While growing up, we weren't allowed to watch much TV. Mom said it dampened a child's creativity and made kids lazy--mentally and physically. That was back in the 1950s. Since then, thousands of studies have looked at how TV affects kids' grades, sleep, behavior, and health.

TV has become a public health issue. First of all, kids get lots of information about health from TV, much of it from ads. And children tend to believe what the ads say, even though they might be untrue or unbalanced. If you don't believe it (HAH!), the next time you get tired of hearing your children beg for junk food, think about all those TV commercials.

[To listen to this article, a 3-minute audio file, subscribe to to my podcast feed (so you can open the attachment below) or to listen to the mp3 file now, simply click here]. Otherwise, heck, keep on reading...    more »

During Captain Cook's first voyage in 1768, a mighty storm came up, injuring many sailors. To save the men from gangrene, the ship's doctor made a poultice of mashed cabbage and applied it to their wounds...

Learn more about Cook's cabbage, why cabbage was named Plant of the Year by the National Gardening Association and how it inspired one of the most notorious weapons of World War I...   more »

Rachel Biccum, a fifth-grader in Chico, California, was sick and tired of school lunches, so she decided to take action. She handed out fliers to her classmates, promoting a boycott. "No more bad lunches!" the flier stated. Rachel also encouraged fellow students to boycott the cafeteria and bring their lunches from home. They told school officials, "get rid of the processed junk, we want more fresh foods."

For Rachel and friends to ask for more fresh foods is encouraging news, since childhood obesity rates are skyrocketing. But you know, there's another way to provide fresh food at school, and that's to GROW it. School gardens are sprouting up all over the country. A growing success story, if you will...   more »

What if I told you that by mowing the lawn during certain phases of the moon meant you didn't have to mow as often? What if I told you the same system applied to cutting your hair?

HAH! Before you think I’m crazy, let's turn to the National Geographic, which says more gardeners today are turning to the moon for advice on the best time to do yard chores. The practice, called gardening by the moon, centers on the moon's gravitational effect on moisture flowing in soil and plants. The moon also controls the ocean tides and acts upon the groundwater beneath your feet.   more »

I'm amazed at the power of small things that make a big difference. Maybe that explains why I'm so jazzed about starting plants from seeds. You know, small seeds that grow into big plants. Every chance I get--in my columns, podcasts, workshops, website, blog, newsletter--I spread the good word about growing your own. Here's the latest headline I used [don't laugh]: SAVE MONEY, LOSE WEIGHT by growing your own seedlings! Okay, sounds a stretch, yet it's not far from the truth...   more »

Maybe you've decided for this year, to treat yourself better. Or maybe you've come to the conclusion that your family ought to eat together more regularly, and that fast food several times a week is simply bad for both wallet and waistline.

Sound too lofty? Too hard to implement with your busy schedule? Nahhhh. Let's start with fast food and go from there...

[FUN STUFF! Listen to my audio article, a 3-minute, mp3 file which includes an on-scene interview at Seattle's Pike Place Market, by clicking here or subscribe to my podcast feed so you can open the attachment below]

Otherwise, keep reading. You'll eventually come to a cool recipe at the end...   more »

Seattle's Pike Place Market is an open-air, farmers market buzzing with activity. You can find Alaska salmon and dried flowers; T-shirts and olive oil. Vendors do whatever it takes to get your attention. It worked for me. I spotted a sign that read, "Brussels Sprouts: Little Green Balls of Death."

I decided to ask the guy standing behind the vegetable display. Mike Osborn's his name...

"So Mike, what's with the sign next to your Brussels sprouts?"   more »

The recent spinach scare, where E. coli-tainted spinach killed one person and hospitalized hundreds more, brought to the table the importance of food, that is, where it comes from and why we should care...

Most of the food we buy travels great distances to reach our plate. A head of lettuce for example, travels about 2,000 miles from farm to market. These distances, measured in “food miles,” reveals how most of us are overly dependent on outside sources for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

[Note: Hey, now you can LISTEN to this article (just 3 minutes long) by subscribing to my podcast feed (so you can open the attachment below) or you can listen to the mp3 file now by clicking here]. Otherwise, keep reading the article. You'll be glad you did!]   more »

Her plea for help surfaced one morning in my inbox. I'm sharing it here with the hope that together we can find some resources for this woman who has been diagnosed with breast cancer:

Dear Marion,
I was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and have to be on chemotherapy in two weeks time. I was checking out your website and it is interesting to read about organic gardening. If you know of any source or organic foods that are good for breast cancers, I'd sure appreciate it. I live in Sacramento...   more »

OK, so you love Ben & Jerry's ice cream. But did you know that Ben & Jerry's Organic is owned by food and personal care product company Unilever? And when you sip Celestial Seasonings tea did you realize you are dropping pennies into the pockets of Cargill, the giant agribusiness-chemical giant? For an eye-opening look into the Who's Who of the organic food industry, post this Organic Industry Structure Chart on your fridge.

The chart (in a pdf format), compiled by Phil Howard, PhD, illustrates companies and their--often large--parent corporations. It may change the way you shop for food.   more »

When iced tea was introduced at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, Americans fell in love with it. In fact, iced tea became a status symbol. A perfectly brewed pitcher of tea was the mark of a successful hostess. Women’s magazines provided tips on how to brew tea correctly, and offered recipes for “Tea Punch” a sweet beverage for summer tennis and golf gatherings.

Learn how iced tea drinkers battled it out with beer drinkers, and won! Listen to this article in the form of a fun, 2-minute audio article, subscribe to my podcast feed (so you can open the attachment below) or simply listen to the mp3 file now by clicking here.   more »

You're standing in the produce department, checking out the displays of fruit. The little baskets of strawberries catch your eye. Hmm, a strawberry shortcake would be nice for dessert, and tomorrow you could slice a few berries over your granola.

Nice thoughts; bad idea.

Why? Let's first get out of the cereal bowl and look at the big picture.

If you are concerned about oil prices and global warming, consider this: It takes 400 calories of fossil fuels to transport a single 5-calorie strawberry from California to East Coast supermarkets. What's more, that bright red, but flavorless strawberry was probably grown with methyl bromide, a carcinogenic and ozone depleting pesticide. [Reported by the Organic Consumers Association]

Still considering strawberry shortcake? Here are a few more things to think about when you're at the grocery store:   more »

Hungry, you grab an apple from the fruit bowl. You look for the little sticker and then scrape it off with your fingernail. Then it hits you: "What do the numbers on the sticker mean?"
 
As much as we don’t like them, the stickers attached to fruit do more than speed up the checkout process. The PLU code, or price lookup numbers tell you how the fruit was grown. By deciphering the numbers you can tell if the produce was grown with chemical fertilizers, is genetically modified, or organically grown.

[To listen to the audio version of this article, which is only 2 minutes long, subscribe to my podcast feed so you can open the attachment below,  or simply listen to the mp3 file now by clicking here]

Otherwise, just keep on reading...   more »

What national resource are we wasting away at an alarming rate? Oil, you might say. Perhaps. Try manure.

[Listen to the 2-minute audio article by subscribing to my podcast feed -- so you can open the attachment below -- or simply listen to the mp3 file now by clicking here]. Otherwise, heck, just keep on reading...

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“'Scuse me while I kiss the sky.”

If you play professional football, you’d like to win the Super Bowl; if you’re an actress, an Academy award would be nice. But if you’re a vegetable, flower or herb, the title of “All America Selection” winner says you’re the best of the best, garden-wise. This year’s winners include a very unusual carrot called "Purple Haze," named after the song by Rock 'n Roll legend Jimi Hendrix.

[Please Note: I produced a fun, 2-minute audio piece from this article. To listen, you can subscribe to my podcast feed (so you can open the attachment below) OR simply listen to the mp3 file now by clicking here]

Otherwise, enjoy yourself and keep reading...   more »

For eight years, starting in the late 1970s, I worked aboard research ships and tugboats, first as an able-bodied seaman and then as a merchant marine officer.

Because we'd be at sea for 2 to 4 weeks, the galley crew was keenly aware that food was an important part of shipboard life. Sunday was prime rib day, Wednesday was steak day, and once a month (if we were working in the tropics) the cooks served a roast pig on the upper deck, complete with the apple in its mouth. (I can't remember what they filled the eye holes with.) Each dinner was paired with a salad.

Notice I didn’t say "green" salad, because at the end of a 4-week trip the lettuce looked anemically white. Yet, the stewards managed to keep lettuce from going bad by packing each head in a brown paper bag before storing them in the walk-in coolers.

Perhaps that explains why, when I switched my focus from the sea to the land, I placed lettuce at the top of my To Grow list -- even though I'd never grown it, or anything else. By late summer, the plants had bolted to 3-foot towers and when I finally got around to picking some greens they were so bitter we couldn't eat them.

What am I getting at?   more »

When is garbage not garbage? Why, when you look at it with a gardener’s eye. Those seeds and pits that you usually throw away? You can turn them into fruitful houseplants.

Take a mango, for example. In the center of the mango, there is a large, hairy husk with a pit in it. To prepare it for planting, scrape off the excess flesh from the husk. Wait a second! Let’s back up. First you EAT the mango, THEN you scrape off the excess fruit.

[PSST! To listen to this article, which is only 2 minutes long. It's easy: subscribe to my podcast feed (so you can open the attachment below) or simply listen to the mp3 file now by clicking here]

Otherwise, you can keep reading...   more »

You sing songs as a kid and often have NO idea what the words mean. Christmas songs are especially bad. "Here we go a'wassailing..." Huh? Wassailing? Frankincense? Myrrh? How about: “We wish you a merry Christmas…oh bring us a figgy pudding.” Figgy Pudding?

What, on God's green earth, is figgy pudding?

To win bets during the holidays, load up with fun factoids from my audio article: Subscribe to my podcast feed (so you can open the attachment below) or simply listen here to the mp3 audio file. [SPECIAL NOTE: If you'd like a text version of this audio article, send me an email to marion@ptialaska.net]

Have you ever cried over a tomato or grown weepy over fresh corn? How about a head of lettuce? As I faced the displays of well-groomed fruits and vegetables, cradling a head of romaine lettuce in my hands, tears welled up in my eyes. What was happening? Why was I getting so emotional over a vegetable?

To listen to the whole story (warning: it will change the way you look at food) subscribe to my podcast feed (so you can open the attachment below) or simply listen here to the mp3 audio file.  [INVITE FROM MARION: Many people have asked for the text version of my podcasts. If you'd like to read the script, send me an email to marion@ptialaska.net]

Brushing your teeth isn’t the only way to prevent cavities. New research shows that cranberry juice also curbs tooth decay. The juice contains a chemical that blocks cavity-causing bacteria from sticking to your teeth.  Sound strange? Keep reading...

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Let’s pretend for a moment that you’ve been asked to bring pumpkin pies to Thanksgiving dinner. Pumpkin pie? Right. Boring. You’re thinking, "Maybe I should just go out and buy one." After all, what can you do to make a pumpkin pie interesting?

Lights, please! Quiet everybody. It’s time for the annual Northern Lights Pumpkin Pie recipe. It's the answer to all your boring pie problems. What makes this pie a show-stopper, is how it’s layered. The crust is coated with several ingredients, before you pour in the filling. The result? The layers create a lovely banded affect so each slice looks like an aurora display in the night sky.

Here’s how to make your northern lights pumpkin pie:   more »

Beans. We love them in soups, salads and salsas. But beans have one social drawback--their dramatic effect on human wind production. Good news. A British plant breeder has developed fart-free varieties, to the relief of baked bean fans and their families everywhere. (No more fear of being around other people!) Listen and learn about these new, wind-free beans and why--oh why--beans give us so much grief.

TO LISTEN: Subscribe to my podcast feed (so you can open the attachment below) or simply listen here to the mp3 audio file. [SPECIAL NOTE: If you'd like a text version of this audio article or tips for preparing and cooking beans to reduce the gas effect, send me an email to marion@ptialaska.net]

Uh, oh. The Potato industry is on hard times; mostly due to low-carb diets and consumers becoming more health conscious. To improve their spoiled image, the United States Potato Board has launched a new ad campaign, starring Mr. Potato Head. To promote the benefits of one of the most popular vegetables, the plastic potato first shed some pounds.

But does remaking one of America’s icons provide enough umph to encourage us to eat more potatoes? Truth is, potatoes aren't bad. They provide us with fiber, vitamin C, iron, calcium and zinc. It’s what the industry does to them. Pesticides, chemical fertilizers, GE (genetically engineered) mistakes... well, just listen to this audio file and decide for yourself by subscribing to our podcast feed (so you can open the attachment below) or simply download/listen here to the mp3.

As the weather changes, so do our food preferences. That said, dare I ask, have you tried beets lately? Okay, I’ll admit, beets definitely fall into the love-them-or-hate-them category of foods. But I think most of the problem stems from folks never having tasted anything but canned or pickled beets.

Canned beets certainly tainted my taste buds. For years my standard reply to anyone suggesting I try something beet-like was, "No thanks. They taste like purple dirt!" But tastebuds, like good wine and cheese, mature with age. Thus, I’m courageously urging you to try some beets this fall. How about Marion’s 'UpBeet' Roasted Beet Salad? Now don't run away. It’s good, really it is.
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Cinnamon season kicks off in the fall with pumpkin pies, cookies and of course, cinnamon rolls. Speaking of cinnamon rolls, something sweet happened in Everett, Washington recently. Bakery shop owners Wayne and Anita Warren dreamed of baking a 250-pound cinnamon roll -- a pastry they hoped would be big enough to earn a spot in the Guinness Book of Records. Listen to the story behind cinnamon and this Mother-of-Them-All roll. Place your bets! Was it big enough for the record books? And what do you think of those smiley faces in the photo?

To listen, subscribe to our podcast feed (so you can open the attachment below) or simply download/listen here to the mp3.

Halloween night can be really scary. It’s not about ghosts and witches prowling around in search of treats. It's the treats themselves that make the event scary. What's more, consumers -- that’s us -- are spending a record $3.3 billion this Halloween season, most of that on costumes and candy, in a time when 7 percent of Americans have diet-related diabetes.

So what should you do when the doorbell rings and you hear, "Trick or Treat!"? To learn how you can become an educated, non-candy giver, listen to this special 'UpBeet Gardener' Halloween report. Subscribe to my podcast feed (so you can open the attachment below) or simply listen here to the mp3 audio file. [NOTE: A hearty thanks to folks who have requested the text version of this audio article. If you'd like a copy, send me an email: marion@ptialaska.net]

I'm not very fond of surveys and trend predictions, but my heart warmed when I saw that organic was listed as "in" and chemicals were "out." Here are four of my favorite garden trends for 2006 from a survey conducted by the Garden Writers Association. (OK, so I'm a member.)

1) Garden in small spaces is in. Giant landscapes are out.
As lot sizes shrink and people downsize their homes, consumers are gardening more in less space, on patios and decks, on rooftops and, of course, in containers. Vertical gardening is in, growing either up or down from balconies or on patios.   more »

"Stop for a moment and think about how important real food is to our holidays and celebrations. Suppose you showed up at Grandma’s house on Thanksgiving, and dinner was Big Macs, McFries, and Mcapple pies, with maybe some micro-waved convenience store bean burritos on the side. You would think that she had lost her mind!"

Meet Bob Waldrop, founder of the Oklahoma Food Cooperative, writer, and ardent supporter of Oklahoma’s farmers and ranchers.  Bob doesn't mince words and what he has to say will make you think about your grocery shopping list...

"Nobody wants fast food on Thanksgiving. Everybody wants 'slow food' for celebrations. Turkeys stuffed with sage dressing, seasoned with herbs, carrots, onions, and celery, baked sweet potatoes, real mashed potatoes, gravy made from the broth from the turkey, and home-made pies and rolls. That is a Thanksgiving dinner. It’s not cheap fast food sandwiches made with mystery meats and industrial chemicals.

"The Slow Food movement is at the vanguard of the next big thing in food. It rejects the tasteless, anonymous, homogenized, and industrialized flavors dished up by the modern agribidness system. It embraces real food — meals prepared from basic ingredients that originate in local farms with stories and histories and are distributed via local 'Value Chains' where every stakeholder benefits and receives a fair price for their contribution to the final result. Read Bob's whole article...

In their new movie, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit,  Wallace, and his trusty dog Gromit have formed their own humane pest control company, Anti-pesto, and are defending village gardens from a giant rabbit on the eve of the annual Giant Vegetable Competition. While the British movie is packed full of some of the funniest vegetable antics you’ll ever see, there’s another purpose to the film: Promote a real-life Great Vegetable Challenge competition to teach thousands of school kids about diet, nutrition and the natural environment. Listen to the whole story (and be challenged!): Subscribe to our podcast feed so you can open the attachment below, or simply click here to listen to the mp3 file.

Stained glass is made of colored pieces of glass that are joined by lead strips to form a pictorial design. It is said to have originated in the Middle East. Today you can find beautiful examples of stained glass in the cathedrals of Canterbury--and in your kitchen. If you'd like to impress your friends, serve them Stained Glass Potatoes. They are easy to make, tasty and beautiful! Raw potatoes are cut in half and then baked, cut side down, on a bed of herbs and flower petals. The finished result is a show-stopper!   more »

The Associated Press reports that 9 out of 10 schools sell junk food, with candy, soda, pizza and other snacks competing with nutritious meals. Already plentiful in high schools, junk food has become more available in middle schools over the past five years, according to the Government Accounting Office (GAO), the investigative arm of the U.S. Congress. "Parents should know that our schools are now one of the largest sources of unhealthy food for their kids," said Senator Tom Harkin, who asked for the study.   more »

Will Rogers once said, "Some guy invented Vitamin A out of a carrot. I'll bet he can't invent a good meal out of one." Okay. Your mom told you carrots were good for you. But, like Will Rogers, you might be wondering, "What else can you do with carrots besides eating them raw or grating a token blob of orange on top of a dinner salad? Boring, right? Well, grab some carrots so you can try these quick and tasty recipes. You'll be a hero in any camp!   more »