For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week romantic meals help you eat less, why you should buy organic meat, and how to fight holiday weight gain.

Want to see all my favorite links? 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 myself).

Links of the week

• CANDLELIGHT, TABLECLOTHS CAN HELP CUT FOOD INTAKE <<Want to eat less? Turn off the TV, light some candles, put on some pretty music and actually enjoy your meal. Seriously guys, you can do this. (Dr. Weil)
• 3 insidious reasons we gain weight during the holidays (and how to fight them) <<You’re likely to gain a small amount of weight over this holiday season and never lose it. Here’s some helpful tips to prevent the years from stacking up on your belly. (Weighthacker)
• Top 9 Most Important Foods to Buy Organic <<This goes beyond the popular “Dirty Dozen” lists of fruit and vegetables, and includes meat, dairy, eggs, etc. (Mark’s Daily Apple)
• Looking for antibiotic-resistant bacteria? Try raw pork <<Following up on the last article, I would add organic pork to Mark’s list. (Grist)
• The Hater’s Guide To The Williams-Sonoma Catalog <<This is beyond hilarious. Not for those with delicate sensibilities, but if you love crude humor as much as I do you’ll be in stitches. (DeadSpin)
• How to Overhaul Your Diet <<Some really solid advice, if you’re new to the whole healthy eating thing. (Nutrition Diva)
• Telomere Lengths Predict Life Expectancy in the Wild, Research Shows <<For those interested in the science of aging, this is really fascinating. (ScienceDaily)
• A Quick and Easy Way to Estimate Portion Size <<I’m not sure how accurate this is, but it doesn’t look too far off base. It also seems super convenient. (Livestrong)
• Active Lifestyle Boosts Brain Structure and Slows Alzheimer’s Disease <<A more thorough study than most. Get that exercise, kids! (ScienceDaily)
• spinach salad with warm bacon vinaigrette <<I was just this week thinking about how tasty those warm spinach and bacon salads are, and this pops up. This is a great way to shift back to greens from the turkey and stuffing of last week. (smitten kitchen)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week, artificial butter flavor linked to Alzheimer’s, the value of “cheat day,” and why to vote for GMO labels.

Want to see all my favorite links? 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 myself).

Links of the week

• Big Food puts its back into fighting GMO labeling in California <<Whether you believe GMOs are safe or not, labeling is a good idea. Yes on 37. (Grist)
• Dear Mark: Should I Increase Carb Intake for Weight Loss? <<Great article, particularly for those of you interested in “cheat day.” (Mark’s Daily Apple)
• Americans Gaining More Weight Than They Say <<Haha, science calls BS of the week on us! Turns out we’re lying to ourselves about how fat we are. Of course this problem is easy to solve with a FitBit Aria. (ScienceDaily)
• The Terrible Tragedy of the Healthy Eater <<Ever obsess over the healthfulness of your food? You’ll adore this parody. (Northwest Edible Life)
• The last days of the low-fat diet fad <<I must have missed this story when it originally came out, but it’s worth reading. (Grist)
• Dieting vs. Exercise for Weight Loss <<Hint: You need both, but mostly diet. (NY Times)
• High-carb diet tied to breast cancer risk for some <<If you read the fine print, by “high-carb” they mean lots of processed food. (Medline)
• 20 TASTY APHRODISIACS TO PUT SIZZLE IN YOUR SEX LIFE <<Don’t take these too literally, but it’s a fun read. (Ecosalon)
• Artificial Butter Flavoring Ingredient Linked to Key Alzheimer’s Disease Process <<This doesn’t prove a direct cause, but it should give you pause about all the random chemicals in processed foods and the things we don’t know they are doing. (ScienceDaily)
• Clams in a light fennel and shallot broth <<Looks and sounds amazing. I’m in. (Cannelle et Vanille)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

A scary new link between BPA and breast cancer, a fascinating new discovery about HDL and how one simple habit can help you live 6 extra years.

Want to see all my favorite links? 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.

Links of the week

• BPA Effects Seen in Monkey Mammary Glands <<BPA (the scary chemical in plastic bottles and the lining of cans) can increase breast density (i.e. risk of breast cancer) in monkeys that have been exposed in the womb. Scary stuff. (ScienceDaily)
• Eating Fast Increases Diabetes Risk <<The study didn’t say the reason, but it is likely because fast eating usually results in overeating. So yes, it pays to learn to become a slow eater. (ScienceDaily)
• Some HDL, or ‘Good’ Cholesterol, May Not Protect Against Heart Disease <<For those interested in the biochemistry of heart disease, this is an absolutely fascinating new discovery regarding HDL. Looks like current tests really aren’t sensitive enough. (ScienceDaily)
• Advantage of Body Fat (Video) <<A really interesting perspective on the advantages of body fat for older people. (Dr. Weil)
• Regular Jogging Shows Dramatic Increase in Life Expectancy <<Want to live an extra 6 years? Of course you do. Though right now the finding is just a correlation, it might be worth taking up jogging. (ScienceDaily)
• Bans on School Junk Food Pay Off in California <<There’s really no reason for junk food to be in schools, kids can get plenty of it everywhere else (though apparently, they don’t). (NYTimes)
• For Healthier Eating, Keep Fruits, Veggies Within Reach <<Turns out you’ll eat healthier spontaneously if healthier food is near you. Go figure. (Medline)
• Eating More Foods Rich in Omega-3s May Lower Alzheimer’s Risk: Study <<Have I told you to eat more fish lately? Oh good. (Medline)
• In Sitting Still, a Bench Press for the Brain <<Though I question how much neuroscience the author of this article really understands (“so-called gray and white matter”?, didn’t know that was up for debate), the findings on the power of mediation for cognitive enhancement are still pretty interesting. (NYTimes)
• Seared Sugar Snap Peas <<I’ve never done much with snap peas except eat them raw. This looks delicious (though I’d leave out the sugar). (Simply Recipes)

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week we explore how vegetables make you prettier, a consensus on what’s killing us and why you don’t walk enough.

Want to see all my favorite links? 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.

Links of the week

• A reversal on carbs <<So now pretty much everyone (including the nutrition departments at Harvard and Tufts) agrees that fat isn’t bad and processed carbohydrates are the cause of all our problems (though I would add lack of veggies and exercise as well). Took long enough. (LA Times)
• Don’t Just Sit There <<In case you were wondering why I mentioned exercise above. (NY Times)
• Why We Don’t Walk Anymore (plus a Primal Health Challenge) <<I average about 14,000 steps per day according to my Fitbit and Fuelband. How about you? (Mark’s Daily Apple)
• Superfruit, or just a plain old Clark Kent fruit? <<Though I’ve been saying this for years, thank you LA Times for calling BS of the week on superfruit.
• Beauty might be a matter of dietary makeup <<This is not the first study I’ve seen saying that eating vegetables makes you prettier. And clearly it’s true, look at you guys! (LA Times)
• A family who eats together, eats better <<This has been shown over and over again. Dinner may sound trivial, but it’s really a big deal. (National Post)
• Mixing Weight Training and Aerobics <<One of the most interesting articles I’ve ever read on the pros and cons of doing cardio and strength training in the same day. (NY Times)
• Eating Fish, Chicken, Nuts May Lower Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease <<Diet is actually pretty important in preventing Alzheimer’s disease. If being thin doesn’t motivate you enough to eat well, this should. (ScienceDaily)
• Nutritionist’s Notebook: Estimating nutrient requirements <<It’s impossible to know exactly how much of each nutrient you need. Also, the way we got the vague numbers we do have is exceptionally creepy. (Food Politics)
• Beautiful chart tells you how to eat seasonal (in the U.K., at least) <<Cool, right? (Grist)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

There are certainly some must reads this week, including Ruth Reichl’s speech from the Good Food Awards about how the food landscape has changed (for the better) in America. I also found an excellent discussion of the Paula Deen fiasco, and a handful of studies showing exercise is even more awesome than we knew.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Digg. 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.

Links of the week

• What I Said Last Night at the Good Food Awards <<Everyone should read this. Not only is it the most optimistic and hopeful piece I’ve seen on the food movement (and I totally agree with the sentiments), but it’s a wonderful reminder of how millions of Americans are still eating. (Ruth Reichl)
• Paula Deen has Diabetes and takes Victoza. So What? <<By far the best analysis I’ve seen of the Paula Deen situation. Seriously, don’t look so shocked. (Weighty Matters)
• Twinkies, the Undead Snack <<Mark Bittman would be happy to see Twinkies disappear. I wouldn’t mind either. (New York Times)
• Food industry opposes EPA limits on dioxins <<This is scary, but I think it is worth noting that most dangerous exposure happens in industrial foods, particularly animal production where their feed has been contaminated. This would make pastured, grass-fed animals far, far safer. (Food Politics)
• How Exercise May Keep Alzheimer’s at Bay <<This is a really fascinating story about how those with a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s Disease can virtually eliminate it with exercise (though being sedentary has an opposite, accelerating effect). (New York Times)
• 30 Years of Aging vs 3 Weeks of Bed Rest – Which is Worse For Aerobic Fitness? <<More news in sedentary behavior… it’s really bad for you. (Obesity Panacea)
• 5 Phone Apps for Healthy Green Eating <<I think that anything your iPhone can do to encourage healthier behavior is a good thing. Good suggestions here, and a few I hadn’t heard of. (Treehugger)
• Fish and Young Women’s Hearts <<Eating fish is healthier than not eating fish, by a significant amount. (Dr. Weil)
• 7 surprising reasons to eat more soup <<Soup is one of my favorite foods, and it is one of the easiest to make and store as well. (Stone Soup)
• CARROT TUNA AND AVOCADO SALAD <<This looks tasty and filling. Plus, carrots are amazing right now. (No Recipes)

What inspired you this week?