birthday idea, birthday theme I'm planning on throwing a birthday party for my girlfriend who is into healthy eating and decided I'd use the birthday theme of eating sensibly and well. It's going to be a potluck and I've told everyone what the birthday idea is, and suggested that they bring the dish that they cook that tastes the best and is the healthiest, and to bring recipes for it, too, to swap with each other. Everyone seems to like the birthday idea, and I think that we will have a delicious, although unpredictable, meal. The book pictured here, Food Rules, is one I found online a while ago and I've learned a lot about smart eating from it. I started my hunt for this book at Shop On Mine at www.shoponmine.com/, and successfully found the book I was looking for.

Lately so much has been uncovered about how important natural food is to the human body and how corporate farming has changed what and the way we eat. Since my friend is big into these topics and reads about them continuously, I thought that it would make a great birthday idea for her party. She doesn't want presents, being past the age where she needs anything, but if someone brings along a cookbook or two to share with her or others, we sure won't mind.

In fact, my friend has a book exchange every spring when they throw their May Day party, so our friends and I are used to swapping books from time to time. We live pretty green lives and the birthday idea of having a healthy dinner and swapping recipe ideas is consistent with how we live our lives. I'm known for making delicious bread, so I'll have to learn to make my famous focaccia for this birthday theme with whole wheat flour instead of the white that I've mastered. I'll also use organic tomatoes and feta cheese in it too. One thing I have to agree with is that organic food tastes so much better than non organic, so if I want to impress the party guests, I'll use the best fresh tomatoes I can find. I may even go as far as blanching organic cherry tomatoes to make the topping since cherry tomatoes taste infinitely better than grocery store tomatoes this time of year.

It is really fun to come up with birthday ideas or themes that people will enjoy and I'm hoping her birthday party will be a lot of fun for all of us. The food should be good and pairing the different wine that folks will bring with food dishes that they bring will also be an adventure.