Empowered Mommies

Check out Empowered Mommies for an interview with yours truly, plus some of my favorite recipes from my first cookbook. Empowered Mommies is also sponsoring a giveaway here.

Soy: Good or EVIL . . .

A couple of interesting commentaries on the debate about whether soy is the EVIL FOOD that Westin A. Price organization makes it out to be or is soy good for you. Check out this article in the Guardian and this Care to Causes article.

Genetically Engineered Chili Peppers!

Looks like the next food on the GE agenda is New Mexico chili peppers, which inspired the award-winning film, “Genetic Chile,” which examines how corporate ownership of genetically modified organisms has changed traditional foods. I haven't seen the film yet, but this article gives some great information about what is happening with GMOs and why we should be concerned. Click here to read the article.

Vegan Crunk

The Vegan Crunk likes Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love. Check out her blog post about her experience making vegan Rocky Road Ice Cream.

Deja vu

I had a deja vu moment this week. With my first book Simply Natural Baby Food, I took my first royalty money to buy bunk beds for my daughters. It was such a great moment for me when the results of all that work actually allowed me to give something special to my family. Well, here I am seven years later with my royalty check from Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth will Love and I bought a new dining table. Goodbye rickety table and chairs missing rungs!

Almost totally local meal

Romaine lettuce from our garden, eggs from our hens, and everything else from Rutiz Farms in Arroyo Grande. I think the only thing not local is the veganaisse on the potato salad!

Schwarzenegger helping hens

By 2015, egg farmers In California have to get rid of battery cages and allow hens to be able to “stand up, lie down, turn around and fully extend their limbs without touching one another or the sides of an enclosure.” Just this week, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed a bill that extends this stipulation to any egg producers who want to do business in California. This is progress . . .

Click here for the full article.

I Found Some Great Lunch Boxes

Before I went the online route for lunch boxes, I decided to try Target and I am so glad I did. I found these great lunch boxes in the seasonal section . . . I guess they are meant for summer but they were exactly what I wanted. They are plenty big enough for stainless steel water bottle, thermos, and side dishes; bright and colorful; and they are soft so then they are not in use can be stuffed in a backpack.

I also got some stainless steel water bottles but am not quite so thrilled. They are flip top which the girls like but they do leak a little if they are not straight up. The only flip top bottles I've found that don't leak are from Thermos so I guess I will have to order some from them.

Anyway, hooray for great lunch boxes!

More on the agave nectar debate

Here's an interesting article on the allegations against agave nectar. It seems to be well researched and along the lines with what I had found when I wrote an article a couple of years ago.

Agave nectar is one of the sweeteners I use and I really like it for liquids like lemonade and ice cream because it dissolves so well and doesn't change the flavor of the food. As I've said before, any sweetener that is over-consumed is not healthy but in moderation, I think agave nectar is a good choice.

Special Food Groups ezine

If you have food allergies, you may want to check out the ezine Special Food Groups. The new issue was just posted and I have an article on making dairy-free ice cream.

You'll also find a few of my favorite recipes including Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream and Lemon Thyme Sorbet.