Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos embraces timeless history but fuels creative cullinary change
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
Emily and Robbie Wilson pay homage to the...
Woman and Food
By Robyn O'Brien, Founder of Allergy Kids Foundation and LuxEco Advocate
Now, I’m not sure where you stand on this whole food thing. But if you’re anything like me, you probably don’t want someone telling you what to eat. So when friends first started trying to educate me about terms like organic, local, natural and grass fed, I have to admit, I tuned out (and probably rolled my eyes). Because the reality is that food is never just food. Food is comfort.
Food is family. It is security. It is politics. And it is loaded.
Travels with Journey: The Carmel Country Inn by the Sea is Pet Perfect
By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World
Carmel by the Sea at The Carmel Country Inn
Like the candy, Carmel...
WATCH: West Hollywood’s O!Burger Sets the Trend for Organic Fast Food
Text By: Kammie Daniels; Video By: Marcus Inglizian, Basil Vernon and Kammie Daniels
Sitting in the lively O!Burger, looking out over the bright space filled with, among others, neighborhood hipsters, middle-aged men direct from the gym, and couples in close conversation-all customers greeted by a genuinely friendly staff- Basil and I said to one another, “I like this place already.”
The food, we’re happy to report, is equally appealing.
From the french fries and condiments to the burgers and fresh buns, everything is organic at O!Burger, the first burger joint in Los Angeles serving exclusively 100% certified organic food.
Simple and Tangy Avocado Grapefruit Salad for Spring
By Hannah Canvasser LuxEco Editorial Assistant
This light and tangy salad will get your taste buds in shape for spring. Grab a few simple and healthy ingredients from your local farmers market and enjoy a lunch that will leave you full, but won't weigh you down.
Organic Produce, Sustainable Farming and Earthbound Cooking: Myra Goodman
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.
The Best Cheese and Wine in the World: Bridlewood Winery hosts Mons Fromager- Affineur...
By Nancy and James Chuda founders LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World
Santa Ynez California, twilight time
It's a marriage of two of the most celebrated...
Organic Beer For Your St. Patrick’s Day Celebration
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,
Are Your “Organic” Eggs All They’re Cracked Up To Be?
By Lorri Ballance Laird, LuxEco Advocate
For many consumers, eggs are a staple in their diet. What’s better than a yummy omelet or frittata on a Sunday morning? While many food-conscious consumers make an attempt to buy products that are produced organically and/or sustainably, they may be getting duped when reaching for that carton of eggs labeled “organic” or “free-range.”
Michelle Obama and Childhood Obesity
By Bethany Colson, Managing Editor of LuxEcoLiving.com
According to the US government, One third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives; many others will face chronic obesity-related health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma. A recent study put the health care costs of obesity-related diseases at $147 billion per year. With rates having tripled over the last three decades and with millions effected and the percentage of obese or overweight children at or above 30% in 30 states, the childhood obesity epidemic shows no slowing in site... YET.
Enter First Lady Michelle Obama.
The Goal: Through nutrition education, healthy food alternatives, physical fitness and a coordinated effort between public, private and non-private sector, the challenge of childhood obesity will be solved within a generation so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight.
Victory For Organic Dairy Standards
New USDA regulations for organic milk have just been adopted earlier this month on February 12, 2010. Family farmers, animal rights activists and organic...
A New App for Apple
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.
The Hidden Dangers in Soy
By Jessica Borges, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant
As I sit in a cozy coffee shop with the soy latte I was once enjoying, I suddenly wish I had opted for skim milk instead. With my laptop fired up, I stumble upon a website revealing the numerous dangers of what most deem to be a healthy part of one’s diet: soy. Praised for its reputation as a good source of protein while being low in saturated fats, soy is a popular choice for many. What the soy latte orderers of the world aren’t aware of, are the many underlying health risks that come with heavy or long-term use of this popular coffee supplement.
The Brothers Red Barn Brings Back That Lovin Feelin…Again
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
The Brothers know how to bring home the...
New Vegan Restaurant Serves Up Healthy Comfort Food
By: Lauren O'Neill, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Los Angeles foodies can rejoice because there is a new vegan restaurant in town, Sage Organic Vegan Bistro on the corner of Sunset and Logan in Echo Park. Formerly raw food restaurant Mooi, the space is now a dream team of organic vegan delicacies: healthy comfort food from Sage, and delicious, dairy-free ice cream from the popular KindKreme desserts (also in Studio City and Pasadena). With the owners of Millie’s in Silver Lake and a former chef of well-renowned vegan restaurant Flore, it’s no wonder the food is so good that it will satiate the taste buds of vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores alike.
In the Spice Cabinet: Marjoram, How Sweet It Is
By F.R.E.E. Will LuxEco Editorial Assistant & Author of In The Spice Cabinet series
Although marjoram carries a botanical name that denotes its grouping in the same genus as oregano (Origanum majorana), it does in fact have an alias of sorts to better distinguish between the two, Majorana hortensis. It is also, in culinary circles, distinguished from other less palatable
varieties of the herb by the more common name ‘sweet’ or ‘knotted’ marjoram . From a purely physical standpoint oregano tends to be the hardier of two when discussing ideal growing condition with marjoram requiring much drier conditions, and more in the way of full sunlight in order to reap the best quality. The two related herbs are also distinguished between their flowering tops, oregano flowers typically being a pink/purple while marjoram flowers tend to be white.
Community Gardening With Common Ground
By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” In the 1970s, several senators began to recognize a literal truth behind this Chinese proverb. They realized the importance of teaching the man how to provide his own food source. When the government grasped the self-sufficiency and power of being able to fish, or in this case garden, they began granting $100,000 per year to gardening programs. This evolved to $100,000 to each of 20 metro areas around the United States, one of them being Los Angeles.
Unhealthy America
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.
Les Lodges Hotel and Spa Aix-en-Provence: LuxEcoLiving’s Best Boutique Hotels in the World
By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World
" Sitting in front of the mountain that gave birth to Paul...
Bion Rice Shines Heartfelt Light on Sunstone Winery’s History: With Grace and Gratitude
By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World
Sunstone Winery Santa Ynez California
Life happens! Even in the best laid plans...
Former McDonald’s Execs Building Healthy Fast Food Chain
By Jessica Borges, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Imagine walking into a fast-food restaurant with a menu sans greasy cheeseburgers, replaced by roasted chicken wraps and pork-and-sweet potato...
Nancy’s Organic Kitchen Chiles Rellenos with Salsa Verde
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
One of my favorite Mexican dishes is Chiles Rellenos or chiles...
Pumpkin and Sausage Dumplings
By Kerin Van Hoosear, LuxEco Editorial Assistant and author of Seasonal Cooking with Kerin
Everyone loves small bites and finger food! This is a great recipe to make for dinner parties or your friends and family. It’s a simple filling that packs a lot of punch. So don’t be surprised when your guests swoop in on your dumpling platter and decimate it! If you’ve never made dumplings before, don’t worry. It’s like riding a bike. Once you get into the rhythm of it, you’ll be cranking them out at top speed.
Heirloom Lettuce Salad with Strawberries, Walnuts, and Goat Cheese
Organic Produce and Sustainable Farms are Celebrated at by Myra Goodman at Earthbound Farms
Excerpted from The Earthbound Cook
Sweet-tart and succulent, strawberries are a true joy of spring and summer. This light and delicious salad uses whole heirloom lettuce leaves as a beautiful and flavorful base for the delightful blending of sweet strawberries, creamy goat cheese, and toasted walnuts. The flavors are melded perfectly by a quick-to-make balsamic vinaigrette that features toasted walnut oil.
A Review: S.Y. Kitchen Rounds Em Up Italian Rustica Style
By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
A Restaurant Review: S.Y. Kitchen is a dream come true!
We...
Le Meurice Paris is # 1:LuxEcoLiving’s Best Hotels in the World Series
By James and Nancy Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World
What a dream! We spent our Midnight in Paris and every waking...
In The Spice Cabinet: Benefits of Cinnamon
It's a safe bet to say that there aren't too many people in the world who haven't experienced the warm soothing smell of cinnamon as it slowly bakes into your grandmother's extra syrupy sweet potatoes, or as it blends with the apples and buttery crust from your mom's apple pie. What most of us, particularly in the Western World, fail to realize is that we are victims of a very cruel irony.
Gaia Retreat and Spa offers Health Beauty and Serenity
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...
I Would Rather “Sei” It In The Ocean
How do you take the fame and publicity of a recent Oscar win and parlay that momentum for a good cause? Well, how about...
To Own a Piece of History: The Old St. Angela Bed & Breakfast Monterey...
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...
The Palm Restaurant in West Hollywood sets the bar for the best lobster and...
By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and co-founders of Healthy Child Healthy World
West Hollywood California, The Palm Restaurant
Photos courtesy of LuxEcoLiving...
Michelle Obama Urges Restaurant Industry To Change For Kids
By Kerin Van Hoosear, LuxEco Editorial Assistant and author of Seasonal Cooking with Kerin
Did you know that most kids’ meals in restaurants have twice as many calories as the meal you’d serve them at home? Not only are the majority of these meals laden with saturated fat and salt, but some even reach a whopping 1,000 calories! Such a meal is high in calories for an adult, and for a child that’s just ridiculous.
Meet the Finger Lime, That Strange Fruit That Looks Like Caviar
Finger limes, or caviar limes, as they are often called, have appeared on the menus of innovative chefs and mixologists slowly but surely over the past few years. The finger lime plant, native to Australia and only recently commercially available in the U.S., produces small oval fruits about the size of a finger.
Organic Corned Beef and Cabbage from Nancy’s Organic Kitchen
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.
Trainspotting in Paris at Le Train Bleu: Buffet at de la Gare Lyon before...
Le Train Bleu is a best kept secret. Even most parisien's won't share.
Dine surrounded by beautiful Belle Epoque artistry, savor the food and wine...














