THE NIBBLE

NEW PRODUCT: King Corn DVD

Nibble Editors — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 01:35:37 +0000

If you didn’t catch the feature documentary, King Corn, on television last week, buy the DVD for Earth Day—or any time you want an eye-opener (the official release date is Tuesday, April 29, but you can order it now). You’ll never look at corn the same way again. Almost everything we eat contains corn: high fructose corn syrup, corn-fed meat and poultry and corn-based processed foods. The government pays farmers $28 per acre to grow corn. If it weren’t for the $28 payment, many farmers would lose money on their crops. Yet, we have a corn surplus: Your tax dollars at work. But bigger news than the government wasting taxpayer dollars to subsidize crops is what you’ll learn about corn. Some highlights:

- The corn planted today in the corn belt is genetically modified for high yields and herbicide tolerance. It’s meant to be made into high fructose corn syrup or livestock feed. It’s not “corn on the cob,” edible by humans. (That’s a different variety.)

King Korn: Buy the DVD.

- In fact, all of the nutrition has been bred out of the corn. The original protein-rich Mexican strains have been modified into mostly starch. Yes, the farmers can’t even eat the corn they grow—at least, not as a vegetable.

- But we all eat it—in the meat that our livestock has been fed with, in the HFCS that’s in our bread products, in the corn oil that the fries are cooked in, and of course, in all that soda.

While the production values of “King Korn” are homespun, the message is not. The corn that pervades our diet—which is killing us through higher rates of obesity and diabetes—is also killing the cattle. You’ll see up-close and personal how cattle that have grazed free range on grass for thousands of years are now feedlot cattle, fed a corn that their digestive system is not evolved to deal with, so that they reach market weight in half the time. If they weren’t slaughtered for beef at 12 to 18 months, they’d be dead in a few months from acidosis caused by their diet. Yes, you’ll never look at a burger the same way, either.

While you’re at it, pick up a copy of Al Gore’s Academy Award-winning film, “An Inconvenient Truth,” about climate change.

GOURMET GIVEAWAY: Organic Snack Basket

Nibble Editors — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:43:49 +0000

Win this organic snack basket and learn why converting just 10% of your food to organic will help save the planet.

Tomorrow is Earth Day, a global observance initiated by U.S. Senator Gaylor Nelson of Wisconsin (1916-2005). It is celebrated on April 22nd to generate awareness of our planet and what we can do to help conserve it. The first Earth Day was observed in 1970, with 20 million Americans participating on behalf of a sustainable environment. In 2007, half a billion people in almost 200 countries worldwide participated.

If you want to do something for the Earth every week of the year, take our Gourmet Giveaway Quiz: It will give you lots of ideas of the things you can do to lessen your carbon foodprint (yes, foodprint). You don’t have to answer the questions correctly in order to win; but if you eat more organics, you and our planet will win. Find some of our favorite organic products in the NutriNibbles section of THE NIBBLE online magazine.

VIEWPOINT: Organic Prices Rice—So What!

Nibble Editors — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:28:24 +0000

Buy organic and save the planet.		Yesterday, a New York Times headline blared, “Sticker Shock in the Organic Aisles” (Section C, page 1). The newspaper questioned if the cost of organic food—which can be 20% to 100% higher than conventionally-produced food—is “prompting some consumers to question their devotion to food produced without pesticides, chemical fertilizers or antibiotics.” Obviously, those with budgetary constraints need to shepherd their dollars, but organics rarely end up in the shopping carts of such shoppers, much as they might like them. The article emphasizes the high cost of organics by citing $4.55 (on the high end) for a loaf of organic bread versus $3.79 for conventional bread, $4.99 versus $2.99 for a half gallon of milk and $6.39 versus $3.59 for a dozen eggs. This may be more of a rise than regular groceries are experiencing; but with the truly shocking rises in gasoline and real estate, to name just two items, is the increase in organic food a “shock?”
Even if your household consumes twice the amounts of the staples cited by the Times each week, the difference is $11—a blip for many of us who pay $4.50 for a daily cappuccino, have cocktails after work and/or buy imported water. In a country where many people spend so much money on recreational trips to the mall to buy extraneous apparel, beauty products and home accoutrements, it’s not a hardship to divert $50 a week to organic food. In fact, it’s an ethical choice. If each American ate 10% organic food, it would curtail greenhouse gas emissions that are the equivalent of taking two million cars off the roads each year. It would have been informative for the Times to offset quotes such as “The prices have gotten ridiculous” and “Man, $6.99 for a gallon of milk is pushing it,” with a couple of sentences explaining that many people who choose organic products do so to help save the environment. On Earth Day, April 22nd our Viewpoint will address this subject in depth. Here’s the New York Times article. Read more about organic issues and trends in the NutriNibbles section of THE NIBBLE online magazine.

COUPON: Save $4 On Organic Valley Products

Nibble Editors — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 21:12:37 +0000

We’re big fans of Organic Valley dairy products, and buy the milk, butter and cream cheese whenever we can. In additional to any health and environmental concerns, they just taste better than non-organic products (make your next cheesecake with organic cream cheese and see the difference). Now, you can save $1.00 on four different items by printing the coupons online at OrganicValley.com. Try the milk (whole, lowfat, fat free, soy, lactose-free and single-serve, which includes chocolate milk), butter, cottage cheese, table cheeses and cooking cheeses (15 varieties,from mozzarella and Cheddar to slices and shreds). The butter and several of the cheeses (blue, Cheddar, Colby) have racked up some impressive awards, as well. There’s a store locator on the site that tells you where to redeem your coupons.		Save money on organic milk, butter and cheese.
See more of our favorite dairy products—yogurt, eggs and cheese—in the Cheese, Butter & Yogurt Section of THE NIBBLE online magazine.

NEW PRODUCT: Aerosol Pancake “Batter Blaster”

Nibble Editors — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 02:40:18 +0000

When we first saw Batter Blaster, we reacted viscerally: We don’t like things in aerosol cans. And the thought of pancake batter spraying out of one evoked images of aerosol cheese. But, don’t judge a product by its cover: This pancake mix is USDA-certified organic, which means that everything in that can is better than all natural. The main ingredients are filtered water, organic wheat flour, organic cane sugar, organic whole egg solids, organic soybean powder and sea salt. The environmentally-conscious will be pleased to know that Batter Blaster is powered by the more ozone layer-friendly carbon dioxide, not the nitrous oxide propellant that can be found in most aerosol canisters. You can point the nozzle to create any shape pancake you wish: your initials, flowers, squiggles.		Pancakes shoot from the nozzle of Batter Blaster.
Beyond breakfast, you can make mini pancake canapés with goat cheese, smoked salmon and fresh dill, or crème fraîche and caviar. An 18-ounce can, good for about 28 four-inch pancakes, retails for $4.99 to $5.99 (one poster to the website claims 12 pancakes). Thirty-two ounces of powdered pancake mix is less than half that. But Batter Blaster is no muss, no fuss and lots of fun. Because it is a refrigerated product, there are currently no mail orders, and it is only available on the West Coast and in Meijer Stores in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio. The company anticipates national distribution by July 2008, so get your nozzle finger ready. In the interim, read about our favorite pancakes and waffles in THE NIBBLE online magazine.

NEW PRODUCTS: Roxanne’s Raw Foods Returns

Nibble Editors — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 01:54:46 +0000

It’s all raw: Nothing cooked above 118°F.		One of the most visible names in raw food, Roxanne Klein, broke hearts in 2004 when she closed her famous Marin County temple to gourmet raw food cuisine. Since then, Klein has spent time designing a retail line of grab-and-go raw foods called Roxanne’s Fine Cuisine, that just rolled out at Whole Foods Markets in Northern California. Raw food is a more stringent form of vegan cuisine. Not only is there no dairy or eggs, but no gluten is consumed and nothing cooked above 118°F to preserve nutrients. Many dishes are nut-based, and many of the nuts are sprouted by overnight soaking, which breaks down the enzyme inhibitors so that the protein in the nuts can be assimilated. The soaked nuts can also be puréed into spreads.
Roxanne’s initial line of 34 items includes a sweet, non-oat granola made of sprouted buckwheat, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and goji berries; a dried corn-cashew-pistachio trail mix; garlic and onion-flavored spreadable nut cheese; a smooth, mild-flavored nut hummus; and pinwheel sandwiches, desserts and sandwich spreads made from nuts and soy. Klein’s goal is to create foods that are so delicious that people will be willing to try them, whether they understand or believe in the philosophy of eating raw or not. As one of the lucky people who dined at her restaurant in Larkspur, we can attest that everything was delicious—and gorgeous, to boot. Now, we hope that her cuisine makes it from Whole Foods Markets in Northern California across country to us. Read more about raw food.

REVIEW: Superfruit Pomegranate Juice

Nibble Editors — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 17:08:22 +0000

The pomegranate is an ancient fruit, originating in Persia. It has been cultivated in the Mediterranean region for several thousand years. Remains dating back to 1000 B.C.E. have been found in Armenia. Yet, five years ago, the pom was an oddity in the U.S. It was an exotic fruit enjoyed largely by immigrants and Americans who learned to enjoy them abroad—until the debut of POM Wonderful juice, and the subsequent announcement of high antioxidant values and potential anti-carcinogenic properties. Suddenly, everyone wanted pomegranate, and the flavor has appeared in everything from ice cream to salad dressing. In juice, brand after brand has proliferated to meet America’s desire for healthy, high-antioxidant food. Our intrepid taster drank all she could get her hands on—more than 50 juices, although only the top 19 have been recommended to NIBBLE readers. They include 100% pure pom juices plus blends with other juices (blueberry, cranberry, etc.), as well as brands that are certified kosher or organic. Read the full review and get juiced in the Juices & Ades Section of THE NIBBLE online magazine.		Pretty in purple: 100% pure pomegranate juice. While pom juices are wonderful blended with the right quality companions, watch out for juices “flavored” with pomegranate that are largely composed of less expensive apple or grape juice.

NEWS: Fancy Food Show Favorite Find ~ Meyenberg Fresh Goat Milk

Nibble Editors — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:48:32 +0000

We just flew in this morning from the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Diego. Departing at 10 p.m. Pacific Time on the “Red Eye,” we ended up at Newark Airport at 6 a.m., in time to find our luggage and fight rush hour traffic into New York City, where we arrived at our desk at 8 a.m. Eastern Time. As always, there was lots of good food to be had at the Fancy Food Show, much fodder for upcoming reviews in THE NIBBLE online magazine. But here’s one of our favorites that we don’t think will end up as a review: Meyenberg Goat Milk. If you love fresh goat cheese, you’ll want to track down a carton, which is available in whole and low fat milk. (For years, it’s been available in canned and powdered form for people who are allergic to cow’s milk—but go for the fresh).		The Meyenberg goat’s milk line includes fresh quarts (at left), canned and powdered milk, plus our passion, the goat’s milk butter (silver square). The company also makes cheese.
This is a gourmet beverage: Fresh goat’s milk has a creamy, gourmet taste for drinking and cooking. If you smile with pleasure when you eat a delicious piece of fresh goat cheese, you’ll be maaad about the fresh milk. We loved it straight; now we can’t wait to buy several quarts to use it in everything requiring milk. Meyenberg’s exquisite goat’s milk butter was a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week and likewise, should not be missed—it turns triers into converts. Meyenberg products are completely natural—no preservatives, no antibiotics, no bovine growth hormones (rBGH). Goat’s milk is an excellent alternative for people who cannot digest cow’s milk and/or soy products. Goat’s milk also is higher in calcium, potassium and vitamins A and B than cow’s milk (the calories are similar.) The products are also certified kosher. You can find them at leading health food and grocery stores nationwide, and there is a list of retailers on the Meyenberg.com. Find reviews of some of our favorite goat’s milk cheeses in the Cheese Section of THE NIBBLE online magazine.

FOOD TIP OF THE DAY: Healthy Snacks At Work

Nibble Editors — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:21:26 +0000

G’Day Gourmet Canned Tuna & Salmon: Great taste and nutrition.		It’s easy to keep healthy, tasty foods at work to snack on. The temptation to grab for fat-and sugar-loaded foods can be offset with a little planning. Pack a drawer with palate-pleasers like delicious teas, fine low-sugar or sugar-free spreads and peanut butters, and 35-calorie crispbreads like Wasa. Peeled Snacks dried fruit and nut mixes are a nutritious snack that hits the spot any time of the day. Read the full story on nutritious gourmet snacking, and check out our NutriNibbles and Diet Nibbles sections of THE NIBBLE online magazine for other smart choices.

GOURMET GIVEAWAY: Win Gourmet Rishi Tea

Nibble Editors — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:07:33 +0000

A tea connoisseur’s delight.

Do you like fine tea? Enter this week’s Gourmet Giveaway on THENIBBLE.com. Answer four fun trivia questions about tea. Whether you answer right or wrong, you’ll be entered into the prize drawing. The lucky winner will receive this Rishi Gift Set, featuring exquisite green and jasmine teas from China and Japan, selected for their superior quality. Any tea connoisseur would love to receive Snow Sprout, Precious Pearl and Hojicha, specially-selected teas that are delicate, fragrant, and complex. The set includes natural, unbleached tea filters for brewing tea in a cup, mug or pot. Retail value: $35.99. Rishi teas are USDA certified organic and certified kosher by Kosher Supervisors of Wisconsin. This set and other tea gift sets are available at DelightfulDeliveries.com.