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The ABC’s of Fruits & Vegetables and Beyond in Third Printing: Adopted by Educational Programs

FOR RELEASE AFTER June 15, 2009

Healthy Dining Guide Declares

“It’s Not Only What You Eat, It’s Where You Eat”

New Edition of Healthy Highways Boasts 2800 Listings

It is often said “you are what you eat,” but according to best-selling food writers Nikki & David Goldbeck, the authors of, Healthy Highways: The Travelers Guide to Healthy Eating (Ceres Press, $19.95, Second Ed., 2009), “you are also where you eat.”

Since you are where you eat, the Goldbecks want you to find the healthiest eateries. And that’s why they have produced two editions of this guide to healthy eateries which lists vegetarian, vegan and those who have shown a commitment to healthy eating.

Healthy Highways is fast becoming the essential guide to healthy eating while on the highways and byways of the USA. Many people keep their copy in the glove compartment next to the maps and GPS. The new 2009 600-page edition has 1,000 more listings than the first edition with only a one dollar price increase. In addition, there are free and exclusive updates on HealthyHighways.com for the book’s owners.

Healthy Highways is arranged alphabetically by state and city for all 50 states. A unique feature are the state maps which the authors created to help travelers locate listings geographically. Naturally every entry in this succinct guide starts with the basics: address, phone number and hours of operation. Graphic symbols next to each entry indicate whether travelers will find a sit down meal or groceries to restock a cooler or picnic basket.

But the authors don’t stop there. In addition basic attributes is a bulleted list of what the establishment offers, such as: organic produce, vegetarian or vegan friendly, fresh juice, alcohol, seating and service style (wait staff or full service), take-out, and more. The Goldbecks add that, “not only does Healthy Highways help people eat better on the road, it also gives them an opportunity to see parts of the country that often whiz by.”

Among the listings are eateries ranging from drive-through to gourmet. There are several innovative health-conscious restaurant chains, beachside and open air venues, vegetarian street carts, all-vegetarian hospital and university cafeterias, ethnic restaurants that specialize in vegetarian or organic fare, clubs and pubs featuring vegetarian/natural food, and haute cuisine “tasting menus.” There are also locations where travelers can find prepackaged foods, natural beverages and healthy snacks.

Healthy Highways Always Up-to-Date

To keep Healthy Highways current, changes to listings are posted by users and the authors on HealthyHighways.com. Moreover, book owners will be able to download an exclusive supplement of new locations as they are discovered. The website also includes record of favorite Goldbeck travel and health resources, such as locations of swimming pools, national parks and pet friendly hotels.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Nikki and David Goldbecks’ pioneering books have had a powerful influence on the way America eats for more than three decades. Best known for their 1970’s bestseller The Supermarket Handbook, and their widely acclaimed American Wholefoods Cuisine, the Goldbecks are also authors of The Good Breakfast Book, The Healthiest Diet in the World, and Eat Well, the YoChee Way. David’s latest book is The ABC’s of Fruits & Vegetables and Beyond.

TO ORDER (EDITOR IF POSSIBLE, PLEASE INCLUDE): Healthy Highways is available in book and natural food stores everywhere or directly for $19.95, plus $4.75 s/h and NY sales tax, from Ceres Press, P.O. Box 87, Woodstock, NY 12498, or visit HealthyHighways.com for online discounts.

For more information, to interview the authors or to obtain a review copy, please contact Scott Anderson at 845-679-5573 or cem620@aol.com

Best-selling food writers Nikki & David Goldbeck, authors of the second edition of Healthy Highways: The Travelers Guide to Healthy Eating (Ceres Press, $19.95, Second Ed., 2009) have been writing about health oriented food for almost forty years. They have witnessed many changes in the American food scene, but say they are impressed that their guide has grown by almost 1000 new listings in just five years.

The Goldbecks want you to find the healthiest eateries because as they say “you are where you eat.” That’s why they have produced two editions of this guide to healthy eateries which lists vegetarian, vegan and those who have shown a commitment to healthy eating.

Healthy Highways is fast becoming the essential guide to healthy eating while on the highways and byways of the

USA

. Many people now keep their copy in the glove compartment next to the maps and GPS. The new edition despite being almost 100 pages longer than the first edition is only one dollar more. An added value is the free and exclusive updates on HealthyHighways.com for the book’s owners.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Nikki and David Goldbecks’ pioneering books have had a powerful influence on the way

America

eats for more than three decades. Best known for their 1970’s bestseller The Supermarket Handbook, and their widely acclaimed American Wholefoods Cuisine, the Goldbecks are also authors of The Good Breakfast Book, The Healthiest Diet in the World, and Eat Well, the YoChee Way. David’s latest book is The ABC’s of Fruits & Vegetables and Beyond.

For more information, to interview the authors or to obtain a review copy, please contact Scott Anderson at 845-679-5573 or cem620@aol.com

New Guide Directs Travelers to Health-Oriented Eateries (First Ed.)

For travelers long confined to supersize, calorie laden, high-fat meals, now there is help: Healthy Highways: The Travelers’ Guide to Healthy Eating (Ceres Press, April, 2004, $18.95). With this innovative guide from food gurus Nikki and David Goldbeck, travelers are no longer limited to “gas and go” road stops, but instead can make informed choices about where to find a healthy snack, meal or cooler provisions. By following the book’s maps, proceeding from listing to listing, people can even construct their own “healthy restaurant chain.”

Healthy Highways couldn’t have come at a better time. UPI reports a “backlash” against fast food chains as consumers become more aware of the health costs of their offerings

Healthy Highways features more than 1,900 health-oriented eateries and natural food stores in all 50 states. What makes this guidebook unique is that listings are keyed to state maps and include local directions from the nearest highway or main road. Thus, travelers can anticipate upcoming locations and plan their stops without concern for getting lost.

Healthy Highways is in keeping with the Goldbecks’ 1970s seminal bestseller, "The Supermarket Handbook." There the Goldbecks identified unrecognized healthy supermarket foods. In a similar manner, Healthy Highways will connect people with better road food options they might not be aware of.

Eateries range from drive-through to gourmet. Among the choices are several innovative health-conscious restaurant chains, beachside and open air venues, vegetarian street carts, vegetarian hospital and university cafeterias, restaurants serving organic meat, ethnic restaurants that specialize in vegetarian or organic fare, clubs and pubs featuring vegetarian/natural food, vegetarian wine bars, and haute cuisine vegetarian “tasting menus.”

The natural food store listings encompass large chains, independents and many community co-ops that welcome outsiders. Although not all stores have fresh prepared food or seating, the presence of each is noted, as is organic produce. At the least, travelers will find prepackaged wholefoods, bottled natural beverages and healthy snacks.

The Goldbecks, avid travelers in addition to best-selling food writers, believe that “in addition to helping people eat better while on the road, Healthy Highways provides an opportunity to see parts of the country that often whiz by.”

* HH Tripster comments. Remarks from a growing national network of “agents.”

* Resources. Quirky roadside attractions, entertainment tips and travelers’ aids.

Healthy Highways Website

A new web site at www.HealthyHighways.com includes a bulletin board for reader comments, unique travel resources and “food routes,” newsletter signup, a kid’s page and more.

"Every health conscious traveler should pack this book as a matter of course. What a fabulous resource for us all!"

-- Annemarie Colbin, Ph.D., author and founder, The Natural Gourmet Cookery School

ABOUT THE EDITORS: Nikki and David Goldbecks’ pioneering books have had a powerful influence on the way America eats for more than three decades. Best known for their 1970s bestseller The Supermarket Handbook, and their widely acclaimed American Wholefoods Cuisine, the Goldbecks are also coauthors of five other food-related books including The Good Breakfast Book, The Healthiest Diet in the World, and Eat Well The YoChee Way.

IF POSSIBLE, PLEASE INCLUDE: Healthy Highways is available in book and natural food stores or directly for $18.95, plus $4.75 and NY sales tax, from Ceres Press, P.O. Box 87, Woodstock, NY 12498, or online at www.CeresPress.com

For further information, interviews or a review copy, please contact Scott Anderson.

NIKKI & DAVID GOLDBECK

Nikki and David Goldbeck, whose bestseller The Supermarket Handbook helped revolutionize America's diet and made "The Goldbecks" a household word in the '70s, are still going strong. Their eleven pioneering books have had a powerful impact on how America eats for more than three decades.

Their latest book, Healthy Highways: The Traveler’s Guide to Healthy Eating (Ceres Press,April 2000), is the antidote to the supersize, high-calorie, high-fat meals common in fast food outlets and many restaurants. It is a guide to finding healthier eating venues by providing listings of over 1,900 natural food stores and health-conscious eateries in the USA with local driving directions.

The Goldbecks, who today have more than one million books in print, were catapulted to fame in 1973 when The Supermarket Handbook garnered unprecedented attention: The New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, an editorial by Howard K. Smith on the ABC Evening News and several full hour appearances on Donahue. Publishers Weekly declared it a "seminal" work, while The Wall Street Journal hailed it as a "manifesto" of a food revolution "that may be in the wind."

In their comprehensive cookbook and nutrition guide, The Healthiest Diet in the World (Plume, 2001), the Goldbecks present their eight Golden Guidelines, which they assert will “outlast fad diets and the latest nutritional sound bites.” Their claim for the “healthiest diet” comes from thirty years of study and practice in the field of food and nutrition. The guidelines are made easy to implement through a unique structured presentation, interactive dialog boxes and 300 recipes that reach a “new level of cooking.” The Healthiest Diet in the World is supported by a forty-page bibliography of professional journal articles. Dr. Andrew Weil called it one of the “best books on natural medicine.”

Their best selling cookbook, American Wholefoods Cuisine contains more than 1,300 recipes that Nikki developed and tested. This "magnum opus of wholefoods cooking" has been hailed by many authorities as "the new Joy of Cooking." Admired by M.F.K Fisher and nominated for the prestigious Tastemaker Award, the Goldbecks believe, "this cookbook demonstrates that a good diet is not inconsistent with either a modern lifestyle or the pleasures of fine cooking; it takes the best of the old and the new to create a contemporary 'wholefoods cuisine'."

In Eat Well the YoChee Way the Goldbecks again tackle new territory by introducing an age-old but little-known food – yogurt cheese – into the western diet. Coining the name “YoChee,” their book offers 275 recipes using this low-fat, high-protein, calcium-rich ingredient in place of fatty alternatives.

Another important project has been As You Eat, So Your Baby Grows (Ceres Press, Rev. Ed. 2003), Nikki’s educational booklet for pregnant women. First published in 1977, As You Eat is now in its Sixth (revised) edition. It has been endorsed by every major childbirth association and has been distributed to more than 600,000 women by health professionals.

David’s book, The Smart Kitchen (Ceres Press, 1994), was based on the experimental demonstration kitchen that the Goldbecks designed for their own use. Now in its sixth printing, it is a guide to designing a comfortable, safe, energy-efficient and environment-friendly workspace. The kitchen was featured on CBS Morning News and may be "the most photographed kitchen in America."

The Goldbecks are also co-authors of The Dieters Companion (McGraw Hill, 1975), The Goldbecks’ Guide to Good Food (NAL, 1987), The Good Breakfast Book (Ceres Press, 1993), and Choose to Reuse (Ceres Press, 1995). Their books have been published in the U.S., Great Britain and Japan.

BIOGRAPHIES

Nikki Goldbeck received a BS in food and nutrition from the School of Human Ecology at Cornell University. Before her career as a writer and nutrition consultant, she worked as a food publicist, participated in new product development and created recipes for major food companies. In addition to writing and lecturing, Nikki, a New York State Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist, has an active private nutrition counseling practice.

David Goldbeck received a BA in economics from Queens College of the City University of New York and a LL.B. from Brooklyn Law School. Before turning to food education and publishing, David directed a community legal service program, taught elementary school, was a produce man, waiter, and ran several dining rooms. The Goldbecks live in Woodstock, New York.

Six Healthy Highways’ “Rules of the Road”

1. Choose different ethnic foods when possible. Gained: New foods, greater variety, new experiences.

2. Order vegetarian. Even if you aren’t a vegetarian, seize every opportunity to eat like one. This will automatically improve your diet because meatless dining depends on beans, grains, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and seeds. Gained: More variety, more fiber, less saturated fat.

3. Go for salad and vegetables (but go light on dressing and sauce). There is no such thing as too many vegetables. Gained: Numerous vitamins, minerals, fiber, health-protecting phytochemicals.

4. Avoid unnecessary fats. Chefs are accustomed to using butter, oil and other fats when they cook, so don’t add to this yourself. Be sparing with dressings, sauces, butter on bread (even the trendy olive oil). Order foods poached or broiled instead of fried. Gained: Less fat, fewer calories.

5. Always ask if there is whole grain bread or brown rice. Even if there isn’t, with enough requests they may start to stock it. Gained: More fiber, greater restaurant awareness.

6. Just desserts. Many of us find dessert hard to pass up. Even in health-oriented eateries, desserts are often calorie-laden. Look for lower fat options (sorbet, biscotti), something fruit-based (apple crisp, strawberry shortcake), or a treat with some nutritious ingredients (baked custard, rice pudding). If you can’t resist something really indulgent, suggest sharing. Lost: Empty calories, fat and sugar.

Excerpted from Healthy Highways: The Traveler's Guide To Healthy Eating (Ceres Press) by Nikki & David Goldbeck). For more information visit HealthyHighways.com or call 888- 804 – 8848.

Experts Say “Fast Food Seatbelt Laws” Needed

Best-selling food authorities Nikki & David Goldbeck, authors of the forthcoming book, Healthy Highways: The Travelers’ Guide to Healthy Eating (Ceres Press, April, 2004, $18.95), say that proposed laws to protect the fast food industry from lawsuits are wrong. The Goldbecks believe that fast food should be likened to auto safety. “The food business has a special responsibility to the public. When you feed as many people as this industry does, concern must go far beyond the bottom line. The auto industry, by providing dashboard padding, seatbelts, airbags and the like are protecting people in many cases against their own behavior. The food industry must act similarly. One way to force the restaurant industry to do the right thing is through lawsuits. Even lawsuits that do not prevail often foster consumer awareness and public education.“

The Goldbecks are no strangers to food reform. This nutritionist-attorney team, are coauthors of the 1970s bestseller The Supermarket Handbook. Dubbed a “manifesto” by the Wall Street Journal, this book was a major force in the popularization of natural foods and honesty in food labeling. The Goldbecks intend their new book “Healthy Highways,” billed as “The Answer to Supersize, Calorie-laden, High-Fat Meals,” will similarly help reform food options eaten away from home.

The Goldbecks contend, “What we really need are menu items with more varied ingredients along with creative marketing to promote them. While current attention is on downsizing instead of supersizing, a good diet is not only about what people don’t eat. Of great importance is what people do eat. Variety is the key to healthful eating as it increases the chance of obtaining a full range of nutrients. Fast food restaurants are mostly based on just a small pool of ingredients—beef, chicken, cheese, eggs, potatoes, white bread, iceberg lettuce, and tomatoes. Conversely, health-oriented eateries focus on a wide range of produce, grains of all kinds (usually in the whole form), non-animal proteins like soy products and beans, and offer more choices of fish and meat. ”

Create Your Own “Healthy Restaurant Chain” with Healthy Highways

The Goldbecks new book offers the possibility of this sort of choice by pointing consumers to 1,900 eateries and natural food stores that offer real variety. With this innovative guide, everyone can make informed choices about where to find a healthy snack, meal or cooler provisions. By following the book’s maps, proceeding from listing to listing, people can even construct their own “healthy restaurant chain.”

Each Healthy Highways entry includes the address, phone number, hours of operation and detailed driving directions. In addition, there is a checklist of such features as dining style (takeout, self serve, wait staff), salad and juice bars, vegetarian/vegan friendly, organic outlook, alcohol availability, and wheelchair access.

ABOUT THE EDITORS: Nikki and David Goldbecks’ pioneering books have had a powerful influence on the way America eats for more than three decades. Best known for their 1970s bestseller The Supermarket Handbook, (called a “manifesto” by the “Wall Street Journal”) and their widely acclaimed American Wholefoods Cuisine, the Goldbecks are also coauthors of five other food-related books including most recently, The Healthiest Diet in the World (Penguin/Plume) and Eat Well The YoChee Way (Ceres Press).

Healthy Highways is available in book and natural food stores or directly for $18.95, plus $4.75 and NY sales tax, from Ceres Press, P.O. Box 87, Woodstock, NY 12498, or online at www.CeresPress.com

For further information or to interview The Goldbecks please email or call 845-679-5573

Timely Guide Answers "Supersize Me" Problem

The words "supersize me" have become catchwords for the excessively large portions of the fatty, high calorie food common to roadside fast food restaurants. But to food authorities Nikki & David Goldbeck they are much more. Even if fast food meals were not supersized, they would not be healthful fare.

Nikki & David Goldbeck, authors of the newly released, Healthy Highways: The Travelers' Guide to Healthy Eating (Ceres Press, April, 2004, $18.95), believe that "the mass food merchants are not looking at the fundamental need for more varied and less processed ingredients." They emphasize that "a good diet is not only about what people don't eat - of critical importance is what people do eat. "It is a boring phrase, but one can never say it enough: "Variety is the key to healthful eating. "

"Popular fast food restaurants base their menus on just a small pool of ingredients-beef, chicken, cheese, eggs, potatoes, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and refined grains, i.e. white bread. Expanding food choices would increase the chance of obtaining a full range of nutrients. In addition, the closer foods are to their original form - what the Goldbecks call wholefoods - the better they are for you. For example, whole grains which contain natural fiber and small amounts of native fat fill you up and sustain you longer."

"Fast Food Seatbelt Laws" Needed

The Goldbecks state that, "Those in the food business have a special responsibility. When you feed as many people as this industry does, concern must go far beyond the bottom line. Perhaps the best comparison is to the auto industry, which has a safety responsibility. By providing dashboard padding, seatbelts and the like, automakers are protecting people -- in many cases against their own bad behavior. The food industry must act similarly.

These changes will not take place without a massive educational campaign by the food industry, the government and educational and civic organizations. In our thirty-three years in involvement in the American food scene we have never seen such a consensus on a food issue: There is a backlash against fast food and the public is aware of the economic and health effect of our unnatural diet. We hope that this opportunity is not lost."

Health-oriented eateries like those the Goldbecks promote in Healthy Highways offer a solution to the fast-food rut by offering a range of produce, grains of all kinds (usually in the whole form), non-animal proteins like soy products and beans, and more choices of fish and meat.

According to the Goldbecks, "It is no secret that there is a food-related health epidemic. Today 46% of all meals are prepared outside of the home. Reducing restaurant portion size and offering salads and water is just a first step towards solving our national dietary problems." The Goldbecks, longtime educators on the American food scene, should know. The nutritionist-attorney team is coauthors of the 1970s bestseller The Supermarket Handbook. Dubbed a "manifesto" by the Wall Street Journal, this book was a major force in the popularization of natural foods and honesty in food labeling. The Goldbecks intend their new book, billed as "The Answer to Supersize, Calorie-laden, High-Fat Meals," to help similarly reform meals eaten away from home.

Hidden Healthy Restaurant Chain Discovered

Food gurus Nikki and David Goldbeck say they have discovered a “hidden healthy restaurant chain” in the US. The Goldbecks have documented more than 1,900 healthy eateries and natural food stores (many with cafes) in their new book, Healthy Highways: The Travelers’ Guide to Healthy Eating (Ceres Press, April, 2004, $18.95). These places constitute “a grouping that is no different from a chain or perhaps more like a franchise, with different owners and different menus. But the link is that you can go from one to the next and get a wholesome meal.”

These eating spots, which bear such different names as Ecoplitan (Minneapolis, MN), Taco Juan’s (Woodstock, NY), Hobees (California), Happy Carrot (River Edge, NJ), Fiddlehead Restaurant & Bakery (Juneau, AL), Ashland Food Coop (Ashland, OR), Whole Foods, and Wild Oats, share one thing in common – a commitment to whole, healthy, organic and/or vegetarian food.

Healthy Highways couldn’t have come at a better time. UPI reports a “backlash” against typical fast food restaurants as consumers become more aware of the health costs of their offerings. What makes this guidebook particularly useful is that the listings are keyed to maps in all 50 states and include local driving directions from the nearest highway or main road. Thus, travelers can anticipate upcoming locations and plan their stops without concern for getting lost.

Healthy Highways is in keeping with the Goldbecks’ 1970s seminal bestseller, "The Supermarket Handbook." There the Goldbecks identified unrecognized healthy supermarket foods. In a similar manner, Healthy Highways connects people with better road food options they might not be aware of.

* HH Tripster comments. Remarks from a growing national network of “agents.”

* Resources. Quirky roadside attractions, entertainment tips and travelers’ aids.

A new web site at www.HealthyHighways.com includes a bulletin board for reader comments, unique travel resources and “food routes,” newsletter signup, a kid’s page and more.

"Every health conscious traveler should pack this book as a matter of course. What a fabulous resource for us all!"

-- Annemarie Colbin, Ph.D., author and founder, The Natural Gourmet Cookery School

For further information, interviews or a review copy, please contact Scott Anderson.

Dear Editor/Producer

Have you seen the new Consumers Reports story on fast food? (bellow). They report that, "... some fast-food chicken salads pack more fat and calories than a Big Mac." Unfortunately, this is not a surprise to us as, we have been saying that the "mass food" industry's commitment to healthy food is not real. The Goldbeck's have said for example:

* Burger King's(R) new Angus Steak Burger has 12 grams less fat than a Big Whopper - but only because it doesn't have the Whopper's mayonnaise. It remains equally high in saturated fat.

* Carl's Jr. (R) "Biggest Burger in Fast Food History" leaves one virtually speechless. According to the USDA, one pound of meat, featured in this offering, is enough to feed four people. The Goldbecks' say that perhaps this should be called the "Family Burger" and served with trimming like a turkey."

* Papa John's and Coca-Cola "Partnership to Serve Free Digital Music Tracks" is proof that these merchants are still pushing soft drinks and selling food as entertainment -- particularly to children and young adults.

Aug. 10, 2004 -- Opting for a chicken salad or sandwich over an old-fashioned burger isn't always the healthiest choice at fast-food restaurants. A new report shows some fast-food chicken salads pack more fat and calories than a Big Mac. Although chicken itself is lower in fat and calories than beef, researchers say the devil lies in the details, or in this case the fatty toppings and dressings that come with the chicken in many fast-food offerings.

For example, the chicken in Wendy's Mandarin Chicken Salad has only 120 calories and 3 grams of fat, but the bulk of the calories and fat come from the dressing, crispy noodles, and almonds that come with it. Those additions bring the total calorie and fat count to 630 calories and 35 grams of fat, more than the 570 calories and 25 grams of fat in Burger King's Chicken Whopper.

Researchers also found that many fast-food restaurants are offering or testing new low-carb foods, but these items aren't usually low-cal. The highest-calorie, low-carb option they found was the Low-Carb Breakfast Bowl at Carl's Jr. with eggs, sausage, bacon, ham, and cheese with 900 calories and 73 grams of fat, including 33 grams of artery-clogging saturated fat.

In the report, Consumer Reports compared nutrition information for 36 chicken sandwiches and salads from 16 chains and sent taste-testers to evaluate the offerings.

The findings show that calories varied widely from 360 to 950 calories in a chicken sandwich and 310 to 800 calories for an entrée salad with chicken.

Boston Market's Marinated Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad tipped the scales with the most calories and fat at 800 calories and 62 grams of fat, and Wendy's Ultimate Chicken Grill was the lightweight of the bunch with only 360 calories and 7 grams of fat.

· Baja Fresh Original Baja Style Taco with Charbroiled Chicken (370 calories and 8 grams of fat for $3.80)

· Quizno's Sub Honey Bourbon Chicken on wheat bread (400 calories and 5 grams of fat for $4.30)

· McDonald's Chicken McGrill sandwich (400 calories and 16 grams of fat for $3.10)

· Subway Garden Fresh Salad with Chicken (310 calories and 8 grams of fat for $5.80)

· Baja Fresh Baja Ensalada with Charbroiled Chicken (325 calories and 7 grams of fat for $6.80)

Overall, the tasters said the chances of getting high-quality, good-tasting food was higher at the newer, fancier fast-food outlets. But the downside is that their dishes tend to be bigger and have more calories and fat. ....

SOURCES: Consumer Reports, September 2004; pp 28-31. News release, Consumers Union.

New Guide Helps People Take Responsibility for Weight

New research highlights a fundamental shift in public opinion regarding who is at fault for the obesity epidemic. Findings from the recent "11th Annual Consumer Attitudes about Nutrition Study" suggests that more consumers now consider the main cause of obesity to be personal responsibility. Last year 35 percent of respondents blamed the fast food industry for the nation's obesity epidemic, with 29 percent citing "personal responsibility." This year, the numbers reversed, with 36 percent of consumers identifying personal responsibility and 29 percent blaming the fast food industry for making Americans obese.

Food experts Nikki & David Goldbeck's new guide, Healthy Highways: The Traveler's Guide to Healthy Eating (Ceres Press, $18.95) is just what people need to help them take control of their food choices. With about 45 percent of the population eating at least one meal away from home daily, having healthy options is essential. Using Healthy Highways, people can "construct their own healthy food chain" where they can have a meal, restock their coolers or pick up a healthy snack.

Healthy Highways, features more than 1,900 health-oriented eateries and natural food stores in all 50 states. What makes it unique is that every listing is keyed to state maps and also includes local directions from the nearest highway or main road. Thus, travelers can anticipate upcoming locations and plan their stops without concern for getting lost.

Although designed to assist travelers, everyone concerned about their health or weight will find this guide useful -- even if they aren't venturing far from home.

Eateries range from drive-through to gourmet. Among the choices are several innovative health-conscious restaurant chains, beachside and open-air venues, vegetarian street carts, all-vegetarian hospital and university cafeterias, ethnic restaurants that specialize in vegetarian or organic fare, clubs and pubs featuring vegetarian/natural food, a vegetarian wine bar and haute cuisine "tasting menus." Many eateries have comments by a growing network of "HH Tripsters" -- volunteers who add descriptive personal content to the listing.

"I know the Goldbecks, and I can tell you two important things about them: They do their homework and they practice what they preach."

The Goldbecks, avid travelers in addition to best-selling food writers, believe that, "not only does Healthy Highways help people eat better on the road, it also gives travelers an opportunity to see parts of the country that often whiz by."

Each Healthy Highways entry includes the address, phone number and hours of operation. In addition, there is a checklist of other features, including dining style (takeout, self serve, wait staff), salad bars, fresh juice, smoke-free environment, wheelchair access, vegetarian/vegan friendly, organic outlook and alcohol availability. At the least, travelers will find prepackaged wholefoods, natural beverages and healthy snacks at all venues.

To keep readers current, the Goldbecks have created a companion website at www.HealthyHighways.com where readers can comment on listings and add places they have discovered. The site also offers travel resources, nutrition information, recipes and other information that health-conscious consumers will relish.

ABOUT THE EDITORS: Nikki and David Goldbecks' pioneering books have had a powerful influence on the way America eats for more than three decades. Best known for their 1970's bestseller The Supermarket Handbook, and their widely acclaimed American Wholefoods Cuisine, the Goldbecks are also authors of The Good Breakfast Book, The Healthiest Diet in the World, and Eat Well The YoChee Way.

TO ORDER: Healthy Highways is available in book and natural food stores or directly for $18.95 plus $4.75 and NY Sales tax from Ceres Press, P.O. Box 87, Woodstock, NY 12498 or online at www.HealthyHighways.com

..............................................................................................................................................................................

New Children’s Book Shows There’s More to Fruits and Vegetables than “Eat Them”!

Best-selling food writer David Goldbeck, coauthor of the newly published The ABC’s of Fruits and Vegetables and Beyond: Delicious Alphabet Poems Plus Food, Facts, and Fun for Everyone (Ceres Press, $16.95), says that he is weary of the “eat your vegetables” scolding. He created this book to help kids develop a broad, easy-going relationship with these foods.

The ABC’s of Fruits and Vegetables and Beyond is noteworthy in that it is really two books in one. The first part, the ABC’s, consists of coauthor Steve Charney's clever and zany poems about twenty-six common and unusual fruits and vegetables. Charney is a noted children's entertainer, songwriter, author and literacy promoter. He brings the same genius to the poems as in the songs he wrote for “The Bear in the Big Blue House,” Jim Henson's Emmy-nominated show.

The second part, Beyond the ABC’s, is as the subtitle describes: Food, Facts, and Fun for Everyone. It is the work of David Goldbeck who, as coauthor with Nikki Goldbeck, is known for nine food books, including the bestsellers The Supermarket Handbook and American Wholefoods Cuisine. In Part Two, Goldbeck ,a former elementary school teacher takes kids beyond the ABC’s to a delightful mixture of food lore, recipes, jokes, tongue twisters, unusual facts, shopping tips, and other fun- and thought-provoking activities. Children also discover where many fruits and vegetables come from, learn some Spanish words, and are directed to related books and websites. The forty-three tasty recipes were supplied by Nikki Goldbeck, who served as food editor.

David Goldbeck says that his secret plan is to entice kids to eat these important foods “indirectly, by creating a new relationship with vegetables and fruit that is not just about their nutritional importance.”

Charney and Goldbeck’s wonderful book of poems and activities will appeal to children as they move through elementary school, exploring food and farming using the alphabet to establish their place

I felt like a kid in a candy store. Oooh, aahhh -- beautiful pictures, creative rhymes, and peppered with the best "corny" (what other word could I use) jokes to keeps kids and their parents laughing. I love the activities, the recommended books for further reading, and the mix of photos and drawings. I love the color saturation too...

                                                                       - Melinda Hemmelgarn, M.S., R.D.
                                                                        Food Sleuth, ® LLC
                                                                          Food and Society Policy Fellow

Steve Charney is a nationally known children's entertainer, magician, ventriloquist, songwriter, radio personality and literacy promoter. His books include Hocus Jokus and Kid’s Kookiest Riddles. He is also the co-host, with his dummy Harry, of the radio program “Knock On Wood.” Steve performs at festivals, theaters, and libraries throughout the world and Steve and Harry often promote literacy in schools as well. He has written dozens of songs for Jim Henson's TV show “Bear in the Big Blue House.”

David Goldbeck is coauthor with Nikki Goldbeck of nine food books. These books include the bestsellers The Supermarket Handbook, American Wholefoods Cuisine and, most recently, Healthy Highways. He is the author of The Smart Kitchen. David, trained as a lawyer, has worked as a waiter, produce man, and elementary school teacher.

Maria Burgaleta Larson grew up in New York City and spent her childhood summers in

Cuba

. She is a graduate of The Cooper Union and a Fellow of The American Academy in Rome.

Pages of The ABC’s of Fruits and Vegetables and Beyond can be viewed at http://www.healthyhighways.com/kc/index.htm

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While adults have probably been scolding youngsters to “eat their vegetables” since the beginning of time, making these foods more kid-friendly and interesting may be the way to overcome resistance. That is what food writer David Goldbeck and children’s entertainer Steve Charney propose in their new book, The ABC’s of Fruits and Vegetables and Beyond: Delicious Alphabet Poems Plus Food, Facts, and Fun for Everyone (Ceres Press, $16.95).

David Goldbeck wants to help kids eat better willingly by developing a broad, easy-going relationship with food. To accomplish this, he had Charney write clever fruit and vegetable poems, one for each letter of the alphabet, which will make just about anyone chuckle. The fun – and education – continues in the second half of the book, as Goldbeck pursues many other aspects of the foods featured in the poems.

To encourage a new attitude towards fruits and vegetables, Goldbeck and Charney offer a wealth of fascinating information mixed with irresistible zaniness. Discover:

Goldbeck says that his secret plan is to entice kids to eat these important foods “indirectly, by creating a new relationship with vegetables and fruit that is not just about their nutritional importance.” The ABC’s of Fruits and Vegetables and Beyond provides plenty of opportunity to accomplish this.

Charney and Goldbeck’s wonderful book of poems and activities will appeal to children as they move through elementary school, exploring food and farming using the alphabet to establish their place in history, geography, art, literature, science, the kitchen, and let us not forget jokes and riddles! Even adults will laugh and learn at least a fact or two – and maybe each of us (young and old) will find an interest in trying something new!

                                                                                                                   - Melinda Hemmelgarn, M.S., R.D.
                                                            Food Sleuth, ® LLC
                                                              Writer, Speaker, Columnist
                                                              Food and Society Policy Fellow

What a great book! I’ll share it with my colleagues here. I really like that activity pages that accompany the story.

Maryland State Department of Education School and Community Nutrition Programs Branch

Steve Charney is a nationally known children's entertainer, magician, ventriloquist, songwriter, and radio personality. His books include Hocus Jokus and Kid’s Kookiest Riddles. He is also the co-host, with his dummy Harry, of the radio program “Knock On Wood.” Steve performs at festivals, theaters, and libraries throughout the world and Steve and Harry often promote literacy in schools as well. He has written dozens of songs for Jim Henson's TV show “Bear in the Big Blue House.” Steve eats lots of fruits and vegetables in the beautiful Hudson Valley with his wife, Elise, and dummy, Harry.

Maria Burgaleta Larson grew up in New York City and spent her childhood summers in

Cuba

. She is a graduate of The Cooper Union and a Fellow of The American Academy in Rome. After pursuing a career in graphic art and design, she is now a teacher.

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Message To Kids From David Goldbeck: There’s A Lot More To Fruits And Vegetables Than “Eat Them“

If kids know anything about fruits and vegetables, it is that they should eat them because “they’re good for you.” If parents know anything about fruits and vegetables, it is that health doesn’t sell.

But what if kids grow up relating to these important foods in more novel ways? For example, it is well accepted that children have more interest in foods they have prepared. And what if they have also grown them? Or used them to make invisible ink or greeting cards? Or they were the words that taught them the ABCs? These activities and a lot more are what David Goldbeck encourages and makes easy in the new book he created with the help of children’s entertainer Steve Charney, The ABC's of Fruits and Vegetables and Beyond (Ceres Press, 2007, $16.95)

If you are looking for ways to entice children to put these foods to mouth, you may want to heed Goldbeck’s advice.

Steve Charney’s clever poems in the first half of The ABC’s of Fruits and Vegetables and Beyond offer a new and fun-filled opportunity to teach reading while introducing these key foods at an early age. Best of all - everyone will enjoy reading (and saying) lines like:

As kids grow, learning some other aspects of fruits and vegetables, (in addition to growing and cooking) keeps them engaged. Thus, in the second half the book, kids begin to move beyond the ABCs and become interested for other reasons. Eventually, they can entertain themselves and others with their fruit and vegetable expertise. Discover:

Travel the world with Goldbeck and Charney to discover where many foods come from.

People are often disappointed by the taste of fruits and vegetables because they don’t know how to select, store and prepare them. Discover:

One of the best ways to get kids to eat well is to encourage them to cook. With the forty-three recipes created by nutritionist Nikki Goldbeck, kids can help make such delicacies as:

Research shows that a minimum of three exposures may be needed before kids become comfortable with new foods. Along with eating them, kids learn to make:

There are hundreds more ways to attract children to read about fruits and vegetables, talk about them, joke about them, recite poems about them, and even eat them. They are found in The ABC’s of Fruits and Vegetables and Beyond.

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