Monday A La Mode: September 23, 2013

I hand pick the news, products, websites and more that I believe will interest MMC readers most and compile it all into one easy to read weekly post.

Go to work on Monday morning with something to talk about!

Subscribe to this blog by email in the right sidebar and you'll receive each new post in your inbox. 

This week on Monday A La Mode...

I love stats...

• WhatsYourHealthy.com is a site sponsored by Aetna. While I am in no way promoting Aetna, you'll find some great info here and even some interesting stats, like the survey results below. I've given up fast food and sweets except for the rare treat. Where would you fall on this survey?

Cool new product...

• Chick Beer is a exactly what the name implies. According to their site, 25% of beer drinkers are women, so these "chicks" designed a beer with women in mind and they donate 5% of profits to women's charities.See more of their story and find out where you can buy it at http://chickbeer.com.

Farm fresh...

• 'Tis the season for apples and pears. If you don't have your own fruit trees, don't be afraid to ask neighbors for a bag. Often the fruit falls to the ground and rots because families can't possibly eat it all. You're bound to find plenty of fresh ripe apples and pears at farmer's markets right now, too. Ask your grocer for local and know that you can get it elsewhere if they don't carry local. If you wonder where to find local produce in your area, check out www.localharvest.org.

How can you argue with this...

• Global warming continues to sneak up on us. This surprise is scary but a little cool at the same time. An ancient forest has been exposed by melting ice. Check it out by clicking here to see the full article, complete with pics, on yahoo news. 

Coming soon...

• Breast Cancer Awareness Month is in October. You are likely to be inundated with pink. But, hey, it's just another excuse to flaunt pink, right? Next week's Monday A La Mode will include a list of great ways to support Breast Cancer Awareness online, as well as helpful links for more information on prevention and early warning signs.

I'd love to hear your comments or questions on any of these issues. Share your opinion below. 

And if you love Monday a la Mode, please share this post using the buttons below. Have a wonderful week!

Subscribe to this blog by email in the right sidebar and you'll receive each new post in your inbox. Find a list of links to all current and past Monday A La Mode posts by clicking the Monday A La Mode tab at the top of the page.

Monday A La Mode: September 16, 2013

I hand pick the news, products, websites and more that I believe will interest MMC readers most and compile it all into one easy to read weekly post.

Subscribe to this blog by email in the right sidebar and you'll receive each new post in your inbox. 

This week on Monday A La Mode...

Before You Check Out These Great Links:

• Think twice about which browser you are using. The Better World Shopping Guide gives Firefox an A for their overall rating.  And Google gets an A- for being a leader in the fight against global warming and for being one of the most ethical companies in the world. Internet Explorer received an F, as did Bing and MSN. 

Did You Know:

photo courtesy of
freedigitalphotos.net

• Pouring salt onto a runny spill in the kitchen, like cooking oil or raw egg, will make it easier to clean up. Let the salt sit for about 15 minutes and it will absorb most of the mess! This also works on carpet!
• Cotton balls soaked in salt water (1 tsp salt per pint of water) make a great compress for puffy eyes. Lie with eyes closed and cotton balls on eyelids for 15 minutes and puffiness will go away!
• Learn more tricks like these in Salt by Betsy Rossen Elliot or by clicking here to go to MortonSalt.com.

Green Companies I'm Loving this Week:

• Patagonia's clothing is all organic and has been for years. They completely gave up non-organic cotton in 1996. They use humanely harvested down gathered from abandoned nests. And they helped form the Sustainable Cotton Project (SCP) to encourage more farmers to grown organic cotton. And The Better World Shopping Guide gave Patagonia their coveted and hard to get A+ rating. Click here to visit their website where you can do more than just shop.
• Rawganique carries a large array of organic cotton linen clothing and a full line of hemp clothing, as well as hemp rope and yarn. You can also by hemp fabric by the yard. Click here to visit their site and while you are there, read about why they are not using bamboo.

If You've Ever Considered Organic Gardening:

• Check out the amazing variety of organic gardening supplies at GardensAlive.com by clicking here, including organic fertilizer and live ladybugs. Right now, if you sign up for their email newsletter you will receive a $25 gift certificate!
• Look for heirloom seeds. One site that offers a large variety is Seed Savers Exchange. Heirloom varieties are non-GMO and many could be lost to the world without organizations like Seed Savers. Click here to order seeds or find out more about this organization's mission.

That's it for this week. Enjoy your week. Remember, you can subscribe by email in the right sidebar of this page to be notified of all new posts. 

To see previous Monday A La Mode posts, just click here for a complete list of links. 

Please leave comments or questions below. I love to hear what you have to say!

CrockPot Heaven

I love walking in the door to the smell of a pot roast in the crockpot. So what if I had to cook an entire meal and start another one last night. It's all worth it tonight! 

Start with the right ingredients for a guilt free home cooked meal to die for! Local organic beef and butter from grass fed cows and organic veggies. 

I like to coat the roast in black pepper, melt butter in a cast iron frying pan, and sear the roast on all sides. The entire process takes about 3 or 4 minutes. Then I drop it in the pot, cover halfway with water, turn on low, and go to bed. 

Next morning, wash carrots and cut into thirds before adding to the pot. Halve some yellow or red onions, remove the skin, and set them on top of everything in the pot. 

In the afternoon, my daughter adds the peas when she gets home from school. 

After a long day at work, all I had to do was cook the quinoa (we don't do grains anymore) and put everything in the bowls. 

Yes, my roast cooked for about 24 hours. Seem like a long time? Not only is slow cooking great for tenderizing any roast, but grass fed beef is very low in fat and needs to be cooked low and slow.

How do you cook your pot roast? Do you use a slow cooker or do you use the oven? I hope one day to own a cast iron dutch oven and cook roast in that! 

More Changes

A little less than two weeks ago, we spent our first night in our new home. Moving from the city to a small town (population less than 400) would mean lots of changes and we knew it when we made the decision. But I was totally unprepared for such a disruption in the way we eat! Ironically, this area is full of farmers but doesn't sell any locally produced food! To get locally produced food, I will have to drive into the city, which is half an hour down the highway, too far to go more than once or twice a week. 

After several trips to the only local grocery store, a very small IGA, it became apparent that not only was I not going to see any local food, but there isn't any organic either! With the exception of Horizon Organic Skim Milk. I don't want skim milk! If I'm not buying raw milk, I prefer whole milk. Their egg choices are store brand or Egg and I Farm (which is local but is also your typical inhumane egg farm with miserable birds in tiny cages). If I can't have fresh eggs, I'd at least like to be able to buy free range organic eggs. 

No thank you! 

They also do not sell any natural cat food or any cat food with greens in it (I have an elderly, long-haired, indoor kitty). If you have a recipe for homemade cat food with greens that won't be hard to chew, please share!  



I just find it incredible that moving to farm country could make it more difficult to get fresh produce, meat, eggs, and dairy! I even checked MMC's most recommended website, localharvest.org and found nothing in my area!

My plan, for now, is to go to the small organic farmer's market in the city on Thursdays during my lunch and to make a list of things we need so that if I find myself there on Wednesday or Saturday I can pick up what we need without making a special trip on another day. I will have to pick up cat food in larger quantities, too, until I come up with a better solution. 

My plan in the long run is to build a coop and buy some laying hens, plant a nice garden, buy a deep freezer, and buy meat in bulk from the farmer I was using before the move. 

Do you live in a rural area or tiny town? Have you encountered similar obstacles? What did you do?

Photos in this post are courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net. 

Monday A La Mode: August 12, 2013

Count on Monday A La Mode for the latest news, products, websites, and other updates that green moms will want to see! 

This week's Monday A La Mode is shorter than usual. I'm a real life mama and I'm currently moving my family from the city to just outside a very small and friendly town. I hope to have Monday A La Mode back in full swing next week so stay tuned. 

In the meantime, here's what I did find for you:

Support this bill...

You are probably aware that bees are dwindling and that without bees humans will not be able to sustain life as we know it on this planet. Bees pollinate plants, which provide food and oxygen for us. It's simple really - we can't live without them. Unfortunately, chemical farming is taking a huge toll on our flying friends. Click here to show your support of a bill to ban pesticides that kill bees.

Coffee Without Electricity...

My Coffee Press

Energy conservation is a biggie when it comes to being green. With global warming becoming a frightening trend, we must all do our part. Instead of plugging up the automatic coffee maker, try a chemex or coffee press. Both are excellent for camping, too! 

I love my press and I do believe the coffee tastes better than any other method I've tried. I add course ground coffee and boiling water, put on the lid, and four or five minutes later press the plunger all the way down. That's it! And, of course, I also recommend organic and/or fair trade if they are available to you. Click here for a list of reputable coffee companies from Fair Trade USA (list is at bottom right of page).

My mother-in-law prefers a chemex, which is another great way to make coffee without electricity. View the video below to see how it works. Have you ever used either of these methods? Do you have a preference if you've tried both?



If you'd like to view other Monday A La Mode posts, click here to see a full list, sorted by date. Just click on the date you'd like to view!

Thanks for visiting MMC and have a great Monday!

Monday A La Mode

As promised previously, I've got some interesting tidbits to share with you that I've discovered recently. So here's the dish for today -


IN THE NEWS:

• The President of the United States will be speaking at 1:35pm EST on Tuesday, June 25, about his new plan to address climate change. Don't miss this! See the video he released below.

MOVEMENTS TO FOLLOW:

• What is slow food? Put simply, it's the opposite of fast food. Learn more about the Slow Food movement and join Slow Food USA as well as your local chapter. My local chapter has potluck dinners and other meetings, as well as our own facebook page and website. While you can donate as much or as little as you like, I joined Slow Food USA via their $5 challenge. Check it out by clicking here. 
• Moms Across America is organizing 4th of July marches against GMOs in America. For more info or to join Moms Across America, join a march, or even organize a march in your town, just click here. 
• The Story of Stuff is an online community of problem solvers that lets you weigh in on issues that matter to you. Take a stand for a "sustainable and just planet" while you participate in study programs, sign petitions you support, or just keep up with current issues. Join by clicking here. Watch the video below about bottled water in our National Parks and then head on over to sign their petition to stop National Parks from selling bottled water by clicking here. 

FRUGAL RECIPE ALERT!

• You may know that I am feel strongly about food being wasted. I believe in checking the fridge for leftovers and fresh food that's near spoiling before I plan a meal. For a great way to turn leftover rice into a sweet treat (there's also a savory option if you prefer), click here to try this recipe for calas, a traditional cajun snack that used to be sold by street vendors in New Orleans. 

LOW CARB REAL FOOD RECIPE:

• No guilt here! This recipe is great for your low-carb diet and it's all made from scratch. Remember to buy all of your ingredients locally if at all possible! Click here to get Rachel Ray's recipe for Lamb Burgers on Fennel Salad. 

DID YOU KNOW...

• According to a recent article from Reader's Digest, before WWII all crops were organic. Farmers had not yet begun to use pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers. To read the complete article online, complete with a slide show, click here. 
• Recycling is great, but repurposing is even better. Before you throw anything in the recycling bin, think about how you might be able to re-use it and save a little money in the process. Example: Plastic containers filled with sand, salt, rice, etc., make great dumbbells! Fill two matching containers and weigh on a food scale or bathroom scale (depending on the desired weight) to be sure they are even. Remove any labels and use a permanent marker to write the weight on the outside of each. This is great for any container that has a handle or is small enough to wrap your hand around including 20 oz drink bottles, dishwasher or laundry detergent bottles, and cooking oil bottles.



Tea Tree Oil

• Tea Tree Oil is kills bacteria and fungus naturally so it's a great ingredient for homemade bath and skincare products. Bonus: I love the way it smells! Also look for it in organic or natural store-bought products as a natural alternative to chemical anti-bacterial agents. Other natural anti-bacterials include honey, thyme, lavender, rosemary, peppermint, orange oil, lemon oil, grapefruit oil, and lemongrass. 
• There is an easy and natural way to clean the inside of your microwave. Fill a microwavable bowl with a solution of half vinegar and half water. Microwave on high for two minutes. Next, dip a sponge in the same solution (be careful, it may be hot) and use it to wipe away the grime. 

I love to read your comments. Let me know what you like, how you feel, and if you have any suggestions for Monday A La Mode. Did you learn anything?  Please share with your friends using the buttons below for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google! Thanks!

S is for Sugar

Recently, I was buying ingredients to make a batch of sugar scrub when I wondered...is brown sugar better than white sugar? Is the processing more eco-friendly? When eating sugar, is the brown healthier? These questions stayed on my mind for days until I finally sat at the computer and asked Google. I scrolled through a list of links and finally settled on one that took me to a blog called My Healthy Green Family, written by Free Range Mama. It turns out she had the same question about a year ago. Lucky for me, she had already done all of the work to find the answer! With her permission, I am sharing part of her article with you... 

For years I have heard that less refined sugar is better for you but I didn’t really know why. Sugar is sugar, and less refined sugar does not contain enough extra nutrients compared to refined sugar to make that matter. I had to spend some time finding out WHY there is some truth to it being less healthy.

Refined sugar has had a number of things done to it during the refining process. White sugar is bleached with sulphuric acid, is spun through a centrifuge to remove the outer coating, and has phosphoric acid and calcium hydroxide added to it which is absorbed and traps impurities. It is then put through a carbon filter to remove impurities, then crystallised by vacuum and dried.

Raw sugar is pressed, and the juice is mixed with lime to remove impurities. It is then evaporated and put through a centrifuge to separate the crystals. It is then dried.

See the difference? Much less has been done to it or added to it.

From a green perspective, the production of raw sugar uses much less energy, creates much less waste, and uses fewer chemicals.

So yesterday I went to the sugar section in the supermarket and started reading package labels. In the entire section, I found one row of real Demerara sugar, which is real raw sugar. It's made by Florida Crystals and grown in America and I enjoyed reading the back of the package that explains the process they use for making this sugar, including the tidbit that they use the waste product for fuel and have created enough energy from it to power the plant as well as neighboring homes. It is what I purchased and what I will use to make my sugar scrub. There was one drawback: this sugar is not organic, nor was there an organic option. 

Did you know the difference between raw sugar and brown and white sugar? Do you know of another Demerara sugar that is widely available, perhaps one that is organic? 

Free Range Mama is a stay-at-home-mom of three children. Her blog, My Healthy Green Family, follows her family as they move more and more into a sustainable lifestyle. Read the full post quoted above by clicking here.

This post has been shared on Natural Living Monday at Homemade for Life. To see the other blog posts on this week's Natural Living Monday, click the button in the right sidebar or click here.

Day One of the Real Food Challenge

Today was the first day of the 7 Day Real Food Challenge and we got off to a great start! Unfortunately, we were a little slow to get moving this morning so breakfast just didn't happen at all. By the time we finished church, we were all famished! We enjoyed a lunch of raw fruits and veggies with natural organic peanut butter. 

For dinner, I decided to use some of the ingredients we already had so that nothing would go bad and be wasted, which meant coming up with my own recipe instead of using a recipe from the challenge guide. I had some beautiful asparagus from the local Ovis Hill Farm. I put it in the steamer, topped it with a few pats of butter and some sea salt, and left it to cook. I also have a ton of onions and garlic from another local farm, Dickson's Organics. I chopped the greens and bulbs from two small onions, as well as the greens from a garlic. After pan frying some natural pork chops with butter, I sauteed the greens, onions, and 3 crushed garlic cloves in the pan juices and used this to top the pork chops. The end result was absolutely delicious! 

How did your first day on the challenge go? If you're just hearing about it, you aren't too late. Your Day One doesn't necessarily have to be today! Find out more about the 7 Day Real Food Challenge and giveaways by clicking here or on the tab at the top of the page. 

J is for Java

Mmmmm...I love a good cup of joe. Joe, java, coffee, whatever you want to call it. I love the stuff! I do buy organic fair trade coffee and I prefer a bold flavor but I'm not picky otherwise. I previously was anti-k-cup but I've taken that back now that I discovered reusable k-cups.

I'm so lucky to have a great coffee shop just down the street, too. Get this - it's a non-profit coffee shop. They donate 100% of their profits! So I actually don't feel bad when I occasionally get a $6 cup of mocha with 4 shots of espresso!

Are you a java lover? What kind do you like? Do you have a favorite spot to grab a cup on the go?

Pass the Cocoa Please!

Tis the season for sweets! We all know how difficult it can be to walk by the desert table at those Christmas get-togethers and not get at least a little taste of everything! I truly believe that's why we pack on the pounds. It isn't the real food that gets us, but rather those delightfully sugary deserts! 

But there is hope for us yet! Before you get to the deserts, have a cup of hot cocoa! Drink it when you're baking, too. Believe it or not, cocoa is the one sweet you should not pass up this Christmas!

The latin name for cocoa means "food of the gods." Understandably! Chocolate is so amazing! Ever wonder how it's made? When cacao beans are pressed and 1/2 to 3/4 of the cocoa butter has been removed, the remaining solid is processed into the fine powder that we use to make chocolate. Dutch processed cocoa has been washed with a potassium solution that neutralizes the natural acids in the cocoa. I recommend natural cocoa powder, or cacao powder, which will give you a darker color and richer, fruitier taste anyway. In recipes calling for dutch cocoa, natural cocoa can generally be substituted, but not the other way around. 

Even though it tastes sweet, pure cocoa powder is low in caffeine and sugar free, and it's also high in antioxidants! So you can skip the guilt! On a diet? 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder has just 20 calories, 1 gram of fat, and only 2 grams of carbs. The only guilt is in the milk, but it's so good for you in moderation! If you prefer milk alternatives, I'm betting almond milk would make delicious hot cocoa, although I haven't actually tried it.

When mixed with whole milk (we prefer raw milk, which still has the cream!) and simmered on the stove-top, this delicious treat will satisfy your sweet tooth and leave you feeling full. Thus, the other sweets won't be so tempting! Of course, we'll still have to try a few things on the desert table (like the homemade butter mints), but maybe we'll show a little more control!

Do skip the packets of instant cocoa. They include sugar and dry milk and additives and often chocolate flavor. Even organic hot cocoa mix will typically include sugar and dry milk.

Instead, look for organic fair trade cacoa powder.  1 teaspoon per cup of warm whole milk makes a great cup of cocoa! There are several different brands available on Amazon.com, including the one I use, Dagoba.

Do you indulge in hot cocoa during the winter? Will you feel a little less guilty about it this year?

October Blog Carnival: Ethical Purchasing

Welcome to the October 2012 Natural Living Blog Carnival: Ethical Shopping Choices This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Natural Living Blog Carnival hosted by Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project through the Green Moms Network. This month our members have written posts about how they make purchasing choices.

-----

Mama Making Changes is pleased to be able to participate in the Natural Living Blog Carnival for October 2012. This month's theme is Ethical Shopping Purchases. We all shop regularly, whether for groceries, gifts, clothing, or other items. What influences your purchases?

The majority of my shopping is for food. I buy whatever I can at one of the local organic farmer's markets. We are blessed to have two of these in town and I usually visit at least one of them every week. I firmly believe in supporting the local economy whenever possible, and I love that I am also supporting organic sustainable farms and businesses. At the markets I am able to get whole grains, fresh seasonal vegetables, butter, milk, eggs, chicken, beef, pork, an assortment of cheeses, breads and tortillas, honey, and more. In addition to food, there are local businesses at the markets selling non-food products like essential oils, locally made soaps and shampoos and other toiletries, aprons and other handmade sewing and knitting. I could go on, but the point is that it makes me feel good about my purchases when I can hand the money to the farmer who grew the food we are taking home, the artisan who created the purse from her old sweater, the lady who baked the bread that I am taking home to my family.

When I am at the grocery store for other items, I look for products that are healthy, while still reasonably priced. I don't mind paying a little more because I know that I am supporting the farmer whose crop was smaller due to a lack of pesticides and fertilizers. However, I am a single parent on a tight budget and prices must be within reason, not exorbitant. I also look for organic produce whenever possible and I also look at the country of origin on produce and meat. I look for products with less packaging waste and buy organic fair trade certified coffee whenever my budget permits. I also use the Better World Shopping Guide, which I have written about recently, to help me decide which companies to avoid. 

I've only recently started paying more attention to my clothing purchases. Bamboo is my new favorite fabric! How wonderful that an eco-friendly sustainable plant can be turned into a soft and beautiful piece of clothing! Organic cotton is getting easier to find, too, and only costs slightly if you shop around. 

We also make a point to buy used whenever possible. I buy used clothing, furniture, kitchen ware, and more. Ebay is a great source, but to avoid shipping (which uses fossil fuels and contributes to global warming), I try Craigslist and other local sites first.

What affects your buying decisions? What eco-friendly choices do you make when shopping? Or does price come first in your household?

-----

Visit Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project to learn more about participating in next month’s Natural Living Blog Carnival! Please take some time to enjoy the posts our other carnival participants have contributed:

Corn-Fed America

Look for these names on the ingredient list and corn is what you have!

modified or unmodified starch

glucose syrup

maltodextrin

crystalline fructose

ascorbic acid

lecithin

dextrose

lactic acid

lysine

maltose

HFCS

MSG

polyols

caramel color

xantham gum

According to Michael Pollan's book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, corn is in coffee creamer, Cheez Whiz, frozen yogurt, most TV dinners, canned fruit, ketchup, candies, cake mix, frosting, gravy, frozen waffles, mayo, mustard, most hot dogs, bologna, margarine, salad dressings, and even vitamins. Of course this doesn't mean every variety available, but most if not all. 

Scary, how big corn is, huh? 

Break the cycle! Buy pastured meat and whole foods whenever possible!!

Learn more by joining us in the Omnivore's Dilemma event, going on now. It's not too late to join! Just click this button to read more about the event and sign up...

Grocers Take Note: How Green Parents Shop

More and more people are becoming aware of the need to be more eco-friendly and are willing to make changes to help the cause. Some are willing to make only small changes for now, while others (like me) are jumping head first into green living and making some major changes. Green moms and dads want to teach and share a healthier, greener way of living with their children, too, with the expectation that their generation will continue in the same tradition. We want our families to realize the impact their choices have on themselves and the world around them.

A big part of green living is what we eat and what we feed our families. But do grocers take us seriously? Do they think about what we are and are not willing to buy? A report from EcoFocus Worldwide shows that they certainly should. According to their research, 50% of moms will change brands when given a more eco-friendly option and 2 out of 5 are willing to pay more for a more eco-friendly choice. 

Of course, sometimes it can be difficult to know what the true eco-friendly choices are when shopping. Not all brands are what they seem. "Natural" doesn't always mean what you would think it does and some "organic" brands are actually using GMO ingredients. The term "greenwashing" refers to these brands that would have you believe you are making a better choice when really you are not. For example, Burt's Bees is owned by Clorox and Naked Juice is owned by Pepsi-Cola. Neither is a green company. 


My best advice is to grow it and/or make it yourself whenever possible. When you can't? 

• Look for certifications on products,like the Energy Star logo, Green Seal, USDA Organic, Fair Trade Certified or the Forest Stewardship Council logo, to help you choose products that are truly eco-friendly. To learn more about certifications on labels and what they mean, check out Consumer Reports eco-labels.
• When a product has a claim to be natural or green, look beyond the labeling for an explanation. If they don't list the how and why, they may be greenwashing. 
• Buy groceries at the local farmer's market before heading to the supermarket and you may be surprised at how little you from the grocery store. More than vegetables and fruits are available. We buy meat, milk, eggs, bread, butter, cookies, soap, and more at our market! Just be sure to know who you are buying from and what their growing practices are. It's okay to ask! "Are these vegetables organically grown?" "Were these grown locally or did you ship them in?" "Where is your farm?" And beware pretty produce...organically grown foods are typically not as picture perfect. 
• When you find brands you trust, buy them often and recommend them to friends and family. What we buy directly impacts what grocers carry. How we spend our money tells them what we want on the shelf. 
• Do your research! Food is a lot of what green blogs talk about and you can blog hop your way to a ton of knowledge, learning from the experiences of others. 

Next time you shop for groceries, pause for a moment and ask yourself, "What is my shopping cart saying?"

Whole Foods Mama

Today I had my first experience with Whole Foods Market. We don't have one here in Florence, or anywhere nearby for that matter. I had the pleasure of spending today with my son in Greenville and he took me to the grocery store because he knew I'd love this place. He knows his Mama!

In general, I am not a fan of large supermarkets or any other large chain. I prefer frequenting locally owned and operated stores whenever possible and growing what I can at home. Sometimes, though, the world being what it is and my family still in the process of becoming greener, the supermarket is just where we end up, even if it's only to buy staples. And if I have to end up in a supermarket, I sure wish it could always be Whole Foods Market.

The selection of organic items was amazing and they had so many local items, too. The produce department was beautiful, with less variety but more quality than what I'm used to seeing in grocery stores. There was a large quantity of meat substitutes and other vegetarian and vegan options. Walking down the aisles, I may as well have been in Wonderland. I was ogling the boxes and bags and bins of whole grains and nuts and more. The cheese varieties seemed endless and the bakery had a giant selection of gorgeous cakes and tarts and more, including many gluten free options. There was even a healthy and beauty department with tons of eco-friendly options.

Their were restaurants within the store, too. The hot bar was like being at a gourmet buffet and you could eat in or take out. The pizza parlor smelled delicious. And the ice cream bar featured fresh lemon sorbet with curls of real lemon on top and several flavors of gelato.

After I snapped out of my dreamlike state of wonder, we made a few purchases and re-entered the real world of asphalt parking lots full of cars. I wish we had an oasis of these proportions in my town! I see so many more options at my local grocer than I used to see, but Whole Foods Market really was a green mom's supermarket paradise!

If you like this post, please vote for Mama Making Changes as a top eco-friendly mom blog on Circle of Moms by clicking here and then clicking the thumb. Thanks for your support!

Grass v. Grain: Why It Matters

Since starting this blog, I have learned so many things that I never even thought about before. For example, I always knew that there was grass fed beef and grain fed beef at the grocery store. The grass fed is typically from Mexico and has so little fat that it requires marinating to tenderize it. Therefore, I stayed away from it and bought the more expensive beef, especially when it came to steaks. Of course, I used to be totally unaware that I could get local beef, poultry, and pork. But even if you buy local, you should know what practices the farmer uses. Are the animals pastured, grazing at will on grass, or are they kept in stalls and fed a grain diet? Believe it or not, it matters! 

Now this topic is way too big for me to cover in a single post, but my reading has led me to be much more aware and I wanted to share with you, in a nutshell, why grass versus grain should make a difference in our buying decisions. I will try to summarize some of what I have learned. 

• Most grain fed meat comes from huge corporate confinement meat growers, like Smithfield. These are the places you see on documentaries and PETA commercials. The animals are crammed into stalls with hundreds or thousands of other animals and fed grain from bins because it makes them grow fatter and faster. They stand in their own feces and barely have room to turn around. Conditions are disgusting, so they are given high doses of antibiotics. If they get sick anyway, a bulldozer moves the animal (even if it's still alive) to be slaughtered. Yes, they still feed it to you. 

• If all cows were pastured, more grass would be grown on farmland. Land that is currently being tilled, could be used for pasture. That would be great news because grass collects carbon, just like trees do. 
• Cows cut grass without using petroleum based products like gas and oil. They don't leave grass clippings like your lawn mower does, and they eliminate the need for fertilizer because they fertilize the area themselves. Grain, on the other hand, requires one to till the grass under, fertilize the crop, sow and reap using machinery that requires gas and oil, and eventually destroys the land it's grown upon, which means more chemical fertilizer next year. 
• Chickens, cows, and pigs were not designed to eat grain. They were designed to forage. Cows should eat grass, pigs should forage for roots, chickens for bugs, larvae, and kitchen scraps. Did you know chickens are omnivores? Why feed them genetically modified grain? So they will grow fatter and faster, even so fast sometimes that their bones and organs cannot support them and they fall over and die. 

versus

• The current grain feeding model is not sustainable. It cannot last forever. New pathogens keep emerging, followed by new antibiotics. The fields become more and more eroded and sterile, requiring more and more chemicals. Quantities require more and more gasoline powered machinery. Petroleum is a limited resource. Why wait till this nasty system collapses of its own volition? Grass feeding and rotating pastures is a sustainable, economical, humane practice that builds land instead of eroding it, and it requires very little human labor and no gas powered machinery. 
• Grain feeding requires transportation of the grain from the field to the feed lot, which means carbon emissions and using gasoline powered vehicles. Grass feeding requires moving the herd ocassionally to the next pasture. Again, this method is more ecological because it doesn't require petroleum products and machinery to get from one place to another. 
• Grain fed meat is much higher in fat than grass fed, making it a healthier choice. In fact, grass fed beef is lower in fat than grain fed chicken!

In conclusion, if you are going to eat meat, the most eco-friendly choice is to buy locally pastured meat and dairy products. If you aren't sure where to find local meat, try asking around at the farmer's market. You can also look online at localharvest.org for organic, sustainable farmers nearby. Each listing on the website includes the items you can buy from that farm and you may be surprised at what you can find just down the road.