Filed under: Food, Health, Shopping Guide

A fun and organic basket to share! Photo: globalexchangestore.com

How’s that last-minute holiday gift list going?There’s still time to make a sustainable food-preferring person on your list happy this holiday season!

From food baskets to books or movies or even a live ewe, there are loads of creative and delicious choices that will surprise, delight and stimulate.

Consider something that will appeal to his or her intellect:

• Food Inc. — the documentary that shows the many reasons why it’s so important to know where your food is coming from.
  
• “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan — published in 2006, this book is a classic exploration of the food chain, looking at industrial food, organic and even self-foraged meals get to your plate.
• “Fast Food Nation” by Eric Schlosser — even though it came out in 2001, this is must read for anyone who has ever been tempted by the drive thru window. The movie of the same title is loosely based on the book, and similarly thought provoking.

There are several green gift basket choices for that natural-eating loved one who is far away, or if you want to send an eco-friendly message with your business holiday gifts:

• The Fresh and Natural organic package from It’s Only Natural Gifts. For $49 you get a selection of gluten-free and vegan treats like Food Should Taste Good lime tortilla chips, Salpica natural peach mango salsa and Two Moms in the Raw snacking granola — all packaged up in a cute organic cotton canvas tote.
• Global Exchange Fair Trade online store offers a beautiful Office Gang Gift Basket, for $98. In a natural hand-woven kaisa grass basket from Bangladesh, you’ll send organic coffee, chocolate and nuts — perfect for sharing! And all of the packaging is 100% biodegradable and recycled — even the cellophane that wraps the baskets is bio-degradable!
• Diamond Organics offers a Sampler of the Month Program that delivers their most popular organic samplers on the first Friday of each month. You can choose from three to 12 months of samplers, at a range of $82-72 per month. The contents are a step beyond your usual “box of veggies.” The May Macrobiotic Sampler includes burdock root, daikon radish, fresh ginger, a selection of fresh-cut cooking greens such as collards, red russian kale, baby bok choi, and more. The December Organic Dried Fruit and Nut Sampler includes delicious dried fruits like bing cherries, black figs, medjool dates, and persimmons.

And if you want to combine the gift of supporting sustainable food sourcing and organic food, consider sponsoring shares of livestock on an organic farm. For example, for $500 you can “adopt a ewe” on Monkeyflower Ranch, home of the Garden Variety Cheese business.

Your adoption fee supports the care and feeding of the ewe during the dry season (dairy sheep only produce milk for six months out of every year, and spend the dry season pregnant, fattening up for the milking season.) In return, you or your happy foodie gift recipient, receives $600 worth of farm products, like cheese and yogurt.

Green Foodie Gifts originally appeared on Green Daily on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:02:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Food, Shopping Guide

Are you looking for some sustainable beer choices for this, the greenest holiday? Look no further. Below is a gallery of tasty brews to enhance your celebrations wherever they may be. Of course, if you want to be especially kind to the environment you can always brew your own.

Don’t forget that just how green your beverage ends up being has a lot to do with you. There’s the obvious, like making an attempt to recycle your cans and bottles but people often overlook the fact that their compost piles would benefit from any excess beer lying around before or after its been filtered through their kidneys. Give the neighbors a show this St. Patty’s Day they will not soon get over.

Sustainable Beers for St. Patrick’s Day originally appeared on Green Daily on Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Fashion, Food, Shopping Guide

As you walk through the malls and shop-o-plexes this week, you may not feel like you have a lot of environmentally sound options when it comes to Valentine’s Day gifts. Well, before you throw in the towel and buy your loved one a houseplant, name a star after them, or something eco-friendly but boring like that — you might want to consider giving it one more try.

Lucky for us last-minute types, you can find a cornucopia of eco-friendly V-day jewelry, sweets, etc. online. After an exhausting — but far from exhaustive — search of what’s around, I’ve put together a list of a few of the more attractive, kitschy, and affordable green Valentine’s gifts. Check them out in the gallery below:

Green Gift Ideas for an Eco Friendly Valentines Day originally appeared on Green Daily on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 15:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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