Tips For Cooking Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa

Cultivated in the Andes for over 5,000 years, quinoa has been called the “mother grain” and “the gold of the Incas.” (It’s technically not a grain but a seed, but it is used in virtually the same ways as other whole grains.)

Today, the popularity of quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is growing steadily as people discover its pleasant nutty taste.  Here are some helpful hints in preparing my favorite superfood…!

Study Finds Subway Just as Unhealthy as McDonald’s

Researchers from the University of California Los Angeles found that despite claims to the contrary, Subway is just as unhealthy as the oft-reviled golden arches of McDonald’s—which long had the most locations in the country of any fast-food chain until Subway surpassed it in 2011.

Young people consumed an average of 1,038 calories at McDonald’s. They consumed an average of 955 calories at Subway—a statistically insignificant difference from McDonald’s. The Institute of Medicine recommends that students consume no more than 850 calories in school lunches.

Chipotle Makes Tofu Available At More Locations

The tofu dish is called “sofritas.”  It was first rolled out in Northern California, and now it hits Southern California Chipotle menus June 3. The name comes from sofrito, the Spanish word for the combination of aromatic ingredients that have been cut into small pieces, such as onion, garlic and peppers. 

VEGAN DAILY FACTOIDS: Chlorella

• A single-celled, water-grown micro-algae, chlorella is widely known as a powerful “superfood” supplement with extraordinary nutrient density. It is believed to have been around for eons (that means billions of years!)
• One of the few edible species of water-grown algae, chlorella is full of chlorophyll. It contains all of the B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, amino acids, magnesium, iron, trace minerals, carbohydrates and a higher amount of protein (more than 50%) than meat, per grams of weight.
• One of the main uses of chlorella is to detoxify, or cleanse, the body.  Chlorella cleanses the blood and optimizes oxygen into the blood. It alkalizes the body, correcting a state of acidosis, in which most disease thrives.

Organic Consumers Association Responds To Whole Foods Market's Plan To Label GMOs By 2018

Whole Foods Market announced last week that it will require labeling of all foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in its U.S. and Canadian stores by 2018. 

Organic Consumers Association called on Whole Foods, the nation’s largest national organic foods retailer, to move up its labeling deadline to July 2015, and to take the lead in the organic industry to end deceptive labeling practices by requiring all the stores’ products that include the word “natural” in their labeling or packaging to be GMO-free.

“We ask that Whole Foods step up its timetable for GMO labeling, to coincide with the July 2015 deadline prescribed by I-522, the citizens’ initiative for GMO labeling in Washington State. We also call on Whole Foods to stop selling products that contain GMOs under the misleading “natural” label, and to require any product in its store called “natural” be GMO-free.”

Top 6 Alkaline Foods To Eat Daily For Vibrant Health

Too many acid-forming foods can have dire consequences for our health, with “acidosis” being a common diagnosis in diabetics, for example. This is because when the nutrients required to maintain this slightly alkaline state cannot be obtained from food, the body will instead draw from its own stores, like the bones or other vital tissues - damaging its ability to repair itself and detoxify heavy metals, thereby making a person more vulnerable to fatigue and illness.