People & Media...

The day I decided to propose to my wife was the day I also realized one of my guilty pleasures was going to die a painful death--and a swift one, at that. Marrying a woman in pursuit of her PhD in nutrition is not exactly the way to further your secret fast-food habit. While at one point in my life, Ronald, King and Wendy sounded like great names for my future kids, I have my wife to thank for adding years to my life and stopping my bad habits.

However, there's still something to be said for tasty food--and my wife and I are in agreement on that quest. Almost six years into our marriage, I admit I still eat fast food on a rare occasion, but the bulk of the food I consume is healthy and oftentimes organic.

At the end of the day, not many people are still going to eat nasty-tasting food even if it's good for you. That's where Heidi Swanson and her book Super Natural Cooking: Five Ways to Incorporate Whole and Natural Ingredients into Your Cooking arrives like your white knight on her majesty's steed. Here is one of Swanson's tips on choosing healthy flour and how to keep its flavors intact.

"The natural oils in whole-grain flours can go rancid quickly at room temperature, so purchase them from a store with high turnover. Refrigerate or free these flours as soon as you get home, or at least store them in a cool, dark place. In the refrigerator or freezer, store them in an airtight container so they don't pick up flavors from other foods and moisture. Flours that are bought in smaller amounts, for example from the bulk/bin section, can be refrigerated in wide-mouthed Mason jars. Flours that come in larger, multi-pound bags I normally seal in a large, reusable plastic freezer bag. Also, look for stone-milled flours, which are ground slowly; this method doesn't generate the nutrite-compromising heat that occurs in other milling methods like hammer milling and roller milling."