Easy Fresh Pumpkin Orange Marmalade Recipe
Marmelade à la citrouille et à l’orange. Here’s a lovely recipe for a fresh pumpkin jam that’s earthy, bright and versatile. The flavor and color will win you over. So will the simplicity.
Sustainable, Local, Humane Food
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Traditional Pumpkin Bread Recipe
How to make classic pumpkin bread, and an adjusted recipe that you can give as a pantry gift. I’ve noticed a trend in bakery pumpkin bread. It seems to be getting sweeter, with more fat added, resembling a ginger cake more than a traditional pumpkin quick bread. Here is a recipe for classic pumpkin bread…
Guide to Ethical Food on a Budget
Our best tips to help you eat nutritious, local, ethical and organic food for less
Plastic Free Kitchen: Non Plastic Zip Bag Alternatives for Food Storage
Are silicone food storage bags a good plastic free alternative to zip lock style plastic bags? Read the pros and cons of switching to silicone.
Waste-Free Restaurant Takeout: The Best Reusable Eco Friendly To Go Containers
We’re so over single use restaurant to go containers! Whether you’re taking home leftovers from your restaurant meal or getting your favorite food as takeout, you can avoid using disposable containers by choosing one of these easy, convenient reusable options.
What You Need To Know About Citric Acid Added to Food | Is Citric Acid Bad For You?
Citric acid is one of the most common food additives in use today. You may think it is a harmless derivative of lemons, and that used to be so. Today’s citric acid is a whole different story. Here’s what you need to know about this pervasive ingredient. Among the peculiar names that you will find…
Shanti Allen of Alchemy Bali Raw Vegan Restaurant
Meet Shanti Allen, Executive Chef and founder of Alchemy, Ubud’s first completely raw vegan restaurant. Shanti meets me for our interview in a sundress and sandals, her long blonde hair loosely braided to one side. I follow her through the kitchen, where a bank of food dehydrators are concentrating flavors, and creating the textures raw…
Smart Chicken: Tecumseh Farms Interview on Sustainable Humane Chicken
A lot of people are wondering what brands of chicken are healthy and humane. The answers may surprise you. In this interview we take a fresh look at Smart Chicken. What do we discover? A new take on “food miles” — killing chickens gently and humanely is possible — thoughts about antibiotics and animal byproducts…
Sustainable Farming in Bali | Ben Ripple of Big Tree Farms
On the forefront of developing sustainable, community enhancing food systems in Bali, Indonesia Expats Ben and Blair Ripple left their organic farming jobs in Washington and moved to Bali, Indonesia, in the late 90s. Since then, they’ve been become somewhat famous in their efforts to bring artisinal Indonesian products to a larger market and to establish and…
Waste-Free Lifestyle: Reusable Lunchbox Kit
Who knew that bringing that brown bagged lunch to school or work every day added up, not just in cost but in environmental degradation? Investing in one of these reusable lunchbox sets will save you money over time, and lighten the load on our landfills.
How to Make Yogurt From Fresh Whole Raw Coconuts
Thick, creamy homemade coconut yogurt made from coconut flesh—without the fillers and thickeners found in store bought coconut yogurt. If you do this entirely from scratch, it takes time and labor. In my opinion, the result is unquestionably worth it. There are also some shortcuts that will let you make this yogurt quickly. Many people…
How to Buy Humanely Raised Eggs: Which Labels Are Best?
Labels are a start, but don’t tell the whole story. That’s why, no matter what the label says, you need to ask your egg producer these questions and decide for yourself if his practices meet your standards.
Small Local Farms Producing Humanely Raised Quail Eggs
Quail eggs are a common street snack in Peru, and often used in Thailand and China. In the US, however, quail eggs are just hitting the food scene. You’ll find them served raw in sushi restaurants, atop a bed of tobiko and wrapped in nori; pickled and served as cocktail snacks; poached and served on…
Chain Reaction Urban Farm
Using borrowed suburban backyards, this urban farm CSA is bringing dormant gardens back to life and fresh organic food to the city.
How to Make High Quality Chicken Stock
A chicken stock recipe for serious eaters and serious cooks. Rich in flavor and high in nutrition, this stock will make everything you cook unmistakably better. This is the indispensable ingredient in so much good cooking. You’ll be amazed at how a truly well made stock will elevate all it touches, from rissotto to soup, braises…
Avoid Salmonella Contamination in the Kitchen
Some people mistakenly believe that buying organic or sustainably raised chicken or poultry means they don’t have to worry about Salmonella. Following proper kitchen protocol when handling poultry can help you reduce the risk of food poisoning. Every year, a million people in the US are sickened by Salmonella. Nineteen thousand of them end up…
Braised Escarole With Bacon and Mustard Recipe
This warm, easy and satisfying dish is perfect as lunch or a light dinner, or as a side dish. Braised escarole with bacon and mustard There are so many leafy greens to eat, and so little time! Don’t get stuck eating the same rounds of spinach, chard and kale. Perhaps you’ve never eaten escarole, or…
Community Supported Agriculture
If you’re looking for the freshest local food on a budget, CSA and subscription schemes save time and money.
Is Organic Baby Food Worth The Cost?
A closer look at what’s in the jar The Alternative Health Journal studied over 100 baby foods and found that many contain ingredients that are not necessary to a baby’s diet, let alone health. Results concluded that many commercial baby foods contain high quantities of sugar. Even organic brands are not exempt from this, as…
Breaking The Link Between Dairy And Veal
Many exclude veal from their diet on principle. And vegetarians avoid meat altogether. Yet anyone consuming dairy products may still inadvertently be supporting the production of veal. Aside from a very few farmers who eschew it, veal production is, after all, a by-product of the dairy industry. Dairy cows must give birth once a year…
Daily Bread: Doing Business and Doing Good
JP and Michelle MacFadyen are dedicated to sustainable practices in their restaurant and to sharing the bounty of their bakery with others through local food donations to feed the hungry. By now we’re all familiar with the locavore ideal: buy food from local producers, family farms and businesses. In the pursuit of this ideal, sometimes…
How Green is Your Favorite Restaurant?
Sometimes sustainability is equated with upscale restaurants that specifically market their local and sustainable credentials. But what about your favorite pizza joint, or the place where you pick up a quick salad on the way home from work, or the bakery that supplies your daily bread? To really make a difference, sustainability has to take…
How to Buy Fresh, Organic, Sustainably Grown Local Produce
The best fruit and veg is local, seasonal and organically grown…but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be sporting an organic label.
Everything You Need to Know to Buy Healthy, Humanely Raised Chicken
You want birds that were raised humanely and you want birds that ate healthful, natural foods to ensure the best quality meat. But don’t be fooled by nice-sounding labels, even ones like “organic.” When it comes to buying poultry, a little homework will ensure your good intentions and extra expenditure don’t go to waste.
Meat: How To Buy Healthy, Humanely Raised Beef, Pork, Lamb and Goat
There are many reasons to avoid eating meat unless you know how it was produced. Learn what the issues are, how to navigate the confusing world of meat labels and use our checklist to find the best beef, lamb, goat and pork.
Humane Pasture Raised Heritage Breed Pork
With so many labels vying for your sustainable food dollar, it is becoming increasingly difficult to decide which is best. The labels should make it easier, but how many of us really know what the certified Organic or the various steps of the GAP animal welfare labels really entail? When it comes to pork, there…
Death By Ratatouille: Are You Allergic To Nightshades?
Nightshade vegetables may be secretly making you sick Okay, Death may be a bit extreme here, but you would be surprised how many people have a sensitivity to common nightshade vegetables. You’ve heard of the Deadly Nightshade. Hikers and foragers learn to avoid the tasty looking, yet poisonous, berries on this wild growing plant. But…
Jodi Daley on How to Start and Manage a Farmers Market
Jodi Daley talks about what it takes to organize a farmers market from the ground up, and how the market she founded is helping improve the health and quality of life for community members across the economic spectrum.
What you need to know about chemicals sprayed on produce after harvest
Are chemicals added to fresh fruits and vegetables after harvest? We know that processed foods often contain a host of unhealthy additives, from fake flavors and colors to chemical preservatives. What you don’t know is that sometimes chemicals are added to fresh produce after it’s picked and before it gets to the grocery store. When…
A1 vs A2 Milk: What’s the Difference?
Beyond the serious issues with animal and environmental welfare in the dairy industry, I have another problem: eating dairy makes me feel sick. I can have some, but not too much and not too often. I’ve been tested for allergy to dairy casein as well as lactose intolerance, and both tests came back negative. I…
Hyper Local Foodshed: Neighborhood Food Sharing In Altadena
Free. Fresh. Local. What’s not to love about neighborhood food sharing? Seven years ago, a bounty of blackberries and a few generous neighbors inspired Gail Murphy to become one of the driving forces in Altadena’s local food renaissance.
Eco Friendly Trash Bags, Which Environmentally Friendly Kitchen Garbage Bags Are Best?
With so many different options, how do we really know that our earth friendly trash bags are helping the environment instead of just costing us more money? The key is in researching the materials used in making the trash bags, and understanding their environmental implications.
Drought And Our Staple Crops
As you’ve probably noticed, the drought that hit the US starting last summer has not caused society to collapse, nor are we experiencing a drought-induced famine like the one that took place three years ago in the Horn of Africa in which almost 1 billion people went hungry. So why should you care if the nation’s staple crops of wheat, corn and soybean suffered sizeable declines? To answer this question, let’s first take a look at how dependent we are on these crops—they are, after all, called staples for a reason.
Coastal Hill Farm Eggs: Life Outside The Cage
On our tour of Bobby Foehr’s egg farm, he explains what it takes to start a small chicken farm, the difference between pasture raised and free range eggs and why he is not certified organic.
SPIN Method Offers Path To Profit For Urban Farming
The Small Plot Intensive Method of urban farming gives novice farmers a path to creating a small profitable business growing fresh food.
Natural vs Organic Meat
When it comes to meat labeling, nothing is as confusing as understanding the difference between Natural and Organic meat. Here’s what you need to know about the Natural label.
How To Create A Hyper-Local Foodshed
Can you and your neighbors produce a complete diet for the community from your own home gardens? Own Dell believes so, and gives his tips for defining, organizing and creating your own hyper-local foodshed. Situated on some of the most fertile land, many suburbs have a legacy of once being extensive orchards or acres of…
Certifying Sustainability
Defining sustainability in the restaurant industry, let alone measuring it, has proven to be an incredibly difficult task. A range of new businesses have emerged to help analyze a restaurant’s sustainability as well as provide certification for businesses to stand as a visual indicator to their customers of a restaurant’s ethical values—helping diners make smart choices.
Slaughtering Your Own Thanksgiving Turkey
With the holidays approaching, some are preparing to don aprons while others are preparing themselves to take the life of the animal that will grace their table. Small, local farmers are increasingly giving customers the opportunity to not only choose their own heritage breed bird, but to learn to kill and dress it as well.
A Gourmet Vegetarian Holiday with Deborah Madison
Whatever you may have thought about vegetarian holiday fare, today, top chefs are creating delicious, festive and satisfying vegetarian holiday menus that may leave you wondering if turkey has been long overrated.
How to Make Homemade Eggnog: Recipe from Beets ‘n Bones
Here’s an easy recipe to make home made eggnog from scratch and avoid all the chemicals and weird ingredients in store bought eggnog.
Waste-Free Kitchen Holiday Tips
With the appropriate planning, you can save money this holiday season without throwing your food ethics out the window. Forget canned green beans, factory farmed turkey and pre-packaged stuffing. This year, serve your family a healthy, delicious holiday feast and avoid food waste. The winter holidays are all about abundance—being surrounded by friends and family,…
Holiday Leftovers: Vegan Cranberry Quickbread
Like many of us, Jenn Sebestyen, author of the Veggie Inspired Blog, found herself with plenty of holiday leftovers. So what do you do with your gorgeous home made cranberry sauce? How about transforming it into a treat you can enjoy for breakfast, with tea or as dessert. Jenn shares this whole food, vegan recipe…
How To Plan An Eco Friendly Holiday Feast
Our top six tips for a healthy, sustainable and locally sourced holiday dinner. Save money, avoid waste and enjoy a wholesome, humane feast.