There are endless dip-worthy occasions. Hungry for a snack? Enjoy some dip with raw veggies. Looking to make a sandwich or wrap more exciting? Spread with a flavorful dip. Invited to a party and need something easy to prepare and bring? Make a tasty dip.  Yet dips can be tricky territory as far as calories and fat are concerned, especially when you get into creamy dips, and many can fall on the indulgent end of the spectrum rather than everyday fare.

We have tips for making delicious dips while keeping an eye on health:

1) Add beans.

When blended, beans have a creamy consistency. Everyone loves hummus, and it’s easy to make. Here’s a simple recipe for Homemade Hummus.

You can use black beans to make hummus, too.

In Celery Bites with Roasted Red Pepper Cream, white beans add body and help provide a smooth, creamy consistency.

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Tired of the same old same old? No problem! This month, I have been focusing on many of my favorite whole grains, offering tips and ideas about how you might enjoy adding them to your own menu plan. Whole grains are packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and plant compounds that may help benefit our heart, blood sugar levels and overall health. This week, let’s break the boredom with buckwheat!

“It’s not wheat; it’s buckwheat!” I can’t tell you how many times I have said that to nervous people who have just learned that they can’t eat wheat. In fact, not only is buckwheat not wheat, it’s not even a distant relative. It’s a seed from the rhubarb family. But, like wheat, it can be used in all kinds of recipes, and it has plenty of good taste and good benefits. In my youth, buckwheat was something that came on occasion in pancakes on a restaurant menu. Now-a-days, it is far more readily available in its many diverse forms:

• Groats – the hulled whole, raw kernels
• Kasha – toasted buckwheat groats – a popular, tasty way to eat buckwheat! (Toasting adds flavor and aroma to naturally bitter, unprocessed groats.)
• Flour – great in many favorite recipes
• Noodles – called Soba in Japan
• Breakfast cereals – hot and cold

On the health front, buckwheat has some big benefits such as high quality protein, good amounts of fiber and magnesium along with manganese, phosphorus and copper. Just one cup of cooked groats provides 4.5 grams of fiber, 5.6 grams of protein, 1.3 mg of iron, 1 mg of zinc plus other important minerals. All that and it’s low in fat and has no cholesterol.

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There are many effective ways to support a healthy heart through simple dietary and lifestyle choices. Learn about the link between inflammation and plant-based nutrition from one of the doctors who former President Bill Clinton credits with regaining his health this past year. Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr. is an internationally known former surgeon, researcher and clinician at the Cleveland Clinic, and author of the book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.

Podcast: Download

Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn’s clinical research and book on preventing heart disease is centered around smart eating for a healthy heart:

• Protection against heart disease through plant-based nutrition has been the foundation of his research and clinical practice strategy for over 25 years.
• He has consistently found in patients severely ill with advanced coronary artery disease that the results of using plant-based nutrition are prompt, powerful and enduring.
• The foundation of this plant-based diet includes a wide variety of nutrient-dense foods like vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains, while avoiding animal products and processed oils.
• Additionally, he adds 1000 I.U. of Vitamin D3 and 1,000 mcg of vitamin B12 daily to ensure adequacy of these nutrients.

Chronic inflammation has been shown to increase the risk for cardiovascular disease:

• Coronary artery disease develops from progressive injury to the delicate inner lining of our blood vessels known as the endothelial cells.  When healthy, these cells produce copious amounts of nitric oxide.
• Nitric oxide protects our blood vessels by: maintaining a smooth blood flow to prevent cellular elements from becoming sticky; providing more blood to muscle and other body systems requiring it; inhibiting the development of inflammation in the vessel wall; and preventing the formation of vessel blockages or plaque.
• The western diet of processed oils, dairy, meat, fish and poultry progressively destroys our endothelial cells’ capacity to produce nitric oxide, thus leading to a loss of vascular protection.
• Without nitric oxide, a sticky LDL cholesterol molecule enters beneath the endothelial lining initiating an inflammatory cascade of events culminating in plaque formation and blockage with occasional plaque rupture causing a heart attack.

Dietary and lifestyle choices help support a healthy heart:

• Consume a plant-based diet and avoid processed oils, dairy, animal, fish and poultry products.
• Choose rolled oats for breakfast that are filled with polyphenolic compounds and also copious amounts of green leafy vegetables, which can help restore endothelial function.
• Exercise is important to incorporate, such as regular walking, biking, swimming, running and resistance training.
• Whether it is with family or friends, find the joy of interpersonal relationships.

This week, it’s all about beans. They are a great addition to any nutrient dense meal, and they are so affordable! And versatile! Can you tell how much I love beans by my use of exclamation points? Check out the seven tips below for ways to ease beans into your weekly menu.

Tip 1: Build Up Slowly

If you have trouble digesting beans, add them to your diet gradually and always cook them thoroughly. You can also try adding a strip of kombu seaweed to the cooking water.

Tip 2: Inspect Before You Cook

If you’re cooking dried beans, give them a quick inspection. Begin by washing beans and discarding any that are discolored or oddly shaped. Remove any debris such as small rocks or twigs.

Tip 3: Soak Overnight

Beans cook more quickly and are more easily digested when soaked overnight first. To soak, use a water-to-bean ratio of 2:1. Rinse thoroughly, and then cook the beans in fresh water using a bean to water ratio of 1:4, for one to two hours. Add more water if necessary.

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Game Day is rapidly approaching — February 6^th for those of you living in a sports blackout. Honestly, my most pressing concern at this point isn’t which team will win, but rather:  What’s on the game-watching menu? From pre-game nibbling all the way through touchdown favorites and, finally, post-game pick-me-ups, we’ve pulled together our favorite winning recipes.

The Pre-Game Show

If your game day festivities involve hours of pre-game chat, you’ll need sustenance to make it through. Here are some of our favorite appetizers.

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It’s never too late to commit to healthy eating, but time’s running out to win a $99 pantry makeover. It’s simple. Just enter a comment on our contest blog post (not this post) by January 31^st saying what healthy eating changes you plan to make in 2011.

Eating healthy can be done on a budget, and we’re going to show ten winners how. Each winner will receive a $99 gift card, a list of suggested products for stocking a healthier pantry, and will be put in touch with one of our Healthy Eating Specialists. Our Healthy Eating Specialists are available to any of our customers and are well versed in our Health Starts Here™ program and can help guide a shopping trip, suggest recipes and give cooking tips, or simply answer your questions about making healthier choices when it comes to food.

Need some inspiration? Here’s what one reader had to say:

I need to learn to eat healthy. Both sides of my family are plagued with bad health from diabetes to cancer to heart disease, I suffered from childhood cancer as well, and have never learned to eat in a healthy way. When I was in the hospital I ate what the hospital gave me, but once I was back home I was eating what my family made me, fat unhealthy food. I have never eaten healthy and always thought I would have time to learn. I am now 32 and it is time to get serous, I don’t want to die prematurely, or suffer from health problems for the rest of my life, so as of January 1st, 2011 I am on a mission of health and learning. I need to learn how to shop, what is the right food, how to cook and prepare food correctly, what portions are right for me, and what are the correct size meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner should I be eating? I can use all the help I can get!! Thanks!

Winners will be chosen at random, so everyone has an equal chance. Tell us, what healthy eating changes you plan to make in 2011. Make sure you comment on our contest blog post and not on this post (which is why comments are turned off for this one) by January 31^st!

Enter here.

It is difficult to express how disappointed we are by the USDA’s decision to completely deregulate genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa without restrictions. This news means farmers will now be able to plant Roundup Ready GE alfalfa without restrictions, beginning as soon as this spring.

The USDA had been considering two potential decisions on this issue – either full deregulation or deregulation with restrictions. The latter would have set rules to protect non-GE crops from contamination. While Whole Foods Market and other advocates for non-GE and organic foods feel the USDA’s deregulation decision is a setback, we will continue the fight for the protection of non-GE food, as we have ever since genetically engineered crops first appeared in the marketplace. Read the rest of this entry »

I have a confession to make. A really big-deal football game is coming up soon and I have no idea who’s playing. This is especially embarrassing since I live in Texas (football is HUGE here) and the big game is in Dallas this year.

However, just because I don’t follow the game doesn’t mean I won’t be tuned in to my TV come that fateful first Sunday in February. Hey, it’s a cultural phenomenon! Plus, the game is a great excuse to get together with friends, whoop and holler (I usually cheer for whoever has the ball at the moment) and eat snacks for hours on end.

Keep reading for a chance to win a little GoodBelly goody.

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There are lots of ways to make quick meals with an eye towards health. It’s all in the planning and preparation. Planning is key for me, because I know myself well enough to know that if there aren’t good ingredients around, I’ll be tempted to have popcorn and beer for dinner. For this reason, I make a concerted effort to shop for ingredients that lend themselves to fixing a healthy, tasty meal in less than 20 minutes. I also do a little prep work on Sundays so I can spend less time washing, chopping and roasting on the weeknights.

Here are some of my favorite timesavers:

• Plan your food shopping trip with the Four Pillars of Healthy Eating in mind – don’t put anything in your cart that doesn’t fall under one of the pillars; whole food, plant-strong™, healthy fats, and nutrient dense.
• Pre-wash and cut salad vegetables at the start of your week and store them in airtight containers in the fridge. This way, you can throw a big salad together in minutes, day or night.
• Make a bowl of fresh salsa to top your rice and beans. It’s delicious, healthy, and so colorful. Pack the leftovers for lunch the next day; just remember to pack the salsa separately.
• Roast a few sweet potatoes on Sunday, then use them throughout the week in wraps, on salads, in soups, or steam sautéed with some greens and beans.
• Learn to make healthier salad dressings, and prepare one ahead of time so it’s at the ready when you need it.
• Cook with freezing in mind. Make nutrient dense soups, stews and casseroles, and freeze leftovers as individual portions. You’ll have quick lunches and dinners at your fingertips.
• Stock your pantry with dry beans and grains, low-sodium canned beans or our 365 frozen precooked grains. Rinse canned beans and add to soups and salads, or make a quick hummus or bean dip. Eating from cans isn’t always a bad thing!
• Build your own trail mix snack with your favorite nuts and/or seeds, and unsweetened dried fruits. Create single serving portions for grab and go convenience.
• Keep plenty of frozen vegetables in the freezer. This is a quick and easy way to make sure you always have vegetables on-hand for meals, without worrying about spoilage in the veggie bin. Frozen fruits are great too, especially if you like a sweet treat like our Banana Nice Cream at the end of your meal.
• Learn to cook with whole grains. Many whole grains (like quinoa) cook up in 20 minutes or less!

Do you have some great timesaving tips for eating healthy? I’d love to hear them.

You don’t have to be a professional chef to master cooking methods that will give you the skills needed to prepare healthier meals. As I mentioned in the first blog post in this series, a good step towards healthy eating is to reduce or eliminate added oils in your cooking. All too often, I’ve found that when cooking with oils, many tend to over use and it becomes a habit to add more oil than needed. Unfortunately, this can add a lot of extra calories to your foods.

Using a variety of cooking techniques allows you to achieve flavor without the addition of olive, canola and vegetable oils. Roasting is one of these cooking methods that I use often with vegetables to get a deeper, robust flavor.

With roasting, high heat and a long cooking time allows vegetables to stay juicy on the inside while getting a lightly caramelized exterior that intensifies the flavor. A variety of vegetables such as broccoli, beets, carrots, pumpkin, turnips, parsnips, cauliflower, asparagus, squash and peppers can all be roasted without using oil. Often, I moisten the vegetables by adding a small amount of vegetable stock or wine to the bottom of the pan and, if needed, use more vegetable stock to dress the vegetables after they are cooled. The cooking time and heat will need to be adjusted depending on the size and type of vegetable you will be roasting. Check your recipe for specifics.

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