Smoked Paprika Garlic Lamb

Lamb:

1 lb grass fed lamb, cut into large chunks 

2 tablespoons tomato paste 

2 tablespoons smoked paprika 

6 large garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped 

1 large lemon, juice 

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Combine the first 6 ingredients. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.Add 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to a large deep sided skillet on high heat. When hot, arrange lamb chunks in a single layer and cook for 2 minutes on the first side. Turn them over and cook a further 2 minutes.

Serve them hot on a bed of sauteed eggplants.

Sauteed Eggplant:

2 large eggplants, cut into large chunks 

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive 

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Add olive oil to a large pan. When hot saute eggplants, turning them over occasionally until they are done (about 3 to 4 minutes). Season to your taste with sea salt and black pepper.

Food Dyes: Why People Want Them Despite Potential Health Risks

www.huffingtonpost.com - February 26th, 2013

What, exactly, does familiarity breed? Apparently glow-in-the-dark food is one possibility.

That, in essence, is the message in a recent New York Times article by Gardiner Harris summarizing research and perspectives on the topic of artificial colorings and food dyes.

Mr. Harris points out that in the absence of FD&C Yellow No. 6, Cheetos would display the pallor, and apparently the appeal, of insect larvae. Studies have shown that foods lacking the expected color are rated lower on taste, even though taste is actually unchanged!

Pickles are bright green courtesy of food dyes; they would otherwise be grey. Jell-O, we're told, would be tan.

All of this sounds unappealing, and research confirms that's just how people respond. But then again, cauliflower is pale and it's not a problem. Steel cut oats are both pale, and somewhat grey, and taste just fine. Wheat toast (or for that matter, any toast) is tan, and no one objects.

The issue, then, seems not to be preference for a given color -- but preference for the expected color. Green pickles are good, but not because green is good -- but because it's expected. Green eggs, with or without ham, are not so good -- or at least take some getting used to! We prefer the familiar color.

We all know, of course, what the idiom tells us: familiarity breeds contempt. If we reflect on some things (or people) we should cherish every day, but tend to take somewhat for granted, we may be inclined to agree. But even the wisest and most time-honored of aphorisms are not unfailingly true.

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Gluten Free Banana Muffins

1 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose flour blend

3/4 cup coconut sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder

1 large room temperature egg

1/3 cup olive oil

4 large very ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 350 F

Combine all the dry ingredients. Whisk egg, olive oil, and banana. Add to the dry ingredients.

Line a 12 cup muffin pan and fill 3/4 full.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a stick inserted into the middle of one of the muffins comes out clean.  

Is the Dietitians' Trade Group in Bed With the Junk Food Industry?

www.huffingtonpost.com - February 25th, 2013

The largest trade group of nutrition professionals -- the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics -- has a serious credibility problem.

The Academy represents 74,000 dietitians in the United States, and its mission is to promote optimal nutrition and well-being for all people. But according to an explosive report released by Michele Simon and her organization, the industry watchdog Eat Drink Politics, the Academy is sponsored by folks like ConAgra, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, Kellogg's, Mars, and the National Dairy Council.

According to the report, Academy sponsors can become an "Academy Partner," which entitles them to "educate" nutrition professionals about the health benefits of their products, co-sponsor events, and conduct educational sessions at meetings. They also can use the Academy's logo in marketing campaigns.

The report from Eat Drink Politics details how registered dietitians can earn continuing education units from Coca-Cola, in which they learn that sugar is not a problem for children. In addition to Coca-Cola, companies on the Academy's list of approved continuing education providers include Kraft Foods, Nestlé, and PepsiCo.

Despite its enormous clout and its nutritional advocacy mission, the Academy has thus far refused to endorse some of the steps that many experts agree could improve public health and expand health freedom, including limits on soft drink sizes, taxes on sugary sodas, or the labeling of genetically engineered foods. Could there be any connection between the millions of dollars in sponsorship the Academy receives from junk food manufacturers, and a seeming lack of initiative on behalf of the public welfare?

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The Healthiest Chocolate Less Processing, Greater Benefit?

www. longevity.about.com - February 22nd, 2013

Cocoa and the Kuna Indians: Chocolate has been used for medicinal effect for thousands of years, but its recent recognition as a possible heart-healthy food came to light in the early 1990s. Harvard Medical School researchers, led by Norman Hollenberg, investigated why Kuna Indians, living in the San Blas Islands off the Caribbean coast of Panama, had low blood pressure, even with increasing age. This was true despite a high level of salt consumption, which exceeded that of most Western populations.

If the Kunas had their genetic makeup to thank for healthy blood pressure, moving to an urban environment on the mainland shouldn’t make any difference. But it did –- migration to cities corresponded with a rise in blood pressure, with increasing age. Further investigation showed island-dwelling Kunas also lived longer than their mainland cousins, with low rates of cardiovascular disease and cancer. After allowing for factors like stress and lack of pollution, Hollenberg and his team concluded the most striking difference in the Kuna Indians’ island environment was dietary, including a dramatic average daily consumption of more than 5 cups of cocoa, per person.

There’s a big difference between the cocoa the Kunas drink, and the cocoa and chocolate people usually purchase in a grocery or specialty store -- mostly due to how it’s processed and its formulation.

Processing: Cocoa beans grow as the seed of the berry-like fruit of the cacao tree. After shelling and roasting, the beans are ground into a suspension called cocoa liquor, made up of cocoa butter (fat) and solids. Pressing removes most of the cocoa butter, resulting in a hard, dry cake, which is ground into what we use as cocoa powder.

This powder contains most of the flavanols, a family of flavonoids, or antioxidants, that have since been credited with most of chocolate’s health benefits. Flavanols affect the way nitric oxide is produced in the body, helping blood vessels to relax, and thereby improving blood flow to the heart, the brain, and extremities. They also may reduce inflammation, and the proliferation of dangerous free radicals produced in regular cell metabolism.

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Supreme Court Seems on Monsanto's Side Over Seed Patent

www.usatoday.com - February 21st, 2013

WASHINGTON — Monsanto's patent for genetically modified soybeans appears safe in the Supreme Court's hands. And that's good news for innovations in biotechnology, computer software and other self-replicating products.

The biggest mystery arising from the justices' 70-minute consideration Tuesday of an Indiana farmer's challenge to Monsanto, in fact, was why they had agreed to hear the case at all, since two lower courts already had ruled for Monsanto.

In a classic case of David vs. Goliath, 75-year-old Vernon Hugh Bowman is challenging the agribusiness giant's patent on soybeans that are resistant to the weed killer Roundup. He bought his first batch of "Roundup Ready" seeds from Monsanto but then bought a cheaper mixture from a grain elevator that included some Monsanto seeds.

It's the third generation of seeds that's at issue in the case, because Bowman then began replanting his own herbicide-resistant seeds — and that violated Monsanto's patent, the company claims.

From Tuesday's oral arguments, it didn't seem Bowman had a vote in the room. "You cannot make copies of a patented invention," said Justice Stephen Breyer.

It's for that reason Monsanto has required farmers using its seeds to sign an agreement promising not to save and replant harvested seeds. But even if there was no license, the justices seemed to doubt Bowman's right to create new generations of identical seed under patent law.

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Grass Fed Kerrygold Cheese and Chicken Frittata

6 large room temperature eggs, beaten

6 slices grass fed Kerrygold cheese (white aged cheddar)

1/4 cup fresh cream
1 cup chopped Cremini mushrooms
1 cup cooked shredded chicken
Handful chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup chopped white onions

Sea salt and black pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon salted butter

Preheat oven to broil setting.

Blend eggs and cream. Season to your taste with sea salt and black pepper. Heat a 12" non-stick, oven safe saute pan over medium high heat. Add butter and melt. Add onions, mushrooms, and chicken and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour egg mixture into pan and stir with rubber spatula. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until the egg mixture has set on the bottom and begins to set up on top. Arrange cheese according to picture. Sprinkle with parsley.

Place pan into oven and broil for 3 to 4 minutes, until lightly browned and fluffy. Remove from pan and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil over the top. Cut into 6 servings. Serve immediately with crusty bread.

The Myth of the 'Low-Fat' Diet, and Why Consuming Healthy Fats is Vital to Your Health

www.naturalnews.com - February 20th, 2013

Many people today still adhere to the misguided belief that nearly all fats are bad, and that the best way to stay slim and healthy is to cut fats, whenever possible, from your diet. On the contrary, fats are an absolutely vital component of any healthy diet as they aid in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and minerals, as well as feed the brain, heart, liver, lungs, bones, cells and nervous system the nutrients they need to function properly.

It is widely assumed that, because they are called "fats," these substances must contribute to obesity and obesity-related illnesses like heart disease that afflict millions of people today. This is true for trans fats and certain other unhealthy fats, of course, but there are all kinds of healthy fats as well, such as coconut oil, for instance, or even animal-based fats like grass-fed butter and naturally-produced lard that can actually promote good health.

At the recent World of Healthy Flavors Conference in Napa, Calif., the myth of the low-fat diet was tackled head on by several key figures in nutrition and epidemiology, including Walter Willett, chair of the nutrition department at the Harvard University School of Public Health (HSPH), and his colleague Dariush Mozaffarian. As part of their "Focus on Fat" panel, these experts encouraged their audience to abandon the low-fat mindset and learn about the benefits of consuming healthy fats.

Many low-fat food items contain high levels of processed salt and refined carbohydrates, they pointed out, which are added to low-fat foods to make up for the loss in taste and flavor that results from the artificial removal of fats. Both of these additives, which are devoid of their nutritional counterparts due to over-processing, are linked to numerous health problems, including obesity and heart disease.

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Wild Boar on Polenta Cakes with Red Grape Reduction Sauce

Polenta: 

Make polenta according to the package or your regular method. Then pour it into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, that has been oiled. Let the polenta cool for a few minutes and then refrigerate so it will firm up. After polenta has firmed up use a 2 1/2 to 3 inch cookie cutter or a glass with an equivalent opening to cut out the cakes.

Preheat a well oiled large skillet on medium high. Cook until polenta is crispy on both sides. Keep warm.

Grape Sauce: 

2 cups fresh red organic seedless grapes 

1 tablespoon sugar 

1 lemon, juice and zest

Simmer all the ingredients until it reduces and thickened (about 10 minutes). Set aside to cool.

Wild Boar: 

8 small boneless wild boar loin chops 

2 large garlic crushed 

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped 

Sea salt and black pepper

Combine garlic, olive oil, and fresh rosemary. Season to your taste with sea salt and black pepper. Rub wild boar to fully coat and let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Pour 2 ounces olive oil into large skillet. When hot, add chops and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until cook to your liking.

Serve warm on top of the sun dried polenta (refer to picture) with drizzles of grape sauce over the top and fresh greens of your choice.

America Spends Less on Food Than Any Other Country

www.motherjones.com - February 19th, 2013

Of course, this kind of logic is completely insane to most people in the world, for the simple and obvious fact that food is the most important thing to budget for. It's only because I live in a rich country where having enough to eat isn't really an issue that I can be so clueless about my food spending habits; as demonstrated by the chart below, the higher a country's average income, the smaller the percentage of income spent on food. 

Like Kiera—and, I'm sure, many of the readers of her article—I was a bit shocked when I calculated how much I spend on food. I like to think I'm thrifty in my food spending habits—I cook a lot and usually eat out only on the weekends—but I don't usually add up my food costs and rarely make serious estimates for food spending when I make a budget, instead assuming that I'll manage to make do with whatever's left after I cut a check for rent, buy a bus pass, and pay my utility bills.

On some level, this is pretty intuitive—food is a basic need, and there's only so much you can eat, no matter how much money you have. But even among developed countries, our food spending is ultra-low:People in most European countries spend over 10 percent of their incomes on food. In fact, Americans spend less on food than people in any other country in the world. Even we Americans didn't always expect our food to be so cheap, though: Back in 1963, when Molly Orshansky, an employee of the Social Security Administration, created the nation's first poverty threshold, she simply tripled the cost of the FDA's "thrifty" food plan, since at the time most families spent about a third of their incomes on food. So how'd we end up spending just a fraction of that four decades later?

To find the answer, we have to go back four decades to the 1970s, when rising food prices and technological developments led to a host of transformative changes in the US food system whose effects still determine the way many Americans eat. In response to rising food costs and growing demand amongst the expanding middle class, Nixon's secretary of agriculture, Earl Butz, turned the country's agricultural subsidy program—originally instituted to help stabilize food supply and farmers' incomes after the volatility of the Great Depression—into a support mechanism for the industrial production of corn and soy. Butz's policy of "get big or get out"—made possible by advancements in industrial food production, including technological developments and an abundance of cheap fossil fuels used to make fertilizer and pesticides—encouraged the consolidation of small farmers' plots into gigantic holdings and led to the rise of agribusiness in place of the family farm.

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Gluten Free Lemon Banana Doughnut Holes

Monsanto Keeps on Moving Toward a Lock on the World’s Food System

www.globalresearch.ca - February 18th, 2013

Arguments are scheduled to begin next week before the U.S. Supreme Court about whether an Indiana farmer is right when he claims that the seeds he planted should not be considered under the control of Monsanto, the giant transnational chemical and seed monopoly, through its patenting of the seeds.

Some are calling it a “David versus Goliath” contest but the farmer, Vernon H. Bowman, of southeastern Indiana, told The Guardian that he sees it as a question of right and wrong. In that, he is up against the power of Corporate America and the various parts of that power are arrayed against Bowman.

A lower court heard the case against Bowman v. Monsanto, one of the most powerful corporations (St. Louis, Mo.-based) in the most powerful nation in the world, and found in favor of Monsanto. The U.S. protects its corporations like it protects nothing else. It does not protect the individual in the same way and, in this case it is protecting the right of corporate hegemony over a single farmer.

Bowman, 75, who works the same land as his father, bought soybean seed from a local dealer, and the seed contained some of Monsanto’s patented “Roundup Ready” soybean seed, mixed in with other seeds. Monsanto maintains that such seeds can be used for feed, but cannot be used to plant a second crop, which is what Bowman was doing. Farmers who buy Monsanto’s patented seeds must sign an agreement that they will not save seed for planting in a subsequent year, but will buy new seeds every year from the company. They also pay a per-acre “royalty” for using the company’s seeds.

Monsanto typically enters a farmer’s land (some would call it trespassing) and takes samples (some would call it stealing), and then has the samples DNA-tested for their patented genes. If any appear, they sue the farmer and, since farmers are notoriously outgunned, legally and financially, they end up settling for an undisclosed amount with the company. The amount is undisclosed because, along with the settlement, there is a gag order and the farmer is coerced into agreeing not to discuss the case with anyone. Few farmers have enough money to take on the corporation.

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What Is BPA (Bisphenol A)? Is BPA Harmful?

www.medicalnewstoday.com - February 14th, 2013

Bisphenol A, often known as BPA is a chemical found in hard plastics and the coatings of food and drinks cans which can behave in a similar way to estrogen and other hormones in the human body. BPA is used to make many products, including water bottles, baby bottles, dental fillings and sealants, dental devices, medical devices, eyeglass lenses, DVDs and CDs, household electronic and sports equipment. BPA can also be found in epoxy resins which is used as coatings inside food and drinks cans.

Bisphenol a is an endocrine disruptor - a substance which interferes with the production, secretion, transport, action, function and elimination of natural hormones. BPA can imitate our body's own hormones in a way that could be hazardous for health. Babies and young children are said to be especially sensitive to the effects of BPA.Although public authorities set BPA safety levels, many experts believe these levels should be reviewed after a number of recent studies were published. The Endocrine Society, USA, in 2009 expressed concern in a public statement over current human exposure to BPA.A CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) study found 95% of adult human urine samples and 93% of samples in children had bisphenol A.

What are the possible health effects of bisphenol A (BPA) on humans

Reproductive disorders - there is some concern BPA can cause human reproductive disorders.

Male impotence - BPA was found in one study to be linked to erectile dysfunction and other male sexual problems. 

Heart disease (females) - BPA can cause heart disease in women, scientists at the University of Cincinnati found. 

Heart disease in adults - another US study linked bisphenol A to diabetes and heart disease in adults.

Sex hormones in men - an August 2010 study linked BPA exposure to changes in sex hormones in men. 

Type 2 diabetes - A UK study linked higher levels of urinary BPA to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and liver-enzyme abnormalities.

Brain function, memory, learning - US researchers linked BPA exposure to loss of connections between brain cells in primates, potential problems with memory and learning, as well as depression.

Women's eggs - Californian researchers found that exposure to bisphenol A may affect the quality of a woman's eggs retrieved for in vitro fertilization (IVF). 

Chemotherapy - University of Cincinnati scientists found that Bisphenol A exposure may reduce chemotherapy treatment effectiveness.

Breast cancer - A Yale School of Medicine study found a possible increase in breast cancer risk among females exposed to BPA and DES (Diethylstilbestrol) in the womb.

Asthma - A US study suggested a link between increasing asthma rates and a particular threshold of BPA. 

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What is Aspartame?

www.naturalnews.com - February 13th, 2013

Over a billion people consume aspartame in their foods and beverages across the world, believing it to be a safe ingredient, but what they probably don't know is that aspartame currently accounts for over 75% of all side effects complaints received by the FDA's Adverse Reaction Monitoring System (ARMS) for the past 4 years. It is banned by health-conscious countries all over the world, especially where there is a national healthcare system in place.

Aspartame is best known by the brand names NutraSweet, Equal, Sweet One and Spoonful. Aspartame is a synthetic chemical combination which is comprised of approximately 50% phenylalanine, 40% aspartic acid, and 10% methanol. Aspartame is found in thousands of foods, drinks, candy, gum, vitamins, health supplements and even pharmaceuticals.

Each of the three ingredients in Aspartame poses its own dangers and each is well documented as causing a long list of side effects and dangerous health conditions. Watch for the ingredient Acesulfame Potassium, which is just another name for Aspartame.

Phenylalanine: Even a single use of Aspartame raises the blood phenylalanine levels. High blood phenylalanine can be concentrated in parts of the brain and is especially dangerous for infants and fetuses. Because it is metabolized much more efficiently by rodents than humans, testing and research on rats alone is not sufficient enough to denounce the dangers of Aspartame for human consumption. Excessive levels of phenylalanine in the brain cause serotonin levels to decrease, leading to emotional disorders like depression.

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Gluten Free Chocolate Vanilla Pikelets

A pikelet is a small pancake. Similar to American pancakes in flavor, pikelets are made out of milk or buttermilk, salt, flour, sugar, eggs, and baking powder. In Australia and New Zealand, a favorite way to eat pikelets is to top them with cream, powdered sugar, and strawberries.

1 cup all purpose gluten free flour blend 

1/2 teaspoon guar gum 

1 cup bittersweet dark chocolate chunks 

1 tablespoon Heilala Vanilla Sugar

2 tablespoons gluten free baking powder 

1 large room temperature egg 

2 tablespoons melted salted butter 

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon pure Heilala Vanilla Bean Paste

Combine all the dry ingredients including chocolate chunks. Set aside. Whisk all the wet ingredients.Add wet to dry to make a thick batter (you may not need all the liquid).

Heat a lightly greased frying pan over a moderate heat. Once heated, cook tablespoonfuls of mixture in the pan for about 1-11⁄2 minutes. Once bubbles appear on the surface and burst, flip the pikelets over and cook for about the same time on the opposite side until they are lightly browned. Place on a cake rack to cool and cover with a clean tea towel while cooking the remaining mixture.

Serve warm with or without butter or try serving with whipped cream, melted chocolate, and raspberry jam.Any leftovers can be reheated to refreshen before serving.

The War On Small Farms

www.thebetterhealthstore.com - February 11th, 2013

An unseen war has been waged against small farms and buying clubs across the country. It has put the sustainable farming industry on thin ice and threatens the entire real food system and infrastructure.

The Washington Times | Adam Helfer | There is just something comforting about frequenting a local farmers market or passing the small farms on a weekend jaunt through the countryside. It's a genuine slice of Americana that's not only aesthetically pleasing and soothing, but the standard in how we should feed ourselves and families in this country.

Though a dark secret brewing is that an unseen war has been waged against these very small farms and buying clubs across the country. It has put the sustainable farming industry on thin ice and threatens the entire real food system and infrastructure.

Filmmaker Kristin Canty initially got interested in healthy food when one of her sons fell sick with multiple allergies. She found that farm fresh grassfed raw milk healed and restored him to perfect health. In getting the fresh foods from various farms to keep her family healthy, she started learning about numerous issues being posed by local and federal government along with armed raids on farm buying clubs and health food co-ops across the entire nation- the very foods that restored her son to perfect health have been under attack. This incensed Canty (who had no prior filmmaking experience) to document the harsh treatment against small farms and allow the general public to become more aware of the iniquitous situation.

Farmageddon documents the personal accounts small farmers and clubs being affected and highlights the urgency of food freedom and a review and modifications of the policies and laws that are the crux of the issue.

Canty discovered there are "one sized fits all" policies that favor large agribusiness and industrial factory farms over small family-operated farms selling fresh foods to the local communities.

Instead of a focus on the source of the food safety problems (most often the industrial food chain) policymakers and regulators implement and enforce solutions that target (and often drive out of business) small farms that have proven themselves more than capable of producing safe, healthy food, but buckle under the crushing weight of government regulations, paperwork, and excessive enforcement actions.

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Crying Over Spilt Raw Milk

The war on REAL food is REAL!  Meet my local farmer and friend (video posted below). His name is Eddie. I get healthy, raw my milk each week from him. Today he is being forced to dump 700 gallons of wholesome, nutrient dense, pure, raw milk from his grass fed cows that there is NOTHING wrong with. So why did he have to dump it? Because supposedly a "neighbor complained" about how some people were picking up their milk.  Things HAVE to change.  And the only way they will change is for people to stand up to the bullies and demand they leave our food alone!

Watch Eddie being forced to destroy 100's of gallons of raw milk - and his livelihood:

Top 10 GMO Foods To Avoid

www.nationofchange.org - February 6th, 2013

Genetically modified foods have been shown to cause harm to humans, animals, and the environmental, and despite growing opposition, more and more foods continue to be genetically altered. It’s important to note that steering clear from these foods completely may be difficult, and you should merely try finding other sources than your big chain grocer. If produce is certified USDA-organic, its non-GMO (or supposed to be!) Also, seek out local farmers and booths at farmer’s markets where you can be assured the crops aren’t GMO. Even better, if you are so inclined: Start organic gardening and grow them yourself. Until then, here are the top 10 worst GMO foods for your “do not eat” GMO foods list.

Top 10 Worst GMO Foods for Your GMO Foods List

1. Corn: This is a no-brainer. If you’ve watched any food documentary, you know corn is highly modified. “As many as half of all U.S. farms growing corn for Monsanto are using genetically modified corn,” and much of it is intended for human consumption. Monsanto’s GMO corn has been tied to numerous health issues, including weight gain and organ disruption.

2. Soy: Found in tofu, vegetarian products, soybean oil, soy flour, and numerous other products, soy is also modified to resist herbicides. As of now, biotech giant Monsanto still has a tight grasp on the soybean market, with approximately 90 percent of soy being genetically engineered to resist Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup. In one single year, 2006, 96.7 million pounds of glyphosate was sprayed on soybeans alone.

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Mini Blackberry White Chocolate Focaccia

Dough:

1 tablespoon instant yeast

1 cup warm water

2 tablespoons raw local honey

1/2 cup pure olive oil

3 cups bread flour (plus extra)

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

2 cups white chocolate bits

24 blackberries

Egg Wash:

1 egg

1 teaspoon water

Combine all the dry ingredients including chocolate bits on low speed using the dough hook attachment. Whisk all the wet ingredients in a jug. Drizzle in enough liquid on low speed to form a soft dough (add more flour if it's sticky). Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead until dough is smooth, 5 to 10 minutes. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and let rest in a warm place until dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.

Divide dough into 24 equal pieces and shape into balls. Flatten with the palm of your hands. Use your fingers to poke dents in each piece (4). Arrange in a lined baking sheet leaving room in between. Cut blackberries into small pieces and fill the dents. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rest in a warm place to rest for another 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 F. 

Combine egg and water and brush over the dough and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until brown and crispy. Remove from oven and drizzle raw honey over the top.

Yield: 24

How To Understand Sucrose, Glucose and Fructose

www.livestrong.com - February 6th, 2013

Although they are all sweet, not all sugars are created equally. The body can tell the difference between sugars such as sucrose, glucose and fructose, and one sugar is not as healthy for the body as the others, according to "Time" magazine. Sucrose is the common form of table sugar and is the most abundant pure organic compound. It is harvested from sugar cane or sugar beets. Glucose is the breakdown product of ingested carbohydrates and the form of sugar that the body uses for energy. Fructose is the type of sugar naturally found in fruits and is the sweetest of the naturally occurring sugars.

Step 1

Understand the structure of sugars. Sucrose is a disaccharide, meaning it contains two simple sugars, composed of one molecule of glucose bound to one molecule of fructose linked together in a long chain at a ratio of 1:1, according to 3DChem.com. Glucose is a monosaccharide, or simple sugar, which the cells of the body use for energy. Fructose, also a monosaccharide, is an isomer of glucose, meaning it has the same chemical formula, but in a different structure.

Step 2

Learn where sucrose, glucose and fructose are found. Sucrose is table sugar and is sold as raw sugar, granulated sugar, confectioner's sugar, brown sugar and turbinado sugar, which is an unrefined sugar made from sugar cane juice, according to MedlinePlus. Glucose, also known as dextrose, is a component of complex carbohydrates, or starches, which break down into glucose during digestion. Fructose does not often occur alone in nature, but is typically found in combination with glucose or sucrose in fruits and vegetables, including honey, oranges, berries, sweet potatoes and onions, according to EUFIC.

Step 3

Understand the health effects of sugars. Sugar provides calories, but has no inherent nutritional value. Glucose is considered the healthiest sugar because it is what the body uses for fuel, but glucose by itself is not used as a sweetener in processed foods. It is generally used attached to sucrose, or more often attached to fructose to form high-fructose corn syrup. Ingesting large amounts of high-fructose corn syrup has been shown to lead to an increased risk of becoming obese and developing heart disease and diabetes, according to the "Journal of Clinical Investigation."

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Lemon Garlic Mustard Chicken Drumsticks

12 drumsticks

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

1 Meyer lemon, juice and zest

4 garlic cloves, crushed

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (plus extra)

Sea salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine mustard, lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, and garlic. Add chicken and make sure to fully coat. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Set aside for two hours to marinade in the refrigerator or longer. Bring chicken to room temperature (about 20 minutes) before cooking.

Arrange chicken in a single layer on a prepared baking sheet. Drizzle extra olive oil on top of the chicken. Bake for 8 minutes on each side, or until chicken is cooked and crispy.