Ask most Americans for their favorite food, and you’re likely to hear a wide range of answers, everything from hot dogs and hamburgers and pizza to tacos, egg rolls, steak, stirfry or pierogies. We’re willing to bet the farm that no one will say “insects.”

Perhaps this is egocentric, because eating insects is not unusual if you look at the dining habits of other countries. Countries as diverse as Thailand, Mexico and many other places feature deep-fried insects, insect eggs and insect larvae as part of the traditional diet.

Read the full post on Should we eat insects to fight world hunger?.

A few weeks ago my wife and I watched a really inspiring documentary with a depressing title: “Fat Sick and Nearly Dead.” The documentary tells the story of Joe Cross, a man from Australia who was overweight, in his forties, unhealthy, and on steroidal medication to treat an auto-immune disease related to his diet and weight. Joe was a fun-loving guy who loved to eat, and it showed – unfortunately he had gotten to a point in life where he was in constant discomfort and facing the prospect of long-term damage to his health (and long-term reduction in his life expectancy).

Read the full post on Wellness lessons from “Fat Sick and Nearly Dead”.

A few years ago I read a really great book that helped change my perspective on food. It’s called “In Defense of Food,” by Michael Pollan, and it takes a new look at the fundamental assumptions that many Americans make (without even realizing it) about our diets.

According to Pollan’s book, many Americans are suffering from health problems (ranging from high blood pressure to diabetes to heart disease, cancer and stroke) that are caused or made worse by the “Western diet” – full of fat, meat, salt, sugar and processed foods.

Read the full post on Health lessons from Michael Pollan’s “In Defense of Food”.

Written by Ben Gran

The weekend’s coming. You’re looking for something to do on the town. Maybe a nice time out with your family, maybe a hot date. Whatever the case, chances are you’ll be eating out.

If you’re trying to improve your personal finances and also live a healthier lifestyle, the best place to start is at the dinner table. The old saying “You are what you eat,” is also true for your personal finances. Saving money and eating healthy are often two sides of the same coin.

Read the full post on Eating out? Dine more wisely….

By Dr. Joe
There are times when change is upon us. Often this is not recognized until later when with hindsight we can easily say,” there were signs of change”. There is certainly change afoot when it comes to food. Within one week there were three signs that I saw in my travels.

Before getting to that it is worth recapping where we are. Prior to the 1970’s most food was eaten at home and was prepared from ingredients that were bought separately and cooked. There was little packaged food and certainly very few packaged “meals”. People tended to get meat from the butcher, fruit and vegetables from the green grocer and so it went.

Read the full post on Knowing Where Your Food Comes From.