Autumn Recipe Green-Over
A recipe green-over is the lower-carbon version of its higher-carbon counterpart. Here you’ll find a sneak peek at how I developed some of my luscious Big Green Cookbook recipes. Below is the planet-pleasing “New Recipe” version which is published in Big Green Cookbook. Also below is the original recipe (the “Old Recipe” version which is not published in Big Green Cookbook). What’s more, you’ll find green-over how-to highlights, showing you how I lessened the environmental impact from the original recipe.
New Recipe
COOL CURRY TURKEY CUPS
Curried Organic Turkey Salad with Grapes in Lettuce Bowls
Makes 4 servings: 1 stuffed lettuce bowl each
Not only is it cool to serve salad in an edible bowl made of lettuce, it’s ultimately better for the environment—no bowl washing required. Though all you might really care about when you’re actually eating this salad is how delicious it is.
- 2 cups cubed cooked boneless skinless organic turkey breast, chilled
- 1/3 cup plain soy or organic yogurt
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons mango chutney
- 2 teaspoons hot curry powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
- 4 red radishes, diced
- 1/2 cup red or white seedless grapes, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 4 leaves Bibb or Boston lettuce
- Stir together the turkey, yogurt, mayonnaise, chutney, curry powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the radishes, grapes, and cilantro and stir.
- Stuff each lettuce “bowl” with 3/4 cup turkey salad. Enjoy with a fork or roll up and eat as a wrap.
Per serving: 250 calories, 9g total fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 75mg cholesterol, 700mg sodium, 14g total carbohydrate, 1g dietary fiber, 27g protein
Note: Cool Curry Turkey Cups recipe reprinted with permission from BIG GREEN COOKBOOK by Jackie Newgent, RD (Wiley).
Old Recipe
FRESH CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICHES
(Original recipe before I developed it into my eco-friendlier version, COOL CURRY TURKEY CUPS, for Big Green Cookbook, pg 208.)
Makes 4 servings: 1 sandwich each
- 4 cups (1 3/4 pounds) cubed roasted chicken breast, chilled
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced or finely chopped
- 8 thick slices Italian bread
- Gently stir together chicken, sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, and salt in large bowl until well combined. Stir in celery. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
- Spread chicken salad between bread slices and cut diagonally to serve.
Green-Over “How-To” Highlights:
- Don’t get stuck in an eco-rut. Vary it up. Use turkey or other poultry meat instead of chicken on occasion. The goal is to go green for a lifetime, not just green for now.
- Choose certified organic poultry and meat when possible. That means the animals were given organic feed and were not given antibiotics.
- Reduce the amount of animal products in a dish, like chicken or sour cream, while boosting plant ingredients, like grapes and greens. This will put let strain on our environment. Meat production itself is resource intensive.
- Serve food in “eco-wraps”—edible wrappers, like lettuce leaves—instead of bread … especially instead of overly-processed bread. It provides an opportunity to reduce your carbon footprint as bread requires baking; “eco-wraps” don’t.
- Flatten pre-measured meat and poultry into thin filets, cutlets, or paillards and cook them quickly in a pan. This can save significant amounts of energy as you won’t be roasting thick portions for a lengthy time in an energy-guzzling oven.
