Super Satisfying Veggie Pot Pie

Super Satisfying Veggie Pot Pie

by | Feb 24, 2022 | Dinner, Lunch, Recipes

Now is a great time to experience warm and comforting, plant-based food. This Veggie Pot Pie is super satisfying and is good for you and the planet!  This recipe includes yam, squash, and mushrooms to make it even more flavorful.

Servings: Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:
  • 1 cup carrots chopped
  • 1 large yam peeled and cubed
  • 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed into half-inch pieces
  • 1 small delicata squash, peeled and cubed into half-inch pieces
  • ½ cup celery chopped
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp butter
  • 1 medium-size onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic chopped
  • 5-6 portobello mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • ¼ tsp celery seed
  • 1¾ cup vegetable broth
  • ⅔ cup unsweetened plain almond milk
  • 2 unbaked pie crusts
French Sorrel
French Sorrel
Instructions:
  1. Prep all your ingredients.
  2. Preheat your oven to 425 F.
  3. Boil a pot of water, add your chopped yam, butternut, and delicata squash, and boil gently for about 15 minutes. When there are 2 minutes left on the timer, add your frozen peas to the mix.
  4. Drain and set aside.
  5. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter and olive oil, add onions and garlic, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add carrot and celery and cook for another 3 minutes. Stir in the salt, pepper, and celery seed.
  6. Add the boiled yam, butternut, and delicata squash to the large skillet with vegetables and mix gently.
  7. In a small saucepan, slowly add the almond milk and vegetable broth and bring to a slight boil.  
  8. In a small cup, add cornstarch and about 4-5 tablespoons of the almond milk and vegetable broth mixture, stirring till the corn starch has dissolved. Slowly add this mixture into the small saucepan with liquids and whisk for about 5 minutes until thickened on medium-low heat.
  9. Remove from heat and set aside.
  10. Place your bottom crust into a 1x9x12 baking pan and pre-bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
  11. Add sauce to the veggies in the large skillet and mix gently to combine.
  12. Add filling into the bottom pie crust, top with sliced mushrooms, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  13. Cover with top pie crust, seal edges, and then cut several small slits into the top of the pie crust to allow steam to escape. Since the bubbly filling may spill over as the pie is baking, make sure to put a larger baking sheet than a baking pan on the bottom rack so that you will not have a mess to clean up.
  14. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly.
  15. Remove pie from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Chef Yvonne Dwyer

Recipe compliments of OPL Naturalist and Home Chef Yvonne Dwyer

OPL Plant-rich Recipes

Eating more fruits and vegetables is good for you and the planet.  Find more delicious OPL-recommended plant-rich recipes here.

Hearty Chicken and Vegetable Soup

Hearty Chicken and Vegetable Soup

by | Feb 23, 2022 | Dinner, Lunch, Recipes

There is something particularly satisfying about this homemade chicken and vegetable soup. It warms up a winter’s day and makes everything feel better. Pair this soup with warm yeast rolls or homemade bread.

Serves:  4 – 6 servings

Ingredients:

 

  • 2 small chicken breasts – high-quality, pasture-raised chicken, preferred
  • 4 celery stalks
  • 3-4 large carrots
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 4 tbsps olive oil, divided
  • 4-6 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1 tbps Cavender’s Salt-free All Purpose Greek Seasoning
  • Salt and Pepper
Cucumbers
Creamy Peanut Butter
Instructions:
  1. Wash the celery and cut off the ends. Put ends into your compost container. Cut each celery stack in half, lengthwise. Chop each stalk into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces.
  2. Wash the carrots and cut off the ends. Put ends into your compost container. Cut each carrot in half, lengthwise. Cut each half in half lengthwise again if the carrot is one inch round or more. Chop each carrot into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces.
  3. Peel and chop the onion into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces. Discard the onion peel into your compost container.
  4. Peel two garlic cloves. Smash each clove between the side of your carving knife and the cutting board. Then chop each clove into small pieces.
  5. Salt and pepper each chicken breast. You may also want to sprinkle each breast lightly with garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika.
  6. In a medium fry pan, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add the chicken breast and cook over medium heat until cooked through and reaching 165 degrees—Brown on each side. Turn down the heat and add some broth to the pan if the chicken turns too dark.
  7. While cooking the chicken, place a large saucepot on another burner. Over medium heat, add 2 tbsps of olive oil. Add all chopped vegetables. Cook and stir until the vegetables soften slightly. Sprinkle vegetables with the All Purpose Greek Seasoning. Stir to coat.
  8. Add 4-6 cups of chicken or vegetable broth to the vegetables. Stir and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
  9. While the soup is cooking, place each cooked chicken breast on your cutting board and chop it into pieces. They can be small or larger 1/2-1 inch pieces depending on your preference. 
  10. After cooking the soup for 20 minutes, add the chopped chicken breast and cook for 10 additional minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
  11.  Season with salt and pepper, as needed. Enjoy!
Chef Amy

Recipe compliments of Home Chef and OPL CMO Amy Bates.

Learn more about Amy.

OPL Plant-rich Recipes

Eating more fruits and vegetables is good for you and the planet.  Find more delicious OPL-recommended plant-rich recipes here.

Tips for Local Produce Shopping in Winter

Tips for Local Produce Shopping in Winter

by | Feb 23, 2022 | People and Planet First, Quality of Life

Shopping for local produce in winter can be a challenge but it’s not impossible. 

Many farmers harvest root vegetables that can make a winter menu just as comforting and delicious as what we have in other seasons of the year. These vegetables include rutabaga, turnips, beets, celery root, potatoes, squash of all sorts, yams, sweet potatoes, carrots, cabbage, apples, garlic, leeks, and onions. In addition, there is a plethora of other locally grown produce that has been frozen. During the winter farmers will often sell vegetables in bulk at a reduced price.

When I shop, I try to patronize local businesses at least within one hundred miles from where I live. I have located produce, dairy, agriculture, and apiary farms that I can visit year-round. For generations, several of these small farms have been implementing sustainable, responsible, and ethical growing principles.

Check out your area. You may be surprised to find resources in close proximity to you. Refer to our OPL Insight, “Where to Find Fresh Produce in a City Near You.”  

OPL INSIGHT: Local Produce
There are many options for growing your herbs, microgreens, or mushrooms on a sunny windowsill during the winter months.

If you like fresh mushrooms, check out our blog on growing mushrooms with Northspore growing kits. Snipping your fresh herbs and adding them to your recipes bring out an incredible aromatic sensation in the kitchen. This can be a great experience to share with your family, friends, and neighbors. 

Teach your children how to garden indoors.

Children love to get their hands dirty. Gardening indoors is a fun way to teach children how to grow food. Then you can cook something together that you grew during the winter season, setting up an excellent experience for the spring and summer seasons when that joyful experience heads outside. 

Try seed resources such as Johnny’s Selected Seeds, High Mowing Organic Seeds, and Renee’s Garden. These non-genetically modified organisms (GMO) trusted brands offer heirloom varieties and plentiful tasting harvests. You’ll find helpful videos and resources on how to begin your journey at gardening in whatever area of the country you live.

   “Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and a talk beside the fire: it is time for home.” – Edith Sitwell

Bring on the winter fun!

 One of the ways to enjoy the abundance of plant-based comforting food with family and friends is to host a potluck dinner and board game night. Share with us some of your delightful plant-based winter recipes or try some of our recipes We would love to hear from you.

OPL Naturalist Yvonne Dwyer

This experience was shared by OPL Naturalist Yvonne Dwyer.

Learn more about Yvonne.

Catch a Wave to a More Sustainable Life

Catch a Wave to a More Sustainable Life

by | Feb 9, 2022 | People and Planet First, Protect the Planet, Quality of Life

Ready to catch a wave to a more sustainable life? Download the One Planet Life app and begin tracking your journey today!

Our mission at One Planet Life is to create human-centered solutions for individuals to move from climate concern to action. Hope and stubborn optimism drive every step we take to effect positive change.   The future is not written yet. People can make changes to align with nature. Each of us can take actions that make a difference. 

We designed an app that each of us at One Planet Life wants to use.

We asked friends, family, experts, and people who have made amazing sustainability progress to weigh in with their wants and needs in an eco-tracker app. We teamed up with brilliant developers to make the app as elegant as it is easy to use. We think you’ll like the outcome.

Our new app is designed to assist you in your sustainability journey. It works like a climate fitness tracker, where you set goals for reducing CO2, track your progress, and have fun.  

 

One Planet Life App co2 Baseline
Browse and select a personal journey to reduce your CO2 one metric ton at a time.

Explore joyful changes, including food, goods, travel, housing, and nature. Select a few or as many changes as you want and begin tracking. Start with easy changes and move to more difficult ones over time.The average American produces 16+ metric tons per year.  We share lots of options to reduce your CO2 impact by one metric ton (2204 pounds).  By making small changes and sticking to them you can make a big difference in a year. Below are a sampling of joyful changes.

Together we make a huge difference.

If 16 people reduced one metric ton of CO2 per year, it would be the same as one person living a no-impact life! Imagine if one million people reduce one metric ton of CO2 per year, it will equate to 62,500 people living a no-impact life. Take it one step further; if 100 million people did the same thing, it would be the equivalent of over 6 million people living no-impact lives. That is like a whole city! There are over 300 million people in the US alone. If we all make small changes, we can have a big impact together. 

The secret is small wins over time. It may start slowly, and with time the impact increases in both CO2 reduction and planet points. Imagine that you have reduced your CO2 by one metric ton by the end of a year, and you now have new life habits. The app will now track your habits automatically, enabling you to take on more joyful changes. Being part of a community where you can see the combined impact is inspiring. Share your learnings and successes with the One Planet Life community.

While on your journey, we hope you visit our Learn tab to delve into blogs, recipes, books, insights, and organizations. The Market tab is designed as a source to shop at companies that are making significant strides for the environment and people along with local businesses that help our stay communities be vibrant.

A note from our founder Lorie.

My journey began by reading to understand our lifestyles — the impact on us and the planet. This exploration was shocking. My understanding grew about the aspects of our lifestyle that are not life-sustaining. My journey started with the desire to have a healthy diet. I love food and wanted to understand how it was produced, what chemicals were in it, and could it harm my family. Little by little, I learned the ugly truth and began making changes. This blossomed into learning about the chemicals in the products in our home. The positive change led to success. Before I knew it, I became hooked on making a series of small changes to make our lives and the world better. My journey started more than 20 years ago and I am still making small everyday changes. It is time-consuming and hard to get reliable information. On top of that, I could not find a tool to track my progress. I love data and want to track my progress. That is why I am as eager to use the One Planet Life app as I am to introduce it to you.

We are at a pivotal moment when actions can make a difference for our future. 

To avoid the worst of climate change, we need to reduce our carbon footprint by 50 percent by 2030. And by 2050, we must have stopped emitting more greenhouse gases than the planet can naturally absorb through ecosystems. We can be a part of the solution and start making changes — even small changes. Christina Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac state it well in their book, The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis. “You can do it. You can switch your focus, and you will be stunned by the impact such a shift can create. You don’t need to have all the answers, and you certainly don’t need to hide from the truth, nor should you. When faced with hard realities, look at them with clarity, but also know that you are incredibly lucky to be alive at a time when you can make a transformative difference to the future of all life on earth.”

The time is now. Do it for yourself. Do it for your community. Do it for life on this planet. 

Download the One Planet Life app today…explore and begin acting to:

  • Track CO2 reduction progress
  • Learn how to reduce CO2, plastic, waste, and more
  • Spend your money with a sustainability focus
  • Enjoy an ad-free, positive experience

We are over-the-moon excited to share our new app with you! We hope you download our app and share your journey with our community and us!

OPL App Images
Urban Community Gardens Enhance City Life

Urban Community Gardens Enhance City Life

by | Feb 3, 2022 | People and Planet First, Quality of Life

Urban areas around the country are being enriched through community gardens. In many cases, these beautiful, bountiful urban gardens sustain the gardener and add much-needed green space, and support residents who suffer from food insecurity.

The Highland Park Community Garden is a fantastic community garden known as an allotment garden.

The Highlands Park Community Garden, located in a historic suburban-like neighborhood in the northeastern part of Pittsburgh, was established more than fifty years ago by immigrants from Italy. They brought seeds from their region and started gardens containing tomatoes, garlic, squash, broccoli rabe, and fig trees (symbol of adaptation).

Frick Park Trail
Slavery to Freedom Living Garden
Frick Park
The Highland Park Community Garden is large, containing roughly 40 parcels approximately 25’ x 25’ in size. 

The urban garden is captivating to see, with its varieties of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers growing throughout the beds. The tall sunflowers, zinnias, milkweed, morning glories, pumpkins, tomatoes, corn, raspberry shrubs, and other medleys add so much color. In addition to the raised beds, arches, and trellis structures that support them, several water spouts are available and an area to compost.
Individuals and family gardeners, novice or experienced, can rent or adopt specified areas to grow their food within the community garden.

The process is pretty simple, requiring the agriculturist to sign up, sign an agreement to follow garden rules, maintain the garden plot, and pay a nominal fee for three years to the City of Pittsburgh.  Availability of these small spaces varies throughout the year and may have waiting lists.  

Gardeners who participate are known for making their produce available for residents to take as needed.  Neighbors helping neighbors, truly inspiring!

An excellent resource that provides information about the value of community and urban gardens is Grow Pittsburgh, a 501c3 charitable nonprofit organization.

According to Grow Pittsburgh, community gardens deliver the following benefits to the city:

  • Reduces food insecurity
  • Attracts and repairs habitats for pollinators
  • Eliminates food deserts
  • Improves on the idea of essential nutrition from growing fresh fruit and vegetables
  • Teaches individuals and families how they can save money on their food bill as a 10×20 foot lot could produce up to $700 annually
  • A community garden is a gathering place for people to come together with the shared interest in growing their food

If you live in an urban area and want to get involved in creating a community garden, contact your city’s Department of Public Works.  Read our blog, “We Need to Focus Sustainability on Cities,” to learn more ways to improve urban life.

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