The Green Familia » organic food

Guest Post: How to Tell if Your Organic Food is Really Organic

Brenda — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 08:00:11 +0000

When it comes to implementing a healthier diet, there are few things that will meet your needs better than organic foods. Produce is grown without the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers (which not only get stored in your system, but also seep into the ground to pollute the ecosystem) and animals are raised free of hormones and antibiotics. This means that you are introducing fewer toxins into your body, which is a good first step towards a long and healthy life. The question is: how do you know that if the foods you’re buying are organic? Certainly there are plenty of packages labeled “organic” or “natural”, but how can you verify that they are what they claim to be? By learning to read the labels, you can determine for yourself which foods are the real deal and which are fraudulent.

The first thing you need to know when it comes to reading organic food packaging is that there are laws concerning the use of labels. “Organic” is a legally recognized term, but “natural” is not. So you want to avoid anything that claims to be natural since there are no regulations about how this term can be applied. The grains for your cereal could be naturally grown in a vat of chemical waste for all you know. As for the term organic, there are certain regulations in place to govern its use. While pretty much anyone can use the term organic, it really only requires the use of partially organic materials in order to advertise their product as such. You might end up with only 10% of the product being organic.

In this case, you have to look for the USDA Certified Organic icon somewhere on the packaging. This signifies not only that at least 95% of the product is organic, but also that it follows USDA guidelines (such as the requirement that certified farms are using land that has been chemical-free for a minimum of three years). You may also be able to find 100% Certified Organic Labels, which are guaranteed to be completely organic. To find out more about USDA organic certification, visit the USDA Organic website. But don’t stop there; you can learn even more from labels.

For instance, you can tell exactly which ingredients are organic. When you look at the list of ingredients at the bottom of the nutrition label, those that are organic will have the word “organic” listed before them (yes, each and every ingredient must be specified as organic, or not). In this way, you can not only see how much of the content is organic, but if the main ingredients are. Remember that the items listed first under ingredients are present in the highest amounts, so if the first few ingredients don’t say organic, likely there is not much organic material included.

Changing your diet by incorporating organic foods in order to promote a healthier lifestyle doesn’t have to be difficult. By understanding how to read packaging and labels, you can easily determine which food items to bring home and which ones to leave on the shelf. You don’t have to feel out of your depth when it comes to organic eating as long as you know what to look for so that you can make informed decisions about the foods you choose to consume.

Kyle Simpson writes for EPI Labelers where you can find products for bottle labeling and a labeling machine for your packaging and promotional needs.

Guest Post: Foods you must buy Organic (and some that you don’t)

Brenda — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 08:00:28 +0000

Sometimes, people like me just can’t afford to buy everything organic. Sometimes, we’re surrounded by people who do buy everything organic and can’t help but say so when they see us glancing at how much money is left in our wallets before picking up another piece of organic fruit. For those of us struggling to keep up with the usually higher cost of organic items, keep in mind that the following produce and products should almost always be bought organic, but you can slide on other items if you really can’t afford it.

1. Meat and dairy. Beef and pork’s fat is likely to contain pesticides even if lean meat isn’t. As many as twelve different pesticides have been detected in cow’s milk. This is not something you want with your milk and cookies. By choosing organic milk and dairy products and grass-fed beef, you’re voting against the cruel and unsanitary practices of CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) that need hormones and antibiotics because of the horrible diets and environments in which they raise their animals. You’re also voting for yours and your children’s health.

2. Celery. It has no protective skin, unlike bananas, onions, avocados, eggplants, and other produce you don’t absolutely need to buy organic.

3. Peaches. Their skin isn’t thick enough, either.

4. Strawberries, blueberries, and other berries. When they’re out of season in your part of the world but you’re still seeing them at the local grocery store, they’re probably coming from somewhere far, far away, riddled with pesticides, and required the blood and sweat of some poor undereducated, underpaid worker.

5. Apples. I don’t care how well you scrub (during which you’re wasting water, by the way). Apples are generally grown with the aid of pesticides; choose organic, instead.

6. Spinach. Like most other leafy greens, you must buy spinach organic, as pesticides are sprayed directly onto the leaves that later become your lunch salad. A simple washing will not suffice, here.

7. Potatoes. They can catch the sprays of as many as 37 different pesticides.

8. Grapes and wine. Imported grapes come with too many pesticides to scrub off, so opt for organic wine, too.

9. Carrots. Even though the part we eat is underground, the chemicals used in raising non-organic varieties leach into the soil and into the vegetable itself.

Buying organic means that what you sink your teeth into saw no manmade chemical pesticides, fossil fuel- or sewage-based fertilizers, or genetically modified seeds. This means that the soil is in a healthier state and you don’t have to eat up any nasty pesticides. With meat, it means that the animals weren’t given hormones or antibiotics. Organic meats mean a safer you and happier four-legged friends; organic produce means a cleaner earth and healthier you.

Bio: Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education, researching areas of online degree programs. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

Lets Celebrate Organic Food for Organic Fortnight!

Brenda — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 16:00:02 +0000

As we move into the second week of Organic Fortnight, we thought it would be a great time to highlight some of our organic food favourites. It would be great to hear from you as to what are your favourites.

Goodness Organic Bread with Cheese – available from Goodness Direct for £1.84.

Organic Smoked Salmon Sides – available from Summer Isles Foods for £33 for a whole side.

Family Veg Box – available from Desmond Duncan’s Organic Boxes for £15.

Organic Eggs - available from Wild Star for £1.50 for six.

Rude Health Morning Glory Organic Porridge – available from Ethical Superstore for £2.79.

Organic Progress

Brenda — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:00:08 +0000

In recent years the consumption of organic produce has increased exponentially. Many people choose organic produce over the non-organic option to eat more healthy natural foods and to also help protect the environment by reducing the use of agricultural chemicals by farmers. While it is generally considered that organic produce will help your family to live a healthier lifestyle, organic food has the great bonus of also tasting better.

It is argued that organically produced meat, fruits and vegetables contain higher amounts of essential nutrients and vitamins than produce that is grown by more industrial methods. However, some people although they wish to eat more healthily may have to opt not to purchase organic food because of the higher price tag attached.

So, what makes a product organic? The method of meat production is highly controlled with tight guidelines requiring to be met to allow a product to be labelled as organic. Other organic food is grown and produced using only naturally produced compost and natural methods of pest control. Weeds are removed mechanically and no chemicals are sprayed onto a crop. This means that organic produce is free from harmful chemicals and additives that other foods might contain. Because so many people are moving to a greener lifestyle, as public awareness of the problems of the environment becomes more acute, the way that we shop for our groceries has also changed.

Supermarkets are reacting to the public awareness of the benefits of organic produce. Typically, traditional supermarkets have not been the ideal places to purchase organic foods, which are often locally grown in quite small quantities. However, with so much emphasis being placed on the benefits of organic food, this is all changing. Larger supermarkets are now making it easier to buy ‘organic’ and are offering such foods at more reasonable prices. As an example, Sainsburys discount codes and Sainsburys discount vouchers can be used to lower the cost of a shopping bill in that particular supermarket; including for any organic products that you purchase. The same goes for many other large supermarket chains.

More and more supermarkets are now listening more carefully to their customers. The large food retailing companies are making it much easier to purchase organic produce by stocking locally grown foods. This has also changed the ethics in their buying and operating policies. Such changes have become apparent at such large UK chains as Sainsburys.

In many supermarkets now we see entire aisles and sections of the store dedicated to locally grown and organic foods. These foods are clearly labelled, and such labelling is required to be prominently displayed.

Many of the changes we are seeing in the availability of organic produce in local supermarkets and some restaurants has come from public pressure. In recent years, supermarkets have come under heavy criticism for not offering such foods. It is reassuring that we are seeing the changes that we see now, and we can only hope to see more.

If you live in an area with a supermarket that does not offer local or organically grown produce, please make your opinions known. As any good business owner will attest, customer satisfaction weighs heavily on business decisions. A high demand for sustainable products and organic produce will result in more availability at your local shop.

Essential Organic Italian Tomato Range

Brenda — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:00:34 +0000

Organic, ethical food co-operative Essential has a comprehensive range of organic Italian tomato products for all your cooking needs including:

Organic Whole Tinned Tomatoes (99p for 400g)

Organic Chopped Italian Tomatoes (99p for 400g)

Organic Whole Cherry Italian Peeled Tomatoes (£1.05 for 430g)

Organic Passata (£1.34 for 700g)

Organic Double Concentrated 28 Brix Tomato Puree (£1.15 for 150g).

These convenient tomato products can be used in a wide variety of savoury dishes including pizza, Bolognese, casseroles, soups, chilli, bakes and sauces.

CO-OPERATIVE PRODUCED TOMATOES

The tomatoes sourced by Essential are grown on 35 small farms (averaging 16 hectares) that form part of a co-operative in the Marche region of Italy. The farms are all certified organic to EU standards and the Organic Farmers & Growers Association UK also approves them in the UK.

Allowed to ripen in the Italian sun and picked not a day too early, the Essential tomatoes are full of flavour and colour. The tinned tomatoes, packed in organic tomato juice, passata and puree all enjoy a storage life of two years and are a perfect store cupboard staple to enjoy all year round.

REDUCE YOUR ‘FOOD FOOTPRINT’

“Opting for organic, sustainably-produced tomato products can help you reduce your ‘food footprint’,” says Eli Sarre, marketing manager for Essential Trading. “If people switch to buying their larder staples and convenience foods from ethical suppliers, they can make a big difference.” Here’s why:

Organic food uses the earth’s resources naturally and carefully and helps maintain the eco balance by avoiding the use of pesticides, chemicals and other unsustainable means.
Ethical food is cultivated by farmers and producers whose efforts are rewarded by fair pay. This is then reinvested into the food production and into their community thus bringing about positive changes to the workers and their families.
Vegetarian food takes a lesser toll on the land and can produce a greater percentage of food per square foot than land occupied by livestock. The by-product of vegetables is better for the environment: plants give out much-needed oxygen while cows give out the damaging ‘green house gas’ methane.

Where to buy?

The Essential range of Italian tomato products is available at good independent health foods shops and at Essential’s one-stop, online, ethical, organic food store www.ethicallyessential.coop.

Reduce your Food Footprint & Be Inspired at Ethically Essential

Brenda — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:00:19 +0000

REDUCE YOUR FOOD FOOTPRINT AND BE INSPIRED AT WWW.ETHICALLYESSENTIAL.COOP

Reducing your ‘food footprint’ is easy and inspiring at www.ethicallyessential.coop. This site is a one stop shop of over 600 different products that are organic, vegetarian or vegan and fairly traded. Buying these carefully selected products, will help you reduce your ‘food footprint’ and increase your creativity in the kitchen!

REDUCE YOUR ‘FOOD FOOTPRINT’

Organic, ethical and vegetarian foods help reduce the impact on the earth’s resources, people’s livelihoods and land use. All the products at www.ethicallyessential.coop fall under these three banners and buying them really does make a difference.

Organic food is grown uses the earth’s resources naturally and carefully and helps maintain the eco balance by avoiding the use of pesticides, chemicals or other unnatural means.
Ethical food is cultivated by farmers and producers whose efforts are rewarded by fair pay. This is then reinvested into the food production and into their community thus bringing about positive changes to the workers and their families.
Vegetarian food takes a lesser toll on the land and can produce a greater percentage of food per square foot than land occupied by livestock. And the by-product of vegetables is better for the environment: plants give out much-needed oxygen while cows give out the damaging ‘green house gas’ methane.

INCREASE YOUR KITCHEN CREATIVITY – with help from Rose Elliot

There are many day-to-day larder staples on the site, but also plenty of unusual and exciting ingredients to cater for ‘free from’ diets for those with food allergies or intolerances. Plus, of course, a wide range of vegetarian and vegan options.

To inspire you to use these ingredients, renowned vegetarian chef Rose Elliot MBE has devised some recipes exclusively for Essential. Already on the site are:

Chocolate Mousse with Avocado (dairy free and vegan)
Easy Coconut & Cauliflower Korma with Buckwheat Rotis (gluten free)
Gourmet Rice with Pak Choi (deliciously smooth and creamy)
Layered Salad with Salad Sprouts & Tahini Dressing (super nutritious)
Generous Mince Pies (perfect for the fast approaching festive season)

Organic Breakfast Hamper

Brenda — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 12:00:43 +0000

Brenda writes…

This week is Farmhouse Breakfast Week, so I thought I would post about differing Organic breakfast delights that can be found this week to help celebrate.

Sharpham Park have recently won an award for the South West Breakfast Champions 2009, for their Organic Spelt – finest Granola. They have a fantastic array of breakfast goodies, which can be best enjoyed in their organic breakfast hamper, here you can sample 8 different types of cereals. Price is £35 including p&p.

To celebrate this fantastic award, they cordially invite you to join them if you are in the area on Wednesday 28th January 2009, between 8.30-11.30am for breakfast, cookery demonstrations, tastings etc. More details can be found here.

Competition: Win a chocolate goodie pack worth £20 from Essential Trading Co-operative

Brenda — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:00:06 +0000

Brenda writes…

Mmm, my mouth is watering at the thought of next week…From October 13th – 19th is National chocolate Week. So all you chocoholics, enjoy! To celebrate this great week, Essential Trading Co-operative have kindly donated a chocolate goodie pack for the readers of The Green Familia. See below for details of this great competition.

In this goodie pack you will receive: milk chocolate banana coins, milk chocolate cashew nuts, dark chocolate brazil nuts, dark chocolate dates, dark chocolate spread, duo swirl chocolate spread, hazelnut chocolate spread and organic raw cacao nuts.

I managed to catch up with Eli Sarre, who is the Marketing Director from Essential Trading Co-operative which was started way back in 1971 and talk about the company and it´s history. To find out more about them, check out our earlier post on Essential Trading Co-operative.

To win this yummy prize all you have to do is tell me, in what year did the business start?

Email your name, your address and the answer to competitions [at] thegreenfamilia.co.uk by 5pm, Monday 13th October 2008, please do not forget to add the @ sign.1. Prize draw is open to UK & Ireland residents only.

2. Competition prize is one Essential-Trading Co-operative chocolate goodie pack worth approximately £20 and you will be notified by email if you have won and can expect to receive your prize up to 7 days after that.

3. By entering this competition you agree to be added to the The Green Familia Weekly Update mailing list. Your details will not be shared with others. If you’d prefer not to be added to the list, please add ‘no mailout’ in the subject of the email.

4. The winner will be drawn at random on the 13th October 2008. Please ensure that all of the requested information is included in your email otherwise it may be exempt from the draw.

5. No cash alternative will be offered for any prize.

Full terms and conditions apply.

Competition! Win an Organico Box of Goodies value approx £50

Brenda — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:00:26 +0000

Brenda writes…

Todays competition prize has been kindly donated by Organico Real Foods. To find out more about this fabulous Organic Food Company, read on…

Organico´s range of jarred and dried food from the Mediterranean is authentic “local” food at it´s best. Company founder Charles Redfern, who grew up eating a wide range of delicious European food, influenced by his French mother´s love of good food. He says, “When I set up the company I wanted to have authentic food and that meant going to the country of origin, so for pasta we go to Italy, for olives to Greece and so on. And we went to local producers who had small businesses often family run or co-ops to ensure that the food was locally grown and produced with care”.

Redfern´s love of European food is combined with his ethical and “foodie” credentials which made the choice of only organic produce a must. He says: “When pasta was developed hundreds of years ago there were no pesticides and additives, the food remained unadulterated and pure and that was what I wanted when I started to search for authentic food suppliers”.

The result, 15 years later, is an extensive range of European foods – all ethically produced using small family run or co-operative companies and all organic. The range includes wheat pastas, special diet pastas, polenta, black rice and risottos. It also features delicious jarred sauces in lovely flavours and an award winning passata. For those who want snacks or cooking ingredients there are amazing flavoured olives, tapenade, bruchetta spreads, breadsticks, capers, artichokes and sun dried tomatoes(all favourites in my house with the hubby). The beauty of the range is it is preserved in traditional ways in brine or oil(organic of course) and you can store them in your cupboard for a rainy day knowing there will be no waste!

Organico products are available from good independant food shops, health stores and online from Goodness Direct and Abel & Cole.

To win an Organico Box of Goodies with an approximate value of £50 full of these delicious goodie, just answer this question.

How long has the company been selling authentic Mediterranean food?

Is it 5, 10 or 15 years?

Email your name, your address and the answer to competitions [at] thegreenfamilia.co.uk by 5pm, Monday 6th October 2008, please do not forget to add the @ sign.

1. Prize draw is open to UK & Ireland residents only.

2. Competition prize is one Organico Box of Goodies worth approximately £50 and you will be notified by email if you have won and can expect to receive your prize up to 7 days after that.

4. The winner will be drawn at random on the 6th October 2008. Please ensure that all of the requested information is included in your email otherwise it may be exempt from the draw.

5. No cash alternative will be offered for any prize.

Full terms and conditions apply.

Abel & Cole – 20% Off for one week only

Brenda — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:00:45 +0000

Brenda writes…

Want to try more organic food, but sometimes you feel the price is just too high? Then check out this fab offer from Abel & Cole.

Abel & Cole are 20 years old – can you believe it? They are offering all customers a fantastic 20% off all products except Fruit & Veg. This means, you can check out their organic, meat, poultry, fish, dairy, chilled food, bakery products, kitchen cupboard essentials and much much more for less.

This offer is only valid for deliveries for the week of the 22nd September to the 26th September 2008, so hurry up and get your order in. All you have to do is enter BIRTHDAY on the order confirmation page.