Photo: jdlasica

Performance in the Olympics is everything, but what you consume is as important, if not more so, than everything else. For these athletes you have to treat your body like a car. If you put bad fuel in it, it won’t run well. If you put great fuel in it, it will perform to your ideal expectations and you will lower the chance of burning out. Olympians take this to an entirely new level. Read More

Every town and neighborhood has its one local market that is categorized by its charm. It’s probably small enough so you can get to know your vendors, but also large enough to hold everything you need. For Spanish Harlem, that market is La Marqueta.

La Marqueta is one of the oldest landmarks in East Harlem and to this day, continues to be a trademark spot for Harlemites and New Yorkers alike. The 80,000-square-foot market is separated by six parcels divided by intersecting streets and stretches from 111th street to 116th underneath the metro rail north line on Park Avenue. It was first established in 1936 by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia to control the numerous pushcarts and vendors that piled the streets of East Harlem with their various produce, fruits, vegetables and homemade breads. Since then, La Marqueta has had its ups and downs–including a fire that destroyed one of the markets in 1977–but regardless, the market has remained a place for all people to shop and interact with vendors, buying the best local produce and locally grown vegetables East Harlem has to offer. Read More

Photo: Juntos Worldwide

Get ready New York City! The National Puerto Rican Day Parade is happening this Sunday in honor of the over 8 million Puerto Ricans inhabiting NYC and “la isla del encanto,” Puerto Rico. Before Sunday, however, you can spot Latin pride all over the city and in honor if this prideful occasion we’re featuring some Latin highlights and photos from one of the largest spots in Harlem- Spanish Harlem. Here’s our first feature…

Since moving to New York, it has been my personal mission as a self-proclaimed foodie to really expand my taste buds and dive into the Big Apple’s culinary explosion, head first. However, with a dwindling bank account, it can be difficult to navigate the waters without first having the money to throw down. With that said, when I found a restaurant where I can shell out $1.50 for some bacalao (codfish fritters), both my stomach and wallet were very, very happy.

Cuchifritos Frituras, directly east of the Lexington Avenue subway at 116th street has been serving traditional Latin American fare for years, and is one of the most famous spots for this Puerto Rican fried food phenomenon. But what in the world exactly is a cuchifrito? Often described as Puerto Rican soul food, cuchifritos are simply fried food and most traditionally, pork. Cuchi, short for cochino, translates to pig, whereas frito describes something fried. Put it all together and you’ve got fried goodness, served with love, for a total bargain of the price. Read More

Back To The Roots Mushroom Kit

Sitting in a lecture hall at UC Berkley with semester of college left, students Alejandro Velez and Nikhil Arora were on the fast track to graduation, a bright future ahead of them in the corporate world of investment banking and consulting. During class, their professor mentioned how it was possible to grow mushrooms from old coffee grounds and suddenly : Boom!- an idea had sparked.

The thought of turning waste (hundreds of pounds of recycled coffee grounds) into food (delicious, home-grown oyster mushrooms) was extremely intriguing to Velez and Arora and within weeks, their idea was swiftly put into action in the kitchen of Alex’s fraternity house. After six months of trial and error, their attempt of creating mushrooms from recycled coffee grounds was a success. Read More

Photo: Bram Cymet

Until last week, those individuals looking to receive food stamps had to endure a very critical, degrading and frustrating fingerprinting process that has been heavily criticized by policy officials, political figures and most recently, Governor Andrew Cuomo. The past few months have seen various verbal altercations between Cuomo and City Mayor Bloomberg, who argues for the process of fingerprinting, saying how the process limits fraud. Cuomo, on the other hand has been quoted saying, “We shouldn’t treat the poor or hungry as criminals.” One of the biggest factors in Cuomo’s decision to alleviate fingerprinting altogether has to do with the efforts towards ending childhood hunger. Since almost half of all food stamp beneficiaries are children, boosting the number of eligible families who are able to receive food stamps would be an effective way to end the worldwide problem. Read More

Photo: Mowie Kay

Bathing suit season is just around the corner and while we all want to slim down just before the summer hits, we cringe at the thought of dieting.  Truth be told, sometimes eating healthy is easier said than done. There are a number of factors to take into consideration particularly with your food choices. You want to pick a proper balance of foods that are packed with nutrients but also fill your body up without weighing you down. Additionally, you want your food to taste good.

With that said, we’ve provided five “superfoods” that are proven to keep you full and satisfied without expanding your waistline. In fact, incorporating these fruits and vegetables (that are full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein and the like) into your daily diet will help you lose weight and more importantly, keep it off! Read More

Photo: Food Thinkers

In the foodie world, juicing has quickly become the newest healthy habit around. Juice cleanses and juice bars are popping up everywhere faster than cupcakes shops and food trucks. The biggest positive from juicing comes from the fact you’re consuming optimal amounts of vegetables and nutrients in an efficient, straw-driven manner.

The Cancer Institute of America suggests we all have five servings of vegetables and three servings of fruit every day.  With that said, given our busy lifestyles and the whole “fast-food” nation epidemic, it’s becoming more and more difficult to consume the proper amount of healthy nutrients every single day.

Once upon a time, smoothies had their big “moment,” and while the fruit-driven drinks are nevertheless a healthy option, the prevalence of juice bars and “green” drinks are momentarily outshining their fruity fro-yo counterparts.

Juicing, especially with organic, fresh and local ingredients, allows you to absorb all the possible nutrients vegetables have to offer. Read More

Photo: theloushe

By: Allana Mortell

Earth Day is just a few days away and while you may be thinking of direct ways to celebrate this date, such as planting, beach clean-ups, etc, there are some other ways you can go green this year right in your own kitchen! While purchasing new cookware, consider more eco-friendly products that will not only put less stress on the environment to create but can also benefit your health in the end.

In terms of cookware (pots, pans, nonstick, stainless steel, etc), the options are endless and shopping for said items can quickly become overwhelming. One factor to be kept in consideration is teflon-free cookware. In the past five years, a relationship between cancers, liver toxicants and other icky chemicals appeared with materials in non-stick cookware. Once that material, such as teflon, degrades or is heated, it releases Perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, which can be found in the food you eat and has been linked to thyroid disruption and cancer, to name a few.

So if you’re looking to go green with your kitchenware, check out some of our favorites below… Read More

Photo:Ian Britton

By: Allana Mortell

This week, the FDA announced that in order to obtain antibiotics for farm animals, nation-wide farmers and ranchers now require a prescription from a licensed veterinarian. Reason being, officials hope to reduce the inane amount of human deaths that have continued to result from overuse of these same drugs. The connection between farm animals and the overuse of the drugs stems from the growing bacteria that appears after using small amounts of these antibiotics over time. The biggest problem being that since the bacteria is resistant to any effects of the drugs, once humans are infected with said bacteria, they cannot be treated with routine antibiotic therapy.

Eighty percent of antibiotics sold in the United States are used in animals and at least 2 million people are sickened and more than 99,000 die every year from hospital acquired infections. Though it is unclear how many of these specific illnesses are resulting from agricultural use of antibiotics, the FDA hopes by regulating such a ban, the number of deaths will reduce significantly over time. Read More

Photo: Oxfam International

Finding a backyard with a garden can be a blessing and often a rarity for many homeowners in the United States. However, take a gander over to Africa and not only will you see things in a different light but you will find one of the biggest and newest initiatives taking place in the Western Hemisphere. “A Thousand Gardens in Africa,” is the latest from the Slow Food Movement and the plan is, in itself, self-explanatory. The mission: to build 1,000 gardens in 26 different countries throughout Africa.

Slow Food USA, the national non-profit organization dedicated to the slow food movement is teaming up with Slow Food International to carry out this enormous project. Throughout different countries in the Terre Madre region, including Kenya, Uganda, Senegal, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Morocco, Slow Food International advocates are working on building three different garden models in various African communities and villages. Read More