by guest blogger Maya Rodale. We all know we should eat our vegetables. But I realized something the other day: We don’t always know how. If you didn’t grow up experiencing food in different states of being, food can be mysterious and possibly scary. I know that potatoes come with dirt on them and it’s OK. I know that most fruits and vegetables can come in “weird” shapes—only because they grew next to a branch or something—and they’re still perfectly delicious.
Archive | September, 2012
Toxic Back-to-School Gear
by guest blogger Mike Schade. While millions of children across America returned to school this month, many parents were unaware that children’s back-to-school products currently on store shelves contain high levels of toxic chemicals called phthalates, used to soften vinyl plastic. These chemicals are so toxic they’ve been banned for use in toys in the United States because of adverse health effects like birth defects, asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and diabetes, among others.
Pickled Pepper Cabbage
I’ve been thinking about trying to make Pickled Pepper Cabbage for years. It used to be easy to buy premade in these parts, and now…not so much. And every once in a while, I get a hankering. Then I went to an awesome dinner out in a Pennsylvania field and sat next to a man named Craig Koller. He promised to send me his mother’s recipe and he did.
10 Ways to Get Arsenic Out of Your (and Your Kids’) Diet
by Sonya Lunder and Dawn Undurraga. Although scientists and government regulators have long known about the ever-present threat of arsenic in our diet and water, it was unsettling when two major reports came out on the same day last week, reminding us of the risk and the need to do what we can to minimize it.
Heirloom Molasses Cake
I get cravings for molasses things—not gingerbread (too wintry), but the kind of cakey stuff that’s inside a shoofly pie, but without the pie’s crust and the wetness. The first time I made this recipe it was too dry, and it collapsed under the crumbs. So the second time, I added eggs and more butter. It was good! It was moist! It was dark and rich because I use organic molasses, and it’s the dark stuff that’s filled with nutritional goodness. It’s total yumness and very quick and easy to make.
First Kisses: What I Learned from
Bruce, Kenny, Jason, and the Avetts
by guest blogger Maya Rodale. This summer, I was lucky to see a few great concerts. In the midst of all the rocking and rolling and singing along with the crowd, I discovered this truth: You haven’t really heard a song until you’ve heard it played LOUD in a stadium with 20,000 people singing along. I also gleaned some insights about being an artist…or just getting a job done right…. And about writing kisses and love stories.
GE Foods Shorten Life, Cause Tumors
Says First-Ever Long-Term Study
BREAKING NEWS: by Marcia Ishii-Eiteman, senior scientist at Pesticide Action Network. Very big news exploded across the papers yesterday: Eating genetically engineered (GE) corn has been strongly linked to serious health effects—including mammary tumors and kidney and liver damage. A team of European scientists released the first-ever long-term animal feeding study of the health effects of eating GE foods in the peer-reviewed journal Food and Chemical Toxicology. Here’s what you need to know.
The Drought Diet
by guest blogger Wendy Gordon. Scorching temperatures and persistent drought have devastated farms across the United States, sending corn and soybean prices soaring. We live on corn, and as a consequence, our food budgets are extremely vulnerable to weather-driven crashes in the corn market. Let’s talk about how you can tailor your diet to these new drought conditions. Here are six simple steps that can pay off big for your health and for our planet while taking it easy on your wallet.
Scratch
Raised on America’s first organic farm, Scratch author Maria Rodale learned how to make everyday favorites from, yes, scratch — the way you remember them; the way they turn out best.
Order NowOrganic Manifesto
Drawing on findings from leading health researchers as well as conversations with both chemical and organic farmers from coast to coast, Maria Rodale irrefutably outlines the unacceptably high cost of chemical farming on our health and our environment.
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