Dear Paula Deen,

I can't stop thinking about you. Worrying, really, because from the text of your tweets it sounds like you aren't really on board for the lifestyle overhaul your diabetes diagnosis demands. I am sure you are stressed too from the public relations debacle your affiliation with a...

The scary issues of raising kids in the digital age are well documented, but I want to red flag the subtle changes in parenting that occur because of the ubiquitous cell phone, without our even noticing. One of those very moments occurred in my house this week.

It's after dinner...

Did you know Coca-Cola's first television ad aired on Thanksgiving Day in 1950? It was part of a special live production featuring the ventriloquist Edger Bergen and his sidekick Charlie McCarthy? It was a humble foray into the new but powerful advertising medium for the soft drink giant....

Laurie: It's pretty great having chefs as friends, but when they make house calls, well, that's off the charts. Last week, Daniel and Mirra, the cross-country traveling duo behind my favorite web series The Perennial Plate landed for their first visit to Martha's Vineyard.

A tad road weary,...

If you have ever woken up in the middle of the night panicked that you won't make it to the bathroom in time, or heard a scream from your child and sat with them shaking over a garbage can for hours on end, you know how brutal food poisoning can...

Want to be my friend? Feed me. Feed me ideas, wisdom, good food, laughs, knowledge. That is what great friendships are about and that is what makes me happy. Feed me. And when you do that, I feed you. Nourishment, mind and body, is what makes a healthy, mature female...

Hey Montana moms and dads, do you know what your sole Congressman, Rep. Denny Rehberg is up to these days? Thanks to one of his proposed amendments targeting the Food and Drug Administration the "miracle drug" that your children depend on to fight nasty ear infections or pneumonia could lose...

Force-feeding prescription drugs to healthy people, just to make them grow faster, would be considered ludicrous by any doctor. Possibly even criminal.

That's why the Natural Resources Defense Council, Union of Concerned Scientists, and other health and science groups filed suit yesterday against the Food and Drug...

I love American Idol. Sorry to see it end this week. I watch from the early city auditions to the bitter end, even when my fave is unceremoniously voted off (Durbin rules!). But I have to say there is something really disturbing about those Coca-Cola ads and I can't pretend...

If you haven't already discovered him on your own, let me introduce you to my new friend Daniel Klein, the chef and star behind web series cult favorite, The Perennial Plate (ThePerennialPlate.com). This young lad does it all; he forages, he hunts, he fishes, he cooks. His skills...

You know that little slip of paper you shove into your purse, wallet or pocket many times during the day? The one you're handed when you buy your coffee, your lunch, your groceries, that new bathing suit, that bestseller, gas for your car, the pack of gum and the smoothie....

Dear Secretary Vilsack,

I'd like to thank you for tackling some very tough questions from audience members at last Wednesday's The Future of Food conference in Washington, DC. Your passion and commitment for farmers and rural communities is moving and greatly appreciated. I must admit, however, I am...

Ignore the multimillion dollar ad campaigns for pearls, diamonds and designer bags. Forget the store bought roses, scarves and candy. Don't fret that Mother's Day is only a couple of days away and neither you nor the kids have bought anything. This year the very best gift anyone can give...

I know, everyday there is another warning about sugar, or mercury or coffee (is it good or bad?). But this is different. This is a sirens blasting, red lights blinking moment. It's hard to shock me, but when I read the report on Friday that almost half of...


I worry. A lot. My worry gene works overtime. A doctor once told me it's called an "overactive checker" (or as I like to think of it, my OC). As far as afflictions go, it's not terrible. OC's are good to have around. They see danger from miles away. They...

Yesterday, in the face of a just-released report by the National Cancer Institute that showed a 9.4% increase in childhood cancer between 1992 and 2007, the FDA let moms and dads all across America down. Instead of making the long overdue move to do something serious about getting...

Thanks to Michelle Obama and many public health advocates, much-needed attention has been directed to the epidemic of childhood obesity in America. Many possible interventions have been raised, including programs for healthier school lunches, more opportunities for play and recess, and less consumption of processed, poor quality foods.

There...

The next time you're feeling sick, think twice before going to your doctor for answers. Look down at your plate, instead.

Hidden in your hamburger or smoked ham may be something you didn't want or expect on the menu -- antibiotic-resistant superbugs. Instead of protecting you from infectious diseases, antibiotics...

In a year in which schools have made headlines for every problem imaginable, one issue is slipping through the cracks, the consequences of which not only impacts our kids' education, but every aspect of their lives. Schools are lobbying for students' attention by embracing technology in ever increasing ways. This...

In his poignant and moving eulogy for those senselessly murdered in Tucson, Arizona, President Obama asked us to "listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy," to show "more civility in our public discourse."

As families, as parents, how do we best answer...