July 2010
68 posts
Los Angeles Has Its Own Artisanal Ice Cream Truck
So, I was feeling really jealous after writing about the Van Leeuwen trucks that deliver organic ice cream to New York City’s not-so-huddled masses. I wanted to find a Southern California clone—and I hit the jackpot. Coolhaus has upped the ante here in Los Angeles, with a made-to-order ice cream sandwich buffet on wheels. And according to co-owner Natasha Case, her chilly treats are handmade with...
Recall of Organic Alfalfa Sprouts Expands
Sunday’s recall of specific Specialty Farms organic alfalfa sprout products has been expanded. Now, the company’s Organic Alfalfa Sprouts Blend (UPC 509800108) and Organic Sprout Salad (UPC 8192400024) with best if sold by dates of 8/3/2010 and 8/1/2010, respectively, may also be contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes (Lm). This expansion reflects new “sell by” dates. The company...
Details on Chelsea Clinton's Vegan Wedding
What are they going to serve? Who’s going to be there? _What will she wear?_ In America, the Clintons are probably the closest thing we have to royalty, so it makes sense that everyone—from politicos to paparazzi—is abuzz about Chelsea Clinton’s upcoming wedding to Marc Mezvinsky, an investment banker (scheduled for July 31 in Rhinebeck, NY, for you cave-dwellers). Read more…...
Food Service and Farm Workers at Higher Risk for...
You’d think working for the post office or the DMV would raise your risk of heart disease and stroke - that and your risk of shooting up the place or mailing a letter bomb - but no, a new study says people working in the food service and farm industry are the ones who are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease. Read more… http://dlvr.it/398zb
Grill Organic Red Bell Peppers for a Vitamin Boost
Whether raw, grilled or roasted, red bell peppers are an incredible low-calorie source of vitamin C. One medium bell pepper has only 25 calories, while providing: *
Top 3 Eco-Friendly Tips for Getting Organized
If you go to your local home or office supply store, you’ll find aisles and aisles of bins, shelves, binders, boxes, planners, containers, folders, and other, well, junk to get you organized. This is where most of us head when it comes time to re-evaluate our current system of organization. It’s usually after a frantic Monday morning where you can’t find that document you need before you get to...
Coppola Opens Rustic Restaurant in NorCal
Legendary director Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now) opened a new restaurant in northern California on Tuesday. Rustic is set in Geyserville, CA near his winery. Inside Scoop SF got a chance to speak with Mr. Coppola, the discussion ranged from the relation between film and cuisine to his relationship with Martin Scorcese’s parents. Read more… http://dlvr.it/37mJ7
Ditch the Gatorade, Crack Open a Coconut
Maybe you’re dripping all over a spin bike, an elliptical or a treadmill, or slipping and sliding around a yoga mat; whatever your preferred workout, in all likelihood you’re building up some heat and getting your sweat on. But grabbing a sports drink (like the archetypal Gatorade) to replenish your electrolytes and rally your performance probably means you’re loading your system...
Are Dog Bones Safe for My Dog to Chew On?
There are few things more classic than a dog and his bone, and the idea of using these leftovers may seem like an inexpensive and eco-friendly way to give your dog something to gnaw on, but before you start sucking up to the local butcher, you should be aware of the potential dangers. Nowadays, many veterinarians recommend against them, as each kind of bone poses unique problems. Read...
Van Leeuwen Delivers Organic Ice Cream to NYC
Move over, Good Humor man! The old-fashioned ice cream truck has experienced a dramatic makeover. Lucky New Yorkers can hook up with Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream, whose trucks have a huge Twitter and Facebook following. Think of it as ice cream by appointment: Loyal patrons use the social networking sites to find out where the company’s three trucks will be parked each day. Van Leeuwen’s ice...
Home Improvements: 5 Easy Eco Kitchen Ideas
You spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but not because you fall into some domestic stereotype - you just love food. I don’t blame you, making delicious meals is incredibly satisfying, and I’m guessing that you also enjoy finding new ways to spruce up your cooking space. Well, you’re in luck: I have five simple tips on how to upgrade to a greener kitchen (no paintbrush...
Fast Food Chains Cut Back on Trans-Fat
If you like to cook and you want your food to last until the end of days, then go get yourself a big ole’ vat of trans-fat. Trans-fat, or trans fatty acids, is made via the industrial process of adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils. Trans-fat is not natural, but, it’s cost effective! Trans-fat helps extend the shelf-life of processed foods, like snack cakes. Fast food chains use a...
Growing and Eating Edible Flowers
Some home gardeners may struggle with choosing between edible plants or ornamental plants, but as it turns out, there is a fair amount of overlap between the two varieties. Many flowers can be incorporated into recipes or used to seriously spruce up items like drinks and dairy products. Some are even good entirely on their own. If you’ve never eaten flowers before, start with small quantities:...
Protect Your Hair with Organic Tomato Juice
If your dog has ever been sprayed by a skunk, you probably know that tomato juice is truly man’s best friend. But tomato juice has a more human application: It can rescue hair that has been damaged by chlorinated swimming pools. http://dlvr.it/34Ktv
Feds Work Toward Reducing Listeriosis Outbreaks
Yesterday’s report on the recall of organic sprouts serves as a reminder that we still have a long way to go in ensuring the safety of our food supply. In fact, Listeria monocytogenes (Lm)—the bacterium involved in the sprout recall—has been a key target for regulatory agencies in the United States and abroad. In 2003, the U.S. Department of Agriculture made rigorous attempts to reduce Lm...
Five Ways to Start New Healthy Eating Habits
Making a change in your life can be daunting, especially when you are embarking to create a new and improved self. Committing to a healthier lifestyle is an enormous task, but even the longest journey begins with a single step. The path to a healthier body and spirit is not made of giant actions, but rather small steps and victories that will add up to a higher quality of life. Read more…...
Garden Your Way to Gorgeous Skin
I tout my organic skincare as much as the next, but somehow the idea of growing my own bath & body apothecary appeals to both that inner purist and the little mad scientist, not to mention my oft frugal side. Skincare companies will charge exorbitant amounts for their proprietary concoctions of cure-all creams, but sometimes going straight for the source and tapping into the potency of a pure...
Restaurant Review: Seed
One of the most difficult parts of being an informed eater is deciding which culinary paths to follow. Do you shop only at farmers’ markets, or are organic supermarket products acceptable? What makes more sense, pescetarian or flexitarian? The answers to these questions might be different for everybody, but we are all trying to figure out the same thing: what’s healthiest? Read more…...
Organic Sprouts Recalled in Northeast
Bridgeport, CT-based Specialty Farms, LLC, is voluntarily recalling its Organic Alfalfa Sprouts Blend (UPC code 8192400108) and Organic Sprout Salad (UPC code 8192400024) because they may be contaminated with the bacterium Listeria Monocytogenes (Lm). The products have a sell-by date of 7/26/2010 and are sold in 4-oz. plastic containers. http://dlvr.it/31KMk
Infuse Your Drinking Water with Organic Fruit
Fruit-flavored waters are a refreshing change of pace, especially during the hot summer months. But there are several disadvantages to buying premade brands: *
Build a Healthy, Organic Breakfast Sandwich
“Healthy” and “breakfast sandwich” tend to be an oxymoron, especially when you review popular fast-food menu items: *
Make Your Organic Breakfast a High-Priority,...
Research shows that eating a healthy breakfast reduces our risk for heart attack, stroke and diabetes, while also facilitating weight loss. We also know that kids who skip their morning meal lack energy, are more irritable, become fatigued and depressed, and fail to perform well in school. Put the emphasis on protein if you want to maintain muscle mass, curb hunger, reduce abdominal fat, and slow...
Iron Chef America Bans Threatened Bluefin Tuna
LA Weekly reports that _Iron Chef America_ has banned bluefin tuna from its menu because of the species’ threatened status. Chefs are in a bind, because tuna is a popular ingredient, but organizations like the Monterey Bay Aquarium have been warning that the fish’s population is plummeting. Read more… http://dlvr.it/2vzXZ
Waterborne Disease Costs the U.S. $539 Million a...
Dirty drinking water sounds like a third-world problem, to imagine it in a developed nation like the United States seems unfathomable. But not all our water is bottled at a Polish spring in Maine. Some places in the U.S. have nasty water. In states like West Virginia, Virginia, and Kentucky, rivers and streams are being contaminated with toxic selenium from mining operations. And now it’s...
Don't Toss Your Old Kitchen Table, Reuse It!
When you bought the kitchen table, it was to die for. Now you don’t know what you were thinking. It’s ugly, out-dated, and doesn’t go with anything else in the kitchen. But hold on – before you toss it in the dumpster, consider ways you can revitalize the table. Read more… http://dlvr.it/2vBTJ
Is The Old Spice Guy Vegan?
Quick, imagine a vegan guy. Let me guess what pops into your head: a scrawny, pale artist with horn-rimmed glasses whose closest brush with fame was playing in a mopey indie rock band. Yeah, that’s what I thought of, too. How’s this for a new vegan poster man: a tall, dark, and ruggedly handsome NFL star who can melt hearts with his confident baritone. Yeah, that’s right: the Old...
Big Veggie Plants, Small Spaces
Most home gardeners are working with confined spaces, be they tiny dirt plots or a row of pots on a balcony. But limited garden space doesn’t have to mean tiny plants. One tomato container has enough room for five happy, prolific plants, and two rows of string against a wall is a workable foundation for high-yield squash. Don’t think of space as a constraint – it’s a chance to get creative. Read...
Decoding Food-Label Expiration Dates
My mother, who lives 3,000 miles away, has this weird penchant for using me as a food-safety barometer. “I made some chicken salad a week ago,” she’ll tell me over the phone. “Do you think I can eat it for lunch?” “Not unless your life-insurance premium is paid up,” I’ll reply. Food poisoning is on my official Top 10 List of Unpleasant Experiences, courtesy of a visit to a fish eatery at New York...
How to Make Your Own Dog Toys
When my puppy Lady gets a squeak toy, it’s like she’s got a box of cereal with a prize in the middle. She immediately tears through the thing to find the plastic squeaker in the center — and then chews it to shreds. As you can imagine, that results in her ingesting a ton of chemicals that aren’t good for her — PVCs in the plastics as well as pesticides and hormones used to make...
Posh British Restaurant Foraging for Ingredients
Honey nettles and wild flowers for dinner? Exotic, but it doesn’t sound very filling. The BBC has the scoop on a hot British restaurant where the star chef Sat Bains ordered an employee to use her foraging skills to expand the kitchen’s repertoire. Rosy garlic and kitchen honey nettles grow just a few feet away from the restaurant, so picking them seemed natural to Nanna Vestergard, a...
Sustainable Swordfish Available at Whole Foods...
Swordfish has been on the eco-worst list of seafood choices for as long as I can remember. Between high mercury levels and ocean-savaging fishing practices, this protein has been banned from my shopping list for 20 years. In January 2007, I bashed swordfish in Making Safe Fish Choices and substituted Pacific halibut in a featured recipe for Kabobs with California Dried Plums and Bay Leaves. But...
Hidden Food Additive "Inulin" May Cause Stomach...
Our food is like secret Santa, you never know what you’re going to get. Go buy a package of “vegetarian” hotdogs. Vegetarian means no meat, right? Yeah, be sure to check the package, a lot of those veggie meals have milk fat and eggs. And that’s the point. Nowadays what’s in your food may shock you. Like this stuff, ever heard of “inulin?” I haven’t. They’re calling...
Health By Dark Chocolate
No one is saying, don’t eat chocolate. After all, it is the most craved food bestowed humankind. Women lust for it during PMS. We all reach for it when we’re depressed. And sometimes it beseeches us simply because it’s 3:00… or 8:00 or 5:00. In fact, it is very possible to eat chocolate everyday as a part of a healthy lifestyle. The trick is in the technique. Read more… http://dlvr.it/2p7F4
Creating a Kitchen Garden for Free
Kitchen gardens can be anything you have the time and space for: big or small, indoors or out, decorative or edible. Whatever style you choose, there’s one thing your container garden doesn’t have to be: expensive. In fact, there are so many materials found materials out there that you may be able to start your garden entirely for free. Containers, dirt and plants can all be obtained without out...
Roasted Tomato & Zucchini Salad
Organic tomatoes and zucchini are top seasonal produce picks, and they marry as well as Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne (minus the sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll). In the hands of former _Top Chef _contestant Fabio Viviani, executive chef/owner of L.A. hotspots Firenze Osteria and Café Firenze Italian Restaurant and Martini Bar, they’re the foundation for today’s savory appetizer. As the photo illustrates,...
Quin-What Did You Say? Quinoa, The Grain-like Seed...
You already know that protein is a vital part of your diet, however it might be surprising to learn that meat isn’t the only source of it. Get ready to restock your kitchen, because protein can also be found in grains, nuts, beans, and produce. An excellent source of protein is quinoa (pronounced keen-wah), but if you’ve never heard of it, you’re not alone. Read more… http://dlvr.it/2nJjg
‘Top Chef’ Contestant Fabio Viviani Loves His...
Craving a Poached Pear Salad _(Insalata di Pere),_ featuring mixed greens, blue cheese, candied walnuts, Chianti-poached pears and balsamic dressing? You can follow it up with an entrée of Butternut Squash Ravioli _(__Tortellacci di Zucca),_ composed of fresh butternut squash and ricotta ravioli, a brown butter-sage cream sauce, freshly ground black pepper and shaved Parmigiano cheese. How about...
Top Ten Healthy Foods for Women
Healthy foods are good for everyone; even your dog will appreciate an organic diet rich in lean protein, fresh fruits and vegetables and pure spring water. However certain foods are especially beneficial for a woman’s body, which is much more than just a smaller version of a man. Female bodies and brains are physically different than male bodies and brains; we are much more sensitive to the...
DIY Natural/Organic Carpet Deodorizer
Confession time: When I was in college, I used to buy off-the-shelf carpet deodorizers with artificial lavender or tropical scents. Before becoming eco-savvy, I never suspected these carpet “fresheners” were hazardous—or that I was breathing in a nasty dose of their residues as I vacuumed. Read their labels today, and you’ll find unhealthful ingredients you don’t want to inhale. And newer...
E. coli: A Hidden Beach Danger
If I say “E. coli,” I bet you’ll associate it with contaminated foods—from bagged baby spinach and romaine to steak and ground beef. http://dlvr.it/2kV2N
How to Make Your Summer Barbecues Eco Friendly
With the temperatures rising across the country, don’t escape the heat; enjoy it! It’s the perfect time to relax in a nice shady spot and light up your grill surrounded by family and friends. But before you do, consider an easy environmental “tune-up” for your usual barbecue. Did you know that on the 4th of July – just one day – we burn the equivalent of 2,300 acres of forest and release 225,000...
Bison Meat Recalled Due to E. coli
Colorado based Rocky Mountain Natural Meats has issued a recall of ground bison meat and tenderized bison steaks over possible E. coli contamination. http://dlvr.it/2jMlb
11-Year-Old Grows Tons of Veggies for the Homeless
_Article by Diane Herbst, originally published July 2010 on Tonic._ It all began in third grade, when Katie Stagliano’s 40-pound cabbage fed 275 homeless people. Now, Katie’s six gardens have produced over 4,000 pounds of vegetables to feed the needy. When Katie Stagliano was in third grade, she planted a cabbage in her family’s small garden. When it grew to an astounding 40...
Help Director James Cameron Plant 1 Million Trees
Having broken box-office records with Avatar, director James Cameron and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment have partnered with the Earth Day Network to create the Avatar Home Tree Initiative—an effort to plant 1 million native trees in 15 countries (the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Brazil,...
Natural DIY Skin Care: Cellulite Treatment
Skin care treatments in the store have two things going against them. They’re expensive and full of mystery ingredients. If you’re looking for a natural, inexpensive way to get your body more bikini-ready, check out this healthy, DIY anti-cellulite tincture recipe, complete with treatment instructions!
Top Chef’s Michael Voltaggio Bounced from...
You’d think that winning Bravo’s hit show _Top Chef_ would make you a celebrity in the SoCal food circuit, but you’d be wrong. Sign On San Diego reports that Michael Voltaggio, the champion of _Top Chef: Las Vegas_, ran into some trouble when he tried to get some fish tacos at San Diego’s storied South Beach Bar & Grille. His driver’s license was “washed out...
DIY Natural/Organic Carpet Cleaner
Household cleaners are notoriously loaded with caustic and toxic chemicals, so trading them in for green cleaning products is one of the first steps organic consumers take. After a while, however, we tend to figure out that we can use common household ingredients like vinegar and fresh lemon juice to create do-it-yourself versions that get the job done effectively and less expensively. Add your...
Restaurant Salsa and Guacamole Might Make You Sick
On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that salsa and guacamole prepared at restaurants pose a high risk for foodborne illness - i.e. food poisoning - because often salsa and guacamole are made in large batches and may not be properly refrigerated. http://dlvr.it/2dDT4
Sustainable Seafood Advocates Say: Eat Lionfish!
The Washington Post says environmentalists and culinary enthusiasts agree: we should chow down on lionfish. It tastes good and we need to get rid of it, for the sake of coral reefs. The invasive species was moved from the western Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic near Florida in the 1980s, where it became a top predator, feeding on Grouper and Snapper. Lionfish populations in the south Atlantic grew...
6 Tips for Growing Organic Green Beans
_By Kathy Bond-Borie, Guest Columnist_ Green beans are one of the quintessential organic veggies of summer, and they’re hard to beat for the quantity of food they provide per square foot. They’re also easy to grow, provided you can keep bugs and diseases from getting the upper hand. Here are six routines to help keep your crop healthy and productive. 1. Soil Preparation Beans grow well in a wide...
