Eat

It happened in 2004. I was living in Oregon at the time, attending my first year of college. I was surrounded by people who cared not only about what they ate but what it could do for their bodies and their well-being as well as where their food was coming from. While I was fortunate to grow up in a household where wholesome food was always served, that was more of an accident than anything. This was simply how we ate and frankly, I thought that was how everyone else ate, too.

It’s come to my attention that not many people know how to cook or eat an artichoke. I’ve made artichokes for friends throughout the past year and they’ve all needed an explanation on how to eat this complex — but worth it! — vegetable. While the artichoke may look intimidating, it’s actually a pretty easy dish to cook, and eating it can feel like a fun activity, especially when several people are involved and throwing leaves into the same bowl.

There are plenty of good reasons to keep track of what we eat. Recording our daily intake even for just one week can provide benefits, whether we’re counting calories, engaging in athletic training, dealing with gastrointestinal issues, feeling off balance or simply curious.

Last week, I talked about the importance of adding nutrients to your coffee, and how to get the most out of your morning coffee ritual. This week, I've added another recipe that is vegan and milder. Enjoy!

Hemp Milk Cinnamon Latte

(A milder, vegan blend)

1. Brew your favorite organic coffee or espresso

2. Into the blender add 1 Tablespoon Hemp seeds and 2-4oz of water.

3. Blend for about 20 seconds to create Hemp Milk base.

I’ve never been a serious carnivore; red meat stopped making its way into my diet by the time I was seven years old, and white meat only made up a small portion after that. But when I finally disciplined myself into what has now become five ongoing years of vegetarianism, I suddenly noticed some major changes. Here are five things I witnessed just a few months after making the switch:

Opinions about industrial food may vary if the one opining is a pessimist or optimist, independent observer or corporate spokesperson. Media onslaughts about industrial foods might invite apathy—for some peace of mind—if only until the next barrage of bad news.

All kinds of foods have been the subject of alarming news reports concerning Big Agra and unhealthy food production. Not all problems with industrial food production are limited to instances of inhumane treatment of animals or presence of disease causing microbes on meats and vegetables processed in factories.

Children love to cook!  

Increasingly, we see more cooking incorporated into curriculum at schools. Jamie Oliver, the British celebrity chef, has been tremendously influential in educating the way schoolchildren view cooking.  Michelle Obama has made exercise and nutrition in schools a priority.

Pre-cooking meals can be a great way to eat nutritional, affordable, and organic food on the go! Each week, I’ll provide a recipe for a few days’ worth of pre-cooked goodness. Each recipe will include vegetarian and gluten-free options. To read more about the benefits of pre-cooking your meals at home, click here.

Many people love their morning cup of coffee and couldn’t fathom getting through their day without it. While there are some known health benefits to coffee, most people don’t know how to get the most out of this morning ritual. They negate any health benefits by taking it alone on an empty stomach or combining it with too much sugar, artificial sweeteners, and creamers. Instead you can make your morning cup quite delicious and health promoting – it’s all about what you put in it!

Food labels and packaging serve more than one purpose: shoppers read labels primarily to decipher nutrition information and ingredients lists while manufacturers use words on packaging like “healthy” and “natural” as advertising tools to sell products. But such claims are not clearly defined.