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.

As victims of busy schedules, we are easily seduced by the drive-thru lines of fast food traps that promise quick service for low cost and oftentimes, low-quality food. We’ve seen their brightly colored signs along freeways, tempting our growling stomachs, but why should we have to sacrifice quality and health in the interest of saving time and money? Many fast food chains have caught on and are modifying their business initiatives to promote healthier and more eco-friendly practices.

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.

By: Molly Cimikoski, Editorial Assistant With the latest Kellogg recall virtually banning several of the sugary cereals that children (and the young at heart) have...

Photography: Lara Kastner for Metropolis In each of our lives, we are given a unique set of gifts, challenges and even obstacles. ...

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.

  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...

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.

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 Sahar Ghaffari, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant Several years ago when I decided to stop having dairy I thought I would never again be able to savor the velvety smooth sweetness of delicious ice cream. That was until I started exploring the world of vegan ice cream.

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...

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...

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.

The story of sage is truly one that has come full circle. From being a prized herb for its healing and cosmetic qualities, to a useful culinary seasoning, to being relegated to holiday cuisine, then fading into obscurity only to be brought back to the forefront of alternative medicine. Find out more about this robust herb in the latest installment of "In the Spice Cabinet"

  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 of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Solvang California, Bacon and Brine Chef Pink and Courtney Rae are...

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.

By Jazmin Clark, Editorial Assistant We all love our pets, and naturally we want what’s best for them. What better way to show them that love than to extend our own healthy eating practices to the food we provide for them? In today’s increasingly health conscious, green-evolving world there are plenty of organic, grain-free, and holistic options for pet food out there. But how do we know which ones are right for our furry friends?

By Kerin Van Hoosear, LuxEco Editorial Assistant and author of Season Cooking with Kerin In a country where childhood obesity rates have more than tripled in the last thirty years, it is refreshing to see teachers like Mark Wagner combat that statistical nightmare. As head of the Organic Garden Club at Palmquist Elementary School in Oceanside, Calif., he’s getting kids excited about gardening and eating right. “I really wanted to promote nutrition awareness. That was my main goal,” Wagner says. When he arrived at Palmquist four years ago, the school garden was a fenced-in patch of waist-high weeds. Now it’s filled with ground crops and fruit trees that the students are not just excited to grow, but to eat as well.

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...

By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and co-founders of Healthy Child Healthy World    The Point was spectacular in ever sense of the word....

 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...

By Nancy  and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World   Step into paradise. Once you enter the Fess Parker Inn...

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...

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.

  "New York is the quintessential city for every imaginable pleasure " Step inside the chic Hotel Plaza Athenee and your first impression is a perfunctory,...

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.

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...

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...

What happens when you pair artisan farmstead cheese from Cowgirl Creamery in northern California with some of the finest master cheesemakers from The Wisconsin Cheeseman and you add the finest varietal wines, both reds and white, from one the most magnificent wineries in the world?

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.

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

Author of Family Dinner and Producer of Inconvenient Truth, Laurie David shares her concern about antibiotics in food production and what that means for the overall health concerns. By Laurie David, Author, Producer and LuxEco Advocate Originally posted on Huffington Post I worry. A lot. My worry gene works overtime. A doctor once told me it's called an "overactive checker" (or as I like to think of it, my OC). As far as afflictions go, it's not terrible. OC's are good to have around. They see danger from miles away. They pay close attention. Motherhood can be particularly tough on OC's. We know too well that there's no such thing as "out of sight out of mind." But over the years I have come to terms with my checker, and now consider it a trusted friend. It was my checker that helped me raise my kids with a minimum of cuts and scratches, rear three dogs from eight-week-old puppies, and eventually opened my eyes to the looming dangers of global warming. It's the same trusted checker that is screaming, "Wake up! Wake up!" on the issue of antibiotic resistance.

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

By Elizabeth Grossman, Author of Chasing Molecules: Poisonous Products, Human Health, and the Promise of Green Chemistry, High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden...