The Naked Foods Cookbook authors Margaret Floyd and James Barry sit down for a fireside chat. Check out their charming and funny interview where they discuss eating and cooking naked, how their relationship grew from professional to personal, and their six-month bun in the oven!

Nishanga Bliss M.S.T.C.M., LAc , author of Real Food All Year, discusses changing your diet every four months with the seasons, what foods we should be eating for the spring season, and more. Check it out:

by guest blogger Michelle May, MD, author of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat with Diabetes

We're at a crossroads with dieting. Diets temporarily treat symptoms, not causes; diets temporarily change behaviors, not the source of those behaviors. The "treatment" paradigm is flawed, yet so pervasive that millions of people are trapped in outdated beliefs and behaviors, despite all of the evidence that it's not moving the majority toward healthier, happier, more vibrant lives.

There's endless, tiresome debate about which diet works better, but none have shown a permanent cure. Some even resort to blaming or subtly shaming dieters (or themselves) when they quit the diet or regain weight, even though that is the known outcome for the vast majority of people.

Here is the hilarious book trailer for The Naked Foods Cookbook, featuring authors Margaret Floyd NTP, HHC, CHFS, and Chef James Barry - and Margaret's grandma:

excerpt from The Naked Foods Cookbook by Margaret Floyd NTP, HHC, CHFS, and James Barry

Before you roll up your sleeves, throw on an apron, and get down to business, let’s sort out a few details about what all this naked stuff is about.

If you haven’t yet read Margaret’s first book, Eat Naked, this chapter will get you up to speed on what we mean by eating naked. For those of you who’ve already read Eat Naked, this chapter is a review of the basics, with some new ways of framing the conversation to make it even easier for you to identify naked food.

Eating naked is all about eating clean, whole, unprocessed food. This means food without all those unnecessary extras that expand our waistlines and damage our health, such as pesticides, additives, and preservatives; in other words, that long list of unpronounceable ingredients on food packaging.

Four simple questions can help you determine whether something is naked or not:

1. Where was the food grown or raised?
2. How was the food grown or raised?
3. What happened to the food from the time it was harvested until it reached my kitchen?
4. How was the food prepared?

Let’s look at each of these in detail.

Chef James Barry, co-author of The Naked Foods Cookbook demonstrates how to roll the Quinoa Vegetable Sushi.

Susan Albers, PsD, author of But I Deserve This Chocolate! shows how to use the newly-created Mindful Eating App, which is available on iTunes:

excerpt from Eating Mindfully, 2nd ed. by Susan Albers, PsyD

Readers have asked many wonderful questions during the past few years like, “I love ice cream. Can I still eat sweets mindfully?” and “What is the best way to start improving my eating habits?” Here are the ten most popular questions on the minds of readers, and their answers.

1. If I Start Eating Mindfully, What Will Happen To My Weight? Will I Lose Weight?”
2. “Is ‘Eating Mindfully’ A Diet? What’s Wrong With Dieting?”
3. “How Will Awareness Help Me Eat Better?”
4. “How Does Mindfulness Help People With Different Kinds Of Eating Issues?”
5. “How Did You Learn About Mindfulness?”
6. “Is There Evidence That Mindful Eating Can Help Me?”
7. “What Is The Difference Between Mindfulness of the Mind and Mindfulness of Thoughts?”
8. “Does Mindful Eating Mean I Can Eat Anything?”
9. “What is the Difference Between Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Mindfulness?”
10. “Do I Have To Have A Spiritual Practice or Be Buddhist to Use a Mindful Eating Approach?”

excerpt from Eating Mindfully 2nd ed. by Susan Albers, PsyD

How common and effortless it is to eat in an uncontrolled, unaware, mindless manner. If you’ve ever continued to snack when you were full, cut calories despite being hungry, or used guilt to guide your eating, you’ve experienced mindless eating firsthand. Let’s face it. Deciding what to eat is not an easy task. It’s so tricky that in the United States eating concerns and weight obsessions have reached epidemic proportions, with serious health, emotional, and economic consequences for a large part of the population. We desperately need something new to help us overcome these issues—mindful eating may be the answer.

What is mindful eating? A few weeks ago, I discovered an excellent example of it, and the incident involves the best chocolate lava cake I’ve ever had.

by guest blogger Susan Albers, PsyD, author of But I Deserve This Chocolate!

It's that time of year again for some of the best cookies on earth. How can you resist buying a box (or five) from your favorite schoolgirl? Let's face it. Those little cookies are hard to eat mindfully. Even the most conscientious eaters will admit to going a little overboard with a box of Do-Si-Dos or a sleeve of Thin Mints every now and then. Have no fear. Try these 10 psychological tricks to help you savor your stash of Girl Scout cookies mindfully.