Orzo with Sausage, Peppers, and Tomatoes: a Very Giada Halloween

People knock her for the foxiness factor, but I’m a Giada DeLaurentiis fan, and I’ll tell you why:1) Her food is generally solid, always from scratch, and pretty easily prepared on weeknights after work.2) If I ran a blog called “Expensive Unhealthy TOTALLY FREAKING DELICIOUS,” her Aunt Raffy’s Turkey Sausage and Chestnut Stuffing would be the first recipe on it.3) She occasionally does photo shoots covered in tomato sauce. The pics aren’t particularly appealing any other day of the year, but on Halloween … awesome. They make perfect accompaniments to an otherwise unscary blog post. (Thanks, G!)Today’s recipe, Orzo with Sausage, Peppers, and...

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Posted in: Mains,Meat and Fish,Pasta,Sides

Veggie Might: Candy Corn - The Best Halloween Candy Ever - Veganized

Written by the fabulous Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about all things Vegetarian.Halloween is almost here, and that can only mean one thing. You’ve been scarfing down candy corn since August, when your local Rite Aid hauled out bags of Brach’s along with the back-to-school stuff. Wait...that might be me.Well it was until I absentmindedly read the label on the candy corn at the check out sometime in mid-September. Curses! Not you too, cc.That’s right, candy corn, the world’s best Halloween candy, sugary homage to the world’s greatest vegetable, is among a long list of confectionary delights saddled with hidden animal parts via...

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Posted in: Desserts and Snacks,Vegan,Vegetarian,Veggie Might

CHG Favorites of the Week

Hey folks – don’t forget to tune in later for Veggie Might. Leigh’s celebrating National Candy Corn day with a vegetarian/vegan version of your favorite autumn-hued treat. But first...Food Blog of the WeekAlmost Frugal FoodFrom Kelly, the proprietress of Almost Frugal, comes this vittles-oriented blog about making good chow at a low cost. It’s only a few months old, but there’s some solid stuff already, including the Friday is for Food series.Food Comedy of the Week“Jon Hamm’s John Ham” from SNLFor those of you who might not have caught SNL this past weekend, three things happened:1) Amy Poehler had her baby,2) Coldplay played FOUR TIMES to make up for the sketches Amy would have performed in, and,3) Mad Men’s Jon Hamm was totally, completely great – the best host they’ve had in a long, long...

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Posted in: Links

Cheap, Healthy, Sick: 10 Easy, Nutritious Foods for When You’ve Contracted the Plague

Picture it. You’re curled into a fetal position on your living room couch, inhaling ibuprofen, mainlining cough syrup, and praying for something – ANYTHING – to dissolve the sticky ball of evil living in your sinuses. You’re vaguely aware the TV is on, and somewhere in the distance, Drew Carey hands a Plinko chip to a lovely librarian from northwest Wyoming. Alas, you never discover where it falls, because you’ve been addled by a hacking fit so violent, your lungs nearly come out your nose. The last time you took your temperature, it was either 103 or 301. You don’t know, because there’s a distinct possibility your fever is SO high, you are now...

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Posted in: Cooking,Frugality,Health

Tuesday Megalinks

Before we get to today’s links, I’d like to take a minute to commemorate the most important story you, me, or anyone across our vast, glorious planet will read this week. You know the one I’m talking about. The sad one. The crazy one. The one that will forever change the lives of teenagers aching to burst free of complacency/sobriety. If you don’t know, I’m sorry I have to bring it up here, in a simple blog.Yes, the rumors are true: Zima is being discontinued.Really, it’s kind of like losing a family member, if that family member came in a frosted bottle and tasted like a terrier’s butt. But don’t fret, dear readers! My youth may be lost, but...

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Posted in: Links

Autumn Sausage Casserole and the Crock Pot Paradox

About two years ago, I attempted to make slow cooker baked beans from a Fix It and Forget It cookbook. After prepping the spices, readying the legumes, and mixing everything until well-blended, I threw it on “low” for a few billion hours and waited, fork in hand. That night, apoplectic over the prospect of three quarts of beany goodness, I dug into it with something approximating religious zeal.And it was TERRIBLE.Awful. Catastrophic. Traumatically bad. I doubt even my brother would eat it, and I’m fairly certain he’d eat hair if it wouldn’t clog up his throat. Yet, I saved everything despite the horror, because I couldn’t bring myself to chuck...

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Posted in: Mains,Meat and Fish

Insurance sales commissions raise eyebrows at Medicare

This sounds like round two of the Medicare Senior Drug Plan fiasco that has turned over thousands of dollars to the insurance industry, rather than helping Seniors pay for drugs.It also looks like the regulators aren't keeping a close eye on what the market is up to, not unlike the current Wall Street fiasco at great cost to the public coffers.This certainly should be an election issue and warrants a call or letter to your member of Congress.Medicare officials to review insurers' commissions By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON – Federal health officials said Friday they will soon address growing concerns about the lucrative commissions that some Medicare insurers plan to pay their agents and brokers this year.In Medicare, the elderly and disabled can enroll in private insurance...

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Posted in: commissions questioned,health insurance,Medicare,pressure sales

Placebo Effect Benefits Health

I always like to quote Andy Weil's statement when it comes to placebo naysayers. Weil believes placebo to be one of the most underused tools in medicine. Probably he's referring to the 'art' of medicine as it used to be when placebo was commonly used without being damned by the AMA.From my perspective the use of placebo often deals directly with the emotional component of health care. And it is this component that has fallen by the wayside, leading to a tremendous loss of confidence in the system by patients.Perhaps the AMA pundits might want to take a refresher course in medical history and brush up on their patient interaction skills. They might begin with Listening 101.Survey: Half of US doctors use placebo treatmentsBy MARIA CHENG, AP Medical WriterLONDON – About half of American doctors...

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Posted in: AMA,doctor confidence,placebo,Weil

Hawking Retires

This item is important to me in relation to a recent case of the demise of a person with ALS in N. Idaho, through the hospice system.Dr. Hawking is renown as one of the great minds of our times, and yet with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) he has continued to contribute much to our awareness and knowledge of science and space.This wasn't the luxury offered to the man in N. Idaho. He just got the "Listen Buddy" lecture that there just was no hope. The lecture came from the doctor that wrote up the drug dose bringing about the man's demise. I suppose it didn't matter that the dose might have been too low, allowing the man to wake up intermittently after drugs were adminstered and he was removed from a ventilator. (I wonder what the outcome might have been if this man was being given the nutrients...

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Posted in: ALS,drug death,Lou Gehrig's disease,Stephen Hawking

Health Care and Elections

With the US election only days away this topic is certainly one you need to consider before placing your votes."Medical Bills, Drug Prices and Access to Health Care -- Election Guide"Health care proposals are on most voter's minds and whether or not I like either candidate's proposals (and I don't - speaking from my years as a health planner).A major oversight is one that would include access to care of choice, including natural care (not exclusive to licensed hybrid natural medicine providers) and supplement parity.In my estimation the insurance industry still has too great a hold through its lobbyists on the DNC and RNC campaigns.Less you forget, it is insurance (and their many levels of middlemen) that is the greatest source of increase in health care costs. It isn't the tort lawyer scam...

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Posted in: choice,drug prices,election,health insurance,medical costs,natural care,supplements

Another Pink Charade Almost Over

I am so moved when I see how many people are finally catching on to the Pink Charade that comes along every so often throughout the year. If you are a follower of my work you know it has been quite a long time (a few decades) that I've been promoting education and prevention (more like full disclosure) so that women aren't the lab rats for drugs or other therapy they are told to be the only option available (not).One big concern is the falsity of mammogram. I personally have my long-time friend and his excellent research to thank for this enlightenment (John Gofman, MD).I don't think I have to say more until next March or next October, so read the numerous posts in my blog and on my web site about these issues. Your health really does depend on knowing the facts.There are others who believe...

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Posted in: breast cancer,breast cancer awareness,October,pink,radiation,x-ray

Alas and Alack: The CHG Hall of Shame

(Before getting to today’s article, I have to mention this: I was standing less than two feet from Tom Hanks at a restaurant last night. On the outside, I was all laid-back and cool. On the inside, I metaphorically wet my pants.)Between CHG and a new column on Serious Eats, I’m attempting to come up with three inexpensive, nutritious, culinarily sound dishes every seven days. Most weeks, out of five new-to-me meals, I can pick the best three and throw ‘em up on the ‘net. (NOTE TO SELF: Avoid phrase “throw ‘em up” when referring to delicious food.) Sometimes, I even get lucky: all five meals are great, and I can bank two for future posts.Other...

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Posted in: Links

Should women who have paid for statins be given their money back?

I think Dr. John Briffa has a point of consideration here. If you follow this blog you know we are also big skeptics about the statins and are most concerned with the health problems they create and the ones they really do not help.Again marketing seems to be the drive behind the sales of this class of drug. Yet more and more you read articles that seem to tell you that statins will fix just about everything. You can do much more for your health without these drugs and other newer ones from the recombinant-GMO aisle.Also remember that the majority of medical texts are written with men in mind and women's health - for the most part - seems to remain an aside. The same pervasive thinking must be in the halls of Big Pharma as well.Related to this topic are some of our posts on the benefits of...

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Posted in: cholesterol,health,health news,natural health news,natural news,statins,women

Green Living: Making Your Own Non-Toxic Cleaners

Back in 1991 I started teaching a series of classes under the broad heading of "Green Living". The classes came as the result of the naturally oriented column I was writing at that time and some local presentations in and around the Puget Sound region.Probably one of my most popular classes from that time is one where I talk about all the ingredients in mass market cleaners and why they are not health promoting. During this program I teach how to clean just about anything you can imagine with a select few ingredients, bought cheaply at the supermarket or in bulk if you know where to access these in your local area.Of course now the big producers of mass market cleaners are flooding the market with their brands hoping you'll keep up their $10 billion market share. While these products aren't...

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Posted in: cleaners,environment,Green Living,health,health news,making safe cleaners,natural,natural health news,natural news,non-toxic,non-toxic cleaners,safe cleaners

Yes, Bisphenol-A is Toxic

Long before Daily Green, where Dan Shapley serves as news editor, we broke the facts on Bisphenol-A Industry Wrote the Rules on Bisphenol-A , where you find it and why it is toxic, as well as an endocrine disruptor. This happened because I was curious about the '7' stamped on the bottom of Nalgene bottles carried around in the college town where I lived at the time by almost everyone. You may also not know that dental sealant, usually applied to the teeth of children, contains bisphenol-A.And often overlooked in the press is that under the current and last administrations, the involvement of industry in writing regulations has been commonplace or SOP as they say in acronym-using circles. A 2005 post can be found on this blog - "Is Your Nalgene Bottle Cool or Cruel"Now as things have caught...

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Tamiflu Resistance Confirmed

While you are pondering whether or not to take the flu jab you might wish to read about vaccine resistance, something you don't see or hear usually in mainstream media.First Confirmed H1N1 in CanadaTamiflu ResistantRecombinomics, October 23, 2008Since 1 September 2008, National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) has antigenically characterized three influenza viruses: one influenza A/Brisbane/59/2007(H1N1)-like and two influenza B/Florida/4/2006 viruses, which are the influenza A(H1N1) and influenza B components recommended for the 2008-09 influenza vaccine.The testing results showed that the influenza A(H1N1) isolate was sensitive to amantadine, however, it was resistant to oseltamivir due to the H274Y mutation.The above data from the most recent (week 41) report on seasonal flu in Canada indicates...

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Just a reminder - Exercise for Health

Exercise has proven to be positively related to the prevention and cure of all of these health concerns - Cardiovascular DiseaseDepression Obesity Diabetes Osteoporosis Forget the excuses, just try a 10 minute block in the morning and another in the evening. It's what'll do a body go...

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Veggie Might: Spaghetti Squash Puttanesca and the Best Little Sauce in the Kitchen

Penned by the effervescent Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about the wide world of Vegetarianism.Lately at the market, I’ve been slapped in the face by bins and bins of squash. It’s all I can do not to full up my basket with the bounty of fall. But with the last weeks of the CSA filling my kitchen, I have to resist.I satisfied the most recent urge by purchasing one spaghetti squash, and a relatively small one at that—just under two pounds. The wheels in my head started spinning. Spaghetti squash is a favorite dish from my waitron days, and I make my own version of my former employer’s recipe every fall. Heck, here in New York,...

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Posted in: Mains,Vegan,Vegetarian,Veggie Might

CHG Favorites of the Week

Food Blog of the Week #1Apron Thrift GirlI only ran across this blog for the first time yesterday, but I’m really liking it. Beyond the immediate impact of a well-designed front page, it’s … well, it’s relaxing. Like a digital scone. Or two-dimensional NPR. Try it.Food Blog of the Week #2Pasta QueenJennette Fulda went from 372 to 180 pounds in a little over 2-1/2 years. Her site is extensive, clever (“party in my fat pants!”), and full of fun graphs and photos you’d expect from a computer programmer. She’s even written a memoir called Half-Assed (“It’s hilarious, inspirational, and good for killing large insects.”), which chronicles her journey...

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Posted in: Links

CHF and Fracture

The American Heart Association reports on an increased risk of fracture with congestive heart failure (CHF).The article addresses issues such as parathyroid hormone, calcium and vitamin D and the bisphosphonate drugs for osteoporosis. One of the researchers wants better osteoporosis screening for people with heart disease and CHF.What the study ignores is the common proactive of prescribing diuretics for people with CHF.It is a well known fact that long term use of diuretics leads to osteoporosis.Was this excluded to gain further prescribing for the risky bisphosphonates that do little to improve bone health?Congestive heart failure increases risk of fractures: st...

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The Incredible Shrinking Dad: How One Guy Lost 108 Pounds (and Kept it Off)

Ed is a 59-year-old father of three from Queens, New York. Though an avid golfer and fisherman, he struggled with his weight most of his life. Then, in the ‘90s, a complete lifestyle overhaul helped him drop almost 110 pounds, sending him from 287 to his current weight of 179. He’s never joined a gym or a diet program. This is his story.(Incidentally, for transparency’s sake [and so I will not receive a beating from my mother], I will henceforth refer to him as Dad.)(Also, parts of this interview were edited for length.)(Also also, that's not his real head in the pictures. But you knew that.)KRIS: So Dad, when did you weigh the most?DAD: I weighed...

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Posted in: Frugality,Health