Kim Moldofsky, Scrambled CAKE - We searched for the best allergy-friendly snacks around and then we tried them all. I’m here to tell you about our favorites. This post can help you if follow school rules: Nothing homemade! Nothing with peanuts! Or tree nuts! Or milk!. Or simply host an inclusive class party. It’s also a handy guide if you simply want to keep some packaged snacks on hand when your child has a playdate with an allergic friend...

I grew up in Portland, well, a very close suburb of the main city.  I ventured into town often for the Saturday Market, festivals, and summer work.  However, at that time, taking in the culture of the city itself was not forefront on my agenda.  Now, returning as a visitor rather than a resident, I was fascinated by the wonderful diversity of people, from a punk subculture to hoards of biking fitness junkies.  Yet, my biggest preoccupation was with the incredible array of restaurants.  Since it had been so many years, and we only had one day in the city itself, I decided to do some research before the trip on where to go for lunch...

Many microwave popcorn manufactures have known for years that employees in their factories may be at risk for a debilitating lung disease.  Yet it wasn’t brought forth in the media until diacetyl, the chemical used to create that buttery flavor, was singled out as the cause of an overzealous popcorn consumer’s lung disease.  Now the nation’s leading popcorn manufacturers (from Orville Redenbacher to Weaver) are working diligently on a plan to remove this chemical from their ingredient lists.  But really, what ever happened to homemade popcorn?  The safest of all, completely natural, and relatively easy to make, all you need is a good set of instructions (and perhaps some tasty seasonings) and you are ready to pop!

Tomatoes have been enjoying a seasonal high, as evidenced by overflowing amounts of virtually every variety (from Roma to Heirloom) at local markets and numerous bloggers displaying photos of the red-ripe (and green) fruits of their gardens.  Of course, we can always count on Jackie at The Vegan Diet to capture the essence and history of a single food in writing, plus we love the dairy-free recipes she always shares.  Whether you harvested them yourself, or couldn't resist purchasing a cart-full, Jackie will make you feel more virtuous for consuming tomatoes, and give you numerous mediums (aka dairy-free, vegan, gluten-free, and raw recipes) to do so....

As if avoiding anything labeled with “milk,” “cream,” or “cheese” somewhere in the title isn’t enough, the food manufacturing business has found hundreds of other ways to hide milk in our food supply.  While I consider myself somewhat of a dairy-free guru, capable of spotting the dairy ingredients on a Kraft foods label in a single scan, I was recently busted by the moo juice within yet another unsuspecting form...