Most larger wine stores have a whole organic/vegetarian section of wines. Good stuff! nm

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I went to a pizza place and tried their "grilledchicken & strawberry salad." Oh my god I am in love! They had baby salad greens, sliced up strawberries, strips of grilled chicken, sunflower seeds, shredded jack cheese, and raspberry vinegrette...just delicious! I would have NEVER tried strawberries or sunflower seeds (never mind both!) in a salad, but since then I have been making it myself almost every day now!

it cracks me up to hear people with large cars complain. Since I bought my Mountaineer (2007), the price for a tank of gas has gone up about $10. I fill up every other week, so that's $20 a month. Unless your car payment is right to the limit of what you should be spending, that increase in fuel cost should not be putting you over the edge. Now I understand that for those on very limited budgets who need to save every penny this can be a real problem - these are not the ones I'm referring to.

Case in point, I have a friend who bought a much larger, more expensive vehicle than they needed or could afford, and now they can't afford to sell it either because they owe so much more than it's worth. She complains about the price of gas all the time. I keep telling her that if she can really AFFORD to drive a Cadillac Escalade then it shouldn't matter to her how much gas is. Needless to say, that just pisses her off.

To answer the original question, our travel plans will not change bsaed on the price of gas. We look forward to going to the beach every year, and can make the trip there and back and do all the running around while we're there on three to four tanks of gas.

i had a c-section with my second baby and while he was in there i told him to do a tubal. he cut and cauterized my tubes. i haven't had any problems since, that's been almost 6 years ago. when i'm ovulating, i do have some pain on my left. i don't know if that's due to the tubal, but i don't regret getting it done. good luck!

Do you try to buy them wherever possible, or only if you happen to pick them up in error? If you intentionally buy them, why? Do they taste better, are they better for you, do you believe you're helping the environment?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/diet.fitness/04/13/cl.organics/index.html

Organic vs. conventional: What do experts say?

By Amy Spindler
CookingLight.com

The organic market is growing at a steady pace of nearly 20 percent annually, and that translates into organic alternatives in nearly every grocery aisle -- from snack foods to frozen meals to baked goods. "Everyone wants to be healthy and these foods convey an aura of health," says Marion Nestle, Ph.D., professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University and author of "What to Eat." Here, experts compare some of the benefits and drawbacks of going organic.

Are organic products more nutritious?
A few small studies have shown that some organic foods contain higher nutrient levels than conventional ones. For example, a recent study showed that organic ketchup had 57 percent more of the antioxidant lycopene than regular ketchup. But the wholesale claim that organics are more nutritious than conventional is ahead of the science. "More research is needed before it can be stated that organic foods provide more nutritional value," says Connie Diekman, M.Ed., R.D., director of university nutrition at Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Organic foods may have other benefits, though. Charles Benbrook, Ph.D., chief scientist at The Organic Center, asserts that some organic products are less processed, which means they may contain fewer chemically adulterated ingredients (think hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, and preservatives).

Bottom line: "Read labels and look at each product in its own right," Benbrook says. An organic potato chip may contain as many calories and saturated fat grams as a conventional chip. "The price premiums associated with processed organic food are not as great as the premiums charged for organic whole foods," Benbrook says.

Are organic products healthier for the environment?
What's best for the environment is hotly debated among experts. "There is no scientifically accepted evidence that organic foods are better for the environment. Organic production allows natural pesticides, which can be toxic to humans and wildlife," says Alan McHughen, Ph.D., professor of botany and plant sciences at the University of California, Riverside. Organic fertilizers may also contain harmful bacteria, such as E. coli. Plus, organic farming yields only 75 to 90 percent of the crop of conventional systems, meaning that more land must be planted in order to have an equal return.

Organic advocates counter that chemicals used in conventional farming spread far beyond the fields where they are applied and have unintended consequences. "Synthetic pesticides have been linked to developmental and neurological problems," Benbrook says. "Organics eliminate synthetic pesticides and the damage they do to farmers, land, and drinking water."

Organic regulations also prohibit the use of genetic modification -- another thorny issue with as-yet unclear implications for the environment.

Bottom line: Focus on foods' benefit to your immediate environmen -- i.e. your body -- first. "A good diet means variety, balance, and moderation, regardless of the farming method that produced the food," McHughen says.

To my family, the price is a concern. However, when we can, we like food out of our little garden best.

We serve nutritious foods with what we can provide. This week we ate strawberries and canteloupe because they were on sale. We've been using bell peppers in about everything for the same reason. However, next week might be broccoli everything. We are big bean eaters around here; they're cheap, nutritious, and good. Only Cargill a couple blocks away from here smells worse than us.

I don't really buy into the organic hype, but I've bought organic things, usually if they were cheap. I could read studies until I'm blue in the face about how the pesticides will give me hemorrhoids and foot fungus and whatever the study is about; I revel in the thought that my chance of death is eventually 100%.

Don't mind my ramble. Thank you for the article, though. I found it informative.

Cut all bell peppers and onion into strips and saute all items over medium heat in a skillet. Add cumin, salt & pepper.

Spoon sauted veggies into tortillas - on one-half of tortilla only. Add cheese on top of veggies. Close tortilla and heat in a clean preheated skillet over medium-hot heat. When lightly browned, turn over. They should look slightly crispy and light brown. Cut into thirds.

Bottom left column "browse these top catetgories" will get you to the vegetarian ones

keeps us civil towards each other. Oh my gosh is it ever work for us. We both do our thing out of our home and we NEVER EVER get away from each other. We have one vehicle (you guessed it, a honkin' diesel truck), we're rural, we have no family or close friends within a 300 mile radius, and we have no reason to leave home except to run errands once a week in the "city" of Bangor, Maine...which if you've ever been there, you know darned well it's not a city by any means. However, we are bestest friends and have been through a TON together. Some great time, some not so much. It's especially hard when we do hit an impasse because we really don't have anyone to talk to or anywhere to "hide out." We are very fortunate in that we have everything in our lives in common and can even settle our differences through an intense head-to-head game of Warcraft. Oh yeah, and that really large bottle of wine