Thanks, Let’s Eat!
Thanksgiving is a core family holiday with a worthy message (even if the narrative is way off) - we are mindful of giving thanks, and find ourselves wishing all sorts of folks a happy holiday, like the customer service rep thanking us for our patience when we know we have exhausted ours. And we all know (and research backs it up), that being thankful enhances personal happiness.Plus, at Thanksgiving we are urged to eat and enjoy, sometimes (ok, pretty much annually) to the point of excess. ...
Climate Change on Your Plate
I read that red salmon practically vanished from Alaska this year. They were once abundant, and clockwork-dependable and now, nada. It's not just the fish. Other species are suffering, whales and manatees and so much declining, becoming extinct from under us.What's happening feels so big. Recycling and cutting out plastic straws is a step but not a big one.If we really want to do something, it's time to look at the facts about the environment and what we eat.A haunting article in ...
Is Nano-Tech a Ticking Time Bomb?
How Safe is Nano-Tech? Nanotechnology is here. Nano operates in the Quantum Realm, where physics gets strange, the world isn’t always as it seems and particles can exist in two places at once. What you might not know is that it’s everywhere in products from food to makeup to clothing. Is nanotechnology a ticking time bomb?Nano is not like anything found in nature. Nano-particles cannot be seen, even under an ordinary microscope. Different chemical, physical and even biologic ...
Ten More Products We Saw at Expo West that We Bet You Haven’t Tried
Expo West last month in Anaheim was a bonanza of products including many that are new and unusual. Here's ten more that you probably haven't heard of... in addition to the ones we mentioned in our earlier post here.Arette Tea Seed Oil -- Yet another oil touted for its benefits as well as its flavor, Arette brings several varieties to the market. They claim it one of the most nutritious and healthiest edible oils, with a high percentage of unsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, has a ...
Raise the Bars: Top Snack Bar Picks
From a few humble meal replacement bars (remember the ubiquitous Power Bar), the snack bar is now a world unto itself. Noted for what they include (protein, sprouted seeds, caffeine, and super foods) and what they don't (grains, dairy, and sugar), they have come into their own for both snacking and meal replacement.After what seemed like hundreds displayed at Expo West, these are our top picks for 2017, worth tracking down.bRaw – These small batch are so good that they are dangerous. ...
Foods You May Never Have Heard Of
It was the biggest ever Natural Products Expo – over 80,000 attendees and thousands of products spread over three venues in Anaheim California March 2017. The world's largest expo of its kind, it was a challenge just to get through it but the resulting finds were worth it!We found dozens of products that most people – even dedicated foodies – have likely never heard of. Some were hot out of production and some were just new to Americans.Some may have already hit your store shelves ...
Top of the Food Chain (of Fools)
I happened to watch in the seatback in front of me at 34,000 feet two smarmy (ok, obnoxious) money men dangling carrots in front of contestants in a reality TV show about food. They weren't actual carrots but the hopeful competitors stood the chance to get some advice and financing, which could help launch their restaurant/food businesses and make them flourish.One team had a tasty-looking vegan hot dog, with homemade pickles and toppings, which one moneyman seemed to like. The ...
The Vegan Tipping Point?
Just five years ago, veganism was still so far from mainstream that it would require a lengthy explanation and a slew of apologies, especially when seeking out vegan foods in a restaurant. Meatless was one thing but no eggs and cheese? Fuggedahbout it, as they say in Brooklyn.How things have changed. More and more people are waking up to a diet sans animal products. According to some sources, the number of vegans in America has doubled since 2009. In fact, like probiotic and ...
Personalized Cheese? Kinda Cool, Kinda Creepy – Edible Synthetic Biology
It’s no secret we’re microbe-obsessed, which is why we’re always going on about living and fermented foods like kombucha, fermented tofu, pickles and nut cheeses. Probiotics, which is what the microorganisms are called in food and health circles these days, have become a trendy health food for good reason beyond their sheer deliciousness.Now, in a just-opened exhibit in Dublin, there’s a glimpse of the future of synthetic biology, which if you haven't heard of it, you should. (Don't ...
Is the FDA So Asleep it’s Dreaming all’s OK? Nano Versus GMO
By now, everyone's heard of GMOs, genetically modified food. You may think GMOs are the frankenfood of nightmares, potentially triggering bad reactions from allergies to immune and metabolic disorders. You may also know that the U.S. Congress, blessed by the President, has enacted the DARK Act as the law of the land, officially and legally known as the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act (right?).States must follow the federal law, however effective (or not) it may turn out to be in ...
