Starting your day with an alcoholic beverage has a long history in France, where traditionally many people have believed that an early morning dose of wine kills parasites (tuer le ver = kill the worm) and promotes overall health and good living.

While “hair of the dog” hangover remedies are meant to sooth your body after a rough night of drinking, the worm-killing morning drinks are there to assist in your overall health plan and to make you feel even better. Try the following delicious brunch cocktails, and just try to convince yourself that these aren’t health drinks. Kill those worms!

Rose water is a deliciously fragrant and versatile botanical made from delicate and seductive rose petals. Store bought rose waters can be overpriced, contain artificial fragrances and lack the freshness of a homemade batch.

Making homemade rose water is easy and fun. Add it to baked goods, beverages, and pour it into baths. Use it as a refreshing spritz—perfect to have with you on those warm summer days just ahead, or for those times when you just need to feel a little fresher. And, it makes a most wonderful gift.

If there was ever a perfect From Our Friends post, it's this one. Solidly balanced with education and entertainment, you are bound to find something that tickles your fancy. This week's installment includes articles about what's in your Mountain Dew, organic chocolate, Super Bowl singers, cookbook strategies and an in-depth look inside McDonald's new "transparent" campaign. Have a great weekend and enjoy the posts, dear readers!

Bean sprouts have long had a reputation as being easy to contaminate, but are they any less safe than other pre-washed vegetables that we regularly consume?

With the Year of the Dragon officially upon us, it's an auspicious time to try out some new drinks. Mixologists from Canada to Hong Kong have been shaking up dragon-themed drinks in honor of the new year. Here are a few you can make at home, and a bit of inspiration if you feel like experimenting.

Ah, the Interwebs. Our online home may be technically virtual, but it is a very real place to all of us here at OrganicAuthority.com! Our incredible writing team and you, our awesome reader community, keeps us so inspired and excited every day! And there's another super team member near and dear to our hearts: Our sponsors. They help to keep our LED lights on, help us to pay our paperless e-bills, allow us to continue to produce Laura's amazing cooking videos, and support us so that we can chat with you in the Twittersphere, Facebook and beyond about the latest and greatest in sustainable eats and organic living.

When you think of formaldehyde, it may conjure up images of frogs floating in jars from your high school biology classroom. The truth is, however, that many of your personal care products contain formaldehyde or formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, and you may not even know it. And believe me, that is creepy!

Lacto-fermentation is one of history’s most traditional ways of preserving food. Using naturally-occuring bacteria that are present in every living thing, this method of pickling things is also one of the healthiest. Made without added sugars, vinegars, or additives, just sea salt and water are all you need to get started. In this seasonal late winter recipe, I’ve fermented watermelon radishes. See how it’s done!

Meyer Lemons get their name from the agricultural explorer Frank N. Meyer who worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the early 1900s and brought this citrus hybrid back from China. After short-lived success, much to their (and our!) misfortune, the Meyer Lemon tree was banned in the 1940s to protect against a spreading virus. A turn of luck, however, and a new virus-free version was created in the early '70s. Meyer lemons have a thin skin and are less tart than the ubiquitous Lisbon and Eureka. Their flesh is a light orange-yellow color with juice sweeter than that of most lemons - a perfect culinary blend of a lemon and a mandarin.

Every self-respecting cook has one or two... or more. Secret ingredients don't need to be fancy; in my kitchen it's usually Worcestershire, sour cream or black pepper. Each adds a little depth and unexpected flavor to a dish, without overpowering it. Hence, you can use some pretty basic items to spice up even the classiest meals. Here are a few ingredients you probably have in your pantry right now, and plenty of ideas to experiment with.

Whether you are a full-on cloth-diapering, organic-onesie eco mom, or more of a super busy, no-drama mama watching your bottom line, making your own baby food can be a lot simpler—and less expensive—than you might think.

You don't need to fill your Valentine's Day with diamonds (every woman will get the same style and design this year -- how unique is that?), chocolate or with an overpriced and remarkably underwhelming, fatty Valentine's Day dinner. Your Valentine will continue to hold a candle for you no matter how you express your love, even if it's with a free Valentine's gift. With a little planning and a lot of heart, you can express your love for your sweetheart through actions.

We are SO passionate about our food choices! But why is that? Nothing, except perhaps religion and politics, evokes as much heated emotion as debates over whether or not we should be eating meat or GMOs or if high fructose corn syrup and junk food are really all that bad for us. And then there's the issue of straight up preferences—the gross factor of foods that make us feel like gagging just when we think about them (please, nobody say "asparagus").

We've all heard the saying, “what’s mine is yours.” That cute, quip of a saying is now a significant movement called collaborative consumption! People are trading, bartering, renting and swapping goods, services and skills like never before. While our elders engaged in traditional collaborative consumption and communal sharing in local townships years ago, modern-day collaborators reach each other via, what else, technology.

Over the last few years, a faulty tip has persisted on the Internet. Can PLU codes – those four- or five-digit numbers on produce stickers – really indicate whether a food is genetically modified? Not really. There are other surefire ways to avoid GMOs, and a big effort underway to put a real red flag on genetically modified produce and packaged foods.

The pressed salad represents everything traditional Japanese: minimalistic but stylized, simple but complex, easy but precise. And that fact should be no surprise, as the iconic dish has roots in Macrobiotic cuisine. Read on to learn what this beautiful salad is, and how to perfect it at home.