tāst

too much nitrogen

2011-07-17T09:55:00.001-07:00

http://t.co/ehLX1J4

be green

2011-06-03T19:25:00.003-07:00

be green

2011-06-03T19:25:00.001-07:00

Untitled

2011-05-22T16:08:00.001-07:00

http://youtu.be/T3SlsP130xY

watch

2011-04-27T19:04:00.001-07:00

food is thy medicine

2011-04-27T19:03:00.001-07:00

a must watch no matter what

http://forksoverknives.com/

http://youtu.be/O7ijukNzlUg

Greater Self

2011-04-19T07:26:00.001-07:00

Vortumnus (Vertumno) by

Giuseppe Arcimboldo

From the Greater Self, in the Beginning, came Space.
From Space came air; out of Air, Fire; out of Fire,
Water, and from Water came Solid Earth. From Earth
arose all Living Plants and from them came Food.
The Body, composed of the Essence of Food, is the
Physical Aspect of the Greater Self.

– Taittriya Upanshad

Is Sugar Toxic?

2011-04-18T17:50:00.001-07:00

For those of y'all who didn't read it yet: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

and the video gone viral of Lustig's lecture:

McDonald's Screws Up Oatmeal

2011-04-14T16:44:00.001-07:00

Read It: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/how-to-make-oatmeal-wrong/?partner=rss&emc=rss

A more accurate description than “100 percent natural whole-grain oats,” “plump raisins,” “sweet cranberries” and “crisp fresh apples” would be “oats, sugar, sweetened dried fruit, cream and 11 weird ingredients you would never keep in your kitchen.”

Bolivia Is What's Up

2011-04-12T08:16:00.001-07:00

Bolivia Enshrines Natural World's Rights with Equal Status for Mother Earth:

"She (mother earth) is sacred, fertile and the source of life that feeds and cares for all living beings in her womb. She is in permanent balance, harmony and communication with the cosmos. She is comprised of all ecosystems and living beings, and their self-organisation."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/apr/10/bolivia-enshrines-natural-worlds-rights

What's lurks beneath the dog...

2011-04-06T11:55:00.001-07:00

Sent from my iPhone

The Field Academy

2011-04-02T11:23:00.001-07:00

This is an amazing new education concept that has been started by a few incredible friends from Vermont. Here is a some information, but check out the full site below:

Opening in August of 2012, the Field Academy is an academically rigorous, two-year residential high school for 20 juniors and 20 seniors. Our design and academic curriculum have two main features: (a) a sustainable farm campus; and (b) extensive travel throughout the United States. In both settings, we investigate what surrounds us: on the farm, we study the environmental, political, and social implications of being part of an ecosystem; on the road, we explore historical, literary, artistic, and scientific disciplines to deepen our understanding of American identity and citizenship.

http://www.fieldacademy.org/the-school.html

wake up America!

2011-03-31T19:20:00.001-07:00

Go WWOOFing

2011-03-24T06:21:00.001-07:00

World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) is part of a world-wide effort to link volunteers with organic farmers, promote an educational exchange, and build a global community conscious of ecological farming practices. You can search through their database and hook up with a farm and work for a week or a whole Summer. Rethink your vacation time.

Go to: http://www.wwoofusa.org ... and WWOOF now!

Dhanvantari, the god of Ayurvedic medicine

2011-03-21T06:44:00.001-07:00

The belly rules the mind. (Spanish Proverb)

According to Ayurveda (or ayurvedic medicine, a system of traditional medicine native to India), digestion is the cornerstone of health. Good digestion nourishes the body. Eating the proper foods will make a big difference in your well being. There are two aspects to the food and nutrition in Ayurveda. One is the physical food you eat, digest, and assimilate. In this process, the organs of your digestive system has a big role. The second aspect of it is what you consume through your mind-body. What you see, hear, taste, smell, feel, and think are all important for your well being and impact your health considerably. For example, stress plays a key role in our health. Ayurveda had recognized the importance of the environment in our total health. Remember, everything in your environment is composed of doshas (the bodily humors that make up one's constitution) that interact with your own doshas. You are affected by everything else which goes on in this universe as you are part and parcel of this cosmos. Thus we have the "big picture" or "holistic outlook" in Ayurveda. (information from www.holisticonline.com)

The question of food and our relationship to is also a question of the relationship between mind and body. The nature of the relationship between mind and body, whether you believe it divided or of the same substance, will, after much debate, bring us to exploring the nature of our relationship to the environment we live in. In Ayurvedic medicine, it is acknowledged that the human body is a microcosm of the earth. If that is so, there is no divide between mind, body, environment. So again, what then is our relationship to food?

Post

2011-03-18T08:13:00.001-07:00

Cocina, by the great Quino.

Post

2011-03-16T11:38:00.001-07:00

I typed the word FOOD into Google images this morning. The images above are the first two that appeared in the search results. The one on the left, a congested stage set of the "classic" food groups with, of course, a hunk of pork, jar of milk, and a bagel balancing on good ol' wiener dogs as the center piece of the scene. The second: food as clip art. The question arises: what is our relationship to food? The distance created here is done through aesthetics (though poorly executed). On the left, an overload of semi waxy, dried out, and highly saturated (color as well as fat) food products (because they are food as products more than food as nourishment (if that is what food should only be)), and on the right, image of food product generated by computer. What is our relationship to food brings us then in this case to the semiotics of food. "Claude Lévi-Strauss used cooking as a metaphor for the way the 'raw' images of nature are 'cooked' in culture so that they may be used as part of a symbolic system. Food can function as a commercial strategy (the business lunch), a social event (the feast), a gift, or a means of telling fortunes (plum stones, fortune cookies)." (source: http://www.eng.umu.se/culturec/FOO.htm). Typing FOOD into Google gives me the same result as going to the food court at my local mall. I'm not sure what our relationship to food is, but it seems that FOOD as a word needs to be redefined before this debate can move on.

[tast] Re: Post

2011-03-10T08:35:00.001-08:00

For Your Health.

Post

2011-03-08T23:14:00.001-08:00

If only doctors today were as wise as Dr. Muppet here to know that the simplest of remedies taken directly and purely from Mother Earth, such as a lime and a coconut, could effectively relieve Kermits foot ache. Save a trip to the podiatrist and your insurance policy co-pay and learn a lesson from the Muppets, keep it simple, buy some coconuts (organic of course).

Sent from my iPhone

The Sick Care Economy

2011-02-17T17:28:00.001-08:00

The Sick Care Economy

Posted: 3/12/2010 - Commentary by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

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This CounterThink cartoon was originally published in 2006, and at the time it seemed almost outlandish to suppose that virtually an entire economy could be run on junk foods, sickness, disease and health care. And yet in the years since, this scenario has become more of a reality in the United States of America, where politicians are announcing "The economy is good" even while an increasingly large portion of that economy is based on disease-causing products and sick-care maintenance of the population (the "health care" system).
Now that the new health care law has been passed by the Congress and signed by the President, it seemed like an especially good time to revisit this cartoon which turns out to be eerily accurate in predicting the future emphasis of the U.S. economy. When looking at this, remember that this cartoon stemmed from what I knew four years ago... long before the Wall Street bailout or health care reform. Yet even then it was obvious that the economy was headed in the direction of the "business is booming" proclamation made by the mayor in this cartoon.
What follows is the full text of a recent article I posted called, "America does not have a shortage of doctors, it has an excess of disease." This article is particular relevant to the message of this cartoon, so I'm including it below.

America does not have a shortage of doctors, it has an excess of disease
Now that health reform relying on monopolized pharmaceutical medicine has become the law of the land across America, the mainstream media is reporting on a sudden shortage of doctors. The nearly one million doctors who already treat a sick, diseased population is no longer enough, it seems, and medical schools are ramping up to churn out more doctors to treat yet more disease. There are never enough doctors to go around when everybody's sick, it seems...
What we're witnessing here is a massive expansion of the sick-care industry which already swallows 20 percent of the U.S. economy. Over the next few years, that percentage will rise to 25 percent, then 30 percent, and this financial sinkhole called "mainstream medicine" may even hit one-third of the entire national economy.
That puts the U.S. in a dire financial situation. If a third of the economic productivity is being spent on sickness and disease, and another third (or so) is being spent on war and imperialism, and another third is spent on debt interest and social security, then where do you get the money to actually build roads and schools, pay government employees or administer the business of government?
The answer, of course, is that you simply print more money and keep on spending -- a sure path to currency hyperinflation.
But that's another story. The topic of today is how to solve the doctor shortage. And the answer to that is quite simple: Unleash the power of nutrition to prevent and reverse disease.

Nutrition ends the doctor shortage
We already know that vitamin D, all by itself, can prevent nearly 4 out of 5 cancers (http://www.naturalnews.com/021892.html). It also helps prevent heart disease, diabetes, depression, seasonal flu and kidney disease. Distribute free vitamin D supplements across the entire population and you solve the doctor shortage problem in one year as the public gets healthier and reduces doctor visits.
It's a simple, cost-effective solution that any intelligent nation would embrace without a second thought: Invest a few pennies in the health of the population and save yourself many dollars in reduced health care costs. Regular vitamin D supplementation has no negative side effects and requires no prescriptions, no injections and no visits to the doctor. What's not to like about that?
Except the sick care industry doesn't like it at all. Drug companies, hospitals, conventional doctors, med schools, medical journals and now even the mainstream media all generate extreme profits from the ongoing business of sickness and disease. Vitamin D would disrupt their profit agenda and send people home healthy and well instead of bringing them back into the hospital sick and diseased.
America, you see, does not have a shortage of doctors... it has an excess of disease. And that's an excess that the sick-care system seems determined to continue.

America must decide: Sickness or health?
Faced with such a situation, the nation can make one of two choices:
Choice #1) Invest in more doctors and expand the business of disease to ensnare the entire population in a cycle of pharmaceutical dependence, nutritional ignorance and accelerated disease.
Choice #2) Invest in nutrition and shrink the sick-care industry by showing people how to stay healthy, fit and free of disease. Downsize sick care, in other words, by unleashing health.
Which choice has America made? It's obvious, isn't it? With the recent health care reform legislation, the country has invested heavily in choice #1: More sickness, more pharmaceuticals, more hospitals and more doctors.

The business of disease is booming!
I first wrote about this in a tale called The Town of Allopath (http://www.naturalnews.com/008674.html), a fable that has been featured on Mercola's website for several years now. In that tale, I wrote about a society that believed it was experiencing economic abundance because it kept spending more and more money repairing car crashes and hospitalizing victims of automobile accidents. The town removed all stop signs and traffic lights to make sure more traffic accidents occurred, thereby ensuring jobs for the local car repair shops, hospitals and doctors.
I also depicted a similar scenario in a CounterThink Cartoon published in 2006 called Business is Booming! (http://www.naturalnews.com/021218_disease_economy_drug_racket.html)
This cartoon shows a town mayor announcing "Business is booming" while, in the background, the cityscape features chemical companies, fast food restaurants, hospitals, cancer centers and funeral homes. Sure, business is booming for all the companies that create disease and treat disease, but is the quality of life for that society getting any better? Not by a long shot.
What's really interesting about all this is that today, just four years later, the "Business is Booming" cartoon has become reality in America! The Town of Allopath is now the country of America. This country has decided to expand the business of disease, and this is what has created an artificial "shortage of doctors."
This shortage of doctors is an entirely manufactured shortage. America already has nearly one million doctors. If anything, we have way too many doctors. We'd actually be better off with far fewer doctors combined with a Health Freedom Protection Act that would allow naturopathic physicians to practice medicine alongside Traditional Chinese Medicine doctors, chiropractors and other holistic practitioners.
And if we could roll back the FDA censorship of nutritional supplements and superfoods, then we could finally start to educate people about how to prevent disease using supplements, herbal remedies and nutritional therapies. All of a sudden we would find ourselves with far too many doctors -- and too many cancer centers, hospitals and clinics, too.
This should be the goal of any intelligent nation: To protect and enhance the health of its people. But America's leaders (if you can call them that) have chosen a different path for the People: A lifetime of nutritional ignorance, medical enslavement, vaccinations, mammograms, chemotherapy, psychiatric drugs and an endless assortment of other dangerous medications.
It makes you wonder... why?

Why America's government needs you to die sooner
If you do the math on this, you'll discover that the federal government cannot afford to have people live very long. If people live too many years past retirement, they keep collecting social security benefits. But social security is broke. It has no real money and only operates on a system of IOUs from the U.S. Treasury.
Social security is one of the largest outlays of cash from the U.S. government -- cash the country simply doesn't have and therefore must borrow or print.
From a financial point of view, the U.S. government sees retired people as purely a financial burden: They pay no taxes, they produce very little work, and they drain cash for every month they stay alive. It sounds cruel, but it's true: The government of the United States of America cannot afford for retired people to stay alive for very long.
The more quickly you die, the more money the government saves. Kinda sick, huh?
Now, imagine the financial burden on the Treasury if all of a sudden 70 million elderly Americans were taught the truth about vitamin D and nutritional therapies. Imagine people living just ten years longer than they currently do. The cost to the Treasury would be in the hundreds of billions of dollars each year! And yet the federal government doesn't have hundreds of billions of extra dollars. It's already spending such a fortune on disease, war and debt that it don't have a dime to spare.
See The New Mr. America: Bankrupt, Diseased and Running Out of Options (http://www.naturalnews.com/026686_America_national_debt.html).>

Help reverse the national debt... die sooner!
And this bring us to the health care reform legislation which, depending on whom you ask, contains "death panel" provisions or "taxpayer-funded assisted suicide" support. Whether such provisions actually exist under current reform legislation is hotly debated, of course, but the way they theoretically work is simple: Bureaucrats get to decide who lives and who dies based on how much money the state can afford to spend on them.
Well, I can tell you this right now: If you're retired, the state believes it can't afford you at all! From a purely fiscal point of view, the state wants you dead, not alive and collecting money from social security while spending even more money via Medicare. This is truly a case where if you're retired, you're worth more DEAD than ALIVE (to the state, that is).
Could our sick-care system actually be designed to "expire the taxpayers" right around retirement age?
Every few years, the government raises the age qualifications for collecting social security (http://www.ssa.gov/retire2/agereduction.htm). At the same time, they keep increasing the toxicity of mainstream medicine by pushing more chemicals and radiation onto more people. The result is inescapable: Fewer and fewer people will ever live long enough to ever collect social security.
Do you think this is coincidence?
America's leaders, you see, aren't necessarily trying to reduce the population per se. But they don't want you to live a day beyond retirement because that's when you stop paying taxes and start collecting money from the state. That's unaffordable, so the "perfect system" (in their eyes) is one that causes your death somewhere between the ages of 55 and 70. They don't want medicine to kill you in your twenties or thirties because that's when you're working hard and paying taxes. What they really want is a system of medicine the offers accumulated toxicity that catches up with you in your late 50's and kills you before age 65.
And isn't that exactly what mammograms, vaccines and pharmaceuticals do? CT scans catch up with you, too, and the combined toxicity of all these medications hit your liver and kidneys in your 50's, usually. By age 67 when full social security benefits are supposed to kick in, most people are either pumped up full of medications or they're dead.
Cancer doesn't just happen overnight, you know. It takes many years (decades, usually) for a tumor to grow to the size where it can be detected on a mammogram. Meanwhile, doctors and medical staff are bombarding your breasts with radiation every year, practically guaranteeing that you'll end up with breast cancer in your 60's if you don't die from something else first.
Am I saying that government-run health care is out to kill you? Not exactly. But they sure aren't trying to keep you alive, either...

Mainstream medicine is the real killer
You know what the No. 1 killer in America is? It's not cancer. Not heart disease. Not strokes, accidents or terrorism. The No. 1 cause of death in America is mainstream medicine, which kills anywhere from 250,000 to over 750,000 people a year, depending on whose statistics you believe.
These deaths are called iatrogenic deaths, which means "deaths caused by doctors." You might just call it iatrogenocide, though, given how little regard the mainstream medical system has for protecting human life.
So, getting back to the title of this article... if doctors are already killing over half a million people a year in America, and if we now have a "shortage" of doctors that will result in hundreds of thousands more doctors practicing the same backward system of drugs-and-surgery medicine that's killing people right now, can you guess what will happen to the iatrogenic death rate in America?
You guessed it: It's heading skyward. Expect to see over a million Americans a year killed by mainstream medicine within the next decade.
And why will a million Americans needlessly die each year from a monopoly medical system run by a bankrupt government? Perhaps because it's easier and more profitable to just watch Americans die before they collect social security than to teach them how to stay alive and healthy.
The game is rigged, folks. And it's even more severely rigged if you're black, by the way. The vitamin D deficiencies suffered by black Americans today practically guarantee most middle-aged African American men will never live to collect social security. So you actually have a country full of hard-working black Americans paying taxes into a social security system that disproportionately pays out to white folks.
Check it out: The average life expectancy of a black American male is about 67 years.
You collect social security, if you're still alive, only after reaching -- guess what? -- age 67 (http://www.ssa.gov/retire2/agereduction.htm).>
Meanwhile, the average life expectancy of a white American male is 74 years.
So that means white males are collecting social security for 7 years longer than black males. So working black men are actually subsidizing retired white men. At the same time, the sick-care system seems to be trying to kill us all before we reach retirement age because that saves more money for a bankrupt government that's bowing to the Chinese and Japanese governments to keep lending it more money.
How many dead Americans does it take to eliminate the national debt? I don't know, but you can bet some pencil pusher in Washington has already done the math on that, and the answer is not one that prioritizes your personal health.
Sources for this story include: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304506904575180331528424238.htm...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-04-12-deficit_N.htm

Permissions to use: Want to use this cartoon? Specific, limited permission is granted to reprint in any book, movie, website, magazine, newspaper, animation or other media under the following 'professional courtesy' conditions:

Cartoon creator Mike Adams must be conspicuously credited.

Web address www.NaturalNews.com must be posted below or adjacent to the cartoon in a conspicuous manner. If on the web, the link must be clickable.

You may not use this cartoon in a disparaging context or manner.

You may not charge for this cartoon.

Truth Publishing retains all ownership, rights and copyrights.

Reprint rights may be revoked, without notice, on a case by case basis, if reprint courtesy is, in our opinion, abused.

High-resolutions files are available for film and print.

via CounterThink.com

ever wonder where your garbage ends up?

2011-02-17T16:47:00.001-08:00

GOOD FOOD not CHEAP FOOD

2011-02-10T19:55:00.001-08:00

<p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 420px;">Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy</p>

hope in the future

2011-02-10T19:34:00.001-08:00

WOW, my GOD, there is actually hope in this country, in the coming generation.

tast believes

2011-02-02T08:49:00.001-08:00

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/a-food-manifesto-for-the-future/

a new tasteatery

2011-02-01T09:12:00.001-08:00

just been too busy to post anything.....

we have huge changes coming to tasteatery.

I hope by spring, but most likely by summer.

Look out for a Grand Re-Opening!

the fun theory . com

2011-01-17T11:24:00.001-08:00

be inspired

inspiration again

2011-01-12T16:46:00.001-08:00

I need to be inspired again

<p>KUSHO from Shinichi Maruyama on Vimeo.</p>

inspiration

2011-01-12T16:44:00.001-08:00

yes, its been a while.

just been out of it. F'in staff problems.

too much to do, in the meantime, be inspired...

<p>Water Sculpture from Shinichi Maruyama on Vimeo.</p>

spreading tast joy with santa

2010-12-18T17:04:00.001-08:00

Download now or watch on posterous

SantaElfCompressed.m4v (39588 KB)

Santa is here, giving out presents

2010-12-18T10:07:00.001-08:00

Santa is coming!

2010-12-16T18:56:00.001-08:00

Santa is coming to town!

2010-12-11T17:02:00.001-08:00

the amazing human being

2010-12-04T15:34:00.001-08:00

its amazing what we mere human beings are capable of, imagination, creation of, dance, art, mechanics, thought and philosophy.

imagine of we were able to tap into the knowledge of our vast universe,

'oh, the places you'll go!'

karma and cloud beings

2010-12-04T15:29:00.001-08:00

Via @nprnews: Arsenic Life Is Nice; Living Clouds Are Nicer | http://t.co/nxhfFC2

I find it intriguing how millions of people practice yoga and I wonder about all those who are 'certifed' to teach it. do they know where yoga originated from? are they fully benefiting from practicing yoga positions and not practicing the philosophy of diet and spirituality that can go with yoga?

we all know how to use the phrase 'its bad karma' or 'its good karma', but do we really understand what karma is?

buddhism and hinduism has its roots in jainism where 'karma' is believed to be an actual physical matter and affects people in a physical way, either in a 'good way, good karma' or a 'bad way, bad karma'.

think of the smallest particle that can possibly exist which we cannot see. currently, the smallest particle that we can see is a quark which is smaller than a proton or neutron which makes up an atom which is the basic unit of matter. this tiny particle dust is floating all around us and is called karma in jainism.

in short without getting religious, in jainism, the goal is to rid of the bad karma covering our souls, then we will reach enlightenment.

clouds, particle clouds, nebulas, being 'alive', Im not so sure about. but maybe these cloud particles, or nebulas thoughout the universe are the neurons for synapses to travel for a greater being that we cannot see because we're not able to distance ourselves far enough away.

a proper diet folow up

2010-12-03T18:42:00.001-08:00

In between cooking, prepping, marketing, and the other million things Im working on on top of rying to get together a new menu, I try to post blogs.

so my thoughts will be random.

getting back to the ulcerative colitis and a proper diet and eating worms......

I remember growing up my parents were always working and my sister and I usually had to take care of ourselves even when it came to eating. Also being an immigrant family, there were many not so healthy eating habits that quickly became part of our regular diet. whether it be spam or fast food, eating a stick of butter like a candy bar. oh and all that white bread, from pasta to pizza to PBJ on wonder bread. I remember how we as kids would tear off the brown edges, roll up the bread into a big ball and get such satisfaction biting into it.

Unfortunately fo some of us who have weak stomachs, years of unhealthy eating habits will take a toll on our system. this is what happened to my wife.

a proper diet is important to prevent health problems, and it is also important to cure health problems.

at the same time, some help from nature cant hurt either, whether it be herbal remedies or microorganisms.

I'll need to do a little more research about this healthy parasite before letting my wife ingest them.

a proper diet

2010-12-03T16:05:00.001-08:00

Via @nprnews: Eat Your Worms: The Upside Of Parasites | http://t.co/5wWYGGC

My wife was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis almost 2 years ago. Its an extremely distressful condition and renders doing mundane routines difficult. A visit to the physician can be humiliating and what makes dealing with a so called 'educated' 'professional' so disconcerting is the fact that a doctor's advice is to smoke in order to relieve the discomfort.

thank god for the internet, for both its good and bad.

through much reading and research, my wife tried different diets and found a starch free diet which seems to help, but it will be a while longer before we know if its going to actually heal her intestinal lining.

I always knew the importance of a proper diet, but now I know the importance of a proper diet.

this is why i go out of my way, even if it means smaller profit margins, to use the ingredients that i do at tast eatery. no, our menu is far from perfect, and our goal is not to have the perfect menu, but help everyone transition to a proper diet. I wish i could be a vegetarian, but i like eating red meat and I think there are many out there in a similar transition period to a proper diet.

do what you love, than its no longer work

2010-11-27T07:04:00.001-08:00

if you can refrain from being envious of others,

stop being tempted by the media,

find your life's passion,

then you'll never have to work again.

http://www.npr.org/2010/11/23/131550142/-soul-mates-shoe-entrepreneur-finds-love-in-giving

first kill your food

2010-11-25T18:51:00.001-08:00

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/11/19/arts/1248069338605/city-critic-slau...

knowing that our meat was once alive use to be common knowledge

food as medicine

2010-11-21T06:18:00.001-08:00

Let food be thy medicine, thy medicine shall be thy

food.

- Hippocrates

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/magazine/21Epilepsy-t.html

why we are so unhealthy

2010-11-06T17:52:00.001-07:00

when the USDA creates a marketing entity called Dairy Management to help boost sales for food corporations such as Domino's and Taco Bells.....

we the people better make a stand or else its basically a lost cause when our own government is in bed with the food corporations that supply the fast food chains.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/us/07fat.html

when you read this NYT article, you should be F'in pissed OFF!

but whats the point if we dont do anything about it.

take part in something

2010-11-05T19:22:00.001-07:00

http://www.takepart.com/

http://www.takepart.com/foodinc

what choice do we have

2010-11-05T19:18:00.001-07:00

making choices

2010-11-05T19:16:00.001-07:00

http://www.takepart.com/videos/hungry-for-change-anna-lappé/10413

What's in your food

2010-11-05T03:38:00.001-07:00

music inspiration

2010-11-04T18:00:00.001-07:00

what you eat

2010-10-26T13:23:00.001-07:00

Let food be thy medicine, thy medicine shall be thy

food.

- Hippocrates

diet, meaning the everyday food we eat

2010-10-22T15:38:00.001-07:00

When diet is wrong medicine is of no use.

When diet is correct medicine is of no need.

- Ancient Ayurvedic Proverb

1 in 10 adults have type 2 diabetes

2010-10-22T13:07:00.001-07:00

Diabetes Rates To Soar Unless Americans Get Weight Under Control | http://t.co/neTt7bK

Diabetes costing the US 174 Billion a year! 174 Billion! 174 Billion!!!!

1 in 10 adults, not including children, have type 2 diabetes. 24 MIllion. 24 million. 24 million!

"..................Some pills boost our risk of more health problems."

so what is the solution? a healthy diet?

so what does our government want to do? pass legislation?

how about stop giving into the lobbyists of 'food incorporated' and start giving a rats ass about the american people!

got milk?

2010-10-21T19:47:00.001-07:00

celery recall

2010-10-21T19:32:00.001-07:00

Texas Shuts Down Celery Plant After Five Deadly Listeria Cases Reported | http://t.co/rQwz37M

who are these so called food safety advocates? pass more legislation!? and more legislation!?

"...from consumer groups to producers, have called for the Senate to pass the bill, which would increase inspections, amp up the FDA's recall authority, and give it new tools to detect illness before it gets too widespread."

how about farming properly so to limit growth of food borne illnesses and educating the public to eat healthy so the body can naturally defend against illnesses.

its bad enough that the FDA allows radiation of spinach and lettuce.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2128774020080821

"...The Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday the radiation treatment also would make the leafy greens last longer and give them greater "shelf-life" for retailers and consumers."

great. longer shelf life in exchange for produce zapped of 75% of its nutrients from radiation.

so now we are eating produce grown in nutrient deprived soil which gets radiated further reducing nutrients in the produce all to force us to take pharmaceutical developed multi vitamins and keep us just barely sick enough to relie on our healthcare system.

There is only one species on planet Earth that's stupid enough to think a McDonald's hamburger is food

2010-10-20T18:17:00.001-07:00

http://www.naturalnews.com/030074_Happy_Meal_decompose.html

"There is only one species on planet Earth that's stupid enough to think a McDonald's hamburger is food. This species is suffering from skyrocketing rates of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, dementia and obesity. This species claims to be the most intelligent species on the planet, and yet it behaves in such a moronic way that it feeds its own children poisonous chemicals and such atrocious non-foods that even fungi won't eat it (and fungi will eat cow manure, just FYI)."

more vital than the nation's oil supply?

2010-10-20T17:53:00.001-07:00

FOOD!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/12/business/12sorkin.html

imagine if we took our decomposable garbage and actually decomposed it instead of throwing it into landfills mixed with garbage that doesnt decompose, we could actually make rich organic material that could provide actual nutrients for farming.

who prepared your food?

2010-10-20T13:39:00.001-07:00

This meal is the labor of countless beings;

let us remember their toil.

- Zen meal chant

Gratitude and Reverence for what you eat

2010-10-19T18:14:00.001-07:00

Before his enlightenment, the historical Buddha

weakened himself with fasting and other ascetic

practices. Then a young woman offered him a bowl of

milk, which he drank. Strengthened, he sat beneath

a bodhi tree and began to meditate, and in this way

he realized enlightenment.

From a Buddhist perspective, eating is more than

just taking in nourishment. It is an interaction

with the entire phenomenal universe. It is a gift

given us through the work of all beings. We vow to

be worthy of the gift and work to benefit others.

Food is received and eaten with gratitude and

reverence.

A Zen blessing at mealtime:

"In this plate of food, I see the entire universe

supporting my existence."

want to be healthy?

2010-10-10T07:36:00.001-07:00

its common sense really.

How much sugar do you eat or drink?

2010-10-10T07:34:00.001-07:00

Food Revolution

2010-10-03T09:07:00.001-07:00

If you are eating a bagel or even worse nothing at all almost every morning, pizza, processed deli meats, or fast food most of the week for lunch, pasta or Chinese take-out several times a week for dinner, any kind of sugary drink at least once a day, its seriously time to re-evaluate your eating habit.

Yes we do sell bagels, buttery croissants and drinks organic or not loaded with sugar. There is nothing wrong with having a bagel or croissant once in a while. Even I need to give in to my Chinese take-out/taco bell cravings. However, if this is 80% of your weekly meal, its time for a change. You may be feeling fine now, but wait til your age catches up to you.

In fact your body may be telling you something now, but you just are not listening.

Some symptoms caused by poor eating habits:

Constipation
head aches
feeling lethargic
allergies
diabeities
kidney stones
high cholesterol
lack of concentration
regular colds
pale skin color

these are just some of the symptoms caused by poor eating habits. Usually we address these symptoms by taking over the counter medication rather than getting to the root of the cause which if not addressed can cause you to have a very unfulfilling life as you get older.

Eat well now so you don’t have to pay later.

We know how hard it is to eat healthy, so we will be working on helping you make it easier.

We are working on completely revising our menu to help everyone eat better by early 2011.

my daughter eats her fruits and veggies

2010-09-27T15:27:00.001-07:00

researchers at the University of California, Berkeley did a 3 year study examining the difference between children who participated in a edible schoolyard program and those who didnt. Apparently the children who helped garden and helped cook the food they harvested ate 1 and a half servings more fruit and vegetables.

hmmmmmm, sounds a lot like what I did with my daughter. and I really didnt need an expert to tell me this.

it just seemed like common sense to me. In fact this was common practice in the old days.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/25/health/policy/25vegetables.html

kids eating a proper diet starts with the parents eating a proper diet. until then, the chain cannot be broken.

what do chickens eat?

2010-09-24T18:24:00.001-07:00

Via @nprnews: Egg Farmers At Center Of Salmonella Outbreak Speak Out | http://t.co/c2zDsXV

the egg farmer believes the root cause of the salmonella may be 'meat and bone meal' found in the chicken feed?!

So, lets do a common sense exercise here. growing up as a kid, going to parks, visiting zoos, feeding the pigeons and ducks in the parks or those PBS shows, I really can't remember birds being fed meat unless it was a predatorial bird such as an eagle, a hawk, a vulture, etc.......

I really can't remember chicken eating meat.

I think the real question 'the house panel' should be asking the egg farmer is, 'why are you feeding the chickens bones and meat in the first place?

Mr President, please make a stand and fight for our health! among other things.

2010-09-21T17:28:00.001-07:00

If only our food were to be properly farmed, and most of the country were to eat properly, maybe we could almost eliminate the need for healthcare.

Its about time doctors do more than prescribe medicine that just numbs the pain, or prescribe surgery for the sake of surgery.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/dining/22doctors.html

I like the doctor's quote at the end of the article. As I mentioned on this blog, common sense is difficult to find in people these days. A little common sense can go a long way.

where does your food come from?

2010-09-19T09:02:00.001-07:00

Creating a garden is about building an ecosystem. You take your decomposed organic material (grass clippings, kitchen organic material) to mix into the soil which provides the nutrients for the plants. A rich soil provides food for earthworms. the plants grow and attracts insects, which provides food for birds and other critters, which help pollinate your plants. One sign that you have a thriving ecosystem is when you see earthworms and other insects that help your garden thrive. You won’t find any life on a factory farm. The soil is basically dead from all the pesticide and weedicide. You’ll never see an earthworm. Its also void of any nutrients because organic material is never mixed in. Instead the soil is given its nutrients through chemical fertilizers which eventually renders the farmland dead.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/11/business/energy-environment/11solar.html

A healthy garden is full of life. Ladybugs are commonly used in organic farms to fight off insects that would eat your crop.

I'd like to harvest honey next.

We need to take a step back and think about just where it is our food comes from.

composting reduces landfill

2010-09-19T08:37:00.001-07:00

Black gold. Anything from our kitchen that can be composted , is piled up with leaves, lawn clippings and whateverelse is available to make black gold. Think how much we could reduce our landfill if everyone just did a simple thing as this, composting. Even newspaper and cardboard, paper could be composted. I refrain from composting paper goods unless it was printed with non toxic ink. If only we could get all packaging material to be made from recycled material, compostable plastics, non toxic inks, we can basically eliminate the need for garbage pickups from suburban homes. Landfills could be drastically reduced.

I killed my lawn

2010-09-19T08:34:00.001-07:00

I never understood why people spent so much time and money on fertilizing and weeding lawns. So proud of a green lawn? All that toxic fertilizer, pesticides and weedicide that gets washed into our sewers and water system.

We mow the lawns and put the grass clippings in garbage bags. We rake the leaves and take them somewhere to be composted, hopefully. Some much time and energy for what?

I like to pile the grass clippings and leaves into composting piles.

tāst health

2010-09-14T16:44:00.001-07:00

we at tāst dont wait for others to tell us if something is not good our health.

why eat something if its injected, infused with, cooked with things you never heard of?

we at tāst have been looking out for your health from the beginning.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/us/15farm.html

Let's start blogging!

2010-09-12T18:41:00.001-07:00

I’m not a writer or journalist, far from it, I’m not a nutritionist, nor do I have any medical background. What I do believe I have is a little common sense and experience. The discussions and material presented on this blog may not always have medical backing or be substantiated by any medical studies, but hopefully everyone sees it as common sense, something that is harder to find in people these days.

Through this blog, I hope to share with everyone information and experience gained over the years about the food we eat and where it comes from and how it has affected my life.

The postings may be sporadic late in the middle of the night while half asleep or from my phone while out on the road so there will be many grammer and spelling errors and sometimes what I post may not make any sense at all, but hopefully it will be informative.

So lets start blogging!

“Antibiotic Resistance and the Use of Antibiotics in Animal Agriculture”

2010-09-12T17:49:00.001-07:00

Tasteatery stays away from meats pumped with hornones, antibiotics, steroids. In fact we go step further, our beef comes from a small farm upstate NY that is grass fed and grass finished. the grass finished being the important part. (more on this next time)

we care about what you eat. you should to.

A great person to follow,

https://twitter.com/jarkoch,

Our own goverment agency (an agency that is suppose to look out for the good of the people) is now......., just now..........testifying to the fact that the use of antibiotics in farm animals is contributing to antibiotic resistance for us.

http://www.ecocentrism.org/2010/07/20/usda-admits-link-between-antibiotic-use-by-big-ag-and-human-health/

http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2071:hearing-on-antibiotic-resistance-and-the-use-of-antibiotics-in-animal-agriculture&catid=132:subcommittee-on-health&Itemid=72

posterous or tumblr

2010-08-02T13:26:00.001-07:00

we are now blogging on tast.posterous.com but it looks like i will now switch to tumblr.

what the hell

I've got a bone to pick...

2010-02-12T10:53:00.000-08:00

I've got a bone to pick or maybe in this case a wing with the author of an article in February's issue of Fitness magazine. In "The No- Hunger way to Cut Calories" the author suggests different ways to cut 100, 200 or 500 calories a day from your diet without sacrificing taste or resorting to dieting. I totally agree that for most people, what we call "dieting" simply doesn't work. Most diets are far too restrictive and rather than teaching people how to eat, diets just eliminate certain food groups which is not a long term solution to weight loss.

The bone, or wing, I have to pick with the author has to do with some of the suggestions she makes for cutting calories. Here are my three favorites: "Ask for the 12-ounce child size soda instead of the 21-ounce medium at the drive through"; "Indulge in a slice of angel food cake drizzled with chocolate syrup rather than three cookies"; and, my absolute favorite, "When munching on chicken wings, don't toss the bones midway through. Seeing the evidence of your feast may help you eat less, studies show". Other suggestions include switching the type of pizza and ice cream that you eat.

In all honesty, I really don't know where to begin. Now, I will try to keep in mind that we all live in the real world where work and kids and stress and life in general have a way of disrupting the best of intentions. However, even with this in mind, how a Fitness magazine could offer such suggestions is beyond me. Soda, chicken wings, cake, pizza and ice cream? Is this some kind of joke??? No-one, and I mean no-one, who is trying to be healthy and fit should be consuming any one of these items, let alone all of them.

And, lets not forget that it takes a lot more to be healthy and fit than just cutting 100 or 200 calories from your diet. You need to have a balanced and nutritious diet made up mainly of whole, unprocessed foods. You have to exercise, often and for the rest of your life. You have to get enough sleep, limit stress, and still find time to work and spend time with family and friends. Basically you need to live a healthy lifestyle; and a healthy lifestyle does not include chicken wings, fast food, soda, french fries and/or angel food cake drizzled in chocolate syrup. Sorry...

Absolutely ridiculous!

2010-01-26T18:29:00.000-08:00

So, I have been trying to write to you about fats: good v. bad; low fat v. no fat v. high fat diets; basically, trying to give you the skinny on fat. Problem is, there is a lot of new and conflicting information out there so it is taking me a while to put it all together. Anyway, in the meantime, I saw something today that I have never seen before and, quite honestly, didn't think I would ever see.

I was at the gym doing my workout when I heard a women talking on her cell phone. The gym was really empty and the only other person in that section of the gym was a woman doing squats. I didn't pay any attention to the voice I heard talking on the phone until I realized that it had to be the woman who was doing squats as there was nobody else there.

I tried to be discrete at first but when I saw what she was doing I actually stood there and stared. This ridiculous woman was doing squats with a barbell across her back, holding the barbell with one hand and holding her phone to her ear with the other. When she finished doing squats she started doing another exercise while still taking on the phone. Unbelievable!

Now, lots of people bring their cell phones out on to the gym floor and these same people waste a lot of time texting and talking on their phones when they should be exercising. This is bad enough; but until today I had never seen anyone try to lift weights while talking on their phone. Stupid, dangerous, ridiculous, are all words that come to mind, and if you are going to be so distracted that you must talk on the telephone while exercising at the gym, why bother even going?

Yes, exercising is hard work but the benefits are too numerous and substantial not to put in the effort. It should be challenging and it should also be fun and rewarding. Going to the gym only to read a magazine while you walk on the treadmill or, and I can't believe that I need to say this, talk on your cell while you do squats is not fun, rewarding, challenging or really even exercising.

Come on folks, lets get motivated and lets get fit and healthy.

So now what?

2010-01-08T12:55:00.000-08:00

Well, its official, the holidays are over. Hanukkah, Christmas, New Years and Three Kings Day have all come and gone. The only question is: what do you have to show for it besides a new sweater or, much worse, 5 or 10 new pounds?

If you are like a lot of people, you over indulged this holiday season and you once again resolved to get into shape or back into shape for those of you that were in shape once upon a time.

If you are serious about getting into shape, and I hope you are, then you are going to need a serious strategy. A game plan so to speak for defeating all the negative and undermining influences in your life and, once again, if you are like most people there are many.

Getting and staying motivated; finding the time; finding the inspiration; changing your diet and more importantly your attitude toward food; actually exercising, consistently and for the rest of your life, not just for 6 months and then quitting and one you may not have expected. Believe it or not your family may become jealous of the time you spend taking care of yourself and they may become even more jealous of the way you look and feel.

In my experience this holds true especially for moms (and some dads) who are expected, mostly by themselves, to do so much for everyone in the house and always place their own needs last. I have seen it many times, and I always tell my clients that they have to take care of themselves and place their health first. Without good health and the energy that comes with it, you can't possibly do everything you need and want to do for your family. Yes, there will be an adjustment period but soon enough your family will accept that you have placed a priority on your health and they will learn how to manage for themselves while you are at the gym or out for a walk or whatever. The point is you should never feel guilty about taking care of yourself. Exercising and eating right are not luxuries; they are necessities.

One way to minimize the adjustment is to plan group activities that involve and are fun for the entire family. After all, exercising and eating right are necessary for everyone and individuals are much more likely to stick with their programs if the entire family is doing it together. And, with childhood obesity on the rise, you also owe it to your children to see that they get enough exercise and are eating right.

So, the good news is that with the internet and with the gym industry competing for your business there are so many affordable ways to exercise that money should not be an issue. The internet has thousands of web pages with exercise routines and magazines like Shape and Fitness have web sites filled with free information. With more and more gyms opening there is more competition and prices have really come down. I know of several area gyms that are offering memberships for $30 a month.

Time could be an issue but it really shouldn’t be. You can workout at home, 30 minutes a day and, with the right program, you can see dramatic results. If you have a gym close by and can take advantage of the equipment and the classes , even better.

So, you are committed, motivated, inspired and determined to live a long, healthy and happy life. You are going to exercise, eat right (I will talk more about diet next time) and you are going to get everyone around you involved. That’s what I call a game plan.

Until next time,

Peace and Health
Dave

and the answer is...

2009-11-19T09:08:00.000-08:00

Drum roll please, .... yes, you guessed it, the answer is exercise of course.
All of those conditions I described: loss of muscle tissue, loss of flexibility, loss of strength, loss of energy, and increase in body fat - they can all be avoided, and reversed if necessary, through exercise. No doubt that diet plays a major factor in your overall health and fitness, but for now let's concentrate on exercising.

The great thing about exercise it that there are so many different ways to do it that you will never get bored. Walking, jogging, playing tennis, basketball, baseball, soccer, swimming, gymnastics, calisthenics, weight lifting, yoga, pilates, etc. I mean, there must be thousands of ways to get the daily activity you need in order to be fit.

When I think about the ideal state of health I imagine a disease free, pain free, strong, flexible body that can run and jump and swim and do whatever it feels like doing without limitations or restrictions. That's the ideal I pursue for myself and for my clients and wish for all of you.

Where to start? For those of you that are inactive, start by going for a walk. Nothing too strenuous, but something that gets you out of the house and keeps you moving. From there, there are literally endless possibilities. So let's go. Get out there and start moving.

Next time I am going to talk about the specific health benefits of aerobic exercise; and believe me -- there are many.

Peace
Dave

A real eye opener...

2009-10-29T07:37:00.000-07:00

Hello again, I'm sorry that I haven't written in a while. I had the great pleasure of joining 31 of my friends on a golf trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Apart from the weather, 50 degrees and rain everyday, it was a great trip. I have been going on this trip on and off for 15 years and it's something that I look forward to all year.

The one thing that I have noticed over the past few years is that not a lot has really changed over the past 15 years -- at least not for the better. My golf game certainly hasn't improved all that much; and our routine, although much quieter, has remained pretty much the same. There is one thing though that has changed in a big way. Now, I don't know if the game of golf attracts a certain type of person or if certain types of people are attracted to golf. Probably a little of both but let me get to the point.

The one thing that has changed is the shape of the average golfer. 15 years ago most of us on the trip were in reasonably good shape -- at least for golfers. Now? Well let's just say that waist sizes have dramatically increased while chests, arms and legs seem to have shrunk. Picture if you will, middle-aged men with skinny legs, sunken chests and big bellies. Not a pretty picture, I can assure you, especially when this group sits in the sauna after a round of golf. What happened???

Unfortunately, this question is all too easy to answer and this sunken chest - bloated belly condition doesn't just affect golfers. You see, as we age we lose about 1 to 2 per cent of our muscle every year. Live long enough and you could lose 50% of your muscle mass. This is bad enough but compound that with the addition of body fat, which is very, very easy to do and you have the picture I described above. Ugly, I know.

Coupled with the loss of muscle is a loss of strength, and flexibility and therefore the ability to complete everyday tasks with ease. Bone density also decreases as we age, so now we are weaker and more susceptible to injury. Our metabolisms slow, making it easier to gain fat; and some research suggests that the health of our organs is tied to the amount of muscle we have.

Next time you are out at the mall or at a restaurant take a look around. You will no doubt see too many examples of what I am talking about. That's the bad news. The good news is that you can avoid or if necessary reverse all of these conditions. Stay posted and next week we will begin exploring exactly what you need to do in order to avoid looking like pot-bellied stick with arms.

Peace
Coffee Black

It's time to talk about it...

2009-10-09T04:23:00.000-07:00

It's time to walk about it...

This Sunday, at 11:00 am at River Park at West 83rd Street in NYC, The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) is holding a walk in order to raise money and awareness about the potentially life threatening diseases of anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorders. Did you know that nearly 10 million women and 1 million men have anorexia or bulimia: another 15 million people suffer from binge eating disorder?

Once you start talking about it, chances are you will discover that you have someone close to you who suffers from one of these illnesses. Neda is inviting you to join their cause and help fight these illnesses. You can register to walk at www.Myneda.org and you can donate at www.firstgiving.com/rebalance

Hope to see you Sunday.

Peace and Health
Coffee Black

Sprout it out loud!

2009-09-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess it's about time that we all started eating our sprouts, broccoli sprouts to be precise. I noticed on a recent trip to Whole Foods that they were selling broccoli sprouts. Because I live with a Holistic Health Counselor I thought that I would try to impress her by bringing some of these sprouts home. Turns out this was a very good move, even though I had to listen to a lecture on the health benefits of sprouts.

Anyway, after listening to Mrs. Coffee Black lecture me on the numerous health benefits I decided to do a little research of my own. I searched "broccoli sprouts" on google and found 160,000 pages. Who knew these little sprouts were so popular?

Broccoli sprouts have been widely studied and the reported health benefits include: potential to detoxify carcinogens; inhibit the growth of cancer tumors, including breast, stomach, colon and bladder; the ability to lower blood pressure; lower overall cholesterol levels and help reverse some of the damage caused by diabetes. If that wasn't enough, a study by Johns Hopkins from October of 2007 found that topical application of broccoli sprouts extract helps fight against damage caused by UV radiation. See http://www.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org/index.cfm/cID/1684/mpage/item.cfm/itemID/929
For those of you interested in the science, broccoli sprouts contain high concentrations of sulforaphane, a compound which has documented cancer prevention capabilities.

For those of you more interested in eating or growing sprouts, I suggest you check out http://www.sproutpeople.com/seed/broccoli.html. This site has instructions on how to grow your own sprouts and sprout recipes.

That's it for now.
Peace and Health
Coffee Black

typical lunch

2009-09-25T18:19:00.001-07:00

this is why sometimes we are late with orders, sorry.

Canola what???

2009-09-22T09:40:00.001-07:00

Very recently I received some emails warning of the dangers of canola oil and how pervasive the use of this oil has become in our society. For any of you who aren’t familiar with this particular oil, it is described by the Canola Council of Canada, which is where this oil comes from, as “…one of the healthiest and most versatile cooking oils available to home cooks and professional chefs alike. It is light, clear and mild, making it ideal for cooking, fondues, stir-frying, baking, salads and marinades. For great-tasting, healthy recipes, canola oil is the only oil you really need!” Hmmm, not so fast Canada. Let’s take a closer look.

According to the sources I read, and as described by the Weston A. Price Foundation, “the oil is removed by from the rapeseed, (no such thing as canola seed), by a combination of high temperature mechanical pressing and solvent extraction. Traces of the solvent (usually hexane) remain in the oil, even after considerable refining. Like all modern vegetable oils, canola oil goes through the process of caustic refining, bleaching and degumming--all of which involve high temperatures or chemicals of questionable safety. And because canola oil is high in omega-3 fatty acids, which easily become rancid and foul-smelling when subjected to oxygen and high temperatures, it must be deodorized. The standard deodorization process removes a large portion of the omega-3 fatty acids by turning them into trans fatty acids. Although the Canadian government lists the trans content of canola at a minimal 0.2 percent, research at the University of Florida at Gainesville, found trans levels as high as 4.6 percent in commercial liquid oil. The consumer has no clue about the presence of trans fatty acids in canola oil because they are not listed on the label…” www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/conola.html

Wow, sounds great. Just what every chef should use to cook with.

Based upon what I have learned, I would never eat anything containing this oil. You will have to decide for yourself but do your own investigating before you make a decision. After all, The Canola Council of Canada went to so much trouble promoting this stuff, the least we can do is read about it before we stop using it.

By the way, Tast Eatery doesn’t use canola oil but I guess you already knew that…

Peace and health
Dave

Time for some changes

2009-09-13T17:04:00.000-07:00

Well, if you are anything like me you are constantly striving to make positive changes in your life. One of the best ways to start this process is to make a list. Yes, we've all heard it before, "write it down or it won't happen" but I really do believe that unless you take time to write things down, you will not be able to make the changes you are looking for.

So, what to do? Make a list of 10 things in your life that you would positively change. From that list take the one thing that if you were able to change would have the greatest positive impact on your life. Once you have identified that, you need a plan of action. This won't necessarily require another list but it will no doubt require quite a bit of thought.

If you are looking for help on this subject, I can recommend two very good books. Brian Tracy's book "Eat that Frog" and "The Power of 4" by Paula Owens both offer a number of suggestions on how to make positive changes in your life.

While we are on the subject of change, here's an easy way to start. Probably the single most important food missing from the American diet is green vegetables. So make a commitment to to include more green vegetables in your diet everyday. There are lots of leafy green vegetables to choose from. Right now, broccoli rabe is in season. You can also find kale, collard greens and spinach. Broccoli rabe and kale are two of my favorites and are really easy to prepare. They can be steamed, sauteed or boiled; tossed with a little garlic, salt and olive oil and you have a very tasty and healthy side dish.

Peace
Coffee Black

Got goals?

2009-09-08T09:17:00.000-07:00

Who needs milk when you’ve got SMART goals? Not there is anything wrong with milk, especially if it comes from grass-fed, organic cows and isn’t homogenized. But that’s another story.

What I’m talking about now are SMART goals. Let’s face it, unless you set goals for yourself it’s very difficult to track your progress or even to make progress in the first place. When we speak of goals that are related to health and fitness, we are speaking of goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-based. For example, “I want to tone up” while a worthy notion is not nearly specific enough to be SMART.

“I want to lose 5 inches in 5 weeks”, now that’s a SMART goal. It’s specific and measurable– 5 inches; it’s most certainly attainable (assuming you have 5 inches to lose); it’s relevant to your fitness; and it’s time based. Once your goal is in place you still need a plan. That’s when you need to draw on any number of available resources such as a personal trainer, exercise videos, health counseling, internet-based training, etc. Finally, the hard part: you actually have to execute your plan! That takes commitment and dedication. No magic pills or frozen entrees delivered to your door. Hard work in the gym and clean eating everyday are what it takes.

So be SMART. Set your goals, develop a plan and get to work.

Health and peace,
Coffee Black

Please allow me to introduce myself...

2009-09-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

Well, since this is my first blog entry for Tast Eatery I thought that I should take the opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Dave Coffee, although my friend’s call me Coffee Black, which is perfectly fine with me. I am a co-founder of Rebalance Health and Fitness, Inc., a company devoted to holistic health through physical training and nutrition. I am a certified personal trainer; a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist; a Titleist Golf Fitness Instructor; and a Certified Kettlebell instructor. I am also an avid runner, weightlifter and golfer.

I am currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Exercise Science and Physical Education at Montclair State University, while working as a personal trainer at several area gyms, and training people in their homes and outdoors.

My sincere hope for this blog is to help all of you to achieve balance in your lives through physical fitness and nutrition. Only through education and understanding can we strive to better ourselves and find happiness within ourselves.

This blog will bring you invaluable information on food and exercise to feed your body and soul and to bring your life into balance. There are no limits to what we can achieve when we follow a healthy lifestyle.

Check-in after the holiday weekend when we will start to explore the impact of food and exercise on our bodies and our lives.

That’s it for now. Have a great holiday and I look forward to discussing the amazing benefits of a healthy lifestyle with all of you.

Thanks for reading,
Coffee Black

from the tastgarden to your plate

2009-08-13T19:36:00.001-07:00

downsized_0802091744.jpg, originally uploaded by tasteatery.

the tomatoes did not fair to well this summer due to all the rain and overcast skies. I feel for the farmers who depend on a good harvest.
our basil however is growing out of control. we should be able to harvest enough to make enough pesto for the entire year.

no pesticides, only natural fertilizers.

no sludge here!

we slave and toil out of love for you to make sure you have the very best. if its not good enough for my family, its not good enough for me to feed to you.

check out more of our pesto and garden photos on flickr

it all starts with a great bean...

2009-06-22T19:48:00.000-07:00

espresso, cappuccino, lattes, iced lattes, iced mochas....mmmmmmm

it all starts with a great bean. our espresso comes to Fort Lee all the way from Trieste, Italy where it is roasted in a classic style by one of the founding families of espresso coffee. when we pull a shot of Antica Tostatura for you it's the perfect beginning for your favorite espresso drink - hot or iced - flavored or traditional. come by and add some classic flavor to your morning or a refreshing pick-me-up to your afternoon with a touch of the old world that still brings a smile to today.

late spring refreshment

2009-05-29T19:31:00.000-07:00

it's perfect weather to stop in to TAST Eatery for a refreshing Honest Tea or Honest Ade. we're big fans of the 100% USDA organic drinks that have been getting a lot of press this year for being a favorite at The White House. Men's Health magazine recently picked the Organic Honey Green flavor as their "Best Bottled Tea" and Honest Beverages recently announced a new more eco-friendly bottle soon to hit shelves.

great TAST in a smart bottle. come check it out.

outdoor cafe in fort lee now open

2009-04-25T18:31:00.001-07:00

outdoor cafe, originally uploaded by tasteatery.

coffee, food and inspiration

2009-04-18T09:52:00.000-07:00

i'm sipping a nice cold Herbal Mist Yerba Mate iced tea and thinking "who could ask for anything more?"

we ran across these interesting things this week and thought we'd share them with you. sometimes happiness is a cold iced tea and a new interesting place to click and keep reading...

first, a new clinical study shows that coffee helps women over 65 keep their mind sharp - read more about it HERE...

Duke University says you can also find some of the secrets of the universe in your morning cup of coffee...

in other news, it seems that there is almost endless inspiration and food for thought about any number of topics HERE

and if you're looking for some new music in between now and your next visit to our iPod Listening Stations, check out the new FREE MUSIC ARCHIVE directed by WFMU. Totally free, legal downloads of a ton of unique music

things we like...

2009-04-13T19:29:00.000-07:00

we really like good coffee...a lot

our own classic cup is a careful blend of beans from guatemala, costa rica and columbia roasted dark enough for a richer flavor than what some of america runs on - without being as dark and bitter as what a green goddess may drink. we like to think it balances out the neighborhood...

if you're not in the neighborhood and happen to be in nashville, you should really go get a cup of coffee at sip cafe.

peter was there a few weeks ago and felt right at home with it's local vibe, friendly service and ability to get away from all that chain store coffee.

1224 Anderson Ave Ft Lee

2009-03-23T18:09:00.001-07:00

downsized_0323091748.jpg, originally uploaded by tasteatery.

2009-03-21T20:08:00.000-07:00

It's been over a year since we've opened our doors, and now we finally get a chance to blog about ourselves to spread our tāst. pronounced 'taste'.

As we find time from serving our ever so popular good for you food, we hope to explain in more detail about what we do, what we hope to do, and share some random thoughts with you.

Some things we hope to share:

our mission

who we are

things we like

hope to update soon...................