Is There a New Definition for “Fresh”?

When Mark and I travel, we always bring along healthy snacks—AKA real food—to keep us satisfied. Favorite snacks include raw almonds, Lara Bars, 70% dark chocolate, and dehydrated bananas (which look disgusting and taste divine).

It’s so easy, when you’re traveling, to slip into starvation mode and then devour anything in sight, no matter how unhealthy you know it is.

And the system is designed that way. Just look at the picture here. Do you consider a bag of chips to be a “fresh” snack? Well, someone does . . . actually, I imagine a lot of people do.

It's not just snacks, of course. Each of the three meals can fall victim to bad food choices. On our way to New York, Mark and I made a quick stop at a rest area. While we walked around, we couldn’t keep our eyes off the masses who were lined up for a chance to inhale some fast “food.”

And while we were in Manhattan—an island with dozens of good-for-you restaurants like Atlas Café, Pure Food and Wine, and Candle 79—I overhead a little boy whining for lunch.

“Are we going to McDonald’s?” he asked.

“Yes,” his mother answered.

There was a pause and then he said, “It’s funny. We go to McDonald’s every day for lunch.”

I wanted to tell him there was nothing funny about it, but I didn’t think he'd get it, and I honestly wasn't sure his mother would either. Sometimes it's easier to be fooled.

Question of the blog: Are you as outraged as I am over the chemicals and preservatives that pass as real food?

Interested in Some Pure Food with a Side of Celebrity?

I’m back from nearly a week in New York. What a great trip! Mark and I did our best to have a green vacation; I’ll share some of our successes and challenges in future blogs but, before I do, I have a quick story to tell.

We had a great raw meal at Manhattan's Pure Food and Wine (www.purefoodandwine.com). We were there at an off-time and the place was nearly empty, except for Woody Harrelson, Owen Wilson, David Blaine, and Edward Norton.

I’m not one of those people that reads gossip magazines or watches celebrity “news” shows so I wasn’t star-struck, but what did strike me is that you’re probably not going to eat with that crowd at McDonald’s. So if you’re looking for yet another reason to get green and eat green, think of all the famous friends you can make.

Okay, on a serious note, the food was so incredibly great that I just went online to buy their cookbook and found that signed copies are on sale on their site: http://oneluckyduck.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=25

Buy a copy. And when you make a recipe at home, just imagine Edward Norton is in your kitchen.

Question of the blog: Do you have a favorite raw cookbook?