Organic Bug Spotlight On Healthy Child Healthy World

A Wake-Up Story from Healthy Child Healthy World on Vimeo.

How Would You Like Your Eggs?

Was there ever such a thing as an egg being an egg or have there always been specialty eggs with prices to match? Conventional, free range, organic, cage free… but what does it all mean? Let’s take a closer look at egg labels.

Conventional eggs are packaged with no special labels. However, in regards to the animal’s welfare, less than half a square foot of space is devoted to each hen (which is not even enough room for them to spread their wings) . Typically the diet is unknown or not noted.

Cage Free is pretty much self explanatory and has everything to do with the welfare of the animal and little to do with diet. The hens are free to move as they wish without being confined to a cage or any restricted space. They are able to engage in natural behaviors such as walking and spreading their wings.

Free Range implies that chickens live on thriving green pastures. Also known as Free Roaming.

Organic labels means the hens were fed only organic feed. This could also mean no animal byproducts are found in the feed. They are fed an organic all vegetarian diet, free of antibiotics and pesticides as required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program. The USDA has to approve it to be organic in order for it to be sealed that way.

Vegetarian means the hens were fed a strict vegetarian diet. However, chickens are in fact omnivores not vegetarians and will naturally eat bugs, and grub. This term has little to no significance to animals living conditions and welfare.

Pastured means the chickens were raised on a pasture. With all access to the sun, grass, bugs, grains and other feed (sounds glamorous doesn’t it…it is).

So now the real question, which type of eggs are the healthiest? The USDA claims that all eggs are equally healthy. However, the input should correlate with the output right?

According to a study done by Mother Earth News, pasteurized eggs have 1/3 less cholesterol, ¼ less saturated fat, 2/3 more vitamin A, 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids, 3 times more vitamin E, 7 times more beta creotene, and 4-6 times more vitamin D.

So, next time you are at the store, take a closer look at the kind of eggs you tend to buy. The things that set the higher price should be taken into consideration (diet and welfare) and are worth the extra buck to make certain you are not only getting the most bang for your buck (nutrition wise) but that you are also supporting farmers that take the welfare of chickens seriously.

Organic Bug’s Favorite Eco Friendly Toy Companies

..By offering children toys that send a positive message about protecting our planet helps to educate the younger generation about how to make good choices for our environment. It may even create young ambassadors for Mother Nature. -Laurie Hyman, Co-Founder of Green Toys

Part of our philosophy is to provide consumers with offerings that are safe, good quality and help to promote a better world.  What better way to do this than to teach future generations to respect and preserve the natural resources of our planet? One way to teach this lesson is to lead by example, talk to your kids about the importance of recycling, conserving our resources, and supporting companies who embrace sustainable practices.

The holidays are an important time to share these ideals by giving toys that foster their imagination and creativity while while keeping true to the values of an eco-conscious home.   I want to highlight some of the companies we adore who provide a line of well made toys that will out last the others and are made with the safety of our children and planet in mind.

Green Toys

Green Toys makes a line of eco-friendly classic toys that are free of phthalates or Bispenol-A (BPA).  These unique toys are constructed from recycled milk containers!  Founders Robert von Goeben and Laurie Hyman created this company out of their desire to provide consumers with an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional plastic toys while making an effort to improve and preserve the world around us.  Their toys have been nationally recognized by media, and have won awards from Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, Dr. Toys, and Fat Brian.  We love them because they have adopted enviromentally sustainable practices into their manufacturing by:

• Doing business locally. Their operations are located within close proximity of one another in California, helping to further reduce its carbon footprint by avoiding long transportation distances.
• Packaging their products in recycled corrugated boxes with no plastics, cellophane or twist-ties.
• The toys themselves are 100% recyclable too. So, not only are they earth-friendly they are ready for your recycling bin.

Piggy Paint was highlighted on our blog last October- but felt the need to mention them again for their wonderful selection of holiday themed nail polish sets.  Girls of all ages can have fun decorating their fingers and toes with these vibrant, natural & non toxic polishes.   It’s as natural as mud in the sense that every ingredient is biodegradable with no residues left behind to harm the environment.  Our favorites this season: “Mistle Toes”, “Jingle Nail Rock” and “Snowflake Fairy”.

Montgomery Schoolhouse of Maple Landmark Woodcraft

Founded in 1971, the legendary Montgomery Schoolhouse products have been a part of the Maple Landmark family of Vermont since 2001 .  These products are made at the highest level of quality & eco-safeguards to insure many years of good clean fun.   Maple Landmark Woodcraft was founded by Mike Rainville who took up woodworking as a hobby in as a teenager, and launched his wood crafting company after his college graduations in the mid 80s.

Today, Maple Landmark Woodcraft continues to offer high quality American made toys and other wood crafts. Product safety remains their number one priority and the company does as much business locally as is possible including the many services needed and most material sourcing.

Concerns about toxic chemicals leeching from toys and ongoing environmental risks inspired the company to launch a line of  non-toxic wooden toys called Schoolhouse Naturals.  These toys are made from maple hardwood with no added chemicals that has been responsibly harvested from sustainable Addison County, Vermont forests. Be sure to check out the award winning My Best Blocks-Advanced Builder and the Natural Scoots Toy Vehicles from this line, one of our favorite offerings.

For My Kids

For My Kids, LLC is a company devoted to finding (and making where none currently exist) products that are beneficial to our children and our planet.  They offer a line of safe, natural & organic cleaners and personal care products that are a wonderful healthy alternative to chemical disinfectants. The company was founded by Christine Stewart when she learned about the potential long-term ill effects of the cleaning products she was using.  She set out to create effective cleaners that used non toxic ingredients for the sake of family.

Her latest triumph is Happy Fun Dough, an all natural and non-toxic version of play dough.  This soft, pliable dough is made from flour all natural ingredients- even the colors are all natural.

MiYim

MiYim, a Shanghai based company, believes they have a special responsibility to protect the environment for future generations and offers safe and chemical free products for babies and children.   The company is committed to protecting the health and safety of their employees and safeguarding the environments where they do business.

Miyim is the ancient word for water. And seeds, rich fertile soil and water are the basis for all MiYim products. MiYim collectibles are woven with organic cotton that is untreated, unbleached, and unprocessed with color dyes acquired from nature.  Here are some of the other reasons why we love the toys from this company:

Low-Eco Impact Manufacturing.  They use a specialized natural filtering system purifies waste-water from coloring process before releasing back to the environment.

No chemicals or harmful substances are used in making of miYim products.

Socially Responsible Management: They follow the highest International labor standards and treat each employee with respect and fairness.

Sustainable packaging: Each miYim collectible is housed in a handmade box crafted from recycled materials and the miYim gift box is meant to be reused! Make the most of your miYim purchase and use it to store anything from photos to recipes.

Turning Your Dinner Party Green!

With the Holiday season just right around the corner, your busy schedules probably just got slammed with a number of dinner parties to attend. Attending dinner parties are fun but hosting dinner parties can be fun too! Whether you are having a small get together or many people over for a green celebration, planning does not have to be stressful and hopefully this article will ease your list of things to do.

So you’ve decided you’re going to have a dinner party. Next step is figuring out how you’re going to send your invitations. To go green and ease the carbon footprint on getting your attendees attention to save the date, may we suggest using social media? What a quick and easy way to contact your network of friends. Remember, just because its online doesn’t mean you can’t get creative. Send your invites a jazzed up email, they will be excited to open it making them even more excited to attend, we like to use Evite.com.

Another idea is to suggest a prize for those who arrive by alternative forms of transportation other than by car, but whatever the prize is, make it green and make it goodJ. When you decorate for your party create displays of fresh flowers and soy candles and get creative with the seasons offerings. Pinecones, lemons, leaves, and oranges are all things found in or around your house that can add to the fall season and add to the mood of a comfortable environment.

Don’t forget to invest in some ‘green wine’; no, the color of the wine is not green but you can compliment any dish by supporting an ecologically sensitive winery.  Or, you can have green drinks by supporting a local micro brewery, as more and more breweries are using organic ingredients. When shopping for your dinner party, don’t forget about the after dinner coffee which you can go green by supporting fair trade. If there are leftovers, send everyone home with whatever is left, or compost your scraps for your garden. When you’re cleaning up, make sure to skip the prewash, however if you don’t have a dishwasher, use some eco friendly soap to hand wash your dishes like Seven Generations or Shaklee. You should always seek out green household cleaning products because they are good for your health and good for the environment too.

As you can see these are quick and easy steps to use when you’re plan for your green celebration. We aren’t asking you to make drastic changes in the way you plan but as you can see by changing a little, you can and will reduce your holiday dinner party carbon footprint. All of these things are easy on your wallet; health and the environment too. Have fun and stay green this holiday season!

Green Living Online Resource Review: Focus Organic

We strive to make Feed Your Eco a valuable resource for anyone searching for ideas and information on healthy and eco-friendly living; but we also want to acknowledge the many voices on the blogosphere that contribute to this movement. There are numerous online resources and blogs that making a real change by inspiring their readers to make simple and necessary changes that will have a lasting and positive impact on the environment.

This month, I came across Focus Organic, an open blogging community that is ideal for green living advocates who wish to share their ideas- but do not necessarily have the time to start and maintain their own blog. I love that the site encourages their readers share their knowledge and perspectives by submitting their blog entries (all posts are reviewed)- and the result is a wonderful range of ideas and tips that is not limited to just 1-2 authors.

The primary intent of this blog is to help educate people on the facts about organic products…but the site also covers a range of topics that promote a more sustainable lifestyle. I like how they categorize posts according to our daily routine: cleaning, food, money, transportation, well being, fashion, etc. They also help by reviewing and recommending innovative products and suggest best practices to help incorporate “green living” into your day to day routine.

When you visit the site, be sure to check out their link page- I have bookmarked this page myself as a wonderful list of many online eco resources that are broken into helpful categories. The list they have compiled in an excellent place to start when researching on how to incorporate green living your life.  Be sure to check them out and let us know what you think (tell them Organic Bug sent ya!).

Do You Have What it Takes To Live a “No Impact” Lifestyle?

Many of you have probably heard the buzz about “No Impact Man”- an green living experiment by New Yorker Colin Beavan and his family. The premise of this story is Beavan, along with his wife, 2 year old daughter and family dog- give up their luxurious Manhattan lifestyle and commit to a full year of eliminating their “carbon footprint” by eating vegetarian, buying only local food, no toxic cleaning products, no electricity, no material consumption, no garbage, no cars, buses, or airplanes.

Colin blogs about his experiences (the good and the bad) in his widely followed blog: No Impact Man.  The experiment was so fascinating it was turned into a documentary:

As you see- this family goes to extremes to change their lifestyle and eliminate their impact on the environment.

What about you?  Could you do this for one year?  Give up electricity?  Meat?  Television?  Eating out?  Cars?  Shopping? Producing garbage?

How about just one week?  I came across the No Impact Challenge for those of us who are curious to test our limits and see what we can live without.

The No Impact Experiment is a one-week carbon cleanse.  It is a chance for you to see what a difference no-impact living can have on your quality of life. It’s not about giving up creature comforts but an opportunity for you to test whether the modern “conveniences” you take for granted are actually making you happier or just eating away at your time and money.

How would giving up modern conveniences change your quality of life?  Is this kind of challenge something you and your family could benefit from?

When I look at my own family and our daily patterns, it bothers me  how much time we spend disconnected from each other watching TV, movies, surfing on the computer, talking and texting on our cell phones, etc.  I also see how wasteful we can be in the name of convenience and how much money we spend of things that we do not need?  How would our health change if we committed ourselves to buying just locally grown seasonal fruits and vegetables?  It is a lot to think about- and I am not saying we all have to go to the extreme measures the Beavan family did.  But it is an interesting question.  Do think you have what it takes?

Feed Your Eco Featured September Recipe: Organic Roasted Tomato Sauce

I found this month’s Organic Recipe on a great site devoted to green living in our nation’s capitol:  City Renewed- The DC Area’s Most Comprehensive Green Resource Guide.  I encourage you to visit their site when you get a chance.  It is filled with informative articles with excellent tips and advice anyone can use to make their home and/or office a more eco-friendly environment.  This site is also terrific resource for DC residents to learn more about local events, educational opportunities, Farmers Markets, festivals, and more.

Here in the southeast, the hot summer days yield an abundance of delicious, juicy, ripe, red tomatoes for us to enjoy well into the month of September. The process of roasting the vegetables in this sauce really brings out the natural flavors.   Many of the ingredients can be grown in your own garden or can be purchased at your local farmers market.  Try making this over the weekend and let us know what you think!  Thank you to City Renewed for sharing this!!

Organic Roasted Tomato Sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 or more medium organic tomatoes, cored and cut into quarters or eighths
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 small or one medium onion, cut into quarters or eighths
1 large red bell pepper, cut into large pieces
1 leek, cut in half lengthwise, washed and sliced
1 small head of garlic
1/4 cup basil, chopped just a little
2 ounces goat cheese (optional)
Black pepper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray large glass baking dish with nonstick spray. Put tomato pieces in dish, pour olive oil over tomatoes and stir. Bake for 30 to 50 minutes, stirring tomatoes every 20 minutes. Stir again then add onion, bell pepper and leek. Wrap garlic in foil and put on rack in oven. After about 30 minutes, when everything looks and smells delicious, remove baking dish and garlic from oven. Unwrap garlic, cut the top and squeeze the softened garlic into the tomato goodness. Add basil and black pepper, and mix well. Serve over chunky pasta. A dollop of goat cheese can be put on top for extra zing.

Photo Credit: helenkosings.wordpress.com

Will Michelle Obama’s White House Garden Change The Way We Think About Food?

It is no secret the past few months has been a rough climb for the Obamas.  It never is easy when you are trying to implement change.  No matter what your political view is- I hope people will acknowledge how First Lady Michelle Obama’s organic garden on the White House lawn is helping to bring positive change to local children.  Her mission is to inspire families to view food and our meal times differently so that we take the time to incorporate healthy seasonal fruits and vegetables and most importantly- to sit down as a family and have dinner together.

The White House kitchen garden was planted in the spring with the help from local elementary students.  The children actively participated in cultivating the soil and the harvesting of the garden.  As a result- some parents noticed their children adopting better eating habits and enjoying their vegetables more.  This organic garden was planted with seeds that were passed down from Thomas Jefferson’s estate and is the first White House garden since Eleanor Roosevelt’s Victory Garden was planted decades ago.

This video features White House chef Sam Kass and First Lady Michelle Obama explaining in her own words how she hopes to change the way America views their food.

Feed Your Eco Featured August Recipe: Organic Carrot Soup with Ginger

I found this delicious organic recipe on Epicurious earlier this month and thought this would make an ideal summer soup recipe to share!

This healthy vegetarian recipe is by Carl Schroeder, chef at Arterra in San Diego, and is a wonderful blend of Carrots, Ginger and Herbs.  Try it hot or cold.

Organic Carrot Soup with Ginger Essence

Makes 4 servings
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup thinly sliced leeks (white part only)
1/2 large white onion, diced (about 1 cup)
2 1/2 pounds organic carrots, chopped
2 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon chopped fresh lemongrass (or 2 teaspoons dried, tied in a piece of cheesecloth)
3 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 cup fresh carrot juice
1/2 cup light sour cream, plus 4 tsp for garnish
Coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped chives

Preparation

Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed large stockpot on high heat until hot. Cook leeks and onion 2 to 3 minutes. Add carrots and 2 tbsp water. Cook, covered, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add stock, lemongrass and 1 1/2 teaspoons ginger. Simmer about 30 minutes. Let mixture cool for 10 minutes, then pour into a food processor and purée. Add carrot juice and strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Discard pulp. (If not serving immediately, cool and refrigerate liquid.) Add sour cream and remaining 2 teaspoons ginger to strained liquid. Stir until completely incorporated. Heat 3 or 4 minutes over medium-low heat or serve cold. Season with pepper. Divide among 4 bowls. Garnish with chives and 1 tsp each sour cream.

Organic Living With Laura Klein

I have mentioned this before but we really love and appreciate Organic Authority.   The site is a valuable resource that contains a wealth of articles, tools, product reviews, recipes, tips, photos, video  to help people live a healthier lifestyle for themselves and for future generations.

The site belongs to Organic Living expert, Laura Klein who is also does a show called Better Living with Laura Klein.  The show is about green living, creating a healthy home and cooking with organic food. To show our support, we wanted to share her promo……hope you enjoy!