Congrats to Stephanie Izard, who became the first female Top Chef when she out-cooked her competition this week on Bravo’s “Top Chef: Chicago”.
Izard, 31, currently calls Chicago home, so it was only fitting that she claimed the prize ($100,000 in seed money to help open a restaurant, furnished by the makers of the Glad family [...]

Matcha (pronounced ma-cha)  is a fine, powdered green tea used in Japanese tea ceremonies, and to dye and/or flavor foods (mochi, soba noodles, ice cream).
While I prefer a less hearty green tea (one that I can see through), I do like a cold, creamy Peet’s Matcha Green Tea Freddo in the summertime. Peet’s makes theirs with the highest quality [...]

By this time, you’ve no doubt heard that when it comes to rice, brown is better than white for its nutritional value.
Now, move over brown rice, because there’s also red, purple and black!
Red Rice
This rice has more than twice the iron of brown rice, as well as plenty of calcium and zinc. The added bonus [...]

While all mushrooms are high in selenium, it appears that those who prefer their ’shrooms of the mainstream variety (versus the more exotic, such as maitake or matsutake) aren’t missing out.
A new study in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture deems button mushrooms nutritionally worthy. In fact, it appears that button mushroom [...]

Seafood Watch is a program of Monterey Bay Aquarium designed to raise consumer awareness about the importance of buying seafood from sustainable sources.
It recommends which seafood to buy or avoid, helping consumers to become advocates for environmentally friendly seafood.
Seafood Watch History
Monterey Bay Aquarium developed a list of sustainable seafood as part of their 1997-1999 “Fishing for Solutions” [...]

Whether you’re a vegetarian, or you just want to get your daily dose of the good stuff, there’s no reason you have to relegate yourself to eating meat on the road.
Websites
There are several good websites that will help you plan where to eat when you’re on the road, whether you’re sticking close to home or [...]

Just as corn is hitting the stores, there’s a new gadget out that’s sure to make corn salad perparations a whole lot easier. Oxo’s Corn Stripper cuts and catches corn kernels into a half-cup container, making for no muss, easy corn cutting.
This is particularly good news for someone like me, who wields a knife carelessly at [...]

Now there’s a new way to enjoy wine without the buzz–Vignette Wine Country Soda offers sparkling soda that’s alcohol free in three varieties: Chardonnay, Rose and Pinot Noir.
The sodas contain 50 percent varietal grape juice and log in at 130 calories each.
The Rose is made with Grenache and Sauvignon Blanc grapes from Northern California. Enjoy hints [...]

If you’re a honey fanatic like I am, maybe you already know that there’s been a decline in the U.S. honeybee population as of late, and that decline is wrecking havoc.
Known as Colony Collapse Disorder, the decline is a major concern because bees do a lot for our ecosystem, including produce food (about a third [...]

While there are several sources of folic acid, such as spinach, avocados, beans and peanuts), now it’s going to be easier for expecting moms to get their daily intake, thanks to the March of Dimes, who recently created the Folic Acid for a Healthy Pregnancy seal.
Folic acid, which helps prevent heart disease, stroke, some cancers [...]