I have a confession: I've been having a love affair with baking soda. 

For me, baking soda has always been that box of white stuff in the fridge that helps keep the smells out (with a cousin in the pantry for the occasional baking recipe). I just never used it much.

Then my sister came to visit and she pulled the baking soda out when I was cleaning my stove rather unsuccessfully. You see, I am a horribly messy cook. …

Grab a box of tissues before reading this inspirational story!

HH: Tell us a little about yourself -- how did you end up homeless?

Hi, my names Courtney Brown, and I'm a homeless vegan in Sioux City Iowa! I became homeless after a bout in the hospital, where I lost my house, and my overall footing in life, which caused me to become deeply depressed, and very caught up in the dogma of life. 

HH: How do you stay plant-based …

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 …