Goat Cheese Chickpea Avocado Salad

8 cups mixed salad greens

1/2 small white onion chopped

1 large avocado, sliced

8 slices goat cheese

1 cup cooked chickpeas

1 large lemon, juiced

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt salt and black pepper

Arrange salad ingredients on a large serving platter (refer to picture). Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil and lemon juice over the top. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.

Serve chilled.

Organic Tomatoes Contain Higher Levels of Antioxidants

www.sciencedaily.com - July 2nd, 2012

ScienceDaily (July 3, 2012) — A study conducted at the University of Barcelona shows that organic tomatoes contain higher levels of phenolic compounds than conventional tomatoes. Phenolic compounds are organic molecules found in many vegetables with proven human health benefits. The UB's Natural Antioxidant Group, headed by lecturer Rosa M. Lamuela, had previously demonstrated that organic tomato juice and ketchup contain higher polyphenol content than juice and ketchup made from conventionally grown tomatoes.

Lamuela points out that during the production process of ketchup and juice, there are lower levels of polyphenols; therefore it was necessary to verify that the differences observed in previous studies had their origin in the tomatoes themselves and not in the technology used during the production process. As lecturer Lamuela states, "it must be verified with raw material."

Polyphenols -- natural antioxidants of plant origin -- are considered to be of great nutritional interest because its consumption is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular and degenerative diseases, and some forms of cancer. The team behind the study has analyzed a variety of tomato called Daniela and has determined its phenolic profile by using liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. With this method, the research group of the UB could identify 34 different phenolic compounds in tomatoes. According to Rosa M. Lamuela, "the benefit of taking polyphenols through foods is that they contain a wide variety of such molecules, which are increased." This would be more beneficial to health than the intake of supplements. Tomatoes also contain lycopene and other carotenoids, and vitamin C. Hence, according to Lamuela, "they contain many beneficial compounds."

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Gluten-Free Dark Chocolate Cake

Cake:

1.5 cups brown rice flour

1.5 cups sweet white sorghum flour

2 cups stevia (sweetener)

1/2 cup chocolate/cocoa powder

2 teaspoons GF baking powder

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs, room temperature (I used Egg-land's Organic eggs)

2 cups milk

1 cup melted bittersweet dark chocolate

1 cup pure vegetable oil

1 teaspoon melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 F

Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Set aside. Blend all the wet ingredients together and fold into the dry.

Pour into a lined 8" round cake pan.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a stick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Ganache:

1/2 cup chocolate chunks (60%) or similar

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Bring heavy cream in a saucepan on medium heat to simmer (don't boil). Pour over chocolate chunks and whisk until chocolate mixture is smooth and shiny.  Pour over the cake. Decorate with fresh blueberries.

Food Ads, Sugary Drinks Leave You Craving More

www.sacbee.com - Monday July 2nd, 2012

You've seen billboards showing a triple-stacked hamburger, dripping with cheese, laced with bacon and nestled in a light, fluffy bun. And you've seen the commercials highlighting the delectable fudge swirls churned into a pint of rich, creamy ice cream.

But do these commercials really work? Do they actually make you crave food? Yes, they do.

According to new research out of the University of Southern California, images of high-calorie foods stimulate the "craving" part of the brain. And if a person is eating or drinking something sugary while looking at them, the hankering gets even more severe.

The research was presented last week at the annual meeting of The Endocrine Society in Houston.

"Studies have shown that advertisements featuring food make us think of eating, but our research looked at how the brain responds to food cues and how that increases hunger and desire for certain foods," said Kathleen Page, principal investigator and assistant professor of clinical medicine at USC's Keck School of Medicine. "This stimulation of the brain's reward areas may contribute to overeating and obesity and has important public health implications."

To figure out what was happening in the brains of people exposed to pictures of delectable food items, Page and her team recruited 13 obese Hispanic females between the ages of 15 and 25 and monitored their brains using fMRI imaging, which analyzes blood flow in the brain.

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