Earthbound Organics sells pre-packaged organic salad greens and vegetables. Their products are pesticide free, and their packaging is made of post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials. If you continue to recycle the packaging, it keeps garbage out of the landfill that much longer. Their farming equipment and delivery trucks run on biodiesel and they plant trees each year to off set CO2 emissions. If you go on their site today, you can enter to win a free eco-bag, sign up for e-coupons and vote for an organization to which you’d like to see Earthbound Organics make a monetary donation.
Monthly Archive for April, 2010
If eating your favorite bean dish leaves you feeling extra gassy, then kombu is your new friend! Kombu (also known as kelp) is a sea vegetable rich in enzymes that tenderizes beans and aids in digestion. Kombu is also high in iron, trace minerals, B-Vitamins, chlorophyll green and iodine. You can purchase a 2oz. bag of sustainable and organic kombu for about $5; one bag will last you quite a while. Simply cut off an inch of kombu, add it to your beans while cooking, pick out afterwards (or leave in if you’d like) and enjoy. Your friends and family will thank you for it!
This free event will be held Saturday at Hostos Community College. The Bronx, like many Black and Latino communities, is seeing obesity, diabetes, and hunger skyrocket at alarming rates among its population. The Summit will have healthy cooking demonstrations, food activist panels, free lunch and information on what you can do to get fresh, chemical-free veggies in the Bronx. The event is free, but space is limited and you must rsvp.
My dear friend Lizz and I promised to be each other’s Goal Keeper for 2010. We are both big dreamers leading busy lives, creative women with long to-do lists.. sound familiar? We meet once a month to brainstorm, think out loud, process & encourage each other in what we want to acheive. I must note that we schedule time specifically for this work, it doesn’t get ‘added on’ to any other activity. Our goals range from personal, professional, educational, spiritual, domestic, you name it. Here’s how we work: One person talks while the other listens and takes notes. The Goal Keeper then helps the person speaking formulate a short list of goals (3-4 tops) that she is responsible for by the following month. This has been a really great and productive experience. First, having a trusted friend that gets where you’re coming from clears any fogginess you may be experiencing. Second, your Goal Keeper keeps you accountable to someone other than yourself. If I find myself slacking on my list, I think.. ‘hmmm, what do I want to report back to Lizz next month?” which moves me to action. Try this with a friend or loved one and see what happens. Remember to be flexible & persistent.
On the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, I ask you to think about what you can integrate into your life to help save the planet. Our home is changing rapidly and we need to act now. Here are a few things you can do:
Recycle the correct way. Get your family & neighbors involved. Make sure your workplace recycles, too. If they don’t, see if you can start a program and if they won’t do that, (anonymously) report them!
Switch to an eco- friendly detergent to keep the water you use toxic-free. Use cold water for your wash to reduce the amount of energy used in your washing machine.
Carry your own water bottle, coffee or smoothie travel mug- most places are more than happy to fill your cup. If they don’t, you can say that you like to patronize places that incorporate green practices.
I could go on and on.. but I’ll save it for another post. If something causes you to spend a few extra minutes of your time or dollars you might spend elsewhere in an effort to better the environment, think about your investment and just do it.
I have tried many a veggie burger in my day, different brands, different flavors and I believe I have found my favorite. Amy’s California Veggie Burger is made with organic vegetables and grains, and not much else. There are no trans fats, no animal products, no preservatives, and no GMO’s. Most importantly, I can pronounce all the ingredients! Did I mention they taste great, too? Read more about Amy’s products here.
This week I bought fresh collard greens from the Greenmarket. Collards are super-nutritious, high in Vitamins K, A, C, manganese, folate, calcium and fiber. The problem is collards are traditionally overcooked, depreciating all the vitamin goodness inside these wonderful greens. I chopped the collards into ribbons, then chopped them in half again and added them during the last 5 minutes of cooking my lentil soup. Delicious! Collard Greens will have to have a sequel in ‘The New Green” series, I want to make a good veggie version of this African-American staple.
Photography by Patricia Flowers
Today I had the wonderful opportunity to host a chef demo at the Greenmarket in Union Square. I made my Apple-icious Potato Salad, using fresh and local fruit, herbs and veggies donated from the farmers. Special thanks to Tara and the rest of the Greenmarket staff, the generous farmers and my beautiful peeps for stopping by. I will post the recipe in the morning!
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a way of supporting small farmers, eating local & organic, saving money, protecting the environment and building community. Who knew all this radicalness was possible by choosing where your food comes from? Members of a community pool their money, buy shares from local farmers and are blessed with boxes of fresh produce (and/or fruit, flowers, dairy, bread, meat and eggs in some areas) each week for about 20-22 weeks. Many CSA’s work on a sliding scale so that fresh, good food is available to ALL, as it should be! I joined my local CSA last week and will be positng my adventures starting in early June, so stay tuned. For information on finding your local CSA, click here.
Bragg’s Liquid Aminos is made from purified water and non-GMO soybeans. It is much lower in sodium than soy sauce and contains no artifical coloring or preservatives. It also contains sixteen different amino acids. Not only has it replaced soy sauce, it’s now a staple in most of my cooking. I use it in tofu & tempeh dishes, soups, veggie dishes, salads and salad dressings. For free samples and to learn more about the Bragg’s family, click here.