Organic

 
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    Organic Nature News

  • The dangers of lead

    8 Feb 2010 | 7:28 pm
    Learn about the dangers of lead in common products from children's toys to personal care products.

  • organic baby products

    20 Jan 2010 | 4:59 pm
    Find your organic baby products here. Organic cotton and wool clothing and bedding, and organic baby food. When only the best will do.

  • organic wine

    18 Jan 2010 | 12:36 pm
    As more and more organic vineyards develop throughout the world, consumers have more choices for quality organic wine. A partial list of them is given.

  • organic farming - its history and its impact today

    18 Jan 2010 | 9:38 am
    A history of organic farming and its impact on the organics movement today. With links to IFOAM and other resources.

  • organic food

    18 Jan 2010 | 8:59 am
    organic food categories continue to grow. Here is a list of the major ones, with links to favorite websites.
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    Organic Authority

  • Gotta Get My Puppy Fix

    Barbara Feiner
    7 Feb 2010 | 10:18 am
    Football has never been on my must-see list, so I cannot name the quarterbacks who will lead either the New Orleans Saints or Indianapolis Colts to victory during today’s Snowmageddon-weekend Super Bowl championship. What I can tell you is that Dixon (right) is one of the 43 puppies who will play, punt and pee during Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl VI, which airs 3 to 5 p.m. (ET/PT) today, with five consecutive repeats. Featuring a 20-kitten halftime show, bunny cheerleaders and hamster correspondents in a small blimp, the action-packed event has earned the American Humane Association’s No…

  • Organic Bombay Popcorn

    Barbara Feiner
    6 Feb 2010 | 10:00 am
    Popcorn is a whole grain that’s naturally low in fat and calories, while high in complex carbohydrates and fiber. It has no artificial additives or preservatives, and it’s sugar-free. Air-popped popcorn has only 31 calories per cup, while oil-popped popcorn weighs in at only 55 calories per cup. When lightly buttered, popcorn contains about 133 calories per cup. Today’s Super Bowl-ready recipe transforms the everyday into the exotic. Organic curry powder offers a spicy change of pace, with toasted coconut, golden raisins and sliced almonds as optional additions. Organic Bombay Popcorn…

  • Chicken Mini Meat Loaves

    Barbara Feiner
    5 Feb 2010 | 9:49 am
    There are two types of moms: those whose meat loaf became your ultimate comfort food and those who served scary bricks of incinerated beef.  As San Francisco Chroniclereporter Amanda Gold points out, meat loaf “has both staunch supporters and fervent detractors. But no matter whether it’s considered jail food or the stuff of happy childhood memories, it has made a definite resurgence in recent years, especially in local restaurants.” These days, many of us substitute ground chicken or turkey for the traditional ground beef in an effort to reduce consumption of red meat. Baking…

  • Farm Aid News

    Barbara Feiner
    4 Feb 2010 | 10:25 am
    Singer Neil Young was honored Friday as the MusiCares Person of the Year for his artistic accomplishments and philanthropic work with Farm Aid and The Bridge School, a California organization that assists disabled children.  A Farm Aid cofounder and board member, Young has worked for decades to help family farmers compete against Big Agribusiness.  “For 25 years, my friend Neil has been an impassioned champion of family farmers,” says Farm Aid President Willie Nelson. “He rallies concertgoers year after year at our show, and he relentlessly calls on Washington to reverse the bad…

  • Teasing the Taste Buds with Truffles

    Barbara Feiner
    3 Feb 2010 | 11:38 am
    The Fifth Annual Oregon Truffle Festival concluded its run on Sunday, showcasing what gastronomy experts call the ultimate mushroom. Truffles are found naturally throughout North American woodlands and are poised to become the next big culinary trend. “With seven truffle orchards in production around the country, and dozens more about to reach producing age, an American truffle industry is about to be born, following in the footsteps of the American wine industry,” says festival organizer and mycologist Charles Lefevre, PhD. Some of the state’s premier chefs prepared luscious dishes for…
 
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    Science Daily: Organic Farming News

  • Solutions to climate change: Using trees and grasses to capture carbon and produce energy

    29 Jan 2010 | 5:00 am
    A unique research project in the UK is investigating how coppiced trees and grass crops can be used both to generate renewable energy and to trap carbon in the soil over the long term.

  • From the ancient Amazonian Indians: 'Biochar' as a modern weapon against global warming

    14 Jan 2010 | 11:00 am
    Scientists are reporting that "biochar" -- a material that the Amazonian Indians used to enhance soil fertility centuries ago -- has potential in the modern world to help slow global climate change. Mass production of biochar could capture and sock away carbon that otherwise would wind up in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas.

  • Protection of organic products taken to next level

    4 Jan 2010 | 8:00 pm
    Ready-to-eat, organic processed pork products look similar to conventionally cured meats. The organic versions have become popular among consumers as processors work to meet the demand. Although the natural and organic processed meat products are manufactured to simulate traditionally cured meat products as closely as possible, they're not exactly alike.

  • Fertilizer use not always helpful in revegetation efforts

    21 Dec 2009 | 11:00 pm
    Revegetation efforts in a subarctic Quebec community show that not all plants respond favorably to the use of fertilizers. Agricultural researchers used organic and mineral fertilizers on three different species of plants with mixed results. Vegetation in the community is damaged because of land development and the use of all terrain vehicles.

  • Vermicompost from pig manure grows healthy hibiscus

    17 Dec 2009 | 8:00 pm
    Vermicomposting, using earthworms to turn waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer, can be an economical, organic waste management practice. The resulting product, called vermicompost, or worm castings, can be an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional substrate additives for producing container-grown plants. Researchers experimented with pine bark amended with vermicompost derived from pig manure to produce healthy hibiscus. The study suggests that dolomitic lime, sulfated micronutrients, and phosphorous can be eliminated as substrate additives.
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    Organic Garden

  • Cold Climate Composting

    2 Feb 2010 | 9:58 am
    As my friend Mort Mather says, the soil is your bank. You can't make withdrawals unless you make deposits. I get composting straw and manure from Nectar Hills Farm (where we also get the beef for our grass-fed gourmet beef jerky), which I mix with my kitchen waste to create compost that I then deposit into the soil bank so I can make fresh veggie withdrawals. Mort and I are both lazy gardeners, meaning we like to let nature do as much of the work as possible, and we just help her along.Last winter, though, my compost pile (which, by the way, lowers my carbon footprint considerably, since that…

  • Ant Wars!

    24 Jan 2010 | 9:32 am
    A very good friend of mine from my stagehand days recently bought a house--a fixer upper in ant country--and asked for some help on that front.Ants go where the food is, so first, make sure there's nothing for them to eat. This is most important! Cut off their supplies!Now the battle can begin!Put out the ant baits you can buy anywhere, but put them outside near their homes. I used to use those metal stakes that go in the ground. They work for a while, but eventually they learn to avoid them, so you have to keep changing brands. This is the artillery to soften them up a little.Find where…

  • Community Supported Agriculture

    9 Jan 2010 | 2:59 pm
    This is an interesting post on Grist: It takes a community to sustain a small farm. It doesn't mention CSAs, community supported agriculture, where local residents purchase "shares" of a farm, which guarantees delivery of a set amount of food over a period of time, usually a year. But it does address the issues small, local farms face, considering that agribusiness has been putting the little guys--from farmers to butchers to truck drivers and grocers--out of business for a long time now.Our local and organic grass-fed highlander beef (very lean), which we use for our Happy Hobo Grass-fed…

  • Robin's Best Grass-fed Beef Jerky Ever!

    18 Dec 2009 | 8:30 am
    If you're lucky enough to be up here in the walk-in freezer that is upstate New York this weekend, you'll want to swing by the Cooperstown Farmer's Market, the last of the year, for the best Happy Hobo grass-fed beef jerky Robin's ever made.The grass-fed Highlander's top round that this batch of jerky is made from is, as we're told, as good as they get, having spent the whole summer eating grass from the fields of Nectar Hills Farm here in central New York's leatherstocking region. When the cows have been out in the fields eating grass all summer, they fatten up and become especially…

  • White House Hoops

    16 Dec 2009 | 10:16 am
    Good looking and inexpensive hoop houses are the focus of this White House Blog post by Sam Kass, assistant chef and Food Initiative Coordinator for the WH.Glad to see they're growing all my favorites, especially mustard greens! I wish I'd had the time to put in some hoops over my greens. Too busy of a year-end for us to get out there and do much.I'm looking forward to seeing what lives through being mulched, buried under a blanket of snow for a few months, and then uncovered in the spring. I know the spinach plants will start up again, but I also mulched some small mustard, collards, mizuna,…
 
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    We Want Organic Food

  • South Carolina’s Milky Way Farm sells the greatest raw milk and cream

    George Vigil
    24 Jan 2010 | 6:11 am
    As we are somewhat new to the Carolinas, we were delighted to find that L.D. Peeler’s Milky Way Farm in located in Starr, South Carolina, sells its natural dairy products locally — locally to us, that is. They have a schedule of places to pick it up as well as various stores and markets in [...]

  • What’s Your Beef butcher in Charlotte, NC

    George Vigil
    24 Jan 2010 | 2:44 am
    Since moving from Los Angeles to southern Charlotte, North Carolina, we’d been looking for places that sell minimally processed food, such as natural foods and organic foods. While searching the web, we discovered What’s Your Beef, a butcher shop/deli that sells only natural meats of all kinds. They moved up to Charlotte’s Ballantyne area from [...]

  • In the News: 2010 January

    Diane Vigil
    16 Jan 2010 | 11:06 pm
    Curry spice ‘kills cancer cells’? Mercola: Mounting Debilities and Deaths from H1N1 Vaccine Swine flu shot link to killer nerve disease Guillain-Barre Syndrome (Definition) Starting to get crowded in 100-year-olds’ club Mercola: Pelosi’s Disastrous Health Care Plan Whole Foods Market importing from China … OCA Forums Discussion Hidden Danger in Your Milk? — FoxBGHsuit.com Tainted Vaccines a Conspiracy to Provoke a Pandemic? FDA Slams [...]

  • Aches, Energy and Vitamin B12

    Diane Vigil
    9 Jan 2010 | 6:21 pm
    Dr. Mercola’s Vitamin B-12 So I was sitting around the other evening (a while back, when we were back in Los Angeles), wondering why I felt … rather worn out, with strange achy pains in my legs. I normally don’t get sick (and I wasn’t), so that wasn’t it. After pondering a while, I wondered if it [...]

  • How About Roasting a Goose for Christmas Dinner?

    Lynn Cameron
    19 Dec 2009 | 9:10 am
    For Christmas dinner this year, serve a savory, roasted goose — a fresh-from-the-farm bird if you can find one. Even though early American settlers had an unlimited supply of wild turkey, old European custom prevailed at holiday dinners, especially with the roasting of the Christmas goose. Geese mate for life and are an ancient, long-lived [...]
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    Organic Foodee

  • India hates Genetically Modified food

    Ysanne Spevack
    9 Feb 2010 | 11:08 am
    “We shouldn’t be a part of a system that will destroy traditional seeds and crops and allow multinational corporations to infringe on the agriculture sector.” Indian Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan, saying Genetically Modified food would lead to the ‘colonization’ of the food sector. The Guardian UK, 9 February 2010.

  • How much money farmers get

    Ysanne Spevack
    5 Feb 2010 | 11:01 am
    Out of every dollar we spend at a store, only 8 cents makes it back to the farmer.

  • Organic food isn’t posh

    Ysanne Spevack
    2 Feb 2010 | 4:10 pm
    “The paradox is there’s this view that organic is elitist, it’s expensive, it’s a lifestyle choice for people who can afford it. As far as I’m concerned it’s not elitist to believe everyone should have the right to high-quality, nutritious food from sustainable farming systems. What’s elitist is that a handful of corporations have got a vice-like grip on the farming systems and food.” Patrick Holden, Soil Association director, rejecting claims that organic is expensive and elitist.

  • Monsanto seed business role revealed

    Ysanne Spevack
    29 Jan 2010 | 7:07 pm
    Confidential contracts detailing Monsanto Co.’s business practices reveal how the world’s biggest seed developer is squeezing competitors, controlling smaller seed companies and protecting its dominance over the multibillion-dollar market for genetically altered crops, an Associated Press investigation has found. With Monsanto’s patented genes being inserted into roughly 95 percent of all soybeans and 80 percent of all corn grown in the U.S., the company also is using its wide reach to control the ability of new biotech firms to get wide distribution for their products,…

  • Cheap meat

    Ysanne Spevack
    27 Jan 2010 | 12:34 pm
    “None of us want to be able to buy animals that have been tortured before you eat them, but it is very difficult to make the right choices when product is so cheap.” Tracey Worcester, writer and director of Pig Business
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    Vegetarian Organic Blog

  • Last Apples of the Season!

    2 Feb 2010 | 12:27 pm
    I was buying apples at the farmer's market Sunday (as usual), when my favorite apple farmer informed me that I wouldn't be seeing him until next fall (I try to eat seasonally and only locally grown fruits and vegetables). To my dismay, he said that the apple season is over in this area (San Francisco Bay Area). I did the only natural thing one can do; I bought more apples, of course! I ended up with a half of a case of fujis and pink ladies. Walking home for almost a mile with 22 pounds of apples in an awkward box, plus another 15 pounds of other produce in my basket hanging from my shoulder…

  • Feeling Cold? Bake Some Squash!

    30 Jan 2010 | 9:45 am
    On a cold winter morning or a cold winter night, for that matter, there's nothing like baking some delicious winter squash to warm you up -- and even warm up your house. I love baking in the winter, and find joy in being able to use the oven not just to bake things but also to keep the house warm instead of turning on the heater. (See my previous newsletter feature about how to bake winter squash.)

  • The Best Coconut Ever!

    25 Nov 2009 | 6:31 am
    The humble coconut is a truly incredible food. People lost at sea have survived by eating them, even including their husks. I feel lucky to be able to have them all the time (I usually buy a couple of coconuts every time I grocery shop). I just enjoyed the most amazing coconut ever. Not only it was the most delicious coconut I have ever tasted, but it also broke the record for the quantity of water I’ve ever gotten from a single coconut. It contained a whopping 24 ounces of pure, refreshing and delightfully sweet-like-honey juice. I’m still in disbelief. And its meat was simply out of…

  • Last Grapes of the Season!

    24 Nov 2009 | 10:16 pm
    While shopping at the Santa Barbara's farmer's market today for Thanksgiving dinner, I purchased two pounds of grapes. As I paid, the farmer said, "thank you, we'll see you next May." I was shocked and horrified and asked, "what do you mean next May?" He said that grapes season is over, and that I was buying from the very last and final harvest of the season. May is such a long time away and I had to ask again, "not until next May?" Naturally, there was only one thing for me to do. I bought some more grapes, three more pounds to be exact. I got home and my husband was shocked to see the large…

  • Is Millennium the Best Restaurant In the World?

    6 Nov 2009 | 1:45 pm
    On a recent visit to San Francisco, I enjoyed the best meal and dining experience I’ve had at a restaurant in a long time—it happened at Millennium. From the mouth-watering food to the impeccable service, the innovation and attention to detail at Millennium is unparalleled. I've eaten at Millennium many times over the years, and it's always great. But unlike most visionary restaurants I've enjoyed, Millennium just keeps getting better and better. Millennium used to be a tiny restaurant located in some vaguely unfashionable hotel in the not-so-fashionable part of the San Francisco Civic…
 
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    Natural Health & Organic Living

  • The Health Benefits of Calcium Orotate

    jeff
    4 Feb 2010 | 3:42 pm
    You may be familiar with the human body’s need for calcium. Calcium enables us to have strong bones and prevents bone loss diseases such as osteoporosis. But depleted calcium levels in your body spans far beyond the scope of weakened bones. Studies done at the Osteoporosis Research Center at Creighton University have found that calcium plays a major role in a multitude of the body’s functions. And unfortunately, estimates from federal health statistics show that only 20% of Americans are getting the levels of calcium required for proper body function, especially those…

  • The Benefits of Lithium Orotate

    jeff
    1 Feb 2010 | 12:05 pm
    An alkali metal related to sodium and potassium, lithium has been traditionally used within allopathic medicine to treat mental imbalances such as anxiety and depression. However, there are many side effects to taking this strong mineral, as the body poorly absorbs the standard forms of lithium Carbonate. That is, until lithium orotate was discovered. Learn More About Lithium Orotate Lithium orotate offers superior bio-utilization for the human body, allowing the mineral to penetrate the mitochondria, glia and lysosomes that exist within the intracellular structures of our cells. The mineral…

  • Announcement: We Are Offically Certified Organic!

    jeff
    28 Jan 2010 | 1:59 pm
       We are very proud to announce Global Healing Center’s farm, Earth Harmony Organics is now a member of the Organic Trade Association (OTA) and certified by the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), plus certified as USDA Organic (United States Department of Agriculture). For more information about these organizations and certification processes, please see the links below. Organic Trade Association California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) USDA National Organic Program Photos from the Farm: Here are a few of my favorite photos from the farm. Click here to see the…

  • The Benefits of Potassium Iodide

    jeff
    26 Jan 2010 | 10:12 am
    Learn More About Iodine Supplements There are many forms of potassium, but the potassium salt form of iodine is called potassium iodide (KI). This vital mineral is an excellent source of iodine. Iodine is needed for the healthy function of the thyroid gland. If you are lacking in this mineral, or if you have too much potassium iodide in the the gland, major health concerns can ensue. Potassium iodide has several clear health benefits, and many are related to the functioning of the thyroid. The following section will outline some of the major health benefits of the mineral. Potassium Iodide…

  • The Benefits of Zinc Orotates

    jeff
    21 Jan 2010 | 12:27 pm
    Zinc Orotate is a mineral salt found in the human body in trace amounts. Discovered by Dr. Hans Nieper, each molecule of zinc orotate is composed of two molecules of orotic acid and one zinc atom. Learn More About Zinc Orotates This innovative German doctor found that this particular form of zinc was more readily absorbed by the human body, and thus was more indicative for the treatment and prevention of disease. Nieper also showed that zinc orotate, when compared to zinc carbonates, chlorides and sulfates, provided increased bioavailability in the body. Many of us are aware that zinc is an…
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    What is Organic Living?

  • Different taste ?

    silentkiller
    8 Feb 2010 | 3:40 am
    How Can you taste the difference between organic and non organic food?

  • Bad for health

    silentkiller
    8 Feb 2010 | 3:30 am
    I think we should avoid many Chinese products coz they really bad for health, from toys to food. Most of them ar5e offered for a cheap price and they might contain very harmful chemicals. If buying products from china better choose a recommended manufacturer. :D

  • House dust mites

    Jessika
    2 Feb 2010 | 12:36 pm
    House dust mites produce allergens that known to be among the most common triggers of asthma. According to the American College of Asthma, Allergy & Immunology, approximately 10 percent of Americans exhibit allergic sensitivity to dust mites... To read more follow link:http://www.onlinebasicessentials.com.../DustMite.aspx

  • House Dust Mite Allergy solutions

    Jessika
    2 Feb 2010 | 12:32 pm
    House dust mites produce allergens that known to be among the most common triggers of asthma. According to the American College of Asthma, Allergy & Immunology, approximately 10 percent of Americans exhibit allergic sensitivity to dust mites... To read more follow the link: http://www.onlinebasicessentials.com.../DustMite.aspx If the above URL does not work, please use your Web browser to go to: http://www.onlinebasicessentials.com.../DustMite.aspx

  • Organic Cotton Bedding Vs Non-Organic

    Jessika
    2 Feb 2010 | 12:20 pm
    There is an interesting article about organic and non-organic cotton production http://www.onlinebasicessentials.com/Archive/OrganicCotton.aspx
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    Tiny Farm Blog

  • Play in mud!

    Mike (tfb)
    29 Jan 2010 | 11:14 am
    A mid-winter flashback to one of my favorite farm photos—it’s just so…hands-on. On the tiny farm, many of the things we otherwise consider inconvenient, like rain and MUD, are actually just fine. Sunny days are NICER, but there’s plenty of room for wet as well. Originally posted on Friday, Aug. 8, 2008, when we were harvesting-around-the-rain.  (That’s Michelle.)

  • Winter storage

    Mike (tfb)
    18 Dec 2009 | 8:30 am
    [Backpost for Dec-14-2009] Snow’s here—it’s definitely overwinter storage time! Winter storage is a little different every year, as needs, facilities, and plans change. This time around, a fair bit of gear is in the 20′x32′ (~6×10 m) hoophouse, with its full sun exposure and fairly extreme temperature spread (from double-digit subzero at night, to 80-100°F/25-38°C on a sunny day!). Sooo, you don’t want to be storing just anything in there. Anything that’s damaged by freezing isn’t a good idea. And plastics that aren’t UV-resistant will…

  • Snow pile

    Mike (tfb)
    10 Dec 2009 | 5:59 am
    A familiar season-marking sight for anyone in snow territory, this is the start of what may turn out to be a growing, winter-long snow bank. The mini-blizzards of the last couple of days laid down at least 7-10 cm (3-4″). Road clearing mixes up dirty snow in hard-packed windrows, and driveway clearing creates mini-mountain piles. Will it stay or will it go? The indoor part of tiny farming veggies in a cold climate begins…

  • Chickens: ranging too far

    Mike (tfb)
    8 Dec 2009 | 9:31 am
    [For Jul-8-2009] These guys, the White Rock Cornish X meat birds, have free-ranged too far, making it to the edge of the veggie garden in the big field. Luckily, although it looks good in the photo, this all-lettuce mesclun is done, cut at least twice and now too full of damaged and crowded, stretched leaves to make harvesting for market worthwhile. So, the chickens are actually putting it to good use. But  of course, they won’t stop here. So far, they’ve been completely free to roam during the day. I count and shut ‘em in out of harm’s way at night, and pop open the…

  • Front yard farming!

    Mike (tfb)
    5 Dec 2009 | 7:38 pm
    Often heard about, never before seen first-hand, this is front-yard tiny farming in action—late fall edition. I’m at the home of Andrew and Sue and Margo, in a town of 70,000, leaning on the front porch rail on a residential street lined with single homes on small lots. Typical front lawns all along. Except here, where the grass is gone, replaced by an eclectic collection of veggies and herbs. Beets, carrots, tomatoes, corn and several other crops are already gone for the season. Still up and struggling along in the cold, there’s colorful Swiss chard in a couple of spots,…
 
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    Garden Mandy

  • Every Potted Plant Needs A Turntable For Even Sun Exposure

    Mandy
    4 Feb 2010 | 2:12 pm
    Anyone with a houseplant can tell you how devastating winter can be. Sure, they are inside, protected from the elements. But, it’s not the winter weather that wreaks havoc on you indoor plants, it’s the lighting. You know what I am talking about. The winter sun just isn’t strong enough, so only half your plant gets enough sun to stay healthy and green. If you want to the other side to continue to stay healthy you have to rotate the pot a couple times a week. This may not sound that difficult but some of us have huge houseplants with very heavy pots. The thought of muscling the pot every…

  • Going Bald? Check Your Diet BEFORE You Reach For The Rogaine

    mandy
    15 Oct 2009 | 7:00 am
    In this day and age, it is common for consumers to reach for the nearest pill, product or palliative for nearly any uncomfortable condition before considering if they themselves might be causing their condition by some remediable behavior. Baldness is no different, and before one runs off to buy a box of Rogaine or other hair-growth stimulant, it would be wise to consider one’s diet and health habits first. A Healthy Diet The first ingredient necessary for healthy hair is a healthy diet. If you are consuming too much processed, chemical-laden food and not enough fresh vegetables, fruits,…

  • Looking For A Youthful Glow?

    mandy
    14 Oct 2009 | 7:00 am
    Taking care of one’s skin should be one of the most important things we do every day. Let’s face it, without healthy skin everything else pretty much falls apart, doesn’t it? Treating our skin well will prevent damage that can cause problems later as mild as more wrinkles than we would like, or as severe as deadly skin cancer. Caring for our skin now will definitely have a high payoff later. Treat Your Skin Gently First, remember to treat your skin gently. Harsh chemicals and painful scrubbing just aren’t necessary to cleanse the skin, especially the sensitive skin of your face. A…

  • Listen Up Ladies- Foods To Help With Natural Beauty

    mandy
    13 Oct 2009 | 7:00 am
    Women love to be beautiful…it’s just a fact of nature. The truth is, women through the centuries have passed down their beauty secrets to younger generations often believing that their methods were the best, the purest, or the most effective means to procuring beauty. Some of these secrets are far-fetched, bordering on ridiculous, but others are worth their weight in gold in our modern world where so many beauty products are laden with chemicals, toxic substances, or at best worthless snake oil. Here are a few time-honored words of wisdom for women seeking natural beauty. Well Balanced…

  • Giant Panda On The Verge Of Extinction

    mandy
    12 Oct 2009 | 7:00 am
    The Giant Panda has been in trouble for decades, but the problems seem to only be getting worse for this endangered creature. As China develops its vast amounts of land, crisscrossing the terrain with highways and roads, the habitat of the giant Panda is being divided into smaller and smaller sections. The Pandas usually will not cross highways where traffic and noise are foreign to them, so they stay in their area and suffer from the reduction of socializing with other Pandas. This has lead to a persistent reduction in their ability to find a mate and produce offspring, while increasing the…
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    Organic on the Green

  • Organic Farming for Credit

    nm8387
    7 Feb 2010 | 7:53 pm
    By Nina Merrill I had the privilege of spending my last semester of Colgate University on a study group in Santa Fe, New Mexico. One component of this Native American Studies program, which I participated in from August to December of 2009, expected each student to volunteer on a nearby Native American pueblo (or village) for the course of the semester. With my passion for organic agriculture and sustainability in mind, it should come as no shock that I jumped on the opportunity to work on a local organic Indian farm. On my first day working on the Tesuque Pueblo Organic Farm, I wrote the…

  • Cost-conscious: Your Wallet meets Jiminy Cricket

    nm8387
    1 Feb 2010 | 8:00 pm
    By Casey Schmidt The organic movement… I remember when that phrase first entered my consciousness, I was in high school. I didn’t buy my own groceries, or shampoo, or cleaning products, or much of anything really; but I insisted that my Mom buy organic. She chose not to, however; not because of my lack of pestering, but because of the constraints of our family budget. Buying all-organic all-the-time for a family of five just wasn’t possible for us, it wasn’t “cost-effective”. Now I’m in college and working part-time minimum-wage jobs to get by, and…

  • Organic. Its Worth it in Schools.

    nm8387
    28 Jan 2010 | 8:44 am
    Looking for a new way to bring organic to your college campus? Have a younger sibling whose school could benefit from having greater access to organic food? The Organic Trade Association (OTA) can help! This spring, OTA is helping schools access and offer students more organic food with a national contest to award a winning school with an organically grown garden or an organic vending machine. With its “Organic. Its Worth it in Schools.” initiative, OTA – which represents more than 1,400 organic food and product companies – is calling on teachers, parents, students, educators and…

  • This Thanksgiving, take action to end the harvest of shame in the fields

    sfalliance
    23 Nov 2009 | 7:38 am
    by Student/Farmworker Alliance In just a few days, many of us will gather with our families around a table brimming with turkey and all the trimmings to reflect upon all that we are thankful for—from another year of health and happiness to the football game we’ll watch over our second slice of pumpkin pie. Unfortunately, during this holiday that traditionally celebrated a bountiful harvest, many of us will remain unaware that conditions for this nation’s farmworkers have changed little since, nearly 50 years ago, renowned journalist Edward R. Murrow’s “Harvest of…

  • A Higher Education: Learning to Cook

    verarae
    1 Nov 2009 | 7:27 pm
    a pot of beans by Vera Fabian I recently finished my 2nd year as a Garden Teacher at The Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, CA.  I was preparing for a big move across country and a big goodbye to hundreds of students I had come to know and love while working alongside them in the garden and the kitchen classroom.  Many of them were preparing themselves for the move to high school and the goodbye to 3 years at King Middle School.  During our last class with the graduating 8th graders, we asked them to share one thing they had learned in their time at The Edible Schoolyard that they would…
 
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    The Organic Beauty Expert

  • Recession Proof Beauty:: Weleda Pomegranate Collection

    Andrea Kane
    26 Jan 2010 | 1:44 pm
    I'm not interested in spending a whole lot of money for the basic skin care stuff, but I do still require that my products have more natural ingredients than not.So I've become an avid shopper in the aisles of Target and CVS. If you're like me, a green girl on a budget who still likes to shop, check out the Pomegranate Body Care line from Weleda, launched in Fall 2009. Prices range from $12.50 to $28.

  • DIY Winter Beauty Tips that $$$ave!

    Andrea Kane
    26 Jan 2010 | 1:36 pm
    Nobody knows DIY beauty better than Kayla Fioravanti, Co-founder and Chief Cosmetic Formulator for Essential Wholesale. So if the Visa bill was bigger than you expected or you've just been keeping a keener eye on your pennies, then these tips are just up your alley! Winter Beauty Tips:Potatoes have so many uses!  Slice raw potatoes and put them on your eye lids to reduce puffiness.  Or cure swollen feet with a mashed potato foot soak!  Just purchase a box of dehydrated mashed potatoes and followed the recipe. Once you have your mashed potatoes add lukewarm or cool water to get the…

  • Dispel those "hair oil" myths: Tips from Macadamia Natural Oil

    Andrea Kane
    26 Jan 2010 | 1:18 pm
    I don't usually like to reprint self-serving tips from companies, but I am a huge hair oil user and frequently hear some of these "myths" from folks, so figured this self-serving tip sheet has mass appeal.Still hesitant to use hair oils even though they are the hottest trend in salons across the country?  Let Macadamia Natural Oil dispel the common concerns and open your beauty routine to the most simple, effective solution to beautiful hair.  Myth 1:  Using hair oil, such as Macadamia Natural Oil, will make my scalp and hair greasy.Fact:  Oils such as Macadamia and Argan are absorbed…

  • Head Organics review

    Andrea Kane
    26 Jan 2010 | 12:13 pm
    by Gina RafkindHead Organics Hair Care Review I love when I see professional salon product companies come out with products that are more organic and contain more natural ingredients. Head Organics is one of those companies.The Head Organics line is sulfate-free, paraben-free, glycol-free and is not tested on animals. This company also uses packaging that is made from recycled material and they use soy ink for the print on their boxes. Even though this line contains organic and other natural ingredients, it is not 100% natural. The scent is fresh and not over-powering. Products reviewed: 2 in…

  • Lube to go? Yes... cause one never knows!

    Andrea Kane
    26 Jan 2010 | 11:57 am
    I don't know about your house, but in my home, my husband and I end up sharing the same bottle of lube. Not to get too into details, but wouldn't you know that when it comes time for me to use the lube, there's often not a drop to be found.Go figure!So while the news of Yes WaterBased Lube now being available in applicators isn't earth-shattering, it's good news for folks who have the share. This way, I can stash away two tubes for myself and never worry about being without in a crucial moment.You know what I'm saying.
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    The Manic Gardner

  • Wildlife stalks the city

    themanicgardner
    4 Feb 2010 | 7:08 pm
    I took this photograph yesterday morning, as the deer proceeded quietly along the sidewalk across the street from our house. (That's our car in the lower right, proof that this is not out in the wild woods.) The deer did...

  • A New Low: cold snap in Montana

    themanicgardner
    10 Dec 2009 | 11:16 am
    http://www.findlocalweather.com/weather_maps/temperature_north_america.html When I got up Tuesday, the temperature in our back room, where we’ve been sleeping since my surgery, was 39ºF, or just under 4ºC. Upstairs in the bedroom we’re not using, I hit the “on” button of an electric...

  • Please welcome--my new knee.

    themanicgardner
    30 Nov 2009 | 11:04 am
    All right, I admit it: I have not been entirely straightforward with you. In the midst of this long hiatus, I had knee surgery. Total joint replacement, in fact, the fringe benefits for which included going to total joint replacement...

  • Product give-away standards--help!

    themanicgardner
    5 Nov 2009 | 2:17 pm
    To start at the end... There's actually more to this story, but I'm saving some back until I get responses to this piece. So tell me what you think. Background (Personal Position Statement)Though I’m sure some of you will choke...

  • Holy smokes!

    themanicgardner
    27 Oct 2009 | 4:39 pm
    Actually, it's steam, and what's steaming is the compost pile I wrote about yesterday. Now, I've often seen steam when I've dug into a compost heap, but I've never seen an undisturbed pile steaming away like a small volcano. Having...
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    Down--to--Earth

  • Simple Living Series - Working towards a better life

    Rhonda Jean
    8 Feb 2010 | 12:45 pm
    I was very busy day at work yesterday with meetings every hour and came home feeling I hadn't done much.  Yet when I came home and checked the comments on yesterday's post, I was so happy to read them I forgot about work and started thinking about compiling a list of resources that a few of you asked for.  It does my heart good to read so many of you are eager to learn, just as I am. This daily

  • Simple Living Series - Never stop learning

    Rhonda Jean
    7 Feb 2010 | 11:47 am
    I grew up in a completely different time.  I was born into a time when even though we were fairly modern, we still did most things in a similar way to how they'd been done for hundreds of years.  We grew a few vegetables, we made most of what we ate, we made our own clothes and knitted warm woollies to keep us warm in Winter.  We soaked our grains before eating them, drank non-homogensied milk, 

  • You, me and the kitchen sink

    Rhonda Jean
    6 Feb 2010 | 12:56 pm
    Good morning everyone!  Today's quaint kitchen proves to me, yet again, how wonderful and diverse we all are.  Today we are visiting Bovey Belle's kitchen in Wales. She writes: "We live in an old Welsh farmhouse in Carmarthenshire, West Wales.  The date over the front door says 1718, but parts of it go back hundreds of years earlier.I don't have a dishwasher - we wash up by hand.  The Belfast

  • You, me and the kitchen sink

    Rhonda Jean
    5 Feb 2010 | 11:27 am
    Today our magic carpet takes us to the home of Gulay in Turkey. Gulay writes:"My name is Gulay. I am a reader of your blog, which I love very much, from Istanbul, Turkey. When I saw your "You, me and the kithcen sink" series, I wanted to send some photos of my own kitchen as well. As I was looking at the pictures that were sent to you earlier, I noticed that all those women from around the world

  • Getting back on track

    Rhonda Jean
    4 Feb 2010 | 12:43 pm
    I have to refocus myself sometimes.  I need to bring myself back to where I should be.  These past few months have been so busy I've taken shortcuts, left things undone and strayed from my path.  I realised that when my sister was here and she did all the ironing.  When I saw that ironing room turned back into a bedroom, it made me stop and think.  I have to slow down and focus more on my
 
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    Chews Wise

  • #Snowpocalypse Baking Challenge!

    Samuel Fromartz
    9 Feb 2010 | 8:53 am
     With schools closed, the house a mess, and a constant stream of play dates for the kids, what better time than now to bake bread? I've been baking up a storm -- and now it's time for you to start too. So I'm launching the Snowpocalypse baking challenge.  If you haven't baked bread before, now is the time to start -- because time is probably what you have if you're snowed-in. If you want an easy recipe, try the no-knead bread below. Mix your dough, let it rise for 12-18 hours, then bake it. Then, post your pictures to this Flickr group and I'll…

  • Seven Tips for a Home Baker

    Samuel Fromartz
    27 Jan 2010 | 6:54 am
    Seeded sourdough loaf with white, whole wheat and rye Baker Dan Lepard writes a rare baking column in the Guardian newspaper in the UK, has an active web presence, and has written an engaging baking book, but here he visits with a serious home baker, Jack Lang, who lays out seven principles of baking. This quote caught my eye, because it's really true. Everyone thinks baking with sourdough is hard but it's actually more forgiving than instant yeast. "...naturally leavened breads are very easy to manage, especially for the home baker, as the dough matures more slowly and the point…

  • What to Do When Alice Waters Calls, Seeking Bread

    Samuel Fromartz
    25 Jan 2010 | 12:48 pm
    By Samuel Fromartz I was leaving the gym when I checked my messages. Alice Waters' office at Chez Panisse was calling -- yeah, right. Who was this really?  When I called back, it turned out Waters was calling and looking for a baker for her charity dinner in Washington, to replace one who had dropped out. Barton Seaver, a friend and chef at Blue Ridge,  suggested me. "We hear you make the best baguette in DC," said Sarah Weiner, Waters' assistant. "Well, yeah, I won a contest," I stammered, "but I just bake at home. The most I've baked…

  • What's in that School Lunch Anyway?

    Samuel Fromartz
    21 Jan 2010 | 6:53 am
    There's been a lot of talk lately about school nutrition, but what do kids actually eat? Ed Bruske, a former reporter who blogs at the Slow Cook, spent a week in a DC public school to find out. He came away with a cheese-filled six part series that is well worth reading.

  • Really Easy Potato Pizza From Jim Lahey's "My Bread" ... Trust Me, It's Great

    Samuel Fromartz
    19 Jan 2010 | 6:09 am
    By Samuel Fromartz One of the challenges for a home baker is to try and figure out how to make a great bread once you've tasted it. Like encountering the Platonic ideal, you recognize it, reach for it and try and duplicate it -- and then you fail miserably and often give up. Jim Lahey, the founder of Sullivan Street Bakery, was like a culinary Plato for me. Every bread he turned out was amazing and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't find a way to make the airy, light, wonderfully tasteful bread at home. To learn more, I actually visited his bakery in New York several years…
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    Culinate

  • Real school lunch — Two adults document the daily fare

    Culinate staff
    Ed Bruske, who keeps a blog called The Slow Cook, recently spent a week observing an elementary-school kitchen in Washington, D.C. His blog series about the experience, "Tales From a D.C. Kitchen," shows just how industrial public-school lunch is in America, as well as the staff’s efforts to move beyond “heat and serve.” Here’s his take from the first post in the six-part series:The system is precisely designed for optimum efficiency, convenience, and economies of scale. As I discovered during my week in the H.D. Cooke kitchen, “fresh cooked” — the food our children are served…

  • Romance and remoulade — One woman's Valentine essential

    Laraine Perri
    9 Feb 2010 | 8:50 am
    The first thing I ever cooked for the man who was to become my husband was frites. I thought it unexpected, and quirkily romantic. As my father might say, “Any girl can make a bowl of fettuccine the first time she cooks for a guy. It takes a special one to serve him homemade French fries!” more… from First Person

  • Portion, schmortion — The FDA might get realistic about portion size

    Culinate staff
    8 Feb 2010 | 4:48 pm
    Ever gotten disgruntled over the fact that a “serving size” — of, say, tortilla chips or Oreos — listed on a package is much smaller than you’d like it to be? So is the FDA, which wants manufacturers to get realistic about portion-size labeling. Because, after all, who really eats just six tortilla chips or two small cookies and then calls it quits?As the New York Times points out,Still, the solution is not as simple as merely bumping up the standard portions for some foods. Officials worry that could send the wrong message. If the serving size for cookies rose to two ounces from…

  • Chocolate and wine — Suggestions for pairings

    Anu Karwa
    8 Feb 2010 | 8:58 am
    With Valentine’s Day near, thoughts and tastes naturally veer toward perfect couples.In our case, it’s the classically paired duo of chocolate and wine. Although the duo is a romantic notion referenced long before candy hearts conveyed “Text Me” messages, chocolate and wine don’t easily complement each other. Often, chocolate can make a wine taste bitter or can coat one’s mouth, making it difficult to appreciate the wine. However, a little guidance can steer you and your sweetheart in the right direction — even if you’re in the anti-Cupid, it’s-just-a-Hallmark-holiday camp.

  • Triple-washed? — Wash those bagged salad greens a fourth time

    Culinate staff
    5 Feb 2010 | 7:49 pm
    In Consumer Reports’ latest look at food safety, the magazine purchased national brands of bagged and boxed salad greens and tested them. Their findings? Despite those labels promising that the lettuce is “triple-washed,” you’d better wash it all again to try to remove the unpleasant-sounding “fecal contamination.” And oh, yeah, organic wasn’t any cleaner than conventional — at least with regard to these microbes. from Sift
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    Eat Local Challenge

  • Dark Days Challenge: Sunday night dinner, solo.

    jen maiser
    8 Feb 2010 | 5:19 pm
      by Jen Maiser, Editor I spent a lot of time in the kitchen this weekend -- mostly puttering and trying out some new projects. Usually when I do that, my Sunday night meal is quick and thrown together as I am tired of being in the kitchen at that point. But last night, I stayed in the kitchen, rearranging things, filling spice bottles, chopping up ginger to freeze in small portions. By the time I had cooked the meal above, I had lost complete track of time. I sat down to eat around 9.30, pleased with all I had accomplished. The brussels sprouts that you see are proof positive that I…

  • Dark Days Challenge: The journey of a duck

    jen maiser
    1 Feb 2010 | 9:47 am
    by Jen Maiser, Editor The story of this week's Dark Days meal begins in October. Greg Massa of Massa Organics -- our local amazing brown rice farmer -- announced that he would be selling ducks at the farmers market and I panicked because I was scheduled to be in Southern California during the weekend that they would be sold. Greg's ducks held the promise of something special. The October sale would be the debut of his ducks -- I wrote about Greg and the role that the ducks play in his farm for Serious Eats. I'd been dating a man -- E -- for a little while. Things were new and…

  • Dark Days Challenge: A weekend lunch

    jen maiser
    19 Jan 2010 | 7:55 am
    by Jen Maiser, Editor Did you know that I am obsessed with pickles? I have a shokutaku tsukemono ki -- a Japanese pickle press that makes quick work of pickles made from many different things in the kitchen. This week, I learned that turnip and radish greens tossed with salt and a square of kombu makes for a delicious pickle that was a perfect condiment to the short rib sandwich you see above. The quick pickle doesn't take long -- you can eat it within a couple hours, and the crock stays in the fridge and I add little bits of vegetables to it when I think about it. The pickle press is a…

  • Dark Days Challenge: Brunch with a Friend

    jen maiser
    11 Jan 2010 | 3:41 pm
    by Jen Maiser, Editor When friends give you chanterelles, you make a fabulous brunch! Last week, I was gifted a couple of pounds of wild chanterelles by a benefactress friend. She and her partner had foraged about forty pounds of chanterelles from Santa Cruz. It's a bumper year for this wild, native mushroom and the stories of large swaths of chanterelles in local forests have been whispered among the food community here.  "Let them dry out some," advised a friend, "they're really wet and heavy right now." I kept them out in the kitchen, drying, for five days before cooking them for…
 
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    Eden Foods Recipes

  • Apple Grape Juice Kanten

    2 Feb 2010 | 11:35 am
    Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring almost to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce the flame to medium and stir constantly until the flakes have dissolved, about 10 minutes. Pour the juice into small dessert cups or a shallow bowl. Refrigerate until gelled, about 1 hour.

  • Grape Juice Kanten

    2 Feb 2010 | 11:26 am
    Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring almost to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce the flame to medium and stir constantly until the flakes have dissolved, about 10 minutes. Pour the juice into small dessert cups or a shallow bowl. Refrigerate until gelled, about 1 hour.

  • Millet Soup

    11 Dec 2009 | 6:48 am
    Heat oil in a medium soup pot and sauté onions for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the millet and sauté another 2 to 3 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients except the miso or sea salt and parsley. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the flame to medium-low and simmer for 30 to 35 minutes until the soup becomes creamy and golden. Reduce the flame to low, add the miso and simmer 2 to 3 minutes. If seasoning with sea salt, add the last 10 minutes of cooking. Serve garnished with parsley.

  • Apple Strawberry Custard

    7 Dec 2009 | 12:53 pm
    Place the juice, salt and agar flakes in a sauce pan, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the flame to medium-low and simmer until the flakes have dissolved, about 10 minutes. Slice 3 cups of strawberries and place in a shallow bowl. When the agar flakes have dissolved, pour the juice over the strawberries. Refrigerate until gelled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Place the gelled juice in a blender with the maple syrup and 1/2 cup apple juice. Puree several seconds until creamy. Place the custard in small serving dishes. Slice the remaining strawberries. Place an equal amount of sliced strawberries and…

  • Aduki Beans with Winter Squash

    19 Nov 2009 | 9:18 am
    Place all ingredients in a saucepan, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the flame to medium-low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the squash is tender. Extra water can be added during cooking, if necessary.
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    We Like It Raw

  • Zukay Live Food Beverages

    Dhrumil
    7 Feb 2010 | 10:39 pm
    Zukay website. They currently don't have any details about their beverages on their website. Interview with Scott Grzybek. Friend up Scott on Facebook.

  • Juniper Ridge: 100% wild-harvested Incenses

    Dhrumil
    7 Feb 2010 | 7:15 am
    I came across these incenses last week at a small little health shop in Vermont. The idea of "100% wild-harvested incenses" sounded very real. I love me some Indian incenses, but many of them have harmful perfumes in them that become toxic when burned.Cedar was good, but White Sage was better.Just one thing, these incenses don't really smell like traditional incenses. They smell more like a campfire than an Indian temple.Enjoy.

  • Security Threat from Within: a letter from Dr. Gabriel Cousens

    Dhrumil
    6 Feb 2010 | 5:12 pm
    A public service letter by Dr. Gabriel Cousens on X-ray based airport scanners.Security Threat from Within"Liberty is to the collective body what health is to every individual body. Without health, no pleasure can be tasted by man; without liberty no happiness can be enjoyed by society" ~ Thomas JeffersonNow that we have recovered from the swine flu vaccination threat to our health and well-being, a new threat, using another level of security scare, is being used to expose the flying population to either excessive ionizing radiation or ultra high frequency radiation. Thanks to the radical…

  • Smoky “Roasted” Garlic & Red Pepper Soup

    Dhrumil
    6 Feb 2010 | 4:57 pm
    My sister and her husband just got the Montel Williams Health Master so I've been sending them all the soups that I come across. This one looks fantastic.Smoky “Roasted” Garlic & Red Pepper Soup via G Living

  • NYC Chocolate Party Hosted by Vanessa Barg, Dec 12th, 2009

    Dhrumil
    7 Dec 2009 | 7:05 pm
    Full details at www.nychocolateparty.com
 
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    FocusOrganic.com

  • Whole Grains with Ashley Koff

    Stefanie
    9 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am
    Nature's Path, a company we've worked with before that creates delicious organic cereals, offered Focus Organic a personalized video segment with Los Angeles-based nutritionist Ashley Koff one month ago. Ashley Koff is a registered dietitian (R.D.) who strives to make better nutrition a way of life for all. She has been named by Citysearch as LA's "Best Nutritionist" three years running. She filmed a response to a question we sent in, thanks to a reader. The Question "I know that white bread and other processed grains can be bad for you and can promote cancer, but do whole grains really…

  • All Things Eco Blog Carnival Volume Eighty Eight

    Stefanie
    8 Feb 2010 | 10:15 am
    Welcome to the February 8th, 2010 edition of All Things Eco. Be sure to Stumble the posts you like, or submit them to other social bookmarking services. Let's promote each other, as well as this blog carnival. So I promised Andrew I would announce the new Facebook fan page he set up for Focus Organic, so here it is! As you'll notice, there is a new logo featured on the page. I am currently setting up a complete site redesign (I know, again!), and that logo will be included in it. Launch date is unknown right now, but I'm excited about it! Activism Jeff Randall presents Nebraska's Wetlands…

  • Giveaway! Dandelion Organic Cotton 'Keep it Green' Tote Bag

    Stefanie
    7 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am
    Dandelion Earth Friendly Goods' has created a new organic cotton diaper bag that can (and easily does) double as an everyday tote bag. Each bag has four outside pockets - one big snap pocket to keep valuables secure, 2 elastic holders for cups or water bottles, and 1 large catch-all pocket. The roomy open interior features 2 smaller snap pockets and quick-access key clip. The tote bags are made entirely of organic cotton and use no pesticides or chemicals in the growing cycle. The new organic cotton canvas bag is versatile, fashionable and will become that one bag that will always accommodate…

  • Eco Valentine's Day Ideas

    Stefanie
    6 Feb 2010 | 12:18 pm
    Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and we've organized a few snack/gift ideas in case you needed some help. HomeFree Cookies Looking for some non-candy snacks for Valentine's Day? Consider HomeFree cookies. They are organic, whole grain, free of peanuts, tree nuts, eggs and dairy, as well as corn sweeteners, artificial colors, artificial flavors, MSG, and genetically modified organisms. I can attest to their delicious flavor, with my favorite being the mini chocolate chip (very similar to those mini Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies, but minus all the nasties). HomeFree cookies can…

  • Swell Foop Valentine Tee Winner

    Stefanie
    5 Feb 2010 | 1:59 pm
    The winner of the organic Valentine tee from Swell Foop has been selected - comment #47 - Kristi C. Kristi C. has already been contacted and has responded with her address (sorry to anyone who was hoping she would fall through!) Congrats to Kristi and we hope you like your shirt! © Focus Organic for 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments
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    Focus Organic.com

  • Whole Grains with Ashley Koff

    Stefanie
    9 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am
    Nature's Path, a company we've worked with before that creates delicious organic cereals, offered Focus Organic a personalized video segment with Los Angeles-based nutritionist Ashley Koff one month ago. Ashley Koff is a registered dietitian (R.D.) who strives to make better nutrition a way of life for all. She has been named by Citysearch as LA's "Best Nutritionist" three years running. She filmed a response to a question we sent in, thanks to a reader. The Question "I know that white bread and other processed grains can be bad for you and can promote cancer, but do whole grains really…

  • All Things Eco Blog Carnival Volume Eighty Eight

    Stefanie
    8 Feb 2010 | 10:15 am
    Welcome to the February 8th, 2010 edition of All Things Eco. Be sure to Stumble the posts you like, or submit them to other social bookmarking services. Let's promote each other, as well as this blog carnival. So I promised Andrew I would announce the new Facebook fan page he set up for Focus Organic, so here it is! As you'll notice, there is a new logo featured on the page. I am currently setting up a complete site redesign (I know, again!), and that logo will be included in it. Launch date is unknown right now, but I'm excited about it! Activism Jeff Randall presents Nebraska's Wetlands…

  • Giveaway! Dandelion Organic Cotton 'Keep it Green' Tote Bag

    Stefanie
    7 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am
    Dandelion Earth Friendly Goods' has created a new organic cotton diaper bag that can (and easily does) double as an everyday tote bag. Each bag has four outside pockets - one big snap pocket to keep valuables secure, 2 elastic holders for cups or water bottles, and 1 large catch-all pocket. The roomy open interior features 2 smaller snap pockets and quick-access key clip. The tote bags are made entirely of organic cotton and use no pesticides or chemicals in the growing cycle. The new organic cotton canvas bag is versatile, fashionable and will become that one bag that will always accommodate…

  • Eco Valentine's Day Ideas

    Stefanie
    6 Feb 2010 | 12:18 pm
    Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and we've organized a few snack/gift ideas in case you needed some help. HomeFree Cookies Looking for some non-candy snacks for Valentine's Day? Consider HomeFree cookies. They are organic, whole grain, free of peanuts, tree nuts, eggs and dairy, as well as corn sweeteners, artificial colors, artificial flavors, MSG, and genetically modified organisms. I can attest to their delicious flavor, with my favorite being the mini chocolate chip (very similar to those mini Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies, but minus all the nasties). HomeFree cookies can…

  • Swell Foop Valentine Tee Winner

    Stefanie
    5 Feb 2010 | 1:59 pm
    The winner of the organic Valentine tee from Swell Foop has been selected - comment #47 - Kristi C. Kristi C. has already been contacted and has responded with her address (sorry to anyone who was hoping she would fall through!) Congrats to Kristi and we hope you like your shirt! © Focus Organic for 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments
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    Grandstand Organics

  • Organic MiEssence Valentine Discount

    grandstrandorganics
    5 Feb 2010 | 4:53 pm
    Give a glorious gift of one of our MiEssence USDA Certified Organic Botanical Perfumes to your Valentine this year.  ONEgroup has announced a full twenty percent (20%) discount on all six of our wonderful scents.  Just use “cupid” as your discount code at check-out.  The discount also applies to our set of six samples, one [...]

  • Five Percent Discount at Organic Bouquet

    grandstrandorganics
    26 Jan 2010 | 12:08 pm
    Organic Bouquet is my favorite place to get organc flowers, chocolates, and gift baskets.  Today I discovered that they offer a 5% discount through this link.  Enjoy! Posted in Eco-Friendly Products, Organic Products, Special Offers Tagged: certified organic, Eco-Friendly, environmentally aware, Organic Products, save money

  • Natural Foods Dietary Guidelines

    grandstrandorganics
    22 Jan 2010 | 10:05 am
    The Weston A. Price Foundation is a non-profit organization “dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet through education, research and activism.”  It’s definitely one of the best nutritional websites I’ve come across to date.  One caveat for the vegans among us, this group does espouse the eating of animal products.  Below are the first two [...]

  • Organic Charity Flower Bouquets

    grandstrandorganics
    20 Jan 2010 | 10:15 am
    Over 45 Charity Bouquets at Organic Bouquet! Get beautiful organic flower bouquets and also support a charity of your choice.  This is the mission statement from Organic Bouquet: Flowers for Good™ Our Flowers for Good™ program was established to help our non-profit partners continue to make positive changes in the work they do. Choose from any one of [...]

  • How to give yourself a facial massage

    grandstrandorganics
    11 Jan 2010 | 9:38 am
     Have you ever wondered how to effectively massage your face?  Watch this five minute video as Narelle Chenery of MiEssence walks you through the steps of a tension releasing, skin smoothing and toning facial massage. This is the kind of pampering that works wonders! For the best possible effect, use USDA Certified Organic MiEssence products for your [...]
 
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    FoodieTots.com

  • Homemade with Love {Cinnamon Swirl Bread}

    foodietots
    7 Feb 2010 | 9:44 am
    If I try hard enough, I can almost a remember a time when my idea of unwinding after a long work week was heading out for cocktails with girlfriends. (Okay, so it really wasn’t that long ago.) But nowadays, few things are more soothing than spending some quality time creaming butter, sugar and eggs in the KitchenAid. Sure, cooking with a 3.5-year-old isn’t entirely relaxing, but it is especially rewarding to see the boy bite into a fresh baked cookie or slice of bread with glee and to watch him proudly boast to his dad, “Look what Mommy and me made!” And there’s…

  • Southern Comfort at Evening Star Cafe

    foodietots
    31 Jan 2010 | 5:16 am
    We may live in (Northern) Virginia, but aside from my occasional, tongue-in-cheek “y’all,” we haven’t adopted too many Southern mannerisms. But every once in a while, you just get a craving for something artery-clogging, particularly on a cold, snowy January day. Rather than channeling Paula Deen and deep-frying something at home, we opted to head out to one of our neighborhood restaurants, Evening Star Cafe. I was eager to try their new Saturday breakfast dishes — the fried chicken and waffle, to be precise. Though I will admit it was a tough decision between…

  • Meatless Monday ~ Mushroom Polenta

    foodietots
    25 Jan 2010 | 4:16 am
    We were very disappointed to lose the mushroom vendor from our neighborhood (Del Ray) market this past year, especially as I had made such great progress the prior year in convincing my previously mushroom-adverse husband that they really weren’t so bad. So now to get our local ’shroom fix I have to head to one of the FreshFarm markets, which means Dupont Circle in the winter months. The preferred choice of both the husband and my son are these cute, sweet little honey mushrooms. They require little effort to prepare, and for a really easy meal, I whipped up some instant polenta,…

  • Moroccan Lamb Stew {and Del Ray & Dupont Winter Markets}

    foodietots
    21 Jan 2010 | 4:13 am
    After an extended holiday absence, we finally made it back to the Del Ray Farmers Market this past weekend. The winter market is small, with ringleaders Tom the Cheese Guy and Smith Meadows meats holding down the fort. There’s a new vendor this year, The Dressed Up Nut, selling sweet spiced nuts and gluten-free biscotti. I had a hankering for stew and picked up the convenient pre-cubed lamb meat from Smith Meadows. I was also craving some fresh produce, so it was off to Dupont Circle’s FreshFarm Market on rainy Sunday morning. It was the off week for Next Step Produce (who…

  • Local: Dine-Out Friday for DC Farm-to-School

    foodietots
    20 Jan 2010 | 2:26 pm
    A special announcement from the DC Farm to School Network: Looking for an excuse for a night out this Friday?  Look no further!  On January 22nd you can support locally-owned restaurants, the sustainable local food economy, and Washington, DC kids!  The DC Farm to School Network’s Local Restaurants for Local Kids fundraiser is happening at some of the best restaurants in the District. Several local food and drink hot spots are generously donating a portion of their proceeds to the DC Farm to School Network this Friday.  The DC Farm to School Network is an organization that works to…
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    Simple, Good, and Tasty

  • Michael Pollan's "Food Rules": Keep it Simple, Then Simplify

    lee
    9 Feb 2010 | 5:16 am
    Namedropping Michael Pollan isn't likely to bring you much insider food cred these days. If you think about good, real, local, organic, sustainable, fresh, tasty, whole food - heck, if you've watched "Oprah" lately - then you've probably already heard the name Michael Pollan more times just this week than you can count. When "The Omnivore's Dilemma" was published in 2006, many of us were just starting to think about the amount of corn we were consuming. When "In Defense of Food" was published in 2008, we marveled at how incredibly accessible it was. Nowadays, people on the inner circle don't…

  • Equal Exchange Offers Fair-Trade Valentine's Day Treats

    lee
    8 Feb 2010 | 5:21 am
    There's something irresistible about Equal Exchange organic chocolate. Maybe it's the fact that the company supports fair-trade practices and small growers. Maybe it's the knowledge that it's all organic. But frankly, I'm guessing it has as lot to do with the taste. Each variety I've tried has been all that I've hoped for - a delicious experience at a fair price. So given what we know about large-scale chocolate production, this year I'm considering giving my Valentine something we can both feel great about. Here are a few gift ideas from the folks at Equal Exchange: Organic Chocolate &…

  • Tell the Dept. of Justice: Free Our Farmers! Break Up BigAg Monopolies Like Monsanto!

    Shari Danielson
    6 Feb 2010 | 2:57 pm
    Photo courtesy of RawFoodLife.comLast December, we wrote about ana Sofia Joanes, food policy activist and director of the movie Fresh, and her campaign against BigAg monopolies. She was circulating a petition directed to President Obama’s anti-trust chief, Christine Varney, asking her to “break up these corporations’ total control on our food.” This petition was launched after Joanes heard Varney promise to investigate corporate behemoth Monsanto for its stranglehold on 93 percent of the U.S. soybean crop and 80 percent of its corn.Joanes recently wrote us with a shocking…

  • Heavy Table Offers Fun Foodie Nights Out

    lee
    6 Feb 2010 | 5:18 am
    Photo of Chris Olson by Becca Dilley, Heavy TableI haven't been shy about my love for Heavy Table, an online magazine focused on food in the Midwest. Although the site's not strictly focused on local food, the staff's passion for good food brings them back to local sources on a regular basis. This month, Heavy Table is venturing into the sexy world of real-life events with a couple of terrific sounding ones. Here's the down-low (or is it the low-down?): On Tuesday, February 9, a meal they're calling “From Open Flames to Sous Vide: The History of Cooking in Five Courses,” featuring…

  • Sampling Veganism: 2 Cookbooks for the Curious Omnivore

    Tracy Morgan
    4 Feb 2010 | 7:21 pm
    Let’s just get one thing straight, I’m probably never going to turn the corner to veganism. I just love goat cheese way too much. I’m not much of a vegetarian either, nor do I proclaim to be. But having gone through vegan-like cleanses a few times, I also know the incredible benefit that this kind of diet brings to my body. So this Christmas, as I was getting ready to embark on my January detox, one of my dear friends gave me a beautiful vegan cookbook. After reading The Conscious Cook by Tal Ronnen for a few days, I was intrigued. The food feels accessible – the book even opens with…
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    Cooking Up A Story

  • Let’s Move!

    Cooking Up A Story
    9 Feb 2010 | 10:34 am
    February 09, 2010 Let’s Move!, the new initiative that was kicked off today at the White House by first lady Michelle Obama, Will Allen (Growing Power), Judith Palfrey (president of the American Academy of Pediatrics), and Willis “Chip” Johnson, mayor of Hernando, MS. The purpose of the initiative and website is “to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation.” Quite the challenge, but worth the effort! h/t @ObamaFoodorama Go to White House Press Release… Related Posts: Failure to Cultivate: A Response to Caitlin Flanagan on School Gardens…

  • Virginia Farm Bureau: Farmland Preservation Update

    Cooking Up A Story
    8 Feb 2010 | 11:30 am
    February 08, 2010 Virginia has recently spearheaded efforts to preserve working farmland. One key method to preserve farmland is to pass the farm to the next generation. In order to help current farmers through this transition, the State has created agriculture license plates to raise money for workshops – thus keeping the small farm active, viable, and in the family. h/t @susancato Go to Original Post… Related Posts: Preserving Local Farms in Oregon A City Looks Toward Defining Its Future Farmers, conservation groups join to preserve farmland near Portland’s suburbs Dr.

  • Seed Catalogs: A Gardener’s Muse

    Cooking Up A Story
    8 Feb 2010 | 10:31 am
    February 08, 2010 If you are a food grower, it’s that time of year, again! Either you’re anxiously awaiting your seed order delivery, or you’re still pondering what will I grow this year. It doesn’t really matter if you only have a few pots on the patio or several beds in the backyard…planning and planting is imperative. And so goes it for this journalist, Sara Lipka. With a love of seed catalogs and a keen urge to grow food, she (and her boyfriend) find some ground via his alma mater, and begin the process – to not only grow food for themselves, but primarily…

  • Farmer Don-In His Own Words

    Cooking Up A Story
    8 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am
    Carnival Squash Part of the reason pesticides are widely used in agriculture comes down to the general preferences of the average American consumer. Farmer Don, a local Portland farmer who grows and sells a variety of fresh foods explains the fussiness some people exhibit toward fruits and vegetables—they won’t buy if something is blemished or has any insect holes. As he tries to explain, imperfection is a part of nature, and an insect boring into (say) an apple causes only a cosmetic harm. Using less pesticides reduces the risks of contamination to the surrounding environment, and…

  • Temple Grandin: Humane Treatment of Farm Animals

    Cooking Up A Story
    5 Feb 2010 | 9:50 am
    Dr. Temple Grandin, Associate Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University talks about her approach to helping livestock handling facilities provide more humane treatment of farm animals. This is an excerpt from her talk delivered at the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sustainable Foods Institute in Monterey, California, in May of 2009. Her understanding of farm animals has led to a revolution in their care and handling, and has helped the entire industry improve their handling facilities, and provide more consistent humane treatment to livestock. Related Posts: As We Sow: The…
 
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  • Review: Yes to Carrots (and other vegetables too)!

    Statia
    1 Feb 2010 | 11:53 am
    We’ve gotten quite a few inquiries from people asking us whether or not we had tried Yes To Carrots products.   I get the interest.  It’s readily available at most Target stores, and the price isn’t bad either.   But I was skeptical.  I know that in the grand scheme of things, this shampoo isn’t the best [...] Related posts:Review: Honeybee Gardens Nail PolishReview: Sophyto Skin CareA LovelyMama quick beauty tip

  • Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value Body Care

    Kathy
    23 Jan 2010 | 5:39 am
    By popular demand you requested our input on the Whole Foods store brand of body care 365 Everyday Value.  On a recent pilgrimage to Whole Foods I decided to check it out because hey, I am all for cheaper, yet safe, skin care.  That natural stuff can really add up! I checked out the 365 [...] Related posts:Jurlique Balancing Day Care CreamWeleda Birch Body ScrubTammy Fender Holistic Skin Care

  • Kiss My Face Sudz C-Weed Organic Shower Gel

    Kathy
    22 Nov 2009 | 3:51 pm
    I haven’t really found too many shower gels that I like lately.  They’re either full of chemicals, or they’re organic and watery, or they just suck overall.  I reluctantly picked up a tube of Kiss My Face’s Sudz Organic Shower Gel at Target this month since it was the first time something new was in the natural [...] Related posts:Kiss My Face Potent & Pure SkincareNew Scent from Bubble & Bee: Coconut Lime!Etsy Spotlight: Luxurious Handmade Soaps

  • Jurlique Rose Hand Cream

    Kathy
    15 Oct 2009 | 7:30 pm
    It’s been quiet here… I’ve been on a maternity leave.  But in my absence I had time to fall in love with a new product.  With all the talk of flu season and H1N1 this fall I’ve opted to start washing my hands neurotically.  I have a kid in preschool and a 3 month old at [...] Related posts:Jurlique Balancing Day Care CreamWeleda Birch Body ScrubDear LovelyMama: Anti-aging advice

  • New Scent from Bubble & Bee: Coconut Lime!

    Kathy
    19 Aug 2009 | 11:25 am
    As you all know we just loooooooooooove Bubble & Bee products.  We’re their #1 fan. Stephanie of Bubble & Bee is so increditbly knowledgeable about chemicals and ingredients that we go right to her first if we ever need an ingredient scrutinized.  Her products, as a result of her knowledge, are so pure and safe [...] Related posts:Bubble and Bee’s New Body ButtaGuest Post! Stephanie of Bubble & Bee talks about Vegetable Emulsifying WaxEtsy Spotlight: Luxurious Handmade Soaps
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  • All-Natural, Simple Skincare Options

    NHE
    9 Feb 2010 | 11:06 am
    Everyone knows it’s important to take care of their skin. After all, the skin is the largest organ of the body. Therefore, you want to keep it looking fresh and young as long as possible. There are a lot of commercial products on the market for skincare, but they’re mostly loaded with harsh chemicals that may aggravate your senses and rile up allergies. There are some all natural skincare options and tips, however, that may be right up your alley. The first all natural way to keep your skin smooth and healthy is to drink plenty of water. It is recommended that people drink at…

  • Advantages and benefits of Organic Food

    NHE
    6 Feb 2010 | 4:59 am
    Organic foods are becoming more and more popular with consumers. Part of the reasoning behind this is purely common sense which tells us that foods that are not doused in chemicals, hormones and preservatives are better for our bodies. Secondly, there have been so many food recalls lately that it is finally starting to sink in that we are taking chances with our health, and that of our children’s health by buying foods that are grown, produced and packaged in places like Mexico and China. That being said, the advantages are using organic foods are great. One of the most logical…

  • Natural Cures for Depression

    NHE
    5 Feb 2010 | 9:43 am
    Millions of people all across the globe suffer from depression. When a person feels depressed, they feel like nothing or no one can make them feel better. This is not true though, because often depression is caused by stress, lack of nutrition, and vitamin deficiencies. There are natural ways to help to cure depression. Here are some natural cures for depression: Herbal supplements can be very beneficial to curing depression. Saint John’s Wort is an herbal supplement that is all natural and has been used for many years to help improve mood. Yoga is a great ways to help to naturally cure…

  • Where to Shop for Organic Foods

    NHE
    3 Feb 2010 | 2:52 am
    When you first start to get into living a healthy and as natural as possible, it can sometimes be difficult to find places where to shop for whole and organic foods. Of course, in this country, the food industry is dominated by corn syrup-filled, prepackaged, nasty hideousness. Walking through most grocery store aisles today is like observing a propaganda film for Archer Daniels Midland (the largest producers of high fructose corn syrup). Corn syrup is the major factor behind the rise in obesity in the last three decades. Therefore, it is really a good thing to know where to shop for whole…

  • CherryPharm All-Natural Cherry Juice Review

    NHE
    2 Feb 2010 | 11:17 am
    The nice folks from CherryPharm recently sent me a few bottles of their tart cherry juice to try out, so I figured I would write a quick little review about it. First off, I should say that I have never had cherry juice before so I don’t have a great basis for comparison. Trying it out The sample pack they sent me came with 3 drinks (the Natural Health, Natural Recovery, and Natural Light). I drank the natural health one first and I have to say it is indeed tart. I generally don’t like juice drinks that are too sweet, but this was probably the most tart juice drink I’ve had.
 
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