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Gourmet Greens - Foraging and Farming

2011-11-18T16:47:00.000-08:00

I read a delightful story in the New Yorker this afternoon that made me recall how much I just love food. The article entitled "The Food At Our Feet" (by Jane Kramer) (click here to read it in entirety) recalls a summer of foraging for gourmet greens...

OK, so never mind that it's autumn in the U.S heading briskly into winter. Never mind that those tender wild greens won't be around anytime soon, but reading this article will bring you back to those wonderful summer months even if all you did was sit in your air conditioned office slogging through mounds of paperwork.

That said, I recently discovered our own little version of wild foraging - well, not exactly wild and, ok, not foraging. My weekly farm basket comes to me courtesy of a local organic farm just southeast of Tucson. Sunizona Family Farms is not only organic, it's vegan organic (who knew?) . I had seen a variety of farm basket programs but never signed up until I found one that was all organic all the time. Now, every week, I get delightful micro-greens along with spinach, kale, cucumbers, sweet potatoes and more.

My recent fave? Organic, unbelievably delicious spaghetti squash.

More importantly, I'm forced to get out of my habitual food grooves and explore new tastes, new cooking (or not-cooking) methods and flavors.

So, for those of you who have access to a farm basket program in your area, try it. Of course, if it's organic, it's primo, but supporting local farmers who are using sustainable methods is a good starting point. The point is to start.

Support your small local farmers, support your local organic farmers and support small businesses making a big difference (and yes, shopOrganic.com is a small business and one you can proudly support). Our motto - shop local, then shopOrganic.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. May your holiday be filled with family, fabulous food and perhaps a few foraged (or locally farmed) greens!

Right2Know and Your2Cents

2011-10-09T09:32:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a growing theme around 2's right now...This month, there is the Right2Know march heading down the East coast of the U.S. demanding the right to know what's in our food. There is growing concern about the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in our food supply. The march is intended to bring awareness to this often quiet but disturbing trend. You can read more about the Right2Know march and lend your voice and support by clicking here.

This month, we're happy to announce an initiative that is part of the answer to that problem. The Rodale Institute has launched the Your 2 Cents campaign to raise funds to support organic farms and the future of organic farming. Maria Rodale - and the Rodale Institute are working to help fund the future of organics through getting manufacturers to donate a portion of product sales to the Institute.

When we learned of the program, we contacted Rodale and asked to join in. So, starting October 8, 2011, we're donating 2 cents from every sale we make.

Now, that may not seem like a lot to you, but as a small company still competing with the 'big boys' out there, we're doing our part. We'll be looking to expand our participation through providing an opportunity for our customers to also put their 2 cents in -

As I like to say, one by one and all together, we can make a difference.

Visit Right2Know or Your 2 Cents today to learn more, or head to shopOrganic, buy healthy organic products and contribute to our organic future that way.

Now, go out there and enjoy your day!

Summertime Means Fresh Organic Produce - Chock Full of Anti-Oxidants

2011-07-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

Summertime is a great time to increase your consumption of local, organic fruits and vegetables. Here in the arid southwest, it can be a challenge, but with just a bit of water and generous shade, lettuce, tomatoes, basil, oregano, mint, eggplant and a few other favorites will grow and produce the most local of local produce. So, while you're busy enjoying the fruits (or veggies, as it were) of your labor, you can also know you're eating the healthiest food available. So here's a question for you - do you know which foods are the highest in anti-oxidants? Take this little quiz...

1. True or false: Anti-oxidants protect us from the evils of free radicals.

2. True or false: Some anti-oxidants are made in our bodies.

3. True or false: Organic farming methods can increase anti-oxidant levels in foods.

4. True or false: Commercial, pasteurized juice has 20% more anti-oxidants than an equal amount of fresh fruit.

And the answers? Virtual drumroll please...
1. T
2. T
3. T
4. F - commercial pasteurized juice has about 20% less anti-oxidants than most organic juice or homemade juice.

Here's a list of foods with the highest anti-oxidant power and many of them are in season now. Boost your immune system, aid your overall health and add 3 or 4 servings of these anti-oxidant heavy hitters to your diet.

Blueberries
Cranberries
Blackberries (noticing the theme, berries berries berries!)
Raspberries
Strawberries
Red grapes
Apples
Plums

What the full list? Read this great article from the Organic Center. (PDF format)

Imagine That....Pesticides Linked to Lower Brain Function

2011-04-21T13:49:00.000-07:00

We've been proponents of organic food since I don't remember when...but if you needed anymore compelling evidence, here it is. An article posted today on WebMD here shows that pesticide exposure in the womb and during early childhood can have a dramatic impact on IQ. "Even at relatively low levels, organophosphates may be most hazardous to fetuses and young children, where healthy brain development depends on a carefully orchestrated sequence of biological events."

Although our friends at the FDA banned the use of these products in residential locations in 2001, it is still in use commercially....

Fruits and vegetables are still sprayed with these organophosphates - so here you are thinking you're helping your children develop good eating habits by loading them up with fresh fruits and veggies...only wait, they're not so great when they're chock full of chemicals that impair your child's mental development.

So, even more reason to make sure you choose organic. The more we learn about pesticides and the impact on human (and planetary) health, the more it becomes a no brainer...pun intended.

Choose organic. It's that easy. Want to learn more? Start here to learn more about why choosing organic just makes sense.

Here's to working together to create a greener planet. shopOrganic.com.

The Best Gift Ever....

2010-12-24T11:22:00.000-08:00

Today's the last frenzied day of shopping for those who celebrate Christmas and I had a moment of quiet this morning to reflect upon this year and the gifts I've given and received. Though it's nice to share a few specially selected gifts on Christmas morning, my family's tradition, like to many others, used to be a gorging of gift giving that was over the top. Like candy, gift giving is good for the first few - after than it can start to be a bit sickening. Though I've scaled way back over the past few years as have many others - both out of necessity and out of a new consciousness - I still looked around this year and saw the signs of frenzy starting back up. It's like the past few years have been a forced austerity that people are ready to be done with. The problem is that we can't go back to the way things were - they weren't sustainable nor were they particularly good. However, there is something wonderfully sustainable that has come from all of this -

People have started to look at what is of value in their lives. I know I have. Having started a business right before the floor of our economy collapsed beneath us, I've had my share of sleepless nights, worried days, exhausted emotionally wrung out weeks. Sure, we could have claimed to be too far under and simply closed the business - but we chose to hang in there and see where this path lead us.

So, in the quiet of this morning, I saw clearly the gifts given me. The gift of friendship where I least expected it; the gift of support from complete strangers; the gift of good cheer (and just a bit of cheerleading) from close friends who simply gave me encouragement when all seemed bleak. In return, I provided a bit of my own cheeleading to them when their days were dark.

A good friend of mine moved her family 2,000 miles to take advantage of an opportunity that presented itself to her family. In the midst of the move, she wondered about her choice and worried about her sanity. It happened to be at a time that things were on a bit of an even keel for me. I was able to return the favor of support, even at a distance, of just being there.

I think about others in my life who've turned to me for support, assistance and cheerleading and hope I've been as good a friend to them as they have to me. After all, that's the gift exchange that matters.

So, this Christmas, I'll open a few gifts but more importantly, I will acknowledge the help I got all year long as the best gift ever.

Thanks to my family, friends, loved ones and perfect (very perfect) strangers for all that good cheer for the past 364 days. Here's to the best gift ever.

Now, go just out there and share the love.

'Tis The Season...For Less, Not More

2010-12-06T11:44:00.001-08:00

The flurry of advertising on TV and in the last vestiges of newspapers around the country is amazing this time of year. Who knew there was still so much appetite for stuff? Well, I guess the advertisers knew (or hoped), but still, it was surprising. I guess Americans are a bit like drug addicts when it comes to buying stuff...and now that we've had a forced "dry spell" due to abysmal economic conditions, well, we're ready to get back to 'normal'....but wait, what IS the new normal these days anyway?

I was recently in Florida helping my mother move to Arizona. She's essentially trading hot and humid for hot and dry - so it's not a big change from that perspective. But she is also paring down and going from a 2 bedroom apartment to a 1 bedroom apartment. The process of helping her go through her belongings and decide what to keep, what to give away, what to recycle and what to simply toss was a very eye-opening experience. For every drawer and closet door we opened, I imagined a similar drawer or door at my own house...and I thought about how much stuff I've accumulated over the years. I'm not a major shopper, but I still have more stuff than I need or can use.

As we were sorting through my mother's things, I said "Hey, Alex would probably really like to have this," or "If you don't want this, I wonder if Leslie would like to have this." It reminded me that re-gifting can actually be a wonderful thing - making use of items we no longer want. It's not actually re-gifting, I guess, since it belongs to someone who is giving it away - so it's perhaps the 'new' gifting?

We sorted and made piles - one pile of things was headed to a woman who was sending clothing to Haiti; another to my niece who appreciates nice scarves and interesting earrings; another pile to be given as gifts during the holidays - framed family pictures my mother was ready to hand on to the next generation. Some items were set aside as lovely gifts for family members - not with the intention of pretending they were new, but just new to them. Think of it as recycling and reuse rather than re-gifting - the new green holiday tradition!

For me it was also a good reminder that this time of year really shouldn't be about the stuff, but about the relationships in our lives we hold dear. In our family this year, we're forgoing all but small gift giving and instead spending time together.

And, for those of you who have family situations that are more challenging than you can handle this time of year, volunteer for a day at an assisted living facility or a food bank or a shelter. Give of your time and you have given a priceless gift.

This holiday season, share the love.

Happy Holidays from all of us at shopOrganic.com.

Five Rules For Holiday Baking...Stress-free

2010-11-21T06:44:00.000-08:00

In my last post, I mention it was ridiculously hot, even for Tucson in October.... Well, the weather has finally cooled a bit and that, for me, means more baking.

Back in '07, just before starting shopOrganic, I spent a week at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley. It was an amazing week learning about baking and making things I'd always wondered about but never tried - focaccia, doughnuts, chocolate and more...but I digress. It's time to get down to some serious baking. Here are five rules to follow for stress-free holiday baking.

Rule #1
Never try a new recipe in a high pressure situation.
If you need to bring four dozen cookies to a school party, don't try out a new meringue recipe. Pull out your old tried-and-true recipe. Sure, it might be a boring old chocolate chip cookie, but hey, at least they'll be delicious! (Same goes for holiday cooking as well...).

Rule #2
Use the right flour for the recipe.
While you can get away with a lot using a high quality all purpose organic flour like Giusto's Organic Unbleached Baker's Choice Flour, choosing a specialized flour for certain baked goods will enhance the final result and your friends, colleagues and bake sale customers will be oohing and aahing over your tasty treats. Here's a quick breakdown:

High protein flour
A high protein flour has between 12% and 15% protein. These are sometimes referred to as high gluten flours. These high protein flours are preferred by bakers for bagels, pizza and other breads that require a strong texture. If your recipe calls for all purpose flour and you use high protein flour, you will probably find your final product to be a bit tougher than desired. On the other hand, if you don't have high protein flour available, you can beef up your all purpose flour with some vital wheat gluten.

Medium protein flour
Generally between 10% and 12% protein, like the Giusto's organic flour mentioned above, these are considered all purpose flours. They'll perform well in most applications, but better results can be obtained for specialized recipes using higher or lower protein flour.

Lower protein flour
Lower or low protein flour yields the opposite result of high protein flour. It helps develop a soft, delicate texture for pastries and cakes. Cake flour is usually about 8% protein whereas pastry flour is usually even lower in protein.

Cake and pastry flour will absorb more liquid and is typically must softer when mixed than higher protein flour.

Whole grain flours
Whole grain flours can be tricky to work with - their protein content and flavor varies with the type of grain or the mixture of grains. If your recipe calls for all purpose flour and you want to add fiber and nutrition boost by using whole grain flour, I recommend you either start by substituting no more than 25% of the flour called for with whole grain or use a recipe on the whole grain flour package to begin with. You'll need to adjust your liquids upward a bit when substituting whole grain flour and you'll find the final result will be denser than a recipe that uses all purpose flour. The flavor enhancement from using whole grains, though, is well worth a bit of experimentation.

When I was at the CIA, I noticed they used Giusto's flour almost exclusively. I was impressed by the results and looked for Giusto's when I got home. I was unable to find it and for a long time, Giusto's did not have an organic line available to the general public. However, that's changed and shopOrganic.com just picked up the whole line of Giusto's organic flours - just in time for holiday baking.

Here's a link to all of Giusto's - links to the individual products are above.

Rule #3
Baking is chemistry and if you want to substitute ingredients, think about them as dry and liquid.
The ratio between dry and wet impacts the final result as does the amount of leavening used. Look at your original recipe to understand the basic ratios and then substitute keeping these ratios in tact. And always go back to Rule #1.

Rule #4
Always let your bread products finish cooling fully before cutting.
As much as diving into a warm loaf of bread may seem, the structure of the bread needs to set before you slice it open. If it's just for you or your family and you don't care, slice away. If it's for company or a bake sale (slicing date bread into sell-able servings, for example), let it cool fully.

Rule #5
Enjoy.
Baking is a relaxing, creative process. Allow enough time to enjoy it fully. Be present - consider it your moving meditation. Infuse all your joy and love into those baked products and you'll share the love long after the oven has cooled.

Happy holiday baking!

Going Green At Home - Part 5

2010-10-10T08:07:00.001-07:00

If you've been following the progress of my home gardening project, you'll see that things started to sprout nicely about a month ago. (If you haven't been following and want to start at the beginning, start here). Since then, Tucson's had some unseasonably warm (ok, it's been hot) weather, and the "winter" plants I put in were not happy. I kept them watered and hoped they could hold on until the hot spell broke - which is finally did.

The tomato plant was purchased as a starter, just about everything else came up from seed. There is one mysterious square toward the front, center of the box that has been planted twice but nothing has sprouted - kind of funny given that the rest of
the plants are growing so well.

These plants are grown in this organic soil and I've used nothing else but water. I can't wait until I can harvest the first whatever from this garden - I'm guessing I might have kale or chard soon.

With that in mind, I thought I'd share two winter recipes using vegetables I'm growing would be a great way to get us thinking about ways we can use winter produce.

Kale, by the way, is a delicious winter crop but for those of you who have never used it, here are a couple of tips. First, use your kale quickly. If you harvest it from the garden, use it the same day. If you purchase it at the store, use it within a couple of days otherwise it can get spongy and bitter. Also, cut the center stalk out and toss it (into your compost pile or your trash, but not into your soup). Use only the leaves from your kale.

First up, simple easy delicious kale chips. Skips the potato chips this football season and try kale chips. Even folks who think they don't like kale will love these.

KALE CHIPS
1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
2. Wash and remove the stem from a bunch of kale, pat dry.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. Lightly coat kale in olive oil and arrange on parchment.
5. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt. (I use velvet salt, it's great on popcorn too and you can use far less than traditional salt due to the fine texture).
6. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. Remove from oven, adjust salt (and pepper, if desired) to taste.

Here's a quick and simple recipe for kale and cauliflower soup. It's a great meal by itself or a perfect side to a grilled cheese sandwich on a fall day. Give this one a try from your organic garden vegetables.

QUICK AND EASY KALE AND CAULIFLOWER SOUP
1/2 cup diced onion
2 TBS minced garlic
3 tsp organic olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
3 cups of organic vegetable stock or organic chicken broth
1 head of organic, fresh from your garden cauliflower, cored and chopped
1 (lightly packed) cup organic, fresh from your garden kale, thinly sliced
2 tsp salt
1 tsp organic lemon pepper
1 TBS organic honey (the lemon gives it extra depth of flavor)

In a large pan over medium low heat, saute the the onions and garlic in olive oil. (Hint: don't overcook the garlic when it gets too brown, it gets bitter). After a few minutes, the onions should be translucent. At that point, add the wine and continue to simmer until the liquid is reduced by half.

Add the chopped cauliflower and your stock (vegetable or chicken). Bring to a boil then reduce your heat to medium low and simmer until the cauliflower is soft - about 20 minutes or so. Add the kale and continue to cook for about 5 minutes. Turn the heat off, put your ingredients into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. If you have a sprig or two of tarragon or rosemary, you may want to drop that in your soup for the final simmer for added flavor, but the soup stands on its own without that, too.

For a more rustic texture, you can use anything to mash the mixture leaving smaller pieces in tact. (This is also handy if you don't have a blender or food processor or don't want to drag them out of the pantry).

Return to pan and simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a dollop of non fat organic yogurt or sour cream and some rustic whole grain or cracked grain bread - smear the bread with a bit of olive oil and put under the broiler for a couple of minute to brown.

Have a recipe you want to share? Post it here.

As always, shopOrganic.com is your trusted online source for organic food and natural products. We have a wide selection of hard-to-find, unique, gourmet and everyday foods for your culinary pleasure. See you there! Now, go out there and enjoy your day.

Want To Lose Belly Fat? Strike A Pose

2010-09-20T18:15:00.000-07:00

A researcher from Harvard recently concluded a study and found that certain "power positions" not only reduced stress, they reduced cortisol levels. People with high stress have high cortisol levels and high cortisol levels are associated with belly fat, which is an indicator of higher risk for various health issues...the short of it is this - if you want a quick way to reduce stress and cortisol levels, strike a power pose.

According to Harvard researcher Amy Cuddy:

Subjects in the high-power group were manipulated into two expansive poses for one minute each: first, the classic feet on desk, hands behind head; then, standing and leaning on one's hands over a desk. Those in the low-power group were posed for the time period in two restrictive poses: sitting in a chair with arms held close and hands folded, and standing with arms and legs crossed tightly....

Controlling for subjects' baseline levels of both hormones, Cuddy and her coauthors found that high-power poses decreased cortisol by about 25 percent and increased testosterone by about 19 percent for both men and women. In contrast, low-power poses increased cortisol about 17 percent and decreased testosterone about 10 percent.

Want to read the whole article? Click here.

If you're feeling stressed out, try these power poses (after all, it can't hurt). Stand up and lean over your desk to read a report, contract or your email. Close your door, put your feet up, close your eyes and take a few powerful deep breaths. Feel better already, don't you?

Of course, you can also reduce stress through exercise like walking, running, weight training, yoga and tai chi (to name just a few) and through eating healthy, organic foods (you knew that was coming, didn't you?).

Click to visit shopOrganic.com - your trusted source for organic food and eco-friendly products online. First time shoppers save 10% using coupon code GRGDS. How great is that?!

Going Green At Home - Part 4

2010-09-19T10:08:00.000-07:00

If you haven't read previous posts on this topic, you might want to jump back and start with Part 1 to follow the progress of my amazingly easy green-my-home raised bed garden project.

I don't have a lot of time to monkey around, so I needed this garden project to be easy, fast and successful. As you can see from previous photos, the box, soil and grid went in quickly. We did this over the course of a few weekends, but total time spent on this was probably three or four hours total.Though we did want to start most of our plants from seed, I wanted some instant hits of color for the porch and some basil (since my bird friends have decimated my back porch potted basil plants). I love making my own organic pizza from a rustic crust, simple tomato sauce, organic mozzarella and yes, basil galore. So, basil will be a starter plant.

I chose marigolds for their color and natural pest deterrent properties and salvia for a bit of height and gorgeous purple flowers. The basil also went in along with starter greek oregano and cilantro.

Next up, we planted seeds for several varieties of greens including black seed simpson lettuce and rocket (aka arugula). Broccoli went in - just a couple of seeds in the middle of one square and four days later, I had a green sprout.

Last night I sparingly harvested a few leaves of basil for a pasta dish because, well, I needed that splash of green, that deliciously licorice-y basil flavor to give the dish depth. Perfect, my first harvest.

Stay tuned for what we planted next.

Until next time, go out there and green your home. Take "eat at home" literally!

Going Green At Home - Part 3

2010-09-12T19:56:00.000-07:00

In Part 1 of Going Green At Home, I talked about deciding to use a front patio space for a raised bed garden. We left off at having put the 8 x 5 x 1 frame in place. Now, let's get down and dirty - let's talk soil.

First, you need to do your math to figure out how many cubic feet of soil you need. Next, you need to decide on the mix. In Tucson, where's it's pretty dry most of the time, a soil that holds moisture is vital to success.

You can go to any garden center and buy a soil mix, usually they carry something appropriate to your area. However, you can also mix your own. In our case, we did the math and figured out we could save about $60 on soil by creating our own mixture - and the added benefit was we could control exactly what went into that mix.

We chose to add a lot of vermiculite - (make sure the vermiculite you choose is asbestos free). Vermiculite holds moisture and acts like a sponge, releasing moisture slowly. Of course, we added organic compost and other soil components to develop a nutrient rich soil mix.

The trick in mixing your own is that you have to deal with bags that are different sizes - some come in 1 cubic ft., 2.2 cubit ft. and so on. Once you decide that you want a soil mixture of say, 30% vermiculite, you need to calculate how many cubic feet that is and then how many bags you'll need. (All I can say is, do your math a couple of times to be sure you're correct and save your receipt).

If you're going to mix your own, make sure you either mix it in place (which is a bit tricky) or have a tarp of some sort. We found that by mixing our soil in three batches and rolling it back and forth in the tarp, we got a good distribution of the various components and had a beautiful soil mixture. We dumped it into the raised bed and repeated two more times until the bed was full. If you find your bed is full after two rounds, just return the unused (and unopened) bags (which is why I highly recommend you save your receipt).

Once you've got your soil in, you can start watering (to hydrate the soil to it doesn't suck the moisture out of your seeds or starer plants). However, we decided that putting a grid in would help - most container gardening books recommend it so you can remember where you planted what - so we used lath to demarcate the sectors. You can make them whatever size you want, we stuck with the standard 12" x 12". The result was an organized grid system that we can track what's been planted where and when.

Next up - planting, growing, marveling.

Going Green At Home - Part 2

2010-08-28T14:01:00.000-07:00

Before we go further down the garden path...(yes, pun intended), I thought it might be useful to provide you with a few resources. If this project sounds like it's up your alley and you want to try your hand at growing some of your own produce in a small space, you're in luck.

You can do this on your own, but having a personal guide makes the journey a bit more certain. We picked up a copy of the All New Square Foot Gardening book (see the link here to buy your own). It's full of step-by-step instructions, sound advice and great how-to pictures.

The author, Mel Bartholomew, seems to favor planting starters, but I wanted to try my hand at starting from seed. Looking for natural and organic seeds? You're in luck. shopOrganic.com carries seeds for vegetables and flowers.

Whether you buy starters or start from seed, you'll need to plant the kinds of plants that thrive in your climate zone and you'll need to figure out your local growing season. You can extend it in the fall by covering your raised bed - but now's a great time for cool weather growing in most locations (ok, it's still in the 100's here in the Southwest, but we know cooler weather is just around the corner).

Get your green thumb going today and literally put food on your own table. Stay tuned for Part 3 soon!

And here is the rest of it.

Going Green At Home - Part 1

2010-08-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

I am fortunate to live in the beautiful Sonoran Desert, here in sunny southern Arizona. The downside is that it's not usually described as verdant - more like a dusty brown most of the time. My home is a charming one story burnt adobe building that reflects the very essence of the Southwest. When I bought it years back, there was a large fountain on the front porch area surrounded by some scraggly boxwood bushes. Fairly quickly, I turned off the fountain - it seemed a waste of precious water. The boxwoods were pretty much left to their own devices.

Fast forward to this summer.

I guess I've been watching too much home and garden television. I kept looking at that front patio space wondering what I could do with it. After a couple of iterations, I realized it was a perfect spot for a raised bed garden. It's got morning sun and was protected from the harsh afternoon sun and it was the perfect size. Thus began the project that has started to green my home.

We started by clearing the space. We gave away the fountain to a really nice family who came and got it one Saturday morning. We made new friends in the deal, so we were thrilled. Next, we cleared the boxwoods out and prepped the space.

Next, we measured and calculated what we'd need in the way of raised bed materials (wood and a few screws), headed to the home improvement store, came home and built the box. We decided to add bird netting over the top since we have so many birds in the area and, well, they'd already chowed down an entire basil plant leaving me bare stubs and a dead plant.

The box itself was pretty simple to build and it didn't take a skilled carpenter to cut and assemble the wood. We assembled it in the garage and carried it to it's final location - the result is a beautiful 8 x 5 foot 12" deep raised bed garden.

(And yes, that is the Border of Border & Black Ventures, aka Jackie Brown, border collie extraordinare).

This is what I call a triple bottom line - I get fresh organic produce from my own garden; I get to see the lush green of the plants as they grow; and I get to spend some time getting my hands dirty in a really good way. It's low maintenance, but I can putter around it if I want to just unwind - or just sit on the patio and marvel at this little desert oasis.

I've never grown much before - especially not the garden variety - I've never found the idea appealing until Lisa (shopOrganic co-founder) suggested a raised bed garden. The small, manageable scale was instantly appealing and the thought of actually having fresh produce on my front porch was what sealed the deal.

Stay tuned for more posts showing what comes next, where you can find information on how to grow your own and see photos of what's starting to sprout!

We're looking forward to a beautiful, bountiful front porch this fall and hope you'll check back often to see our progress.

And, of course, for all those things you can't grow yourself, green your home with organic and eco-friendly products from shopOrganic.com

Farewell to an old friend

2010-06-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

I envy people who feel a spiritual certainty about what becomes of 'us' after we draw our final breath - I have ideas and thoughts, but nothing solid enough to give me the comfort of 'knowingness.' Still, life waits for no one and today we had to bid farewell to Rosie aka Black Dog aka The Dog of Love. I know, people always go on and on about their dogs and with good reason. We get from them the unconditional, always new feeling of love that we rarely find anywhere else on earth. So I just want to take a moment to honor her passing with some rather amusing tales (tails) -

Something some folks may not know is that our corporate name, Border & Black Ventures, was formed in honor of our border collie rescue dog, Jackie Brown, and Rosie, a mixed breed, also a rescue dog. When asked what kind of dog Rosie was, we'd just say "She's a black dog" because that pretty much summed it up in terms of breed characteristics. However, we named the company Border & Black because we actually admire the traits they each exhibit naturally. I'll leave the Border part for another day, but the Black part from Rosie was this. She had a healthy love of food (which we transcribed into a love of healthy food), a tendency to always hang out with the big dogs and get them to play nice, and the ability to simply share the love.

When she took agility training, she wasn't any good at all at agility, but she sure knew how to work the crowd. She was dubbed 'the agility hostess' because she'd greet all the dogs and people then settle in looking for food on the floor or trying to work her magic a second time to get everyone else to feed her treats again.

But as happens to us all eventually, her eyesight went, then her hearing, then just about everything else. She had a couple of brushes with ailments we thought might bring her demise, though both times she somehow miraculously pulled out of these ailments and almost snapped back. These events became known as the times Rosie simply needed to be rebooted. She got rebooted twice, though each time she came back with a bit less zest, a bit less - well, Rosie-ness.

We saw the decline and acknowledged she was simply aging, so we accommodated. Her walks were shorter so she could manage, we got up with her at 4am because, well, that's what time she got up. We moved slower and grew more patient just allowing her to enjoy life as it came to her. Last night, it was a beautiful cool desert summer night. We sat in the backyard and heard the crunch crunch crunch of a neighbor was walking down his driveway. We couldn't see him, but they heard the footsteps and both dogs gave an obligatory bark or two. The neighbor himself barked back playfully a couple of times (he's never done that in all the years we've lived here). Rosie barked once more, apparently satisfied, then stood on her wobbly, failing legs, just sniffing the night air. A good night to say farewell.

Like all the dogs in all our lives, she'll be remembered for how much love she helped us feel. So today, in honor of Rosie, share the love with someone or something in an unconditional, black dog kind of way.

How to Keep (Organic) Produce Fresh

2010-06-15T13:05:00.000-07:00

I just read an article in the July/August Cook's Illustrated (CI) magazine about produce keepers. You know, you've probably seen them advertised on television. They promise to keep your fresh produce fresher than fresh. So, CI did some tests (you gotta love their tests). The results?

None of the produce keepers had any positive effect on the shelf life of the fresh produce. In fact, in some cases, produce spoiled faster than if left in its original packing. You can read the article here.

So, here's a very inexpensive produce keeper idea - buy it and eat it! I've gotten better about gauging how much produce my family will consume in a week and I buy just enough to get us through to the next week. Yes, sometimes I have to make an extra stop at the market, but it beats buying stuff we'll likely not eat in a week then hoping against hope it will still be fresh and ready to go.

So, this summer, choose lots of healthy organic (and best of all, locally grown when available) produce and just don't let it go to waste! Get creative, you'd be surprised what you can cook up with that produce just on the edge of going bad. My favorite solution is a stir fry. For veggies that are past their prime but still edible, you can make a pretty decent stir fry and jazz up the flavors with organic garlic, ginger, shoyu (tamari, soy sauce), chiles, cayenne, curry - whatever sparks your imagination. Toss it over some organic sprouted brown rice, red quinoa or organic pasta (made from wheat, brown rice, corn and more) and viola! you've got dinner.

For more ideas on sauces and spices to jazz up your summertime meals, visit shopOrganic.com - or click here.

Enjoy the fruits (and veggies) of summer - organic, local, fresh. Yum.

Another New Model - Plenitude

2010-05-29T07:51:00.000-07:00

A friend brought over a book the other day - she'd heard about it on NPR. The book is titled Plenitude (Juliet B. Schor) and the basic premise is that our current economic models aren't working. In fact, the economic and environmental policies in place are worse than not working, they're steering us for disaster. But unlike so many other authors, Ms. Schor then lays out, step by step, a remarkable path forward.

The author outlines how we can transform our lives, our communities and our planet and actually like it. What amazes me about the book is that Schor doesn't stick with the gloom-and-doom long, though she certainly will point out data, facts and figures that support her premise. Rather, she continually frames forward and talks about what we can do, how we each are empowered to make change that is not only good for us but is something we ultimately enjoy.

Her premise is that we can't keep doing the same things we've been doing and expect different results - but that we can do new and different things and actually create a better world and have fun getting there.

Here's what sealed the deal for me - and this is just from the introduction:

...there's a growing body of research that attests to human adaptability. Newer thinking in behavioral economics, cultural evolution, and social networking...yields a view of humans as far more malleable....As economic actors, we can change, too. This has profound implications for our ability to shift from one way of living to another, and to be better off in the process. It's an important part of why we can both reduce ecological impact and improve well-being. As we transform our lifestyles, we transform ourselves. Patterns of consuming, earning and interacting that may seem unrealistic or even negative before starting down this road become feasible and appealing." (Schor, Juliet B., Plenitude, The Penguin Press, New York, 2010, p. 11)

Everyone I know has scaled back in the past few years, re-examining their personal economic models. In part this was forced by so many people losing jobs, homes and investments (or savings). But on the heels of that was a true re-assessment of priorities. Even people I know who were less impacted by this economic crisis than most were looking at their lives and deciding that less was more.

Those actions were driven by necessity - the necessity to survive amidst the upheaval. Schor's book takes it a step further and shows us how continuing down this new path can lead to a much more rewarding and richer life experience. Plenitude is for those who've decided to go down this path and are looking for a few guideposts along the way.

Of course, my viewpoint is that organic farming and sustainable environmental practices are absolutely a part of this new economic model. We can't fix our economic model until it incorporates cost accounting for the economic fall out from traditional practices. What's the ultimate cost of the oil spill in the Gulf? It's not just on the ledgers of BP Oil that this cost will be paid, but that's likely the only place it's visible. Schor's approach is to look at many sides of this multi-sided puzzle and provide a sane set of recommendations as to how we move forward.

I won't hold it against her that she mentions organic farming but once in the book (p. 22) - she is providing a large-scale topo map for our new adventure, organic being one of the many facets that will bring us back to a sustainable and enjoyable approach to life on this breaktakingly amazing planet of ours.

If you haven't read this book, grab it as soon as it hits your local library, borrow it from a friend (as I have done) or download it on your favorite e-reader. Buy the hard copy if you must (I am tempted), this one's a keeper.

If you're ready to start spreading your sustainable wings, stop by shopOrganic for the best in organic, fair trade and sustainable products. Use coupon code GRGDS and save 10% on your first order.

A New Model for Investing (In Things That Matter)

2010-05-26T07:28:00.000-07:00

I've been watching the stock market in the last month or so run through an amazing array of ups, downs and sideways. Like most folks, I have become increasingly skeptical of the math, science, psychology and technology behind the stock market.

I've always known the market was skewed toward the big guys - but I used to think that if you followed in the tracks of the big guys, you might still fare well. It's clear from the massive typo a couple of weeks back that caused the market to tumble almost 1,000 points, that's just not true anymore. It's left me even more leery of the machinations of the markets of late.

Not that I have piles of money to invest anyway. But the money I do have to invest is staying close to home these days. I've decided that the best way to manage my money is to spend it on important things - like fixing the leaking faucet, getting a few new plants for the front porch, or buying really high quality food to cook and bake with.

When it's all said and done, the old cliched adage really does hold true - the best investment is in yourself. Granted, the notion of what that investment looks like has changed over the past decade. In the height of economic prosperity (aka bubbles), that investment seemed more like buying the latest 52" big screen TV. Now, after a painfully recessionary squeeze, that investment has been boiled down to basics - what you do to invest in your health, wellness and happiness. After all, those are investments that gain in value and as any wise investor will tell you, those are the ones to look for.

Healthy food is a great place to start that investment since good, healthy, organic food forms the foundation of good nutrition that supports health and wellness at every age. Invest in exercise and active leisure activities - from golf lessons to hiking to kayaking or mountain biking. [Not sure where to look? I'm a big fan of REI.] Try something new and exciting and active. What great dividends you'll earn from that investment.

After you've taken care of yourself, you might want to look at how you can invest in your local community. There are millions of small companies across the nation that no longer have access to bank funding or equity (investor) capital. They still need capital to expand and they form the foundation of your community as well as our country's economy. (shopOrganic.com is one of them - click here for details).

Look at the business practices of the companies you do business with - whether locally owned or part of a larger, national company. Do they treat customers, vendors, employees and their community well? Do their employees seem content or even (gasp) happy? Local or not, there are some companies whose business practices are stellar and investing your shopping dollars with those companies is another way of investing intelligently.

Invest in local businesses - start a local investment club or support your local business with your purchases. You'll find you have a lot more control than spinning the wheel on the stock market and you'll benefit directly by supporting a sustainable local economy.

Thoughts? Comments? Love to hear 'em.

Now, go out there and enjoy your day!

Science Shows Link Between Pesticides and ADHD

2010-05-17T06:20:00.001-07:00

A new study links Attention Deficit disorder with pesticide exposure - (here's the link to the story). I don't know about you, but this isn't really as much a surprise as a confirmation of what we already knew but had little scientific evidence to cite.

Pesticides were actually developed as chemicals for warfare. After World War II, someone had the no-so-brilliant-thought to spray those chemicals that were stockpiled on plants to kill pests. I'm not quite sure why no one ever thought about the fact that those chemicals sit on the leaves of the plants, soak into the roots of the plants and are then ingested. I guess it seemed like a good idea at the time....

I guess it's easy to sit back and second guess 60 or 70 years' worth of 'conventional' agricultural wisdom, but it still seems like a no brainer that you don't want to douse your food in poison.

This article points to the link between certain pesticides and ADHD. I remember an elderly friend of mine once speaking a bit mockingly of all these new 'disorders' - but maybe there really are a new host of disorders all stemming from our dousing our environment with toxic chemicals.

Of course, at shopOrganic, we've always believed it was healthier for our bodies and the planet to eat organic; now the scientific community is starting to look at the underlying science and is coming to the same conclusion.

So, while it's important to teach children to eat a balanced diet, it also needs to be a diet free from toxic chemicals. Go organic, you and your children are worth it.

Thoughts On Turning Two - shopOrganic.com Celebrates Its Two Year Anniversary

2010-05-05T07:08:00.000-07:00

This week, we celebrate your two year anniversary. What an eventful two years its been. In early 2008, when our plans for launching this business and the shopOrganic.com website were forming, we had no idea that the economy was about to fall out from beneath our feet. We had high hopes and when we clicked the button to publish the site and make it live that evening on May 8, 2008, we thought great things were about to happen. And we were right...sort of ....

We had strong sales at first, but as the economic cloud get getting bigger and darker, we grew concerned that our sales wouldn't grow fast enough and that our start up cash would run out before we hit our stride.

We have continued to do what we do best - find the highest quality, most unique and wonderful organic, fair trade and eco-friendly products available; offer them on our easy-to-use website and provide THE best customer service anywhere on the planet. It's a simple but powerful combination and judging from our repeat customers, we know it's a winning formula.

As we look back, we recognize the long hours, the hard work and the stress we endured to create this company. As we look forward, we see a bright horizon and wonderful opportunities awaiting us. We have big, BIG plans for the future and we're confident we'll be able to create this new future with a bit of help from our loyal customers, new customers and maybe an angel investor or two....

For now, we continue to wake up every day thankful that we do what we love and make a difference in people's lives. We would love to hear your comments and thoughts about our two year anniversary - feel free to comment here or visit shopOrganic and submit comments through our online form.

Thanks to everyone who made the first two years possible. We believe that our very survival over this two year period is a huge victory and we appreciate everyone along the way who encouraged, supported, offered us discounts to get us going and most of all our customers who make every day a great day at shopOrganic.

Healthy Tips for Joint Care

2010-04-24T08:45:00.000-07:00

I was reading an article this morning in the NY Times online on how to care for your joints in hopes of avoiding joint replacement later in life. (See NY Time Join Care article). It’s a decent article with common sense reminders - maintain a healthy weight, be kind to your joints, etc. Nothing new, certainly nothing we didn’t already know. What disappointed me was that there was no mention of good nutrition anywhere in the article.

Good overall nutrition is important for good overall health. Makes sense but rarely is maintaining a healthy diet “prescribed” as part of a preventive program such as that for avoiding hip or knee replacement. Certainly the mechanics of the body are vitally important and are often what determine whether one’s joints wear out through daily living - I’m guessing heredity may also play a role.

Still, something as simple as healthy food can make a significant difference on all the body’s finely tuned systems. Eat healthy, be well.

Join us at shopOrganc.com for the best organic food anywhere - your body deserves the best!

Basic nutritional supplements such as calcium/magnesium, vitamin C and B complex can help maintain balance, but eating a healthy organic diet is your best defense against aging related ailments!.

Maria Rodale's Organic Manifesto

2010-03-28T10:25:00.000-07:00

Maria Rodale spoke at the Natural Foods Expo last month in Anaheim, CA. I stood in a long line to get her book, Organic Manifesto, and get it signed - but when I got to the front, they had sold out. However, true to her word, Maria mailed me a copy shortly afterward. I sat down and started reading it the moment it came out of its wrapper. If you're at all interested in organic, you should pick up a copy of the book.

I will, however, give you a quick preview - from the Foreword, written by Eric Schlosser (American journalist and author of Fast Food Nation, another worthwhile read). Here is his opening....

"Pesticides are poisons. They are manufactured to kill insects, rodents, fungi, and weeds But they can also kill people. Organophosphates - one of the most common types of pesticide - were developed in Nazi Germany to be used as chemical weapons. It was later recognized that the same sort of nerve gases formulated to attack enemy soldiers and civilians could be used against agricultural pests....A conservative estimate of current pesticide use in American agriculture would be about 1.2 billions pounds a year - about 4 pounds of the stuff for every American man, woman and child." (Foreward by Eric Schlosser, Organic Manifesto by Maria Rodale, p. ix)

If that isn't enough information to spark your interest in organic, I don't know what is. I didn't know that pesticides began as chemical weapons in WWII. I do think it's interesting that there is a direct correlation to the increase in the use of pesticides in farming and the increase in diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's and other auto-immune dis-eases.

The chemical industry has spent billions of dollars convincing us the only way to grow food, keep our yards and homes pest free and provide enough food for people worldwide is through the use of pesticides. But that's simply not true. The billions they've spent have gone toward paying for self-serving 'research' that supports their view of the world. But unbiased empirical evidence points to the damage pesticides are doing to our soil and water.

I'm not going to go point by point through the book, but if you're interested in hearing the facts about why organic is truly worth it - for you, your family and the health of all of us on this beautiful spinning orb we call Planet Earth, give Maria's book a read. You might find some of it disturbing, but you'll also find evidence that there are millions of people who support organic and sustainable practices and there is a growing groundswell of support.

To find high quality, certified organic, fair trade and sustainable products you can trust online, visit www.shopOrganic.com - For The Greater Goods (sm).

No, go out there and enjoy your day!

Natural Products Expo - Part 1

2010-03-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

Every year, we head out to Anaheim, CA in the spring to attend the Natural Foods Expo. It’s a chance for us to seek out new products to offer, to meet and talk face to face with our wonderful vendors, and to get a broader sense of what is going on in our industry. This year, we are inspired as ever, both about the new products we’ve found for you and by the incredible work being done by those in our community.

One of the reasons we love attending Expo is that we get to catch up with vendors from small companies with whom we've developed wonderful relationships. Throughout the year, we communicate via email, phone and Twitter, but we love the time we get to spend at Expo meeting face to face.

One of our best selling products (and among our personal favorites) is Henry & Lisa's Natural Seafood. If you haven't tried these products, you really should. Henry & Lisa's sells the best salmon and tuna you've ever laid your lips over. This is Lisa (L) of Henry & Lisa's, Lisa (C) of shopOrganic.com, and Henry (R) of Henry & Lisa's. We love working with small companies and knowing the folks that produce the products we offer. Henry and Lisa are great folks and we loved catching up with them at Expo.

More about Expo next post.

Until then, have a safe and green St. Patrick's Day.

Even Small Hands Can Move Mountains

2010-01-24T17:53:00.000-08:00

Like the rest of the world, we watched in horror as the early footage of the earthquake damage in Haiti began rolling in. For a country already struggling with so many difficult challenges, this earthquake has obviously brought this tiny nation to its knees.

In the face of such massive destruction and need, it's easy to become overwhelmed and say, "My help won't make a difference."

Alone, no it won't. But when we work together, when we pool our resources, when we work together to solve problems, we can move mountains - even when it's mountains of rubble.

Know that every little bit does help. Send $5 a week, $10 a week, whatever makes sense for you and know that with every small donation, Haiti begins its recovery.

It is massive, it is overwhelming, it is heartbreaking - and for that very reason we cannot become inured to the pain and suffering of those in need.

Reach out, pool your resources and let's make life on this planet just a bit easier, a little bit kinder for everyone here.

Here are some links to organizations that are helping -
Habitat for Humanity
Unicef
American Red Cross
Clinton Bush Haiti Fund

Happy Holidays Starts With Taking A Deep Breath

2009-12-20T10:35:00.001-08:00

This time of year, the holiday spirit invites us to participate in gatherings of all kinds. The opportunity to connect with friends, colleagues and family in the spirit of kindness and sharing is an amazing gift that we can strive to carry with us the other 11 months of the year. But it can also be a stressful time when expectations can overwhelm us. This year, I invite each of you to stop for five minutes when the pace is most hectic. Sit quietly, stand quietly, breathe out (the breathing in part always takes care of itself). Focus on your heart, think of someone or something you love unconditionally.

When I get stressed, I stop and think about my dogs or the antics of my evil but lovable cat. Mind you, there are many people in my life I love - but honestly, just thinking about my dogs (or cat) makes my blood pressure drop instantly. Actually, studies have consistently shown that dogs (in particular) help lower stress in humans (being with dogs or truly, even just thinking about them). Amazing, but true.

So,when the stress of all the to do's starts getting to you, center your thoughts for just a moment on something greater than yourself. Remember that the holidays will be just fine without every detail being perfect. Remember the point is to connect with friends and family and share the love. Everything else is just window dressing.

Happy holidays!

The Circle of Kindness

2009-12-07T18:32:00.000-08:00

My last post was about Kate Titus's company, A Loyal Companion. She provides canine massage and she's recently branched out into prosthetics for canines. While that might seem like a bit of a luxury, for working dogs or very active dogs, it can be a solution that brings new joy, life and most importantly, restored activity to a dog who otherwise would be sidelined. But that's not the point of this post - keep reading...

Kate texted and said to set my DVR to record an early morning local news show on Sunday morning she was appearing on. I did so and watched one of the most moving segments I've seen in a long time. Kate and her dog are part of a group called Gabriel's Angels (www.gabrielsangels.org). The organization is dedicated to changing the circle of violence and neglect by bringing everyday dogs to visit children at risk - those in shelters, domestic violence shelters and juvenile detention, among other places. The volunteers are trained to understand the situation but beyond that, they are everyday people with their dogs (dogs are certified through the program). Gabriel's Angels believes that the bond between a therapy dog and a child is strong enough to break the cycle of violence. Those of you who love dogs know the power of that bond.

The founder, Pam Gaber , was interviewed (as was Kate and her companion pup, a gigantic Great Dane mix named Harley). Pam talked passionately about the impact these dogs have on the kids. Her explanation was quite moving - she talked about the importance of developing trust, compassion and empathy in these kids and that more often than not, these dogs do the trick. In fact, the organization has sponsored studies to validate their result - that these children are forever changed and healed by experiencing the unconditional love dogs offer.

In this season of giving, consider giving to the charity of your choice - funding has been severely cut in this economic climate; non-profits are struggling under the burden of being tasked with ever larger work loads with continually dwindling funding. Help fill the gap by making a generous donation of whatever size to an organization in your neighborhood that makes a difference, touches your heart and contributes to the circle of kindness.

This year, I'm going to stretch a bit more than usual and make sure I help the organizations that make a difference. I hope you'll consider helping out as well.

One by one and all together, we can make a difference.

Happy Holidays from all of us at shopOrganic.com. And remember, during the holiday craze, you still gotta eat. We've got plenty of healthy, organic food for quick and easy meals for you - and yup, we've got some great green and organic gifts for your last minute shopping as well.

Here's your reward for reading the whole post - watch this really fun dog video on YouTube - it will make your day! Now go out there and enjoy your day!

Hands On Care For Your Canine

2009-12-05T07:28:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, our black dog (of Border & Black fame) Rosie began to have trouble walking. She was getting up there in years, so it was no surprise that she'd become a bit slower, but this was a dramatic, wake-up-one-day-much-worse kind of turn.

We wondered what to do for her and of course, our first stop was our vet. We've been with our vet for a long time and trust his advice. He took a look at Rosie (whom he affectionately calls Rosie-roo) and said he could check a few things to see if anything was seriously wrong. We agreed since she could not stand on her own at that point. Diagnostics of various sorts were performed but showed nothing out of the ordinary for an aging but otherwise healthy dog.

We didn't know if we'd be making end-of-life kinds of choices for her and we went home to ponder our options. I don't recall how it came up but somehow canine massage came to mind. I know how helpful massage can be to humans, so it makes sense that other animals, especially of the domesticated variety, would benefit as well. I wondered if Rosie's problem was related to a slip (our tile floors are not particularly friendly to aging puppy paw pads) or a twist of some sort.

With the help of our friendly Internet search engine, we located a certified canine massage therapist right here in Tucson. We immediately sent her an email, googled her (for good measure) and she responded almost immediately. After a brief phone call, we agreed to have her come over for an evaluation within days.

Kate showed up at our door with a big smile and a warm, assuring manner. The dogs took to her instantly but they weren't sure what all this was about. Kate's first visit was simply to meet and greet the dogs, talk with us about what to expect and what we expected and to answer any questions.

We agreed to set up a series of 8 massages to see how Rosie would fare under this regimen. The first few sessions Rosie was a bit nervous about the whole process and didn't settle down immediately, but starting on the third session, she sat patiently and allowed herself to be gently rubbed and stretched.

It was clear from the start Kate was an expert in canine anatomy as she explained what she was doing and why. She gave us suggestions for follow-up stretching for in-between massage dates. After about two weeks, we noticed an improvement in Rosie, though we weren't sure if it was just our wishful thinking or a genuine change. We persisted, we welcomed Kate into our home and the dogs began looking forward to these sessions that I'm sure they viewed as a bit of a play date.

Four weeks into it, it was clear Rosie was more mobile, more relaxed and had more stability. She was able to resume her daily walks, stand on her own and generally get around better. As the 8 weeks came to a close, it was clear that Rosie was better. Whether it was just her getting attention for a concentrated period of time each week or whether it was the massage (I suspect a bit of both), she was improved.

We decided to allow the 8 sessions to 'settle in' a bit to see how Rosie fared. We've stayed in touch with Kate and we're happy to report that now, about two months later, Rosie continues to improve. She runs, she stands, she happily goes for her walks.

I don't know what happened to Rosie to cause the problem but I do know that it was working with Kate that fixed what ailed my precious pup.

You might think canine massage is a bit la-de-dah but having seen it with my own eyes, I am convinced that it's a great option to have available. If you have a dog with any muscular or skeletal issues or if your dog takes a sudden (or gradual) turn for the worse, certainly seek professional veterinary advice to make sure it's not something major. But if it's inconclusive, give some serious thought to canine massage. Your best friend on four legs may not be able to tell you where it hurts, but a great canine massage therapist like Kate Titus can - and she can fix it too.

Looking for the perfect holiday gift for a dog lover? How about the gift of a canine massage? There are certified canine massage therapists throughout the U.S. and if you're lucky enough to live in Tucson, Arizona, you can contact Kate Titus at A Loyal Companion.

Of course, if you want to keep Fido fit and happy, consider natural and organic pet food from your friends at shopOrganic.com!

Help For Your Well-Washed But Dry Hands....

2009-11-17T05:35:00.000-08:00

One of the best ways to avoid illness this season (and all the time) is to wash your hands. A nurse friend of mine recently told me that if everyone washed their hands on a very regular basis, we could wipe out a number of diseases. In fact, she told me that if everyone in the world washed their hands consistently for two weeks, we could wipe out Hepatitis A. Now, whether or not that is true (I tend to believe her, she's a smart cookie), it is well-documented that washing hands helps prevent the spread of disease.

So, if you're like me, you are washing your hands more than ever these days knowing that a few minutes spent washing hands may help prevent catching a bug that will have you down and out for a week. The downside as I'm sure you've discovered is dry hands that crack and get really sore. Well, we've discovered a hand cream that will help prevent or heal those cracks and splits. This hand cream from Brigit is organic and unscented and totally amazing...

If you've never heard for Brigit (the brand), you're not alone. Brigit is a small company that we've discovered who makes high quality organic body care products in small batches. This cream is made with such high quality ingredients, you could actually eat it (thus its suitable for use on babies and children) but we recommend using it externally only for use on hands, feet, elbows, face and neck. It only takes a tiny pea sized dollop to rejuvenate your hands.

If you get dry cracked hands or feet, you'll love this product - and the whole Brigit line at shopOrganic.com.

Thank You (Sort of) Big Insurance

2009-11-08T08:57:00.000-08:00

The House passed its version of the health care reform bill last night - I have no idea what's in the bill - I am often a bit leery because too often it seems the folks making the decisions are too far removed from the folks impacted by the decisions. Nonetheless, I do think we needed to try something different - after all, people who go without health insurance also go without health care and that leads to a whole host of problems both physical and financial.

But here's the ironic twist in all of this. Since this past summer, we've seen sales of organic dried persimmons go up significantly. Whenever we see a dramatic jump in sales of any one product, we do a bit of research to see what's going on. As it turns out, insurance companies, in their infinite wisdom and bottom-line ways, have seen fit to stop paying for prescription drugs used to treat acid reflux. Never mind that it's a real problem and has serious implications if left untreated. Still insurance companies may have unwittingly caused people to actually choose a healthier alternative (hence the big, heartfelt thank you at the opening).

In their desperation to find a suitable alternative to expensive and now not-covered-by-insurance drugs, people began researching "folk remedies." Though many folk remedies have never been tested inside a laboratory, they don't usually stand the test of time if there isn't something to them (not universally true, but mostly so). Thousands of people began discovering they can make a simple tea from persimmons that reportedly not only can be helpful in reducing acid reflux, it apparently has the side benefit of lowering blood sugar and cholesterol too. How's that for a healthy trifecta wrapped into a delicious, easy-to-make tea?

So, thank you (in a weird, twisted kind of way) big insurance for pushing people to find alternatives to pharmaceuticals. While allopathic medicine certainly has its place in today's world, too often we look for the cure in a bottle when it's really a matter of making an adjustment in our diet, exercise or lifestyle. In this case, it's looking for natural remedies to a pervasive and persistent problem - acid reflux. If you'd like to read more about this, visit the People's Pharmacy by clicking here.

If you're looking for delicious, organic dried persimmons for your tea, click here.

If you're looking for the recipe, then without further ado, here's the easy-to-make tea:

Combine 2 quarts of water with 1/2 cup of fresh ginger and 3 sticks of cinnamon. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Strain the liquid and stir in 1 1/2 cup sugar* or agave nectar and 1 cup sliced dried organic persimmons. Keep refrigerated.

*Now, this recipe calls for sugar - I am not a fan of adding sugar when it's not needed and in this case, it's only used as a sweetener. So, use the sugar if you'd like or omit the sugar altogether or, here's a great alternative, sweeten with agave nectar. Agave nectar is a light, mild liquid sweetener that has a very low glycemic index so it doesn't punch your system like regular sugar does. I'm pretty sure sugar is just flavoring and not part of the magic of this recipe, so you can experiment if you're interested. All the products mentioned here are linked to shopOrganic.com.

One final thought - brew up a batch of this and serve it after Thanksgiving dinner this year!

Now, go out there and enjoy your day!

And of course, I have to say this, shopOrganic.com and this blog are not providing any sort of medical advice, always check with your health care provider if you've having problems, we're just here to share information you might find interesting or useful.

Every Trade A Fair Trade...

2009-09-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

If you're like most Americans, you may not stop to think about where things come from or how they're made unless there's a problem. After all, most of us have too much to do and too little time. Still, it's good to stop and take a look at the world around us from time to time. Where things come from is just one question - how they come to land on our table or in our homes is another. How did that shirt or that coffee or that television end up in your home? Chances are good, many of the foods and products you buy have traveled around the world to end up in your hands.

Think about coffee for example. Let's say you buy a bag of French Roast from a local retailer. Let's say it's a 16 oz. package and it sets you back $12.95. One pound for about $13 bucks. A lot of people had a hand in getting that product into your hands - from the retailer to the distributor to the roaster to the grower. Everybody needed to be compensated for their efforts so that $13 has to be shared all the way from grower to retailer.

Coffee is typically grown in developing countries and the Fair Trade movement helps ensure that the folks growing the coffee get a fair deal. That wasn't always the case - and still isn't in places where Fair Trade agreements are not in place. Fair Trade helps farming families lift themselves out of poverty by investing in their farms and communities, protecting the environment and developing business skills to compete in the global marketplace.

Fair trade is not just about price, but price is an important element. That same $13 bucks needs to be split fairly among all the people who are responsible for getting that product to market. Historically, the folks doing the growing were sometimes short changed and the scales were not balanced.

The Fair Trade movement helps to bring things back into balance. It's about fair price, but it's also about fair labor conditions and direct trade (cutting out some of the middlemen along the way). Fair trade also helps to develop communities and supports sustainable agricultural methods. That's why you'll find a lot of Fair Trade products are also organic - if you want to have a sustainable agricultural model, you need to nuture the land you have so it can continue to be fertile and productive for generations to come - organic methods do just that.

October is Fair Trade month and now that you've learned a bit about Fair Trade, you may want to consciously seek out products that are Fair Trade.

Want to learn more? You can visit these sites:
http://www.fairtrademonth.org
http://www.transfairusa.org

Of course, shopOrganic strongly supports the Fair Trade movement and we proudly carry products that are Fair Trade certified.

We can't always control things in the world around us, but each of us can make a difference in small ways that add up. Buying organics is one way, supporting and purchasing Fair Trade products is another.

As I'm fond of saying, consumers vote with their dollars and I hope someday we'll see a landslide victory for organics.

Be well.

Paper...Plastic? How About Tiffin Instead?

2009-09-06T18:20:00.000-07:00

Most U.S. consumers are familiar with the sing-songy question at grocery stores: "Paper or plastic?" In some cities, plastic bags have been banned - and for good reason. But changing to paper isn't necessarily a more ecological choice. Below, I've listed some information about both paper and plastic that may surprise you. Understanding the challenges might also help you take another step toward going green.

Since plastic and paper are so handy for portable food - for lunch at work or school, for picnics or road trips, it would be hard to go without. So I thought it might make your life easier to introduce you to a back-to-the-future kind of product - the venerable tiffin.

We scoured our resources and located a responsibly manufactured source for tiffins. Tiffins are traditionally used in India, but they're fast becoming popular around the globe and more and more people look to sustainable alternatives to paper or plastic especially for carrying your breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack. But they're even more useful than that.

Tiffins come with a lid that doubles as a plate. The lids clamp on to hold lids on tight. The top comes with a built in handle for easy carrying. Re-usable, dishwasher safe, these handy little containers will find their way into your life in surprising ways.

Cara (of shopOrganic fame) mentioned that she brings her tiffin to restaurants so if she wants to take home a 'doggie bag', she has her container with her. Imagine the styrofoam, paper and plastic she saves each time! If we all did that, think of how much less waste we'd each create in one simple move. And, Cara also reports that she can just grab the tiffin and head out to work the next day with her leftovers already packed. How convenient is that?

So, take a look at tiffins and report back how many creative and useful ways you have found to use tiffins to reduce, reuse and recycle!

If you're interested in the paper vs. plastic info, here you go.

In the United States, we use over 380 billion plastic bags each year. That's more than one billion plastic bags per day. One of the problems with plastic is that it does not biodegrade - it just breaks down into ever smaller pieces. These scraps find their way into rivers, oceans, parks, gardens, farms, and landfills. Animals ingest these plastic scraps causing all kinds of problems for wildlife. The amount of petroleum required to make a plastic bag is enough to drive a car one mile.

Plastic also takes fossil fuels to produce - and we know we have a finite source of fossil fuels...Most U.S. cities spend as much as 17 cents per bag in landfill, sewer cleanup and litter pickup costs, wasting millions of tax dollars.

So it seems a bit out of kilter to use it to make flimsy plastic bags to carry our groceries home in. Let's take a quick at paper.

It takes 60% more energy to make a paper bag than it does to make a plastic bag. Americans use an estimated 15 billion paper shopping bags, which requires about 18 million trees. Although paper bags are biodegradable, they do not decompose in landfills because when they're buried, the oxygen required to break down the paper is not present. The chemicals used to bleach paper can also leak into ground water. In fact, the production of paper bags creates 70% more air pollution and 50% more water pollution than the production of plastic bags.

Neither paper nor plastic present viable options for everyday use - they certainly have their uses and there are times that one or the other is the best or only option. However, if everyone reduced their use of plastic and paper bags by just one or two per year, we could reduce waste by more than 50 million pounds per year.

So, what you do DOES make a difference. Reducing just a bit and using alternatives like reusable bags when you go to the store, using tiffins or other reusable containers for take out, lunches and picnics makes a difference and every little bit adds up. You don't have to completely re-wire yourself - just a few small changes can make a big difference.

Redefining "Healthy Profit"

2009-08-23T17:43:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about our company, shopOrganic.com, this afternoon (as I do most mornings, noons and nights) and I thought about the phrase "healthy profit".

Before I go any further, let me stake a claim here - I am hereby redefining the phrase "healthy profit" to mean that the profit must be generated in a sustainable manner. Gone are the days when toxic profits garnered from shady operations are lauded as good, desirable and worthwhile. In the new economy, a profit will be deemed healthy only if it is sustainable. So, the new equation is this: intelligent investing = sustainable profitability. OK, now that I've marked your consciousness with that tidbit, let's talk about how that works.

The sub-prime mortgage mess was not a sustainable model. It was stealthy, it was crafty and certainly a handful of people made a huge pile of money - but at what cost? I'm all for profitabiity, indeed, small businesses MUST be profitable to continue to exist, so profit is typically good.

As the economy recovers, more and more people will begin to feel financially stable again - and they'll begin to look for places to invest. So, we can create another bubble by over-hyping some other market sector, but let me suggest an alternative for small and large investors alike.

Look for companies that create real value by doing something real. Look for companies that play well with others - by being good neighbors, community citizens and valued partners. Look for companies that make every effort to run a profitable company in a sustainable manner. Look for companies that want to, and appear to be able to, make a difference in the world.

If you find companies that meet those criteria, they might be good candidates for your hard earned investment dollars. If they don't meet those criteria, think long and hard about whether or not you want to part with your money for something that is probably part of an old, dying economic model.

Just my 2 cents (hopefully well invested).

Love hearing from you - post your comments and insights and let's get this economy started (to poorly paraphrase recording artist Pink).

Now, go out there and enjoy your day -

[Here's the pitch - looking for a responsible, sustainable investment? Are you a qualified investor? Head to shopOrganic.com for more information.

Investing In This New World

2009-08-20T06:57:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking lately about investing. Just a few years ago, when the stock market was hot, people were tossing money in without much thought or care. Unless you made really bad investments, you mostly saw your funds increase over time. Then along came the sub-prime mortgage mess, credit card debt and the economy cycled downward. Gone were the days of free money and ever increasing bank balances. As the stock markets headed lower and lower day after day, a lot of people began to re-evaluate their view toward investing. I know I did. I started looking at the world around me and saw, more clearly than ever before, that there are many different forms of investing - many of which are far less visible to us than picking the latest hot stock. There's a reckoning happening - big banks, big institutions, big anything - are all being challenged right now. Perhaps our 'bigger is better' mentality is fading away. Here's what I've discovered.

When we started shopOrganic back in early 2008, we were headed into a weakening housing market. At the time, we had no idea what the impact would be. Late in 2008 and early 2009, we saw markets tumble all around us. It impacted everyone we knew - and still we needed to build our business.

Like most start ups, we were tight on funds and we still needed to do things every business needs to do. So, we talked with folks - our suppliers and vendors, in particular. We simply asked, is there anything you can do to help us out? We were surprised and delighted by the response. We found almost everyone was willing to pitch in just a little bit to help. We shaved some costs off here, got a few extra free services there, extended small credit terms (even net 7 instead of COD make a difference) - and before we knew it, we were well on our way. No one went to extremes, but every little bit helped. It's like the coin tray or jar or drawer most of us have at home. You drop your spare change in there and suddenly you have a few hundred dollars. Each person that helped us dropped a few coins in our jar, enabling us to continue to build our business.

But it wasn't a one-way street. We also worked to help our suppliers and vendors where we could a well - a shout out here, a recommendation there. And as I thought about how this had all come about, it dawned on me that this may well be the roots of a new economy. (Of course, it hasn't removed our need to raise capital, but it sure has helped us significantly extend our runway!) Bigger isn't always better. We've been working with a lot of small companies who in turn have helped us out and we've all benefited. Just like sustainable, organic farming, a network of small producers may well be the most sustainable and beneficial economic model moving forward. It feels a bit like back to the future but maybe that's the best place to be.

With that, I'd like to take a moment to give a shout out to those who have helped us along the way. We're still growing, we're still looking for investment capital, we're still growing, and we're still here. Many heartfelt thanks to everyone who's helped us get to where we are. We are incredibly optimistic about the future and look forward to expanding on this new economic model. If you'd like to join in the fun, contact us and we'll be happy to chat with you!

Thanks go out to:

Kris Nicola at Intelligent Design
TCR Solutions and Chris Compton
Login and all the geeky tech guys over there
Donna Oakley at GSL Fine Lithographers
TLC Communications
Dave Blanchette at Bourn Partners for helping us find an amazing location
Dave Blanchette for introducing us to Mike Jaglois of Arlyss, Jaglois, Lynch
Arlyss, Jaglois, Lynch, marketing firm extraordinare, and in particular Mike Jaglois and Shelly Lynch
Eric Layland (Confluence Digital)
Russell Parker, Sally Gatchel, Curt Mullen and all the great folks at Nature's Best
Cyndi Dain, accountant and trusted advisor
Deanna Conn, Jacque Westling, Quarles & Brady
Monique at Tucson Container/Kino Packaging
Susan Quinn (and Chico)
Gary Frost
Linda Fredin
Sallie Mansbacher
Jackie Brown & Rosie (of Border and Black fame)

A thousand thank you's!

The Have's and the Have Not's

2009-08-11T20:53:00.000-07:00

Most of the time, when we talk about the "have's and the have not's" we're talking about material possessions and wealth - I'd like to turn that on its head for a moment and talk about when not having something is better.

The debate about the benefits of organic foods has really fired up. From my perspective, it's likely driven by a lot of people who have a vested interest in conventional foods - but setting that aside for a moment, let's just boil this down to a more rational discussion.

Let's say, just for the sake of this discussion, that there is no nutritional difference between organic and conventional foods (I don't personally believe that, but I'm willing to suspend disbelief for a couple of minutes). Does that end the debate? Is that slam dunk for conventionally grown foods? Nope. Not even close.

This is where the "have not's" win handily. Organic food does NOT have chemicals, organic food does NOT have pesticides, organic food is NOT made from genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

But wait, there's more (or, uh, less)!

Organic food not only doesn't have these things, growing organic foods does not involve the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, genetically modified organisms so it also keeps all that gunk out of the soil, the water and the air (aka the earth). Think about the multiplier effect in either direction. It's all connected - the debate about nutritional benefits may rage on, but I still prefer the "have not's" kind of food. Better for me, better for this big swirling globe we all call home.

Pesticides and other chemicals HAVE been shown to have an adverse impact on the human body and on the plants and animals of this planet. So, I don't know about you, I would rather go without and go organic - in this case, the have not's have a clear advantage.

New to organic food? Take a look at these best sellers at shopOrganic.com for some great ideas on where to start.

Now, go out there and enjoy your day!

Fast & Easy Organic Chicken Tikka Masala

2009-08-09T19:12:00.000-07:00

Like most folks, when I come home from work at night, I'm tired and hungry. I want something delicious, but I don't want to have to spend hours making it nor do I want to spend $40 to order in. Of course, I have my old standbys that I can whip up with minimal ingredients and time, but sometimes I just want to break out and have something a bit more interesting. Recently, I discovered a spice blend from Arora Creations that has changed my culinary landscape forever. Last night, I made a delicious chicken tikka masala using the Chicken Tikka Masala spice blend. You can make just about any meal better - whatever your choice of protein (chicken, fish, tofu or beans). Add your protein, vegetables and spice packet and simmer. Out of this world flavor and a quick and easy meal. These spice packets are great to keep in the cupboard for a fast, delicious and interesting meal. But here's the kicker - want to impress friends? Make one of these dishes using one of these organic Arora Creations spice blends then make naan at home and you'll be an instant star. Not sure about making naan? Here's a quick and easy recipe -- takes a couple of hours (1 of which is letting the dough rise).

Part Three : Healthy Adolescence and Adults

2009-07-20T07:02:00.000-07:00

Part Three in a continuing series on the health benefits of organic food.

We've discussed the importance of clean, organic food and nutrient dense diets during pregnancy and while a infant is developing just after birth. As a child grows into adolescence, the importance of a healthy diet shifts a bit from building blocks to laying a foundation of lifelong health.

As we age into adolescence and on into adulthood, nutrient rich organic foods high in phytochemicals play an important role in weight management and preventing diabetes. They can also lessen or delay the complications linked to both issues.

Organic and nutrient dense food may play a role by increasing one's sense of satiety. The feeling of being satisfied after a meal comes not from quantity but from quality. Whole, organic foods are more likely to satisfy than a plateful of empty calories. Feeling full is not exactly the same as feeling satisfied with a meal. Satiety leads to fewer cravings for empty energy boosting calories (sugar, fat, salt) between meals.

Organic, nutrient dense foods also lessen or limit the cellular and genetic damage done by "free radicals" (also called reactive oxygen species). This potentially reduces the risk of diabetes and other diseases rooted in inflammation including arthritis and cardiovascular disease as well as rapid cell growth (cancer).

Finally, these foods may help slow or even reverse certain neurological aspects of the aging process, leading to better memory and more retention of cognitive skills as we age.

According to a report released by the Organic Center in March 2009, "In helping manage blood glucose levels and promoting cardiovascular health, organic food and farming delivers benefit in two important ways. It exposes people to fewer of the endocrine disrupting chemicals that can set off the disease process and trigger epigenetic changes, and second it delivers higher daily intakes of health-promoting phytochemicals that reinforce the body’s defense and repair mechanism."

To read the full report and learn more about how organic food provides the building blocks for lifelong health, click here to visit the Organic Center. To purchase authentic organic food online from a trusted source, visit shopOrganic.com today. Be well.

Parents the biggest health risk to kids?

2009-07-14T20:04:00.000-07:00

A fascinating study just came out that shows that children of obese parents tend to become obese themselves. Specifically, the study showed that boys with obese fathers and girls with obese mothers are at higher risk of developing obesity than are children of parents within normal weight guidelines. These findings are important because they offset the long-held belief that obesity is simply genetic. Clearly, if genetics was the only factor then all children of obese parents would be at higher risk of becoming obese. However, the study shows that it is the same-sex parent that is most influential - so it can't all be genetics.

Obese moms are 10 times more likely to have obese daughters, according to new research, and obese dads are 6 times more likely to have obese sons, according to a British study of 226 families at Plymouth’s Peninsula Medical School and reported by the BBC.

How can this information be put to use? I've often heard people make significant and life-altering lifestyle changes for loved ones - or at least, that's the initial motivator. Parents often point to their attempts at quitting smoking or losing weight and say "I want to be around for my children." Well, now there are two powerful motivators packed into one. Not only will a healthy lifestyle improve your health and well-being, it can also lower the risk that your children will become obese. What you do today helps you and your entire family now and far into the future. And think about it - if you have children and you teach them healthy habits now, they may one day become parents who will role model a healthy lifestyle to their children. This is an endless cycle of improvement that begins with you and begins today. Small improvements add up to major change, so start with something today that's easy to achieve and build that into your life. That's the easiest way to make change and to model that for your children and loved ones.

Interestingly, organic food studies show that the risk of childhood obesity is reduced when children are fed diets high in organic food, whole foods and nutrient-dense food. So parents can model a healthy lifestyle by adopting a diet for themselves and their families by including organic foods as well.

It's amazing how adaptable children are and this data gives us even more reason to work toward living a healthy lifestyle for ourselves, our children and literally for generations to come. What a legacy to leave!

GMO or Organic - You Decide

2009-06-16T18:18:00.000-07:00

There's a lot of renewed interest in genetically modified organisms (aka GMO). Polls consistently show that American consumers want to know if their food contains GMOs. In fact, in a recent poll, 53% of consumers indicated they would not buy food that had been genetically modified. Despite this growing aversion to GMO products, industrial giants continue to push GMO. Thirty other countries around the world significantly restrict the use of GMOs because they are not proven safe. In the US, the FDA approved commercial production of GMOs based on studies conducted by the companies who created them and profit from their sale...the fox guarding the henhouse....

To be clear, organic standards prohibit the use of GMOs or GMO products in organic products (up to 0.1% can be from GMO according to the organic standards).

Proponents of GMO claim that by genetically altering food, the plants are more resistant to bugs, blight and disease; they also claim that the plants provide higher yields therefore increasing profit for farmers and providing more food for the planet.

Let's exam these statements one at a time.

1. More bug or disease resistent

There are numerous sustainable methods of managing bugs and disease. Yes, they take more thought, planning and are slower acting. However, bugs are good for the environment even if we see them as pests. They are part of a complex ecosystem that taken as a whole is sustainable and manageable. Spraying crops isn't great but genetically modifying plants is worse.

2. Higher yield - more profit

OK, farmers might be able to get more per acre out of their plants, but at what cost? Will it deplete the soil more rapidly? Will it cross pollinate with God-knows-what? More importantly, these seeds are PATENTED. Yup, one would think these belong to nature but no more. GMOs are products of their producers - in many cases companies like Monsanto. They own the seed technology - so you have to buy each seed from them. Many GMOs are designed to self-destruct rather than go to seed. No kidding. It's too strange for words, really. So, if a farmer has to buy seed and pay Monsanto every year, how does the farmer actually make more money? Maybe I'm missing something here but it seems like the farmer who gets sold this model is being sold a bill of goods.

3. Higher yield - feed the world

Guess what? A study released in the last couple of years by a University of Michigan researcher proved (mathematically) that if every arable acre of land on the planet (currently planted) was converted to organic, there would still be a surplus of kilocalories...translation: organic food can feed the world. So, higher yield is NOT the problem, distribution and other issues are what are leading to hunger in some parts of the planet.

Think about what we've learned about the human genome in the past decade. Now, think of all the things we still DON'T know. Odds are that monkeying with the genetic makeup of a species is a recipe for long-term disaster. History is chock full of lessons of "unintended consequences" and we are just at the infancy of knowing what these genetic mutations might do. There is growing scientific evidence that GMOs pose a health risk to animals - so clearly these are not bio-identical products but modified products that impact the animals that ingest them.

Let's talk about the butterfly effect. Perhaps you've heard of it. It's the mathematical notion that a small change at the origin can have a massive impact down the line.

Now, let's apply that to GMOs. GMO plants pollinate, the wind carries the GMO seeds to a neighboring farm. Now, the neighbor next door is growing GMO plants without his/her knowledge or permission. Companies like Monsanto modified seeds so they cannot be replicated - requiring the farmer to continue to buy seed from Monsanto. What happens to the farmer whose field is infiltrated by wind-borne GMO seeds? Must he or she now pay Monsanto? It's insane.

At shopOrganic.com, we work diligently to look at the source ingredients for all the products we carry. We make sure the products are certified organic and we look at source ingredients as well. We firmly and passionately believe that an organic model is sustainable and safe for generations to come. There was a time when science thought DDT was a great answer for crops - only to be banned years later as the cause of serious birth defects.

Don't get me wrong - I love science and technology - but the potential unintended consequences of GMOs are truly frightening. Rather than peddle fear, we'd like to suggest that we all look to creating a healthy, sustainable world for our kids and their kids and their kids. What do you think? Chime in, we love hearing from you.

Want to learn more? Visit the Non GMO Project

Want to buy GMO-free organic products? Head to shopOrganic.com

The Skinny On Organic Food

2009-06-01T18:43:00.000-07:00

This is part two in our series on the impact of organic food on children and health. The full article (listed at the end of this post) is from The Organic Center and is filled with impressive scientific data and studies showing a wide range of benefits of consuming organic food. This installment looks at how organic food can be a key element in helping children develop healthy weight and maintain that for a lifetime. Numerous studies show that the presence of a variety of pesticides in the mother's blood stream during pregnancy and the ingestion of these pesticides by young children had a significant impact on children's bodies and in particular, the hunger mechanism. Researchers are beginning to evaluate how exposure to other environmental toxins during pregnancy, such as pesticides, may increase a child’s body mass index during the early years, and possibly later in life (Verhultst
et al., 2009; Smink et al., 2008).

Exposure to multiple environmental toxins during pregnancy has been linked to a higher body mass index in off spring. For example, exposure to cigarette smoke and DDE 4 (DDE – the main metabolite of the pesticide DDT), were linked to a higher body mass index in toddlers (Verhultst et al., 2009). In another study, researchers found that children whose mothers were exposed to hexachlorobenzene (a fungicide) during
pregnancy had a higher risk of being overweight at 6 years of age (Smink et al., 2008). Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) also reported that brief exposure early in life to environmental endocrine (hormone) disrupting chemicals (especially diethylstilbestrol - DES) resulted in increases in body weight as mice aged (Newbold et al., 2007).

Enough with the science class - the gist of this, as you can clearly see, is that exposure to chemicals has been shown to increase body mass.

In addition, other studies show that the children of pregnant women and nursing mothers who ate healthy, nutrient dense fruits and vegetables were far more accepting of fruits and vegetables in their diets than were those whose mothers did not eat fruits and vegetables. Food's flavors apparently are found in both amniotic fluid and breast milk and children develop food preferences very early.

The bottom line - pregnant and nursing women should consume organic foods, especially nutrient dense foods including organic fruits and vegetables. They will help their children develop normal metabolisms and lower the risk of obesity in childhood and adulthood as well as foster a healthy appetite for healthy food.

More on this series in an upcoming blog post.

What do you think? Thoughts, comments, insights always welcome here!

You can read the full article from the Organic Center by following this link:
http://www.organic-center.org/reportfiles/That_First_Step_Full.pdf

Healthy Kids Begin Organically

2009-05-18T19:17:00.000-07:00

Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions and it's now one of the leading childhood health risks. Type 2 diabetes used to be called adult onset diabetes because it was most often seen in older, sedentary people. It took years of unhealthy diet and lack of exercise before these would finally take their toll. Pediatricians these days are seeing more and more children with Type 2 diabetes, almost unheard of a generation ago.

In fact, two thirds of U.S. teens have one or more "adult" medical conditions. Clearly, overweight, obese children with Type 2 diabetes (and/or metabolic syndrome) is among the most urgent health issue facing our country. Kids need healthy food and healthy lifestyles, including active play time, to build the foundation of a healthy life. Dr. Alan Greene, Clinical Professor at Stanford University, is a technical advisor to The Organic Center and firmly believes that organic food is a critical component in raising healthy children.

What's the connection between obesity, Type 2 diabetes and organic food? There are many and in this post and several to follow, we'll discuss the answers to this question.

Part I - Getting Children Off To A Good Start

For a woman contemplating preganancy, the six months prior to conception, the nine months of pregnancy and the first two years of a child's life are periods of heightened vulnerability to developmental abnormalities, some with significant and lifetime consequences. An expecting mother's diet during pregnancy provides the nutrients available to the developing fetus and also plays a major role in determining how many toxic chemicals are present in amniotic fluids. Toxic chemicals in amniotic fluid can block normal development. So, yes, eating food loaded with chemical and pesticides does impact a developing fetus while in the womb and for a lifetime afterward.

Eating a well-balanced diet full of organic fruits, vegetables, dairy and grains can eliminate dietary exposure to pesticides and harmful chemical food additives. An organic diet during early childhood can establish and sustain taste-based preferences for healthy (nutirient dense) foods for a lifetime of healthy eating. Children develop their taste preferences during early life and starting them off with nourishing, organic foods can help them develop a lifetime of healthy eating habits.

How can we get children off to a good start? Before, during and after pregnancy -
- Purchase more organic fresh fruits and vegetables, grains and dairy
- Plant an organic home or family garden or participate in organic community farming
- Consume a healthy breakfast every day
- Cook and eat healthy meals at home
- Try new recipes and quick meals using organic, raw and minimally processed foods

Beyond diet, engage your child in active play every day. Learn to play with your child and you'll benefit from a more active lifestyle as well. Walk in the neighborhood, dance to silly songs, play hide and seek or tag. Think of activities that are fun, engaging and active and build a family foundation of health and wellness.

Until next post, be well, be healthy, organically -
Now go out there and enjoy your day!

(Click here to download and read the full report entitled "That First Step" from The Organic Center now.)

Ginger Beats Nausea for Chemo Patients

2009-05-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

When you were a kid, chances are good your Mom gave you ginger ale when you had a tummy ache or upset stomach. Ginger has been known for years as both an effective "folk remedy" and more recently, in the natural food world as a natural stomach calmer. A study just released also found that it can be incredibly effective in reducing the nausea that is a common and often serious side effect of chemotherapy.

According to an article by the Associated Press, "The study involved 644 patients from cancer centers around the nation who had suffered nausea in a previous round of chemotherapy. Two-thirds had breast cancer and the rest, other forms of the disease. They were placed in four groups and given one of three doses of ginger (the equivalent of one-half, 1 or 1 1/2 grams of ginger per day) or dummy capsules in addition to standard anti-sickness medicines." "It is heartening that ginger may offer hope as a cheap and simple way to ease the burden of chemotherapy on patients and their families, said Dr. Durado Brooks of the Cancer Society." A word of caution - Ginger caused no side effects in the new study, but doctors say people should talk with their doctors before trying it because it can interfere with blood clotting, especially during cancer treatment or if taken with the blood thinner Coumadin or other commonly used medicines. It's also a risk for people having surgery, the American Cancer Society warns.

Still, real ginger offered the hope to chemo patients battling nausea and though the study points to a specific brand, I'd like to mention New Chapter's Gingerforce capsules. New Chapter's products are among the highest quality products on the market. If you're looking for an excellent ginger product to try, start with New Chapter's Gingerforce - available of course, at shopOrganic.com.

[Note: Nothing in this article should be construed as medical advice. Please talk to your care provider.]

Einstein on Earth Day

2009-04-22T06:16:00.001-07:00

Einstein was an amazing man and was not only a brilliant scientist but an all around wise man.

He said "A human being is a part of the whole universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a prison, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."

If that's not the essence of Earth Day, I don't know what is.

Now go out there and enjoy your day!

Celebrate A Sustainable Future This Earth Day

2009-04-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

It's gotten incredibly hip to be green these days. So hip, in fact, that some folks might be put off by the pressure to be oh-so-cool while greening up and reducing, reusing and recycling. The hoopla surrounding Earth Day varies from one place to another, but it's easy to start to feel like it's become a big commercial venture....but wait, there's more! (keep reading, you'll be glad you did).

It's ironic really. In the not too distant past, Earth Day was celebrated by a small segment of the population often derisively termed "tree huggers". However, that small committed group of people had a huge impact. Now, we hear corporations clamoring to convince us how "green" they are and sponsoring, you guessed it, Earth Day celebrations. Pretty powerful result for mere "tree huggers" which just shows you what happens when a great idea meets persistence and good timing.

So, let's take a minute to remember what's at the core of Earth Day - respect for the world in which we live and the promise of brilliant innovation that can lead us toward a more sustainable future. Now aren't you glad you read the whole post? Join us in celebrating a sustainable future this Earth Day - join us on this incredible adventure on this beautiful blue spinning orb we call home.

The Audacity of Going Organic - Year One

2009-04-12T15:48:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Gary sent an email over the weekend about some group that is up in arms because Michelle Obama planted an organic garden. The problem, it seems, is that this flies in the face of established convention. I find it puzzling (and a bit sad) that a garden planted and grown without chemical fertilizers or insecticides is seen as a bad thing [click here to read more on this topic], but enough about that crazy world, let's look at the world around us....

Last year, our small team started shopOrganic. Leveraging the experience and expertise of our tiny team, we boldly launched the site on May 8, 2008. At the time we launched, we had begun to see the softening of the real estate market and we assumed that the worst of it would be falling housing prices for a bit. Little did we know at the time that the coming year would be among the worst years (financially) in decades. We didn't see the banking crisis coming, we certainly didn't see the meltdown on Wall Street coming but BAM! there they were.

There were times in the past year that we thought the economy would collapse and take our little company with it. It's been quite a challenge - both professionally and personally. Having put all our time and a lot of our money into this company, there were many sleepless nights worrying that the company would not survive the cold economic winter. We worried that those seeds planted were locked in some frozen economic tundra never to be seen again.

Like Michelle Obama, we too rolled up our sleeves on a cold spring day... and planted the seeds of a new beginning. Like Michelle Obama, we may have planted our seeds a bit too soon - the cold days of early Spring can be harsh and can delay the appearance of those vibrant green shoots that indicate that winter is over and spring is in progress.

We've hung in there this year - sometimes by the barest of margins - because we believe powerfully in what we're doing. We believe that a world in which everyone has enough clean food and clean water is just the baseline, the barest minimum of an acceptable reality for us all. As we have said from the beginning, what we want for ourselves, we want for everyone - it's pretty simple.

We started shopOrganic because we believe in organic principles of sustainability and stewardship. We wanted to create a company that reflected our values of quality, honesty, integrity, cooperation and well, fun.

We have found building relationships with the small vendors we work with to be immensely rewarding. We have gotten to know the other small (sometimes tiny) business owners that are dedicated to the same sustainable and organic principles. As we have worked with them to help them find a market for their great products, we have benefited from being able to provide our customers with a wonderful variety of amazing new, small vendor products that you can't find anyplace else. We have had a great time sampling, testing and trying out products of all kinds.

We have enjoyed getting to know our customers, exchanging emails and phone calls. Perhaps more than anything, we have enjoyed providing the best customer service you'll ever receive. It may sound a bit dopey, but it really gives us immense pleasure to know that when a customer has a problem and it's within our power to resolve it, we just do.

People are often amazed that we answer emails within an hour or two (sometimes within minutes, even at night and on weekends) with a real response. People are often amazed that we take their word for it when they report a problem and we just fix it. People are often amazed when they place an order as a gift that we print out a small gift card with their message on it and pop it in the box - without being asked. We are often amazed that these simple acts amaze people. We love to delight our customers and sometimes just getting an order shipped out the same day it is placed is enough to make someone's day.

We hit a few important milestones in this past year in terms of sales and number of customers and number of orders - but the most important milestone we hit was that we are still here. We have survived to this point and we will be around to celebrate our first anniversary.

We are seeing those tender green shoots start to push through the damp earth. We are not yet fully formed but we are full of optimism and hope for the future. We have managed, somehow, through rolling up our sleeves and working hard, to plant our own organic garden and it is starting to grow.

We have been honored to be part of this new world that is emerging and we are honored to be a part of the lives of each of our customers. We thank you for your support over the past year and we look forward to growing bigger and stronger this year with your support and our hard work.

We took a leap of faith when we planted the seeds of this business last year and we're seeing that faith (and all that hard work) start to take hold. Join us on this adventure and let's see where this next year will take us!

Stop by and see us - shop with us if you're a new customer or a returning one - and see what a difference a small committed group of people can make - join us!

www.shopOrganic.com - For The Greater Goods

Now go out there and enjoy your day!

Health Care vs. Sick Care

2009-03-17T06:40:00.000-07:00

Americans spend twice as much on health care as European countries, but we are twice as sick due to high rates of chronic disease. Like other parts of our economy, it seems this 'disconnect' needs to be called into question and examined. Why are Americans suffering twice as much as Europeans from chronic disease? Is living in America inherently unhealthy? Probably not a geographic, but a psychographic problem - our behaviors and lifestyles put us at risk.

Well-known physician and author Dr. Andrew Weil suggests "Integrative Medicine can offer low-cost alternatives to pharmaceutical drugs and surgery for many conditions that now drain our health care resources." Dr. Weil directs a training program for medical students at the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine. Their approach emphasizes "proven, low-risk, low cost interventions, progressing to high-cost interventions only when the severity of conditions demand them."

Of course, like most problems, those we deal with early are easier to fix. If you wait until the oil in your car has solidified, you're more likely to have a serious engine failure. On the other hand, if you change your oil at periodic intervals, you can keep your engine running cleaner and longer. The human body is no different.

It's clear that clean food, clean water and clean surroundings contribute to our health. When we ingest food filled with pesticides and chemicals fertilizers, our bodies have to filter that out. When we ingest food that is free of artificial chemicals and full of nutrients, our bodies can run like the well-tuned engines they were meant to be.

Yes, you can head to the doctor if you have a serious illness, but head to the cupboard if you want to avoid illness. Choose clean, organic food. Choose healthy oils. Choose whole foods. Choose natural cleaning products for your home and surroundings. Give your body a chance to be an amazingly healthy being with just a little help from you.

Take A Risk - Remain Optimistic

2009-03-08T07:25:00.000-07:00

The biggest risk you can take right now is not taking out a new mortgage or another limited time 0% interest credit card offer....it's risking optimism. Let's face it, it's a pretty bleak economic picture out there and people are losing jobs and homes and the very structure of their lives. Remaining optimistic that we can and will fix this, together, is probably the riskiest position to take, but in time, I think it will prove to be the wisest investment of all.

The economic models we've relied on for generations are crumbling. From my perspective, it was only a matter of time. I kept asking financial people I knew like accountants and financial analysts - "How is this sustainable? How can we keep spending ahead of our earnings and keep it going?" I'm not claiming to have seen this coming or to have been smarter than the average Joe. I just knew from my own personal finances that I had to reign in spending and debt accumulation so that I wouldn't tip over. I saw the same out in the world and wondered if there was anything about the model that I was missing....Nope. As it turns out, it wasn't sustainable. What made it take a crash landing, though, were the big boys in our political and financial institutions, but that's not the point here so I'll leave it at that.

So, here's the thing. We need to build sustainability into everything we do. No more wanton waste. No more mindlessness. Let's work together to create a sustainable world where we all have jobs and a roof over our heads, clean food and water. Sound crazy? I'm optimistic we can create that future together. As a species, humans are pretty clever. Let's take those brilliant minds who created Ponzi schemes and derivatives and set them to work on creating a brilliantly fair and sustainable economic model for the world.

In the meantime, I'm betting on the better side of human nature. Sure, we see the power struggle in our political system, but the days of "us and them" are over (though some have not yet recognized that new reality). It's time to work together to form a new economic model that rewards hard work, honest effort and the creation of sustainable value. Look for companies in your area that are already doing that - they exist. I, for one, am spending my hard earned dollars with companies that share those values so I can hopefully help them through this lean economic period. Over time, they'll become the very bones of the new economy - so get a head start and support them now.

Together, we can build a more sustainable economic model. So, take the biggest risk today and remain optimistic.

Going green? Try your local library

2009-02-25T05:13:00.000-08:00

Growing up, we went to the public library on Saturdays. We'd go downtown to the only branch I ever knew about and browse for the morning. The building was old but well-kept. There was beautiful woodwork and I later learned a lot of the buildings in town, including my elementary school and the library, had been built by skilled craftsmen hired through public works programs. Woodworkers, masons and other highly skills craftsmen (back in the day, they were mostly male) built beautiful, functional, timelessly beautiful buildings. But back to the library part of this story. I can still see some of the tables and book shelves in my mind's eye. The regular visits to the library were a treat. No, I didn't grow up in Podunk - just outside of Manhattan, in fact.

I remember walking through the children's department almost like walking through a candy store - delighted by the possibilities on each shelf. There weren't many places my parents said "get whatever you like" but the library was one of them and it always felt like a treat to get whatever armful of books I wanted.

Fast forward to now. Over the last couple of years, I've cleaned out my bookcases at home a few times and marvelled at some of the books I had in my possession - books I was never going to read, books I couldn't imagine having purchased, books that once seemed compelling and now seemed boring, books on topics obscure and mundane that no longer held my interest and on and on. I'd sort them out, put them in boxes and bring them to the used book store or the donation drop off. I'd clear out space only to find myself doing the same ritual again a year later.

Then, I got an email from a friend in Ohio. She said she'd just come back from the library with her kids - and I remembered that I'd forgotten all about the public library. How it slipped from my everyday consciousness, I don't know, but slip it did.

I headed over to my local branch of the Pima County Public Library on Saturday. The choice of the day of week is apparently imprinted from childhood, but the library world has changed. I was happy to see computers in every nook and cranny (yes, I'm an admitted geek). There were books of every kind, of course, but now after getting my new bar coded library card, I could pull some books, zap them under a scanner and head out the door. Very cool.

Perhaps the best part of the library was realizing that I could go shopping for books anytime I wanted and best of all, when I was done with them, I could simply drop them off. Now, this might sound like a duh! moment, but it dawned on me that I didn't have to go buy a book, change my mind, lose interest in it and have it sit on MY shelf (after spending money on that brand new book), that's what the library is for. It's really the best of both worlds. I can check out any book (for free) and if I lose interest or decide I hate the book three pages in, off it goes back to the library.

This is not a new concept, I know. But in this economic environment when we're all re-thinking our spending habits, libraries become a new found green resource. Granted, there are still books I'll want to purchase and own, but most of the books I own are not 'keepers' and I suspect the same is true for many of us.

Libraries are green by design - reduce, reuse, reuse, reuse. The books purchased by the library are read by hundreds (or thousands) of people. When they reach the end of their useful life, the library sells them at a nominal cost to people who want to own them, then they buy more books and the cycle continues. That's the essence of reduce and reuse, isn't it?

So, you may want to go re-discover your local public library (while funds still exist to keep them open), show your support by joining and using your local branch. Funding is typically predicated upon usage, so be sure to support your local library whenever you can. Yes, I'm a renewed fan, but better late than never.

Any other local library fans out there? Let us know your thoughts!

Innovative Building Materials Absorb CO2

2009-01-22T20:45:00.000-08:00

No matter how much you think you know, there's always something new that comes along and makes you re-think what you thought you knew. Did you know that the cement used in buildings emits more CO2 than the entire aviation industry? Who knew? Well, I'm guessing someone knew but that was news to me. Cement is made with limestone that emits CO2 as it cures, which is apparently something on the order of 99 years... This British firm has re-formulated cement using a magnesium silicate that, among its other positive and enhanced qualities, absorbs CO2 as it cures. So, it's not only zero emissions but might actually soak up CO2 emissions from other buildings. Sort of an urban CO2 vacuum.

It's innovations like these that make me truly marvel at the brilliant and creative human spirit. When we turn our attention to solving problems, it's amazing what we can do. I'm equally optimistic that other problems will be solved (ok, some may be just knocked down to smaller sizes) with the same creative efforts.

Where there is crisis, there is also opportunity. Personally, I'm looking forward to the creative solutions on the horizon.

A Sign of Good Things To Come

2009-01-19T05:24:00.000-08:00

Whether or not you believe in omens or signs, you have to be amazed at the landing of an airliner in the Hudson River this past week. The pilot and co-pilot both seemed to have remained calm and their training kicked in. Within three and a half minutes of the birds flying into the engines and losing all thrust, the pilot decided he could land the plane in the Hudson River. Now, the Hudson is NOT a river you'd like to take a dip in any time of the year... and certainly not on a frigid January morning. It's a miracle that the circumstances all came together perfectly to enable the plane to land (or to river, as it were) without loss of life and, it seems, without serious injury to anyone on the plane or in the river.

That, in itself, could be called miraculous. But to me, the real miracle is this. Within minutes of the incident, there were three boats (two ferries and a tug, if I recall correctly) helping passengers to safety who had been standing on the wings of the plane in the icy water.

To me, this is a metaphor for the situation the world is in right now. The global economy has frozen up, the high flying economies of the world have lost all upward thrust. A few quick thinking individuals are doing their best to steer the economy to a soft landing. You get my point.

But there's another part to this metaphor. The three boat operators who came so quickly to the aid of the airliner in the river. I'm assuming there are no emergency practice drills with boat operators in the Hudson River that encompass pulling frozen, scared, wet airline passengers out of the river. There may be new emergency procedures after 9/11, but it's hard to fathom it included this scenario. Regardless, those three boats saw a plane skidding into the river and headed over to help.

The lesson: There are a lot of unknowns in front of us, things we have never experienced and can't adequately prepare for. However, we can apply what we do know to new situations and create a successful outsome. More importantly, perhaps, is that when we work together, we can mitigate a potentially disasterous situation. Had those three boats not arrived quickly, there may have been more serious injury due to hypothermia or even drowning. Instead, everyone worked together to help those in need and the outcome became a shining example of what can go right when things go wrong.

Something to ponder in the days ahead. One by one and all together, we can make a difference.

Now go out there and have a great day.

Sprouting for Beginners

2009-01-12T09:26:00.000-08:00

This time of year, so many of us are looking for ways to get healthier. One easy way to freshen up your diet is to add sprouts to the mix.

Why Sprout?
The main benefit of sprouting is that it takes a seed or nut in a dormant state and brings it to life. During the sprouting process new and higher quality proteins and other nutrients are produced. Tests have shown that the nutrients in seeds and nuts are anywhere from 50% to 400% greater after sprouting or soaking.

In addition to the higher nutritional value, sprouts are highly digestible. Because sprouts are living, growing food sources, they have a rich supply of enzymes. This quality makes sprouts easily assimilated and metabolized by the body. Sprouts are packed full of nutrition in a form that your body can easily utilize.

Sprouts continue to grow slowly even after refrigeration and their vitamin content will actually increase. Compare this with store-bought vegetables and fruits, which start losing their vitamin content as soon as they’re picked and often have to be shipped a thousand miles or more in the winter.

Sprouting is so easy and fun…don’t let it intimidate you. The rewards are well worth the effort.

How to sprout

You'll need a couple of things:
A wide mouthed jar, (e.g. a mason jar used for canning), some cheesecloth and a rubber band. Oh, and some sprouting seeds, of course. Find some popular sprouting seeds here.

Instructions:

Measure an appropriate amount of seed, visually inspect and remove foreign matter and broken seeds.
Place seeds in jar
Add water to jar for soaking
Cover mouth of jar with cheesecloth
Soak for recommended time (see below)
Turn jar upside down drain at a 45 degree angle
Let the seeds sprout for appropriate time (see below)
Rinse seeds in jar as needed (2-4 times/day), returning jar to its upside down 45 degree angle position
When sprouts are ready, rinse and store in refrigerator, in jar or in another suitable container, until ready to use. If not used within 12 hours, seeds should be rinsed every 24 hours in refrigerator.

Sprouting times:

Radish: Soak 8-14 hours, sprout 1.0+ days.
Sunflower: Soak 8-14 hours, sprout 18 hours.
Barley: Soak 8-14 hours, sprout 1.25-1.5 days. Use only unhulled barley; "whole" hulled barley and pearled barley won't sprout.
Quinoa: Soak 2-4 hours, sprout 12 hours. Very fast sprouter. Rinse seeds multiple times to get off soapy tasting saponin in seed coat.
Wheat, including Kamut and Spelt: Soak 8-14 hours, sprout 1-1.5 days. Hard Winter wheat is better than soft Spring wheat.
Alfalfa, Clover: For greens: soak 4-6 hours, sprout 6-8 days.
Garbanzo: Soak 12-18 hours, sprout 1.5+ days.
Lentils, brown/green and red: Soak 8-14 hours, sprout 1.0 day.
Mung beans: Soak 8-14 hours, sprout 18 hrs - 1 day.
Adzuki beans: Soak 8-14 hours, sprout 1.0 day.

New Year's Evolutions

2008-12-27T17:22:00.000-08:00

I decided this year, I wasn't going to make any New Year's resolutions. Instead, I'm working on New Year's evolutions. They differ from resolutions in several ways, the most basic being that it's not about abruptly stopping or starting a behavior. My New Year's evolutions are about expanding or contracting things in my life. The reason for this is simple. Like most other human beings, I am not good at sustaining large changes in my life. I've learned that we are all much better at making small changes.

The example I point to is weight loss. Many people make a New Year's resolution to lose 10, 20, 50, 100 pounds. That lasts about a week, until the kids are cranky, the job is stressful, the finances are tight...you name it, there's always something that comes up to break our resolve.

In fact, studies show that people who are most successful at losing weight and keeping it off make a series of small changes. They reduce their caloric intake by 100 calories per day or they start walking for 30 minutes three times a week consistently. It's that simple. After 6 months, those habits are in-grained and they no longer seem like something you have to 'do'.

The same is true for just about anything else you want to change in your life. So, this year, my evolutions are these:
- Be a bit kinder
- Be a bit tidier
- Take time to have a bit more fun

Now, if you look at this list, you can see that it wouldn't stand up to the scrutiny of a business project plan - it doesn't have measurable outcomes - and that's the appeal. Evolutionary change is gradual, kinder, gentler change. As an added benefit, it's easier to be successful with New Year's evolutions. So, at the end of 2009, I'll look back over the year and ask "Was I a bit kinder this year? Was I just a bit tidier this year? Did I have a bit more fun during 2009?

I suspect my answer will be "Yes, but let's keep working on it."
Best wishes for wonderful, evolutionary change in your life in 2009.

What Really Matters

2008-12-21T19:38:00.000-08:00

During this holiday season, many people in this country and around the world are concerned about their economic security. For some, this is a mild discomfort - but for many millions more, it is a vague, threatening feeling lurking just under the horizon of consciousness or a massive, in-your-face reality. Regardless of the source or reason, it is impacting us all.

This year, we started shopOrganic.com. In January, the future seemed bright and shiny and full of possibilities - all of which included wild success. In the spring, we saw the problems in the housing market and knew it would 'soften' the economy a bit, but we remained optimistic. By fall, we saw the impending collapse of the mortgage and insurance giants. Concerning but still manageable. We remained optimistic. Then came the broader collapse of...well, many more giants in the financial industry.

We started thinking, 'wow, what unfortunate timing we had, to open a business in a year of historic worldwide financial problems.' Still, we remained optimistic. OK, some of you might be thinking 'these folks must be insane to remain optimistic in the midst of this mess.' Maybe. But I see it differently. Let me digress just a bit further and we'll circle all the way back in a moment.

I was listening to NPR a few months back. They featured an interview with the woman who is CEO of the company that owns International House of Pancakes (aka IHOP). I'm always interested in hearing how others approach business, especially in businesses very different from those in which I have experience. The interviewer asked the CEO how she handled a particular problem and she answered 'I focus on what I can do. I can't control the economy. I can't control my competitors. So I focus on the things over which I do have control.' Sounds a lot like a 12 step program...and it's still sage advice.

So, back to the issue of control, as promised. Do I wish the economy was better? Yes. Do I wish it wasn't impacting me, my friends, my family and my co-workers? Absolutely. But I have no control over these macro-economic issues. I can write my Congressional representatives or contact the President-elect at change.gov - but I alone will not impact this situation. So, it comes down to choices - financial and otherwise. I'm trying to make wise financial choices that include spending where needed (doing my part to keep the economy chunking along) and being wise with my funds. I'm also choosing to remain optimistic. After all, how I view things may not control the outcome but it certainly controls my experience of it.

I've been living on a pretty strict budget this year because I knew I'd be spending all my time and money starting this business. I've already learned to tighten my financial belt and I've developed new habits as a result. And along the way, I discovered something really important. When you actually take away all the 'stuff' we grow so easily accustomed to, you're left with your self, your life, your relationships. It's like cleaning out a room only to discover the most magnificent hard wood floors hidden under that hideous old worn out carpet. I've talked with friends in the past few weeks who all have experienced the same thing - a renewed sense of love and appreciation for what they DO have in their lives. So, while we're in a tight spot as a nation and a planet, we have a unique opportunity to take a new look at what we do have. We can cherish the people in our lives that bring us joy, comfort and friendship. We can choose to be optimistic and find ways out of this jam - together.

Our Debut at the Tucson Farmer's Market

2008-12-02T05:50:00.000-08:00

We were at the Tucson Farmer's Market at St. Philip's Plaza in Tucson, Arizona on Sunday. It was our big debut and we had a blast. There are lots of vendors there and our line of organic dry goods including organic beans, rice, nuts and dried fruit was a great complement to the other products there. We were nestled between a company (I forgot to get the name, sorry Laurie, next time! selling herb and spice mixes (as well as a heavenly smelling potpourri blend) on one side. On the other, Polish Girl Bakery, specializing in the most tantalizing organic baked goods you can imagine. So, we were in great company to start our adventure at the Tucson Farmer's Market on the weekend after "Black Friday".... (photos to follow in the coming days)

It was fun being outside (the weather in Tucson this time of year is chilly in the morning then sunny and temperate in the afternoon - perfect for a farmer's market. There were people from all over the U.S. and a few international visitors. The best selling item of the day was dried organic Turkish apricots - they're the most delicious dried fruit I've ever tasted and somehow our farmer's market visitors' radar was set for those as well. We'll bring more next Sunday.

Since we're an online retailer and most of our interactions with our "friendstomers" (that's friend and customer combined, which is how we view our customers) is by email or phone, it was really a pleasure to step out into the bright sunshine of a perfect November day and get face to face with our friendstomers, our neighbors and our Farmer's Market friends. We'll be baaaccckkkk.

A special thanks to Scott and Josh at Adventure Coffee Roasting. We carry their unbelievably good organic, fair trade coffee, but they roast and sell directly at the Tucson Farmer's Market (and other locations) as well. They stopped by several times to see if we needed anything since they knew it was our maiden voyage. We appreciated your stopping by - thanks!

So, for those of you planning on being in the Tucson area on any given Sunday morning, please stop by the Tucson Farmer's Market at St. Philip's Plaza (River/Campbell) between 9am and 1pm and say hello! We'd love to meet you and we're sure you'll be dazzled by the array of unique organic and artisanal products - ours and all the other vendors there sharing the love.

Now, go out there and enjoy your day!

Green - Saving It, Giving It

2008-11-28T07:55:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you're feeling like I am, but the economic meltdown and the continuing financial drama from banks to insurance companies to automakers has worn me out. It's tiring and stressful to hear about these big problems day in and day out, especially when the vast majority of us cannot control or change any of those macroeconomic issues. Most of us go about our day-to-day business while gauging the impact of these problems on our friends, families and communities. It's tiring and a bit disheartening, but from my perspective, there is some very good news out there. I've heard a lot of people talk about having a more sensible Christmas or holiday spending budget. The unbridled consumerism of the past decade or so is giving way to a bit of quiet reflection.

It seems a lot of people are scaling back, realizing that they don't need more stuff. That's not to say that no one's giving gifts this year, just that they don't need to go over the top. More importantly, I think this year people will think more about the gifts they give, and though they will give fewer gifts, they will be gifts that are useful to the recipient in some way.

So, my gifts this year will be focused on things that can be used - not stored in the closet for re-gifting or a visit to the Goodwill or Salvation Army during the next housecleaning. Gifts that don't add further clutter to our environment, things that green up our bodies, lives and wallets - those are the gifts that make sense this holiday season. Small specialty food gifts baskets, foods that people might not otherwise try, things that can expand the recipient's culinary horizons without breaking the budget.

This holiday season, my friends and family will be getting green gifts from me. Giving green gifts benefits my world - my friends, family, community and environment. If I can also save a bit of "green" this year, all the better.

Here's a link to shopOrganic's Green Gifts for the Holidays. Let the budget-conscious) shopping begin!

Natural Sweeteners - Brown Rice Syrup

2008-11-17T20:25:00.000-08:00

OK, last in our series of natural sweeteners. Brown rice syrup is made by cooking brown rice in pure filtered water. Then, most of the water is evaporated and the result is a naturally sweet, golden syrup. Brown rice syrup has a similar thickness as honey but it has flavor that is a bit nuttier than honey. Brown rice syrup is gluten free and whate free. You can substitute rice syrup in place of sugar, honey, corn syrup, maple syrup or molasses. To substitute sugar, use 1 1/4 cup rice syrup for one cup of sugar, using 1/4 cup less of another liquid needed in the recipe. Brown rice syrup is a great sweetener to keep in your pantry. Experiment with it, you'll enjoy the unique (but mild) flavor of brown rice syrup.

Of course, shopOrganic carries a delicious, organic, kosher brown rice syrup from our friends at Lundberg. Click here to head to shopOrganic for Lundberg brown rice syrup.

Natural Sweeteners - Sucanat

2008-11-11T12:01:00.000-08:00

Another installment of our quick review of sweeteners. This entry: sucanat. Sucanat is actually the shortening of the words sugar cane - natural (su-ca-nat). It is sugar cane in an unrefined form. Sucanat tastes like sugar, bakes like sugar and sweetens like sugar - the difference? Sucanat is whole cane sugar. Once the sugar cane is cut in the fields, the whole cane plants are crushed to extract the juice. The sugar cane juice is heated in a large vat until it reaches a deep, rich color and has the consistency of a thick syrup. The syrup is then hand paddled to cool and break up the syrup into dry granules. Nothing added, nothing removed.

Because Sucanat retains all the juice of the cane, it has characteristics similar to molasses. It's particularly well-suited to making barbeque sauce or anything with chocolate. If you want to add a level of flavor depth to anything you sweeten, try sucanat.

shopOrganic's sucanat is organic and fair trade from Costa Rica. Give it a try - here's the link to Wholesome Sweeteners Sucanat.

Next up...brown rice syrup.

Affordable Organic and Green Gifts

2008-11-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

I just read an article saying that Americans were planning on cutting back on gifts this year. In many ways, that's probably a good thing as we have tended in the past to overspend at the holidays (and I include myself in that "we"). It will be interesting to see how this pans out as we get closer to those winter holidays. Often people swear they're going to spend less but end up spending more than they anticipated or budgeted. This year, I'm guessing most folks will truly scale back - but I'm also thinking the kinds of gifts we give might shift.

In recent years, I've started giving gifts of food since it's not something someone stuffs in a back closet or tries to re-gift (though if it's the notorious fruitcake, it might be re-gifted several times, even across state lines)...

As a business consultant and business owner, I often give a small gift to clients as a token of my appreciation for our business relationship (which often turns into genuine friendship over the years). Food is a pretty safe gift for corporate gift giving especially because you don't have to worry about size, color, or more importantly, cost. Many companies have strict rules about employees receiving gift, especially from vendors, but those restrictions rarely apply to food gifts.

Of course, there's a reason I'm talking about all this. Cara has been hard at work putting together some really cool gift collections that fit every budget. For example, we've got an Organic Harvest hot sauce collection of three of the best, 100% organic hot sauces you'll ever taste for only $9.99. Here's another example - a set of four organic jams from Colorado Mountain Jam so packed with flavor you'll be tempted to eat it straight from the jar - for just $21.29. One more example - Cara put together an amazing gift (I'm hoping someone gives this to me this year...hint hint) with organic Rishi tea, Biscottea shortbread cookies (perfect with tea) and a really cool ceramic mug with removable tea strainer for just $35.99. I'm not a big fan of tea (I'm more of a hard core coffee drinker), but this Rishi tea is like nothing I've ever tasted before. It's got incredibly robust, complex flavors and as it cools, you can taste more and more nuances. I know, I know, it sounds a bit like some high brow wine review, but really, this tea is THAT good. The Biscottea use organic tea in the cookies. Cara worked with Rishi to create parings that really work nicely together and the ceramic mug is great for coffee or tea.

So, you see, you can give a wonderful gift that the recipient will be thrilled to receive, you can do all this on a tight budget and you can be sure that everyone you know gets a little something at the holidays that won't end up being re-gifted.

I spared you by not listing every single gift we have - suffice it to say Cara's had a really fun time creating these gifts and I don't think she's done yet - so check back often for affordable organic and green gifts you can give with a clean conscience this year!

shopOrganic Affordable Organic and Green Gifts

Voting Red, Blue or.....Green?

2008-10-31T15:09:00.000-07:00

Whether you're voting "red" or "blue" this election, we can all be green. We know the elections have grabbed our attention as have the wild gyrations of the stock market, but this is a great time regardless of party affiliation to look at going green by recycling election materials.... We've all been wrapped up in focusing on the candidates, the issues, the piles of propositions on our ballets. Some of us have voted early, some of us will cast our ballots on Tuesday. But when it's all said and done, you've probably got a pile of last minute election mail just sitting around. Instead of tossing it in the trash, be sure to recycle it. Since it's always a good idea to remove your name and address from paper before you recycle it, I always find that it just starts piling up on a counter when I come home from a long day of work and check the mail - the last thing I want to do is deal with junk mail, flyers and miscellaneous no-longer-relevant mail.

So, I developed a new system that's working pretty well, it might work for you. I toss all my junk mail (or mail that's ready to be discarded) in a box in the corner and once a week, I pull it out and deal with it. I create three piles - shred, recycle and trash. Then, during an hour of TV one night, I go through all of it during commercial breaks and boom, it's done. (Make sure bills get put in a safe place and not in this pile or you might find yourself with late payments - better yet, sign up for e-statement and forgo the paper statement altogether...).

If you have kids, you can do this once per month and have a contest as to who can remove the most address parts of the mail. Remember there are address labels on the outside and on the inside of many catalogs these days. You can shred the address labels and in most towns, if you shred into clear plastic bags, you can also recycle the shredded paper (I know, it's a plastic bag, I haven't figured out a way around that one yet).

So, let's remember that while we all have our opinions about politics and elections, it's ultimately about how each of us participates in this world of ours. So, once the elections are over, take all those flyers, postcards, mailers and yard signs and recycle them.

Food Fundamentals - Natural Sweeteners - Stevia

2008-10-28T12:58:00.001-07:00

Stevia is an intensive sweetener made form the leaves of a South American plant commonly known as, well, stevia, or Stevia rebaudiana. It's been used for centuries in South America to sweeten mate tea. The active ingredient in stevia is stevioside.

Stevia has no calories and is considered safe for use by diabetics. It's a great substitute for artificial sweeteners and has similar properties. Intensive sweeteners like stevia (the other commonly known intensive sweetener is licorice root) are often imperfect replacements for table sugar.

Stevia can be used in both cooking and baking as well as for uncooked foods such as cold cereal or to sweetened hot or cold beverages. Stevia does not carmelize like sugar does, so you'll need to adjust your recipes that use sugar if you want to substitute stevia when baking.

Here's a link to the Sweet Leaf Stevia website with recipes using stevia.

Here's a link to Stevia Liquid and Stevia powder at shopOrganic.com.

Next up....Succanat.

Food Fundamentals - Natural Sweeteners - Blackstrap Molasses

2008-10-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

My sister gave me this amazing book last year, it's called On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee. It's food and cooking for geeks, really. It's one of the most fascinating books I own - I pick it up, open it to a random page and read interesting and sometimes arcane facts about food. At any rate, if you're a food lover, you might find this book interesting and since the holidays are quickly approaching, it might make a superlative, affordable gift for the foodie in your life (and you know who they are...you're most likely having Thanksgiving dinner with them or they're the ones who bring the absolutely best pies, cakes, cookies, entrees, or desserts - you get the idea).

At any rate, I use this book as a reference all the time and I thought today's post on molasses might be a good use of some of Mr. McGee's knowledge...

Cane sugar is made from crushing the whole stem of the cane plant, which includes substances such as proteins, complex carbohydrates, tannins and pigments. These days, most sugar cane is processed using two distinct phases. Since harvested sugar cane is highly perishable, the first phase of crystallizing the raw, unrefined sugar is done very close to the plantations where the cane is grown. The second phase occurs elsewhere and the crystallized sugar is refined.

Molasses is the syrup left over in cane sugar processing. The "first" molasses is the product of the first step in cane sugar processing and is the lightest molasses. The "second" molasses is darker in color and is more concentrated than the first. The "third" or final molasses is typically called blackstrap molasses for its dark color. It contains the least amount of sucrose of the three and is typically more bitter.

The darker the molasses, the more its sugars have been transformed by carmelization, so the less sweet and more bitter it is. The flavor of molasses is far more complex than simple cane sugar. It's popular in gingerbread, spice cookies, BBQ sauce and baked beans. Molasses, unlike other cane sugars, can also help retain moisture in baked goods.

So, thanks to Harold McGee for this world of knowledge about molasses, its origins and uses. If you're baking this upcoming holiday season, be sure to have molasses on hand for those deep, rich spice cookies. Here's my favorite molasses cookie recipe - there's a relatively long list of ingredients, but they're standard pantry items so don't be intimidated.

MOLASSES SPICE COOKIES

Ingredients:
1/3 cup (about 2.5 ounces) granulated sugar (plus more for dipping)
2 1/4 cups (11.25 ounces) unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon (tsp.) baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. allspice (for a variation, substitute 1/4 tsp. cardamom)
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1/3 cup (about 2 1/2 ounces) packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup (about 6 ounces) light or dark molasses

(P.S. If the spices in your cupboard have been in there since time began, do your recipes a favor and replace them before the holiday baking season is upon you. Fresh spices make your baked goods taste remarkable rather than simply ho-hum...)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 1/2 cup of sugar for dipping cookies in an 8 inch or 9 inch cake pan.

2. Whisk flour, baking soda, spices and salt in medium bowl and set aside.

3. In standing mixer with paddle attachment (or by hand), beat butter with brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes in the mixer).

4. Reduce speed to low, add egg yolk and vanilla. Increase speed to incorporate.

5. Add molasses, beat until incorporated. Scrape sides of bowl as needed.

6. Reduce speed to lowest setting, add flour mixture and beat until just incorporated, about 30 seconds. Give dough final stir with spatula to ensure there are no unmixed pockets. Dough will be soft.

7. Using a tablespoon measure, scoop a heaping tablespoon of dough and roll between your palms into a ball then drop in sugar pan and roll around to coat with sugar.

8. Set on prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart.

9. Bake on sheet at a time until cookies are browned, still puffy and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft. (cookies will look raw between the cracks and seem underdone - do not overbake!).

10. Cool in baking sheet 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack for cooling.

Recipe adapted from Cook's Illustrated Magazine, Jan/Feb 2002, p. 24.

Here's a link to Organic Blackstrap Molasses

Here's a link to Organic Dark Brown Sugar

And here's a link to Organic Cane Sugar

Finally, if you're interested in different kinds of natural sweeteners, here's a link to the whole sweetener & syrup category at shopOrganic.com.

Next up, the skinny on stevia....

Food Fundamentals - Natural Sweeteners - Agave Nectar

2008-10-27T10:38:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of different sweeteners available and in a series of short posts, I'll cover some of the lesser known stars. Let's start with one of my personal favorites, agave nectar.

Agave nectar is produced from the agave plant - the same plant tequila happens to come from. However, agave nectar is nothing like tequila. Agave nectar has a very mild flavor - it tastes more like simple syrup than anything else. The amber version has a bit more depth of flavor, but if you're looking for a great all purpose sweetener, agave nectar may just fill the bill.

Since it's in liquid form, it's really good for sweetening cold liquids, but it's suitable for use in just about any application that requires a sweetener (you may have to adjust baking recipes to account for the liquidity and viscosity of the sweetener).

What's remarkable about agave nectar is that it's mild flavor is similar to table sugar but it has a very low glycemic index - meaning that it won't tweak your blood sugar like regular sugar (or many other sweeteners) will. In fact, agave nectar is considered suitable for most diabetics because of its uniquely low glycemic index.

So, discover agave nectar - for your morning coffee, a bowl of cereal, a refreshing glass of iced tea or lemonade - or anything else you might want to sweeten.

Here's a links to organic agave nectar products on shopOrganic.com:
Madhava Organic Light Amber Agave Nectar

Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Raw Blue Agave Nectar

Madhava Organic Light Amber Agave Nectar gallon

Madhava Organic Dark Amber Agave Nectar gallon

Enjoy!

The Affordable Organic Life

2008-10-24T11:26:00.000-07:00

I've been talking with a lot of people recently about this economic meltdown and how it's likely to impact people committed to organic food and green lifestyles. It's interesting because without exception, I've heard people say things like "I can cut back in a lot of places if I need to, but I'm not willing to compromise on the food I eat."

I think that's a fairly universal sentiment among organic consumers. Certainly, economic considerations factor in - but most folks I've talked to have said they'd rather eat fewer meals out or buy fewer new clothes than buy conventional (non-organic) food.

The good news in all of this is that many organic products have come down in price and are often comparable to conventional items. I found organic bananas in my grocery store the other day that were actually less expensive than the non-organic variety. So, there are some bargains are available if you keep your eye out for them.

At shopOrganic.com, we've expanded our line of value-priced organic foods so that a wide cross-section of consumers can purchase affordable organic foods. We have a line called "Our Pantry" that is one of the least expensive and most delicious organic food we've ever tasted.

We also offer a wide variety of bulk foods so that we reduce packaging AND reduce costs. Bulk foods are a great way to buy organic on a budget and we've increased our bulk line, called "Greater Goods" over the past several months.

The flip side is that food is one of the least expensive ways you can treat yourself and your family to a special night. Make an exotic recipe at home, get the whole family to pitch in. Rent video on demand or a DVD and create affordable at-home events. Splurge on interesting ingredients for a special meal and share quality time with your friends, family and loved ones.

The bottom line is there are a lot of ways to continue to buy organic and green products on a tight budget and to splurge and indulge your taste buds on a budget. We're doing our part to help our customers find products they need at fair prices. As a small business, we're living through the same trials and tribulations you are, so we're committed to continue finding ways to work together through this turbulent time knowing that when we work together, better days are ahead.

Thoughts? Comments? We've love to hear from you.

Chinese Products & Why Organic Matters Even More

2008-10-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

You have probably heard about the problem with tainted milk products from China. This is another reason, in a very long and growing list of reasons, for sticking with organic products. The number of Chinese products in organic products in the US is low and dropping. Many organic manufacturers are looking hard at their supply chain to ensure that only high quality reliable organic ingredients make it into their products.

China is growing fast and furious and the world's hunger for low cost goods has created a bit of a 'gold rush' mentality in China. Just like the gold rushes in the U.S. back in the 1800's, rules are broken and the rule of law is often ignored. It doesn't make it right, but that's just how it is right now.

So, in the meantime, support your local producers and buy certified organic products whenever possible. Your risk of any exposure to these harmful products is already low, but it becomes extremely low when you stick with organic products.

Of course, if you haven't been to shopOrganic.com yet, give it a shot. I'm one of the owners and I can tell you we're committed to providing high quality organic products you can trust. And, if you want to save even more, use coupon code GRGDS to save 10% off your first order. Cool or what?

Now, go out there and enjoy your day.

Support Small Businesses In Your Town

2008-09-25T15:15:00.001-07:00

There are over 20 million small businesses in America. They employ 2 out of every 3 workers in the US. Their owners and employees don't get golden parachutes, they don't get multi-million dollar salaries or stock options. They're regular folks like the rest of us.

So, while our politicians are busy bailing out the big guys, let's make sure we continue to support the small businesses in our communities and across the country. There are plenty of small businesses in your area - be sure to seek them out and support them in whatever ways you can.

No matter what happens on Wall Street, we can continue to support our friends and neighbors on Main Street.

It's Not About Less, It's About More....

2008-09-22T16:45:00.000-07:00

After years of failed dieting, Americans are turning toward eating more of the foods that are good for them and less of the foods that cause health and weight problems. The number of people dieting is on the decline and while this could point to a growing weight problem, experts see more and more people choosing to add healthy food, including organic food, to their diets.

Many Americans have found that consuming so-called "diet" foods have not helped their waistline or their health. Full of chemical additives, many of the artificially flavored foods tend to spur the appetite without leaving you feeling satisfied.

According to an article in the NY Times on 9/18/08 (see link, below): "Last year, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported on a study of 97 obese women, all of whom were avoiding high-fat foods. Half the women were instructed to increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables. By the end of a year, the women who were focused on adding vegetables lost an average of 17 pounds, 20 percent more than the women who were just paying attention to fat consumption."

While I'm not privy to the scientific assumptions they made, I do know that part of the solution seems psychological. Telling someone to ADD food to their diet is much more motivating than telling them to REMOVE food from their diet. Maybe that simple mindset of adding more good food is what it takes to tip the balance for some folks.

Regardless, there's a trend away from dieting and toward healthy eating and that's a good thing.

Tell me what you think. Click the Comments link and join in the discussion.

NY Times article by Tara Parker-Pope "Instead of Eating to Diet, They're Eating To Enjoy"

Genetic Fake Out - Turning Back The Clock

2008-09-18T09:10:00.000-07:00

Hey there,

A study published earlier this year proves that people who engage in moderate exercise are biologically younger than their inactive counterparts.

The study looked at certain biological markers in the DNA of test subjects and found that people who exercise regularly and with some intensity (i.e. picking up the remote control to change channels doesn't count) had the same biological markers as people ten years younger.

"Lynn F. Cherkas of King's College London and colleagues studied 2,401 white twins, administering questionnaires on physical activity level, smoking habits and socioeconomic status. The participants also provided a blood sample from which DNA was extracted.

The researchers examined the length of telomeres -- repeated sequences at the end of chromosomes -- in the twins' white blood cells.... These telomeres progressively shorten over time and may serve as a marker of biological age.

The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found the mean difference in... the telomeres length between the most active -- who performed an average of 199 minutes of physical activity per week -- and least active -- 16 minutes of physical activity per week -- subjects was 200 nucleotides.

In other words, the most active subjects had telomeres the same length as sedentary individuals up to 10 years younger, on average."[1]

So, here's the deal. 199 minutes of activity per week equates to about 28 minutes per day. That means getting out and walking, running, bike riding, playing with your kids, dancing to your favorite tunes or working out with your favorite aerobics DVD instructor every day - or just 40 minutes per day 5x/week.

If you want to not only liver longer AND healthier, an active lifestyle will provide that and many other benefits as well. So, put down the channel changer (or push back from the keyboard) and go out there and enjoy your day!

[1]Source: http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2008/01/28/Exercise_may_be_fountain_of_youth/UPI-29121201566405

We Can Feed The World

2008-09-17T11:07:00.000-07:00

Hey there,

Encouraging research came out this summer. A University of Michigan researcher determined that if all the land in the world currently being farmed for food was farmed using organic farming methods, there would still be plenty of food (kilocalories) produced - in fact, enough to feed the world.

That puts to rest the long-held myth that conventional farming methods (like spraying pesticides or using genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were needed because organic farming could not produce enough food to feed the world. Of course, the counter argument in the past would have been - if conventional farming can feed the world, why do people go hungry?

Now, we have scientific research showing it is possible to go organic and feed the world. So, what are we waiting for? Let's go organic, people.

The Evolution of an Organic StartUp

2008-07-04T16:29:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd share thoughts, insights and challenges about starting up an organic company. Feel free to join the adventure. Stay tuned.