Dear Meghan,

 I guess I've never told you, but I think you and I would be true pals if we knew each other in person. Sure, I leave a comment here or there. Yeah, I'm a fan of Facebook. But you see, that's really not the full extent of things. I think I'm responsible for 1/2 of your hits on any given day. I love your blog! I love your energy and your spunk. Heck, I love your new kitchen. Anyone out there who is looking for a fun, interesting, and interactive blog to follow, I say you should check out Making Love in The Kitchen.

 I want to thank HeVe for the opportunity to share information about feeding your family healthy food. It’s so great to be here with you all. Too often we hear parents say that they simply cannot afford to feed their family whole foods. Apples, they say, cost more per pound than a burger from the fast food dollar menu. And, even those who don’t face financial challenges often believe they won’t be able to get their children to eat healthy food. To all of the above I say, let’s change our thinking.  

You can never have too many cruciferous vegetables in your diet. This recipe, courtesy of the New York Times, give us one more delicious way to get some cruciferous cabbage in our diet. You should aim to eat cruciferous veggies at least three times a week. This vegetable family includes cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, bok choy, and cauliflower.

Michelle Obama has a variety of projects she's been working on since becoming First Lady, many having to do with working with children. And everyone knows about her organic vegetable garden in the White House. In this video her interests combine and she speaks about her personal experience fighting childhood obesity in her family. But do you think her advise is enough?

Oprah sits down with Michael Pollan, author and writer for the  New York Time, for a chat about grocery shopping. This is an absolute must see. If you have this episode TiVo'ed, let me know, I'll take a copy. 

February is HeVe's Heart-Healthy Month so I thought I'd repost two popular posts from 2009. 20 Great Vegan Meals and 15 Great Vegan Desserts are both posts that contain lists of recipes from around the vegan blogosphere. One of the 5 Baby Steps to a Healthy Heart I gave you was omitting cholesterol from your diet. So I'm reposting these healthy recipes in order to give you some fabulous ideas for your next meal. 

In addition to the 20 Vegan Meals and 15 Vegan Desserts, I've gathered 5 More Great Vegan Recipes to share with you.

Every year in February we see the hearts come out of the closet.  We see heart shaped cakes, hearts floating in mylar, stuffed hearts being held by stuffed animals. It's the month of Valentines Day and 'Hearts, Hearts, Hearts' is the theme. And why? Because Valentines Day is the month to celebrate those who you love. And love comes from the heart. 

HeVe is recognizing February to be Heart Healthy month because we believe that living a healthy and happy lifestyle has much to do with your heart. And since February and Valentines Day is already here to remind us to show others we love them, HeVe is here to remind you to show yourself some love as well. How do you show that you love and respect yourself? By keeping your heart, mind and soul healthy. After all, if you really want to give someone the best Valentine's Day gift they could ask for, give them the guarantee that you'll be here to spend a long and healthy lifetime with them.

Bill Davenhall talks on TedMed about what he calls geo-medicine. In addition to genetics and lifestyle factors, he thinks your geography plays a role in your health.  Watch the video and let me know what you think.  What factor is the strongest key player in your opinion? Lifestyle? (diet, exercise) Genetics? Geography? 

If you are a parent, wouldn't you love to know that your children are learning and playing with products that are eco-friendly, non-toxic, and all natural? ClementineArt has a beautiful product line of all natural children's art supplies which ranges from modeling dough and soy crayons to glue.