Earthly Eating

1. Get the Sugar Out by: Ann Louise Gittleman ($13.95): Completely revised and even updates, the second edition of this book is a must-read for your better health. Sugar has been linked to more than 60 health-threatening conditions, including some cancers and even heart disease. Out bodies don’t need it at all really. This book details the dangers of some of the artificial sweeteners and high-fructose corn syrup on the market today.

2. The New Whole Grains Cookbook by: Robin Asbell ($19.95): This book features more than 75 recipes, including ones such as Saffron Quinoa con Pollo. This book offers a handy glossary detailing each grain. It also provides a source list of locating the more unusual grains.

3. The Homeopathic Revolution. Why Famous People and Cultural Heroes Choose Homeopathy by: Dana Ullman, MPH ($19.95): Remarkable people have benefited from homeopathy, which is the leading alternative medical treatment in Europe for the past two centuries. This book documents the extensive use of how homeopathy is efficient in most treatment of what ales you. It also contains a section with homeopathic resources.

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Earthly Eating Recipe

Noodle Spirals and Miso Pesto
Serves: 6

1 pkg. (8 oz.) organic Kamut spirals
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tbs. miso
1/2 cup water
4 cups fresh basil, loosely packed, or half basil, half parsley

Cook the pasta and drain. Toast the nuts in a dry skillet until they are golden brown, being careful not to burn them. Grind the nuts in the blender. Add the olive oil, garlic, miso, water and blend until smooth. Chop the basil finely, add to the blended and process. Pour the pest over the hot pasta and mix then serve.

Happy Eating!

With the fear of unhealthy pesticides and chemicals in our foods now days, a lot of people are turning to health food stores and what they offer to the public. But, are you making the right choices, even at a health food store? Here are some ways to make sure you make the right decision and choices the next time you visit your local health food store.

• Don’t be fooled by fads: Bad fats are unhealthy by any name. Ghee (clarified butter), has the same amount of artery clogging saturated fats as does regular butter and was found to promote cardiovascular disease in four separate studies. Stick with liquid vegetable oils, trans free spreads, and low-fat cheese, all found in abundance at these stores.

• Do stock up in the “dairy” section: With healthy dairy and nondairy selections, is easy to get the dairy products that are the bone-0building calcium products you need. The options are: low-fat, creamy Greek-style yogurt made from sheep’s or goat’s milk; kefir and other products with friendly bacteria that improves digestive health and boost immunity; plus soy or rice-based items that are low in saturated fat.

• Don’t assume that the hot food deli bar is healthier: Freshly made doesn’t necessarily means good for you. For example, mashed potatoes prepared with butter, whole milk and salt, and bakery goods made with eggs, butter, and cream are fresh and unprocessed, but they can be high in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium per serving. Organic macaroni and cheese can range upward of 410 calories and 16g of fat (10g of which is saturated) per cup.

• Do check out the faux meat aisle: They are one of the few places that carry an extensive variety of “vegetarian meats,” including ready-to-eat, high protein, fiber-rich, cholesterol, and saturated fat free lunchmeats, hot dogs, burgers, and sausages. Incorporating more vegetarian proteins into your diet and eating less saturated fat helps reduce the risk of developing heart disease.

• Don’t get your vegetables in the supplement aisle: Most natural food emporiums have sizable supplement departments, compared with supermarkets, accounting for up to 15% of the square footage of some store. Though supplements can help round out nutritional shortfalls, they can’t replace the thousands of natural nutrients in whole foods. Never spend more on supplements than you do on groceries.

• Do look for local produce at your health food store of choice: A health food store can be the next best thing to a farmers’ market. Whole Foods, for example, aims to dedicate 20% of its produce section to locally grown fruits and vegetables. Buying local has its advantages: Because the distance from the farm to your plate is shorter, it’s good for the planet (fewer carbon emissions are created in transit), and the food is more nutrient packed than varieties from distant lands.
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Earthly Eating Recipe:

One-Step Party Dip
Makes: 2 cups or 16 servings

1 container (16 oz.) Sour Cream
1 package of Italian Salad Dressing and Recipe Mix

Mix ingredients until well blended. Serve with cut-up fresh vegetables.

Here are some cookbooks to add to your collection:

Happy Eating!

The Flexitarian Table: Inspired, Flexible Meals for Vegeatrians, Meat Lovers, and Everyone in Between by Peter Berley (Houghton Mifflin): Berley defines Flexitarian as a vegetarian who occasionally eats fish or meat, or someone who is not a vegetarian but enjoys vegetarian meals.
Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way by Lorna Sass (Clarkson Potter): Incorporate more whole grains into your diet with this easy-to-follow book of recipes.
Raw Foods/Real World: 100 Recipes to Get the Glow by Matthew and Sarma Melngailis (HarperCollins): Learn about the benefits of adopting a raw-foods diet anbd lifestyle from two experts in the field. Kenney and Melngailis share recipes from Pure Food and Wine, their popular Manhattan restaurant.
Kitchen Playdates by Laren Bank Deen (Chronicale Books): Invite guests of all ages into your kitchen to prepare food and crafts based on themed playdates, such as “Dinner Swapo,” “Spice Treasure” and “Slumber”. Deen provides fun and practical ways to spend time with family and friends while cooking up a feast.
The Vegetables I Can’t Live Without by Millie Katzen (Hyperion): Katzen, who’s celebrating the 30th anniversary of her Moosewood Cookbook, has written again with this book of her favorite “pro vegetable” dishes that are so delicious and hearty that even the staunchest carnivore won’t miss the meat.
Mom-a-licious: Fresh, Fast, Family Food for the Hot Moma in You! by Damenica Catelli (Waterside Publishing): Feed the family simple and healthy food using recipes from Mom-a-licious. Catelli’s dishes are easy, innovative twists on classic foods. (Source: Kiwi 2007)

**Longitech has come out with a super-cool remote for anyone who’s anyone to own. Over at Home Theaters, Marc has the story behind it and how you can add it to your collection of electronics.**
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Earthly Eating Recipe:

Apple Wrap
Serves: 2

1 tbs. organic mayonnaise
2 tsp. honey mustard
2 whole-wheat flour tortillas
2 cup washed and dried baby spinach leaves, loosely packed
4 thin slices Swiss, Muenster, or cheddar cheese, or nondairy cheese
1/2 cup Granny Smith apple, unpeeled and sliced paper-thin

Combine mayonnaise and mustard. Lay out both wraps and spread edges of each with the mayo/mustard mixture. Leaving a margin free on the side closest to you, arrange a layer of spinach leaves on each wrap. Top each layer with 2 cheese slices. EWvenly divide apple slices and lay them lengthwise across cheese. Fold over end of wrap thightly in foil or waxed paper and refrigerate, seam side down, up to 4 hours. Before serving or packing for lunch, unwrap and cut each one in hlaf at an angle.

Happy Eating!

Michel Nischan’s Homegrown Pure and Simple ($35), pays homage to fresh produce from his garden. The prganic chef’s intensely flavored dished, like kabocha squash risotto, take simpe recipes beyon the expected.

Ann Gentry’s The Real Food Dairy Cookbook($25), This book lets you sample the Los Angeles hot spot’s yin yang cabbage salad and carrot cashew butter without leaving home.

Did you know: Baby carrots aren’t babies at all. They are pieces of misshappened full-grown carrots that have been peeled and polished down to be the tiny shape that kids (and some adults) love to munch on with ranch dressing.

**Is Katie Holmes pregnant again? She says no, but you make up your own mind by reading the rest of the story here**
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Earthly Eating Recipe:

Blueberry Cheese Rolls:
Serves: 4

1 package (8-oz.) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) Neufchatel Cheese, softened
2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup blueberries, divided
Sifted Powdered sugar

preheat oven to 375°F. Unroll dough into 4 rectangles; firmly press perforations together to seal.

Combine Neufchatel cheese and sugar; spread onto dough rectangles to within 1/2 inch of edges. Top evenly with blueberries. Bring opposite corners of rectangles together; press together to seal. Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake 11-13 minutes or until golden brown.

Sprinkle with the sifted powedered sugar before serving.

Happy Eating!