With the price of everything on the rise, we’re all tempted to cut back on buying organics and wild seafood, which can put a big dent in the pocketbook.

But there’s a way to still enjoy all of that — and eat it, too.

The key is to choose wisely. That’s the message in my latest posting on the Slow Food Nation blog, which gives tips and advice on eating right in these economically challenging times.

During more than a decade of food writing, I’ve had the pleasure of judging a number of notable food contests, including the Gilroy Garlic Cook-Off, the Castroville Artichoke Festival Cook-Off, the short-lived “Food Fight” TV show competition, and of course, the Pillsbury Bake-Off.

So when I told my friends that I had been asked recently to judge a cook-off at a San Jose nursing home, I got more than a few odd looks.

But I have a soft spot for the work nursing homes do, as my late Mom spent her last weeks in one. I’m familiar with the challenges these facilities face, given the dietary and budgetary constraints they must work with.

So I was intrigued when Cindy Dahl, a registered dietitian with Plum Healthcare Group and a former San Diego restaurateur, asked me to be on the judging panel for the “Top Plum Chef” competition. Cooks from Plum Healthcare Group’s 16 California facilities would battle by cooking a specific dish. The winners advance to the next round, where they cook another specific dish. The two finalists then will square off in a cook-off in San Diego for a chance to win $500, a set of knives, a plaque, and bragging rights.

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If you’re a connoisseur of toro, the richest, silkiest and fattiest part of the belly of a bluefin tuna, you’ll want to know about a new tuna, Kindai, that’s being served at a handful of the Bay Area’s top restaurants, including the French Laundry in Yountville, Manresa in Los Gatos, and the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco.

Wild bluefin tuna has been severely overfished in the past decades. But Kindai is the first farmed tuna raised in captivity from eggs. And it’s the result of 32 years of research by Kinki University’s Fisheries Laboratory in Japan.

Only one shipment comes in each week from Japan. And the Bay Area is one of the few places that gets it. The Kindai tuna is distributed in this area by Hayward’s IMP Foods, Inc., which supplies seafood to the Bay Area’s best sushi bars. Read more about Kindai tuna in my story today in the San Francisco Chronicle’s Food section. 

If you’re a woman who’s concerned about heart disease, where’s the best place to live to help do your body good?

According to a just-released study by the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women campaign, the San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland metropolitan area weighs in at No. 3 among the largest metro areas that are best for women’s health. The Bay Area is just behind the No. 2-ranked Washington DC area, and the top-ranked Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The metro area that wins the dubious honor of least heart friendly for women? The Nashville area.

Heart disease remains the No. 1 killer of women nationwide — claiming the lives of 460,000 women per year. Cardiovascular disease also kills far more women than it does men.

The study examined the heart health of the 200 most populous U.S. metro areas. The Bay Area scored the lowest BMI (body mass index) among the large metros, and the best score for healthy eating (thanks to our enviable produce). The Bay Area also had among the best scores for regular exercise, commuting by bicycle or walking, cigarette smoking and diabetes diagnoses.

In general, California has some of the nation’s strongest legislation for smoke-free workplaces and restaurants. The Bay Area’s lowest scores came in the categories of cardiologists per capita, drinking alcohol (well, we are home to so many great wineries), and number of teaching hospitals per capita. The percentage of women having recent routine checkups was also below par.

Here’s how the regions stacked up:

Most Heart Friendly Big Cities for Women
1. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington
2. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
3. San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland
4. Denver-Aurora
5. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy
6. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
7. Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton
8. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos
9. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana
10. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale

Least Heart Friendly Big Cities for Women
1. Nashville-Davidson-Murfeesboro
2. St. Louis
3. Detroit-Warren-Livonia
4. Pittsburgh
5. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
6. Columbus
7. Cincinnati-Middletown
8. Las Vegas-Paradise
9. Cleveland-Byria-Mentor
10. Indianapolis

Get a free “Go Red Heart Style Guide,” with tips, recipes and a free magazine subscription, by clicking here. Keep your heart healthy by eating nutritionally balanced meals; exercising regularly; and by monitoring your blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, and weight.