Earthly Edibles

Some of us celebrate the last bits of summer with a trip to the beach over Labor Day weekend, my husband and I celebrate here in the mountains with the last of the summer tomatoes. It has been our tradition to visit the farmer’s market if we don’t have enough of our own tomatoes and [...]

By Nicole Martinez – Guest Blogger & Student of Nutrition & Dietetics at Western Carolina University There are some foods I do not eat. Not because I don’t like them or my grocery store does not carry them, but because they contain high levels of pesticide residue. You may have heard of the “dirty dozen” [...]

I promised that I would share the winning tomato! Growing an abundance of heirloom tomatoes, I wanted to test each variety to determine which one was the very tastiest. I tried a Mr. Stripey, a Brandywine, a Purple Cherokee and a yellow grape tomato. I closed my eyes and tried to remain neutral and the [...]

After a long break from my blog, I am now ready to start up the keyboard again! Summer is always an inspirational time for me to write about seasonal fruits and vegetables. Every year, one plant family seems to outshine the others in my garden. Last year, with a dry hot summer, there was an [...]

Get the tomatoes while they are still plentiful. This tomato salad includes purple Cherokee, yellow pear, stripey,and rose from our garden with a brandywine, red and green zebra ones from the Asheville City tail gate market. I then added purple and green basil leaves and some local mozzarella cheese! I tossed the salad with a [...]

When thoughts come of summer, we often think of watermelons, picnics and the barbecue grill.  Preparing meals on the grill not only keeps the heat out of the kitchen but also provides an opportunity to eat outside. The foods that we choose can often be started ahead of time so we can spend more time [...]

If you started the Holiday Challenge on November 10th, record your weight for Week 2. Did you use the www.thedailyplate.com or another method to write what you ate and reduce the amount 100-200 calories each day? Sometimes this is challenging to do! Some steps that have worked for me to prevent hunger include lots of [...]

For many people the barbeque grill is not the same without a serving of meat. Choices should be lean, such as sirloin, pork loin, loin chops, chicken or fish. To lower saturated fat, take off the skin from poultry even after grilling and trim off visible fat. Try fish in a foil packet, this prevents [...]

As Fourth of July and summertime in general slips upon us, I think of spending more time outdoors which includes eating there also. Whether you are having a picnic or a barbeque with family and friends, make your choices healthy and delicious. Choose the majority of your meal as low calorie, seasonal veggies such as [...]

I love this time of year when trees and flowers start to bloom and the local produce becomes available. This month in Asheville will be the grand opening of the City Market downtown and also it is the time of year for the Mountain Tailgate Markets to be springing up around the area. Some foods [...]