Food

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...

By Janelle Sorensen, Chief Communications Officer, Healthy Child Healthy World Expert Opinion courtesy of Healthy Child Healthy World When my husband and I toured schools to...

The Taste of Yosemite offers more than just gourmet delights

Kit Kemp's masterfully designed Knightsbridge London is one of a kind. She pays extra attention to detail in bringing joy to every experience.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief  of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World "You step into the main greeting room and you know...

  Part two:Burgundy4U It was a hot and muggy summer day late in the month of August. The white wine was on ice. The defrosted shrimp...

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.

I have traveled the world. Met chefs in Paris, Provence, London, Milan, Venice, Gstaad, to mention only a few destinations and compared to some of those masters I found a brilliant culinary sympatico with John Cox.

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.”

By F.R.E.E. Will, LuxEco Editorial Assistant, Author of In The Spice Cabinet series The purpose of this article and the series as a whole is to examine the ingredients that go into some of your favorite dishes, particularly the benefits some of the more familiar (and some not so familiar) herbs and spices contain.

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.

By Jason Wachob, Founder of MindBodyGreen.com and LuxEco Advocate Many foodies don't equate the word vegan with delicious, as a lot of recipes don't translate well without butter, eggs, and other animal products. But not when we're talking cupcakes... One of the most popular stories at the NY Times focuses on vegan chef, Chloe Coscarelli, whose vegan cupcakes beat out traditional cupcakes on the Food Network show, "Cupcake Wars."

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Granted, there is an abundance of vegetation that only thrives during the rainy season or in mild warmth....

By Nancy Chuda founder and editor-in-chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World. Do drop in when in San Luis Obispo. Visit the...

By Nancy Chuda, co-founder of LuxEcoLiving.com and Healthy Child Healthy World A divine inspiration. A remarkable event. An outstanding evening. Jim and I were treated to one of the most memorable moments in our lives—at Coleman Farm’s annual dinner. Their mission is to re-connect diners to the land and the origins of their food, and to honor the local farmers and food artisans who cultivate it.

A very special recipe from Nancy's Organic Kitchen by Nancy Chuda, Founder of LuxEco Living Ingredients: 1/2 packet (1 teaspoon) unflavored gelatin powder 1 1/2 tablespoons cold water 1...

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...

If you think Beverly Hills has lost it's elegance and classic history step into the lobby of the new Waldorf Astoria and dream again. This remarkable hotel has brought new meaning to "life at the top". It is A-listed beyond a doubt. And best dog-friendly hotel in the world.

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.

It’s a question as old as campfire, and the answer is getting more and more difficult to produce: “Hey Ma (or Pa), What’s for dinner?”. The realities of mass food production in this modern age are out there, and perhaps the harshest light of all has been shed on the meat production industry in particular.

By Nancy Chuda, co-founder of LuxEco Living.com and Healthy Child Healthy World Here in Nancy's Organic Kitchen at The Green Green Home Under The H, I am challenged daily by the special dietary needs of my LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child/Healthy World friends and colleagues. There are so many variables when it comes to defining your plat du jour. At LuxEco, health is the main objective, so I’ve decided to help you figure out where you should look among the various choices within the food chain.

  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...

Agave nectar was originally given a lot of positive hype because it has a low glycemic index. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, this is a good thing! Think of it like time-released energy; instead of flooding your bloodstream with sugar that will eventually lead to a crash, foods with a low glycemic index keep you energized for longer.

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.

How do you take the fame and publicity of a recent Oscar win and parlay that momentum for a good cause? Well, how about...

By Hannah Canvasser LuxEco Editorial Assistant Vegetarians can receive the proper proteins and nutrients they need with many health benefits. The trick? Eating meat, occasionally. Obesity is a current main health topic because it is unfortunately a growing one. With obesity rates rising in America many studies have aimed their focus to find the root of the problem, narrowing in on eating trends in the United States. It was typical of my grandparent’s generation to sit down to red meat three times a day. Maybe some sausage and eggs for breakfast, a beef casserole for lunch, and meatloaf and french bread for dinner; sound a little excessive on the arteries? In 1971, Vegetarians and Vegans became popular with Frances Moore Lappé's publication of Diet for a Small Planet- revealing the waste build up behind grain-fed meat production, and arguing that a plant diet is best for one’s body and the earth. Though Lappe was one of the first to come out with valid arguments against grain-fed meat production, being a Vegetarian does have its set-backs, and receiving proper proteins and nutrients wasn’t as easy as it seemed.

By Kerin Van Hoosear, LuxEco Editorial Assistant and author of Seasonal Cooking with Kerin The holiday season is in full swing and that means it’s time to crack open that canned pumpkin, right? No! Take the time to head down to your local farmers market and pick out a few choice pumpkins to use this season; they’re incredibly versatile! To break it down, cut the top off and then cut the pumpkin into workable pieces. I find quartering it works really well. With the side of a spoon, scrape away the seeds. To get the raw meat out, scrape against the grain and you’ll get nice short shredded pieces. This pumpkin bread is just one way to use your pumpkin; make sure you save your leftovers for another recipe!

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.

By Emily Lynne Ion, LuxEco Advocate A recent email from a friend boasted the discovery of the “best bread in all of Paris”. For someone who prefers a baguette for dessert over a piece of chocolate cake, I was intrigued. Most curiously, there was a link included. Yes, a link to a website for a French boulangerie. I had envisioned a corner bakery, tucked away on an old street, that my friend discovered by accident on a rainy day (this is always how cuisine stories in Europe go, do they not?). Instead what she’s discovered was The Poilane Bakery, an international brand and premier Parisian bakery.

By Nancy Chuda Co-founder of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World There is nothing more satisfying then the taste of a handmade ravioli. Stuffed with fresh ricotta cheese and spinach, or goat cheese smothered in a fresh sauce made from homegrown, roma or prized heirloom tomatoes. Pasta is one of the world’s most popular foods and comes in hundreds of different shapes, varieties and with dozens of different ingredients. [Virgensia Dioreo] Nancy Chuda, Fouder of LuxEcoLiving.com and Vicenzia DiIorio The tradition of making pasta is timeless throughout the world. Almost every country has identified a noodle in part of their customary culinary cuisine . But the Italians, hands down have the most varieties. Spaghetti (coming from the Italian, spago which means cord) is the most popular variety ... and is long thin noodles that come in a variety of thickness and goes well with all traditional sauces. Capellini or angel hair pasta is the thinnest pasta of all and takes barely one to two minutes to cook; goes well with very light sauces or the classic basil, olive oil and crush fresh tomatoes.

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.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World To B or not to B at the Four Seasons...

Forrest Gump may have been on to something when he compared life to chocolates. You really never know what you’re gonna get in a box of chocolates, do you? The truth behind chocolate is more bitter than sweet. The Ivory Coast produces 40% of the world's chocolate, and it just so happens to also be notorious for this little thing called child slavery. Children, both local and from other third world countries, are sold to farms in this area where they are physically abused while working in risky and inhumane conditions. Some children are sold into the trade by parents who are tricked into believing their children will have better lives at the farm. Others are trafficked, stolen from their families, lured by the promise of…chocolate. In these farms they are forced to work 60 hour weeks with little or no food (depending on their performance on the field). These children lose their fundamental human rights when they enter these farms and “modern” society turns a blind eye to the atrocities. Every time we buy a box of chocolate that is not fair trade stamped, we (often unknowingly) endorse child slavery.

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.

I loved mt experience at Mad and Vin. Mostly, I enjoyed our conversation with chef Seth Nathan while dining with friends.