On Friday, Michelle Obama will begin digging up a patch of White House lawn to plant a vegetable garden, the first since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden in World War II. There will be no beets (the president doesn’t like them) but arugula will make the cut.

While the organic garden will provide food for the first family’s meals and formal dinners, its most important role, Mrs. Obama said, will be to educate children about healthful, locally grown fruit and vegetables at time when obesity has become a national concern.

Do you think these folks could find a good use for it? I sure could. And if everyone I know got the same amount, I wouldn’t have to help anyone out. We’d all be doing just fine, instantly. We could pay our bills, get out of debt, save, buy homes, invest in education… and all that money would trickle UP instead of DOWN. Businesses would be saved. Taxes would get paid. We’d be back on track again.

It’s freakin’ brilliant, if I do say so. Why didn’t anyone in Washington think of this?

What would you do with your quarter mil?

The President and First Lady, head-bumping on Inauguration Night

Sami and Rafe find out this week that Hilda has been murdered by the mayor’s killer. Realizing that the killer is getter close to finding them, Rafe takes Sami to the convent for safekeeping.

I like to think of Patti as the Heather of our partnership, and me as the Jon [without the marriage, kids and dogs]. She writes, I tech. Perfect.

I wonder if giving every American a quarter of a million in cold cash would solve the economic crisis. It would sure solve mine.

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Watch the video and see if you aren’t itching to go make a loan by the time it’s done.

A Fistful Of Dollars: The Story of a Kiva.org Loan from Kieran Ball on Vimeo.

Remember: YOU GET YOUR MONEY BACK. So you can loan it to somebody else if you want. Oh–and you get to choose who gets the loan. So. Cool.

I’ve had a horrible diet most of my life [think Diet Coke and Doritos], until the past few years since I switched to organic, whole foods. No wonder my health went down the toilet — um, pardon the metaphor. But I really had no idea how delicious healthy eating could be. Still working on eating more vegetables because I get tired standing in the kitchen preparing them, but I’m getting there.

Below is an excellent article from the NY Times. Obviously, not all of us can tolerate all of these foods, so start slow if you haven’t tried something before. Or even if not–I just realized a few days ago that I’m allergic to cinnamon, for instance. Gah. I LOVE cinnamon and had been putting it daily in my breakfast quinoa, herbal tea, and canned pumpkin [on the list and a real treat, btw].

The 11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating

Nutritionist and author Jonny Bowden has created several lists of healthful foods people should be eating but aren’t. But some of his favorites, like purslane, guava and goji berries, aren’t always available at regular grocery stores. I asked Dr. Bowden, author of “The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth,” to update his list with some favorite foods that are easy to find but don’t always find their way into our shopping carts. Here’s his advice.

• Beets: Think of beets as red spinach, Dr. Bowden said, because they are a rich source of folate as well as natural red pigments that may be cancer fighters.
  How to eat: Fresh, raw and grated to make a salad. Heating decreases the antioxidant power.
• Cabbage: Loaded with nutrients like sulforaphane, a chemical said to boost cancer-fighting enzymes.

I understand cabbage can be hard on the digestive system, so I don’t eat it as often as I’d like, but my favorite way to fix it is to saute it in some olive oil with salt and pepper until soft and slightly caramelized. Yum! Of course, I can’t do anything food-related moderately: I fix up a whole plate of it when I want to pig out, and feel hardly any guilt at all.

How do you like to fix your favorite healthy foods?