`Raw Food' is full of surprises

If you think the trendy raw-food diet is all about eating carrot sticks, you'll love what you find.

It will change your mind completely.

You'll learn how to whip up gorgeous and delicious meals that include appetizers as exotic as Baba Ganoush, soups as diverse as Mexican corn chowder and Spanish gazpacho, main dishes as tantalizing as pad thai, shish kebab and "Flying Falafel," plus desserts as decadent as Lemon Zinger Cookies and Strawberry Mousse Tartlets.

All raw. All righteous. All really, really yummy.

By KEVIN WIATROWSKI

The shelves of Nutrition S'Mart, Pasco County's newest grocery store, hold products both familiar and yet slightly strange.

There are canned vegetables and boxed cereals and cups of yogurt. But what about those brand names: Muir Glen? Peace? Good Belly?

Although those brands haven't cracked conventional grocery chains, they're favorites among the growing number of people looking for food that's organic or lacking the preservatives and chemicals widely used in the food industry.

Sara Rashas, of Land O' Lakes, is one of those finicky shoppers.

Massive Producer Promiseland Livestock Has Organic Certification Suspended for 4 Years

by Sara Novak, Columbia, SC on 12. 5.09

photo: J. Novak

After a lengthy investigation into the matter, the USDA has decertified Promiseland Livestock's organic certification for the next four years. Promiseland is one of the largest organic livestock producers in the nation with over 13,000 acres of crop lands and 22,000 head of cattle.

The investigation was fueled by organic watchdog group, Cornucopia Institute who accused Promiseland of impropriety resulting when they sold cows to Dean Foods (Horizon Organic) and Aurora Dairy.