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 ...
Fresh Spring Pea, Fennel and Mint Salad
Peas have been a delicious food since ancient times and archaeologists have found them in Egyptian tombs. They probably dried them for the afterlife (and beyond). Today, only about 5 % of all peas grown are sold fresh. Peas are a good low calorie source of protein. A ¾ cup serving of peas (about 100-calories) contains more protein than a whole egg or a tablespoon of peanut butter and has less than one gram of fat and no cholesterol. So there.It's a fleeting pleasure to stumble ...
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 ...
Love Giving Thanks: Turkey Thoughts
You gotta love Thanksgiving. Delicious food, gratitude, and generosity joyous enough, but to top it off, there's pie. Yum!Yet, for the last few years, come this time of year, we start to think about a New York Times piece a few years back about the "humane" slaughtering that certain “privileged” turkeys experience. We’re talking the 1%ers here. It may or may not be news to you but some fancy NY Hudson Valley (and similar local farm) birds get a one-two blessing of a higher ...
Watch: I Can’t Be Vegan Because…. DF Mavens Makes Ice Cream No Excuse!
We often hear from people who say they want to go vegan, and they get it on an intellectual level, since plant-based eating has been shown to be good for body (health), mind (function) and soul (ease), but their various cravings won’t allow it. Among the most-cited can't-live-without foods is ice cream, with its yummy sweet cold creaminess -- for many it is a must-have treat.Well, good news! DF Mavens makes some of the best ice cream we've ever tasted -- dairy or non-dairy -- no ...
Classic Tuna Salad – Minus the Fish (Vegan)
What could be more retro and comforting than a tuna salad sandwich? Chunky tuna, tangy mayo, chopped celery on toasted bread with a pickle and chips on the side? Yum.Yet, not only is tuna one of those mercury-heavy fish (not so good for anyone, especially kids), the unrelenting quest for sandwiches has meant countless dolphins, turtles, sharks, seabirds and more snared in the tuna trawls along with massive amount of bycatch (that’s the industry word for marine life caught as a ...
For Optimum Health in 2015, Feds Start Now
Want to really get ahead of the food curve? Think 2015.Follow the lead of those hard working public health experts, who are already doing just that.Federal guidelines have been around for quite a while (wow-there was a "meat group" back in the day, now called "protein"). Since 1980, every five years, the USDA and HHS issue dietary guidelines and the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee convened its first meeting about 9 weeks ago. While it may not matter to many of us, these ...
Driven by Flavor: Who’s Kidding Themselves?
More on Dan Barber's rantings in the Wall Street Journal seeking to justify his feeling that burgers "should be part of your diet." As Eleanor West writes in Food Republic, (Vegetarians, Carb Lovers and Coke Fans Beware), the crux of Barber's argument boils down to three main points. Our response to each point follows.1. Vegetables deplete soil more than grazing cows.Response: So what? This “argument” is a textbook example of logical fallacies in action. Just because ...
Fancy Food 2012: Some Cool New Products and Lots of Snacks
This year's Fancy Food Show, again in DC, was in many ways more of the same, with lots and lots of sweets (chocolate, cookies, candies), an abundance of olives and cheese and a few really cool new products.While we tried hard not to think about the obesity epidemic that is spreading throughout parts of the globe, it was hard to forget our compulsions. Still, there was hope.Our all-time show favorite was Rau Om's misozuke tofu, which almost seems like it's best described as "tofu ...
