"oprah" news and stories

Our ears pricked up when we heard Paul Shapiro, senior director of the factory farming campaign for The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) say he'd actually be excited to eat at new quick-serve concept Lyfe Kitchen. After all, most fast-food joints aren't exactly known as bulwarks of humanely raised beef, pork or chicken.

Lyfe Kitchen (Lyfe stands for "Love Your Food Everyday") seemingly has a lot going for it. At its helm are two former McDonald's executives, including Mike Roberts, former president and chief operations officer of the fast-food chain. Art Smith, Oprah Winfrey's former personal chef, and chef Tal Ronnen, both known for making healthy food taste good, are in the development kitchen.

• Oprah may have made the acai berry a Superfood, but now the craze is robbing poor Brazilians of a native product critical to their health.
• Like every other city, Pittsburgh is coming alive with farmers markets. Here's a list of them.
  
• The Ball jar is celebrating its 125th anniversary, so get canning!
• Hugo Chavez has seized temporary control of one of Cargill Inc.'s pasta processing plants in Venezuela for breaking regulations.
• Rachel Carson Homestead is celebrating its dedication to local foods with a Sustainable Feast.
• Need more rhubarb in your life? Read on to learn more about rhubarb history and the plant's role in treats like this crisp with strawberry, a spring tonic and in a pie or tart with apple.

What's up with these 'cleansing' diets and why are they so popular? In the latest high-profile example, Oprah has just completed a three week vegan cleansing diet, and, according to Access Hollywood, she feels not only refreshed, but awakened. She states that she is now more aware of the global food crisis.

Oprah's diet was based on Kathy Freston's book "Quantum Wellness." To find out more about her cleansing experience, you can read her blog. Apparently, everything she ate, with the exception of olive oil, came from her garden. I can understand feeling healthy after a cleansing diet, but I'm not sure I'd say that it made me more sensitive to the world's food problems. Oprah, coming from you, that just seems a little ridiculous, not to mention a bit insensitive!

Have you tried a cleansing diet? If so, which ones and how did they work out?

...well, not forever. Technically, only for 21 days, along with all animal products, caffeine, sugar, alcohol, and gluten. Oh, right: and she's calling it a "cleanse," in hopes that it will prepare her for her "inner makeover."

Now, giving up alcohol, caffeine, and animal products is a difficult decision, and one that shouldn't be taken lightly.

But, (big surprise), I have several issues with this. First of all, I dislike the word "cleanse." It's often associated with that ridiculous maple syrup/cayenne pepper diet, and don't even try to convince me that it works, because depriving yourself of food is simply unhealthy, I don't care if you feel "amazing" or not (most likely, that "amazing, high" feeling is the effects of oxygen depletion to your brain, sweetie).

How did we miss this?!?!

Apparently, even if Rachael's show were actually getting cancelled (it's not), she won't go down without a fight. The TV chef is working on an animated series that stars herself as a young chef. The show is being produced by Oprah's company, Harpo Productions (naturally) and is scheduled for debut in January 2009.

Now, I'm not sure how I feel about this one, but to be quite honest, an animated version of Rachael might be easier on the eyes. Then again, it'll still be her voice.

[via: PopCrunch]