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What are avocados? Avocados are considered a type of fruit and a part of the berry family. Avocados are grown in tropical areas, such as Central America and South America. The exterior color of the fruit turns from green to a dark black after being harvested. This means that avocados will only ripen after being picked from the tree. Like many fruits, each avocado has an oval-shaped pit. Its chartreuse colored interior (called the “flesh”) is creamy and smooth just like butter and is the part that is eaten. When avocados are exposed to oxygen, the flesh becomes a darker brown shade. Do not be alarmed by this color change, they are still good to eat! Also, avocados contain several toxins that some animals find deadly - luckily we humans are not affected!

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It might sound too good to be true, but recent studies have found that eating minimally processed chocolate, or dark chocolate, may actually be good for you. Researchers have found numerous health benefits associated with the cocoa beans which are used to make chocolate.

Raw cocoa and dark chocolate contain very high levels of antioxidants known as flavonoids. Two types of flavonoids, catechins and epicatechins, are found in dark chocolate which help boost chocolate’s antioxidant properties. Although these flavonoids are still being tested to better understand their ability to prevent illness, we already know that dark chocolate contains up to 4-times the amount of flavonoids found in green tea.

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Americans eat an average of about 6 pounds of peanuts per person, per year, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Most of our peanuts come from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and South Carolina. Almost half of the U.S. peanut crop is used to make peanut butter. It is no surprise that peanut butter is one of America’s favorite foods!

Peanut butter was first created by blending together ground shelled peanuts, vegetable oil and salt. The peanuts are first shelled, then roasted and the skins removed. Then they are ground into a smooth butter spread. Peanut butter must be at least 90 percent peanuts with no artificial sweeteners, colors or preservatives to officially be labeled peanut butter. Did you know that it takes nearly 850 peanuts to make a jar of peanut butter?

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Are you familiar with the term organic? Do you eat organic foods? Organic foods are becoming more and more popular each year in the United States. Today you can find organic foods available in most supermarkets. So what does organic mean anyway?

Organic fruits and vegetables (produce) are grown in compliance with specific legal standards that are enforced by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture). In order for fresh produce to be certified organic is must not be grown with traditional farming chemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers. Similarly, for meat to be certified organic it must not be raised with antibiotics and growth hormones.

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For a long time, people thought that coffee was not healthy, at least for those who drink a lot of it. Coffee can make you nervous and anxious, some say, and many regular drinkers would agree.

In medieval times coffee was considered a drug, and early coffee shops were seen as dens of iniquity, subject to shutdown by municipal authorities across Europe.

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Tea is a caffeinated beverage that is most often served hot. Tea leaves, which come from the tea bush, are steeped in hot water, which allows the flavor, and caffeine that is in the leaves to infuse with the hot water making it a beverage.

Before the tea leaves can be steeped in hot water they must be processed. There are several different ways to process tea leaves, and each method of processing the leaves results in a different type of tea.

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Here is a wonderful recipe that mixes what might be some of your favorite candies - marshmellows anyone? - in a way that might make them even more delicous. You’ll also be able to make more than enough to share with friends and family.

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Have you ever heard of the Food Pyramid? No, it’s not a giant pile of food in Egypt! The Food Pyramid is a clever chart to show the five groups of foods that have all the nutrients that keep your body healthy and make you grow. It includes the different foods from all five groups and how much of each type of food you should eat.

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These very tasty red cookies come from a special, long-forgotten and very ancient Martian recipe that were brought to earth from millions of miles away on a wayward asteroid. The recipe is also millions of years old.

You, however, can make it today in your very own home on the planet closest to Mars, earth!

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Holidays season is a time of sharing, so bake some colorful holiday cookies for your friends and family.

This recipe uses ingredients found in many kitchens. Choose your own cookie cutters to make the shapes you want.

You might try to save some cookies for yourself too - if others don’t gobble them up first!

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Halloween is just around the corner–are you prepared for this fun, frightening, and spooky holiday? Whether you’re getting dressed up in a costume and going out trick-or-treating or just staying at home with your friends and family, there are plenty of ways to have fun on this holiday. Here’s a fun project that you can try this Halloween–decorate your own pumpkin cake! Make sure to ask your parents for help when using the oven.

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Ice cream is one of the oldest, most beloved desserts and sweets, for children and adults alike. Centuries ago, kings and queens called for ice to be brought from hundreds of miles away to help make and keep ice cream. You might think that you need ice boxes or other machines to make ice cream, but that is not the case.

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