• Are Plums The New Super Food Image via WikipediaPlums aren't a fruit that I normally eat as a rule, but just recently, I have just recently started eating them. And as I was doing some research this morning for some fresh content. I am now glad that I do. Because I came across a article that......
• Essential Tips for Good Health Here is a look at ten essential tips for good health, which involve diet, weight loss, good nutrition, fitness and movement and other aspects of your health. Tie these ten essential tips together and you will have a picture of good health and wellness. Essential Tip #1 - You absolutely......
• Cat Food Recall by Moses Wright A cat food recall indicates that the cat food poses a health risk due to a problem with the contents of the cat food. In some cases, cat food is recalled before reports of cat illness from the cat food. Sometimes, the cat food recall is in......
• Food For Thought... and Health Green tea may have another positive feature to add to its resume - that of increasing antibiotic effectiveness, even against superbugs! Green tea gave antibiotics a boost in their bacterial killing capabilities like spinach gave Popeye his super strength. I hope this study wasn't just a fluke!  It would be great if green tea really can provide......

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Green Festival™ hits Washington, D.C., November 8 & 9 at the Washington Convention Center, and San Francisco, Calif., November 14, 15 & 16 at the Concourse Exhibition Center.

Green Festival is a joint project of Global Exchange and Co-op America, is akin to a walk through a sustainable community.

The festival features more than 125 renowned authors, leaders and educators; great how-to workshops; cutting-edge films; fun activities for kids; organic beer and wine; delicious vegetarian cuisine and diverse live music. There’s also a unique marketplace of more than 350 eco-friendly businesses—everything from all-natural body care products and organic cotton clothing to Fair Trade gifts and beautiful kitchen tiles made from renewable resources.

See the most recent developments in renewable energy and green technology; sample Fair Trade chocolate and coffee; and learn how to invest in your community, green your home and avoid products made in sweatshops.

Green Festival Facts:

Green Festival is the largest sustainability event in the world and continues to grow year after year. 
Green Festival is the only green event that screens exhibitors for their commitment to sustainability, ecological balance and social justice using Co-op America’s green business standards.
Green Festival offsets 100% of its electricity emissions with clean, renewable energy.
Green Festival walks its talk: each year it gets closer to being a zero-waste event. 

Look for Green Festival in 2009, when it will be visiting Seattle March 28 & 29; Denver May 2 & 3; and Chicago May 16 & 17.

• So Neutral Scent Lampe Berger Lamp Perfume 500 ml 17 fl oz User Reviews Send this to a friend So Neutral Scent Lampe Berger Lamp Perfume 500 ml 17 fl oz Manufacturer: Customer Rating: List Price: Varies based on product options Sale Price: View Sale Price Availibility: View Product Availability Buy Now Product Description Product Details No details are available for......
• Greenwash Of The Week: Exxon/Mobil Named "Green Company Of The Year". Wow. That's really the only word I could say when I read this article at Forbes.com. I am not sure how many ads Exxon/Mobil had to buy in the magazine to get this "award", but something smells pretty fishy. Since when can a company that denies that climate change is......
• Actual Letter from a MonaVie Distributor A reader sent me a mail saying: My wife got duped by one of these salesmen, they encouraged her to buy without my knowledge and consent a very large amount of this product and also to help sell it. The following is the email that a MonaVie distributor sent his......
• Greenwash Of The Week: 5,000 Year Old Organically-Certified Bottled Water. Talk about absurd... I saw this story last week about a new bottled water that claims to be 5,000 years old and certified organic and could not believe that it was not a joke. It's being marketed by Swedish company Malmberg, who claims that the water in each bottle fell......
• 10 cool new gadgets from CES [/caption] Las Vegas, Nevada -- Three-dimensional televisions, Internet-enabled TVs, touch-screen "tablet" computers, e-book readers and other fun new gadgets were scattered all over the enormous Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES, which ended on Sunday, is regarded as one of the best trade shows for spotting new technologies......

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Here’s a quick lesson on beans, which pack quite a powerful healthy punch (they are high in protein, and may also help protect against heart disease, diabetes, and obesity).

Kidney Beans (pictured above)
These red beans are often found in chili and contain almost as much antioxidant power as wild blueberries.

Navy Beans
These small, white beans provide high fiber and calcium, and are often used  soups such as minestrone.

Black Beans
These small black beans are related to kidney beans and help fight heart disease. They are often found in Mexican foods.

Chickpeas
These beans are a staple in Middle Eastern foods, such as hummus and falafel. They are also known as garbanzo beans (their Spanish name). The beans contain folate and selenium. Use them in soups and stir frys to add a nutty flavor.

Lima Beans
Also called butter beans, these large, white starchy beans offer potassium and selenium, and are often used in succotash.

• More Essentials for Good Health Here is a look at ten essential tips for good health, which involve diet, weight loss, good nutrition, fitness and movement and other aspects of your health. Tie these ten essential tips together and you will have a picture of good health and wellness. Essential Tip #7 - You need......
• Universal Healthcare Week: Day 2, Pros of Universal Healthcare Hey reader!  This page is somewhat older than a newer version containing both the pros and cons.  Feel free to read this post here and then check it out, or vice versa.  Thanks for reading! Welcome to day 2 of Universal Healthcare Week. Read yesterday’s post for an introduction and......
• Ten Ways To Reduce Plastic Consumption. By now you have likely heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a tragic byproduct of the plastics industry and consumerism that is an island of garbage floating in the northern Pacific Ocean. Originally the size of Texas and approaching the size of the Sun, this gargantuan pile of plastic......
• The Role of Protein in Weight Loss When it comes to the trio of protein, fat and carbs, most people tend to focus on the last two. They are demonized, championed, reviled – you name it. But in this mess, protein is usually forgotten, or lumped into a category where it doesn’t belong. Protein is vital, especially......
• Getting The Best Online Health Insurance Quote When you’re looking for the best health insurance, there are always places on the Internet that will give you what they say is the best Online Health Insurance Quote that you’ll be able to find anywhere, but that’s a tall order and one that you can really only verify with......

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Not only is October a beautiful month where I live (northern California), but it’s also a month full of awareness and events that pertain to the way I eat.

October is both Vegetarian Awareness Month and Celiac Disease Awareness Month (thus, the gluten-free blurb).

Not only that, but October 1 is also World Vegetarian Day, an event that helps launch Vegetarian Awareness Month. So try eating no meat, if only for one day.

More information about Vegetarian Awareness Month can be found here, and to get the scoop on living gluten free, click here.

And for those in northern California, head to San Francisco October 4 and 5 for World Veg Festival Weekend at Golden Gate Park’s Fair Building on 9th Avenue and Lincoln. In addition to featured speakers, there’s also a vegan dinner Saturday at 6:30 p.m., lots of international vegan cuisine and healthy food demos, live entertainment, organic athletes, and much more. There’s a suggested entrance donation of $6, and kids, seniors and students with ID are free. For more information about the event, click here.

• Flu Season is Now Open Approximately 36,000 people in the United States die from influenza every year, and more than more than 200,000 have to be admitted to the hospital because of this disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The flu is no joke! I’ve had it, complete with the coughing......
• Remote Area Medical provides free health care in U.S. Remote Area Medical (RAM), founded by Stan Brock, is a foundation that provides free medical care to remote parts of the world---including the United States. For 20 years now, RAM has provided free medical service to people in Wise County, VA via an annual "health fair" set up at the......
• U.S. News and Gluten-Free Fads???   Well, we have a free press in the U.S.  And that's good.   This also allows for our part to be one of making comments when the free press speaks out about topics dear to us in either wonderful or painful ways.   Gluten-Free Kathy alerted us that there is......
• How (and Why) Athletes Go Broke [/caption] by PABLO S. TORRE SI Recession or no recession, many NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball players have a penchant for losing most or all of their money. It doesn't matter how much they make. And the ways they blow it are strikingly similar What the hell happened here?......
• Working Out with Your Dog Both you and your dog need exercise in order to live long, healthy lives. You can kill two birds with one stone by adapting a workout routine that works for both you and your four legged companion. There are a wide variety of different ways that you can work out......

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You know how people always say that when things taste good, they’re bad for you? And when things taste bad, they’re good for you?

Well, in the case of Kardea Nutrition, food not only tastes good, but it’s also very good for you.

Kardea’s snack bars deliver 50% more heart healthy soluble fiber than found in oatmeal, and each provides 1 gram of cholesterol lowering plant sterols.

Robert Leighton created Kardea in order to enable and empower people to manage their cholesterol naturally and nutritiously. Leighton founded Kardea as part of a personal mission to lower his own cholesterol. When he was 47, Leighton found himself moving from “border line” high cholesterol to outright high cholesterol, due to both diet and genetics.

Rather than rely on medication, Leighton took his love of culinary creations and belief in the science of natural cholesterol management and founded Kardea.

Kareda’s snack bars are available in four flavors: Banana Walnut, Chai Spice, Cranberry Almond and Lemon Ginger.

Each contains 1 gram of plant sterols, 7 grams of fiber with 5 grams soluble fiber, 3 grams of viscous soluble fiber (50% more viscous soluble fiber than oatmeal), and 7 grams of protein with 3.5 grams of soy protein.

Each bar is Kosher certified, has only 150 calories, contains no trans fat, and features a lower glycemic formulation. In addition, all are vegetarian-friendly and two, Chai Spice and Banana Walnut, are vegan.

I’ve tried ‘em all, and they are all great.

The Chai Spice is subtle and not to spicy, the Banana Walnut is the perfect blend of nutty banana flavors, the Cranberry Almond is a flavorful breakfast pick me up, and the Lemon Ginger will satisfy any sweet craving.

If your local Co-Op or other grocer doesn’t carry the bars yet, you can purchase them online here.

• Avoid These Foods Every Day The occasional sinful snack isn't really going to ruin your weight loss endeavor, but the less that you eat of these particular foods, the better off you will tend to be. Why should you be opting for a food choice that is loaded with bad calories and fat, when you......
• Easy-To-Make Peanut Butter Banana Breakfast Shake I'm always on the lookout for great-tasting pre- and post-workout shakes, as well as meal replacement drinks. I'm always on the go so often have to drink my meal :) Here's a great-tasting and simple-to-make meal replacement (think BREAKFAST) - ½ a ripe banana (use a very ripe banana for......
• The 5 Best Protein Sources for Building Muscle Weight Loss Experts continuously debate over which diets are best: “low carb” or “low fat”. I am not sure which side is currently winning and frankly I don’t care. In my opinion, the macronutrients that are most important to weight loss are proteins. Benefits of Protein Protein benefits weight loss......
• Are Carbs Really That Bad? Out of every food on earth, in the past few years, there has been no other food as demonized as the ones that contain carbs. There are so many fad diets that focus on completely removing carbs from your life - but is this a smart solution? The simple answer......

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For those who eat seafood, it’s time to take a look at how that smoked salmon, lobster tail, crab legs or shrimp scampy got from the ocean to your plate.

Not only should you be aware of the mercury levels in the seafood you dine on, but also how the seafood is caught, and how that impacts the environment.

According to Blue Ocean Institute, among the best (most abundant, eco-friendly) choices are:

• Farmed clams, mussels and oysters
• Farmed talapia from the U.S.
• Wild Alaskan salmon
• Mahimahi (poll- and troll-caught)
• Yellowfin tuna (poll- and troll-caught)

In the middle group (some issues with abundance and/or fishing/farming methods and how they impact the environment):

• Farmed rainbow trout
• Swordfish (contains high levels of mercury)
• Blue, snow and tanner crab (contains high levels of mercury)
• Yellowfin tuna (canned or line-caught, contains high levels of mercury)
• Farmed shrimp in the U.S.
• Sea scallops
• Lobster
• Monkfish

The worst choices (issues including overfishing, farming methods that seriously impact the environment) are:

• Grouper (contains high levels of mercury)
• Atlantic halibut
• Atlantic cod
• Chilean sea bass (contains high levels of mercury)
• Orange roughy (contains high levels of mercury)
• Farmed slmon( contains high levels of mercuryt)
• Shrimp (imported)
• Shark (contains high levels of mercury)
• Caviar (wild sturgeon)

• Grilled shrimp cocktail Make a delicious appetizer - a grilled shrimp cocktail served with a Tunisian pesto dip. Shrimp cocktails are rather popular and common, so try grilling the shrimps instead to offer something different on the dining table. It should only take about 10 minutes of your time to prepare this wonderful......
• What Soft Drinks are Doing to Your Body By Dr. Maoshing Ni Soda, pop, cola, soft drink — whatever you call it, it is one of the worst beverages that you could be drinking for your health. As the debate for whether to put a tax on the sale of soft drinks continues, you should know how they......
• Kona Kampachi -- Sustainably Farmed Yellow Tail from Kona Blue [pics] Have you ever hear of the Kona Kampachi?  Well I think you will be hearing a lot more about it soon... The Kona Kampachi is a sashimi grade Hawaiian species of yellowtail (amberjack family and related to hamachi) with no detectable mercury or PCBs... AND IT IS SUSTAINABLE FARMED by Kona Blue.......
• Fishing Report: November 6, 2009 Lake Fishing - In Amador, a weekly plant comprised of 3,000 lbs just went in this past Tuesday. The ticket here is definitely going to be power bait. Most fish are being caught around the topmost five feet in the water here. The trout have generally been averaging around 4lbs......
• Tool Box Essentials pt 1 It does not matter where you are living, or whether you are renting or owning your home. If you have four walls as well as a roof, then you are eventually going to have something that requires repairing, installing or updating. Having the right tools makes all the difference in......

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It seems beef issues are on the rise these days.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc., Canada’s biggest food processor, is recalling meat products after health officials identified a Toronto plant as the source of food poisoning that led to four deaths.

Laboratory results linked meat products from the plant with an outbreak of listeriosis in four provinces, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Maple Leaf Foods, based in Toronto, temporarily closed its Bartor Road plant last week after a number of Sure Slice delicatessen meats tested positive for listeria, which can lead to fevers, severe headaches and nausea. The test results confirmed health officials’ suspicions that the same strain of listeria at the plant was responsible for the outbreak.

Maple Leaf said the recall will cost about C$20 million ($19.1 million) before taxes, mainly for reimbursement for returned products and to sanitize the plant. More costs may occur for advertising, communications and lost sales, it said in a statement.

Health officials said 21 cases of listeriosis have been confirmed and another 30 cases are being investigated.

• Mercury Found In Products Made With High Fructose Corn Syrup. As if we needed another reason to not buy or eat products made with high fructose corn syrup instead of real sugar: Many common foods made using commercial high fructose corn syrup contain mercury as well, researchers reported on Tuesday, while another study suggested the corn syrup itself is contaminated.......
• Brooks and Dunn Break Up The Brooks and Dunn break up was said to be timely and had no ulterior motives. According to the country music duo, they would break up after a farewell tour next year. "After 20 years of making music and riding this trail together, we have agreed as a duo......
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• More Heart Health Food Tips Heart health food tips can go a long way in improving your overall coronary health. If you want to improve the health of your heart and your over all health and well being as well, the following heart health food tips are going to come in handy: Take the time......
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In my ongoing obsession with trying to get gluten-free, I recently came across alternative flour sources via Natural Health Magazine, and I thought I would pass along some alternatives the magazine suggested.

Almond Flour: high in vitamin E and magnesium

Coconut Flour: high in protein and fiber

Chickpea Flour: rich in protein and iron

Hazelnut Flour: high in fiber and iron

Corn Flour: high in fiber, especially stone ground corn flour

Rice Flour: brown is higher in fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals than white rice flour

While gluten helps give breads and pizza crusts their doughy texture, and because it’s hard to get by without it, try substituting an alternative flour for part of the wheat flour your recipe calls for (one part alternative to three parts whole wheat) for best results.

• Way #31: Grieve the Loss of those Gluten-Contaminated Dietary Favorites and Move On In A Healthy Way Toward Gluten-Free Simplicity Way #31: Grieve the Loss of those Gluten-Contaminated Dietary Favorites and Move On In A Healthy Way Toward Gluten-Free Simplicity.   Does anyone remember the movie, "M*A*S*H"?  Well there was a scene in which one of the characters claimed he wanted to kill himself, so in order to vanquish that ambivalent......
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• Spanish Rice Recipe Its so easy. This Spanish Rice recipe tastes great. Very little prep time. I don’t think a packaged mix could be any faster. The bacon just adds great flavor. This is a great side dish. Serve it with your next Spanish or Mexican style meal. Enjoy Ingredients 4 strips......

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Eggs have been known to get a bad rap, as the cholesterol found in the yolks has been blamed for raising cholesterol levels in the body. Not so, says the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which recently found no link in healthy people between eggs and either heart disease or stroke.

In fact, eggs may even reduce your risk of cancer, as they are one of the best sources of the nutrient choline (found mostly in the yolk), and a recent study indicates that women with a high intake of choline are 24 percent less likely to get breast cancer.

Golden yolks are also high in lutein and zeaxanthin, both antioxidants that have been shown to ward off macular degeneration.

Eggs also also more satisfying than carbs, and have been shown to help lower weight in obese people. They also contain a sequence of amino acids that makes egg protein easy for the body to absorb, so they help build and repair muscles.

Egg Options
Organic: laid by chickens that aren’t fed slaughterhouse byproducts, antibiotics or additives.
Pasteurized: they were placed in warm water to kill bacteria (look for this if you’re using raw eggs).
Omega-3 Enhanced: An easy way to up your intake of heart-healthy fatty acids.
Any other labels, such as Cage Free, Free Range, Pasture Raised, etc., don’t mean the chickens were treated well, and probably cost more than they’re worth.

• My Wife's High Cholesterol Last year my wife mentioned something off-hand about having really high cholesterol. I wanted to know the details, but she was extremely good at changing the subject. I can't fault her, it's not a fun topic. The common reaction is to ignore it and hope it goes away. This past......
• Healthy Monounsaturated Fats The fact about fats is that we all need them. Fats are capable of helping in nutrient absorption as well as cell maintenance and nerve transmission. When we consume fats in unhealthy amounts, they can contribute to heart disease, weight gain and even certain types of cancer. All fats are......
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• Effort & Hard Work is the key to Magic! If you want to hack reality, nothing works better than good old effort and hard work! You want to do well in school? - Study! You want to become a great artist or musician? - Practice! You want to write a great book? Write some crappy books to get them......

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It’s that time of year again where I live. Time for the California State Fair. And as if the heat and the crowds aren’t enough to turn a stomach, there’s also the ability to get pretty much anything deep fried. Including frog legs.

At Chicken Charlie’s food stands, fair-goers have their choice of deep-fried items for sale, including White Castle hamburgers, Twinkies, Oreos, Pop Tarts, Spam, frog legs, cheese ravioli, avocado, onion strings, zucchini, artichokes and mushrooms.

Just what the world needs–more fried food.

• Eat These Foods Every Day Losing weight and getting healthy is about a lot more than simply avoiding foods that are high in fat. Many people unfortunately make the mistake of removing higher calorie foods from their diet without replacing those foods with healthier substitutions. Starving yourself, though it may seem to be, is never......
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• Easy Way to Save Money and Calories: Eat Before You Play    photo by destinelee There is no shortage of places to go out to eat in our country.  I'm continually amazed at how much food is incorporated into all forms of entertainment. You can't go anywhere without a hotdog stand, a concession stand, or even a full-blown restaurant stuck inside......
• What Sucks The Budget Of Working People. The following is a guest post from The Shark Investor You don't need to be frugal at home. Taking short showers and putting energy saving lights is admirable, but it doesn't have big impact on your financial balance. The flaws of your daily budget are elsewhere - in your office......

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