Bottled Water … Tanking?

Get off the bottle. That seems to be the message. Chicago: From 1 January this year, the government of the city of Chicago implemented a five cent tax on bottled water sales to discourage consumers from the product. San Francisco: In 2007, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom also announced...

Dehydrated Water

Here’s the problem for us The average American consumes 6 to 18g of salt daily … but the body needs only about 0.5g of salt each day. And that excess salt (sodium chloride) can lead to increased risk of high blood pressure and stroke. We know this. In fact,...

United States of Obesity

Welcome to the United States of Obesity. According to a new study entitled “Will All Americans Become Overweight or Obese?” (read the abstract here), these scientists give us a flawless demonstration of absurdity of logic, abstracted from reality. Here is how it goes: The current US trends indicate an...

Go Outside and Play

My mom used to tell me this — go outside and play!! She probably wasn’t thinking about my vitamin D levels, but just wanted to have a temporary island of peace in the house. But it turns out that mom’s advice was correct for a good number of reasons....

Grilled Balsamic Pork Chops

  You’ll Need · 8 boneless pork chops, about ¾-inch thick · 12 oz (1 ½ cups) balsamic vinaigrette dressing Preparing the pork Place chops in large, resealable bag. Pour vinaigrette dressing over. Seal bag and refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours. Cooking the pork Prepare medium-hot grill. Remove...

Legislating Color

After studies emerged linking synthetics in our food to hyperactive behavior in children, everyone said “Huh. I guess that figures.” Now, Europe taking a second look at chemical dyes, and pending legislation would have products with any of six artificial colors come with a health warning. That said, “it’s...

Mediterranean Scallops

  You’ll Need 1 tbsp olive oil 4 minced clove garlic 1/2 cup onion, chopped 8 large plum tomatoes, peeled/seeded/chopped juice from 2 lemons hot sauce to taste 1 1/2 lbs sea scallops 2 tbsp fresh basil, minced 1 tbsp fresh oregano, minced   Directions: In a large skillet...

Natural? Define “Natural”.

Everything is so confusing. What does “natural” or “artificial” mean? For example, elderberry ice cream has added color from anthocyanins that were isolated from elderberries. THAT makes sense. The added color is considered natural since the elderberry color would be expected in an elderberry ice cream. Now it gets...

Dye Supply Gone Dry?

In 2007, a late frost decimated European elderberry crops. Although this crop, and so the natural coloring it produced, were grown in other areas of the world, it drove the cost up significantly. This kind of cost craziness that can vary from year to year, makes the industry and...

Dyes Are Going Native

Here is an indication of the change we are in the middle of. Back in 2005, Nestle promised to remove all artificial coloring from its products. They vowed to switch to only natural alternatives, but had a real issue finding a replacement for their Brilliant Blue (used in Smarties)....

Dyes In Your Food

Food companies LOVE artificial colors. They are consistent, you can make them in industrial sized tanker truck loads, and because it has nothing to do with living things, it is not subject to changes in the environment or any messy crop fluctuations. Made to eat, but unrelated to food....

Where’s the Beef? Recalled.

Think back. Did you purchase ground beef at Whole Foods, between June 2 and August 6? If so, Whole Foods will not have had a chance to recall that burger in time, you should toss it out, and ask for a refund. Just last month, this company, Nebraska Beef...