It’s been widely reported that allergies are on the rise and even my own daughter seems to have an abundance of food sensitivities. To address them, we began to consider some alternative ways of eating and thus have read Sher and Doherty’s book, You Won’t Believe It’s Vegan! With over 200 recipes in this book, variety abounds with everything from warm gooey cinnamon buns and tofu scramble for breakfast to baked samosas for dinner and pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. Additionally, you’ll find tips for converting your favorite recipes to vegan dishes, a chapter devoted to kid-friendly foods, essentials for basic kitchen equipment, a list of pantry items and their definitions (what’s Umeboshi paste again?) and conversion ideas such as using soy milk mixed with lemon juice in place of buttermilk. If you ever thought eating a vegan diet would be dull and uninteresting or just too hard, this is the book that will change your mind!

Find It Here: You Won’t Believe it’s Vegan!

By Kris, July 19, 2008  
Filed under: Eat, Read, Resources, Vegan

Food prices, like everything else, are on the rise. As the prices of coffee, sugar, grain, and other basics go up and up, it gets harder and harder to keep up and in stock. Canning and preserving are a cost-effective alternative that seems to be gaining momentum again. The results are usually tastier, more healthy and possibly even safer than what you’d buy in the supermarket. Consider fresh strawberry jam, brandied peaches, home-made ketchup, dill pickles and a delicious vegetable stock for soup. It does take time and effort but is well worth it. For a couple hours work you’ll have a supply that lasts a couple of months to a year or so. There are several sites that offer tips and advice on preserving and canning: the National Center For Home Food Preservation, Canning Basics For Preserving Food, and this fabulous book will help get you started with all the information you need, including recipes, what jars to use for what and different methods of cooking. I’ll be trying my hand at applesauce and peach butter in the coming weeks. We’ll see how it turns out!

Find It Here: Ball Complete Home Canning Book

By Kris, July 19, 2008  
Filed under: Eat, Resources

For a number of different reasons, including overfishing, pollution and global warming, our oceans are in jeopardy. Now Greenpeace has launched an interactive site to inform conscientious consumers how best to shop for ocean-friendly fish. By ranking the purchasing practices of the top 20 supermarkets and providing a supermarket scorecard, the site represents a new approach to tackling this crisis, holding supermarkets accountable for their role in supporting unsustainable fisheries and aquaculture operations. Check out the fish on the “red” list and consider avoiding these fish when possible, then take a look at their supermarket scorecard to see how your local stores stack up.

Find It Here: Greenpeace

Take Action: Our oceans are one of earth’s greatest natural resources. Help protect them for future generations by signing the Greenpeace petition to tell supermarkets, “no more fishy business!”
BDV-33176-BDV

By Cristina, June 21, 2008  
Filed under: Eat, Resources, Sustainable

Did you know that genetically engineered food crops actually require more pesticides and herbicides than non-genetically modified food crops? This means we’re ingesting more toxic chemicals on genetically engineered (GE) foods, which, incidentally, have never been proven safe for the environment OR human consumption. It’s also not labeled as GE so we can’t even avoid it just by reading the ingredients. This is why the True Food Network’s Pocket Shopper’s Guide to Avoiding GE Foods was created — because you have the right to know what’s in your food! The list, compiled primarily from direct communications with food producers, focuses on foods made with ingredients that are commonly derived from GE crops — the most widely grown being corn, soy, canola and cotton. The list also contains companies that have made a concerted effort to avoid GE ingredients and have company policies asserting their position on avoiding GE foods. Download the list, print it out and keep it handy for when you’re grocery shopping. According to the New York Times, more than 70 percent of car buyers do some research before making a purchase. Shouldn’t we put at least that much effort into learning more about the food we eat?

Find It Here: The True Food Network

By Izzy, June 14, 2008  
Filed under: Eat, Learn, Resources

Since 1988 Global Exchange, has taken a stand against exploitive, corporate-based retail and raised awareness about fair-trade activism, as well as environmental, political and social justice. Through their brick and mortar stores, Global Exchange has proven that purchasing from companies that produce fairly traded food and crafts items can be profitable. These same products are now available through their fair-trade online store. By remaining steadfast to their pledge of operating according to socially conscious fair-trade criteria, Global Exchange offers a wide selection of sweatshop free products and staples such as coffee, tea and chocolate can be delivered to your door, as well as various gift baskets, jewelry, books, crafts and clothing. Chocolate? Fair trade? Delivered? YES!!!

Find It Here: Global Exchange

By Sarah, May 27, 2008  
Filed under: Eat, Fair Trade, Gift, Resources

Here comes the airplane…zoooooom! Have you every actually said that while feeding your baby and plunging the spoon into her mouth? Well, if you haven’t had the chance, you may not be able to resist when you see these new soft-bite spoons from Nuby. Each set comes with a race-car, bug, train or airplane on the spoon, which I think is irresistibly cute. But what’s even better is that they are BPA, PVC and phthalate-free, which means you won’t have to worry about these types of chemicals leaching out from the spoon into baby’s mouth. All you will have to do is figure out how to get baby to eat from the spoon instead of play with it.

Find It Here: The Soft Landing

Congratulations to Taryn B., winner of a set of Nuby Eating Gear, including a Wacky Ware Bowl, Wacky Ware Utensils, a Nibbler 2pk, and Extra Nibbler Nets!

By Cristina, May 21, 2008  
Filed under: BPA-free, Baby, Eat, Win

Planting season is upon us and whether you’re just beginning or a “seasoned” pro, Seeds of Change is a great resource for all your certified organic, non-GMO seed needs. Since 1989 they’ve strived to help promote sustainable, organic agriculture and to preserve biodiversity in an ever-changing environment. With over 600 different varieties of traditional and heirloom seeds available, the hardest part might be choosing what NOT to plant. Got kids? You can get them involved with the Children’s Garden Collection of seeds. On the eco tip, Seeds of Change recently switched their seed packs to new, reusable, recyclable envelopes. They have a longer shelf life, can be resealed to store unplanted seed, reused for other purposes, or recycled as #1 plastic. You can order from their catalog, on-line or by phone, as well as sign up for their monthly e-newsletter to keep up with everything that’s happening on at Seeds of Change.

Find It Here: Seeds of Change

By Kris, May 17, 2008  
Filed under: Eat, Gardening, Organic, Resources, Sustainable

Ever since the whole lead-in-lunchboxes news came out a while back, I have been avoiding vinyl (and vinyl-looking) lunchboxes like the plague. Lucky for all of us, there are tons of cool, non-vinyl options for packing a lunch. My latest find for kids’ lunches is this 100% organic cotton lunch sack with a robot design. Created by the mom-owned, Massachusetts-based, fashion and design firm toby + rei, these lunchboxes are definitely cooler than those PVC/vinyl/plastic (insert character name here) lunchboxes for sale everywhere. And as a company, toby + rei is committed to using sustainable materials like bamboo and organic cotton throughout their entire clothing and bedding line. We like that. We like their funky robot lunch bag, too. But fun + sustainable + lead-free? We LOVE that.

Find It Here: toby + rei

Congratulations to Ashley, winner of the pictured lunchbox and a matching organic cotton T-shirt or onesie.

By Cristina, May 14, 2008  
Filed under: Eat, Kids, Organic, Reduce/Reuse, Win

What month is it? What is the freshest produce available this month? Field To Plate offers seasonal guides to help you navigate the world of produce from the supermarket to your kitchen. A wide array of guides are available including The Produce Partner, The Berry Wheel, and Seasonal Produce Magnets. All guides are aimed to help you pick and prepare the freshest fruits and vegetables and eat in-season, which is always greenest option. By choosing the freshest produce grown by American farmers you are supporting their “growing craft.” Field To Plate is a food education company where the mission is to move food learning from ordinary to extraodinary because, in the words of famed chef Alice Waters — “Knowing where your food comes from can change your life.”

Find It Here: Field to Plate

By Sarah, May 4, 2008  
Filed under: Eat, Learn

Ever since I heard that vinyl bibs contain lead, I’ve been backing off the plasticky bibs and going for cloth. Cloth bibs tend to be much easier on the eyes anyway. One of my favorites are these 100% organic cotton, soft terrycloth bibs by La Queue du Chat (aka The Cat’s Tail). We love this French company for their bib designs, but we love them even more for their commitment to fair-trade practices. Their bibs are manufactured in an Indian factory that works exclusively with organic cotton. Female workers make equal pay to their male counterparts (no children are employed), and all workers receive higher-than-average wages, a yearly bonus of one month’s pay, medical insurance, and free access to a doctor and a pharmacy for themselves and their families. Working conditions are safe and clean. But wait, there’s more! They even send a collection of their baby clothes to charities that provide assistance to homeless mothers. Wow. Suffice it to say that we’re hooked on them.

Find It Here: Comptoir d’Enfance

Congratulations to Debbie, winner of a fair-trade, organic cotton bib by La Queue du Chat, courtesy of Comptoir d’Enfance.

By Cristina, May 2, 2008  
Filed under: Baby, Eat, Fair Trade, Organic, Win

Do you know what an açai (ah-sci-ee) berry is? Well, if you do then you’re light years ahead of me. I’d never even heard of them until I recently came across the very tasty Bossa Nova Açai juice (I’ve had the blueberry and passionfruit). Harvested from the Amazonian rainforest, açai berries are higher in antioxidants than any other fruit in the world, which means they’re really, really good for you and since they’re naturally low in sugar, too, they’re something of a superfood. Unlike apple, white grape and many other juices, most of which are low in antioxidants and high in sugars, Bossa Nova Açai juices are sweetened with organic agave nectar which has a very low glycemic index. While Bossa Nova Açai is not specifically organic, the açai berries they use are wild harvested and naturally free of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers — which means instead of worrying about toxic chemicals, I can work on neutralizing evil free radicals simply by enjoying a little Bossa Nova!

Find It Here: Bossa Nova

Congratulations to Lynn M., Elizabeth, Heidi, Jane K., and Debbie C., winners of 2 bottles of Bossa Nova Açai Juice!

By Izzy, May 1, 2008  
Filed under: Eat, Win

One of our favorite sites to visit for the latest info on BPA-free products is SafeMama.com. A while back, Kathy posted on these great BPA-free plastic popsicle molds. We love them so much, we just had to share them with you. Available at Crate and Barrel, these star-shaped pop molds are perfect for making up refreshing treats on a hot summer day. And with summer less than two months away, you’ll be ready to whip up some popsicles sooner than you think. Let’s hear it for long summer days, warm summer nights, and popsicles without BPA! Woo-hoo!

Find It Here: Crate and Barrel

[Tipped off by: Safemama]

By Cristina, April 28, 2008  
Filed under: BPA-free, Eat