Interview and GIVEAWAY

Check out Exhale for an interview with yours truly -- plus a giveaway for my new nondairy ice cream cookbook Lick It!

New study shows GM foods DO pose health risks

A study released on May 19, 2009 by the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) found that "several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food consumption including infertility, immune dysregulation, accelerated aging, dysregulation of genes associated with cholesterol synthesis, insulin regulation, cell signaling, and protein formation, and changes in the liver, kidney, spleen and gastrointestinal system."

They are finding this so serious that they are asking that:

• "Physicians to educate their patients, the medical community, and the public to avoid GM foods when possible and provide educational materials concerning GM foods and health risks.


• Physicians to consider the possible role of GM foods in the disease processes of the patients they treat and to document any changes in patient health when changing from GM food to non-GM food.


• Our members, the medical community, and the independent scientific community to gather case studies potentially related to GM food consumption and health effects, begin epidemiological research to investigate the role of GM foods on human health, and conduct safe methods of determining the effect of GM foods on human health.


• For a moratorium on GM food, implementation of immediate long term independent safety testing, and labeling of GM foods, which is necessary for the health and safety of consumers."

The most common GM foods in the US are corn, soy, canola , and cottonseed oil. Avoid products that contain these ingredients unless they are organic. Here is the AAEM report.

Spread the word . . . 

amazon review

Now I don't mind an honest review of my book -- even if it's negative. I don't expect that my books will be for everyone and that's okay. But I do mind when someone posts a scathing review based on a couple of random pages they saw thru the 'search this book' feature on amazon.com.  Someone posted that my book is full of unhealthy coconut milk recipe and that how could she eat ice cream every day if it had so much fat in it . . . . well -- first of all, I never expected that someone would eat ice cream every day. Full fat, low fat or no fat, that's a lot of sweets to be eating. Second, though the book does have a lot of recipes that use coconut milk in them -- that's what makes them so rich and creamy -- it also has lots of recipe for low fat ice creams, frozen yogurts, and sorbets as well as healthy fruit sauces and toppings. In addition, coconut milk is a healthy plant-based fat (we do need good fats in our diet), and even so my recipes are lower in fat than most dairy ice creams.

So  . . . if you have a copy of Lick It!, please post an honest review based on having actually seen the book.

Vegan Lavender Truffles

Some friends are coming over on Saturday to watch the movie Chocolat. I've been wanting to try my hand at truffles and this seemed like a good excuse.

I steeped lavender buds in coconut milk for 30 minutes. Then I strained out the lavender, reheated the coconut milk and mixed in the chocolate. Stirred until smooth and then chilled the chocolate until it was firm. I formed the chocolate into balls and placed them in the refrigerator while I melted white chocolate chips. The while chocolate wouldn't melt smoothly so I added a little oil and then it melted nicely. I dipped the dark chocolate balls into the white chocolate but the balls were melting too much. I put the balls into the freezer for 10 minutes and tried again and that worked well. I also rolled some truffles in cocoa powder instead of dipping them. Then I chilled the truffles for about half an hour in the refrigerator and YUM!

The only problem will be hiding these from my family until Saturday night . . . .

Grow Your Own Wheat

It's easier than you might think to grow your own wheat and transform it to flour -- check out this great article with instructions on how to do just that.

How to avoid GE Sugar

According to the Organic Consumers Association, more than 70 companies have signed a pledge promising to avoid using sugar from genetically modified sugar beets "wherever possible." Unlabeled and untested GE sugar, derived from Monsanto's GE sugar beets, is now laced into hundreds of (non-organic) brand-name products. OCA and critics of genetic engineering have raised concerns that the modified beets could produce food allergies, threaten wildlife, and spread herbicide resistance or other modified traits to closely related species. See the list of companies that refuse to use GE sugar in their products.

Lick It! Giveaway

Check out the Vegan Appetite blog to enter a giveaway for Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love.