White Cheddar Beer Mac and Cheese
(from my Instagram: ashmelzorn)Back in October when my family took a trip to Oregon we visited Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon. We began our meal with their Beer Cheese and pretzel dip which was insanely memorable. The cheese was a melted white cheddar laced with beer and there was coarse stone ground mustard rimming the bowl. When you swiped the pretzel through the mustard and into the cheese it was phenomenal. When it came time to make our Thanksgiving menu, I mentioned turning the beer cheese dip into a mac and cheese. I’ve had mac and cheese with…
The Difference Between Added Sugar and Natural Sugar
Sugar is an ingredient we all know that we should be eating sparingly — too much sugar is never good for you. But there are actually two very different types of “sugar”: naturally occurring sugars and added sugar. So what’s the difference between the two? And is one healthier for you than the other? Added sugar includes any sugars or sweeteners that are added to…
Our Picks for the Best Healthy Pasta Sauces
It’s hard to beat the ease of opening a jar (unless, of course, it’s screwed on super-tight) to help bring pasta night together in a flash. To find a sauce that’s good for you, here’s what you need to know.
Willpower is Overrated
Emphasizing momentary failures hinders long-term weight-loss success.
Friday Five: Five habits of happy eaters
Posted in Motivating MessageMotivationTips & TricksVideoIs eating the cause of any unhappiness in your life? Does the mere thought of “what to eat” feel so overwhelming, that it’s discouraging to you? Does the pressure of “eating well” or “following the rules” build anxiety within you every time you sit down
Dole Recalls Bagged Salads Due to Potential Listeria Contamination
Nutrition and You! – (c) Nutrition and You! – Read entire story here.
For the Love of Food
For The Love of Food Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup. This is one of the best link roundups in a long while. Learn everything you’ve always wanted to know about protein and mortality, the real reasons habits are hard to build, and new guidelines for sugar intake. Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato, Google+ and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you. (And yes, I took that pepper heart pic…
Avoid Processed Snacks With These Tried and Tested Recipes
Elissa recently started pre-school, so I’ve been on the hunt for new and inspiring snack ideas to send with her each day.In fact, I tried four new recipes this week.I was looking for ideas that were a bit more exciting than sandwiches, fruit or dairy foods.The problem is, I didn’t actually succeed in finding snacks that were all that lunch-box friendly.However, I’m not too bothered about that because I did find four new recipes that got a big tick of approval from both my girls!So, while these probably won’t make it into Elissa’s lunchbox, they will definitely…
Change Isn’t Easy… Choose Your Hard!
Do you often feel you’re fighting an uphill battle with yourself as you try to reach your goals?I fully understand that.Perhaps you’re full of “buts” as to why you’re not in the best shape you could be…but I work long hours. ..but I’ve just had a baby. ..but I’ve got no support at home. Yes, it’s easy to come up with a list as long as, well, forever, about how we are too busy, too distracted…
Grapefruit Beauty Products
Essence of this zingy fruit enlivens body scrubs, suds, and creams.
Orange Chicken Makeover
Sweet, spicy and flavorful – a lighter alternative to the popular Chinese fast food take-out dish and it's quick and easy to make!I had a request a few weeks ago to make over this popular American-Chinese fast food dish which is usually battered and deep fried. To be honest, this is not a dish I would order because I'm not a fan of battered sweet Chinese dishes, but I was happy to tackle a lighter version. My solution was skip all that frying, and make a flavorful orange sauce. The outcome was great, and my husband even gave it two thumbs up!I served this over…
Obesity and Depression: Are They Connected?
Those with excess weight often suffer from depression.That’s no secret.What we’re unsure about, though, is which comes first.Does being seriously overweight directly lead to depression in some people?Or, does depression cause excess weight gain?Perhaps it doesn’t really matter in any practical sense anyway, but depression and weight gain certainly seem to go hand-in-hand.Researchers suggest the two conditions are indeed interdependent, but there isn’t any way of knowing which came first.One study found that women with excess weight were 27 percent more likely to develop depression than women of normal weight.In another study, researchers found that depressed people tend to gain weight faster than …
Trashcan Turkey and Black Bean Nachos
Yield:Serves 2Ingredients 2 oz. blue corn tortilla chips (lowest sodium possible) 1/2 cup ground and seasoned lean turkey 1 Roma tomato, chopped 1/2 bell pepper, chopped 1/4 cup black beans (if canned, drain and rinse) 2 oz. grated Monterrey Jack cheese InstructionsClick Here to see the rest of the instructions
Strawberry Custard Tarts
Farmers markets are always a wonderful source of inspiration, and a visit to my local farmers market on Sunday was no exception. We arrived home with a wonderful bounty of beautifully sweet unwaxed apples, a bunch of beetroot, potatoes, beans, roma tomatoes, purple carrots, asparagus, strawberries and the biggest bunch of basil I’ve ever seen. Continue reading Strawberry Custard Tarts or leave a comment
Blue Sky and Bento Lunch
We have officially had the warmest and driest winter on record in California and although I love the sunshine and blue skies the lack of rain is really affecting the crops. We grow A LOT of things in California. I’m sure the prices at the supermarket will soon reflect the drought conditions. It was 84 for a high today and tomorrow it’s supposed to be 90. It’s crazy, it’s March! 90 degrees?!Well despite it being still “winter” I did what you should do on a Saturday with …
There’s So Much In This World We Can Learn
Breakfast to BedToday marks eleven years since we lost one of the most loving and inspirational voices of our time: Mr Rogers. I remember watching episode after episode of “Mr Rogers’ Neighborhood” while eating my rice and milk. (rice, milk, and honey was one of my favorite breakfasts.) I loved his lessons about confidence, peace, and love. I was fascinated by his love of books, as it was so similar to my own, and his vast collection of awesome zip-up cardigans. He…
Livi-isms
Me: “It’s coffee time for mama” Liv: “It’s waffle time for ME” While grabbing all of her baby dolls out of her crib, “I’ve got my hands full!” After Tom gave her a bath, she was bundled up on the bed in a towel while he got her jammies together. Me: “Oh!! Don&#…
Girls Getaway in the Mountains
March 2nd marked my SEVEN year anniversary of living in Colorado… and for those of you in Tennessee, can you believe it?? It seems like just yesterday that I packed up all my essentials and moved across country! Seven years later, I am so happy I made the decision to move! Now, even though I’ve lived here for that long… I finally did something that is VERY Colorado for the first time. I finally went to the mountains in the winter! Now, I’ve spent a bit of time up in the …
Parmesan Orange Sweet Potato Hash Brown
Yield:4Ingredients 1 medium sweet potato (about 2 cups grated) 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1 orange, zested 1 Tbsp. whole grain flour 1 tsp. Kosher salt 1 tsp. cracked black pepper olive oil cooking spray InstructionsClick Here to see the rest of the instructions
Ground zero for climate change? Corporate culprits in Charlotte
A rally in Charlotte last week against a corporation driving climate change. Photo: Sally KneidelLast year during the DNC, I heard activist leaders refer to Charlotte as “ground zero for climate change.” I was startled by that. I grew up in Charlotte and the city has seldom surprised me. But that made me curious. So I decided to get more active in Greenpeace-Charlotte, and started reading the websites of NC WARN and Rainforest Action Network (RAN). Turns out, the culprits are very specific. Climate activists are focused primarily on two corporate giants. Duke Energy and Bank of America are both headquartered in Charlotte, and …
Hey Hollywood! Doomie’s Pop Up Dinner is gonna be poppin’!
Photo courtesy of Doomie’s Facebook page. Doomie’s Home Cookin’ in Hollywood has a plethora of seitanic foods (their secret menu item the vegan “Big Mac” has a cult following), so imagine my surprise when I saw that they’ll be doing a gluten-free menu! And SIX COURSES?! People, this is a don’t-miss! Email DoomieVeg@gmail.com to make your reservation.
Introduction to speciesism
by Sarah Albonesi WHAT IS SPECIESISM? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines speciesism as “prejudice or discrimination based on species; especially discrimination against animals,” or “the assumption of human superiority on which speciesism is based.” In other words, just as sexism is discrimination against someone of a different sex, and racism is discrimination against someone of a certain race, speciesism is discrimination against members of other species. SOCIETY AND SPECIESISM While much of the developed world today strives to prevent discrimination against groups within the human species (such as women…
