Have Your Fish and Eat It Too

Many favorite fish are now threatened by overfishing. In order to continue to enjoy the ocean’s bounty, protect our oceans, and sustain the livelihoods of millions of people, we need to make responsible consumer choices when buying seafood. Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch provides up to date information and a smartphone app to keep track of what seafood to buy and avoid, but here are some surefire ethical options to try:

Wild-caught Pacific Sardines
Fresh sardines can be hard to come by because they don’t transport or freeze well, but these tiny fish are well worth it when you can find them. Butterfly, debone, and grill your sardines or marinate them and serve them ceviche style in olive oil, lemon juice, and salt.

Farmed Sturgeon
Sturgeon is a hearty, meaty fish that takes marinades very well, just be careful not to overcook it. Sturgeon is delicious baked in a tomato based sauce, or grilled with lemons and capers.

Farmed Oysters
Oyster farms are some of the most sustainable seafood farming operations, and have a minimal negative impact on the surrounding ocean. In fact, a properly managed oyster farm can positively impact its environment. You can eat oysters raw or smoked, or lightly bread and fry them.

Sweet Treats: Five Great Ice Cream Toppings

Sure, ice cream is great on its own, but sometimes you need to add a little something more. If you’re getting sick of sprinkles, here are some suggestions for lesser-known ice cream toppings that will jazz up your dessert service:

• Fruit is a great addition to any bowl of ice cream, both to add fiber and vitamins and also to make for more interesting flavors. One of my favorite additions are super-ripe fresh blueberries – they taste great with a little chill to them and go with just about any flavor of ice cream.
• To add a little crunch to a bowl of ice cream, sprinkle with homemade or store-bought granola. Again, this is something that makes the bowl a little healthier in the long run – not that you should care, if you’re eating ice cream.
• For a super decadent treat, drizzle a bowl of ice cream with caramel sauce and large-grained sea salt. The combination of sweet and savory flavors is absolutely unforgettable.
• To add a Mexican flavor to your chocolate ice cream, make a hot fudge sauce and stir in a liberal dose of ground cinnamon. This vastly improves the flavor, making it richer and more complex.
• Homemade whipped cream is much tastier and better for you than the pre-packaged supermarket variety, and it’s not really difficult to make. When you’re whipping the heavy cream, stir in a little cocoa powder for an extra treat.

Sockeye Wow: Five Great Ways To Cook Salmon

There’s no denying that fish is one of the healthiest meats you can eat. Not only is it high in protein, but also essential fatty acids. One of the best fish to cook is salmon – it’s remarkably versatile in the number of things you can do with it. In this article, we’ll share five preparations that are guaranteed to be a hit.

• Make a glaze with brown sugar and mustard and liberally coat the top of the fish (not the skin side). Cook uncovered under a broiler and the glaze will caramelize, infusing the salmon with a complex sweetness that suits the fish’s natural flavor.
• Another great way to bake salmon involves making a mixture of fresh breadcrumbs, parsley, salt, and olive oil, and then spreading in a thick layer over the top of the fish before baking. The mixture will toast as the fish cooks, giving an excellent flavor and texture.
• Wrap the salmon in parchment paper with fresh ground ginger, salt, pepper, and green beans and then bake it in the oven. The beans will cook and the ginger will add a little bit of a kick to the meal.
• Make a slaw of baby tomatoes and fennel and place it under the fish on a baking sheet. Lightly rub the fish with olive oil and broil uncovered. This is a great one-pot dish that never fails to impress.
• If you have scraps of salmon, bake it and mix with orzo pasta, dill and olive oil for a succulent pasta dish.

New York at the Holidays

There’s nothing quite like New York City at the holidays – festive crowds, sparkling lights, and countless attractions that perfectly capture the season's spirit. Here are some must-visit New York sites for the holiday season:

Rockefeller Center
No holiday adventure in New York would be complete without a visit to this iconic location. Every year, thousands of people flock to see the dazzling Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. Make sure you also check out the famous Rockefeller ice skating rink, where you can watch skaters in action or strap on a pair of skates and join the fun.

Holiday Windows
At Christmastime, New York’s most famous department stores unveil brilliantly artistic and elaborate holiday window displays. Macy’s, Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdales, and Barneys are just a few of the stores that attract awed window-gazing crowds every season.

Radio City Christmas Spectacular
If you want the ultimate New York City holiday experience, make sure to book tickets for the classic Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. The show features song and dance numbers that will truly dazzle you, as well as stunning sets and costumes. The iconic Rockettes steal the show, of course!

Holiday Train Show
Every year, the New York Botanical Garden hosts a holiday exhibit featuring model trains and replicas of New York City landmarks, popular with people of all ages. The exhibit is housed in Garden’s Conservatory, a lovely indoor space, so it’s an ideal holiday outing in any kind of weather.

New York City Pops
If you love holiday music, you won’t find a better concert that the annual New York City Pops holiday celebration at Carnegie Hall. This year the featured singers are John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey, described by the New York Times as a “musical match made in heaven.”

Refuel Your Body: Five Post-Exercise Snacks

After a workout, your body needs to replenish the nutrients that it sweated out. Choosing a good post-exercise snack can help you get the most out of your exercises session. An ideal snack to eat after you work out will contain less calories than the amount you burned while exercising while also giving you essential salts and vitamins that are consumed by the body when you exercise. Here are five of our favorite choices for high-quality after-workout snacking.

-          Peanut butter and banana on a rice cake makes an excellent post-workout snack. The potassium in the banana goes well with the protein of the peanut butter, and the rice cake adds a nice crunchy texture without adding many calories.

-          Yogurt and fresh berries are a nice sweet treat that is also nutritionally complete. The protein and amino acids in yogurt are great for your body after you exercise, and berries add some simple sugars and carbohydrates, plus flavor.

-          Hummus and whole wheat pita bread is a great savory snack. Hummus, a Middle Eastern dip made from pureed chickpeas, it packs a punch of protein and carbohydrates.

-          Vegetables are a great low-calorie snack that can replenish vital nutrients as well. Baby carrots, cut slices of red and green bell peppers, celery sticks, and sliced cucumbers are all exceptional choices.

-          Pumpkin seeds are great for snackers who crave a little saltiness. They’re full of protein and nutrients and low in fat and carbs, making them excellent for post-exercise eating.

The Patient’s Bill of Rights: What’s It Mean?

If you’re like many people, you’ve heard the term “Patient’s Bill of Rights” and found yourself wondering: what does that mean, exactly? Read on to learn about ways this new law helps you.

1. Choice of Doctors

The law guarantees your right to select any doctor from your health plan provider’s network. Click here for more: http://www.healthcare.gov/law/features/rights/doctor-choice/index.html

2. Protection Against Cancellation

Before the Patient’s Bill of Rights was established, your insurance company had the ability to cancel your coverage if you or your employer made an error on the insurance application. Not anymore! Read more here: http://www.healthcare.gov/law/features/rights/cancellations/index.html

3. No More Lifetime or Annual Limits

Health care providers can no longer place a lifetime dollar limit on your benefits. The new laws also restrict insurance companies from putting annual limits on people’s coverage. By 2014, the practice of limiting annual dollar amounts will be entirely phased out. For more, click here: http://www.healthcare.gov/law/features/costs/limits/index.html

4. Coverage for Young Adults

Parents can now can keep children on their health insurance policies until they reach the age of 26. Read more here: http://www.healthcare.gov/law/features/choices/young-adult-coverage/index.html

5. Pre-Existing Conditions: New Hope

Under the Patient’s Bill of Rights, if you are a U.S citizen and have been uninsured for at least six months, you can gain access to health care coverage if you’ve previously been denied insurance due to a pre-existing condition. More on this development here: http://www.healthcare.gov/law/features/choices/pre-existing-condition-insurance-plan/index.html

Farm Fresh: Understanding CSAs

The trend towards locally produced food means nothing but good things for the American diet – the less distance a product has to travel, the more it retains its nutrients and flavor. Many shoppers now purchase a good portion of their produce at the farmers' market. But if you want the convenience of having the harvest shipped to your door at a very attractive cost, it might be time to look into joining a CSA.

CSA, short for “Community Supported Agriculture,” is a popular way of supporting local farmers while getting a deal on your groceries. The basic premise is simple: you, the consumer, pay an up-front fee to the farmer at the start of a season. In return, you receive a delivery of fresh fruit and vegetables every week for the season. Most CSAs offer both summer and fall seasons.

The advantages to enrolling in a CSA are many, for farmers and eaters alike. The prices are very reasonable, and the convenience of having the food delivered can really save you time. For the farmer, having the money up front allows them to invest in infrastructure and equipment that helps them grow, as well as making for easier bookkeeping.

The one disadvantage is that you don’t get to select what vegetables you receive every week, but for adventurous chefs this can be a welcome challenge.

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Autumn Events in New York City!

If you’re looking for some unique events to take in this fall, you’ll find them in the Big Apple. With street festivals, comic conventions, and more, the city that never sleeps is your ticket to fun. Here’s a look at some highlights:

New York Comic Con – New York’s biggest comic event returns to the Javits Center October 13th through 16th. Special guests include Mark Hamill, Kevin Smith, and Jason Mewes revisiting the roles of Jay and Silent Bob during a special live podcast, John Landis, Rose McGowan, and more. The event will also be in conjunction with the New York Anime Festival.

CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival – From October 18th through 22nd, the world's most important platform for the discovery of new music, CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival, invades New York City with over 1,300 artist performances and dozens of cutting-edge films. CMJ fills more than 80 of the city's greatest venues, nightclubs, and theaters with over 120,000 fans, music industry professionals, college radio tastemakers, bloggers, press, filmmakers, and musicians.

The Chocolate Show – From November 10th through 13th the largest show in the United States completely dedicated to celebrating all things chocolate comes to NYC. Sounds delicious!

Best New Fall TV: Comedies

Why not ease the transition from long summer days to cooler weather and shorter daylight hours with some good laughs? This season, settle down on your couch and get ready to crack-up at the fall’s funniest TV shows. Here are three exciting newcomers to the comedy airwaves:

Suburgatory, Wednesdays, ABC, 8:30 p.m.
This hilarious new show revolves around the humor and hell of everyday suburban life. A single father, played by Jeremy Sisto, moves his teenage daughter (Jane Levy) out of the city when she appears to be going down the wrong path. The show, packed with an all-star cast of comedians that includes Cheryl Hines and Alan Tudyk, chronicles the father-daughter team’s transition into their new suburban reality. Click here for a preview.

New Girl, Tuesdays, Fox, 9 p.m.
This show features the irresistibly quirky actress Zooey Deschanel playing an equally quirky leading lady. Heartbroken after being dumped by her boyfriend, she moves into a house with three male roommates who make a project of getting her back on her feet following the break-up. Hilarity ensues. Click here to see a preview.

I Hate My Teenage Daughter, Wednesdays, Fox, 9 p.m.
This comedy series chronicles the lives of two single-mom best friends as they raise teenage daughters who have turned out to be the kind of girls they once loathed (and secretly wished to be) in high-school – over-privileged, stylish, ultra-popular, and uber-cool. The mothers, played by Jaimie Pressley and Kate Finneran, want their daughters to change their ‘mean-girl’ ways – and the conflicts that arise will have you laughing all season long. Click here to watch a preview.

These are just some highlights of the many funny shows that are worth checking out this fall. Click here for more information about the season’s line-up of television comedies. What better way to greet the autumn than with good cheer and genuine laugher?

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