More than one million New Yorkers don’t have enough food to eat. So while you’re gearing up for an overindulgent Thanksgiving, many people are going hungry. The harsh reality is that these past few years, people are more in need than ever due to the poor economy. Many people, approximately 3.3 million, who had no problem affording food in the past, are now having difficulty affording this basic need. It’s overwhelming but you can help. We know you want to, so head to your pantry and clean house for the hungry. If you’re feeling really nice, you can make a special shopping trip or organize a collection at your work or in your neighborhood with these food drives in mind.

Kinda like a Robin Hood of the food world, City Harvest “rescues” food from top NYC restaurants and gives it to the hungry. Currently, there are 1.5 million New Yorkers living below poverty and struggling to afford basic necessities like food. Well, for over 25 years, City Harvest has been dedicated to feeding the city’s hungry.

It's said our bones peak in their density in our twenties and – like all good climaxes – it's all downhill from there. Or is it?

Autumn is time for the ultimate dinner party… Thanksgiving!  But the food of the season is so delicious that it’s often tempting to sneak in a few smaller gathering as well. 

Preparing the menu is a big part of the fun of course, but it’s also enjoyable to take it up a notch and spruce up your dining room. You may find that those seasonal foods that you’re sharing with your friends also make vibrant, autumn-inspired centerpieces!

Everyone knows the general history of Thanksgiving dinner: the Wampanoag tribe of Native Americans helped the pilgrims at Plymouth survive their first year in the New World, and they all celebrated together in the Autumn of 1621 with a holiday feast.

But do you know the history of the Thanksgiving dishes themselves? Why do we eat sweet potatoes and not French fries? Pumpkin pie instead of strawberry shortcake? Cranberry sauce instead of cherry marmalade?

Thanksgiving is about community and sharing, coming together for what we're all grateful for. While delicious food will wow your friends and family, these are still economically challenging times. Delivering a budget friendly dinner not only benefits your wallet, but you don't alienate others also working with limited funds. In other words, who wants to be the Diva who shows up with gold-dipped turkey lips while the rest of the family brought those dinner rolls that come from a can?  Awkward! Have no fear. We can help.

Have you ever wondered why a quince is called a quince? Surely a name is just a name, but did you ever think that just maybe the reason quince fruits aren't as popular as apples is because of their name? It's not all that appealing to bite into something that kind of sounds more like the coins you'd find in your pocket left over from a trip abroad than say, a tasty and versatile fruit.

If you're like most, you know the feeling all too well - the throbbing, the pressure, the inability to think clearly, and the sudden burst of irritability. Yep - it’s your arch-nemesis, the headache. This painful condition has become all too familiar for most of us, one of the most prevalent ailments. Thus, we accept that they occur frequently and we always have a stash of pain relievers to get them off our minds... literally. However, that instant gratification has a price - those over-the-counter drugs can actually cause rebound headaches, heart problems and digestion issues. Instead of popping another pill, let’s talk about some of the causes, treatments and remedies that are available to you, naturally.

Did you know that food travels an average of 1,500 and 2,500 miles from farm to table? Yikes! That doesn’t include the traveling you’ll be doing over the holidays. Reduce your carbon footprint by cutting back on carbon emissions and eating locally. Not only will you be supporting local farmers, but you’ll reduce CO2 and packaging waste. Another bonus is small farms, opposed to mass-produced poultry, is often free-range, anti-biotic and hormone-free, and feed an organic diet. That means it’s better for you and environment. Check out our five favorite local New York farms to buy your Thanksgiving turkey … you can even pick up some at the Greenmarket.

Looking for a swanky restaurant to impress a hot date or significant other? Go to Zagat's of course. It's the be-all-end-all for finding top restaurants.

But now, in a departure from the classy, Zagat's has added food trucks to its repertoire of fine dining. Food trucks, you know, for your more typical dates, like the girl with the peg leg you met during last call.

Millions of Americans will sit down to dine on turkey this Thanksgiving, unaware that the bird they are enjoying is a far gobble from the turkeys that our country's forbearers ate. In fact, the pilgrims would have a hard time even recognizing the turkey on our tables – by look or by taste. It's a pale shadow of the birds that they knew, which were robust in both flavor and personality. Today the Broadbreasted White, a turkey breed developed in the 1950's for its heavy, white-meat breasts, accounts for almost 100% of turkeys eaten in America.

Writing for The Atlantic, Barry Estabrook exposed an interesting and confounding situation this week. It appears the USDA  just granted nearly $200,000 to an agribusiness-backed smear campaign effort intended to warn consumers about information designed to educate them on which fruits and vegetables are most susceptible to pesticides. Huh? This information under attack comes from the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit, non-government funded organization responsible for the well-known "Dirty Dozen" list that ranks the most heavily sprayed produce that they recommend choosing organic whenever possible.

It's pretty much unavoidable that whatever you slather on those luscious lips of yours is inevitably going to be ingested and absorbed into your skin. So, petroleum byproducts, synthetic colors and fragrances, animal derivatives (as well as products tested on our animal friends) and other chemicals - not so pretty. What's utterly beautiful, however, is this oh-so-simple DIY moisturizing, glistening lip balm made from four natural ingredients, one of which capitalizes on the vibrant hues of Autumn. We recently touted the wonders of the Fall-ubiquitous cranberry in Craving Cranberries, and now we're toting around this lipgloss everywhere we go as a testament to how crave-worthy it really is. 

People have it so great around the holidays … vacation time, presents, and endless amounts of food. While dogs get two out of the three, this holiday we’re treating our pups to some special food inspired by one of our favorite seasonal veggies … squash. We know it’s tempting to give your dog table scraps but it can be dangerous. Some foods are toxic to dogs and others may cause pancreas and intestinal issues. So next time your pup looks up at you with those please-may-I-have-some eyes, you can whip out these tasty DIY Organic Squash Dog Cookies for a special treat.

You might already be and not know it. Don’t worry, it’s highly filtered and treated. What many people may not realize is that water is a finite resource … meaning we could run out of it. Scary. So in some places like Orange County where fresh water is lacking due to a drought, they began to recycle the waste water. Yep, the same stuff that is flushed down your toilet.

We love plants because they fight for us, literally.

The term phytonutrients (also called phytochemicals) refers to nutrients derived from plant material that can support the human body. Originally, plants produced phytos for themselves as a protective measure against things like disease, injuries, insects, drought, excessive heat, ultraviolet rays, and environmental pollutants - thus forming the plant’s immune system. And then our sprouted friends were kind enough to share the love, as we too can reap the benefits. It seems phytos are able to protect the body and fight diseases like cancer, boosting immunity, helping our heart health and acting as antioxidants.