I’ve had a horrible diet most of my life [think Diet Coke and Doritos], until the past few years since I switched to organic, whole foods. No wonder my health went down the toilet — um, pardon the metaphor. But I really had no idea how delicious healthy eating could be. Still working on eating more vegetables because I get tired standing in the kitchen preparing them, but I’m getting there.

Below is an excellent article from the NY Times. Obviously, not all of us can tolerate all of these foods, so start slow if you haven’t tried something before. Or even if not–I just realized a few days ago that I’m allergic to cinnamon, for instance. Gah. I LOVE cinnamon and had been putting it daily in my breakfast quinoa, herbal tea, and canned pumpkin [on the list and a real treat, btw].

The 11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating

Nutritionist and author Jonny Bowden has created several lists of healthful foods people should be eating but aren’t. But some of his favorites, like purslane, guava and goji berries, aren’t always available at regular grocery stores. I asked Dr. Bowden, author of “The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth,” to update his list with some favorite foods that are easy to find but don’t always find their way into our shopping carts. Here’s his advice.

• Beets: Think of beets as red spinach, Dr. Bowden said, because they are a rich source of folate as well as natural red pigments that may be cancer fighters.
  How to eat: Fresh, raw and grated to make a salad. Heating decreases the antioxidant power.
• Cabbage: Loaded with nutrients like sulforaphane, a chemical said to boost cancer-fighting enzymes.

I understand cabbage can be hard on the digestive system, so I don’t eat it as often as I’d like, but my favorite way to fix it is to saute it in some olive oil with salt and pepper until soft and slightly caramelized. Yum! Of course, I can’t do anything food-related moderately: I fix up a whole plate of it when I want to pig out, and feel hardly any guilt at all.

How do you like to fix your favorite healthy foods?

I can’t believe I am voluntarily eating organic celery as a snack — and loving it. Think I’ll go get another stalk. Yum!

I tell ya, the FDA is not smelling like a rose lately…

FDA: Is the Tomato to Blame for Salmonella Outbreak? Is It Not?…

Three weeks after the Food and Drug Administration first warned consumers to avoid certain types of tomatoes for fear they would carry an uncommon type of Salmonella, known as Saintpaul, the number of people getting infected is rising with each day passing by, making U.S. health authorities question whether tomatoes are the real or only cause for the outbreak.

Another reason to grow your own!

Food banks face high costs but feeding more people

“The way it’s going, we’re going to have a food disaster pretty soon,” said Phyllis Legg, interim executive director of the Merced Food Bank, which serves 43 food pantries throughout foreclosure-ravaged Merced County.

Food banks across the country are in similar straits: While demand is up, supplies and donations are down. The food banks, like their customers, also are suffering from high gas prices and struggling with the impact of rising food prices on their operations. Some have had to cut back on how much food they give, or how often.

“If gas keeps going up, it’s going to be catastrophic in every possible way,” said Ross Fraser, a spokesman for America’s Second Harvest.

I really just wanted an excuse to post my version of porn–I could look at that arm all day–but I also want to affirm my intention to bake my first loaf of bread, without a breadmaking machine, this week. Meanwhile, enjoy the arm.

[Update: Now that I think about it, I realize I should have married a baker. How stupid of me!]

Against the grain

A Pennsylvania bulk food wholesaler says rice and wheat aren’t the only foods in short supply.

1. Go here and read Greenpa’s whole post about how to take action in the global food crisis.

2. Click and read all the links in the post. If you didn’t know things were this bad, educate yourself now. Stop to think about how things got this way.

3. Write to your representatives. Blog. Tell everybody you know. Express your outrage. Follow the other suggestions at the end of Greenpa’s post.

4. Don’t stop.

Don’t believe it? Cartoon creator Mike Adams wrote an article that just might change your mind at NaturalNews.com.

Are you and your children eating GMO food? The True Food Shopping Guide