Growing Bolder Community

From wine to jelly to raisins, grapes can be enjoyed in a number of ways. So it's no wonder that grapes are the second-most popular fruit (they come in a close second to oranges) and that growing and processing grapes is one of the world’s largest food industries.One of the earliest cultivated fruits, grapes were introduced in biblical times, and the consumption of wine is an important motif in...

Chickpeas, otherwise known as garbanzo beans, enjoy a huge popularity in kitchens all over the world. In most Middle Eastern countries, chickpeas are included in a variety of different foods, from hummus to falafel, and in some places in India, chickpeas are consumed on a daily basis. Two varieties of chickpeas dominate: desi and kabuli. The darker desi is eaten more frequently in India, Mexico,...

If weight loss is your goal in 2012, you'll probably find yourself eating more fresh salads. Besides being nutritious, salads help us feel fuller without being dense in calories. Incorporating salads into your diet will be easier (and less boring) if you add variety and interest by topping them with a variety of dressings. Here are four distinct salad dressings that will make your taste buds...

After an afternoon swim at the local postage-stamp sized pool in Earlville, Iowa, my younger sister (age 7) and I (age 9) would return to our grandmother’s house ravenously hungry. Most of the time, Grandma served us a steaming bowl of cabbage, carrot and potato soup, made with three vegetables abundant in her garden. We devoured the soup, along with warm bread slathered in butter and glasses of...

If you love baking as much as I do, you'll appreciate these tips for cutting calories that I collected from various sources over time. Here are my favorites: Reduce sugar in the recipe by one-quarter to one-third. (You won't notice the taste difference.) Use unsweetened applesauce or nonfat yogurt in place of oil to reduce calories. Add flax seed or wheat germ to increase healthy...

Green peas contain both sugar and starch, yet they are considered a low-fat food. They brim with phytonutrients that protect our health. Peas contain anti-inflammatory nutrients along with antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids and vitamin E. One study in Mexico consuming peas and other legumes daily reduced the risk of stomach cancer. And peas are an environmentally friendly crop....

One of my neighbors, Richard Scammell, is a wonderful cook. Even though Richard does not cook for a living, I consider him a chef. Cooking is Richard's hobby, but when it comes to food preparation, Richard is a highly skilled and well-educated professional. (He's even traveled to Europe to take cooking classes.)Richard and I share a love of creative, healthful cooking. When I asked him for ideas...

Black Pepper Visions Original Folktales & Stories You Can Eat With Foodlore and Recipes By Karen Pierce Gonzalez $15 ISBN 978-0-9822888-6-3 Black pepper swirls that absorb anger, tortillas that mend broken-hearts, and sun-dried cookies that encircle a cheating spouse (again) are only three of 16 fast-paced stories in Black Pepper Visions: Original Folktales & Stories You Can Eat....

Today, Jason, Marc and I headed over to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Orlando, for a very special exhibit – an inflatable colon. Go ahead and laugh (we did, especially when someone directed us to the display by saying "your colon is outside and to the right) but it's for a very good cause. Colorectal cancer is one of the most preventable, beatable diseases that doctors see, but so many people...