An organic thanksgiving

Here's an interesting news story - Apparently, Organic Turkeys are getting pretty popular.  Even though they cost twice as much - people realize that the turkey just tastes better.  If you don't eat organic for the health reasons, at least do it for the taste.  So all natural is good - no fillers and better tasting, but all organic is even better!  No pesticides and the Turkeys eat better too!!
There is also a local/organic thanksgiving challenge.  Readers are encouraged to buy and cook only local and preferably organic foods for thanksgiving, then report back.  My two dishes this year are a salad and the sweet potatoes.  Both of which will be made with as many organic ingredients as possible.  If not organic, then hopefully local.
I am really looking forward to this Thanksgiving.  I am also hoping to take part in a Thanksgiving morning yoga benefit in Santa Cruz.  It will be a fantastic way to start my day healthy so that hopefully I won't over indulge at dinner and will be able to enjoy the holiday.
I'll keep you posted on how it all goes.

Organic in the news

So there's a new study out about organic foods.  Here's an article about it.  Is organic produce better?  This study states that Organic foods are not healthier than conventional food, in that they do not contain more antioxidants than conventionally grown food.  I never thought that they did.  I did think though, that when your body eats a conventionally grown carrot, it is possibly confused or distracted by the chemicals and pesticides that it may not get the full nutritional benefits of the carrot and its antioxidants.  

It makes sense that both the conventional carrot and organic carrot have the same amount of nutritional value and antioxidants.  But doesn't it also make sense that if you deep fry a carrot you are depleting it's nutritional value?  Same logic goes for adding pesticides.  

When I first heard of this new study, it was from some website that gave it about 2 paragraphs - not enough to get the full story.  The story ended by saying "don't buy organic."  Luckily this article mentions that there are still many good reasons to pay for organic.  Including environment protection, no pesticide residue, and just tasting better.  

I hope I have never made the claim that organic automatically means more antioxidants.  But I think the lack of pesticides makes it healthier, at least safer.  

By the way, I am writing this from my school cafeteria. Which has this awesome station called "500."  Every week they feature a different meal that is less than 500 calories and the produce is farmed less than 500 miles away.  I don't think any of it is organic, but at least they are doing their part.  

I have it about once a week, last week: BBQ portobello mushroom quesadilla, with organic greens and a parfait for dessert, pretty delicious. Today was AMAZING - stir fry edamame with artichoke and onion over crispy polenta, feta cheese and olives sprinkled on top.  Oh and applesauce for dessert.  The apples came from a farm 90 miles away.  

Love it!  

Getting Back on Track - Going Clean

How many times have I said I need to get back on track?
I recently picked up a book that I haven't looked at in about two months (various reasons.. mostly busy) by Michael Pollan: In defense of food.  I read a good section of it on the plane back from Vegas, after killing my body with too much food and alcohol, and it really helped me get motivated to get back on track.  I knew I was going to have to detox a bit, but this really helped me.
So according to the book, here are my new rules for a bit:

1.  check the ingredients and understand every one of them 
• So if I have to look it up on my phone - that isn't good
• it has to be pronounceable
2. No foods with more than 5 ingredients
• The example Pollan gave was bread that had more than 5 ingredients - in fact around 40 total..that makes sense - but am I supposed to give up chocolate?  even my organic chocolate has a few more than 5 ingredients: Organic Chocolate Liquor, Organic Raw Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin (Emulsifier), Organic Vanilla Extract, Organic Whole Milk Powder 
• Also I don't really know what Soy Lechithin is... Pollan talks about Soy and Corn being two ingredients we have way too much of in many forms.., but whatever, baby steps...I can't just cut everything out quite yet.
3. Don't buy anything incapable of rotting
• McDonald's fries do not rot - not that I eat at McD's, but they don't..eww!
• Also, if you have to wonder if it rots - don't buy it.
• I am extending this to expiration dates - if it doesn't have one or the date is super far in the future (canned goods? frozen foods?) don't do it.
4. Avoid foods that claim they are healthy
• no more lean cuisines, although I haven't had one of those in a while
• if you stick to healthy ingredients, your finished product will be healthy
• I like the line in the book - if food products claim to be healthy on the package they must first have a package
5. Get out of the supermarket
• I have always loved farmer's markets - the vibe and the food, so why haven't I been to one in months?  And the one or two I did go to within that time were amazing!
6. Join a CSA
• already looked into it.  Going to take the leap.  So excited, because sometimes you just can't get to the farmer's market but still need good organic food in the house, before going crazy.

So this is the plan, let's see how far I get...

stressing...

So yesterday I was walking down the three blocks from school to my new apartment and I realized that I hadn't looked up.  So I did, and it was an experience I can't even explain.  I saw the beautiful hills out in fronts of me and the green park and it all felt familiar yet so new.
It was a beautiful day and yet, I was staring at the ground.  So this past week has been stressful to say the least.  After a minor breakdown and almost getting sick (i think it was all mental) I am back, but now I have to undo the wrong I did.  With the stress came bad food choices and choosing things due to convenience rather than health.  But last night, my roommate and I went to Trader Joe's I was so excited about making organic tofu and organic vegetable stir fry, that I think I got way too much food!!
Although I do like the TJ's, they don't have much in the way of organic produce.  Although I did get some delicious organic broccolini, yum!
This blog is getting re-invented.  I have gotten so far off track that I think I need to just get healthy again. I have neglected my workouts and gotten of track with food, so after finals, I am getting back into all of that. Stay tuned to see how it all turns out.

In Australia!

Sorry I havne't posted much, I haven't had much time!!  I have been in Australia, staying with a friend and she has kept me very busy!!  I have seen some organic restaurants, lots of juice bars and even a few "natural" and organic grocery stores, but unfortunately, haven't been able to go in any of them!  I did get a smoothie from a juice bar yesterday it was delicious.  SO their juice options are more fruits than veggies.  At WF back home you have lots of different veggie options which include fruits like lemon and apple, but rarely berries.  Those are saved for smoothies.  But here, they only have one veggie juice on the menu and heaps of berries and fruits.  Oh yes the australians say heaps instead of "a lot."  So the options are like fresh watermelon with berries, or berries and mango mushed together with ice, so basically a smoothie but still fresh and no dairy or juice! 
So that's what i've learned, and hopefully, i'll be able to check these organic places out more in detail later, but for now, i am just enjoying my vacation!! 

talk soon!

Not much to say

Hey guys so sorry I haven't been updating.  I have a great reason though: I am going to Australia!!  I will still definitely seek out organic foods and I definitely want to find out the difference between organic USA style and Organic Aussie style.  So look for some new, but not as often, posts.

I did go organic cherry picking this past weekend, so once I get some pics, i'll definitely post - it was a blast!  A healthy, delicious blast!

Oh and i'll be starting an Australian blog too.  so check for that!

that's it!  Thanks!!

Shopping adventure

So last night I went to 2 different grocery stores.  One which is smaller and seems to be trying to be a bit like whole foods, but not really.  The other is a big major chain.

Right when I walked up to the market, there's a sign that says "why choose organic?'  Great, I thought, this will be a good shopping experience.  Of course all of the produce that was outside next to said sign were not organic.  hmmm..what?  So then I go around looking at the food.  The frozen food selection is similar but smaller than WF.  Which is fine, it's a smaller store.  The bulk items were a HUGE disappointment, NOTHING organic, even though they had 3 rows of bulk!!  I love bulk, and their selection was huge, but NOTHING said organic on it.  Moving on to fruits and veggies.  They had a fruits and veggies sections.  The veggie section was actually surprisingly good, two types of organic kale, a few organic chards and then the run of the mill veggies in the organic variety.  The fruits were not so great...umm people...it's summer!!  Why are we so limited??
So since I was in the area, I decided to try the major chain store.  They seem like a higher end chain store, but it's all in the marketing.  In every other aisle, there was a vertical sign half way down the row coming out for the shelves that said "natural."   hmmm..so I went to go look at this "natural" section in the chips aisle.  it included all natural tortilla chips, all natural potato chips and even a few small bags of organic!  wow.  does anybody else get bothered by the fact that their eating "unnatural" foods?  It's food, your body is supposed to know what it is!!  They had more variety of organics in salad dressing, but still confined to one little shelving area.  And the organic produce section was dismal.

My cart was empty, although Wedding Crashers was on sale for 10 dollars, so I picked it up.

So now I know what they have and what they don't have.  I don't think the major chain store really cares though, otherwise they would promote organics more.  The smaller one though, they seem to want to be known for carrying organic stuff - but if that's the case they'll have to actually have the product!!

organic farmers forced to spray

It appears that an epidemic has hit the fruit growers of California! read here. The new pest called SWD is native to Japan and Asia but has spread out to the states.  These bugs are dangerous because they attack fruit on the trees and then lay eggs.  The pests don't make it to the top of the trees, but that means 1/2 the crop is dead. So what's a farmer to do?  Well how do they keep other pests away?  I guess whatever organic methods the farmers use don't work on these new pests.  So the article says "wash more thoroughly than ever before."  As we've discussed previously, if washing was really going to get off the pesticides then the farmers would have to re-spray after every rain.  We know that isn't happening.  Unfortunately,  the fruits that are most susceptible are thin-skinned fruits, which are also usually the ones on the dirty dozen, or have the highest pesticide content and require the most pesticides.  So what should we do?  Honestly, I'm sorry, a pesticide is a pesticide.  I know you, the organic farmer, hates to resort to them and wouldn't if you didn't, but that doesn't mean I have to resort to them.
The good news is that they are going to research these pests and see what can be done about them.  In about 10 years the SWD will be immune to the pesticide anyway so organic and conventional farmers will all be in the same boat.

followers!

So excited to make it to double digits in followers!  Thanks guys!!

Remember if you completely disagree with or want to present a counter argument to anything I have said or concluded, please do so!  I love hearing opinions and constructive criticism.  Besides, if I fail to defend or support my argument than it must be weak and needs fortifying.

thanks!!

Organic on the cheap!

Since going organic, I have found cheap ways to buy organic produce.  Like NOT shopping at big name stores where organic is rare.  And when you shop direct (as direct as possible) from the source at the farmer's market, you usually get a better deal.  So I have been making sure to hit one up as often as I can.  But it's always nice to find an article about how to save money.  I have embarked on this mission, why not make it cheaper?

Here's an article from Red Plum that I found via a google search.  Keep it open so you can refer to it.

#1 Farmer's Markets- I already do.

#2 Coupons - I'll have to pay better attention to my sunday paper. I really never expected to see anything for organic foods.
#3 makes sense - quality is better than quantity, 1 cheap organic apple will fill me up better than a junky 100 calorie pack (which really aren't that cheap if you're eating 4 a day to stay full!).  

#4 Spelt - hm, I knew to always look for whole wheat flour, but I'm not too knowledgeable about Spelt.  i'll investigate it and maybe even test it out (check back here for my findings!)

#5 Go Local - How can you be so sure that local foods are automatically organic?  If you live near a big farm that isn't organic, you're still eating locally aren't you?  I think they mean that if you go to a farmer's market and the sign doesn't say the farm is certified organic, it doesn't mean the farm doesn't use organic methods, it just means the farm is too small to pay for certification.  So ask!  I'll try this next time!

#6 Going Veg. - It can be cheaper.. but if you're replacing your chicken with pasta every night, it won't be healthier.  Just make sure you're transferring your money from an expensive organic food to a good-for-you alternative.

#7Nuts- I do love raw nuts.  Especially organic nuts, and when you can buy them in bulk at WF or some other health store, they're usually cheaper.  This also gives you a cheaper, healthier alternative to whatever your current snack is (unless it's an organic apple..then, they both win!)

#8 Bread variety- Not sure how looking at different organic breads will be cheaper, maybe because you'll have more options- so you'll be able to find better deals? Definitely healthier to go whole wheat or better yet, sprouted!

#9 Pasta - Whole wheat pasta is the only pasta I eat, I can't even stand white pasta anymore - so much better for you and usually the same price as the regular!

#10 Au Natural - Raw foodists believe that it is always better to eat something in the raw (hence the name) from fruits to nuts to agave, I believe that when you eat something in its simplist form you are saving money (as long as it isn't some gourmet label) and absorbing the most nutrients.

Some other tips I have read over the past month that I like are: do it yourself!  You have complete control over your garden, you decide what does or doesn't go in it.  And join a CSA!  They give you a bag a week of local and organic fruits and veggies, I plan to do this when I move to San Francisco in the fall.  Can't wait to report back!

With a bad food weekend comes a long post!

So I started my weekend at a Dodgers game on Friday night with the rents and my boyfriend.  Dodgers stadium has been trying really hard to appeal to picky eaters.  They recently teamed up with Kaiser Permanente to offer better foods.  I had heard about this so I decided to research it before going.  Here's an article form LA Times that I found:http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr/12/science/sci-stadiumfare12.  (I am not going to get into the article that much, they determine health as most people do, by calories, not by what you're actually eating. Since i'm trying to move away from that mind set, I am going to just tell you about the game, cool?)  So I decided to seek out this new healthy alternative at the Dodger game.  It looked so sad.  The little cart had a couple of cartons of sushi, but honestly, it didn't look that great.  The fresh fruit salad was super expensive like 8 dollars or something and looked like it was mostly cantaloupe.  I like cantaloupe, but it's definitely a fruit salad filler.  So that didn't look very good, and there were a only a few salads left, so I decided to pick up a thing of grapes.  Doh!  They're probably imported and full of chemicals!  I should have known since each one was perfectly big, round and crisp.  Though, they satisfied my need for something sweet after my Veggie Dog!!  Woo hoo, finally, something that isn't beef or beef byproducts.  I don't know that the veggie dog is really that great either, but as a girl who grew up going to games with the family and chowing down on all sorts of delicious and unhealthy stadium food, it has been hard for me to find a satisfying substitute at the games since I cut out red meat 10+ yrs. ago.  It's hard to "root root root for the Dooodgers"  while you have salad in your lap!  So I got my fill of nostalgia by hitting up the condiment station with the rest of the fans!!
Then we had some Dreyer's Dibs, not as good as the chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich I was eying, but at least we shared the Dibs.. Don't get me started on dessert.  It's a problem and I know it, but it must be handled delicately, so until I have the time to deal with finding better ways to satisfy my chocolate and ice cream cravings (and cookies and pie, and..) I will continue to derail...Sorry!  

So moving on.  Saturday we got a late start and ended up getting some pre-made wraps and tea at Whole Foods, not bad but not really something I mulled over since we were late for DISNEYLAND!!  We had a fabulous day and weren't hungry but finally got a frozen strawberry lemonade (first 3 ingredients:water, sugar, corn syrup) and I didn't eat much of it because it was too syrupy, the bf was surprised!  I like my sweets to be real!  No more fake stuff.  The bf LOVES popcorn.  Sweets are my obsession, Salt is his (he ate most of the peanuts at the game Friday night, sucking off every last salt piece..ew)  So we got some "street" side popcorn, delicious, but I didn't eat all of my half.  My bf thanked me for that later. I really wanted to check out the healthy carts they have set up now, but when we walked past one, I just saw some dehydrated fruit snacks that I know I don't like and Odwalla. I obviously wasn't trying hard enough since I wouldn't even stop.   I made reservations at Blue Bayou for dinner, I figured it was his first time at Disneyland, we should make it good.  I'll rate the service on yelp later, but the food was AWESOME!  Seriously, I was totally surprised.  I had some sautéed spinach with huge portabella mushroom steaks marinated in an awesome sauce and couscous (omg i LOVE couscous)  mixed with peppers and corn.  Wow, I ate 'til i was stuffed!  On our way out we stopped on Main St for an amazing chocolate chip cookie ice cream sundae.  They said it was "old -fashioned and all natural." Don't know if I believe them, but again..I am not tackling sweets just yet, so give me this one!

Sunday wasn't too bad, we ate at some local restaurants and at least the breakfast place was local and noted a lot of organic ingredients on their menu.  We also went to the farmer's market to make sure I get back on track for the week. Organic strawberries, cherries, peaches.. man I love summer fruits!

I am hoping not to derail too much this coming weekend, but we are going wine tasting..hmm..Organic wine, please!

Vote with your dollar!

Oh my goodness. Shopping for organic foods at a "normal" grocery store is so difficult! The only grocery store near my work is a Von's, and their organic section is so pitiful. Yes, it's better than the nearby Albertson's, but still not great. Plus everything is super expensive! Organic produce is NOT this expensive at Whole Foods. I know people complain that organic is expensive, but it's because they're going to a store where Organic is not the norm. At whole foods, usually, 90% of the time, if they sell a certain conventional produce they have it also in organic too! I love it. I see mangoes all the time and think, mm...i want one of those, all I have to do at Whole Foods is go one bin over and there it is "grown organically." But unfortunately, when i moved recently, I also moved out of range of a nearby whole foods! I used to go on my way home, or would get in the car, and would love the short drive and shopping trip, it was worth it. But now, it's a hassle. So, I end up going to Vons, or sometimes trader Joe's. But, as much as love the idea of TJs, they don't have as much organic as I would like. I also love to shop local farmer's markets, but I haven't been around enough to go a lot. Needless to say, my daily lunchtime salads have been looking pretty sad lately: organic carrots, organic avocado, organic lettuce, and organic tomatoes. Where's the organic fresh kale? or the organic fresh corn? or maybe a few organic mushrooms? :( Not there. And it's summer! My salad should be as bright as possible!

Hopefully, sometime this week I'll make it to Whole Foods. I just wish organic produce was more common and less trendy. I visited the new Trader Joe's in my city last night (not close either, but I was already near there) and it had more organic produce,  more produce in general, my other TJ's has been pretty barren lately. I guess that means they're doing good business?

Anyway, after all my complaining about grocery stores, I found that a lot of press has been given to the "dirty dozen." AKA the most pesticide-y produce. More info: http://www.foodnews.org/methodology.php Read the article especially where it says "Celery had been treated with as many as 67 pesticides" eww.. you think water is going to wash all that away? No way! Think about it, if rain could just wash away these pesticides, would it be worth it for the growers? Worth the money, time, even deaths (yes pesticide poisoning is a real problem). So the list of the dirty dozen, as said in the article is:

1. Celery

2. Peaches

3. Strawberries

4. Apples

5. Blueberries

6. Nectarines

7. Bell peppers

8. Spinach

9. Kale

10. Cherries

11. Potatoes

12. Grapes

Now, I like to "vote with my dollar' and buy ONLY organic produce. Yes, i still eat non-organic veggies; it's difficult to ask the chef at a nice restaurant or even a friend's house "umm..excuse me, is this organic?" But I definitely purchase organic and seek out organic options. I know about the "clean 15" in which studies have found little to no pesticide residue on some produce, such as avocados and mangoes, but I still like to be extra sure. Plus, a thick skin doesn't necessarily mean that the pesticides don't permeate. Also, if you want organic to be less expensive (like i do!) then we need to show them that we want more. VOTE WITH YOUR DOLLAR!

Starting OGO! Intro

Hello and welcome to my first entry! My name is Owen and about 3 months ago I set out to organic-ize my life. It didn't work out well. I took on too much too fast, and wanted to video blog it all! Between my camera girl/editor's schedule and mine, we only got 2 episodes done and up. I wanted to start with beauty- trying to see if organic beauty (skincare, make up and hair) products exist and if they're worth it. Basically they say your skin absorbs at least 60% of what you put on it! That's a lot of chemicals going directly into your blood stream and then going elsewhere! So I wanted to purify it a bit - but after some research it looks like organic beauty is going to be too much to take on right now! It would require a lot of research, testing, money and time. So I am putting beauty on the back burner. I am using some products that are not 100% organic but they are more than 70% organic, and I am making sure they're as free of additives as possible. Basically, I trust Whole Foods judgement in what they stock in their Whole Body, and that their "all natural" products are actually natural, so I am letting them choose for me.

So now I have decided to get back to the basics: food! I always choose organic produce- I have been doing that for about 6 months now. But, as far as eating all organic, well that's not happening. I am going to write -not video- a blog about getting into "cleaner" eating and..wait for it...COOKING!! If you know me - I am not a chef. I used to love my microwave- I have slowly been weaning myself off of it, but I used to use it twice a day at least, and couldn't imagine living without a microwave!! Now, I am eating much healthier. I read somewhere, when you dictate your eating habits by calories rather than nutrients it's the unhealthiest thing you can do for your body. Now I am sure I am deficient in some vitamins and don't get enough protein or whatever, but one thing at a time!

My main concern is really focusing on what I eat, where it comes from, and what it's doing once it's in my body. I eat out a lot! It's bad for my diet and bad for this mission, but I'm super social and have to go out or I'll lose my mind. I find people who are really dedicated to eating organic, raw, vegan, whatever (not that I'm fully raw or vegan) can be a bit snooty, condescending or will try to make me their "project." But then I feel bad if I openly talk about not eating what's on somebody's plate because of my chosen diet. So until I figure out how to incorporate my social life into this mission, I am going to be breaking a few rules.

This is where I am starting from- I'll be interested to see where this mission takes me. I don't see it ever "ending," since healthy eating should be a lifetime mission.

Hope you enjoy! If you have suggestions - please comment!!