Check your calendar, because Mother's Day is just around the corner, Sunday May 10th to be exact. Before you find yourself in a pickle, rushing out to purchase an over-priced last-minute bouqet of flowers, consider one of my suggestions. Whether your mom is vegan, dairy-free (for nursing a little one or for themselves), keeping kosher, or simply loves chocolate and homemade treats, I think you will find a winner among these idea:

A Bouquet of "Milk" and Dark Chocolate ~ Premium Choclatiers is definitely my top pick this year for indulgence. I fell in love with their boxed truffles and adored the sweet sentiment of their hearts box, but it is hard to overlook the creativity and practicality of their chocolate bouquet of long stem roses. Mom will feel loved and spoiled with any of these confections, trust me. Another bonus: They run a dairy-free, nut-free facility ...

It was 15 minutes to dinner, and I needed something to go with two salmon filets. Since I was craving some carbs, and it was a little too late to whip up a batch of bread or cook brown rice, I decided pasta was the way to go. The salmon was marinated in a sesame-soy concoction, generally Asian inspired, so I was excited when I spotted some udon noodles in the cupboard (to keep with the theme of course!). I literally threw the noodles together with a simple veggie saute, and it turned out to be the star of the meal. We both agreed that the Veggie Udon had a Ramen-esque flavor, taking us back to the MSG-rich days of our childhoods. After the success of that throw together dish, my cravings lingered on ... so much so that I had to attempt a re-creation just two nights later.  Only this time, it was a giant bowl of Easy Veggie Udon that served as the main dish.

April 16, 2009 - Alternative Baking Company, Inc. of Sacramento, California is conducting a nationwide recall of several types of chocolate chip cookies with code dates of 015 through 036 stamped on the fold of the cellophane package in black ink.  The chips appear to contain milk and have caused reactions in a few children who are highly allergic to milk according to phone calls from parents of the affected children.  People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk, run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product. The cookies are wrapped and sold individually in retail stores and on their web site.  Listed in the chart are the cookies with the pertinent information for identifying the recalled cookies ...

After years of running GoDairyFree.org, it was inevitable that a book must follow. Thus, at the end of 2008, I finally published Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook for Milk Allergies, Lactose Intolerance, and Casein-Free Living. As a small book and online media publisher, I count a great deal on word of mouth for letting people know about both the website and the book. And to be honest, I have been thrilled and overwhelmed by the positive response. In April, Go Dairy Free was featured by VegFamily, the premier online magazine for vegan family living, and Foods Matter, a UK publication (also available as an eMagazine for those in the U.S.) dedicated to food allergies and intolerances.

Earth Day may fall on April 22nd this year, but I think we would all love to make some Earth Day resolutions that last throughout the year. Since food is always forefront on my mind, one of the first things I began thinking about was eating conciously.  Sure, I do okay, but I could certainly do much better. In fact, there are a few books that I am planning to give a first or second look. Two are cookbooks that focus on eating seasonally, Local Bounty and The Veggie Queen. Their recipes are vegetable and fruit-centric (and delicious I might add!), and the chapters are divided by season. Eating seasonally will not only yield tastier results (have you ever had an out of season strawberry? bleh!), but seasonal produce is often grown closer to home, requiring less travel, less energy, less pollution, etc. to get to your plate.

For overall awareness of how what we eat affects the environment, I found Grub by by Anna Lappé and Bryant Terry (he also has a new cookbook out, Vegan Soul Kitchen) to be an encouraging eye opener. And though I haven't yet read Food Matters by Mark Bittman, I plan to for my first Earth Day resolution.