In this corner: Weighing in at just one vote short of champion, the Montana Alliance for Raw Milk, which just lost the right for small farmers in the state to sell raw milk directly to consumers. The loss means raw milk is still illegal in Montana, just as it is in much of the rest of the country. And weighing in at the other corner: the recent New York state judge's hefty ruling that Mayor Michael Bloomberg's soda ban is “arbitrary and capricious” despite soda's many known health risks. It's gonna be quite a fight! Welcome to Battle of the Ridiculous Beverage Bans!

Peas and spring onions are sure signs that spring has sprung. Farmers markets will be boasting these early crops, which are packed with phytonutrients and vitamin K. We’ve combined the two in creamy Indonesian pilaf that is delectable paired with chutneys, yogurt, tropical fruits and a colorful side salad. Traditional snap peas are used in this recipe, but feel free to substitute with any other type of pea that is available to you.

Welcome to this week's installment of From Our Friends, our weekly roundup where we highlight some of our favorite posts from the past week and more from our friends and partners around the web. This week's edition includes articles on the courage of a professional surfer, ingredients to avoid in dish soap, leafless salad recipes, yin yoga, the memory boosting power of herbs and what we should do about the increase in road traffic. 

Health starts in the gut – in the body’s so-called waste bin. It’s thus super important to take care of your digestive tract and feed it the appropriate food so that it can function at its best. Probiotics and prebiotics play a vital role in keeping your gut in top shape.

When you wash your clothes with conventional laundry detergents, you’re getting a lot more than just soap. Laundry detergents that claim to brighten clothes actually include optical brighteners, which are chemical residues that stick to clothes and make colors appear brighter. Often, there’s also synthetic dyes and fragrances, preservatives and other harmful chemicals in your detergent. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) recently released 10 low-scoring laundry detergents from its database of cleaners. Find out what makes these laundry cleaners the worst of the worst.

Are you overwhelmed with digital media and e-content on your computer? Are your photos, movies and music in a giant digital cluster with an astute lack of organization? Is your overflowing email inbox threatening to destroy your motivation and consume your spirit? It’s is the perfect season for digital spring cleaning. Make it an annual task and you’ll stay organized all year round. Clean up your email inboxes, social media sites and media content and commit to better management practices to get a handle on your digital life.

Whether you enjoyed studying chemistry in your scholastic past or not, there is a method for making good ol’ fashioned organic fertilizers, for all experience levels. Because, as the saying goes, “you are what you eat,” you’re also, “that what you eat, eats, as well.” Clearly its a good idea to start participating more in what your plants are consuming. Here's a few tips to get you started.

You can’t get more up close and personal than your clothes. If you wash your clothes with conventional laundry detergents, harmful chemical residues go right onto your skin—and into your body. Get your clothes fresh with a better laundry detergent. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) recently released 10 top-scoring products for doing laundry from its database of cleaners. Find out what makes these laundry cleaners the best of the best.

Who doesn’t love trees? They provide shade in the summer, beautiful, bright scenery in the fall and are fun to climb year-round (yes, even adults can have fun climbing trees). And now trees have gained another wonderful, positive point. Engadget.com recently reported that trees are now responsible for a new, clean fuel.

Eggplant parmesan is one of my favorite treats when going out to eat. But when I'm at home I avoid frying at all costs. Yes, mostly for health reasons. But also because I've been known to forget about frying oil and nearly set my kitchen on fire. So, I opt for baked non-breaded varieties of parmesan dishes and one of the surprisingly perfect marriages of tomato sauce, cheese and vegetables is asparagus parmesan. 

Once I graduated from college, I wanted that "adult" look for my home, but I was living on a peanut butter and jelly kind of budget. I began scouring garage sales, thrift stores, and Craiglist, and was surprised to find that, with a little bit of work, I really could have the look for less. The picture featured above will help you remember what to look for: furniture, frames, books, knick knacks, and lamps-- items that I look for every time I go to a secondhand store.

Contrary to popular belief, food does not come exclusively from boxes, cans or bottles. Somewhere in its life before you inhaled it, there was a field, water and dirt. Food—even the stuff barely able to lay claim to the term—is part of nature. Whether sprouted from a seed or a fertilized egg, there are quite a few steps along the way. And quite a few helpers, too. Just exactly which animals and insects are involved in growing your food? The answers may surprise you.

I grew up helping my mother in the kitchen, and one of the first tasks I remember being charged with was snapping green beans. It's a methodical process, removing the thin string all along the bean. Half of the beans hardly made it to the table; I loved eating the sweet veggies raw. Now, I prefer cooking them; this season, make the most of the green beans popping up in farmer's markets, and cook them up for this week's meatless Monday meal.

April is Earth Month! How are you celebrating and honoring the planet this Earth Day? We've got a great way for you to participate in the festivities: join us in our exclusive Community Garden Board on Pinterest! With your help we can make this the biggest community garden on Pinterest! 

So, what exactly are we asking you to do? It's pretty simple, really:

Any person who dabbles in occasional vegetarianism has probably given some type of veggie protein a try. Perhaps you’re a fan of black bean and mushroom burgers. Or maybe you like to make a spicy tofu sir-fry once a week. But have you ever given tempeh a try? Tempeh is a tasty protein-rich meal many vegetarians thoroughly enjoy.

Kickstarter is getting a lot of positive press lately, and rightly so! The funding site helps creative people gain financial footing and successfully start, or improve, their business.

Recently, TechCrunch.com featured Click & Grow. Click & Grow is marketed as an easy-to-use electronic smartpot that can grow plants without fertilizing and watering. The company wants to use the money raised on the crowdfunding site to turn its functioning prototype into a production-ready product. After perusing the Kickstarter site, I found a few pretty stellar green-themed projects that are also worthy of a kick.