending.

2. To help you with one, try cleaning out your pantry with this Pantry Challenge. I might be checking out my pantry situation this weekend and letting you know what I have an how I plan to use it…I know I have like 4 cans of tomato paste and random bags of powdered sugar, several bears of honey, and at least two colors of quinoa…it’s time to get it straight in there.

3. So once you have your budget under control and your pantry in line, you might need to know WHAT to eat. I love this article from NYTimes that just reiterates some great suggestions for how to eat – like, eat real food. It’s hard, you guys. I know that, you know that, the world knows that, but I think we can do it. Spring makes it easier on us with farms markets and local produce in season and I think that we can step up our game, don’t you? (Also, this. #wisewords)

4. Unrelated to everything above (except that I also have a lot of oats and berries are back in season and I am really into finding pollinator-friendly almonds this weekend to make this) check out this recipe for Almond Berry Baked Oatmeal. I need this in my life stat.

5. Speaking of spring cleaning, I am trying to get rid of all my magazines and par down my printed lifestyle. I want to replace a one of my subscriptions for a new eco friendly hotel cleaning products catalog I heard of. Right now, I subscribe to NatGeo, Real Simple, and Bon Appetit. What magazines do you guys get? Do you have suggestions on ones I should get? Do you live in LA and feel like sharing a subscription with me so we have less paper? Do you read mags on a device? Let me know what you’re reading, whether it’s mags or books or whatever, I am always looking for something to lay eyes on!

Happy weekend, y’all!!