It’s not easy being green. However there are a few ways you can help out mother earth without entirely giving up meat. As a good friend of mine says, if nature didn’t want us to eat meat, it wouldn’t have made them so damned tasty.

Thing is though, it takes an awful lot of resources to raise animals for meat. It’s just not sustainable for us to keep eating meats and animal products at the same rate. Before we know it we’ll be paying similar prices as the Japanese do for their Kobe Beef.

If we add in a few vegan / vegetarian meals a week it will make a difference. I’ll be scouring the interweb looking for some good tips on how to do this without sacrificing taste, or killing the weekly food budget.

In the mean time, I found this great book by Alicia Silverstone, who’s been an green, vegan activist for years now. In the book she explains how to dip your toes in the water and start substituting to help yourself and the 3rd rock from the sun.

Enjoy.

[amazonshowcase_74ed623654b110a52c6bc9680faf6853]Poached Eggs are not only very tasty, they are also one of the healthiest ways of preparing eggs. The problem is that to poach eggs the traditional way you need a pan, vinegar and a deft hand. The much easier way is to get a Nordicware Microwave Egg Poacher. I have had one of these for a couple of years now and absolutely love it. Once you dial it in to your microwave the results will be good and predictable.

The Key Here is the WATTAGE of YOUR Oven

However, perhaps this will help those of you struggling with why the darn thing won’t work for YOU:

(1) Most instructions are written for 700 watt microwaves.

(2) Your microwave is likely not 700 watts if your results are bad. (Assuming you follow the other instructions re water, piercing the yolk, etc.)

(3) If you don’t know the wattage of your oven, use this chart — http://www.microwavecookingforone.com/Charts/Wattage.html — and a cup of water to determine your wattage.

(4) Once you have your wattage, use this chart — http://www.microwavecookingforone.com/Charts/ChartsFrom700.html — and select YOUR oven’s wattage then go to that chart to determine the correct cooking time for you.

For example, my oven is 1100 watts (I cheated and looked at the manual, but I should boil water now and again in case it changes):

Step 1 — I go to the chart for 1100 watt conversion from 700 watt here — http://www.microwavecookingforone.com/Charts/Chart1100.html.

Step 2 — On the packaging AND on the company website for this product, they say that two eggs should be 1 minute 15 seconds. I look for 1 minute 15 seconds and find that I should actually cook them in MY microwave for 48 seconds.

Step 3 — I follow the rest of the instructions (1/2 teaspoon of water per egg, pierce the yolk once, close the device firmly, leave it shut for at least 30 seconds or more afterward so the whites will cook completely), then voila, perfect poached eggs (except, yes, the bottoms are rounded).

My microwave has a rotating glass plate, so your results may vary unless you have one of those or you invest in one of the micro-go-round type products. I suspect that is what makes both eggs cook evenly.

You can get Nordic Ware Egg Poachers at Amazon