For The Love of Food

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

This week my biggest fear about GMO has come true, why your kids might be eating Twinkies for breakfast and 101 reasons to walk more and take the stairs.

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

• Insects Find Crack In Biotech Corn’s Armor <<I’ve never been nearly as worried about the effects of GMO foods on human health as about food security and sustainable ecology. This is exactly the sort of thing we should be worried about, and it only took 15 years. (NPR)
• Certain plate colors may help you eat less <<I love psychological tricks like this. (ABC News)
• Some children’s cereals packed with sugar, study finds <<Duh of the week. Are you surprised that breakfast cereals have as much sugar as a Twinkie? I’m not. (Washington Post)
• A little reward might get kids to eat veggies <<I like this because it seems simple and effective. I don’t have kids, but if you try this let me know how it works out. (Medline)
• Not all fish oil supplements pass muster, Consumer Reports says <<Be careful with the supplements you take. Check Consumer Labs or Consumer Reports for the latest info. (Los Angeles Times)
• Environmental Claims For Farmed Fish Don’t Hold Up To Scrutiny <<Hopefully one day the standards for fish will be up to par, until then take eco-labels with a grain of salt. (NPR)
• Taking the stairs makes you more fit, saves you time, study says <<Though I imagine this isn’t always true and depends on several factors, I’ve always found taking the stairs to be more than worth it in most situations. (Los Angeles Times)
• Want to Cut Chocolate Cravings? Take a Walk <<Isn’t it cool how that works? (Medline)
• KALE, CRANBERRY & QUINOA SALAD <<What a beautiful idea for a healthy and seasonal dish. (Beyond the Plate)
• 23 and 1/2 hours: What is the single best thing we can do for our health? <<I insist that you watch this. Insist.

What inspired you this week?

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For The Love of Food

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

Some wonderfully thought provoking articles this week, including what to do about trace amounts of dangerous chemicals, why long-cooking vegetables isn’t always a crime and some excellent tips on dealing with picky eaters.

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 to do about food chemicals eaten in tiny amounts? <<I get asked this question often, and this is an excellent answer. (Food Politics)
• Eating slowly may help you lose weight <<Easiest weight loss ever. Seriously, slow down. (USA Today)
• Fat tax in Denmark: Why they have it; could it happen in U.S.? <<BS of the week. So apparently Denmark has decided to tax saturated fat, because “saturated fats can cause cardiovascular disease and cancer.” Too bad that’s not really true. (Los Angeles Times)
• The Soft Approach: In Praise of Soft-Cooked Vegetables <<I adore this article about why cooking conventions aren’t always right. An excellent read. (Saveur)
• This Is Your Brain On Estrogen <<Women everywhere know that hormones affect body weight, here’s some insight into why. (ScienceDaily)
• 10 Tips for Dining (or Not) With Picky Eaters <<I’m perpetually baffled by both children and picky eaters. Here’s some tips on handling both. (Food Network)
• How Yelp is killing chain restaurants <<I always thought Yelp was entirely useless, but this made me smile. (Washington Post)
• Lift Weights, Eat Mustard, Build Muscles? <<Apparently there are naturally occurring steroids in mustard greens that work like anabolic steroids. Who knew? (ScienceDaily)
• Mom’s Healthy Diet Might Cut Birth Defect Risk <<I like this article because they go out of their way to say that supplements were not an adequate substitute for a healthy diet. Take note moms-to-be. (ScienceDaily)
• Spanish Chilindron Stew <<San Francisco has been rainy and miserable all week, so soup is in order. This post also inspired me to add a new cookbook to my Amazon wishlist. (Hunter Angler Gardner Cook)

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 I found a surprisingly in depth and thoughtful piece on genetically modified foods, an even more impressive food commitment by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and a few good signs that the politics of food labels are headed in the right direction—truth.

Also, for you geeks my thesis work is finally published. Here’s the deets.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Digg. I also share links at Twitter (@summertomato) and the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• With no labeling, few realize they are eating genetically modified foods <<Excellent analysis of the politics of GMO. Of course labeling is a good idea. (Los Angeles Times)
• Mark Zuckerberg’s new challenge: Eating only what he kills (and yes, we do mean literally…) <<I’m really impressed with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg‘s commitment to own his food choices this year. As someone who has killed many animals (lab research), I think the experience is invaluable for appreciating our modern food chain. (CNN)
• Study Questions Treatment Used in Heart Disease <<Turns out drugs that raise HDL cholesterol aren’t as valuable as everyone hoped. But HDL is still an excellent predictor of heart disease. Seems like you’ll have to raise it the old fashioned way, with diet and exercise. (New York Times)
• Red Meat and Colon Cancer: Beyond the Headlines <<Insightful analysis of the latest news about red meat and colon cancer. Read before you eat. (Nutrition Over Easy)
• Groups Sue FDA Over Use of Certain Antibiotics in Animal Feed <<This is awesome, and I hope it forces some action from our government to fight the dangerous antibiotic resistant bacteria that are being bred in industrial farms. (Wall Street Journal)
• Is That “Organic” Egg A Good Egg? <<I always struggle to convey the degrees of “healthy” in different eggs. Now there’s a handy scorecard to help out. (Consumerist)
• POM Wonderful Health Claims for Juice Lack Scientific Support, U.S. Says <<And this is why I always take immediate action whenever a POM ad happens to slip onto this site pretending to be healthy. I’m not cool with that. (Bloomberg)
• Loading up on calcium won’t eliminate osteoporosis risk, study says <<It also raises risk of heart disease and prostate cancer. Please don’t go nuts with the supplements. (Los Angeles Times)
• Quinoa with Currants, Dill, and Zucchini Recipe <<I only recently discovered how well dill and grains go together. Very much looking forward to trying this recipe. (101 Cookbooks)
• Food Is Political Says Outspoken Chef Alice Waters <<Alice Waters sometimes biffs it for the food movement, but this time she nails it. Definitely worth a watch. (Wall Street Journal)

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.

Tough decisions were made this week to narrow it down to 10 stories. Love the calorie infographic, also the commentary by Dr. Ludwig on industrial food and the “small” 32 oz. soda at a SF movie theater.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Digg, Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• Where Do Americans Get Their Calories? (Infographic) <<This is REALLY cool. Notice grain consumption increased nearly 50% (just like the AHA recommends), same with added fat (aka processed vegetable oils) and sugars. Veggie intake hasn’t changed, nor has dairy, and barely “meat, egg and nuts”. Fruit has gone up. Sounds like we’re obeying the food pyramid, yet eating 25% more calories and gaining weight and disease faster than ever. Lovely. (CivilEats)
• Food technology has been bad for human health since long before the invention of high-fructose corn syrup <<The wonderful Dr. Ludwig tells a more complete story about the nature of obesity. It’s not just the fructose. (Los Angeles Times)
• Food is cheap at market, but costs a lot elsewhere <<Food prices are going up, but are you confused why experts say calories are “cheap”? Learn the gory details from Marion Nestle. (SFGate)
• When did a “small” soft drink become 32 ounces? <<This saddening fact qualifies for BS of the week. Like seriously, this is disgusting. (SFGate)
• Sweet! Candy eaters surprisingly slimmer <<Interestingly, this study relied on a 24hr recall questionnaire, meaning that it didn’t actually test candy eating, but the awareness of candy eating. Mindful eating may be the key factor. (MSNBC)
• Vitamin D Can Decrease — Or Increase — Breast Cancer Development and Insulin Resistance, Study Finds <<Just in case you needed more convincing, relying on supplements is scary (especially if you over do it). (ScienceDaily)
• Food Day Campaign is Launched! <<Think real food is important? Me too! We now have a day to celebrate it! (CSPI)
• Routine Periodic Fasting Is Good for Your Health, and Your Heart, Study Suggests <<Fasting data is a lot more convincing than the “eat every 2-3 hrs” data. Just saying. (ScienceDaily)
• Substance in Tangerines Fights Obesity and Protects Against Heart Disease <<It would be nice if stuff like this ever panned out. We’ll see. (ScienceDaily)
• Not Your Mama’s Deviled Eggs <<I completely love deviled eggs, and these sound absolutely divine. Cheers to springtime (The Novice Chef)

What inspired you this week?

Last night was the first episode of Summer Tomato Live where we discussed the new best-selling book, The Four Hour Body by Tim Ferriss. Thanks everyone for watching and submitting your questions, the show was a huge success and we had a great conversation.

[note to self: get haircut]

The entire show is available above. Normally the videos will be available a week after the live broadcast, but for this first episode I want to give everyone a chance to see what the show is about in case you’re interested in subscribing.

I’ve partnered with Foodzie and Zürsun Heirloom Beans to provide free samples of Zürsun cranberry beans (great for Slow Carb Dieters) as well as a free Foodzie Tasting Box ($20 value) to the first 150 subscribers. Spaces are filling up quickly, so sign up soon if you want the bonuses (for more info about the show and newsletter read this). US shipments only.

Subscribe to Summer Tomato Live ($3.99/mo)

The next live show is scheduled for Wednesday, March 2, at 6:30pm PST. The reason I’m choosing a different day of the week is so that Tuesday night karate class or any other regularly scheduled activity won’t be a barrier to subscribing. If this system doesn’t work for you, please let me know. If a fixed day is better for most people, we can try to make that happen.

Wondering what the next show is about? Me too! Please vote for the next Summer Tomato Live topic (if you’re reading this in an email, please click over to the blog post to vote in the poll):

Poll closes Friday at midnight PST.

Show notes from episode #1:

The book: The Four Hour Body by Tim Ferriss, a #1 New York Times best-seller.

Slow Carb Diet: How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise (note: In the book there is one extra rule than is listed in this original post, “Don’t eat fruit.”)

Recommended pressure cooker: Fagor Splendid 6-Quart Pressure Cooker

Useful links:

• How (and why) To Cook and Freeze Large Batches of Lentils
• How To Cook Dried Beans Using a Pressure Cooker
• Intact Grains vs Whole Grains
• Does Fruit Make You Old and Fat?
• How To Cook And Freeze Brown Rice

Please add any tips or suggestions you have about the show in the comments. Thanks!

For The Love of Food

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

This week I learned some products contain “blueberries” that are really just sugar, goo and dye, Starbucks wants to kill you with coffee (while 7-eleven wants to kill you slightly less with soda) and ginger is good for sore muscles.

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For a complete list of my favorite stories check out my links on Digg. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• Fake blueberries abound in food products <<I knew real food was hard to find, but this is ridiculous. (Los Angeles Times)
• Mediterranean Diet May Slow Cognitive Decline <<It slows pretty much every other degenerative disease as well. This evidence has been building for awhile. (New York Times)
• Starbucks’ new “Trenta” size is larger than your stomach <<BS of the week goes to Starbucks! So disappointing, and just when even 7-eleven was starting to get the picture (see Colbert below). (National Post)
• Calcium Supplements Linked to Heart Attacks: Feed Your Bones Instead <<Bummer huh? Calcium supplements are also linked to prostate cancer. (Treehugger)
• What are we to think about Walmart’s healthy food initiatives? <<Were you starting to think for a second that Walmart was on your team? Don’t hold your breath. (Food Politics)
• Eating Ginger Helps Reduce Muscle Pain and Soreness <<I didn’t know this, did you? (New York Times)
• ‘Healthy’ kids’ foods usually aren’t, study finds <<Not surprising, but there’s new data to prove it. (Los Angeles Times)
• Eating More Fruit and Vegetables Linked to a Lower Risk of Dying from Ischemic Heart Disease <<The winners ate 8 servings of vegetables and fruit per day, much more than is recommended in the US. (ScienceDaily)
• SAUTEED BELUGA LENTILS + BUTTERNUT SQUASH <<This recipe was published a couple months ago, but it looks amazing and I’ve been looking for a beluga lentils recipe. (Sprouted Kitchen)
• Thought for Food – Fruit Pouch, Doritos Ad & Super Big Gulp <<Because we could all use a little more Stephen Colbert.

Feedback has been fantastic so far from the 55 Knives e-book. The 55 Knives project is a joint effort of 55 top food bloggers offering personal stories paired with hand-selected recipes. I contributed a chapter, as did many of my favorite food bloggers. Definitely worth checking out.

More bad news for supplements this week. Seems protein supplements are toxic and omega-3 supplements add nothing to a healthy diet. Shocker I know. I’m also very curious to see how the salt battle will end. While I would certainly like to see less in processed foods, I would hate government regulation to interfere with my dining experiences. This weeks article in the Times takes an interesting look.

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For complete reading lists join me on the social bookmarking sites StumbleUpon and Delicious. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you there. (Note: If you want a follow back on Twitter introduce yourself with an @ message).

Links of the week

• The Hard Sell on Salt <<A thorough look at the politics and health issues of salt. Personally I think salt is fine on real food, because you don’t need that much to add flavor. But tons of salt is used in processed foods to mask the pronounced ass flavor. I don’t think salt itself is the real problem, food processing is. (New York Times)
• Consumer Reports tests find traces of heavy metals in some protein supplements <<BS of the week. This makes me angry. Not CR, they’re awesome. But that supplements are unregulated and therefore often contain poisons. Not that you should be taking supplements, but still. (LA Times)
• Brighten that dish with a dash of fresh herbs <<I thought I was the only one who did this, but I guess adding a huge amount of fresh herbs to your food is catching on. If I don’t have much food in the house, I’ll make a bunch of herbs the cornerstone of a  meal. Some work better than others (e.g. basil, cilantro, parsley). (SF Gate)
• After a point, more omega-3s don’t help the heart <<Another reason to get your nutrients from food instead of supplements. You don’t need any extra. (Medline)
• Sticky Rice is Secret Ingredient in Great Wall of China’s Strength <<How awesome is this?? (TreeHugger)
• Is Raw Milk Treated Unfairly? <<A good, thoughtful article. Raw milk is a tricky subject. (Marler Blog)
• Help your heart. Brush your teeth twice a day. <<It seems both what you put in your mouth and what you remove from it are tied to heart disease. Nothing wrong with fresh breath either. (LA Times)
• Discovering San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market <<Ecosalon has a great piece on my favorite farmers market this week.
• The Claim: Rosemary Helps Reduce Toxins in Grilled Meat <<Not sure I’d count on this, but it’s an interesting point about food interactions. (New York Times)
• Red and Gold Beet Salad <<A recipe overflowing with my favorite ingredients. Yummmm. (Macheesmo)

For The Love of Food

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

Be sure to check out my guest post today over at Ecosalon! Top 10 Mistakes Made By Farmers Market Noobz

No good news this week for those of you who still love processed foods. Turns out sugar (not fat) causes heart disease, processed soy products causes cancer and the health insurance industries puts their extra money into fast food stocks. Luckily there is still hope for those of us interested in eating real food with actual taste.

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For complete reading lists join me on the social bookmarking sites StumbleUpon and Delicious. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you there. (Note: If you want a follow back on Twitter introduce yourself with an @ message).

Links of the week

• Health Insurance Companies Invest Billions In Fast Food Stock <<Do you need any more proof that you can’t count on companies to look out for you and your family’s best interests? Stay out of both fast food joints and hospitals by skipping processed foods all together. (ABC News)
• Added sugars are bad for the heart, but does it matter which kind you eat? <<Gasp! Sugar is (really really) bad for you! Who knew? (Los Angeles Times)
• Soy Report and Scorecard <<BS of the week goes to the soy industry for pretending to make health food while actually feeding people carcinogens. Don’t be surprised, processed soy food is just as bad as processed corn food. (The Cornucopia Institute)
• Being fat is bad for your brain <<You know those reports that come out every few months that say being fat might actually be good for you? Well, those ignore a lot of things like, for instance, your brain. (New York Times)
• Steady Weight Gain Boosts Late-Life Breast Cancer Risk <<And also, for instance, your cancer risk. (Medline)
• General Mills to Pull BPA from Organic Tomato Cans <<Good news for those of you worried about BPA in your canned tomatoes. Looks like they figured out a way to get it out of there. (Greener Design)
• Fish oil fails to preserve mental sharpness in the elderly, study finds <<Fish oil supplements fail to show a benefit in cognitive function in this study. Previous studies have been mixed, and remember that supplements are different from real food. (Los Angeles Times)
• Risks for Youths Who Eat What They Watch <<Scary look at the effects of marketing to children by the food industry. (New York Times)
• Cooking Fava Beans in a Flash <<Love this food hack from Allison Arevalo over at Local Lemons. Fava beans are a notoriously labor intensive. Kick that hard work in the pants with this easy recipe.
• My Food Looks Funny <<My new favorite website. Pictures of hilarious (usually nerdy) food. Who needs Lolcats?

What did you find worth reading this week?

For The Love of Food

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

This is the first chance I’ve had to read blogs in so long I almost forgot how fun it is! Every single one of these articles is worth reading (except the BS of the week, which is just to scowl at), but definitely don’t miss Marion Nestle’s piece on calories and the Slate article about vitamin supplements.

I included 2 recipes this time because I couldn’t choose.

And the first rule of Salad Club is: you always talk about Salad Club. Now if we could just get Brad Pitt to eat salad without a shirt on….

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For complete reading lists join me on the social bookmarking sites StumbleUpon and Delicious. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you there. (Note: If you want a follow back on Twitter introduce yourself with an @ message).

Best Links of the Week

• How many extra calories cause weight gain? <<3,500 calories does add up to 1 lb of fat, but that doesn’t mean you can control your energy balance by doing math. Definitely read this post by Marion Nestle if you’re trying to lose weight. (Food Politics)
• The Vita Myth <<Not only are most vitamin supplements ineffective, some may also do harm. (Slate)
• Legumes and Whole Grains: Any Role in Diabetes? <<Yes, they probably help. This is just to show you that there is some evidence against an all meat diet. (Diabetic Mediterranean Diet Blog)
• Will Vegetarian Humans One Day ‘Emit’ More Carbon Dioxide & Methane Than Cows? <<Speaking of beans… this is really funny. (TreeHugger)
• The First Rule of Salad Club <<Need inspiration to eat healthier at work? Why not start a salad club? This is brilliant. (Geek’s Dream Girl)
• Local produce hard to find in winter? <<Never fear, the Nutrition Diva is here with suggestions. (Nutrition Data)
• Erik Chopin’s New Reality Show <<BS of the week. They just won’t stop with The Biggest Loser thing, will they? If one torturous TV show can’t cure him, maybe 2 will! Here’s how I feel about BL. (Diets In Review)
• 48% of Fast Food Soda Fountains Contain Bacteria that Grew in Feces <<This includes Diet Coke, sorry guys. I can’t imagine why this problem would be limited to soda from fast food chains either. (Tree Hugger)
• Chickpea, Lentil, and Vegetable Stew <<What Dana Treat makes when she doesn’t want to think. But I’m thinking about making this recipe now! (Dana Treat)
• Cioppino’s Not Cheapino, But Totally Worth It! <<Cioppino (no relation) is one of my favorite foods on earth, and Chef John’s awesome video recipe made me drool. (I crack myself up sometimes). (Food Wishes)

What inspired you this week?