Hi Herbies. It's Courtney again. An old friend of mine's funeral was yesterday, was an overdose from diet pills. An obsession with looking a certain way that stemmed from childhood, that he couldn't shake. Yes, I said he.

Did you ever make fun of the chubby kid at school, or did your friends and you did nothing to stop them? I'm not talking about bullying, but just "kids being kids" type of jokes. Some parents think that kids just need …

I can't believe how fast this year is flying by, pretty soon I'll be done turning in all the pictures and recipes for my third book!

Here are some of the recipes I've made this week.

Note these were taken from my iphone and are not the pictures that will be in the book

Fresh fruits and vegetables are all around us, but most of them come with a few extras (pesticides). Organic fruits and vegetables are grown without pesticides, irradiation and/or bioengineering.

While buying organic may be healthier than non-organic, not everyone can afford the organic food prices. How do you draw that line? 

The USDA released a report last year of the fruits & vegetables with the most pesticides on them - meaning to always by these as organic to avoid eating …

You've got questions, I've got answers!

1. Why does a recipe call for garlic powder over fresh garlic? 

Could be any number of reasons. Maybe the chef prefers garlic powder, maybe the recipe is designed to be easy and quick (and powder is faster than mincing) or maybe it's a texture -- the recipe should yield something smooth not something with chunks in it. For example, I use garlic and onion powders in my mac and cheese recipe because chunks …

Several weeks ago, I posted about testing my pH level. Since then I've been getting questions about drinking alkaline bottled water to help reduce the body's pH level.

Having too much acidity in your body can cause extra strain, and be unhealthy causing fatigue and stress. Also blood must maintain a slightly alkaline pH level, and if it is too acidic will neutralize itself by pulling minerals out of other parts of the body.

Some people also believe that …