Blog Archives

6 Cooking Oils You Should Never Use

3/29/2015

I've talked about healthy fats a lot here before, and sometimes unhealthy ones as well, but quite a bit of confusion still surrounds the subject.

Today, I thought I'd share an article that may help clarify some questions many people have around this subject: why is it that some oils and fats commonly used in cooking are actually harmful to your body, while others are healthy?

Read on to find out which 6 cooking oils you should never eat...

2 Comments

The Allegorical Town of Allopath

3/22/2015

1 Comment

I recently ran across this funny tongue-in-cheek video which really drives home the main problem with our current healthcare system. Yes, it's kind of silly, but it's fun too - check it out below.

With our health as a nation now trailing much less developed countries, while our healthcare spending is literally billions more than any other country on earth, many people may be wondering, why don't we have a better system?

Why is the good old U.S. of A. - one of the world's largest superpowers - lagging in this oh-so-important area?

Without getting all philosophical on you, or digging into the tangled web of political reasons (of which there are many), there is one clear answer that stands out, and which is illustrated brilliantly in this short animated video (watch it below).

That answer is...

US!

Yes, we are the problem... And here's why:

1 Comment

3 Reasons to Plant Heirloom Seeds This Spring

3/15/2015

3 Comments

If you're anything like me, you love an uplifting, feel-good story about taking back control of our food supply - and this one comes just in time for spring planting! Whether you're a fan of Forks Over Knives, Food, Inc., or Fresh, you need to check out the new documentary, Open Sesame: The Story Of Seeds. This may be one of the most important food documentaries out there, as it tells a story that affects each and every one of us, no matter what your dietary beliefs, preferences, or choices are.

Everything starts with a seed. As it says in the movie, "without seeds, nothing else would exist." Whether you're a vegan, vegetarian, or omnivore like me, you and your food exist because of seeds. Everything you eat comes from a seed - even animals, which are fed on plants that come from seeds.

Yet you may be shocked to learn that 90% of the vegetable seed varieties in existence 100 years ago are now extinct! (I shared a helpful visual of this a couple of years ago on our sustainable gardening blog.)

The loss of seed diversity may seem like a shame, but how does it really affect you? In truth, it's actually a grave danger to our survival as a species (see #1 below).

The good news is, there IS something you can do about it: Plant heirloom or open-pollinated seeds!

Here Are 3 Reasons Why You Should Grow Heirloom Seeds This Year:

3 Comments

Everything Is Awesome

3/8/2015

1 Comment

I'm not sure if it's the hint of spring in the air this week, or the fact that we switched to Daylight Savings Time today, but the past few days I keep going to sleep and waking up with that Lego movie song in my mind.... Although the ground is still frozen (and mostly covered with snow), that won't last long, as we are expecting a week near 50 degrees for the first time in... I don't remember how long! While it's still too early to get out and start working on the new garden, at least there is hope in the air. And I have been in a much more positive frame of mind as a result - or perhaps just because lately I've been counting my blessings and realizing just how many there are....

In late winter sometimes it's easy to forget to be grateful, but I am reminded just how important it is to be grateful for all of the wonderful things we are given. I lately ran across an email about this really fun and amazing exercise called "100 Gratitudes," and thought I would share it with you today, as gratitude is one of the most powerful positive forces in the universe, and it's one that can literally change your state of mind for the better in an instant.

1 Comment

The Surprising Truth About Calories & Weight Loss

3/1/2015

10 Comments

Hot on the heels of last week's "shocking" announcement about cholesterol comes another long-overdue gem of health insight - this time from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

A recent article in the Journal announced that it is possible to get fatter without eating more, and conversely, that it is also possible to lose weight without eating less. (And no, this is not factoring in exercise.)

This flies in the face of approximately 100 years of mainstream advice on obesity and weight gain, which has only considered amount of calories consumed versus calories burned. In truth, like most things about health, the reality is much more complex than that!

In fact, weight gain (and loss) has a lot more to do with the type of calories consumed, and their effect on blood sugar, than you may have guessed. So how does this work? Let me explain....

10 Comments

6 Cooking Oils You Should Never Use

The Allegorical Town of Allopath

3 Reasons to Plant Heirloom Seeds This Spring

Everything Is Awesome

The Surprising Truth About Calories & Weight Loss

About the Author

Categories

Archives