Green Food & Drink

Vegetarian Fourth of July Party Ideas

The great American Fourth of July picnic, with its traditional foods like grilled hot dogs, hamburgers, and fried chicken, is something vegetarians can enjoy participating in, too.  Here are some ideas for making your Fourth of July very vegetarian. The Grill The outdoor grill is actually very conducive to preparing vegetarian fare.  There is quite an array of pre-prepared, frozen burgers made from vegetable protein available in grocery stores.  There are also hot dogs made from soy protein.  Perhaps even more satisfying is making your own veggie burger patties and grilling them outside.  There are many recipes online and in vegetarian (and conventional) cookbooks.  Home-made black bean burgers are especially good on the grill. Grilled vegetables are versatile and tasty.  Corn, zucchini, summer squash, onions, and bell peppers are all in season around July 4th, so use them liberally.  You can prepare the vegetables simply by brushing them with olive oil as they grill and sprinkling on salt and pepper to taste, or get more elaborate and marinate sliced vegetables for a few hours before grilling. Sandwiches Some vegetarians eat eggs.  If that describes you, why not make egg salad sandwiches for your party?  If you don't eat eggs, consider substituting firm tofu, chopped, for ...

Why you Must Buy Organic Meat and Dairy: The Organic Meat and Dairy Advantage

Purchasing organic meat and dairy products is definitely a great move.  It is great for your diet and your health.  It is also great for the environment as well.  Here is a look at some of the best reasons for the environment to start choosing meat and dairy products that are organic. First, you'll find that there are no synthetic growth hormones and drugs used on organic animals.  This means you won't end up ingesting these dangerous drugs, which is definitely a great reason to make this choice. Another reason to go with organic meat and dairy is because the feed mills don't have chemicals in them.  These mills are inspected to make sure that there are no chemicals in them at all.  Feed cannot be contaminated, which is important to the environment and your health. There is no genetic modification of these animal products that are organic.  They also do not eat any feed that has been genetically modified either. A sustainable agriculture is supported when animals are raised organically.  There are no fertilizers or pesticides used on this land and the manure from the cattle on these farms are used for other techniques or for farming purposes. Animals organically raised are not cannibals ...

Organic Tomato Gardening Tips

Organic tomato gardening is perfect for almost every backyard, however small.  All you need is a sunny corner.  And nothing beats the taste of freshly picked sun ripened tomatoes from your own garden!  Follow our tips for the perfect home grown organic tomatoes. 1. Location Tomatoes need support and like a sunny, sheltered site.  They usually prefer slightly acidic soil.  A south or west facing fence or trellis is ideal.  Some varieties grow up to 6 feet tall, others are smaller. 2. Variety There are many different kinds of tomato.  If you want a truly organic garden, you will want to start out with organic tomato seeds.  Otherwise you can use regular seeds and simply avoid using chemicals on your plants. The best way to choose a tomato variety is to ask around among your neighbors.  They will have the same climate and soil type, so what works for them will probably work for you.  Maybe they will even share seeds with you. 3. Feeding Successful organic tomato gardening requires some attention.  Feed plants at least twice in the season with a good organic fertilizer.  Slow release fertilizers in the soil are more effective than liquids.  Spraying with kelp and fish emulsion from time to time will ...

Hidden Facts about Cheese You Never Knew

Many people really enjoy cheese.  There are many types of cheese, from feta, to gouda, to mozzarella, cheddar, swiss, and more.  Although they may not be the best for staying slim, you may not realize that they may not be the best choice for the environment either.  Surely you would think that cheese is more eco friendly and humane than going with something like a big steak. There are even many vegetarians that still think this way.  Many eat cheese on a regular basis.  Cheese has a lot of protein in it, it is full of great calcium, and a variety of other great nutrients that are important, especially if you are not eating some meat.  You will also find that cheese tastes great too. You may think that eating cheese is a great choice.  More than likely you think you are going with a green lifestyle and great choices that are great for your health, the environment, and the animals.  However, this may not be the case.  In fact, there is a good chance that the cheese you are eating is as bad as the meats out there today. Why is this a problem.  Well, one reason that cheese is not a ...

Counting Food Miles

For people who have decided to adopt the green lifestyle, food miles is an important, interesting and enlightening concept.  Keep in mind that food production itself involves the use of environmental resources and - as a green individual - you want to keep the ecological and economic costs to minimal levels. Definition of Food Miles Simply put, the concept of food miles is defined as the distance between where the food was grown and where said food will be purchased by the end consumer.  Think of it as measuring the distance traveled by food from the farm and to the market and then on to your dining table. Lest you think that requires rocket science, think again.  Just get your map out and plot the two points between the farm and the house, of which the resulting distance is the food miles.  For example, if you live in New England and the fruit was grown in California, then the food miles for that single piece of fruit is calculated at 3,000 miles. It may not make an impact now until you begin to add up the financial and environmental costs necessary to transport the fruit.  You have to count in gasoline and diesel fuel ...