Organic Food Blog

Going green has never tasted so good and been so easy! “Nothing turns average cooks into great ones quicker than fresh ingredients,” New York Chef Tom Colicchio says in the July/August Issue of Men’s Health magazine.

When looking for some fresh ways to prepare your everyday meals, Men’s Health magazine has the following tips:

• Master The Market- Shopping at local farmer’s markets as opposed to supermarkets. Find one near you
• Make Friends- Building relationships with local butchers or fishmongers, can score you his best stuff.
• Stock Your Pantry- Keep extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt and fresh herbs in your kitchen at all times

Check out chef Colicchio’s Roasted Leg of Lamb with Herbs:

Ingredients:

• 5lb boneless leg of lamb
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 4 sprigs fresh sage
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced
• 2 Tbsp peanut oil or canola oil
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• Course sea salt

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lay the lamb flat (cute side up) on a clean surface and sprinkle it with kosher salt and pepper. Arrange half the herbs and all the garlic on the meat. Roll the meat tightly and tie it with kitchen twine at 1-inch intervals

2. Heat the oil in an ovenproof skillet on medium. Season the lamb roll with kosher salt and pepper; add it to the skillet to the oven.

3. Roast the lamb in the oven for about 45 minutes. Add the butter and the remaining herbs to the skillet and continue roasting, basting occasionally, for about 15 minutes. (The lamb is medium rare when a thermometer inserted in the center of the roll read 125 degrees F). Remove the meat for the oven, cover it loosely with foil, and let it rest for 10 minutes. Slice the lamb, sprinkle it with a touch of coarse sea salt, and serve.

Hospitals are beginning to take a step in the right direction towards incorporating organic food into their meals. Take a look at these examples I found in various places through the net.

Catholic Healthcare West has an education program about the ecological impacts of the food system and is eliminate rBGH use in dairy.
* Kaiser Permanente: is creating guidelines for sustainable food sourcing that includes local, antibiotic/hormone-free meats and dairy, and serving fresh fruit for desert. It has farmer’s markets at 25 of its medical facilities.
* Dominican Hospital (Santa Cruz, California) buys produce from a local organic farm and has a vegetable and flower garden on-site.
* Good Shepherd Medical Center (Hermiston, Oregon) has eliminated fat fryers, serves organic produce and rBGH-free milk, and is eliminating food additives. Instead of beef, the hospital serves naturally lean bison.
* St. Luke’s Hospital (Duluth, Minnesota) serves only fair-trade coffee, rBGH-free milk, and wild salmon, and has a locally grown organic salad bar.

Ok for all you button and pin lovers out there. Now you can sport your very own organic food badge. Im sure this will make all you organic food lovers and happy peachy keen. Check out the photo below from http://www.organicfoodcorner.com/badges/index.php. There’s actually several to choose from and lots of great info and ideas on their site. Go take a look!

Yes there’s actually a chart saying who owns certain titles for organic food brands. Check this out.

Go to http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/2008/03/18/who_really_owns_the_organic_food_brands.php for this charts home and more info and news!

Fast food going organic…what? Doesn’t that seem wonderful but crazy check out http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/02/AR2008060202690.html for the info and pictures to back this up!

There’s a new talk of the town on the net and its known as http://www.stonyfield.com/Organic/. This site has the best info around of any organic farming website. They have been recognized by several top newspapers such as the New York Times and many magazines. They are buzzing all around in the news. Please check out their site to find out more information and don’t forget to sign up for one of there monthly moosletters!

The only way to be sure that the food you’re eating is organic, short of growing it yourself (or buying it from someone you trust not to have soaked it in pesticides), is looking for certification marks, like the USDA Organic Seal, pictured here. Elsewhere, similar government regulations and third-party inspectors certify that food is produced to certain standards; in Australia, it’s the NASAA Organic Standards, in Japan, the JAS Standards must be met. In the United States, In the United States, the Organic Food Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C.A. § 6501-22) required that the USDA develop national standards for organic products. The regulations (7 C.F.R. Part 205) are enforced by the USDA through the National Organic Program under this act. These laws essentially require that any product that claims to be organic must have been manufactured and handled according to specific NOP requirements. A USDA Organic seal identifies products with at least 95% organic ingredients.

Organic foods are known to be better for you but not so much your wallet. But is there a way to actually find organic foods that are less expensive than regular foods. Sure theres a way just take Hillary Rosners insert in http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/organic-food-cheaper.html for example and you can compare her costs. In a recent study she provided the net with it states:

“Take beans, for example, a staple of frugal cuisine. At a Safeway in Boulder, Colorado, a 15- ounce can of O organic black beans costs $1.05. On the same shelf, a 15-ounce can of Bush’s Best black beans will run you $1.39. Down the street at Whole Foods, meanwhile–the store often referred to as Whole Paycheck—the supermarket-label 365 Organics brand black beans cost a measly 99 cents.

Or take pasta, that beloved staple of penny-pinching college students everywhere. A box of Barilla brand conventional pasta sells for $1.79 at the Safeway. But head over to the Whole Foods, and you can buy a bag of 365 Organic pasta for 50 cents less.” Thanks for this wonderful info Hillary!

Here’s a great site for all you freebie lovers out there. The coupons lovers are sure to find this as a treat to.  You can search this site for a variet of great finds and more on Organic Info. Visit http://www.mambosprouts.com/freebies.php.