March 2012
112 posts
Truly Divine Pies: Q&A with Alissa Martucci, Raw...
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Imagine a decadent, mouth-wateringly creamy pie complete with a light, crumbly crust. Now picture that same pie made entirely from raw ingredients. That’s right. No baking. If you can’t envision it, you’ll just have to try a piece for yourself.
Alissa Martucci, owner of Divine Pie in Portland, Oregon, serves up handcrafted pies made entirely in the raw at the Portland Farmers Market every...
Get Dirty: 4 Tips to Prep Your Garden for Planting
Across the northern hemisphere, millions of gardeners are digging in and getting dirty, preparing to turn out bountiful harvests with immaculately prepared garden plots. Join the crusade! Get your garden ready during the cold spring rains, and it’ll make you proud all summer long.
Read more… http://dlvr.it/1NTZzq
Whole Foods Pulls the Line on ‘Overfished’ Seafood...
Whole Foods Market, the nation’s leading natural and organic supermarket chain, has announced effective Earth Day (April 22), the retailer will be the first national grocer to no longer offer its customers any seafood carrying a “red rating,” which the Blue Ocean Institute and the Monterey Bay Aquarium use to identify species that are either being overfished or employ methods...
The Great Search Begins: Morel Mushroom Hunting
Ready to get your hunt on? When the threat of the last frost has passed and temperatures warm up, the search is on for edible wild mushrooms and none more so than the much-desired morel mushrooms. With only a small window of time once a year for gathering morels, newbie and pro shroomers alike scour the country for the coveted fungi come springtime.
Read more… http://dlvr.it/1NHMM2
Obesity and Diabetes Linked to BPA Exposure
More bad news has surfaced about chemicals including the controversial endocrine disruptor, BPA (bisphenol-A), which is facing an imminent FDA ruling on whether or not it warrants regulation in the U.S. http://dlvr.it/1NGTdx
6 Ways to Kick BPA Out of Your Life
Campbell’s Soup recently announced that it would remove BPA from the lining of its soup cans as soon as it finds a workable alternative. But the announcement serves as a reminder that until the rest of the food world follows suit, we as consumers need to be aware of the sources of BPA in our lives. More and more studies are listing BPA as a highly toxic substance—especially for young...
From Bits to Bites: Social Media Is Changing the...
In the last couple of weeks alone, consumers have flexed their collective muscles online to demand that the FDA label or remove “pink slime” from the meat served in our schools and influenced Coke and Pepsi to agree on something for once and remove a cancer-causing artificial color from their recipes.
Read more… http://dlvr.it/1N3wlj
Farmers Appeal Case Against Monsanto’s Ludicrous...
A group of farmers have appealed a judge’s ruling that dismissed the group’s case filed against Monsanto in March 2011. The case, brought about by the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association, challenged the multinational seed and chemical company’s patents on genetically engineered seed technology and the ongoing threats to farmers who frequently face lawsuits from Monsanto...
Sustainable Food & Wine Tasting Event Pours into...
With more and more research illuminating the varied health perks found in drinking wine, you don’t need much of an excuse to seek out the best vino in town. And if you’re in the Los Angeles area, that can be easily done by heading over to the restaurant a/k/a An American Bistro in Pasadena on Saturday, March 31, 2012 (this Saturday!) for a sustainable table interactive demo, wine...
Would You Eat Lysol? Toxic 'Pink Slime' Ingredient...
There are far too many questionable ingredients hidden in industrialized meat and dairy products. But credit chef Jamie Oliver for bringing one gross factor to critical mass: Pink Slime. The unfortunate-but-accurately-nicknamed controversial beef filler product—so heinous that McDonald’s won’t even touch it—struck a national nerve when news broke that 7 million pounds of the stuff...
Go Home Chefs! California Prepares to Legalize...
The California Homemade Food Act, a bill that was proposed last year, is up for vote by the California State Assembly’s health committee on April 10. If approved, the bill would make California the 33rd state to allow the sale of certain homemade food items without the costs of permits or the rental of professional kitchens imposed on the purveyors. The bill would also encourage locally...
Controversial ‘Pink Slime’ Production Oozes to a...
Beef Products Inc, manufacturer of the controversial ammonium hydroxide drenched beef filler by-product, nicknamed ‘pink slime’, has announced that at least temporarily, it is shutting down 75 percent of its production. http://dlvr.it/1MjyZm
Spring Cleaning for Your Closet, Step-By-Step
If you’re anything like me, over the months, the years and the decades, clothes have piled up and piled in. Regardless of my best efforts to condense. This year, closet spring cleaning is getting serious… well, not really. But, here are the tried-and-true steps to ensure that what needs to go, goes. Follow this process, which makes getting rid of clothes an easy and even fun...
Revolutionary Trash: Recycled Plastic Houses in...
Two years after the earthquake that devastated Haiti, nearly half a million people are still homeless, living under tarps in refugee camps in terrible conditions. Lack of money, building supplies, expertise and more has meant that the recovery for the Haitian people is moving at a snail’s pace. But with the help of Texas inventor Harvey Lacey and the nonprofit organization Haiti...
Turmeric: Curry Spice or Astounding Cure-All?
A rich orange-gold spice that has been used for centuries in Asian cooking and Indian medicine, turmeric aka _Curcuma longa_ is a wild-growing plant of the ginger family whose potential health benefits are well worth considering.
Read more… http://dlvr.it/1MdNRP
It’s A ‘One Tree at A Time’ Approach
20 million trees planted around the world in the next five years is the goal of an ambitious new project aptly named One Tree. The foundation was formed by Greg Reitman, filmmaker and founder of Blue Water Entertainment, along with Navitas Naturals, the leading brand of organic superfoods, in an effort to plant ‘one tree at a time’ to tackle some of the biggest issues on our planet...
Is The BARF Diet Right for Your Dog?
Our best friends deserve a healthy and nutritious diet, and traditional dog food is anything but. Which is why many dog owners are turning to a raw food diet for their pets, which focuses on raw fruits, vegetables, meats and whole bones. A raw diet more closely mimics what our canine friends have eaten throughout their existence on this planet, and is much healthier than packaged dog food,...
Gardeners Beware: Don't Plant these Monsanto...
One of our best defenses in avoiding the sprawl of genetically modified foods is to grow our own, right? Little else rivals the nutritious, yummy goodness of fresh-from-the-garden fruits and vegetables—both for our health and the health of the environment. But, do you know that Monsanto owns Seminis Seeds—one of the most commonly sold brands of home garden fruit and vegetable seeds? Seminis...
5 Collagen-Boosting Foods for Inside-Out Beauty
Though we often hear that you are what you eat. perhaps we don’t realize just how true it is, like literally. One of the clearest ways to see how good good food is for your body is through your skin. When you go out drinking one weekend, your skin dries up. When you eat too much low-quality Easter candy, your forehead breaks out. But, what about foods that you can eat to improve the look...
3 Tips to Create a Bedroom That's Framed Out
It’s time to think outside the picture frame. You know, the usual decorating routine when it comes to picture frames: Simply slap a family photo, cool collage, cute postcard, favorite poster or other paper paraphernalia in a picture frame and hang it on the wall. Or, set your picture frame on prime end table or mantle real estate where it’s sure to be noticed. And… done.
While that’s...
Do You Take Your $200 Cup of Tea With Or Without...
The world’s most expensive tea may also be the strangest. Reuters reports that an entrepreneur from southwest China is developing a $200 cup of organic green tea that uses endangered giant panda excrement as its main source of fertilizer. http://dlvr.it/1MDXK1
Can Your Heart Think for Itself?
The relationship between the heart and brain has often been studied as a one way conversation, with the heart responding to the brain’s commands. Yet the idea of the heart as an intelligent, perceptual organ dates back to ancient times, and some say heart intelligence is more than metaphor. Based on their studies, researchers at the Institute of HeartMath propose that the heart and brain are in...
Low Level Exposure to Pesticides May Be Most...
Campbell’s Soup’s recent move to discontinue use of the controversial chemical BPA (bisphenol-A) in its soup cans shed more light on the growing concern over hormone-disrupting chemicals found in a wide variety of household products. And the hotly debated issue shows no sign of slowing down as a new scientific paper published in the journal Endocrine Reviews suggests that even very...
Breaking News: Federal Court Rules FDA Must...
With more than 80 percent of the nation’s antibiotic supply now going into feed for animals raised as food, antibiotic-resistant bacteria are rapidly threatening human health, and it’s an issue that can no longer be ignored by the FDA, ruled a federal court judge earlier today. http://dlvr.it/1LzhNm
Methyl Iodine Manufacturer Kills Its Toxic...
Arysta Lifescience, manufacturer of Midas, the controversial methyl iodide fumigant used in California’s strawberry production, recently announced that it is suspending further sales of the product in the U.S. http://dlvr.it/1Lxmhh
Organic... Sex? 6 Powerful Benefits to a Tantric...
For many of us, it can be the most spiritual human experience. But our Western culture rarely views sex in that context. (Especially if you’re a Republican running for President!) Sex is often debased and degraded as little more than a primal nuisance we haven’t yet outgrown. But, this potent, magical practice has the power to give life, not just to each of us, but also to a deeper...
Tiny Plot, Big Bounty: 4 Small-Space Gardening...
Life ain’t perfect, and many of us probably wish our living arrangements offered a little more space for wandering cucumber vines, rows of lettuce and towering tomato plants. But “no space” is no excuse. Unless you live in an actual shoebox, you _do_ have space for a garden—even if it’s only one plant. Here are some tried-and-true techniques to get your imagination...
It’s Okay to Say No: USDA Gives Outraged Schools a...
After news spread that the USDA was planning on feeding 7 million pounds of the controversial meat product nicknamed “pink slime,” the department announced that school districts participating in the government’s school lunch program could refuse the ammonium hydroxide treated meat and request “filler-free” options instead. http://dlvr.it/1Lk6tw
A Green Place to Be: The Bulk Food Aisle
The day began innocently enough. There you were, minding your own business in the natural foods grocery store, with no plan other than buying a pint of blueberries. But then, you found yourself in the bulk food aisle and, next thing you knew, you were standing in your kitchen, speechlessly staring at two-pound bags of rolled oats, dried cherries and almonds.
Fear not, fellow organic...
How Many of The 8 Most Common Food Related...
We are what we eat. And that’s a pretty big deal considering how ridiculously sensitive our human bodies actually are. Optimal nutrition is a complicated, messy art that confounds even the most knowledgeable health experts. A diet that’s a little out of balance can lead to a slew of acute problems like decreased energy and constipation. And a diet that’s a lot off balance?...
Your Best Butter: Refrigerated Or Not
You know better than to leave your milk out of the refrigerator; just a few hours is all it takes to spoil. But what about butter—does leaving it out of the fridge make it go rancid? It’s made from milk, after all, and it’s technically a dairy product. Problem is, chilled butter is essentially useless in the kitchen—unless you’re baking scones or pie crust—and leaving butter out at room...
UrbanFig: Where Wary Gardeners Go to Get the Dig
Carol Carimi Acutt, the owner of UrbanFig, has made it her goal to help blossoming urban gardeners get their feet wet.
UrbanFig, an online urban garden magazine and gardening shop, has a simple, clean design, with easy search capability. The site contains thorough articles by Acutt and Michael Nolan (the Garden Rockstar) about urban gardening, plant care and garden tool and supply...
Whole Foods Annual Film Fest Embraces Low-Impact...
In an exclusive Mashable.com report on March 21, 2012, Whole Foods Market, the nation’s largest chain of natural and organic supermarkets, announced that its third annual Do Something Reel Film Festival celebrating feature and documentary films focused on food and environmental issues, is taking the event online with streaming digital content that will help fund green filmmaking grants....
Could A Dairy Allergy Be Your Weight Gain Culprit?
Doing everything right and _still_ unable to lose weight? One prominent doctor suggests food allergies might be to blame.
When most of us think of food allergies, we think of people swelling up after eating a peanut or unable to breathe when confronted with shrimp. But some food allergies come on much more slowly and have more subtle effects. Dr. Mark Hyman believes that up to 60 percent of...
Make Your Own Garden-Grown Heal-Almost-Anything...
Warmer weather means spending more time outdoors soaking in nature’s majestic beauty and charm right along with its annoying reminders of who’s really in charge via those inevitable cuts and scrapes, bug bites and sunburns that get you no matter how much you protect yourself. Sure, you could lather up with store-bought skincare products loaded with toxic preservatives and...
Spinach And Artichokes: A Dip with A Heart
The Super Bowl may have come and gone, but that’s no reason to stop working on your arsenal of dip recipes. This vegetable-laden dip is one of my favorites for cocktail parties or hors d’œuvres before dinner. It’s easy to make ahead of time and simply slip under the broiler when your first guests arrive to a perfectly melted cheesy topping. And the use of organic spinach and artichokes makes it...
Twice the Resistance, For Now: Monsanto’s Newest...
Monsanto’s hard at work on gearing up for the 2014 release of its Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans, which will be not only resistant to the common glyphosate pesticide marketed by Monsanto as Roundup, but also the chemical dicamba, in efforts to combat the increasing number of weeds and bugs adapting to resist Roundup that are causing crop loss and damage. http://dlvr.it/1LNplz
‘The Post-Antibiotic Era’ Is Upon Us, Warns WHO
Antibiotics have come a long way since Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928—so far in fact that they may become obsolete due to their inability to treat minor infections, cites a recent warning from the World Health Organization at a conference in Copenhagen last week. http://dlvr.it/1LGv1v
Embrace Your Heritage! 6 Places to Buy Heirloom...
To put it simply, heirloom seeds are the bee’s knees. Heirloom seeds produce unique fruits and veggies, flowers and crops sans GMOs and pesticidez, typically yielding fruits and vegetables with amazing taste and high nutritional value. What’s not to like?
Lucky for all heirloom seed lovers, heritage seeds are easy to find. The following six seed companies carry the best heirloom seeds.
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Could Your Hamburger Give You Cancer?
A Nobel Prize-winning scientist believes sick cows might be making humans sick. Professor Harald zur Hausen won the Nobel Prize in medicine in 2008 for discovering the link between HPV and cervical cancer, and he now believes that viruses in cows may be linked to colorectal cancer (CRC).
Read more… http://dlvr.it/1LBCrf
Quinoa-Chia Energy Bars
One issue I take with energy bars it that they’re often too sweet – not every snack needs to be an over the top candy bar flavor. These extra natural bars are entirely sweetened by fruit, and have no added sugar, no honey, no agave… nothing. They’re also gluten free and even stash a bit of protein with their quinoa base. And of course, the great chia is responsible for holding everything...
Artichokes: Cooking The Edible Thistle
A member of the thistle family, artichokes are starting to appear in farmers markets and in CSA baskets, but if you’ve never cooked with artichokes before, they might seem intimidating. It’s true that they’re not quite as easy to cook as asparagus or peas, but once you’ve got the hang of it, artichokes are a great addition to spring menus.
Read more…...
The Occupy Movement’s Not Dead, Just ‘Modified’ to...
Zuccotti Park may have cleared out, but the fed-up have not left their gripes for the street-sweepers. Criticized for being a ‘leaderless’ movement short on demands, the aftermath of City Halls and Capitol buildings converted into homes for the homeless, the unemployed and the “we’re mad as hell and not going to take it anymore” Occupiers last fall has paved the...
Eat Local Honey, Avoid Seasonal Allergies?
As we start to get excited about spring, it’s easy to forget that spring’s friend and partner-in-crime, spring allergies, are on their way as well. Over-the-counter medications can make you groggier than the allergies themselves, but leaving the hay fever and sneezing alone is just not an option for most. However, there is an all-natural remedy that can make your sneezy, teary...
7 Foods You Should Never Eat
Sometimes, even foods that _seem_ healthy can harbor hidden problems that can affect our health and our planet. Here are seven foods you should never eat—and easy swaps to help eliminate them from your kitchen.
Read more… http://dlvr.it/1KyKnH
13 Tips for A Thrilling Dream Life
Your brain doesn’t exactly fall asleep at night the way your body does; it takes your mind to new places. Some research suggests that dreams can help improve memory, boost creativity, and even make you smarter. Whether you’re looking for a thrill in your REM cycle or just interested in exploring your own dreamscape, here are some tips (admittedly unscientific, so far) for how to recall and...
5 Whimsical Ways to Label Your Seedlings
Without labels for your seeds, you’ll likely forget whether you planted forget-me-nots or cilantro. Then, how will you know the best spot to place your seeds when it comes time for transplanting? Come on, you know you’re not going to remember what you planted after the weeks it takes for your seeds to sprout. Label them now (or when you start your seeds) to avoid frustrations later.
Labeling...
Don’t Have A Cow, But… More Bad News for Red...
Vegans and vegetarians, and probably quite a few cows, are rejoicing over the newest study released by the Harvard School of Public Health. The research shows a strong connection between any red meat consumption and an increased risk of ‘early mortality’. http://dlvr.it/1KmHpB
Baobab Oil: What Is This Exotic, Beautifying...
When inspecting the ingredients on your beauty product labels, “baobab oil” likely stops you organic beauty queens (and kings!) in your label-reading tracks. What exactly is a baobab anyway? As organic-conscious consumers, you like knowing about the ingredients that make up the products you slather on your skin and hair, especially the unfamiliar ones. Baobab oil may be listed on your products...
Chill Out! How Stress Can Affect Your Decisions
The baby’s teething, the house is a mess and your mother-in-law is coming over in ten minutes. Now might not be the best time for you and your partner to decide whether or not to buy a new house or take a new job. New research in the journal _Current Directions in Psychological Science _suggests that stress can change how you make decisions.
Read more… http://dlvr.it/1KbzzV
