wake up 60 results

Food of the Gods? Yes, Raw Chocolate Truffles!

Everyone loves candy, even plant-based eaters.  These chocolate truffles will win the hearts of even the most dedicated carnivore.  Packed with the life-enhancing goodness of coconut and cacao, you can even pretend they are health food.  Some even call cacao, “food of the gods.”  Our kind of gods to be sure.These truffles will last weeks under refrigeration and make beautiful gifts (try decorating the wrappers!) but trust us, once you taste them, you will be tempted to store a stash ...

Got Flu? Try this Herbal Cough Syrup

I got the flu this year, first time in years. This was the hit-you-like-a-ton-of-bricks flu, body-slammed with fever, delirium, the whole works. My lungs and head filled up and a few weeks later I still had a deep, nagging cough.  After staring at all the OTC products on the drugstore shelf, weighing the nasty side effects I read about on the packages and the Internet, I figured it was time to go homemade.Fortunately, I had on hand almost all the ingredients for a kick-ass cherry herbal ...

Whole Baked Kabocha Squash with Apples

This recipe could not be easier. It is so easy, in fact, that I don't even think it's legit to call it a recipe but cookbook authors have told me otherwise. After all, we have entire "recipe books" devoted to juice, which basically consists of 2-5 ingredients put through a juicer.Its flavor belies its simplicity. The squash and apple meld together with the roasty goodness and it makes an amazing hearty winter side dish. Kabocha squash is particularly "meaty" and flavorful, with a cream ...

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 ...

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 ...

Wake Up: What is Citrus Greening and What to Do?

In case you didn't hear, virtually all of Florida’s citrus trees are suffering from “greening,” a bacterial tree disease that is threatening the $9+ billion Florida citrus biz (think oranges, grapefruits, tangerines…) and has attacked Brazil as well, covering 90% of the world's orange juice.  Imagine the shortages.  Also called Huanglongbing (HLB) or Yellow Dragon Disease, greening first surfaced in 2005 in Florida (yes, it's from Asia).  Infected trees produce green, ...

US & EU Agree: No Time for Public Health, We’ve Got Corporate Interests at Stake Here!

A just leaked draft food trade agreement leaves no question that, as between both the US and Europe, “public health is losing out to corporate interests in a big way.”  According to the experts at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), the documents show that public health and food safety are at risk while the public remains clueless.The obscure Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement (see it in the news any time lately?) addresses important ...

Drought and What We Eat (No Water, Water Anywhere)

We’re a wet bunch on the East Coast of America, having been saturated with rain and windy storms, thundering up the sky, tearing branches off trees and flooding banks.  Plus, it seems to be one of those years that future generations of mosquitoes will celebrate, with the population explosion that vigorously attacks post-rain.But, it also means our gardens are lush, overflowing with tomatoes and peppers, cucumbers and kale, beans, carrots, squash and more.  We’re in peak summer, ...

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 ...

True Health Care: Functional Formularies Revolutionizes Liquid Meal Replacement with Real Organic Food

It’s called Liquid Hope, made by Functional Formularies, but maybe it should be called Liquid Love. Robin Gentry McGee, the company’s founder, created the product – an organic whole food meal replacement – as a labor of love for her father, who had a traumatic physical injury. Until then, Robin (like most of us) had no idea that what usually goes down for hospital nutrition is anything but. Then she woke up.Sadly, today, the standard liquid nutrition in most US medical institutions ...