6 ways to stay green when money is tight

I read two conflicting articles recently about the effect the economy is having on people’s choices to buy green products. One urged consumers to think twice about paying the extra money for organic and green products in light of the economic crisis.

The other article stated that the economy is leveling out the playing field between conventional and green products. The energy saving practices that many companies that produce green products already employ has kept their costs from rising at the same rate as conventional companies.

Either way, it seems everyone is feeling the economic pinch, and choosing conventional products over green products to save a couple of dollars can be very tempting. I think we need to resist the temptation as much as possible.

Here are some tips for continuing to buy green in tough economic times. I've probably talked about each of them in one way or another before, but I thought I'd bring them all together in one post.

• Don’t assume everything green is more expensive – If the one article I read is correct, the prices of many green products are remaining steady. Compare prices before you make the decision that you can’t afford a certain product in its green or organic form. In my grocery store, a canister of a popular brand of regular slow cooking oats is more expensive than the same amount of organic slow cooking oats from the bulk bins. 
• Hit your local farmers market – The price for organics is usually lower at the farmer’s market than in the grocery store on everything from produce to flowers to eggs. By eliminating the high cost of shipping the items hundreds of miles, the local farmer can charge lower prices. Supporting local farmers during tough economic times is important, too. We don’t want them to go away.
• Prioritize – If you decide you must cut out some of your green products, sit down and determine what you aren’t willing to compromise on. For me, it would first be the things that affect my kids. Organic milk is non-negotiable. The mini carrots that they scarf down at lunch since we made them a replacement for potato chips have to be organic, too. We’re also committed to buying fair trade coffee. What are you not willing to compromise?
• Eat less meat – Organic or grass fed, free range meat is expensive, but instead of switching back to conventional meat, eat less of it. Buy a small amount of organic boneless chicken breast, cut it into cubes, and chop up a bunch of vegetables to make kabobs. You won’t even notice that ¾ of the food on your plate is vegetables. Institute Meatless Mondays in your home. Be wise with your leftovers, too. Freeze small, uneaten portions and when enough has accumulated, defrost and have a leftover night.
• Do without other things so that you can continue to buy green – Read any advice on cutting back and the first thing mentioned will be expensive cups of coffee and lunches out. Is there something you can cut out so you can free up money to continue to buy green? How about your monthly DVD rental subscription? The local library has DVD’s to borrow for free. There is bound to be something you can cut out.
• Make your own green cleaning products – The organic/natural cleaning products isle is one of the places that empties your wallet fast. If you make your own cleaning products from things like baking soda, vinegar, and tap water, you’ll spend less tan you would for the conventional products. You can use the savings on the organic food for your family.
  

Grocery Store Wars, or May the Farm be with You

You can't walk through my house without tripping on a light saber. My six (almost seven) year old is a huge Star Wars fan. 

Funny little tid-bit. 

We were walking out of the train station in NYC the other day, and I called him my "little padawan."  He looked at me and said, "I'm not a padawan, Mom. I'm on the dark side." I said, "Even Anakin was a padawan at one point, honey." As I said that, we walked past two twenty-something young men and the one looked at my son and said, "Listen to your mother. Very wise, she is." The timing was perfect.

Anyway, that has nothing to do with the video I'm about to show you except that it's Star Wars Related. 

 

Cuke Skywalker, Princess Lettuce, Ham Solo, and Chewbroccoli fight the dark side of the supermarket.

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.

I've got your Friday night pizza wine - Releaf

Over on MNN today I've got a review of Releaf, a South African blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz. The company that imports it, Organic Wine Trade Company is pretty impressive itself. Take a look at the review to find out how they are bringing sustainable, responsible wines to the U.S.

Releaf is a perfect choice for your Friday night pizza wine. It pairs well with pizza, it's sustainable so you can feel good about drinking every Friday night, and the price is right - $8.99 at my local wine store.

Growing a container herb garden

I'm in full garden mode right now, and I'm talking a lot about it over on MNN and a little bit about it here. I think that growing something is important for several reasons, but I also know that there are many people who don't have the time or the space to do a traditional vegetable garden.

I do think, however, that most people have the ability to grow one container of something. If you're trying to get the most bang for your buck, herbs are the way to go. Herbs cost very little to grow, yet are pretty expensive at the store. You usually buy an herb in a large bunch, and chances are you use what you need for a recipe and the rest ends up going bad before you need it again.

Growing your own will both save money and keep you from wasting money and food. It will make a huge difference in the taste of your food. It may even encourage you to try new dishes. 

I found this very informative video series over on monkeysee.com that takes you one step at at time through creating an herb container gardening. The first video is here, and you'll have to go to the website to view the rest.

Organic labeling rules

I was sent a copy of Sara Snow's Fresh Living to review for MNN, and I'm really impressed with the book. I've been entrenched in this green stuff for about two years now and no longer consider myself a newbie. So when a book that is meant to discuss the basics of what you can do around the home both teaches me things and holds me attention, it's a good book. 

One of the things I learned in the book was about the standards that the USDA has for labeling a food organic.

• For a product to say it is 100% organic, it must be 100% organic by weight with the exception of the water and the salt in the product. It will, of course, also carry the USDA organic seal.
• A product that isn't 100% organic, can also carry the USDA organic seal. 95% of the content by weight (except for the water and the salt) must be organic. It can have the words organic in the name of the item or on the package.
• Products that are made with 70% or more organic content can say on the front that it is "made with organic ingredients" as long as the other ingredients meet a USDA approved list. If the product is not at least 70% organic content, it cannot mention organic content on the front of the box. It cannot carry the USDA organic sea.
• If the product has less than 70% organic content, the ingredient panel can mention the organic ingredients, but it can't mention it on the front of the package. It cannot carry the USDA organic seal.
  

This is helpful to know, don't you think?

Nature's Path High Fiber Cereals Review

The people at Nature's Path have sent me more cereal to try out and review - gotta love it when food just shows up on your doorstep. I had breakfast all last week courtesy of Nature's Path. Here's what they sent me:

Organic Optimum Slim - Very high fiber (11g), low fat (2g) and tasted like it. It wasn't bad. I've eaten it more than once. It's just a good high fiber cereal without a lot of sweet in it. If you're trying to lower your fat intake and increase your fiber intake - this cereal will do it while leaving you satisfied and full. But you won't walk away saying "Oh, yum!" 

Organic Flax Plus Pumpkin Raisin Crunch - If you're looking for a cereal that you will walk away saying "Oh, yum!" to, this is the one. The raisins help to give it a sweetness and the pumpkin seeds add a little something unexpected. I really liked this. Enough that I'll be buying it again (unless Nature's Path wants to send me a year's supply....). A little more fat than the Optimum Slim (4g - still not bad) and a little less fiber (9g - still very respectable), but a lot more flavor.

Organic Instant Hot Oatmeal - Simply rolled oats and sea salt. A good amount of fiber (6g) and more fat than I would have thought for plain oats (3.5g) but after a little research, I found out that is common in oatmeals. All in all, it's oatmeal - you can jazz it up with raisins, brown sugar, maple syrup - whatever you want and make a good, hot breakfast. 

See my previous review of some of Nature's Path Kid's Cereals, here.

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

First Thursday: Bread pudding with whiskey sauce

Last night I participated once again in First Thursday over at Thursday Night Smackdown. This month's theme was romantic cliches. In other words - Valentine's dessert. Since First Thursday is all about testing the mettle of your cookbooks, I decided to grab a cookbook that's spine has never been cracked. I also decided since this was supposed be Valentine's-ish, I'd let me husband choose which dessert in the book I'd make. Then I'd make it as organic as possible.

A few months before Hurricane Katrina hit, my husband and I had gone to New Orleans. To tell you the truth, it's not a place I'm in a hurry to get back to. Maybe it was the creepy mannequin heads in our B&B room that had dusty wigs on them. But I did like the food. So I bought a New Orleans cookbook before we left, but I've never once used it. Until last night.

My husband chose bread pudding with whiskey sauce from The Best of New Orleans: A Cookbook for me to make. It wasn't too difficult to organic it up - bread, cream, eggs, butter, sugar - all easy to get organically.

The whiskey sauce was awesome. The bread pudding was just okay. But pouring the whiskey sauce all over the bread pudding made it very edible. I could have poured that whiskey sauce over my infamous chili cornbread pie from Susan Powter's Stop the Insanity cookbook that I made back in 1995 that still haunts my husband and me to this day, and it would have made it good (the dog wouldn't even eat the chili cornbread pie and looked up at us as if to ask if we hated her when we tried to feed it to her).

The bread pudding was just bland. And since the recipe said that the pudding could be eaten with or without the sauce (kids had to eat it without - the whiskey does not burn off), I would think that the pudding would have been stand alone good.

But this First Thursday was not a complete loss because now I know about whiskey sauce. I think it would be good on ice cream or drizzled over apples or just out of the pan with a spoon. It would be worth it to find a different bread pudding recipe and pair it with this sauce.

Green term of the week: bird friendly certification

I'm getting such late start this morning. The boys have a two hour snow day and we all just stayed in bed. I love mornings like this until I realize that I still have a job to do and now I have to scramble! Eh, it's worth it.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to interview Lynn and Corey from Celebrate Green for a piece I'm doing on MNN. They mentioned something to me I hadn't heard about before. They were talking about chocolate, and they said when you're buying chocolate you want to look for a triple certification on the label - organic (know what that is), fair trade (know what that is), and bird friendly (huh?).

If a chocolate is certified by a third party as bird friendly, it means that the cocoa pods were grown in their natural habitat - in the shade of the trees that they are supposed to grow in. If the trees are cleared to make the cocoa beans grow more quickly - more sun equals more rapid growth but less quality in the cocoa - it destroys the natural habitat for birds. Some birds have become extinct or are facing extinction because of the clear cutting of trees to grow cocoa (and coffee and other crops). 

There aren't a lot of chocolate makers who have this certification yet, but there are some working towards it. Two of the third parties who are involved bird friendly certification are:

Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center

Organic Crop Improvement Association

I would also think that a product certified "shade grown" that is also organic would  be considered bird friendly even without the particular bird friendly certification. If you read this, and I'm wrong about that, please let me know.

Organic and Natural Coupons - Mambo Sprouts

I tend to stick with buying the same items in the pre-packaged organic section of my grocery store. The packaged organic foods tend to be much more expensive than the fresh organic foods by comparison. In my grocery store, organic bananas are only 20 cents more a pound than non-organic, but canned organic soup can run twice as much as its conventional counterpart. 

I wouldn't mind spending the extra money if I knew what I was buying was going to be eaten by my family, but there is no way to know.

Enter coupons. It's becoming easier to find coupons for organic and natural foods, and one of the easiest ways is to sign up for them to be delivered right to your e-mail inbox at Mambo Sprouts.

Right now they have printable coupons for:

* $2 Off any 2 boxes of Ian's Chicken Nuggets, Patties, Stix or Tenders
* $1 Off any Country Choice Organic
* $1 Off Any Biokleen Product
* $1 Off any one Lifeway Product
* $1 Off any MaraNatha Product
* $.50 Off any method product
* $1 Off any Tropical Source Baking
* $1 Off any Sunspire Baking Chips

The website also features the latest natural health tips, nutrition facts and healthy organic food product news and information as well as recipes.

Mambo Sprouts also has a seasonal coupon book that you can receive in the mail by signing up here. These books can also be picked up at places like Whole Foods or other other retail outlets. I picked one up the other day at a local prepared food shop the other day. I'm going to allow myself to pick up a few packaged organic goods that I've been curious about trying since I've got coupons for them now. Products like Lundberg Risotto that I pick up and put back on the shelf each week. With a $1 off coupon I just might be persuaded to buy it.

There are also coupons in there for products I already use like Kashi cereal and bars and Organic Valley milk, cheeses and eggs - $1.50 off a dozen eggs. Not too shabby.

For other sources of valuable coupons, see my post on Mother Nature Network, Find coupons for organic products

Socially Responsible Food Choices

I wrote a post for MNN yesterday titled Why I Buy Organic Bananas. I don't buy all my foods organically because the food budget doesn't allow it. My general rule of thumb is to choose organics for the foods that would have the most negative effect on my family in their conventional forms. If I can afford to buy others organically after that, I do. The fruit of a banana is fairly well protected by its thick skin from the pesticides and other chemicals sprayed on the plantations. Because of this I used to buy conventional bananas, but not any more.

Here's why:

Although I pay attention to the miles that much of my family’s food travels to get to our table and I buy a lot of local food, there are certain things that I can never get local. Bananas are one of them. I still buy them.

I have two growing boys who want to eat them. I also buy them grapes and apples out of season because quite frankly I’m afraid of having to take them to the doctors one day and finding out they have scurvy because it isn’t local fruit season.

Apples and imported grapes (most of the grapes I can get in winter are from Chile) are two fruits that should be bought organically because the conventional ones are heavily contaminated with pesticides. They are #2 and #9 respectively on the Environmental Working Groups Dirty Dozen Foods.

Bananas fall way down at #37 on their list.
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10 Easy Ways to Be More Sustainable with Your Holiday Preparations

Last year I cancelled almost all of my catalogs. You wouldn't have known it this past week. A whole new slew of catalog companies have found my name and address, and I've got a pile of holiday catalogs. I'll be going to catalog choice to cancel them sometime this week. Their arrival made one thing clear. It's time to start thinking about holiday giving.

I'll be talking a lot about gift choices in the upcoming weeks, but I thought I'd start out the conversation and get back to my regular Tuesday feature with a 10 Easy Ways list.

1. Decide now to limit the number of gifts you give to your kids. I know this can be a difficult one, but in the past I've fallen into the trap of picking up a few little, inexpensive things just to make the pile look better under the tree. Those things rarely get played with. Things that go unused are a waste of the materials and energy it took to make and ship them.
   
2. Don't buy new decorations just to have something new. If you have enough, be content.
   
3. If you need decorations (yes, I know nobody NEEDS decorations, but people in their first apartment or home may want to decorate and have little) try buying used from thrift stores, yard sales, church rummage sales, etc.
   
4. If you need to take a hostess gift, consider organic wine, fair trade chocolates, or soy candles - all are greener choices than their conventional counterparts.
5. Belong to a club or organization that always does a cheapo pollyanna out of tradition?Buck tradition and suggest that everyone donates the money they would have spent on a lame gift to an agreed upon charity. You don't end up with a crummy gift, and a charity gets a boost up.
6. If you buy a real tree, make sure it comes from a sustainable tree farm. If it's a local tree farm, all the better.
7. Organize yourself before you go out shopping. Make lists and try to map out efficient routes to avoid excess driving.
8. Commit to no paper products at holiday dinners. Buy extra plates at the thrift store. Borrow extra place settings or silverware from guests who are coming. 
9. Take stock of your gift wrap, cards and other supplies. Do you have a box full of  two or three leftover cards per pack from years past that are just sitting there. Use them up before you buy new ones. Same with last years wrapping paper. Use the scraps. See if you can buy no new cards or paper this year.
10. Be a good example, not an obnoxious one. Don't sit around the holiday dinner table talking incessantly about the ORGANIC pumpkin pie or how your coffee is FAIR TRADE or how GREEN your gifts are this year. Try to make your sustainability efforts be a natural part of your holidays, not the centerpiece of them.

See easy. Just trying one or two of these ideas can make a difference.

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. 

Go Meatless and Save Money

Green Saves Green Day 9

I'm beginning to think I've covered most of the ways to be green and save money in some post or other over the past year on this blog. I know I've mentioned this one before. But it's worth repeating for Green Saves Green month.

Producing meat can cause environmental problems. A lot of resources go into keeping and feeding the animals while they are alive. In America and several other developed countries we demand meat, particularly red meat and chicken, at very low prices. That give those who raise the animals a reason to justify pumping up man of the animals with hormones and antibiotics which are passed on to us when we eat the meat. The animals are also fed cheap, unnatural diets which at the very least cause them severe gastro-intestinal discomfort. 

Once the animals are turned into meat, the packaging, the shipping, and the refrigeration of the products also harm the environment.

Two ways to combat this are to eat organic, truly free range meat (which is always more expensive but for a good reason) or eat less meat. Since the first option doesn't really serve our green saves green purposes, today we'll talk about eating less meat.

Vegetarian dishes are usually less expensive to make at home than dishes with meat in them. By switching to one or two meatless dinners a week, you can cut your grocery bill and cut your environmental impact at the same time.

Some meatless meal ideas that don't involve tofu or faux meat products (because when you start adding those ingredients, your family will fear you're trying to actually turn them into vegetarians instead of just making some minor changes in the way you eat)

• Hearty soups like 17 bean and barley or minestrone (I will personally testify to the yumminess of both of these recipes)
  
• Grilled cheese and tomato soup - don't just stick to white bread and american cheese. Use wheat or grain breads and pile on combinations of your favorite cheeses. Personally for my tomato soup dipping, I like a combo of American and Swiss on Wegman's 9 Grain Bread
  
• A vegetarian lasagna like this artichoke/spinach version
• Vegetarian chili - mmmmm.... with a side of creamy mashed potatoes
• Pizza - as long as you don't add pepperoni, sausage, ham... on top

The ideas for meatless meals are endless. My favorite recipe site is allrecipes.com. If you type in the word vegetarian you'll come up with hundreds of user rated and commented on recipes to choose from.

Photo from the artichoke/spinach lasagna recipe on allrecipes.com

Tomatoes Piling Up? Try This Fresh Pasta Sauce Recipe

It wasn't too long ago I was whining about my tomatoes never turning green. Now, I'm knee deep in Romas, Early Girl's (won't grow those again - blah), Brandywine Heirlooms, and amazing Rutgers. In mid-summer I took basil bouquets when I went to someone's house. Now I take tomatoes and sometimes have to come home with them.

I found a really good, simple recipe for a fresh pasta sauce that used up a whole basket full of my Romas along with peppers, basil, oregano and parsley all from the garden and cooked it up the other night.

Garden Fresh Pasta Sauce from BigOven.com was yummy and even my kids dug right in and said it was really good. It was such a joy to make a completely organic pasta sauce with ingredients fresh from the garden. Although making it took so much more effort than opening a jar, I really enjoyed feeding my family that night. I'm always amazed at how satisfying downshifting can be.

Note: I found the recipe as is too salty after I made it so I added a can of unsalted tomato paste to help. It ended up being too thick so I used my food mill to juice two Early Girl tomatoes (at least they were good for something) to thin it out. Next time, I'll half the salt and add more if necessary.

Tomorrow night, I'm going to attempt using my tomatoes to make pizzas on the grill. I'll let you know how it turns out. I'll be making the dough in my bread machine and letting each of us make an individual pizza.

The Organic Stereotype

Over the weekend, I was asked to sample some organic vanilla yogurt at a grocery store that isn't particularly known for its organic or natural foods. It was a Greek style yogurt, which I've never had before so I'm not familiar with what it is supposed to taste like. I found it to be very tart. The woman behind the cart asked me if I liked it. I responded that I had expected it to be sweeter.

The woman behind the cart said, "Well, it is that organic stuff. It's usually not as good."

Of course, my experience with organics over the past year has proven the opposite to me. Organic foods are usually much better than their conventional counterparts. But I wasn't surprised to hear this woman's comment. I hear it often.

Most people think organic equals cardboard. Granola type food (but not the Quaker Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars that my kids love) or Tofu (which isn't automatically organic).

When I mention to people that I am growing my garden organically, many people crinkle their nose. It's like they are expecting the food to taste more, I don't know, dirty or something.

Organics are important for both the earth and our health. If misinformation is keeping a lot of people from buying them, perhaps we need to spread the word not just about how their health benefits but also about their superior quality.

Before you started eating more organic and natural foods, what was your opinion of organic? Do you think the general public needs more education on what organic is and what it isn't?

Green Term of the Week - Lawn Busting

Lawn Busting is the process of taking your lawn from grass covered to plant covered. There are many different terms floating around right now - "grow don't mow," "lawns to gardens," "food not lawns" and other terms/sayings - that have the same idea.

So why? What's the difference between grass and plants? Why are plants "greener" in some people's eyes than grass? There are several reasons.

• Nothing to mow. Unless you are using a push mower, you are using fuel/energy to mow your lawn. I've read that running a gas mower for just one hour produces as much pollution as eight cars driving at 55mph for that same hours. Wow. That's a lot. Getting rid of the majority of grass on a lawn and using a push mower to mow what is left, can get rid of a lot of pollution.
• Fertilizing lawns with chemicals is killing our planet. There is a high price to be paid for lush, green lawns. The chemicals used to keep them looking perfect are harming wildlife, children, our water ways and who knows what else.
• Native plants are good for the environment. Part of replacing lawns with plants has to do with purposely planting native plants that don't need to be watered much. Plants that are native to the particular region you live in are native for a reason. The amount of rain that typically fall in that region and the type of soil are ideal for those plants. That means a lot less watering to keep the plants alive.
  It also means that native wildlife will have a place that is ideal for them to hang out.
• Planting organic food gardens instead of grass helps people to become self sustaining and nourishes the earth. When food comes from your own backyard instead of the grocery store, lots of good things happen. You get fresh, healthy delicious food without having to hop in your car (which uses fuel and creates pollution) to get it. You inspire your neighbors to plant gardens, too (at least this has been my experience). You keep trash out of landfills (no packaging to throw away). Organic gardeners frequently replenish the soil with healthy compost instead of leaching the soil of its nutrients. The list could go on.

Lawn busting is gaining momentum in America. There are people who have no lawns left - even in the front. It's something my husband and I are talking about. With our boys, we still need a place for them to run around. But because of our boys, we have never bothered to try to keep the lawn nice, anyway, so we don't use chemical fertilizers. But we do use a gas mower (but we wait until it the grass gets nice and high before we mow).

We turned a nice chunk of the backyard into a veg garden this summer. I anticipate turning another back portion into a strawberry patch next year. As the boys get bigger and don't need as much room to run around, we'll slowly turn more of our yard into garden - both veg and other plants. My husband may even agree to get a push mower.

Nature's Path EnviroKidz New Cereals

Nature's Path sent us two new organic cereals to try out from their EnviroKidz line - Leapin Lemurs and Penguin Puffs.

Leapin Lemurs 

Here's what they say:

Delectable pairing of peanut butter balls with chocolate balls resulting in a fun and exciting flavor with huge kid appeal. Not only does it taste great, it is gluten free, low in fat (1.5g), low in sodium (115g), low in sugar (8g) and has 8g of whole grain per 30g serving.

Here what we say:

My six year old loves them. He ate most of the box in about two days (shared some with friends, too). He keeps asking me to buy them again. 

I've never been a fan of chocolate cereal (although I'm a huge fan of chocolate in general) so they weren't to my liking.

I also think that the fact that they are so low in sugar could be a difficult change for kids who are used to full sugar cereals. My son has been eating a lower in sugar peanut butter cereal for a while now, so he didn't notice the less sweet taste they had. When I tried them, I definitely was expecting a sweeter taste in my mouth.

Penguin Puffs

Here's what they say:

Whole grain goodness of organic kamut, quinoa and corn into a fun, crunchy and tasty blend. Not only doe sit taste great, it is low in fat (2g), low in sodium (135g), low in sugar (8g), it has 12g of whole grain per 30g serving and 3g of fiber.

Here's what we say:

My five year didn't like the look of them so he didn't even try them. Actually they look like pieces from Kix cereal and pieces from Super Sugar Smacks (I know they changed the name to Honey Smacks but that's just a marketing ploy).

These I really liked. I found them sweeter than the Leapin Lemurs although they both have the same amount of sugar. They left me feeling full, too.

I like the fact that both of these cereals are organic, made from whole grains,  have a decent amount of fiber, and aren't loaded with sugar. If you're looking to make your kids' breakfast cereals a little healthier, they are good options. The sooner you can get your kids away from high sugar, low nutrition breakfast cereals, the better.

11 Ways to Save Money on Organics over at Tree Hugging Family

A couple of months ago I wrote a post about continuing to buy organic food while our food dollars are shrinking. I haven't followed up on it like I said I would in the post, but I can point you to some more tips.

Today over at Tree Hugging Family there's a similar post. They've got some good advice so please, click here, and check it out.