Too many delicious dinners wouldn’t be the same without the tomato. Especially delectable dishes from the Mediterranean area, could you imagine French, Greek or Italian food without the touch of the tomato?

Today the tomato grows all over the world, yet it is only native to areas of Mexico and South America. The Spanish explorer, Cortez, discovered the tomato growing in the gardens of the Aztecs in the early 1500’s and brought seeds back to Europe with him, yet the tomato still took over 100 years to become a food source. Southern Italians were the first to embrace the golden globes (early tomatoes were yellow not red) and incorporate them into their cuisine. By 1758 the tomato was mentioned in “The Art of Cookery” by Hannah Glass in England. (continue reading…)

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The biggest thing right now is being green, everybody’s doing it from celebrities to your neighbor on the corner. You may be wondering though, what can you really do to live a greener life that doesn’t cost a fortune or have you munching on granola.

Trying to wade through all the green information floating around out there can be difficult. Everyone’s popping up with green tag lines and green products, but is throwing out all your old stuff and buying new eco-friendly products going to solve anything? No, it just leads more stuff in the landfill which defeats the purpose of going green.

Here are simple ways you can go green without going broke or changing your lifestyle very much. These simple things can even save you money. (continue reading…)

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Terra Wellington has written a great guide for any mom (or dad) interested in going green. From energy savings to green vacations you’ll get information, tips and ideas to help green your family in this detailed and well written green family guide, The Mom’s Guide to Growing Your Family Green: Saving the Earth Begins at Home.

Wellington doesn’t preach, instead she offers useful advice, green ideas, helpful tips and much needed information that will break through all the confusion and greenwashing going on today. She even includes handy little icons that let you know how beneficial the green aspect is and how much it is going to cost. Icons include those for health benefits, time savings, money savings, free stuff, and expenses that range from under $50 to over $1,000. (continue reading…)

My husband I were recently discussing the fact that food has become boring, that we’re both sick of the same old stuff.

Perfect timing for me to receive a new cookbook.

Now my husband isn’t much for eating healthy, I have to trick him to get him to try new food- the last I tell him is that it’s healthy. But he loves seafood and coconut and wouldn’t you know it The Best of Clean Eating is full of recipes featuring one or the other. I’m not much for fish but I do love shrimp so there’s even recipes that both of us can enjoy. Especially the desserts.

The desserts are something hubby and I can both whole heartedly agree on - like on page 152, you get the healthy sweet snacks Power Yogurt for One and Coconut Balls- both recipes sound delicious. But it’s the real desserts that will make you crave healthy decadence. On page 232 I am seriously drooling over the Molten Lava Cakes made with cocoa powder. On page 230 I see a cake I am going to make for my chocolate and coconut loving husband- Coconut Chai Chocolate Cake. Wow it sounds so yummy my stomach is grumbling in sweet anticipation.

For those of you who love carrot cake you have to check out page 226 the recipe for Slow Cooker Carrot Cake and Cream Cheese Honey Drizzle will make non carrot cake lovers drool. Then there’s Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies and Orange Chocolate Ricotta Cheesecake…On page 214 I spy the ultimate apple pie recipe- it’s a pairing of two of my favorite things- vanilla and apples. The Vanilla Bean Spiked Autumn Apple Pie is going on my Thanksgiving menu.

After going through this cookbook you’ll never ever again think that eating healthy is eating bland.

The full color photos are enough to inspire you into exploring new culinary delights then you read through the ingredients and your mouth will start to water.

So far I’ve only spoken of sweet delights but there’s so much more in The Best of Clean Eating, for both die hard foodies and those who simply love food or are looking to try something new.

Throughout the book you’ll find a huge assortment of recipes- gingery roasted squash, roasted cauliflower leek and garlic soup, golden mashed potatoes, apple grilled cheese, yummy hummus, clean eating tortilla chips, sweet potato spread, garlic bruschetta…is your stomach growling yet? Because mine is.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, desserts…you’ll find clean eating recipes for it in this book.

My husband and I are currently marking pages and making a shopping list for all the amazing recipes we are going to try. I can’t wait- I’m actually excited about food again.

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Here are some staggering statistics.  Americans spend approximately $13 billion a year on chocolate.  Moreover, Americans will purchase 58 million pounds of chocolate candy during the days leading up to Valentines Day.  This translates into $345 million dollars in sales.

Chocolate is the hallmark candy of Valentines Day.  It is revered for its wonderful rich taste along with its heart healthy benefits; however, not all chocolate is the same.  The chocolate candies that come in a red, heart-shaped box are usually full of sugar and fat and really have no nutritional value at all.  If you want to benefit from chocolate, then look for dark chocolate, with a 65% or higher cocoa content.  Studies indicate that the antioxidant flavonoids in dark chocolate have been linked to decrease of stroke and cardiovascular disease and may  also have anti-cancer benefits, as they help reduce cell damage that spur tumor growth. (continue reading…)

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Soy has become very famous lately because it is everywhere and is possible in every form. Soy is a plant product containing protein, fiber, essential fatty acids, as well as numerous vitamins and minerals. The presence of phytochemicals such as isoflavones, phytate, saponins and phytosterols, makes it even more useful. Soy is supposed to have properties which might help to fight against diseases like cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis and more. Soy is available in the form of nuts, milk, yogurt, cheese, flour, tofu, tempeh, beans and other meat analogs. This can be cooked with other food items to increase its nutritional value or cooked alone.

You might have read that soy is very good for health. You will be surprised to know that around 100 years back it was considered unfit for eating. It has been found that soy is actually very hard on our body system, especially on the hormonal system. Soybean was considered one of the sacred grains among wheat, barley, millet and rice in China centuries ago. It was considered sacred because it was very useful in crop rotation. The roots of soybean plants fix atmospheric nitrogen into useful nitrogen compounds which help in maintaining the level of nitrogen in the soil required for the growth of other crops. At that time soybean was not eaten. Chinese found that soybean has got many natural toxins which could not be destroyed in conventional cooking. These toxins are strong inhibitors that block digestive enzymes. The toxins are deeply imbedded proteins which produce serious gastric disorders and block absorption of essential amino acids. Soy contain compounds known as goitrogens that depress thyroid function. The soybean found its way to the dinning table only after fermentation was discovered in the form of fermented food like soy-sauce and miso. Soybeans come largely from genetically engineered plants. (continue reading…)

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This past Hanukkah, I made the conscious and unpopular decision to veto sugar cookies.  Although my past efforts included a healthier non-hydrogenated margarine, I still felt uneasy giving my kids a cookie with all that concentrated fat and white flour.  The sad, puppy dog countenances along with the heart stabbing comments  such as, “But making Hanukkah cookies is our special tradition,” made me re-think my hasty decision to ban the beloved sugar cookies.  As I reflected on how my son already felt singled out due to his egg and nut allergies, I felt a surprising stab of guilt.  However, as I looked at those sticks of margarine thawing on my counter, I decided that I was going to make sugar cookie history.  Below are my results of a kinder, gentler cookie that not only tastes great, it is actually kid approved.  Enjoy. (continue reading…)