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

This week food inspections stall in government shutdown, snack drawers teach kids moderation, and the optimal diet for humans.

Next week’s Mindful Meal Challenge will start again on Monday. Sign up now to join us!

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

I also share links on Twitter @summertomato and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

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For the Love of Food

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

This week the critical role of hunger, Western diets devastate your gut, and why kale isn’t healthy.

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app I just discovered to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

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

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For the Love of Food

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

This week how your brain processes food experiences, the real paleo story, and how food impacts depression.

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app I just discovered to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

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

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grain-free tabouleh

This grainless variation of a Lebanese classic was specially requested by Darya’s husband, Kevin. Kevin came across a tabouleh salad made with cauliflower instead of bulgur while on a work trip and has been craving it ever since.

Because just about everyone can benefit from more veggies and many of us are sensitive to grains, it seemed like a genius substitution.

I love how much the roasted cauliflower resembles couscous once pulsed a couple times in the food processor, only sweeter and fluffier. A definite keeper!

Tomatoes in the wintertime remind me of soggy cardboard—flavorless and mealy—so I used reconstituted sun-dried tomatoes. Of course come summertime, feel free to swap back in fresh cherry tomatoes.

Thanks for the inspiration, Kevin!

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Roasted Parsnip and Cauliflower Hummus

I love making homemade hummus, but I don’t always love the process of soaking and simmering the chickpeas for hours in advance. Plus beans just don’t seem to agree with everyone (if you know what I mean).

So I decided to concoct a bean-free hummus with seasonal roasted vegetables. I chose parsnips and cauliflower to keep the creamy white of traditional hummus, and to lend an earthy, crave-worthy sweetness to this seasonal spread.

This recipe is a 2-for-1. The first step yields an alluring tray of roasted veggies that you’ll want to snack on right out of the oven. That’s fine! Go ahead and relish—just make sure to set aside two and a half cups of them for the hummus. Otherwise the whole batch might get demolished by hungry peeps.

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For The Love of Food

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

This week cavemen actually did eat beans, dairy fat is surprisingly healthy, how God can help you lose weight and so much more. I found an abnormal number of fantastic articles this week, so definitely don’t skip this round.

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 myself).

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For The Love of Food

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

Apparently I wasn’t the only one with sugar on the brain this week. The now infamous Dr. Lustig thinks the government should treat sugar like tobacco and alcohol, but Marion Nestle is not convinced. I also found an excellent article from the anti-grain crowd admitting rice might not be so bad for you after all. Rejoice!

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

• Societal Control of Sugar Essential to Ease Public Health Burden <<Everyone in health is buzzing about this editorial by Dr. Lustig, something I’ve commented on before. Though I agree with his suggestion that sugar is dangerous in large doses, I agree with Marion Nestle (below) that regulation isn’t the answer in this case. (UCSF)
• Are sugars toxic? Should they be regulated? <<To keep this in perspective, Nestle is traditionally in favor of regulating the food industry to keep them honest. If she’s against this, that’s a good indication that it’s crossing the line. (Food Politics)
• The “Asian Paradox”: How Can Asians Eat So Much Rice and Not Gain Weight? <<Huge props to paleo blogger Mark Sisson for ‘fessing up that rice, in all its evil grain-ness, isn’t really bad for you. This is a great read. (Mark’s Daily Apple)
• Exercise as Housecleaning for the Body <<This is one of the most interesting theories I’ve ever read on why exercise is good for you. Biology geeks, don’t miss this one. (New York Times)
• ‘Just Label It’ Campaign Asks the FDA for GMO Labeling <<I don’t think GMO is innately bad (though some of them probably are), but I would definitely like to know when I’m eating GMO foods. How about you? (Treehugger)
• Eating Together? Simply a Matter of Adapting <<I’ve definitely noticed that who I’m eating with influences how fast I eat. Apparently I am influencing them as well, which is a good thing. (ScienceDaily)
• Eating fish tied to lower risk of colon polyps <<You already knew vegetables were good for your intestines. Apparently fish is as well. (Medline)
• CURRIED LENTILS AND SPINACH <<Lentils and spinach is one of my absolute favorite pairings. I love the sound of this warming winter dish. (Chez Us)
• French Cauliflower Soup with Bacon and Herb Garnish <<I bet you’ve never considered putting soup and salad in the same bowl. Check out this beautiful recipe for a heavily garnished cauliflower soup. Yum! (Savour Fare)

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.

We have some fabulous reading this week including a dose of reality for the cavepeople in the room, some scary news about the effect of pollution on birth defects, and a TV commercial that makes me want to ride my bike to France.

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

• The Five Failings of Paleo <<As many of you know I agree with a lot of the paleo diet tenets, but have been known to criticize it as well. This post sums up my objections brilliantly. (Free The Animal)
• Hitting the Road to Get to Work, and Back <<I love this. I’m a huge fan of the active commute. (New York Times)
• FDA Asleep on the Job? New Study Has Harsh Criticism for How Agency Determined that Gulf Seafood was Safe <<From the new report: “53% of Gulf shrimp samples were above levels of concern for pregnant women.” Nice one FDA, you are now the proud distributor of today’s BS of the week. (On Earth)
• Pollutants Linked to 450 Percent Increase in Risk of Birth Defects in Rural China <<One reason to consider going organic during pregnancy, 450% is a big number. Scary stuff. (ScienceDaily)
• IOM releases tough report on front-of-package labeling <<Excellent analysis of the new food packaging label debate. I hope this gets implemented, though I doubt it will. (Food Politics)
• Is MSG Safe? (Part 1 of 2) <<People ask me about MSG sometimes, and this is promising to be a good analysis. Note: I didn’t link to the full article because it has an annoying auto-play feature. You might want to turn down your volume before clicking over. (Nutrition Over Easy)
• Hold the fries! Men who eat junk food are more likely to be infertile <<Want to test it out? (Daily Mail)
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids Shown to Prevent or Slow Progression of Osteoarthritis <<More good news for fish eaters. (ScienceDaily)
• Pulled Pork & Roasted Tomato Donburi (Rice Bowl) à la Ivan Ramen <<I’m infatuated with Japanese food right now, and can’t wait for my trip to Tokyo in April. Thanks for the preview Fuji Mama!
• Exercise can’t always be this much fun, but it can be enjoyable <<Why doesn’t America have commercials this cool?! (note: hide your kids, hide your wife) Also, the article I link to above makes some good points about exercise. (via Los Angeles Times)

What inspired you this week?