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Green drinks for St. Paddy’s Day

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

By Barbara Kessler

With St. Pat’s coming up, it’s time to decide how green do you want to be?

Green and Sober

In this scenario, you remember to carry your reusable water bottle. If your Kleen Kanteen were green that would be keen. But any reusable bottle will do.

Green and Tipsy

If you’re looking to imbibe, there’s the traditional green beer, a staple at Irish parades everywhere. You can make it at home with green food dye. It is best showcased in a chilled clear glass mug.

Green as in Apple Green

Of course, there’s your ‘Green Apple Surprise’, made with Midori Green Apple Liquor and tequila or vodka or rum. Midori is happy to oblige with recipes. But these sweeties can really go down easy, so drink responsibly. Make it greener with organic liquors…

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Veggies get their own phone app

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Happy Cow phone apps help you find veggie restaurants

Happy Cow phone apps help you find veggie restaurants

From Green Right Now Reports

We know there are thousands of apps available for your iPhone. But here’s one we think will be really useful, the HappyCow VeginOut Guide.

It’s available for Palms, phones that use Android and the iPhone. The iPhone app is called VegOut.

These apps allow you to easily find thousands of eating spots that are either vegan, vegetarian or veg-friendly.

If you or someone close to you is a veggie, you’ll know how valuable such a reference can be when you’re on the road encountering meat-oriented restaurants at every interchange.

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Restaurants going greener to save costs and attract customers, new study finds

Thursday, February 18th, 2010
Restaurants

Restaurant organizations of all sizes are hungry for greater efficiency in their operations, the survey found.

Sustainability practices that minimize the impact of restaurant operations on the environment appear to be gaining momentum as the foodservice industry finds ways to measure the return on its investment in green systems and technologies, according the results of a new benchmark survey from RSR Research.

The study, “The Better-Run Restaurant: Environmental Sustainability in Restaurant Retail 2010,” finds restaurant organizations of all sizes hungry for greater efficiency in their operations, particularly those solutions which cut energy costs, reduce wasteful packaging, and can be leveraged to “tell a green story” to diners. While the industry is still struggling to correlate top line revenue with green investments, it does recognize the bottom line benefits of cost savings from energy and waste management.

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Organic/Natural foods: What’s in them for me?

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

By Jennifer LaBarge

Over the last few years, there’s been a surge towards using organic/natural foods to increase the health benefits to our bodies and improve the environment.  While there has been a documented upswing, consumers find themselves asking hard questions about organic/natural foods and farming, including, “is it worth the added cost at the grocery store?” and “is it better to pay a little more for a product that is supposed to be better for you and for the environment?”

According to Forbes.com, consumers spent about $23 billion on organic foods in 2008, a 16% increase in just over 10 years of tracking organic spending habits. But, just what is it about these supposedly “better for you” foods that makes them better than the non-organic variety? It depends on who you ask. Ultimately, as consumers, we must each weigh the pros and cons based on our own unique circumstances and beliefs.

To help you make a decision that makes sense for your family, here are a few universally agreed-upon factors when it comes to the organic vs. non-organic debate:

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Chocolate: How do we love thee? Let us count the ways

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

By Shermakaye Bass

Over the past year or so, there’s been a velvety, yummy buzz: Chocolate may just save the planet!

Divine Hearts are actually good for your heart

Divine Hearts are actually good for your heart

Actually, that’s a stretch. But in the months leading up to the Copenhagen climate talks last December, several chocolate-makers claimed they were venturing further into fair trade practices, including Nestle, Mars and Cadbury.

Add to that the promising method of “cabruca farming” in Brazil — a way of supplementing rainforests with valuable cacao plants to offset wholesale slash-and-burn techniques. Then multiply those happy developments by now-abundant data showing that chocolate — dark chocolates and bittersweets, specifically — are good for our health, and you’ve got a growing body of evidence that semi-sweet, Fair Trade chocolate is not only good for body, heart and soul; it could be good for the environment.

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NYC Pizzeria Roberta’s reuses, recycles and grows its own food

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
Roberta's, a no-frills pizzeria (Photo: Sommer Saadi.)

Roberta's, a no-frills pizzeria (Photo: Sommer Saadi.)

By Sommer Saadi

New Yorkers have gotten pretty good at finding new places to grow plants: rooftops in Brooklyn, abandoned rail lines in Manhattan, and now they’re conquering the tops of old shipping containers.

At least Roberta’s pizzeria in Bushwick, Brooklyn is giving it a shot. The pizzeria is housed in a former garage and tucked between rows of old, gritty warehouses and industrial factories. The wood-paneled walls match the wood picnic-styled tables, and prominently placed at the front of the restaurant is the bright red, wood-burning oven duly named Roberta.

But in the back yard is where they keep the main attraction.

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Fish, mercury and your health

Monday, January 25th, 2010

USGS scientists collecting fish from the St. Marys River near MacClenny, Fla., for the National Fish Mercury Model data base. (Photo: USGS)

By Steve Beck

Eating fish and shellfish generally is very good for you. Fish and shellfish contain omega-3 fatty acids (good for the heart, among other benefits), high-quality protein and other important nutrients, and are low in saturated fat. Experts recommend that women and young children, in particular, should include fish and shellfish in their diets.

Eating mercury, on the other hand, can be very bad for you. It can harm the brain and nervous system — especially while they are still developing, as in a fetus or young child. In addition, ingested mercury tends to build up in the body and stay for prolonged periods. Children, and women who are pregnant or may become pregnant within a year or so, should particularly avoid foods containing mercury.

Unfortunately, mercury can be found throughout the Earth’s water supply and the food chain, and at least trace amounts are present in nearly all fish and shellfish. So how can we enjoy the nutritional benefits of seafood without poisoning ourselves?

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Quenching your thirst: Bottled water vs. tap water

Monday, January 18th, 2010

(Photo: International Bottled Water Association)

By Sarah Beck

Drinking enough water each day prevents dehydration and helps our bodies function. With all of the water options available to help keep us hydrated — from tap water to a variety of bottled water brands — it’s difficult to decide which option is better for your health. And, is bottled water better for you than tap water?

Water varies by taste and quality, as well as other factors. That said, if your tap water meets the standards of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or your bottled water meets U.S. Federal Drug Administration standards, it generally is safe to drink.

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How to shop for seafood

Monday, January 11th, 2010

By Christopher Peake

For most of us, walking into a seafood store is an exercise in both ignorance and hope: we’re ignorant of what’s available but we hope we’ll leave with what we want. We all know fish come in two colors: the red one is salmon and the rest are white. Here is what you should know about fish:

The word "seafood" doesn't define only fish.

Mark Musatto, a partner at Airline Seafood in Houston, says “There are three basic feelings I want every customer to have when they enter my store: they should feel, smell and see the freshness; notice that fresh fish has a sheen and a translucency and I want customers to tell me how they plan to cook their fish and we can talk about the best fish for that method.

“Some fish are better for grilling, others for sautéing, and others for frying.”

There are some basics to consider and ask about when you shop for fish:

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Brooklyn farmers claim the high ground

Sunday, December 27th, 2009

By Sommer Saadi

Ben Flanner’s farm grows lush in summer with rows of squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce. And during all seasons, it provides a visual feast: a perfect view of the Manhattan skyline.

Rooftop Gardens in Brooklyn

Rooftop Gardens in Brooklyn

That’s because Flanner’s farm is on top of a vacant three-story warehouse building in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

A 6,000 square foot slab of concrete covered in more than 30 varieties of fruits and vegetables (not to mention the herbs) is unusual, but it’s no longer rare. Communities are pushing for greater access to locally grown food, but with land in the city so expensive, non-profits, restaurants, residents and entrepreneurial farmers like Flanner and his partner Annie Novak are turning to the city’s most under-used and readily available spaces: its rooftops.

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, a 145-corporate-member green roof and walls industry association, reported a 35 percent increase from last year in the number of constructed green roof projects nationally, which totaled more than 3.1 million square feet. That number is likely to increase as more city farmers discover, as Flanner and Novak did, that rooftop farms can be profitable ventures.

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