Oil Spill Kills Gulf Coast Shrimp Season; A Culture Hangs in the Balance
By Elizabeth Grossman, Author of Chasing Molecules: Poisonous Products, Human Health, and the Promise of Green Chemistry, High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden...
WATCH: Food, Glorious Real Food
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.
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,
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...
Try Horman’s Best for the Holiest Pickles in a Jar
Think Fresh Horman's Best Pickles for Mother's Day
Sake and Seaweed: Sushi Ran in Sausalito reels in the raw and gets big...
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
Reporting from Casa Madrona in Sausalito California
A Restaurant Review
...
Food fit for a healthier life: Olivia Newton-John’s new cookbook Livwise guarentees you will...
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
Whole body, mind and spirit Olivia helps others heal
In July,...
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...
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...
Thanks For Giving Locally Grown Free Range and Organic
By Sahar Ghaffari, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant
Thanksgiving Day has come and gone all across America and leftovers are still being devoured, especially for the big star, the turkey. Indeed, the turkey is as American as the people eating it on Thanksgiving; Benjamin Franklin fought to have the Turkey be our nation’s symbol before the bald eagle was chosen. However in recent years, the turkey hasn’t been treated so well. Stuffed with antibiotics and hormones, the wonderful natural flavor and taste of the turkey has been diluted to a mere shadow of its former self. This is probably why more people are moving towards buying a fresh and organic turkey for their Thanksgiving festivities.
The Hotel Plaza Athenee in New York is one of the Best Hotels in...
"New York is the quintessential city for every imaginable pleasure "
Step inside the chic Hotel Plaza Athenee and your first impression is a perfunctory,...
School Gardens Teach Sustainable Organic Living
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.
The New Hotel Roblin is Paris Perfect
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World.
The New Hotel Roblin is the Paris Perfect
Seated in the...
Slavery, Chocolate-Coated Slavery
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.
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.
The Poilane Bakery Rises to the Top
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.
Seasonal Cooking with Kerin: Roasted Butternut Squash Mac ‘N’ Cheese
By Kerin Van Hoosear, LuxEco Editorial Assistant and author of Seasonal Cooking with Kerin
Perfect for autumnal cooking, try your hand at Roasted Butternut Squash Mac ‘N’ Cheese (and don't forget to buy your ingredients local and organic!)
First, to roast the butternut squash you'll need:
one hot oven
1 butternut squash (medium sized), peeled and cubed (about 1/2" x 1/2")
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp sage
salt and pepper
olive oil
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.
Where is the Real Beef? I’m mad as a cow and not going to...
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
Cows have a voice too!
If you can stomach, actually bare...
South Congress trailers in Austin!
By Grace Robertson, LuxEco Advocate
Keeping Austin Weird With…South Congress Trailers!
Austin is a great place to live because of its’ fun people, great music, and uniqueness. Its’ motto is Keep Austin Weird, which is a perfect name for this individualistic place. In my opinion, walking in downtown Austin is a whole different experience from walking in any other city.
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...
A Gluten-Free Choice for Celiac Disease Prevention and Healthy Living
By Wendy Ross Kaplan, LuxEcoLiving Advocate
The term “gluten-free” is becoming more mainstream these days, when a trip to the grocery store can be rewarded with more healthy choices for shoppers. But before the 1960’s, only nutritionists and a handful of health nuts knew what gluten free meant. Nowadays, “gluten-free” has almost a cult following of otherwise regular folks seeking better health benefits and those suffering from diagnosed celiac disease, its varying manifestations and debilitating effects.
Brown Butter Cookie Company is as good as it gets
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
When you walk in the doors of the Brown Butter...
Sebelius: Champion of Health AND Wellness
The historic passage of last night's health care reform bill will positively effect millions of American's with immediate benefits as outlined in the House...
Amy Dixon Bakes the Very Best at The Baker’s Table
By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World
Santa Ynez California breakfast at The Baker's Table 3563 Numancia Street
COME HUNGRY!
You...
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...
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.
Farmers Markets Promote Healthy Eating Habits and Seasonal Shopping this Spring
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.
What Are We Eating? What the Average American Consumes in a Year
via MindBodyGreen
If this isn't an eye-opening image, I don't know what is. This graphic from Visual Economics breaks down what the average American consumes in...
Anna Getty Gives Tips For Enjoying A Green Christmas
The Christmas season is upon us, and people everywhere are gearing up for the holiday. In her book, I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas; Gifts, Decorations, and Recipes That Use Less and Mean More, author and LuxEco Advocate, Anna Getty shares with us her ideas on how to create memorable traditions while taking small steps to reduce our carbon footprints, minimize waste, and creatively use what we already have.
Easy Chocolate Recipe for Vegan Chocoholics
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!
Healthy Recipes For The Fourth Of July
By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
What says Fourth of July better than friends, fireworks, and good food? For a traditional celebration, not one of those three can be sacrificed. However, you can make healthier food choices without sacrificing flavor. Believe it or not, there are healthy alternatives to the yearly cheeseburgers and hotdogs dripping with grease, and that fattening potato salad. CBS News has shared with us some great recipes that will leave you and your friends satisfied and guilt-free to enjoy the fireworks.
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...
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...
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.

















