[1] Simple, delicious, low in calories (photo © Pampered Chef).

[2] Don’t want to spiralize? Buy zucchini that’s been spiralized for you (photo © Hazel Claire Ivy | Pinterest).

Earlier this month we covered all the ways you can use your spiralizer.

One of the recipes we’ve been spiralizing a lot is this Zucchini Linguine.

 
Or, use a heart-healthy EVOO-based sauce mixed with:

 
 
RECIPE: ZUCCHINI LINGUINE MARINARA

Ingredients For 2 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the ingredients into a microwave-safe dish: zucchini, sauce, pressed garlic.

2. MICROWAVE, covered, on HIGH for 4 minutes.

3. REMOVE from the microwave, stir and garnish as desired.

4. OPEN a bag of salad and enjoy your easy, low-calorie dinner.

From ancient times, man has used drinking straws. Here’s the history of the drinking straw, dating back to Sumeria.

The modern drinking straw, made of paper, debuted in 1888, ultimately coated in wax so it would hold up longer before getting mushy. But mushy it did get, losing its shape when saturated with liquid.

The use of plastic straws became popular following World War II and now, Americans use millions of plastic straws each day.
 
 
THE CRISIS OF DISPOSABLE PLASTICS

Plastic drinking straws are among the top 10 contributors to marine debris pollution [source].

According to statistics, the average person uses 1.6 straws per day. Plastic straws are among the top 10 items collected every year during Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup.

Plastics are cluttering the world’s oceans, seriously harming wildlife.

These plastics are not biodegrade, but break down into smaller microplastics that have made their way into our food chain via the seafood we eat.

Amazingly, these microplastics have been found in the Mariana Trench, the deepest ocean trench in the world (some 7 miles deep).
 
 
THE MOVEMENT TO END PLASTIC STRAWS

In 2014, Ocean Conservancy launched its Skip the Straw Campaign.

Tens of thousands of people pledged to request their beverages without straws.

The movement has grown slowly, but finally, there’s momentum.

Coalitions of restaurants, bars, cafes, hotels, event venues and other organizations are committing to eliminate single-use plastic straws. Thousands of restaurants across the country have now either gone strawless or switched to sustainable alternatives*.

[1] Our favorite paper drinking straw, compostable and biodegradable (photo © World Centric).

[2] These straws really hold up. We used one straw for three different drinks, letting it dry between uses (photo © Pacific Green Products).

Some purchased metal or durable plastic reusable straws to carry with them.

Truth to tell, though, most people don’t want to carry and clean a reusable straw.
 
 
GREAT PAPER STRAWS ARE HERE!

So finally, industry has created the better paper straw—one does not collapse with wetness before the drink is finished, and is fully biodegradable.

We’ve tried different brands, and the one we like best is from World Centric.

These straws really hold up. We used one straw for three different drinks, letting it dry between uses.

They’re available in 8″ and 10″ sizes.

Get them here.
 
 
ABOUT WORLD CENTRIC

World Centric was founded in 2004 to raise awareness of large-scale humanitarian and environmental issues.

Our pursuit of better living has severely degrading the planet’s ecosystems.

The organization also focuses on humanitarian issues, noting that 2.5 billion people live on less than $2/day, without access to basic necessities such as adequate food, water, healthcare, education, housing, sanitation etc.

In order to be a self-sustaining organization, without requesting donations or grants, World Centric began selling Fair Trade products and compostable products in the beginning of 2005. Here’s more about World Centric.
________________

*The European Union has banned straws and other single-use items.

[1] Lover’s Leap, a blend of superior black teas with rose and chamomile petals, is available in both loose tea and tea bags (both photos © Steven Smith Teamaker).

[2] Lover’s Leap Tea, nicely boxed.

Lover’s Leap Tea is a limited edition for Valentine’s Day, created by our favorite tea emporium, Steven Smith Teamaker.

It’s a mix of medium-bodied black teas, with pink rose petals and chamomile flowers (photo #1).

A delicate, fragrant marriage of high-grown Ceylon* tea from the Lover’s Leap tea estate, the flavors are complicated and delicious—just like love.

For dieters, love means only 2 calories per cup of tea.

The late Steve Smith crafted the blend himself. It is sold, handsomely packaged, in your choice of loose tea or tea bags.

Get your Lover’s Leap tea here, and see more of Steven Smith’s wonderful teas.
 
 
WHY IS IT CALLED LOVER’S LEAP?

The most famous tea garden in the Sri Lankan district of Nuwara Eliya, the Lover’s Leap estate was named after star-crossed lovers who lived there long ago.

As legend has it, the two young lovers began a forbidden affair. Knowing that they could not be together, they leapt from the waterfall surrounding the estate to express their undying love.

Look at it this way: Lover’s Leap Tea means undying love.
 
 
A Year Of Tea Party Ideas

Brewing The Perfect Cup Of Tea

Glossary Of Tea Terms

History Of Tea

Pairing Tea With Food

Tea Facts

________________

*The colonial name for Sri Lanka.

If you don’t have romantic plans for Valentine’s Day, how about inviting friends for cocktails?

You can set up a bar buffet with pitchers of three or four red or rosy cocktails:

 
Other options:

 
 
THE BUBBLY OPTION

Sparkling wine is perhaps the most festive way to celebrate Valentine’s Day. In fact, to keep things simple, you can simply serve sparkling wine.

You don’t have to spring for champagne. Here are much more affordable sparkling wines.
 
HAVE A KIR PARTY

Want a theme? Have a Kir party.

The drink was named after Félix Kir, a mayor of the city of Dijon in Burgundy (the same city of mustard fame).

As an apéritif, he added a splash of crème de cassis, a liqueur specialty of Burgundy, to aligote, a local still white wine.

The “Kir,” as it was known, became very popular and led to a the Kir Royale, substituting Champagne for the still wine*.

Your menu can include:

 
For an easy party, set out still white wine, sparkling wine, and two or more liqueurs.

Add your favorite nibbles, including some Valentine chocolate.

It’s a DIY Kir Valentine Party!
 
 
RECIPE: KIR OR KIR ROYALE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. ADD 1 tablespoon or more of liqueur to each wine glass or champagne flute. The less liqueur, the drier the drink; the more liqueur, the sweeter and fruitier the drink.

2. FILL up each glass with wine or champagne. You can stir the wine to blend the two ingredients, but give champagne only one delicate swirl with a swizzle stick. Otherwise, you break some of the bubbles.
 
 
________________

*There are many variations of Kir and Kir Royale using different liqueurs. Take a look.

[1] Kir: dry white wine with crème de cassis, blackcurrant liqueur (photo © Stuart Webster | Wikipedia).

[2] For a Kir Royale, switch still wine for bubbly (photo © Ocean Spray).

[3] Creme de cassis, a liqueur made of blackcurrants (photo © DeKuyper).

[4] Blackcurrants (photo © Currant C).

[1] chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and chocolate chunks (all photos © Meli’s Monster Cookies | Bluehall Bakery).

[2] It takes just 12 minutes for warm cookies to emerge from your oven.

[3] You can make bar cookies with the dry mixes.

[4] Decorate a cake with crunchy cookies.

If you’re a cookie lover who eats gluten-free, Meli’s Monster Cookies are the only cookie you will ever need, says our GF expert, Georgi Page-Smith.

What I love about Meli’s Monster Cookies is their complete deliciousness, even as compared to other monster cookies I have loved.

There is nothing lacking:

 
The only very finicky criticism I can offer of Meli’s pre-baked and freshly frozen varieties—ready to thaw and serve—is also textural. I prefer a bit more crunch around the edges of my cookies.

But that is a personal preference and did not distract from my enjoyment one bit. What one loses in crunch one gains back in chewy.

And you will find these cookies absorbing, especially if you skip ahead from the pre-baked frozen varieties and go directly to the mix.
 
 
GLUTEN FREE MELI’S MONSTER COOKIE VARIETIES

Meli’s Monster Cookies are sold ready-to-eat, or in cookie dry mix flavors.

The cookies are high in protein: One cookie has 5g protein, plus 2g fiber.

Meli’s Cookies: Ready To Eat Monster

These cookies are fresh-frozen. Just thaw and eat!

 
Meli’s Monster Cookies: Dry Mixes

Mix butter, egg and peanut or almond butter into the mix, and in 12 minutes warm cookies emerge from the oven.

 
The Original Mix that I baked offered me everything I wanted from: a bold peanut-butter flavor, plenty of oats to chew on, melting pillows of chocolate, and a crunchy crust.

I was so satisfied that I did not need to make the Choco-lot or the Cashewlicious varieties—although I just may whip out my whisk.
 
 
CERTIFIED GLUTEN FREE

Meli’s Monster cookies are billed as “naturally gluten-free,” which aroused the skeptic in me, trained as I am to query every oat with strictness.

I also found myself wondering if something so decadent and delicious could possibly be made without wheat.

However, their packaging states that the cookies are not just “gluten-free,” but the oats are certified gluten-free.

Their website further states, “We use certified gluten-free oats in all of Meli’s Monster Cookies. Additionally, we do intentional, routine and scheduled testing of our products for gluten contamination and fall well below the guidelines of the FDA Gluten-Free Labeling Rule.”

With these assurances I was thereafter able to give myself over to the cookies.

Part of the delight of a Monster Cookie does lie in it’s oat-y texture, It tricks you into thinking you are eating something healthy, then pleasantly surprises you with its parade of flavors.

With Meli’s, the temptation to eat Monster Cookies for breakfast is especially strong. You will want to exercise restraint!

I found that rolling half of the mix dough into a log and freezing it was the best way to pace myself, and I needed that.

If you’re ready to become obsessed with one of the best and most complete cookies I have ever tasted (with or without gluten!), try Meli’s.

Head to MelisCookies.com.

— Georgi Page-Smith