all over the map....

This blog post is all over the map, but good information nonetheless! I am still not back in the kitchen cooking & creating quite yet; however; I urge you to read on in the event that you learn something new or are just amused by the very pregnant-brained woman and her latest blog post.....

1) I have just finished reading "My Life in France" by Julia Child, which for someone who isn't able to be in the kitchen creating, is a wonderful way to stay connected to the culinary world. If you are looking for a thoroughly pleasant, well-written read that is focused largely around the joy of food, art and life - then look no further. This book is for you. And in the words of dear Julia "bon appetit" or Enjoy the book, since you aren't really going to be eating the book.

Also, I'd like to point out that I do know that one should underline a book title, not frame it with parenthases -- but I just can't figure out how to accomplish this seemingly simply task on my blogger account and have no energy to figure it out at this time. Please forgive my literary faux pas.

2)IMPORTANT HEALTH FLASH:

The FDA has now renamed aspartame (aka Equal or NutraSweet) to AminoSweet. This name sounds completely innocent and harmless, right? No so my friends, not so! Check your labels for this re-named toxic chemical which as been linked to birth defects, cancer, diabetes, and the list goes on. Avoid it like the plague. Read more about it here.

While we are on the subject of artificial sweetners, let's just touch on saccharin, the pink packet you know as Sweet n' Low. It was accidentally produced in 1878 when a chemist Constanin Fahlbery was working on coal tar derivatives. Mmm...yum! It became popular during WW 1 when we faced a sugar shortage. It remianed popular after the war due to it being a calorie-free sweetner. Saccharin was banned in Canada in the 1977 due to it's carcinogenic properties and reminas banned to this day. In October of 1989 the Environmental Health Hazard Assessment office of the California Environmental Protection Agency added saccharin to the list of chemicals known to cause cancer. It was removed from the list on April 6, 2001.

3) If you are in need of some nutritionally sound information, please visit this website. This girl, Meghan Telpner, has got it going on. She is always posting inventive recipes and highlighting the health benefits of common foods and herbs. Meghan inspires me!