Introduction by Nancy Chuda Founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and Co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World. If you haven’t had a chance to visit Australia you may want to book your trip to include an exceptional two night stay at Gaia Retreat and Spa, a wellness opportunity unlike anything you have ever experienced. [...]

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEco Living and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Having just returned from Burgundy, France as guests of Benjamin and Frances Haas who have a magnificent farm house that they rent, it was hard not to miss Le Fromage and the fine Pommard and Montrachet wines. The [...]

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World You don’t want to miss the breakfast or the bed at The Old St. Angela Inn. Please Dianne, will you share your recipe?         The sound of the gulls and salty smell of the sea awakens the [...]

 By Allison Mowatt Courtesy of Live Healthy Live Green It’s hard not to be aware of the numerous health benefits eating organically has on the human body.  Not only do you feel more energetic and sport a healthier complexion but you also build a stronger immune system, keeping colds and viruses at bay more [...]

Steve Jobs might find a way to cut to the core of a major human rights issue impacting the health of children who get their daily dose of vitamins from eating apples. You can write to him sjobs@apple.com and let him know he’s got to get on this issue ASAP.

By Nancy Chuda, co-founder of LuxEco Living.com and Healthy Child Healthy World
It’s hard to buy great nutrition without spending money. Many vitamins supplements and herbal products are expensive. Here are two ideas that add value to your health without pinching the strings of your pocket book. And they taste great too!

By Hannah Canvasser, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Take a break this spring with a refreshing strawberry basil lemonade. With the first strawberries of the season, and a few simple ingredients straight from your farmers market, this extravagant looking beverage will have your friends wondering where you’ve hidden your bartender. The trick is with the effortless simple syrup, which not only dilutes the fresh squeezed lemon juice, but gives the lemonade its sweetness as well as it’s basil background flavor.

Organic Produce and Sustainable Farms are Celebrated at by Myra Goodman at Earthbound Farms
Excerpted from The Earthbound Cook
I discovered this amazingly simple but intensely flavorful pasta dish when our family traveled to Italy a few summers ago. It was so memorable that it made the top of my list of recipes to try to replicate. Chunks of succulent eggplant get a quick sauté to set their flavor, then are simmered in a light marinara sauce until tender. At the last minute, cubes of mozzarella di bufalo are added, quickly becoming soft and creamy as they melt into the sauce. This dish goes together in no time, especially if you have marinara sauce on hand. If you don’t have time to make my Heirloom Tomato Sauce or the Quick Tomato Sauce, you can fast-track the recipe by using a store-bought version. A word about the eggplant, which is at the heart of this dish: Salting is not required, but it’s important to sauté the eggplant over high heat in the amount of oil specified. You need very high heat to force the eggplant to brown and develop flavor. In the absence of high heat, the vegetable will simply soak up the oil, become soggy, and taste fl at. I serve this dish with a warmed baguette to sop up the extra sauce, and with a light salad of lettuce and endive dressed only with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper.

Leader in the organic produce business and in sustainable farming practices, Myra Goodman inspires us with eco-tips and organic recipes with her new book The Earthbound Cook.

organic produce sustainable farm earthbound cooking
By Sahar Ghaffari, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Sustainable farming business woman, Myra Goodman is a popular cookbook author and co-founder of the organic Earthbound Farm, which she started in 1984 with her husband Drew. Her passion for organic foods has catapulted Earthbound Farm into the country’s largest grower of organic produce. Myra and Drew’s organic and sustainability initiatives have garnered them numerous awards and honors including Global Green USA’s Corporate Environmental Leadership Award and the Organic Trade Association’s Organic Leadership Award. As the author of two successful cookbooks, Food to Live By, and now The Earthbound Cook, Myra is spreading the message that fresh organic foods and produce are not only healthy and delicious, but vital to the sustainability of the environment.

Are you wondering what to eat this spring so you can be bikini ready by summer? Try these light quinoa recipes to stay healthy and trim down.

By: Lauren O’Neill, LuxEco Editorial Assistant

With summer quickly approaching, the thought of baring it all and playing beach volleyball in a bikini can quickly become daunting. However, by learning what to eat this spring to shed the pounds and get fit, there will be no reason to feel mortified in your bathing suit. Quinoa is my absolute favorite ingredient to cook with and a staple in my daily diet. It is versatile, delicious, and loaded with nutrients that will keep you healthy, happy, and slim. Not only is it a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids, but it is also gluten-free and easy to digest. From improving cardiovascular health to reducing migraines, quinoa has a number of health benefits. It’s incredibly easy to incorporate into your diet. When cooked, its light and fluffy texture makes it the perfect healthy substitute for rice or couscous. Below, I have shared my top three personal quinoa recipes that will make you feel great.

By Hannah Canvasser LuxEco Editorial Assistant
This recipe can be as simple or complex as you would like. Whether you are looking to show off your spring honed barbecue skills and house make your ingredients, or pick up already-made items from your local market, these sliders will leave omnivores confused about their eating-orientation, vegetarians thrilled to be dining at your place, and the neighbors wanting an invite.

Hit your nearest farmer’s market for some farm fresh strawberries and get baking!
By Brooke Rewa, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
It’s strawberry season here in Southern California and were baking our way into spring. This homemade crumble filled with locally grown strawberries will have you sprinting to your local farmer’s market for supplies.

  Green Business Networking Proudly Celebrates Fifth Year, With… You? It’s hard to believe, but tomorrow’s mixer will also be our FIFTH anniversary! Time flies when you’re having fun and doing good. Please join us by attending the only pure networking event for owners and decision-makers of LA’s green economy. Complimentary organic (mostly vegan) food, [...]

Shopping and eating seasonally from your local farmers market tastes better, has higher nutritional values, promotes healthy eating habits, reduces environmental damage from shipping foods, and can even be kinder on your wallet.

Farmers Market Eating Habits Seasonal SpringBy Hannah Canvasser, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Shopping at your neighborhood grocery store, many don’t realize that most of the abundant supply of produce comes from thousands of miles away, and is picked before ripeness to give consumers what they demand. Who would have thought that we could have peaches in October and butternut squash in June! Although off-season and premature picked produce will color and soften on the way to market, taste and nutritional value will be lost. Understanding what produce is available during certain seasons, and shopping at local farmers markets can change these eating habits.
Here are a few reasons to stay local and seasonal with your eating habits:
Farmers Market Eating Habits Seasonal SpringTaste and Nutritional Value:
There are many products available at local farmers markets that will not only be rich in flavor, but high in nutritional value due to ripeness when picked and seasonality. Artichokes, asparagus, avocados, broccoli, mushrooms, spinach, corn, red pepper, green beans, peas, and beets are all great spring vegetable additions to your kitchen. Try a spinach artichoke dip as an appetizer or some tasty grilled portabella mushroom sliders to entertain with friends. Mango, pineapple, grapefruit, kumquats, lemons, oranges, tangerines, strawberries, cherries, nectarines, peaches, plums, melons, and lavender are very popular throughout spring and will enhance your eating habits. With your pantry now stocked, relax with a refreshing strawberry basil lemonade and fresh avocado grapefruit salad, or indulge with some lavender bread pudding.

Vegan and non-vegan chocoholics can all huddle around the campfire with this easy chocolate recipe for Vegan Smores.
By Nancy Chuda, Co-founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving.com and Healthy Child Healthy World
I have so many fond memories of being huddled around a beach bonfire, making smores with friends and family. There were never enough ingredients or coat hangars to go around. But if you are like me you will want to treat your friends to a new twist on an old delectable standard with delicious vegan smores. With this easy chocolate recipe for vegan smores, you will win the favor of every chocoholic!

Hands on instruction in the garden transfers young students green learning at school to green living at home. Johnna Walker, the garden instructor, teaches the importance of sustainability.
By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Larchmont Charter School, an alternative neighborhood school within LAUSD, takes green living to the future—to our children—with the implementation of green learning. Our precious earth is in their itty-bitty-but-quickly-growing hands, so best to start showing them how to take care of it, and themselves.

Consumption of sex hormones in our daily intake of milk and meat? Dr. Epstein explains the dangerous effects of consuming rBGH and IGF-1 growth hormones in your genetically modified food.

Hormonal Milk and Meat: A Dangerous Public Health Risk

By: Dr. Samuel Epstein Courtesy of Healthy Child Healthy World: a 501(c)(3) nonprofit inspiring parents to protect young children from harmful chemicals.

As reported in a March 18, New York Times editorial, “Honest Food Labels,” FDA Commissioner, Margaret Hamburg, M.D., publicized letters to 17 food companies accusing them of — “masking undesirable ingredients” — in their products. She also emphasized the importance of “providing nutrition information that consumers can rely on.” Unfortunately, she has failed to take any such action with regard to the two major dietary staples, milk and meat.

Nutritional Facts can easily help shape your Figure: How to get vegetables in that breakfast Cereal.
By Brooke Rewa, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Pulfoods is bringing us a healthy breakfast that both parents and kids can get behind; Crunchfuls cereal. Made from beans and lentils this cereal is the perfect way to sneak in a full serving of vegetables first thing in the morning. With 4 grams of protein and only 3 grams of sugar this gluten-free, natural product is a great alternative to processed, sugary breakfast cereals.

Let’s toast the Irish, with a great organic meal!
By Nancy Chuda co-founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEco Living and Healthy Child Healthy World
“Laughter is brightest where food is best” Irish Proverb

Tonight, I am serving one of my favorite dishes– Organic Corned Beef and Cabbage. Easy to make for any occasion and the best part of the meal is the company. Good friends make all the work and preparation fun.

By Brooke Rewa, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Move over Guiness, organic beer is taking over this St. Patrick’s Day. My five picks for organic beers that even the Irish can get down with. Try Bison Brewing’s Organic Chocolate Stout, Wolaver’s Organic Brown Ale, Eel River’s Porter, Peak Organic Brewing Company’s Nut Brown Ale, Pisgah Brewing Company’s Valdez,

By Nancy Chuda, Founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEco Living and Founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
While amping up for this year’s Natural Products Expo in Anaheim, CA and getting the LuxEco team ready for our “Green Light” Initiative in which we search out and highlight the best natural, organic and eco-friendly products that the Green Movement has to offer, I can’t help but to reflect on the evolving nature of “GREEN.”
Jim and I attended the first Natural Products Expo in Anaheim, CA almost two decades ago… and it was far from gluten-free. We were young, energetic, and held an undying faith that our world was unnaturally occurring; wearing Birkenstock and eating jerky we found our tribe. Or did we? back then, fair-trade was a hearty handshake.

By Anna Getty, Author and LuxEco Adovcate
I have been addicted to organic food for almost 10 years. I know it is better for me, my kids and better for the planet. Studies have shown organic produce to be higher in anti-oxidants; vitamins and minerals (thank you to The Organic Center for your vigilant scientific research) and organic dairy, meat and eggs have fewer hormones, antibiotics and pesticide residues (yes, pesticides are found in meat because cattle are eating feed laden with them). It’s also true that organic farming is more sustainable; it uses fewer resources and encourages community. But above all else it tastes better. Try this experiment. Blindfold your kid and have him taste both a conventional and organic apple. You will see, he will pick the organic apple.

By: Linsley Oaks, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant Healthiest Fast Food is now more common nowadays since people are thinking healthier everyday. Dietary restrictions and preferences have a big impact on your overall experience when dining out of the home.  Getting your dietary needs met can make or break any experience.  More and more friends and [...]

By Bethany Colson, Managing Editor of LuxEcoLiving.com

America today is seeing more people being isolated into a world of junk food and unhealthy foods. The U.S is rapidly turning into an unhealthy America with something called a “food desert”. What’s a food desert? According to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, a food desert is a “place where there is not easy access, affordable access, reasonable access to fresh fruits and vegetables — to a grocery store.”

It could be an inner city or a rural town but what they both have in common, besides the low income economy, is their lack of access to fresh produce and to healthy food alternatives. Instead, convenience stores and fast foods with their highly processed foods, packed with refined sugars, trans fats and preservatives are ubiquitous and commonplace. As a result, families are left with few options to serving nutritious foods and their children suffer the consequences. With new generations being fed these types of foods, it is only a matter of time before this growing unhealthy America can see any change whatsoever.