This is a HUGE topic.  But I like to keep things simple, so let’s break it down…

There are 3 categories of soy foods.

A:  they are good for you without negative health effects:

• Miso paste (the refrigerated kind please), Tempeh, Natto

(more…)

Bottom Line:

Avoid the Junk. Eat Real Food. I tell people they should make it a rule to stop buying anything that has the following ingredients:

Partially hydrogenated oil, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, aspartame, MSG, enriched flour, nitrites, food coloring and preservatives.

Well, there are a few more things I’d like to add to the list of things to avoid, but start here with these and notice how you’re grocery shopping experience will change… you can usually find healthy alternatives but it may require you to seek out your local health food store. (more…)

This post is an answer to a question that was posted after someone viewed our “popcorn” video.

Stove top popcorn is definitely better than microwaved popcorn but air popping is the best because you don’t have to use oil.  If the stove top is all you’ve got then make sure to use an oil that can take the heat, like tea seed oil:

http://www.republicoftea.com/templates/detail.asp?navID=406
If you ever see  your oils start to “smoke” in the pan then that means the heat is too high and the oil has been heated to its smoke point.  This is a bad thing, the oil has been damaged and could be very unhealthy and toxic (that’s another reason fried foods are so bad for us!). (more…)

Hey man, we had a lot of views to our little video on “popcorn”.
Thanks for all the nice comments.  Glad to hear that so many people are interested in eating more healthful foods.  Here’s a link to our video on how to make popcorn.

http://vimeo.com/3179242

If that link above doesn’t work try this

www.dirtsalad.com (more…)

Glenn cooked me the most delicious, healthy meal last night for Valentine’s Day. And he did it all on his own, without recipes and without going to cooking school.  This is a man who when we first moved in together his idea of ‘cooking’ was to heat up a veggie burger, or maybe make some pasta with jarred tomato sauce. He has watched me cook a few things (like you can do by watching our videos -more coming soon-), and listened to me talk about which ingredients are better to use (like you will read here on my blog) and he has gradually transformed himself into a healthy cook.

Ok, so here’s what he made for me last night…

Basmati Brown Rice (no recipe, just cook 1 cup rice in 2 cups water with a 5-inch piece of kombu seaweed and a dash of salt.  we have a rice cooker, but otherwise on stovetop it takes 40 minutes).

Sauteed onion, green garlic, ginger, shiitake mushrooms, burdock, carrots and yellow squash.  Garnished with green onions.

Red Cabbage Salad marinated with Umeboshi plum vinegar and hot sesame oil.

Orange Juice and Mellow Miso Sauce (simply just whisk the two together until ‘gravy’ like).

Field Roast Seitan “Celebration Roast” – ok, this he bought and just reheated in a pan.

Homemade Kombucha (look for recipe beverage tag in another post).

www.cancerproject.org

www.edenfoods.com

www.thechinastudy.com
www.whfoods.com

You can decide for yourself after reading this article (follow the link below).  I’ll give you a hint though, NO!  Not even to heat up water.  Get rid of it, or at least move it out of the kitchen so you aren’t tempted to use it.  you can easily cook and reheat everything you eat on your stovetop or in a regular oven.  For reheating food like rice dishes or pasta, place a tablespoon of water in the bottom of your pan (preferably not aluminum or scratched up teflon) and then place the food you wish to reheat in the pan.  Cover with a lid and heat over medium heat for a few minutes.  The water prevents the food from sticking to the bottom of the pan.  Other items like lasagna or burritos (made with whole grains of course) can be reheated in the oven.  Wrap them in unbleached parchment paper to keep them from drying out.  ok, go!

http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/sc/0601/sc0601-microwave.html