OUR MISSION: PTSD Service Dogs for

PTSD service dogs save lives. That’s why in its fifth year, the Dog Chow Service Dog Salute program is celebrating $1 million in donations to help support the lives and training of more PTSD service dogs for America’s veterans.

GREEN TEA, processed soon after harvest, is bright, verdant, and full of antioxidants. It can add grassy, bittersweet, and buttery notes to sweet and savory dishes.

BEYOND THE CUP: Matcha, a powder made from high-quality green tea leaves, dissolves beautifully into cake batters. Add a teaspoon or two to vanilla sheet cake or a classic pound cake for surprising color and sophisticated lavor. Or make a pretty compound butter: “Sift a teaspoon of matcha and a pinch of salt into a stick of soft butter and beat until it’s a uniform shade of green, then chill until irm,” Erkens says. Put a pat on grilled asparagus or ish. To get a nudge of cafeine, add a spoonful of matcha to morning smoothies, oats, or chia pudding

EARL GREY is black tea lavored with bergamot, a bright citrus fruit.

BEYOND THE CUP: When you ’ re making panna cotta, infuse each cup of cream with a tablespoon of loose-leaf Earl Grey. Or brew the tea, sweeten it with honey, and freeze it in molds to make ice pops. Simmer maple syrup over low heat with a few tea bags for 10 minutes, then drizzle the sweet and sticky glaze on everything—pancakes, yogurt, even cooked salmon or chicken.

CHAMOMILE, an herbal, cafeinefree brew with a subtle loral lavor, isn’t technically tea, because it doesn’t come from the tea plant, though we treat it like one.

BEYOND THE CUP: “Simmer loose chamomile in maple syrup or agave for 10 to 15 minutes, then strain, and sweeten icing and cocktails with the syrup, ” Roszkowski says. Use chamomile tea as a base for gazpacho or salad dressing, or to steam tender vegetables, like broccoli and snap peas. It adds a lightly sweet and honeyed note that will keep people guessing (and going back for seconds)

CHAI is a warming mixture of black tea and spices, such as anise, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger, and pepper.

BEYOND THE CUP: For a bold side dish, “cook rice or quinoa in brewed chai,” says Olivia Roszkowski, chef-instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. Add a spoonful of dry chai to rice pudding or buttercream frosting Baking queen Dorie Greenspan stirs a tablespoon of loose tea into almond-lour dough for Chocolate-Covered Chai-Tea Bars in her cookbook Everyday Dorie.

$1 Million donated directly to the care & training of more PTSD service dogs for veterans by the end of 2022

50,000+ lbs

5+ years of supporting vets with PTSD, funding research & championing critical legislation of dog food donated to military vets & veteran service dog organizations

Smooth Starts

MAKE-AHEAD MORNINGS

IF YOUR MORNINGS are mayhem, and “breakfast” is often a hurriedly grabbed granola bar as you and your family rush out the door, steal a classic dinner strategy and do some meal prep. Just a few minutes on the weekend will give you a huge head start for healthy, satisfying breakfasts all week

“Breakfasts are often all carbs and no fat or protein,” says Marisa Moore, RDN, author of the cookbook The Plant Love Kitchen, out next year. “While I love a good carby meal, without a balance of nutrients, you might be hungry before you get through your first meeting.”

Each of these options takes less than five minutes of prep in the morning and ofers sustained energy to carry you and your crew to lunchtime, no sugar crash in sight.

Smoothie Packs

While a smoothie may seem fast, you lose precious time riling through the freezer for fruit, the pantry for healthy seeds, and the fridge for your liquid. Instead, put everything except the liquid in a freezer-safe bag or jar and freeze it. When you’re ready to eat, dump the ingredients into the blender, add liquid, and blend

As for what goes in that bag or jar, think about how to make the smoothie satiating. Your protein can come from nuts, seeds, yogurt, or the liquid you use, such as dairy milk or soy milk. Healthy fats, from nut butters or avocado, will help keep you full longer. Throw in leafy greens, whose taste is easily camouflaged by fruit. Moore’s favorites include mango and pineapple for flavor and vitamin C, as well as dates, “a mineral- and fiber-rich way to add sweetness and a slight caramel flavor to smoothies,” she says

For each smoothie pack, use 1 to 11⁄2 cups of fresh or frozen fruit and/or vegetables, plus one or two ingredients rich in fat and protein. “If you’re going with fresh fruit, opt for bags that allow you to freeze the pack flat,” Moore says. “Or freeze chopped fruit in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet before combining it with the other ingredients. This will help you avoid a lump of frozen fruit in your smoothie pack that won’t easily blend.”

When it’s breakfast time, toss the ingredients into the blender with an equal amount of liquid, but be prepared to add more. “You often need more liquid than you might expect,” Moore says.

Breakfast Tacos or Burritos

For a savory start, a stash of frozen breakfast tacos or burritos is money in the bank. Marcia Smart, a culinary instructor and the creator of the website Smart in the Kitchen, makes them both on the regular. Her favorite filling is an egg scramble with sautéed onion and chorizo (either soy or pork)

To assemble the tacos or burritos, let the filling cool before placing it on a tortilla, then top with some shredded cheese. “Flour tortillas work best since they’re the most pliable. I use 10-to-12inch ones for burritos and 5-inch ones for tacos,” Smart says.

For tacos, place the filling on one half of the tortilla and fold the other half over it. For burritos, place the filling in a rectangular shape on the lower third of a tortilla. Fold in the sides, then roll up from the bottom. “Be careful not to overfill,” Smart says, “or they’ll be hard to wrap and the filling may break through.”

To freeze, wrap the prepared tacos or burritos in foil and stack them in a storage container. Smart tapes reheating instructions to the lid to make them an easy heat-and-eat option for others.

For the speediest meal, transfer tacos or burritos to the fridge the night before, then unwrap and microwave for about 90 seconds. If you forget, no worries—just remove the foil and wrap in a damp paper towel. Microwave at half power until hot, about three to four minutes, turning it over once.

SAMMY

Savvy

Plus or minus 30 seconds, the storage and reheating instructions for tacos and burritos work for just about any breakfast sandwich, whether it’s eggs rolled in a tortilla, piled on bread, or tucked into an English mu n.

Mini Frittatas

“Egg ‘muins’ are a blank canvas and an open invitation to include vegetables at breakfast,” Moore says. “Plus, they can be easily customized for diferent family members.”

Spray the wells of a muin tin with cooking spray. Fill each well halfway with chopped cooked vegetables, such as broccoli, spinach, or asparagus, and/or chopped cooked meat, like ham, bacon, or sausage. In a large liquid measuring cup or bowl with a spout, whisk a dozen eggs with salt and pepper. Pour the egg mixture into the muin wells; you should have just enough to fill each about threequarters of the way up. Top with y some cheese if ou’d like and bake until set, about 25 minutes.

Let cool, then store in the fridge for up to four days or in the freezer, in a freezer bag or other airtight container, for up to three months. Unwrap and microwave directly from frozen until hot, 60 to 90 seconds. Shake on some hot sauce for extra flavor, and you’re good to go

Overnight Oats

Overnight oats can be creamy, satisfying, and delicious…or gloppy, bland, and sad. The trick is adding texture and an extra splash of liquid yppyg Start your prep by combining half a cup of rolled oats with a cup of milk, a teaspoon or two of honey or maple syrup, and a pinch of kosher salt.

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Hard-Boiled Eggs

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