Earthly Edibles

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 [...]

With today’s focus on eating less, it can be refreshing to be encouraged to eat more of a food group. Vegetables are rich in vitamins and minerals and have many other plant properties that help prevent disease. They are very low in calories with an average of about 25 calories per one-half cup to one [...]

I am helping coordinate a program called 31 Days of Nutrition in honor of National Nutrition Month for our local dietetic association (Western North Carolina Dietetic Association). Together, we are trying to teach a class 31 days to area elementary schools on nutrition and local foods. Appalachian Sustainable Agricultural Project (ASAP) www.asapconnections.org is partnering with [...]

Do you ever wonder why you get such a bad headache when you skip a meal? Have you ever started craving pasta, potatoes and rice when following a low carb diet? Chances are you are in need of a little brain food. In a recent study in Nature’s Genetics it found that humans have more [...]

Winter is not usually the time that we think about eating local foods. However, this past weekend Slow Food of Asheville hosted a potluck where everyone was encouraged to use at least one ingredient that was produced within a 100 mile radius. It could include cornmeal, molasses, vegetables, meats, eggs and cheese. There has been [...]