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Have you ever bit into an apple and had that crunch resound through your ears as you felt the sweetness flood onto your tongue? We can show you how to have this kind of engagement with your food. It is easier to maintain a healthy, clean eating lifestyle when we are truly enjoying it. "Did you ever stop to taste a carrot?  Not just eat it, but taste it?  You can't taste the beauty and energy of the earth in a Twinkie."  ~Astrid AlaudaEating clean isn't a fad diet, it's a lifestyle choice in which one chooses to eat real, uncompromised, unprocessed, nutrient-rich food, such as organic whole grains, veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds and legumes. For meat eaters, it also means buying meat that is whole, organic, free-range and straight from the butcher. You never know what's in pre-packaged meat. Eating this way not only reaps many healthful benefits, it can also tantalize the palate and teach you to live in the moment."Plant a radish, get a radish, never any doubt.  That's why I love vegetables, you know what they're about!"  ~Tom Jones and Harvey SchmidtClean foods make for a clean body.As a good rule of thumb for healthy eating, it's best, regardless of what kind of diet you eat, to eat more plant based foods. Plant based foods help to detoxify, replenish and rejuvenate the body. Rich in antioxidants, these foods are also essential for warding off disease and for staying young and agile."High-tech tomatoes.  Mysterious milk.  Supersquash.  Are we supposed to eat this stuff?  Or is it going to eat us?"  ~Annita ManningThings like sugars, sodium, pesticides, trans fat, msg, fast food, chemically altered food and sodas made with artificial ingredients contaminate and weigh the body down. These types of foods also tend to prompt us to eat quicker. If you slow down and really enjoy your food, you will be more apt to stick to a healthy eating lifestyle.Mindful eating means living in the moment, engaging the senses, truly relishing that moment's activity. And what could be a better activity than enjoying good, healthy food?Engaging the SensesSight- Eat colorful foods such as leafy greens, purple basil, orange bell peppers, mangoes, etc. Typically the more colorful, the more nutrients, and really - the more fun.Sound- Crunchy foods such as apples, carrots and beet chips help send a signal to our ears that it's time to enjoy the food we're eating.Touch- Warm Finger foods such as plantains and sweet potato fries help us to have more of a physical connection to our food. Smell- This has a lot to do with how something tastes, so it's best to use lots of aromatics in cooking. Not only are fresh herbs high in antioxidants and packed with flavor, they are also very aromatic and will help to evoke those olfactory receptors while you're eating. Taste- This of course, is very important. We like to use a lot of spices and heat to really wake up the palate. Garlic is superb for stimulating the taste buds, and it's pretty much great for every ailment.We recommend reading Clean Food by Terry Walters. There are a lot of great recipes that will help you to eat cleaner and more mindfully. We'll also be posting cooking tips and recipes onFacebookandTwitter, as well as providing them inour blog. And please feel free to share any cooking tips for cleaner and more mindful eating you may have by commenting below. We would love to hear from you! ...read more

Like us, Jefferey Steingarten, a prominent food critic for Vogue magazine, is obsessed with his dog. In his book entitledIt Must Have Been Something I Atehe dedicates a whole chapter to cooking for Sky King, his coveted golden retriever. In order to position his dog as a fellow foodie, Steingarten describes Sky King's eating preferences in detail: "Sky likes a good tomato, a hunk of raw steak, a hunk of grilled steak, pitted cherries, peaches, pizza, overcooked lamb sausages, running shoes and Fudgsicles. He is ambivalent on the subject of sweet corn and has little use for Good&Plentys.; Sky loves to eat in bed."  We can relate to this because we cook for our mascot, Sonny, a half pit bull, half bull dog, who also has acquired a palate for homemade fare. Although he may be partial to them, Sonny is not allowed to have things like Fudgsicles, Good&Plentys and running shoes. Rather, he is on a pretty healthy diet. He is most frequently fed brown rice and pumpkin because they are both great for digestion health. His affinity for hydrated chicken and canned pumpkin may not be as sophisticated as Steingarten's pooch, but Sonny's insides are pristine and his energy levels are high. We recommend cooking for your dog as much as possible. They'll enjoy it and you'll help to optimize their health. Although protein is important, veggies and fruits provide dogs with fantastic nutrients. Just as humans rely on antioxidants and phytochemicals for anti-aging and immunity, so do dogs. Brocilli, spinach, carrots, apples, pears and oranges are great choices. Garlic, eggs and flax seed oil are also essential for contributing plenty of fatty acids, crucial antioxidants and vitamins to your dog's diet. If you don't have time to cook for your dog opt for an all-natural, well-rounded dog food. You can also just bring your pooch to Roots. We treat our customer's dogs like our own and have a slew of healthy homemade options. And on Friday's you furry family member can eat for free with the purchase of an entree. What's you dog's favorite food? Check out our other blog posts at www.rootsgourmet.com/blog.html ...read more