Healthy Eating

Simit--'Turkish Bagel'--Invades the Upper West Side

The simit tastes pretty good, but is it actually a bagel? Above: the whole wheat simit A neophyte chain called Simit Smith has introduced a new sort of bagel to the Upper West Side. In Turkey, it's known as a simit, but there are a half-dozen other names for it in the Middle East, Greece, Romani ... More >>

The Cutest Thing Ever Said To Me

In came the invite for yesterday: "MARTINI and the MOMs celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month. "Join us for the 'A Toast to Survivors' luncheon with special guest Kristin Chenoweth at Alison Eighteen." So there I was, all poised to eat healthy food and chat with the ladies about their lives an ... More >>

Mike Bloomberg, Food Cop: Mayor Pushing Private Hospitals To Follow City Food Guidelines

Hospital food, in general, sucks -- and thanks to Mayor Mike Bloomberg and his incessant war on flab, it's about to suck a lot more.Hizzoner announced today that several private hospitals in New York City have agreed to follow the mayor's dietary guidelines used for city-run hospitals. In other word ... More >>

What's the Point of Organic Food?

Scientists at Stanford University have concluded that organic fruits, vegetables, and meat are not significantly more nutritious than the same conventionally-grown foods. But was anyone under the impression that "organic" stood for "nutritious"? I'm not sure I know anyone paying the extra money fo ... More >>

Mike Bloomberg, Health Cop: Where's The War On Wheaties?

Mayor Mike Bloomberg has declared war on sodium, baby formula, sugar and, most recently, soda. But if Hizzoner is so concerned with your health, where's the war on Wheaties?Wheat is actually pretty horrible in terms of its ability to turn people into unhealthy fatsos. And unlike soda, it apparently ... More >>

Chef Sara Moulton To Write Food Column For The Associated Press

The Associated Press has hired Sara Moulton, a longtime Food Network host, to write a weekly healthy eating column. She will be doling out advice for using seasonal ingredients and her recipes, according to the AP, "will take a holistic approach to healthy eating, with an emphasis on whole grains, ... More >>

Q&A, Part 2: Runner and Stone's Peter Endriss on Brooklyn Flea, "Tart-tening" Up Bread, and NYC's Whole-Grain Movement

[See More Interviews: North Fork Table & Inn's Gerry Hayden | Travis Post of Yunnan Kitchen] Yesterday, Peter Endriss told us about opening a permanent bakery in Gowanus, baking at Per Se, and working 35 hours a weekend. We follow up today with part two of our chat with the gifted baker. He shares ... More >>

Year of the Takeout Day 113: Frozen Whole Wheat Chicken Potstickers

Frozen Whole Wheat Chicken Potstickers by Tang's Natural

Michelle Obama Suggests Updating Military Chow to Curb Obesity

​Michelle Obama stopped by the Pentagon today to announce a new obesity awareness campaign for the military, according to Reuters. The plan will require stocking all 1,100 American military mess halls with more fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat food, and will affect 1.45 million troops.

"Mindful Eating" Is The Hot New Thing For Your Mouth

​ Today's New York Times has an interesting article about a trend called "mindful eating," which is based on Buddhist principles and which will teach your taste buds a thing or two while making you less of a slurping hog. It's about savoring your food, thinking about it, taking your time with ... More >>

Congress Wants Your Kids To Be Fat

​In a heated congressional session Thursday, lawmakers continued to clash with the Obama administration over proposed changes that would make the school-lunch program healthier, arguing that low-income children have a right to eat shitty food and get sick from it.

New Polls Reveal Americans Aren't Happy With Food System

KB35, Flickr, CC​Is Michael Pollan's message sinking in? Are Americans finally tired of wolfing down government-subsidized Doritos (R.I.P. Arch West) and Big Macs? According to a new poll, the answer is an encouraging, although by no means overwhelming, yes. Recently, Mark Bittman pointed to t ... More >>

Harvard to USDA: Our Plate Is Better Than MyPlate

Harvard School of Public Health​ Last June, the USDA replaced its long-suffering food guide pyramid with the more plain-spoken MyPlate. Its merits quickly became a source of debate among nutritionists and public policy types, including those at the Harvard School of Public Health. And now sci ... More >>

Mediterranean Diet Falls Out of Favor with Mediterraneans; Why Big Macs Are Cheaper Than Whole Foods

​Sure, the Mediterranean diet -- full of fruits, vegetables, fish, and nuts -- is healthy. But in the 16 Mediterranean countries that made it famous, people have abandoned it in favor of processed food that's full of fat, salt, and sugar. ABC News] A paper in today's edition of the journal Sc ... More >>

The Food Pyramid Is Being Replaced by the Food Plate. Should We Care?

Let's hope Obama's food plate has more on it than this.​The food pyramid most of us grew up with is going the way of Betamax. But you probably won't be shedding a tear for the defunct infographic (bread and grains on the bottom, followed by fruits and vegetables, meat and dairy, and sweets and ... More >>

Food Day 2011 Will Attempt to Get America to 'Eat Real'

​Since 1981, World Food Day has come around every October to increase awareness and understanding of hunger, and promote actions to alleviate it. But its scope is just so planetary, so mindful of countries that don't suffer from an overabundance of junk food, subsidized corn, and diabetic thir ... More >>

Femi Kuti & the Positive Force

Shocker! Cartoons Make Food Taste Better to Kids

ShutterstockNow doesn't that look tasty?​According to a new study in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, children think foods with cartoons on the packaging taste better than foods which don't. Using the same cereal in different boxes, researchers had the kids sample both and ra ... More >>

10 Astounding Nutritional Discoveries of the Future

​Too many Omega 3's will quite literally turn you into a fish! Nutritionists tend to be full of shit. One day they tell you to eat margarine, then change their minds and say margarine will kill you. Generated by meaningless correlation studies and based on shaky science, so it is with most o ... More >>

USDA Dietary Guidelines: Eat Less Crap

El Gran Dee/FlickrHere's looking at you.​The USDA published its 2010 Dietary Guidelines today. The takeaway: eat less crap.

Government Continues to Blame American Obesity on American Stupidity

​The government has been dealing in some confusing messaging lately. For one, they did away with those color-coded terror alerts, seemingly acknowledging that we're not actually all mental kindergartners after all. But their new nutrition guidelines seem to be something of a step back in estim ... More >>

Lenny Bruce's Mom: California Health Nut

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. October 21, 1971, Vol. XVI, No. 42 Lenny & a mother's love By Arthur Bell LOS ANGELES, California -- I ring a doorbell where it says Sally Marr, and an invisible voice calls Arthur, is that you, c'mon in. I walk into a courtyard. Lawn ... More >>

Damascus Bread & Pastry Shop's Whole-Wheat Spinach Pie

​In their desire to appeal to the more health-conscious and/or guilt-ridden among us, numerous bakers compromise their products with whole-wheat flour, and the result is often reminiscent of chew toys and arbitrary childhood punishments. But this is happily far from the case at Damascus Bread ... More >>

Vegetarian Delights of NYC: 5 Napkin Burger's Veggie Burger

​You wouldn't necessarily expect to find a decent veggie burger -- or any veggie burger -- at a burger joint, particularly one that boasts its patties are so full of meat drippings that they require five napkins to digest. So it's a pleasant surprise to report that there isn't a decent veggie ... More >>

'Old School' Vegetarian Sandwich at Birdbath Bakery Is a Thumbnail History of Hippie Cuisine

​Birdbath's sandwich ($7) is a compendium of wholesome, simple ingredients. Birdbath Bakery has a new offering, known as the Old School Vegetarian Sandwich. Two slices of whole grain bread cradle a filling of shredded raw carrots, mixed sprouts, and ripe avocado, which is spread with a knife ... More >>

The Future Is Bleak for Foodies; Forget Jared. Meet Christine, Taco Bell's Diet Poster Girl

​The latest food recall comes from National Steak and Poultry in Oklahoma, which is recalling some 248,000 pounds of beef that might be contaminated with a strain of E. coli. The meat could be linked to illnesses in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, South Dakota, and Washington. [ABC News] Wh ... More >>

DOH Bans Seafood Out of Street Carts in 2010

midtownlunch.comNo more Kwik Meal salmon and tilapia for you!​When it's not grossing us out, the Department of Health is breaking our freakin' hearts. Midtown Lunch learns that, due to a resolution adopted last year, as of next year, "No fish, shellfish, or any food consisting of or made with ... More >>

My Rant: Who Keeps Stealing the Butter from the Buttermilk?

​Remember the fat-o-phobic early 90's, when every speck of fat had to be removed from every product, and nothing would sell in the supermarkets unless it was labeled "lo-fat" or "no-fat"? And margarine laden with trans-fats was touted as health food? Well, as with the lo-carb era that followed ... More >>

Bake Sale Crackdown

The Department of Education says its bake sale policies will help combat obesity, but students worry they'll be left starved for funds

FiDi Getting a Bon Chon

​ Instead of vegetarian health food, 104 John Street will be serving up fried chicken. The former home of Zen Palate is being transformed into a Bon Chon Chicken.

Booze News--Beer Cocktails & Pimm's Cups-a-Go-Go

EU officials in Brussels are blocking the sale of lower alcohol wines developed by New World wine regions. One method to make low-alcohol wine involves harvesting grapes which are immature and have a low sugar level, the second uses fully matured grapes to produce a normal wine, from which alcohol i ... More >>

What's Happening This Week--Learn How New York Chefs Cook At Home & Sample Homebrews At the Brooklyn Beer Experiment

As many of you know, our weekly dining and drinking newsletter features all the coolest epicurean events in the city. Sign up for it here! How I Cook At Home Whole Foods Bowery Culinary Center June 1, 8 & 15 Ever wonder what your favorite chef keeps in his or her kitchen? The How I Cook At Home ser ... More >>

Gourmet Says We Should Pay More for Food--Do You Agree?

Gourmet has an interesting piece on the cost debate at the recent Cooking for Solutions Sustainable Foods Institute in Monterey, CA. Apparently, we pay too much for food, according to certain experts (Whole Foods global produce buyer, Karen Christensen, being one of them). According to these exper ... More >>

Domino's Grossout Kids Face Arrest; TV Chefs on the Naughty List & Bruni Begs: Eat At Restaurants!

"Michael" and "Kristy" from the grossout YouTube video in which two Domino's Pizza employees defile pizza toppings before allegedly serving them to customers face felony charges and, possibly, a civil suit. [FOXNews] Don't do as they say or as they do--TV chefs are spreading their bad habits to vi ... More >>

Incredibly Cheap Eats -- Whiting on Whole Wheat

The scrumptious whiting sandwich at Dolphin (presumably, no dolphins were harmed) In Uptown Manhattan the fish sandwich rules as a cheap tuck-in. And one of the best places to get them is in the seafood markets usually run by Koreans. These vertical operations fry up whatever filets they have o ... More >>

Trail Mix That Tastes Good

Usually, trail mix is just an excuse to pick the chocolate chips out of a bag of nuts. But these trail mixes, from Sahale Snacks, are delicious. There are six different varieties, of which my favorites are Ksar--pistachios, dried figs, sunflower seeds and harissa--and Sing Buri--cashews, dried pine ... More >>

Weekend Special: Recipe for the World's Greatest Veggie Burgers

If there's one thing vegetarians still crave from the world of meat, it's hamburgers. But the frozen patties they pull from supermarket freezer cases are the palest of imitations - rubbery hockey pucks of textured vegetable protein (TVP) laced with rancid-tasting onion powder and mystery fats. Unles ... More >>

Food News From Across the Country

The economic downturn has resulted in a decrease in milk consumption; now California's dairy operators may need their own sort of bailout. [Mercury News]Representatives from seven of the country's most expensive restaurants, from Masa to Alinea, say they haven't seen much of a decrease in business. ... More >>

Keeping Cubicle Inhabitants From Getting Fat

Food Fight: Harlem Forum Debates Supermarket Sweeps

The Great Sirloin Taste-Off

First Lady Paterson Greens the Mansion, Enjoys Thai Food

Whole Foods Nixes Plastic Bags For Good

A Briny Love Connection: Whole Foods and Wheelhouse Pickles

Remain Calm: Whole Foods Bowery Opens Tomorrow

Battle of the Greenest: Whole Foods, Wild Oats

Supermarket Sweep: Price Check on the Chayote!

Early Bud Special

Unhealthy Breakfast may cause bloating, hangover

Restrictive Diets Unite

New York's vegan-Kosher connection

Breakfast of Champions

Wade Boggs: Fowl Food for Fair Balls