Botany of Desire Video

Bite on This - more Grocery Store Secrets

We all know chlorine is a poison, it's toxic and has been linked to infertility and disease. Sadly it's everywhere, in our drinking water, bleaching our paper towels and toilet paper, in pools, in PVC plastics, in pesticides, so we do our best to avoid it by getting unbleached products and filtering our water (even the showers!) and just when we thought we were safe, we find out that chlorine is routinely used to keep our healthy produce "fresh" by, and I quote the MMS Newsletter:

"In the grocery store, glistening carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, etc. all glisten and look fresh primarily because five days ago they were picked, washed, then passed under a cloud of ClO2 gas that destroyed bacteria and disease-germs that ordinarily cause food to quickly spoil.

Some transportation trucks carrying produce (sometimes on two-day trips) can blow some ClO2 into the enclosed truck before closing the rear doors. The spoiling of food begins from invisible surface contaminants. ClO2 eradicates such bacteria."

And I learned this first hand before searching for it on the web to confirm. A truck driver was explaining how when transporting strawberries, chlorine vapor kept his strawberries from molding and therefore looking pretty and lasting longer.

Of course we already knew conventional strawberries have some of the worst pesticides and poisons sprayed on them to keep the pests away (makes sense, they are sweet and delicious, what little critter wouldn't want to take a bite of that?!) and not only are those chemicals driven into the plant itself, but since they are hard to wash, they cannot be removed from the outside either. And now we learn about this little trick of chlorine gas to keep them looking freshly picked. Ahh, things are not always as they appear.

While searching for this I also learned that all those convenient freshly cut fruits and vegetables we see in the produce counter are most probably dipped in a chlorine solution before cutting and again after cutting before being packaged and placed on the store shelf for our purchase so that they stay fresher longer.

Double-dipped chlorine strawberries gassed with chlorine in transit and a side of extra harmful pesticides from the farm, anyone? Yup, sounds fresh to me! Yet another reason to go organic.

Weight Loss, Exercise, Food

We've been busy, school starting, planning school lunches and missing our normal giant lunch that I'd make for the family, the buying club, well, life, you know how it goes. But we've also been busy losing weight, without trying, just from our more refined eating. So it's interesting today reading the article in Time since our exercise level has not changed. They explain that the BMI is important, not necessarily exercise level and that exercise does not mean healthier or that we'll lose weight.

There have also been articles in how organics, less chemicals, preservatives, pesticides, on our food allow our liver to use the fat instead of cleansing our bodies like mad; eating organic food allows our body to function optimally and do what it's suppose to do for us and therefore helps us lose weight too.

There are have also been recent articles on the "optimal" diet for a human being like this one from MSN The Healthiest Foods On Earth. Turns out the best diet is, drum roll, is real food!

Simplistic? It all makes sense and now we understand why we are losing weight and feeling better. In our family, we eat what we want but we only eat real food. If it comes in a box with a list of ingredients, it's not in our house. Our meals always include vegetables, even breakfast. Fruit is a standard snack. Meals always include plenty of vegetables and we try to eat salad every day topped with all sorts of things from fresh and dried fruit, to olives and cheese, or canned fish and meats. Meals are always delicious, colorful, and varied. Soups and stir-fries are standard but with different mixes of vegetables and/or meats.

Even school lunches, while they may include sandwiches (usually on sprouted wheat or rice or spelt bread), they always include at least 2 fresh fruits (an apple, strawberries, a pear or plum) and maybe a dried fruit or nuts (raisins, trail mix, dried mango) and sometimes a cookie I make with molasses and maple syrup - so they have a big variety and lots of different textures and colors and nice things to keep them occupied but nothing that comes in a box with a nutritional label on it.

I know we are lucky. We don't even want the stuff they label as food, even my kids. But I know there are so many out there that don't even know where to start. So many don't even know what food would be, how to prepare it, what to eat if you cut out something that comes from a box. I know for those, it's a struggle at first and I wish you great success in learning about food and know that you will learn about yourself and life in the process.

We eat well. I still make meals at home from real foods (grassfed meats and dairy including butter and free roaming preferably pastured eggs, coconut and olive oil, lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, wild fish) and we feel good. The way our clothes fit show the improvement yet, and I'm embarrassed to say, my real exercise is my fingertips on the key board. I'd still love to have more muscle definition and lift weights but I guess I don't want it badly enough or I would have started already. Either way I'm feeling good about my family and our level of health.

Food is so important. It is what nourishes our body and our soul. It is amazing that we so freely gave up the thing that sustains us as beings and attaches us to the world to big agri-biz. They do not have our health as their goal, even when the label shouts out some bold benefit. Understandably, their focus is their bottom line, not ours. If we choose real foods, those without a long list of ingredients, if we choose to get back in the kitchen, if we choose to cook and eat with friends and to prepare meals together, then we will have succeeded in finding real food and taking back our life amongst the chaos of what they tell us is food.

What we eat is such a big choice we make each day. We set an example for children in how and what we eat. We impact the planet in the choices we make in our food: from the packaging, the fuel used to transport it, the chemicals used to create it, the family farms we are supporting in other countries, the small communities that need our support despite that item being a bit more money than another made from the giant factory farm. We need to take responsibility for that act instead of food being a last thought when we are just starving.

I still sit in disbelief that fast food chains exist. Certainly I understand the convenience and the price, but what is the real cost? I guess if it were a more immediate and direct link, it would be easier to give it up, but it's not. Many still do not correlate the disease, our societal obesity, our lack of health with the fast food chains, with the fact that there are only a handful of the same big food distributors that service all the restaurants, with the sad truth that we have freely offered up our food choices so that we can run in and grab something because we think that adds to our life.

To me food is life. Food creates memories. Food joins the family and can even bring peace. We really are what we eat and what we choose to eat impacts our world and our future.

Food, Inc. - the truth about what we eat and where it comes from

Read it. See it. Change your life and the lives of your loved ones. Make a difference in your health and the health of the planet. And our future. We CAN do it and most certainly we must make informed choices.

Grocery stores are such an illusion. The waste in packaging, transporting products, the ingredients (and the real ingredient behind what is mysteriously listed on the label), shelf space and electricity, dated items going to the garbage (that's mostly produce since the other stuff has a life span to practically last into our child's adulthood), how the animals we consume are treated (you are what you eat!), hormones shot into our animals and getting into our dairy and meats, genetic modifications to the dna of the foods, the colors and additives and smells added that now seem normal to us, it's all a strange place with food-like substances. Choose FOOD. Learn how to prepare and enjoy it. We can make a difference in what's offered to nourish us.

Highly recommend:

In Defense of Food

Check out the books below too - really good ones - we are each making a decision, we are casting a vote for our lives and our food every time we put something in our mouth, every time we buy something. If you choose to skip this movie and books, you are still voting for status quo - learn what that is and how THEY are playing you. Make the decision. Make it consciously.

This is part of Real Food Wednesdays:

Cholesterol, Eggs, Shell Color, more Egg Facts

We eat eggs. With the six of us, we go through about a dozen a day. We use them for any meal and in many ways. Eggs are an inexpensive yet good source of protein and nutrients and the magical egg - it does amazing things: soufflés, frittatas, sauces, pudding and custards, cheesecake, baked goods, meatloaf, casseroles, soups, stir-fries or all on it's own, truly a versatile food.

The whites and yellows each have their own unique properties. We can whip the whites to add lightness and air to dishes, while the yellows act as an emulsifier and adds creamy richness. The whites contain protein and no fat while yolks contain half of the protein in the egg and all the fat (about 4.5 grams of fat, 1.5 of which is saturated and the rest is polyunsaturated which has been shown to decrease LDL cholesterol) as well as most of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. The yolks offer all the vitamin A, D, E, and zinc that is in an egg as well as a larger percentage of the phosphorus, manganese, iron, iodine, copper, and calcium than the white. The yolks are also a rich source of Lutein and Zeaxanthin, (carotenoids) essential vitamins with antioxidant value .

Yolk color is determined by what the bird eats. Deep yellow to orange egg yolks are richer in carotenoids.

Contrary to what you may have heard, eggs do not increase bad cholesterol. Nor do they increase the risk of heart disease or stroke, for the average person who is not at high risk. (Hu, F.B., M.J. Stampfer, et al. 1999) (JAMA 281(15):1387-94.) Bad Cholesterol, LDL, is based upon what you eat (saturated fats and transfats) and even what you don't eat (vegetables), than simply your egg intake.

Egg color is simply an aesthetic preference. Birds that lay brown eggs tend to be larger birds with reddish brown feathers and earlobes around their neck. Since they are bigger, they eat more food than their paler cousins and therefore these eggs are a bit more expensive. White egg layers have white feathers on their neck and white earlobes. The breed of the hen determines shell color. Aracona chickens lay a lovely green shaded egg.

Size is actually determined by the age of a hen. The older the hen, the larger the egg. Double yolks come from the same hens making the XL eggs.

Fresh eggs from pastured free roaming hens allowed to eat bugs and raised under organic conditions are best. Fresh eggs are noticeably different. The yellows stand up and are perky. There isn't the air pocket in the shell that forms between the shell and the membrane as it ages. When you put a whole fresh eggs in a glass full of water, it will sink while an older egg will float due to that air pocket. But older eggs aren't all bad. When the whites are more broken down from age they whip up lighter and fluffier making higher soufflés.

Fresh eggs will also have a more noticeable chalaza (the egg white strand that anchors the yolk in place). (The chalaza is indeed supposed to be there and it is not an embryo. It does not need to be removed.)

If your egg white is a bit cloudy, you can be assured of a very fresh egg. The cloudiness is from carbon dioxide found in the young egg that has not had time to escape yet from the shell.

Believe it or not, a bright red blood spot would also indicate a fresh egg. Though very rare nowadays, less than 1% of all eggs have blood spots, they usually occur from a rupture of a blood vessel on the surface of the yolk follicle. The blood spot can be removed for aesthetics; a blood spot does not make the egg inedible.

However, eggs with blood spots are not considered kosher. This is because blood spots can also occur due to fertilization. Of course, most hens are not allowed anywhere near a rooster so fertilization is an impossibility in today's eggs, but religion dictates that we toss the egg with the blood spot. The laws of Kashrut do not dictate white eggs over brown or other color eggs, just that it not be a fertilized egg. Some people believe that there are more blood spots in brown eggs than white eggs because they mistakenly think that a naturally occurring brown marks of coloration in the brown egg are a blood spot. The laws of kashrut are clear that it is the red blood spot that is not allowed for fear of fertilization and that brown spots can be ignored.

Inappropriate temperature and humidity will age an egg. (A week-old egg can actually be fresher than a day-old egg.) In the U.S. eggs are refrigerated but in other parts of the world they are not. They will keep fresh out of the refrigerator if never placed in a refrigerator but once they are refrigerated, they must always be refrigerated to maintain freshness.

Conventional eggs are from hens living in very cramped quarters where their beaks are clipped so they don't peck at themselves or their sisters who are literally stacked on top of one another. They are fed genetically modified and pesticide-doused corn and soy and sometimes their own brothers ground in the feed. They live stressful lives in a toxic environment - that is carried through in the eggs they produce. Just remember, you are what you eat.

Choose organic free range eggs. Yes, they are more money, they need more room but organic eggs are more nutritious so you get more bang for your buck. Organic eggs are from hens given no hormones or antibiotics and fed only organically certified feed grown without pesticides, insecticides or herbicides. They are free roaming and must have access to fresh air. They are healthy eggs and all in all, we're not talking $10 for a dozen eggs, it's still pennies an egg, maybe dimes, but seriously, is that the quibble here? Cheap eggs to poison our world, our animals, and our bodies or healthy eggs to make us strong that cost less than .40 each as an inexpensive source of nutrition.

This post is part of the No GMO Challenge - JOIN US!

Alphabet Soup: PLU

How to tell what you're eating - what do those numbers mean?

Tags (PLU "Price Look Up" code sticker) on fruits and vegetables can help you identify organic, conventional and even genetically modified produce.

• ORGANIC produce stickers start with a 9 and have 5 numbers
• Conventional ones have 4 numbers
  
• GM (Genetically Modified) produce have 5 numbers like organic produce but start with the number 8 so be particularly cautious of those fruits and vegetables

Choose 9 for peace of mind -

This is part of Food Renegade's FIGHT BACK FRIDAYS where people who are fighting back against the dominate food culture blog about our adventures in real food including:

• updates & stories about our Real Food journey,
• tips,
• recipes,
• anything we think others might find useful, helpful, encouraging, or inspiring.

Why Choose Organic?

There is no more important single thing we can do to have a bigger impact on helping the planet and our bodies than choosing real organic foods.

Organic foods are produced without the use of chemicals, herbicides, fungicides, petroleum-, sewage- or sludge-based fertilizers or chemical pesticides. Organic food is not bio-engineered, genetically modified, nor is it irradiated. Poultry and Beef are fed only organic feed, are grazed on organically maintained pastures, and are not given antibiotics, hormones or animal by-products.

Until WWII, organic was the "conventional" practice as it was the most common way to farm. The use of synthetic chemicals and toxins won the battle away from home and were now touted to improve our lives here too. With this fanfare, it was well received and pushed through quickly. At that time, shocking to us now to think, but chemical poisons were even sprayed directly onto children to kill off bacteria! And some of us still remember walking behind the trucks spraying chemicals to kill off mosquitoes and other bugs around the neighborhood because it was so cool to see that puff of smoke come out. Conventional, the norm, changed to today's standard of using these chemicals readily.

Conventional farmers use millions of pounds of pesticides each year, much of which ends up in our drinking water and oceans. Pesticides and chemicals kill off living things - bugs and animals that may eat the food as well as parasites and microorganisms. Pesticides deplete the soil so more chemicals are needed to fertilize enabling the cycle to continue.

Pesticides are poisons. Most have the potential of causing cancer and are endocrine disrupters that mimic or interfere with our hormones. Pesticides cannot always be washed off the food, even with soap, as they are "ingested" in the plant through the roots and are actually in the body of the food.

Pesticides have a well documented and serious impact on our health. Among the many adverse effects, pesticides:

• compromise our liver's job of cleaning toxins from our body
• compromise each cell's ability to produce energy and do their respective jobs in our body
• compromise our nerves and their job of sending important messages in our body

In short, pesticides cause disease and death. That's their goal, to kill off the bugs and pests. But they are having serious impacts on the lives of humans and especially on our future, our very own children. This is particularly important in the amounts and combinations of these pesticides. Since most children are picky eaters, they will eat more of one thing meaning more of certain chemicals. The long-term effect of these pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and chemicals, and the effect of the 'cocktail' of pesticide combinations on growing children has not been completely studied but it's clearly impacting fertility, development, health, and longevity. Pesticides can cause birth defects, cancer, nerve damage, impact our immune system, and disrupt our hormonal balance.

More recent news suggests that conventional foods may help us keep unwanted weight on our bodies. We all know the liver's function is to clear our bodies of toxins. The latest research indicates that the toxic buildup burdens the liver's function to such an extent that it cannot do it's other important jobs - burn body fat! An impaired liver can therefore cause weight gain.

Organic farmers are leaders and innovators at protecting our environment while protecting the crops naturally. Organic farmers work with the natural ecosystem to improve the soil and deter pests. They rotate crops between fields and have diversity in their farms; while the conventional farmer limits crops and farming practices which depletes the soil's nutrients and leads to a real risk of crop damage from disease.

Organic farmers plant certain flowers and bushes to attract helpful insects who will then eat or deter pests that might otherwise eat the crops; conventional farms kill off insects and pests, helpful and hurtful to the farmer.

Organic farmers work with nature to replenish the soil, do not use toxic pesticides or fertilizers and maintain a biologically sustainable investment in our future. The organic farmer works to create and maintain healthful soil. Worms and microorganisms work to keep the soil strong. The soil feeds the plant. Therefore healthful soil creates food with more nutrition. True, conventional food is devoid of harmful bacteria and bugs, but it is also lower in nutritional value and has less flavor.

Chemicals deplete the top soil and cause soil erosion which in turn offers less nutrition to the plant which in turn creates less nutritious food for us. In addition, the chemicals and pesticides are killing off microorganisms. Many of these microorganisms are helpful and are actually healthful. Discoveries of helpful bacteria that turn into cures for disease are found in dirt regularly around the world. In killing off the good and bad organisms, we are creating new super-resistant bugs and strains of insects and pests that require even more powerful chemical pesticides to be killed.

Healthy plants are more disease resistant, are more drought resistant, create a better supply of food, create more nutritious food, and grow strong without chemical assistance. It all works together.

At home, our own yards can be maintained organically. Years ago, we would to play in the dirt, dirt that was free of harmful chemicals and loaded with helpful microorganisms. As children this set up our immune systems to be strong. Children were healthier. When our children run and play in the yard, we need to make sure that is a yard they can lie in safely and that runoff from our yard is not going to poison our planet and water supply.

Conventional farming overseas is even worse than in the U.S. since farmers can get away with more with relaxed environmental laws. In many countries, conventional farming is destroying the rainforest and causing the demise of plants and animals for the sake of one single kind of "cash" crop ki. Forests are plowed to make way for planting, soil is eroded, chemicals and poisons enter our water systems, animals lose their homes, toxins enter the delicate ecosystem.

And talk about doing our part to help curb global warming, conventional farming uses more fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are used to create pesticides and chemicals. They are used to transport them to the farm. Micro-organisms that would otherwise hold carbon are killed releasing carbons into the atmosphere. Once the soil is depleted of micro-organisms, the soil must be enriched with chemical fertilizers which again take fossil fuels in creation and transportation. Conventional farms are more automated and use more fossil fuels generally. They have an over-abundance of manure since they are not using that so that is another issue which must be removed with fossil fuels. Organic farming uses up to 60% less fossil fuel per unit of food.

What is Biodynamic? Biodynamic Demeter supervised farming meets all organic standards and takes them even further. This system was created in ancient times to create healthful soil to withstand the test of time. Biodynamic farming takes even more time and money and therefore things cost more, but what it gives us is a true harmony with our land. It works with the plants, animals, and the environment to promote healthy soil and healthy plants.

Choosing organic produce and biodynamic products supports local, generally smaller, organic farms and the families who work those farms. Paying organic farmers in other countries a fair wage by choosing Fair Trade products allows them to create strong communities, schools and help children and their families. In addition, and as you would guess, conventional farmers and the people that work in and around the fields (including the people that crop dust and spray the chemicals and pesticides) have a much higher risk of cancer than organic farmers.

Organic certification confirms a set of standards:

• farmland used to grow the produce must be free of chemicals (pesticides, fertilizers, etc) for at least three (3) years. During the three year period, they are considered "transitional" and before that they are simply conventional.
• there is a paper trail to make sure that product is indeed the organic product you expect.
• organic poultry and beef are raised on organic feed or organically maintained pastures
• organic cows and chickens cannot be given growth hormones, stimulants or antibiotics
• organic dairy cows, poultry and cattle must be treated humanely with
  o clean water,
  o a clean place to sleep,
  o access to the outdoors,
  o exercise, and
  o fresh air
• organic dairy pasteurization must meet hygienic standards
• dairy cows may not be sold for slaughter as beef
• beef is processed in a certified plant where organic cows are separated from conventional ones and the entire processing line must be cleaned to organic specifications for the organic ones
• no more than 5% of the ingredients (excluding water and salt) are conventional; or at least 95% of the product is organic as per the standards of certification
• organic products cannot use some organic and some conventional of the same ingredient

Chemical poisons are dangerous. The environmental impact is great today and sadly, they remain in the ecosystem for decades after use. When we look and see that organic foods are sometimes more than conventional, we need to remember the toll conventional foods are having upon our world and our future. Organic foods are actually less costly when we look at the money it takes to fix the problems created by conventional farming. And yes, EVERY choice, EVERY person, EVERY item counts as a vote in the right direction.

Understandably, organic can cost more than conventional, but remember that cheap is not food, cheap is a way to fill the belly that has expensive repercussions long-term upon our health and our planet. It's actually more expensive to produce cheap food, more energy is needed to create each calorie and the clean up of the mess made to our health and our environment is expensive. Instead choose organic whenever possible - particularly for those foods you feed yourself and family most. That will offer you the biggest impact on your own lives and is the best place to start.

Organic farming protects our water supply, our wild life, our families, and our future. Choosing organic foods is like voting to go back to a more natural and safer way of breathing, eating, and living. It's a vote for our health today, our children's current and future health, our environment, animals, and our planet.

Salsa & Chips, it's not so simple anymore

For Cinco de Mayo last week I brought in fresh organic roma tomatoes, cilantro, jalapenos, limes, garlic, avocados, and scallions to make salsa with the kids. And of course, I brought in chips for the class.

• 4 ripe roma tomatoes, chopped
  
• 1 avocado, chopped
  
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
  
• 1 lime, fresh squeezed juice
  
• 1 garlic, chopped
  
• 1/4 jalapeno, chopped fine
  
• sea salt
• 2 scallions, chopped
  

Mix and enjoy as a topping or with chips. You can cuisinart it if you like it less chunky.

They did an outstanding job chopping and making their own salsa. We talked about the different flavors, smelled and tasted. I helped share information with this bright group of third and fourth graders about the differences between organic and conventional and why our family doesn't eat certain things, especially those made of conventional corn. Eating salsa and chips isn't a simple task for us anymore as we have to search for organic corn chips or at least those labeled non-GMO.

In the U.S. there are no labeling requirements when a product contains anything genetically modified. Corn and Soy are the top two crops that are genetically altered. Therefore, corn chips are most assuredly GMO if they are not labeled organic.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) or Genetically Engineered (GE) foods involve a scientific process that alters the very genetic make-up of a plant by introducing new DNA into the nucleus. Genes from humans, bacteria, viruses, other plants, and even animals are spliced into the seed. The effects of these changes have not been fully tested on our environment, nor on our health. Europe has banned GMOs but here in the U.S. we have to search and read labels carefully.

The organic label is a good place to look to make sure the products we choose are not GMO. By definition, organic foods cannot be genetically altered.

My rule of thumb to people just starting to change their eating habits is to choose organic particularly for those things that your family eats most and especially those products that contain any soy or corn in them. And corn is in almost every processed food under the label of a variety of things including:

• in Baked Goods that contain Baking Powder or Confectioner’s/Powdered Sugar
• Vegetable Oil, Corn Oil, Corn Syrup, Cornmeal, Cornstarch, Starch
  
• Fructose And Fructose Syrup
  
• Maltodextrin & Dextrine
• MSG - Monosodium Glutamate also listed as Autolized Yeast Extract

Corn is even ingested by us second hand and a majority of it goes for animal feed so be wary of:

• Grain-fed Poultry
  
• Grain-Finished Beef
• Vegetarian-Fed Eggs

Choose pastured, grass-fed, and organic for a variety of reasons not the least of which is to avoid GMO corn.

It may not be simple anymore to find and enjoy chips and salsa, but armed with some knowledge, we can protect ourselves and crunch away!

This post is part of the No GMO Challenge - JOIN US!

Swine Flu & Produce from Mexico

We have been enjoying so many wonderful fruits and vegetables in our shares from the buying club over the last several weeks. When I shop for our buying club purchases, we do first go for local fruits and vegetables, so we get many Florida grown produce items including Florida tomatoes, zucchini, oranges, cucumbers, eggplant, cantaloupe, jalapenos, cubanelle peppers, strawberries, cabbage, kale, collards, corn, and more. But personally, I don't want to live on those things alone.

There are many other fruits and vegetables that don't grow here in Florida and we want to enjoy those too like apples, pears, pineapple (yeah, we can grow 'em here but ain't nothin' like a Costa Rican golden pineapple, c'mon now!), ataulfo mangos, potatoes, garlic, herbs, broccoli, cauliflower, yams, well you get the idea. For a more diverse menu we turn to Georgia, the Carolinas, California, New Zealand, and yes, even Mexico. Mexico together with New Mexico, Arizona and California are the best North American regions for growing consistently good quality fruits and vegetables and therefore the majority of farming is found there, both conventional and organic farms.

Recently in our buying club a few members had concerns about using produce from Mexico due to the swine flu. I want to assure you that there is absolutely no need for concern. There is no way we can get the swine flu from eating produce from Mexico. The fact is that the flu simply cannot be carried or transmitted by consuming produce grown in Mexico.

It's important to remember that most of those Mexican organic farms are American owned. The Mexican farms must meet the same NOP guidenlines as the farms here in the United States. Over the years, I have heard from people hesitant to purchase any food from Mexico based upon rumors they had heard about how things are grown. But we only choose farms that are certified organic. The organic certification in Mexico, like in the U.S. and elsewhere, is important. In addition, we choose Mexican farms with the additional third party PRIMUS certification which means that those farms must adhere to regulations that are far stricter than those of farmers here in the USA. We feel confident personally using and promoting Mexican organic produce and organic third party certified farms outside the U.S.; indeed we think it is essential to support organic farms period.

Of course, supporting a small local farmer is truly important and we do buy locally first. But when we cannot find local produce, we do choose organic over local conventional produce. With every purchase we support the organic industry. This includes smaller farmers and cooperatives outside the U.S., big farms in the U.S., and local farms making a difference by working in ecological harmony with our planet. Organic farming is one family, no matter that some are outside the United States, it's vitally important to support the organic mission. It's better for our future, the future of our planet, our health, our children, and our environment. As a friend of mine said recently "organic farms should not have borders."

When we choose to avoid Mexican organics, we are hurting a small community. When we choose to avoid Fair Trade products, we are hurting a family. These countries rely upon our purchases to support better schools, a stronger community, and even the simple things in life we take for granted like running water, schools for learning, and a clean, safe place to live. The result if we choose to avoid organics from Mexico is clear. If we do not support organic Mexican farms, they will close down. Yes this will have a direct impact on the people living in those communities working those farms, but let us not forget that this will impact us too. Fewer organic farms will exist to meet demand which will in turn cause prices to increase for us.

It's important to make conscious decisions for our planet and informed decisions for our life. Every single purchase we make impacts our life and the lives of loved ones with us, as well as the lives of others we don't see, and our planet. We choose organic for people, planet, and purpose.

Top picture courtesy cbcnews.ca

Time-Saving Kitchen & Nutrition Tips - The Healthy Pantry

When you ditch the microwave (that's another post) and stop buying most pre-packaged foods, you start to create short cuts to having real food in a hurry. Real food doesn't necessarily take more time, I can usually get dinner on the table in 30, but it does take planning and having a good filled pantry (fresh, frozen, dry) of supplies so I know I can make anything based upon the fresh veggies or meats I have on hand. I choose organic (non-gmo) for everything except meats and fish, those are grass-fed and wild respectively.

My Pantry consists of Dry - Frozen - Refrigerated/Fresh -

DRY:

• Oils: olive, coconut, palm shortening, macadamia nut oil
  
• Coconut milk
  
• Stock, preferably fresh made and frozen but I have some of that organic chicken stock on hand just in case, don't tell anyone
  
• Basic spices - sea salt, (NOTE: this is NOT regular table salt! I only use real sea salt, grey salt, river salt, we feel a big difference in our health and if we ever eat out, we can feel the difference in the sodium.) fresh black peppercorns, cumin, cayenne or chili pepper flakes, curry and curry paste, maybe some spice blends, vanilla beans and vanilla extracts
• Canned tomatoes whole and diced (make sure it's in a lined can so the aluminum doesn't leach from the high acidity of tomatoes and only organic tomatoes)
• Brown Rice (there are so many kinds of rice: Red, Wild, Sweet Brown, Short & Long Grain), Brown Rice Pasta (we love Tinkyada brand), Quinoa, Millet, Wheatberries, Grits (only organic), Kamut Berries, Barley, Oats (steel cut, rolled, thick rolled, Scottish, we use them all in different ways)
  
• Baking supplies - flour, (I'm using the last of the organic unbleached all purpose and whole wheat flours, moving toward Amaranth Flour, Coconut Flour, Buckwheat, Spelt, Garbanzo Flour and things like that. Also having whole wheat berries I'll be getting a Vitamix to grind my own and make my own sprouted wheat - can't wait!), chocolate chips, baking powder/baking soda, yeast, chia seeds (whole and pulverized - I add them to smoothies and baked goods to add omega 3s)
• Honey - I like YS Organic Honey and New Zealand honeys, but there are tons of lovely organic honeys each with their own qualities. I use one from Africa on meats and in sauces, it is the only honey I know of that is from a flowering tree; the flavor depends upon the flowering blossoms and organic means the bees are roaming on pesticide-free flowers
• Crackers - particularly wheat-free and crunchy ones like Mary's Gone Crackers and Foods Alive Golden Flax Crackers
  
• Condiments: Soy sauce from fermented nonGMO soy beans, Fish sauce, Mustard, Vinegar, Kethcup (Organicville makes one with Agave instead of sugar)
  
• Nut butters: Almond, Cashew, Macadamia Nut, others
  
• Fair Trade Coffee & Tea
• Sweeteners we use Sucanat, I love the flavor and color of it, or Rapadura which is a brand name of the same thing, we also use in moderation: Brown Rice Syrup, Agave, Xylitol, and Therasweet from Living Fuel and
  
• Organic Maple Syrup, Maple Chunks and Maple Sugar
• Date Sugar
  
• Jam, there are organic all-fruit spreads by bionaturae that are great!
• Canned Wild Alaskan Salmon, Sardines, and Tuna
  
• Beans - canned and dried especially cannellini, garbanzo and black beans
  Snacks for kids - Fruitabu Twirls, Freeze-dried fruit like Just Tomatoes Just Organic Strawberries, things like that we have for lunchboxes and quick snacks
  
• Raisins, Apricots, Cherries, and other dried fruit
  
• Fair Trade Dark Chocolate and Cocoa Powder, I have some organic fair trade milk chocolate for the kids but they are beginning to like some of the dark ones now too
  
• Seaweed stuff - Sushi wrappers, Dulse, Wakame
  

FREEZER:

• Nuts: we have a big variety - cashews, pecans, walnuts, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, flaxseeds and flaxseedmeal (great for baked goods and smoothies), every kind, I keep them in the freezer to keep them fresh since they have a high fat content which can lead to them going rancid quickly
  
• Frozen fruit are great for smoothies. Any fresh fruit that doesn't get eaten gets frozen. Frozen fruit are also great to put in a juicer to make mock ice cream or even just to eat right out of the bag.
  
• Frozen veggies are good to have on hand for frittatas, stews, etc. but I prefer fresh.
  
• Grassfed Meats/Pastured Free Roaming Organic Poultry/Wild Alaskan Seafood - grassfed ground beef, lamb, turkey, grassfed bison, bacon, burgers, skirt steaks, salmon, halibut, a variety of cuts and kinds of meats and fish
• Frozen pre-made meals that I made extra including Chicken & Beef Stock, Stews, Soups (lots of soups), breakfast muffins, desserts
• I store Wheat Germ and Whole Wheat products in the freezer or anything I buy in bulk
  

REFRIGERATED:

• Grass-fed Dairy: Heavy Cream, Milk, Butter, Kefir, Cheeses, Sour Cream, Ricotta Cheese, Yogurt (we like Seven Stars brand, I get plain and add vanilla and maple syrup) - always organic and rBGH-free and grassfed. If in Miami get Raw Milk at the Miami Coop or contact Justine with The New Hunter Gatherer or your visit the Weston Price Foundation
  
• Flax oil - great to add to smoothies or salad dressings
  
• Eggs - organic, preferably pastured
• Fresh Fruits, Veggies and Herbs - LOTS of Fruits & Veggies - and a great variety!
  
• Cultured Veggies, Pickles, Olives
  
• Miso
• Kombucha (have to learn how to make it myself)
  
• Organic Deli Meats, but not that much since they are not usually grassfed, when I can find grassfed nitrite-free deli meats, we have our way with those
  

Save time shopping by going online, Amazon has lots of great groceries and organics now too, that way you can comparison shop and take your time.

When I cook an item I use a lot, I make extra and freeze it including:

• soups - especially when veggies are plentiful (or about to go bad) like Roasted Pepper Soup, Broccoli soup, and of course Chicken and Beef Stock
  
• basil spinach pesto - I freeze and then I can add that to anything from stews to pizza to frittatas or anywhere I need to add some greens and some flavor. Link here to see other GREENS tips.
  
• baked goods - desserts, cakes, muffins, pancakes, waffles, all of these freeze very well and that way it's there when you need it when friends pop by

More Meal-Make-In-A-Hurry Tips -

• make extra - use leftovers and create something new, heat them up as is for leftovers the next day, freeze them for another day
• I'll make meatballs and freeze them uncooked to use another time: drop them into soup, braise them, cook them in the oven - ready to go and I know what went into them!
• freeze peeled GINGER, I peel it and freeze it. It grates easily frozen, no need to thaw, and that way I always have some on had to grate into any dish with my micro-rasper.
• freeze any fresh fruit or vegetable you don't use in time for use later
  
• fresh fruits and vegetable preparation - I cut up apples and swoosh them in orange juice to keep them from browning and use as a quick snack; cut up celery and carrots and have on hand in the fridge ready to grab. The kids will grab those with nut butter as a snack. I take fresh herbs and rinse them, shake off the excess water, and wrap them in a kitchen towel and put them in a refrigerator drawer ready to use.
• I take meat, fish, poultry out of the freezer every couple of days to plan my menu for the next several days
• sauces make a meal, adding a sauce can change it and make it really delicious
• extra soup can be used the next day or frozen for another day - be sure to label the frozen food with a date and what it is (maybe even the ingredients or the name of the recipe so you know what it is and what it includes in case of allergies in visitors or new allergies)
• extra rice can be used the next day to make a chicken/beef/pork/veggie-fried rice
• stews incorporate veggies, meats, broth, everything in one hearty bowl, I tend to make quite a bit of stews since they are fast to put together, can be crock-potted, are satisfying and nutritious.
• breakfast for dinner - the kids love eggs, frittatas (great way to mix veggies in), pancakes, omelets, so much you can do with eggs! We tend to have a bigger lunch.
  
• oh for my daughter's birthday party I made sandwiches cut up in flower and other shapes and saved all the crusts and used that to make an easy bread pudding with eggs, honey, vanilla, orange zest, milk.
• don't toss the bones from roasted chicken, you can use that to make a rich chicken stock, add in the parsley stems that you didn't use fresh
  

Favorite kitchen gadgets and things I could not live without -

• Glass Pyrex dishes. These are great for storing, come in a variety of sizes, can be used to reheat things straight from the fridge as long as you start them in a cold oven, and can even be used to store things in the freezer! There are containers, mixing bowls, all with tops and in a variety of sizes. They are glass but the tops are plastic. I just try not to overfill them so the top doesn't touch the plastic and I wait for the leftovers to cool before putting the top on the container.
• Immersion Blender - without a doubt my number one favorite kitchen gadget is my Immersion Hand Blender. I have a Braun, 400 watts, but there are others out there. I use this for making everything including salad dressings, soups, sauces. I use it practically every day. It's easy to use, easy to clean up, and makes cooking from scratch a snap. I cannot imagine preparing food without it.
• The Microplane Stainless Steel Micro-plane Zester I use for everything from fresh citrus zest to fresh nutmeg to frozen ginger. A must have.
• Hand-held Grater for grating cheese into sauces, soups and sandwiches, it's easier than the big food processor
  
• Cheese Slicer saves money from buying pre-sliced cheese and does a great job. Plus when you slice it yourself, it's fresher and, if you're getting cheese wrapped in plastic, the whole block has less surface area touching the plastic so less change of leaching.
  
• Food Processor - it doesn't get as much work in my house but is handy to have
• Juicer - we haven't been using it as much lately and I don't recommend it if you have a good blender like a Vitamix. The problem with my juicer is that with a family of 6, every time I juice for us it takes forever and then clean-up is not a snap, but I do believe it's important to juice veggies, especially leafy greens.
  
• Blender - we use our blender practically every day to make morning smoothies for the kids. I add frozen fruit, milk, honey, sometimes a couple green leaves, chia seeds (for omega 3s), vanilla and blend BUT my goal this year is to get a Vitamix as they are super powerful for smoothies and juicing greens and for my new step into good food: grinding fresh grains
• Cast Iron Pots and Enameled Cast Iron - of every shape and size to do the job right. if you have any nonstick or silverstone pots and pans, get rid of them and don't buy any more, they are harmful to our bodies and the planet, I'll write a post on that another time.
• Dehydrator - this is good for everything from keeping home-made yogurt at the right temp to making your own fruit leathers
  
• Silicone Spatula, Tongs, Poultry Shears, thin but wide stainless Spatula, Slotted Stainless Spoon, utensils important for the job. If you find this post or my blog helpful, I'd appreciate you linking on the affiliates the next time you want to buy something to help support my writing habit - Thank You!
  

For Packing Lunches:

This year my kids are back in school. We found this wonderful Montessori school and they are loving it and I do too. I do miss our family big lunches each day and the time together, but they get home so excited with much to tell me. I make the kids lunch each day and usually add a note. Planning and the proper containers make this easier.

I warm up and add leftovers to a stainless steel thermos after filling it with hot water so it stays warm. I make sandwiches on sprouted wheat bread with no nitrate deli meats or cheeses. They love yogurt and I usually add no sugar cookies or pretzels for dipping.

I make raw meatballs "batter" (meat, Parmesan cheese, oats, milk, tomato sauce, seasoning, maybe some basil pesto) and keep it in the fridge to make meatballs and rice for their lunch fresh in the morning; they love those meatballs.

I make panini sandwiches and wrap them in recycled aluminum foil. If using aluminum be sure not to use it on anything acid next to it, to buy recycled foil and to, in turn, recycle it. Aluminum is a killer on the planet to source but can be recycled indefinitely!

Some nifty things for making lunches eco-friendly and healthful include:

LunchBots Uno + Duo Set - cute new container in stainless perfect for sandwiches and snacks

Klean Kanteen Stainless Steel Water Container - these are stainless steel bottles and come in a variety of sizes and COLORS perfect for any age and personality

You'll notice what I do NOT have because the ingredients on the manufactured ones are poor:

• Granola, Granola Bars - store ones contain soy oil, canola oil, bad fats, sugar, all to avoid and it's actually pretty easy and MUCH more delicious to make yourself, I'll post our recipe fave with pictures soon as I'm due to make more
  
• Cold Cereal - they normally contain sugar, corn, preservatives, even the organic varieties have things I don't like and I just don't believe cereal is good for us, it starts our day on carbs and the grain is not natural (it's puffed or extruded)
• Salad Dressing - so easy to make your own, so much more delicious, ones on the market are gmo, soy oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, even organic ones don't taste good and use bad oils, sugars
• Mayo - though Wilderness Family Naturals makes a wholesome mayo
  
• Frozen Meals and Pre-packaged foods - we make our own "pancake mix" and things like that, it's really easy and doesn't take so much time, there is just a learning curve, as with anything worthwhile in life
• "White" stuff - plain old white sugar, white flour, white iodized salt, white rice
  
• Artificial Sweeteners like Splenda, Asparatame, Saccharine - we use dates, safer sweeteners like xylitol, honey, maple syrup (lots of maple syrup!), date sugar, there are other sweet options
• "Health" Foods and gimmicky stuff like Acai, unfermented soy stuff, power bars (except we do like Larabars, but they aren't organic so we don't induge that often)
• Traditional Deli Meats - they contain nitrates which convert to nitrosamines that are carcinogenic
• "Vegetable" oil like corn, soy, canola, peanut - these are all bad oils, some are even touted as "health" food but the research shows otherwise, more on that later
• most prepackaged foods. Typical shelf stable non-organic foods contain HFCS, MSG, hydrogenated oils, and artificial colors. Organic foods don't, so it's easy for us to avoid those things but sometimes artificial flavors, MSG, non-GMO soy and corn do lurk in even organic pre-packaged foods so it's important to read labels and KNOW what you're reading.
  
• Soda, even organic, it's just liquid candy so we don't buy it
• Juices - the whole fruit and vegetable is much better than a pasteurized juice which is just full of sugar. We don't drink much juice, we have some on hand but it's not a staple that I must have nor do we drink a lot of it, not really health food
  
• Potato Chips, even organic ones, the oil isn't good since they use cheap stuff for their own bottom line and the process of frying them creates acrylamides which are carcinogenic
  
• any grain-fed meats or regular conventional rBGH agri-biz dairy
• most name brands, there are some organic brands we now get but we tend to shy from big name brands just because the product quality ingredients deteriorate to make way for higher profit margins
  

Eating and preparing real food to me means being frugal with each item and really using everything you can, but it's not always easy. I believe in taking time in preparing and cooking food when possible. Making a meal with love adds flavor, nutrition, and to the pleasurable experience for the one making the food and those enjoying it. We all have our hurried moments, and for those days, which can be many in today's busy world, time-saving tips and being prepared with a good pantry and the right kitchen tools can help us eat healthy in a hurry.

I am really looking forward to reading all the posts for the real food Wednesdays carnival this week and incorporating more ways to save time in the kitchen from these hip, smart, eco-mamas writing these blogs.

This post is part of two Carnivals today:
and

Join Works For Me Wednesday at We Are That Family; Join the Real Food Wednesday Carnival by heading over to Kelly the Kitchen Kop

What’s Real Food?

Real food is whole, natural, and nutrient-dense.

* Organic
* Humanely raised (animals on pasture, not in factories)
* Grown locally when possible
* Whole and unrefined (real maple syrup instead of high-fructose corn syrup)
* Processed as little as possible (raw milk instead of pasteurized and homogenized)
* Nutrient-dense (enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and probiotics)
* Free of additives and preservatives
* Free of synthetic and chemical ingredients
* Not genetically modified
* Traditionally produced and prepared

In other words, butter or lard instead of shortening or vegetable oil. Real milk from a cow instead of soy milk. Real sprouted flour (ground fresh or purchased) instead of refined white flour. Real, natural sweeteners like honey or unrefined cane sugar (rapadura or sucanat) instead of white sugar.

If it’s highly processed and/or doesn’t come from nature, it’s not real food!

We’re not saying you have to be perfect (nobody is) but try to feature real foods in your recipes and minimize the junk like vegetable oil and refined sugar and additives.

How Has Real Food Changed our Lives?

This is part of Real Food Wednesday: Share Your Real Food Testimonials

I was raised to be aware of artificial colors and hydrogenated oils so we didn't get much candy or packaged cookies at home but I never really understood why and you'd better believe that as soon as I hit school, I inhaled the latest kind of every colorful piece I could find. My friends all thought we were health nuts and I guess comparatively, we kind of were, but, oddly enough, we really were not. We had plenty of sugar in our house, we went through many 5lb bags regularly. We ate a lot of cereal and bread, my mom made homemade bread as I got older. We guzzled regular (not organic) skim milk, pasteurized and from cows shot up on growth hormones and living in small confined areas. We ate regular eggs from hens in coops so tight they had their beaks clipped. We used margarine over butter, it was the healthier alternative then. Our meat was mostly kosher so they got a little more room to move but I'm sure they were fed grain, not healthy for cows; I'm not sure if genetic modifications were big back then but as the years passed, I'm sure they were fed gmo corn and soy. The veggies were mostly overcooked, not very delicious, not organic, and we were not encouraged to drink water.

When I moved out on my own I ate whatever without much regard but did pretty much keep away from artificial colors and flavors, out of habit. But my diet wasn't good. And my body felt the effects of it even though I exercised and looked pretty healthy on the outside.

Life changes when you are responsible for someone other than yourself. Pregnant with my first child, my husband and I really started thinking about what I ate to nourish the baby and we started reading and making small changes.

After he started to eat solids, we realized we needed to get into organics and make greater commitments to our health and so our journey into truly real food began. As well as our journey to change how we lived, our footprint on the planet, our understanding for how our purchase impacted others in the world, and to use real products to clean instead of chemicals.

I was just speaking with someone the other day and she asked if I felt healthier. The truth is that we, as a society, don't know how unhealthy we truly are until we change our diet. Then we can feel the difference.

You can tell a lot about a person from their, well, output. Many of us, I was included, thought it was normal to have uncomfortable poops. It's not! Stomach cramps, pains, headaches, constipation, diarrhea, all of this that we live with everyday like it is the way our bodies are meant to work, but it's not. We see commercials on TV to help make these "regular" symptoms tolerable from antacid to laxatives and pain medication because this is our normal. Once we start eating REAL food, we know the truth. But money drives corporations so we are force fed a bunch of convenience pre-packaged foods created with artificial flavorings from fossil fuels and from things that were once food but were raised on sterile farms poisoned with chemicals to enhance our fast-paced life which causes us to need more meds in order to live comfortably.

How has my life changed? I feel alive! I am alive. I have a connection with my food and my family. I take time to create and appreciate each meal (and I usually make three meals a day for the six of us.) My children understand and I have confidence in the choices they make. We make a conscious decision every time we put something in our mouths or make a purchase.

My children taste. When we travel, our biggest luggage is our food. On our way back from Disney World we were running late and hence had run out of food. We stopped at a fast food place (how many of my friends had looked at me like I was a child abuser for never taking them for fast food!) and figured, well, once wouldn't kill them. They had seen the commercials, so you know, happiness comes in a bag. Well, they looked at it and took one bite, spit it out and asked "what is this?" They were right! It really doesn't even taste good. It doesn't taste like real food because it isn't food at all.

My children understand what food is, what it is for, and that it SHOULD taste delicious always. They have respect for the earth, for real food and our connection to the planet. They know that we impact our environment and that each of us must make choices for our own health and the future of our planet. And because they understand, they make good informed choices by themselves. When there is candy at school, they use it to barter for other things their friends have or they give it away. (Really, I actually have had teachers call me to ask if something was wrong because they wouldn't eat the cake, candy or even pizza that was offered.) My children are smart. They know that when they get home they will have some truly yummy food made with real ingredients, including love.

Join the Real Food Wednesday Carnival. Add your testimonial by heading over to Cheeseslave

What’s Real Food?

Real food is whole, natural, and nutrient-dense.

* Organic
* Humanely raised (animals on pasture, not in factories)
* Grown locally when possible
* Whole and unrefined (real maple syrup instead of high-fructose corn syrup)
* Processed as little as possible (raw milk instead of pasteurized and homogenized)
* Nutrient-dense (enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and probiotics)
* Free of additives and preservatives
* Free of synthetic and chemical ingredients
* Not genetically modified
* Traditionally produced and prepared

In other words, butter or lard instead of shortening or vegetable oil. Real milk from a cow instead of soy milk. Real sprouted flour (ground fresh or purchased) instead of refined white flour. Real, natural sweeteners like honey or unrefined cane sugar (rapadura or sucanat) instead of white sugar.

If it’s highly processed and/or doesn’t come from nature, it’s not real food!

We’re not saying you have to be perfect (nobody is) but try to feature real foods in your recipes and minimize the junk like vegetable oil and refined sugar and additives.

Flowers - Show you Really Care this Valentine's Day

I always thought it was so cute when my baby put his little face into a big flower and inhaled with an audible sniff. Then I started wondering as I watched, what was on the flower that he was touching and breathing?

A heavy dousing of chemical fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides, growth hormones, fungicides and pesticides are used on conventional flowers to be cut for our enjoyment. When we touch that flower, we get those poisons on our skin which then penetrate into our body. As our children put their hands to their mouths, those pesticides are even more easily ingested into their small growing bodies. Yet there my precious boy was, nose deep in that gorgeous flower. That simple act that seemed so cute, was not. When we smell the lovely perfume of a flower, we are also inhaling toxins.

Even worse, our purchase has a devastating impact on our environment and upon the people who work in green houses and outside on the flower farms. Thanks to our purchase, they do have a job, that's true. But the workers, mostly women, tend to be sorely underpaid and work in a dangerous environment. The flowers can be sprayed while workers, with no protective gear, do their jobs or the workers may be forced to go back to the fields while the pesticides are still wet on the flowers, without time for them to dry or dissipate. The chemicals used are intensified in green houses where the fumes (and people) are trapped. The pesticides get in her hair, on her clothes, on her hands, and are even inhaled directly into her lungs and organs. Studies show that flower workers are exposed to 60 times the "safe" standard for dangerous pesticides and chemicals. All those chemicals are then brought home on her clothes and into the lives and bodies of her children and loved ones who run to hug her upon her return from work.
(pictures courtesy Jimma Times and Discover Channel, both linked below.)

Even the workers who prune and pack the flowers for shipment are at risk as they absorb the chemicals in their skin and lungs since most work without gloves or masks.

While U.S. grown flowers use very strong chemicals too, the imported flower farms can use unregistered chemicals otherwise banned in the U.S. Many of these chemicals are listed as "category 1" and include the most hazardous of chemicals including methyl bromide and DDT. Birth defects, childhood disease, cancers and other serious illness are now rampant in these communities.

These toxic pesticides drain into neighboring forests and waters, impacting our planet and our future and depleting our ozone layer.

Studies have found over 50% more pesticides on flowers than the allowable limit on our fruits and vegetables; and we are putting those to our faces and the faces of our children!

Roses were found to contain 1000 times more cancer-causing pesticides than food!

The flower industry is big business and the stakes are high. If insects are found in the cargo upon entry to the U.S., the entire shipment may be destroyed. Strong pesticides lessen the risk of loss of revenue. But good for business does not always mean good for planet and people. Luckily, we have choices. Show your flower power by choosing eco-friendly flowers so you and your lucky recipient can really stop and smell the roses.

Organic, Sustainable, Fair-Trade Flowers:

• are the same price as conventional flowers

• are safer for flower farm workers and their families

• lessen the pesticides and toxic chemicals released into our environment
  
  
• allow you and your loved ones to safely touch, admire, sniff, and smell
  
  
• is a gift that doubly and deeply shows you care about the person and our planet
  
  
• are sent in recyclable gift boxes printed with vegetable-based inks and tissue paper made of chlorine-free post-consumer material
  
  
• smell better than conventional flowers
  
  
• last longer than conventional flowers (when taken care of properly)
  
  
• are the environmentally responsible choice
  
  
• help support local organic farming communities which pay better wages and help build schools to create a strong foundation for a healthy future for their children
  
  
• encourage more organic and sustainable flower farms - every flower counts. Help change the world one beautiful flower at a time!

Get your Valentine's flowers set up now, just pick the day of delivery and you'll be the organized hero!

I've used Organic Bouquet for years and appreciate their quality, prices, selection, customer service, and attention to detail. Organic Bouquet recently partnered with The Climate Trust to initiate a carbon offset program that mitigates greenhouse gases generated from shipping your flowers. Each time you purchase a bouquet, the amount of carbon emissions from that shipment is offset by rolling funds into the Truck Stop Electrification Program — a program which reduces wasteful diesel emissions at truck stops by creating low cost, electrical alternatives for truckers to power heating, air conditioning and appliances. The Climate Trust estimates this program will remove nearly 90,000 metric tons of CO2 over the next 16 years, the equivalent of taking 16,000 cars off the road or planting 180,000 trees! By offering a cleaner and cheaper alternative to diesel idling, the project will also save truckers an estimated 10 million gallons of fuel!

Learn More:

• Roses May Contain Risky Levels of Pesticides, Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News
• Dangerous Beauty: Flower Farms May Threaten Workers & The Environment, The Environmental Magazine
• Poisoned Petals, Environmental Working Group
  
• Flowers: Love and Pesticides?, Botany Global
• Why Buy Organic Flowers, Organic Consumers Association
• Occupational Health: An Ugly Picture for Flower Workers and Their Children, Environmental Health
  
• Would a Rose Not Smell as Sweet?, Environmental Health Perspectives
• Ethiopia: Cut flower Bonanza: At What Cost?, Jimma Times
• Colombian flower growers struggle to cut pesticide use, Napa Valley Register
• Many Roses Coated in Chemicals, Discover Channel Associated Press
  

If you find my blog helpful, please use the links here to help me offset costs and allow me to continue to research and post. I only link to companies and products that I have researched and use myself. Thank you so much for using the links to Organic Bouquet to do your shopping for eco-friendly flowers. It is a company I believe in and I'm proud to support them.