8 Reasons to Pick Your Own

I have to get to the local farm that allows you to pick your own strawberries. I don't know when I can get there, but my summer will be much sadder without my strawberries that I freeze for daiquiris.

What's so great about picking your own fruits and vegetables from a nearby farm. I'll tell ya.

1. It's cheaper. Way cheaper. I can get pounds of strawberries for about half the price of going into the little market right on the farm and buying them already picked.
2. Zero waste. You can take your own containers to pick in. My kids take beach buckets.
3. You get the freshest, best tasting produce. You can pick food that is perfectly ripe and eat it that day.
4. It's educational. You and your kids (if you have them) can learn things (see my post last year on Lessons Learned in the Strawberry Patch)
5. You'll support small farmers. It's not the big, agribusiness farms that invite locals to come pick. It's the small, family owned farms. They need our support.
6. It's fun.
7. It's good exercise.
8. You can take awesome photos of your family and friends while picking. Really, every year, I get the best pictures. I'm really tempted to post one, but I don't use my kids' faces on my blog.

You can find nearby farms that allow you to pick what's in season at PickYourOwn .org. The site allows you to search by state, and they even have resources out of the U.S.

Coupons for organic and natural foods are out there

If the More Hip than Hippie podcast wasn't already on your radar before last week when I told you that I was interviewed for the show, I hope it is now. Each week Dori & Val bring relevant information about being green along with a high entertainment factor that makes a podcast worth listening to. 

I went for a walk yesterday and was catching up on some back episodes of the show that I hadn't gotten a chance to listen to yet. In one of the episodes, Val was talking about saving money through coupons in this rough economy and how someone had gotten something like $70 of groceries for $11 (my numbers might be off) after using coupons. My first thought was, "Ya, but what kind of groceries?" If it was all Hot Pockets and potato chips, it's not worth it.

If you're trying to eat a more organic and natural diet, the majority of coupons from the Sunday paper aren't going to help you save money. There are a few coupons for organics in those circulars, but you're going to have to look elsewhere for the majority of your coupons. 

• Mambo Sprouts. One fabulous source that I've mentioned here before is Mambo Sprouts. Their website has downloadable coupons and you can sign up to be sent a seasonal coupon book a couple of times a year.
• Ecobunga. Another online source is Ecobunga. Not only does Ecobunga list food coupons, it also has coupons for other organic products like clothing and cleaning products.

The rest of this list comes from a previous post I did on Mother Nature Network last year.

• Grocery store. Many stores will have coupons for organic/natural products somewhere in the section where those products are. My store has a monthly free magazine that has short articles on food/health and a few advertisements with coupons. Take a look up and down the isles of your store – either the entire store if it sells only natural/organic or just in the specific section.
  
• Magazines. Magazines that are of interest to people who are into organics, healthy lifestyles, yoga or even just food often have coupons along with advertisements. With a quick flip through a recent issue of Body and Soul magazine, I found a coupon for Frontier Natural Products and one for Old Orchard Healthy Balance Juice.
  
• Favorite brand’s website. If there is a specific brand of natural or organic food that you like, you can often find coupons for their products on their website or sign up to be sent coupons via e-mail. Some companies, like Kashi, make it easy to get their coupons by sending them to you. Other sites, like Organic Valley, have coupons to download on their site.
  
• Coupon websites. There are several websites that are dedicated to all kinds of coupons. Many of them have coupons for natural and organic products. Type “natural and organic coupons” into your search engine and you’ll come up with several dozen of them. It may take some time searching through them, but you’re likely to find some money saving coupons. Some of the websites require you to download software to get the coupons. Make sure you trust the site before you download software.
  

Remember that coupons are usually for processed foods. Even natural and organic foods can be processed. It’s best to try to eat mostly whole foods – those that haven’t been processed. Sometimes, though, our hectic lives have us reaching into the cabinet or freezer for something packaged. I know mine does.

Trying something new

I just finished reading Mark Bitman's Food Matters, and I'll be reviewing it for MNN. The book inspired me to try a few things, which I'll be writing a lot more about in the upcoming weeks. One of the things I was inspired to try was a recipe from Chef A - quinoa with sauteed mushrooms and onion. I'd never made quinoa before - it was very easy and really delicious. I'll be making this frequently.

Find a food co-op near you

Derek over at Natural Papa had a post on Friday about joining a food co-op so you can buy your natural foods in bulk. Here's what he has to say:

Join a co-op and buy your natural foods in bulk. Order ahead and get what you’d need for a month. You’ll always have the staples at hand, and you’ll save some cash at the same time.

Most whole foods are available by the bag or box, with 10, 25, and 50 pound sizes being the usual sizes. Rice, lentils, beans, oats, wheat, pasta, nuts and seeds are all available for much less than you’d pay for the fancy box with the cool colors, and you’ve contributed less waste to the landfill. Produce, grocery products, and personal care items are all great candidates for bulk purchases.

A co-op doesn't necessarily have local foods (but I'm sure at certain times of the year one might), but they are a way of buying healthier, natural, sometimes organic, whole foods for less money and with less waste because there is less packaging. 

In his post, Derek points to the Food Co-Op Directory where you can put your zip code in and find a co-op near you. There are a few co-ops within a 45 min to an hour drive of me, and I think I may check one out to see if it would be beneficial for my family to shop there once a month. 

Image: mcmorgan08

White Bean Horseradish Spread for First Thursdays Over at Thursday Night Smackdown

I missed the First Thursday challenge last month on Thursday Night Smackdown. Each month Michelle challenges her readers to test the mettle of their cookbooks and issues a challenge in a certain category. For her orange food challenge, I made sweet potato fries. For her grilling challenge, I tried grilled pizzas for the first time.

This month's challenge was to make an appetizer. Last month, when we were in D.C., I picked up Recipes from an Ecological Kitchen by James Beard Award winner Lorna J. Sass at a used book store. It's an interesting cookbook because it was written in 1992 so there isn't any talk about everyone trying to be green. This was a cookbook written by a woman who has been part of the environmental movement before it was 

hip. I thought it was a great find. 

 

For the challenge, I made White Bean-Horseradish spread. It's really a dip. But there's no mayonnaise, sour cream or cream cheese in this dip. It's all healthy stuff - cooked great northern beans, prepared horse radish, a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, dried rosemary and salt. I suppose you could put this in the hummus category, but not really.

The dip was easy to make, but it's not something you can whip up at the last 

minute. The beans need to soak overnight, and then they need to be cooked for at least an hour and a half. But once those ten hours or so are over, it's a quick and easy recipe.

It's tasty, too. I did add a little more horseradish and salt than called for after tasting it, and if I make it again, I'll probably add more horseradish. It's an unexpected alternative to the normal party type dips you're used to. But that's okay because it's much better for you. 

My kids took one whiff of it and wouldn't go near it. Horseradish is potent stuff. I wouldn't have gone near it either as a kid. My husband thought it was bland. Like I said, I'd probably add more horseradish next time and probably a little more rosemary, too. But I liked it enough to put it in the "try again sometime with modifications" category. Most first time recipes end up in that category.

Natural, Nutritious, and Cheap - Real Popcorn

About six months ago, I switched from all natural microwave popcorn to popping it on the stove top, and we will not go back. Why?

• It's healther.
  
• It's yummier.
  
• It's a lot less expensive.
  
• It creates a lot less waste.

Pretty good reasons, huh? The kids just had a four day weekend, and we made a lot of popcorn. They had a houseful of friends over on one of the days, and I had a bunch of 6-10 years asking for snacks every hour on the hour. I was cutting up apples, searching in the back of my frig for stray yogurts, and trying to keep them out of the Halloween candy bowl. 

On an occassion like that I also always turn to popcorn. In about 7 minutes, I can pop enough to fill my biggest bowl using my dutch oven. I put a little olive oil in the bottom (I don't even coat the bottom of the pan completely like suggested.) When it's done popping, I put in two huge pinches of kosher salt, shake it up a bit, dump it into the bowl and top it off with a little more salt. 

You know what? The kids love it. They don't miss the fake buttery taste of microwave popcorn. They never ask why I don't slather it with real butter. They probably don't even realize it's healthy. 

According to popcorn.org

• Popcorn is a whole grain food which makes it a complex carbohydrate that is not only low in calories, but a good source of fiber.
  
• Popcorn is low in calories -- only 31-55 calories in one cup of unbuttered, and when lightly buttered, one cup still only has 133 calories.
  
• Popcorn has no artificial additives or preservatives, and is sugar-free.
  
• Popcorn contains energy-producing carbohydrates.
  
• Popcorn is ideal for between meal snacking since it satisfies and doesn't spoil an appetite.
  
• Popcorn inspires creativity. While there's no doubt hot buttered popcorn is pleasing to any palate, popcorn also can be enjoyed when combined with seasonings, spices and other foods like raisins, fruit and cheese providing a nutritious, delicious snack.
  

Popping your own popcorn on the stove instead of microwaving individual packets is more eco-friendly, too. There's a lot less packaging involved. There's just one plastic bag that holds the kernels and it can be reused when empty. Compare that with the box, the individual plastic wrappers, and the individual bags that come along with microwave popcorn. 

A whole bag costs me $1.39. Now there's a bargain. 

Next time you're at the store, look at the bottom shelf below the microwave popcorn boxes. Chances are, that is where you'll find the bags of popcorn kernels. Pick one up and try it for yourself. You may never go back.

Q & A: If You're Only Going to Buy a Little Organic Food, Which Should You Buy?

I got a question on Wednesday's post about organic milk, and I thought this would be a good post. So instead of just answering it in the comments, I thought I'd start doing Q & A's from time to time when a question in the comments section lends itself to an entire post. 

Q: OK, Robin. Here's my issue with organic buying. I'm CHEAP. And organic food is EXPENSIVE! So, if I were to add a little bit to my shopping budget and purchase SOME organic foods, which would you suggest is most important? I'm thinking milk -- the hormone thing with the girls -- but then I'm wondering if they've already been drinking those hormones for a decade or more, will it really make any difference now. What do you think? - gjk


A: I think you're starting with the right frame of mind. Take a small portion of your budget and allocate to organic and/or local foods. Milk is non-negotiable in our house. The boys drink so much that I think organic is paramount. Fortunately, Wegmans has it $4.99/gallon which is still significantly higher than non-organic yet a lot less expensive than other places - even BJ's.

I don't know if it's too late for your girls to start on organic milk as far as the amount of hormones that have built up in their body. If any of the readers can point us to info on that, please let us know where in the comments.

I'm wondering if you've got dairy farms near you. A friend of mine, Susan**, in Maryland just told me she's having hormone free milk delivered in glass bottles from a local farm* and it's not that much more expensive than the store. It's not certified organic, but it's still good stuff. Perhaps there is a farm like that out where you are. Home milk delivery is starting to come back in vogue.

If you're not sure about the milk, I'd probably go with produce next. I'm stealing this next part from one of the posts over at Green Options

Certain produce, termed the "Dirty Dozen" by the Environmental Working Group, is so highly sprayed with toxic chemicals that, many experts recommend eating them only when they’re organic. These include:

* Apples
* Cherries
* Grapes, imported (Chili)
* Nectarines
* Peaches
* Pears
* Raspberries
* Strawberries
* Bell peppers
* Celery
* Potatoes
* Spinach

The U.S. Department of Agriculture found that even after washing, some fruits and vegetables consistently carry much higher levels of pesticide residue than others. The produce you can get away with purchasing as non-organic includes:

* Bananas (though I do recommend purchasing "Fair Trade" bananas)
* Kiwi
* Mangos
* Papaya
* Pineapples
* Asparagus
* Avocado
* Broccoli
* Cauliflower
* Corn
* Onions
* Peas

If you drink a lot of coffee at home then choosing organic coffee for your home brew is a great choice, and it's really not that much more expensive.

Also, if you've got bulk bins in your grocery store and they have organic oatmeal or rice or other dry staple type foods - they are usually a really good value.

Another tip - if your grocery store has an organic meat section, check it every time for those "manager specials." I find that sometimes I can get great deals - even cheaper than the non-organic. I got 10 packages of boneless, skinless thighs once for $1/piece. Wiped out the manager's specials.

Does anyone have any other advice for gjk?

* I never, ever would have imagined that I'd be telling the world one day that I was jealous of a friend getting home milk delivery. Boy, have I changed!

** I've been asked by Susan to amend this post. See, at first, I just wrote a "friend of mine." But Susan says it's "not cool using my life experiences w/o credit." Apparently, if I'm going to tell you all about how much wine Susan and I drink (see link above at her name), she wants credit every time she is referenced in this blog. Fair enough. So, since at least half of the good stories of my adult life include Susan, she'll be popping up from time to time. I think I'll make a specific Susan post just so I can link to it when she's mentioned. 

Understanding Beef Labels

Every once in a while I come across a post on someone else's blog that is exactly like one I've been meaning to write but just haven't gotten around to it yet. Then I point you all to it because why reinvent the wheel, right? I found one of those today. Over at Ecosalon, they have a post titled Organic, Grassfed, Humane, Free Range: Understanding Beef Labels.

The post explains what each of those labels plus a few others mean when you find them on a package of beef. It's well written and informative. Check it out.

Lessons Learned in the Strawberry Patch

Yesterday, my five year old (well, he was five yesterday, today he is six!) and his friend and I went strawberry picking. It's an annual tradition we've had since they were two. We picked 14 pounds of strawberries. 

Here are some of the things we learned:

Strawberries are good (I already knew that but my son decided he didn't like them until we coaxed him into picking one and trying it - he loudly declared them good).

Food grows in dirt.

Eating a little dirt can't hurt you.

It's really fun to eat food you've just picked.

Time flies really fast when you're enjoying yourself.

It's important to rotate crops (last year the strawberries were on the other side of the field).

Bending over doesn't feel like such a chore when the reward is a fresh picked strawberry (okay, only I learned that lesson).

It's better to pick early in the day before it gets too hot.

Sharing traditions with friends is important.

Sharing your bounty with friends is important - we gave away a lot of strawberries to neighbors today.

If you want a basket full of perfect, bright red, juicy strawberries, leave the kids at home. If you want to have a lot of fun, let the kids see how things work on a farm, and give them a love for good food and nature, accept the fact that you're going to have a few less then ripe berries. 

Strawberries are good.

Green Term of the Week - Composting

I sometimes have to just reflect on how "earthy" I've become. If you had told me a few years ago that I'd be taking trash cans and shovels in my mini van to scoop decomposed leaves, grass clippings and leftover food scraps and then haul it home, I would have never believed you. Seriously. That's what I did this morning with my husband and son. We went to a neighboring town's public works and shoveled our own compost for our garden.

Composting is a  process whereby organic wastes, including food wastes, paper, and yard wastes, decompose naturally, resulting in a product rich in minerals and ideal for gardening and farming as a soil conditioners, mulch, resurfacing material, or landfill cover. 

It's good for your gardens and its good for the earth. By using compost, I'm told, that I won't have a need for chemical fertilizers. It's a natural way to get nutrients into the ground that I will be growing my vegetables on. I'm told my vegetables are going to love it, and I'm inclined to think they will.

If you're still in the process of putting together your garden this season, consider using compost instead of chemical fertilizers and foods. Your food won't be contaminated with hazardous chemicals, the earth won't soak in the chemicals, and the animals in your backyard won't ingest them when they are stealing your veggies. 

Call your local department of public works to find out if they are any neighboring towns have compost that you can haul away for free or a small fee. If not, some garden centers do sell it.

We've decided that if we are successful gardeners this year, we'll start our composting center in the back of our yard. Wow, how I've changed. 

Green Term of the Week: Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin (rbST)

Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin (rbST) is the synthetic growth hormone that is given to cows to make them grow bigger so that they can produce  more milk. It is completely unnecessary for the health of the cow, and many studies show it is actually harmful to the cow.  In fact, in 1999, Canada banned its use because of its effects on cows and it is also banned in New Zealand, Australia and parts of Europe.

In the U.S., the  FDA (who I am growing increasingly unhappy with) not only allows the use of rbST in cows, but it does not require the products made from those cows to be labeled with its use. In fact, the company that makes the hormone, Monsanto, is currently trying to get legislation passed to make it illegal for milk cartons in the state of Pennsylvania to indicate that the milk does not contain rbST. 

The FDA says that rbST is safe for humans, that it cannot produce effects in humans because the hormone cannot survive digestion and even if it did our bodies don't have the right growth hormone receptors to recognize it. 

But I'm not buying it. I'm not buying their research and I'm not buying the milk. There are many independent studies that have been done that show theirs a possibility that those who drink milk with rbSt have increased chances for allergies and antibiotic resistance. There are others who believe that the hormones in the milk are causing early physical development in children.

I can't say for certain that rbSt has any negative effects on humans. But I'm not taking the chance. I don't buy everything organic, but with as much milk as my kids drink, I do buy organic milk. Milk that is labeled "hormone free" isn't necessarily organic, but it's a step in a healthier direction.

Staying Green During the (Possible) Recession

I just finished reading an article about our country's economic woes. We aren't in an official recession yet, but it looks like one is coming. Prices are already rising. That really hit home with me a few weeks ago when the Friday night pizza delivery guy wanted $3 more for our pizza than he had the week before. That was about a 33% increase. Yikes.

Many aspects of going green will save you money, but there are areas where it costs more to be green. For me, the biggest hit to my wallet when it comes to being green is at the grocery store. Organic and natural items cost more, and I've read lots of arguments that Americans are going to have to accept that their food will cost more if they want food that is good for both the health of the environment and themselves. I can accept that. It costs more to produce organic and natural food.

But when the economy gets bad, I think that some people who understand that good food needs to cost more may revert back to buying a lot of processed, bad for them food because it costs less. When you've got a family to feed and the money is tight, it's tempting to buy what's on sale and you've got a coupon for, instead of buying fresh, whole foods.

I'm no expert on recession proofing your family, but I have been thinking about how to stretch my grocery dollars and still continue to feed my family healthy food if and when economic times get tougher. Here are some ideas that have been going through my mind:

Rethink your meat consumption 

I am by no means a vegetarian, but I've been preparing meatless meals once in a while lately. I've also been consciously buying the amount of meat I need instead of wasting so much. For instance, we cook burgers at least once every two weeks. My boys like burgers, but never eat more than half of theirs each. It occurred to me that I only need to cook them one burger and split it in half. That way, I buy less meat and spend less money.  

Use your leftovers wisely

How often do you throw leftovers away? I cringe when I clean out the frig and realize how much is getting thrown down the disposal. I've begun to have leftover night. I tell everyone what there is in the frig and let them choose what they want to eat. I often end up reheating several different dishes, but more leftovers are getting eaten. I'm also cooking one less new dish each week - that saves money. 

If you aren't going to use leftovers before they go bad - freeze them. There have been many nights when my husband has been away that I've been able to defrost two small pieces of chicken or a small amount of taco meat for a meal for the boys and me. It's saved many a trip through the dreaded fast food window.

Buy from the bulk bins

I know not all grocery stores have them, but if yours does, check them out. I buy organic slow cooking oatmeal from the bulk bins for much less than if I bought it packaged on the shelf. Organic rice, lentils and other dry goods are less expensive there, too. 

There are probably many other ideas about how to keep buying good food even if prices continue to rise, and I'll write more of them as I think of them. If you've got some ideas, please share them in the comments.

I have a feeling things are going to be economically tight for a while for us in the U.S. It would be a shame if just when the problems of the environment were just starting to really sink in to our national consciousness that our money problems caused us to revert back to some of our old ways. It's time to start thinking now of how we can continue to be green if the hard economic times hit, so we're prepared if it happens.

A Natural Breakfast Cereal My Kids Really Like - Peanut Butter Bumpers

I found an all natural cereal that my kids really like. Mother's All Nutural Peanut Butter Bumpers. They look just like PB Cap'n Crunch. We didn't do a taste test between the two cereals, I haven't bought Cap'n Crunch in years. I don't think it's necessary. The kids and I both loved the taste of the Bumpers.

So here's the ingredients in the Peanut Butter Bumpers:

Corn flour, unsulphured molasses, natural peanut butter (ground peanuts, salt), oat flour, rice flour, salt, honey, natural mixed tocopherols (vitamin E).

Here's the ingredients in Cap'n Crunch (take directly from their website):

CORN FLOUR, SUGAR, PEANUT BUTTER (PEANUTS, DEXTROSE, HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL [COTTONSEED AND RAPESEED OIL]**, SALT), OAT FLOUR, RICE FLOUR, COCONUT OIL, SALT, CARAMEL COLOR, NIACINAMIDE*, REDUCED IRON, ZINC OXIDE, BHT (A PRESERVATIVE), THIAMIN MONONITRATE*, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE*, RIBOFLAVIN*, FOLIC ACID*.

Now, the Cap'n Crunch has added vitamins and minerals while the All Natural cereal does not. But they are chemically added vitamins and minerals, not natural ones. The Cap'n Crunch also contains BHT as a preservative which is considered one of the top additives to keep away from your kids.

I know it would be healthier if my kids ate things like fruit, eggs, and organic whole grain slow cooking oatmeal for breakfast, and at times they do. But on many school mornings, woofing down a bowl of cereal is the best they have time for. So, I've been looking for the best I can find, and The Mother's Peanut Butter Bumpers work for us.

I've been able to buy them in the natural/organic food section of Wegmans, and I also bought them in the regular cereal isle at my local Pathmark. 

Do you have any all natural or organic box cereal that your kids love and you'd recommend?