Food Choices for Healthy People and a Healthy Planet

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Thinking about going vegetarian?

In Food to Try, Recommended Company, Uncategorized, Useful tools,
  • Posted on December 4, 2011
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It’s a good lifestyle – healthy for you, for animals, and for the planet. There’s a huge array of delicious food choices and recipes available to you, and there’s lots of support for making the transition (books, groups, websites, and more).

The weekend before Thanksgiving, the Tri-Valley Vegetarian Society held a sumptuous potluck at the San Ramon library. (Tri-Valley refers to the area of the East Bay that includes San Ramon, Danville, Pleasanton, Dublin, and Livermore). We had not only a tasty meal, but also two informative presentations. Chris Durrant of Pleasant Hill has invented a children’s board game, Fur and Feathers, that playfully shows kids how to be kind to animals. Josephine Bellaccomo, an executive coach and animal lover, gave us a lively demonstration of how to communicate effectively. Lisa Books-Williams, a certified Green Chef instructor, demonstrated a yummy relish recipe and coordinated the whole event. I made new friends and had a great time.

If you live in the Tri-Valley area and would like to know more about the TVVS, contact Lisa Williams at lisa@thriveholistic.com. If you’re in or close to San Francisco, contact Dixie Mahy at the San Francisco Vegetarian Society at dixie@sfvs.org. You don’t have to be a perfect vegetarian or vegan to attend – as TVVS says, “Non-vegetarian family members and the “veg-curious” are also welcome to participate!”


Thinking about going vegetarian?

In Food to Try, Recommended Company, Uncategorized, Useful tools,
  • Posted on December 4, 2011
  • Author: ,
  • Comments: Comments Off on Thinking about going vegetarian?


It’s a good lifestyle – healthy for you, for animals, and for the planet. There’s a huge array of delicious food choices and recipes available to you, and there’s lots of support for making the transition (books, groups, websites, and more).

The weekend before Thanksgiving, the Tri-Valley Vegetarian Society held a sumptuous potluck at the San Ramon library. (Tri-Valley refers to the area of the East Bay that includes San Ramon, Danville, Pleasanton, Dublin, and Livermore). We had not only a tasty meal, but also two informative presentations. Chris Durrant of Pleasant Hill has invented a children’s board game, Fur and Feathers, that playfully shows kids how to be kind to animals. Josephine Bellaccomo, an executive coach and animal lover, gave us a lively demonstration of how to communicate effectively. Lisa Books-Williams, a certified Green Chef instructor, demonstrated a yummy relish recipe and coordinated the whole event. I made new friends and had a great time.

If you live in the Tri-Valley area and would like to know more about the TVVS, contact Lisa Williams at lisa@thriveholistic.com. If you’re in or close to San Francisco, contact Dixie Mahy at the San Francisco Vegetarian Society at dixie@sfvs.org. You don’t have to be a perfect vegetarian or vegan to attend – as TVVS says, “Non-vegetarian family members and the “veg-curious” are also welcome to participate!”


Prescription Produce

In Food, Recommended Company,
  • Posted on September 30, 2010
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We know that childhood obesity is a serious problem. Experts worry that today’s children will be the first generation to live shorter lives than their parents because of the health hazards of obesity. We also know that as a society, we’ll need to help create a world where children can find healthy food, exercise, and play.

Some Massachusetts doctors are taking active steps to do just that. Realizing that low-income children are especially at risk, they are helping them adopt a healthier diet by advising patients to buy “prescription produce” at local farmers’ markets–and even giving them coupons to help them pay for it. Check out the article here.

Since obesity costs this country $14 billion in treating health problems in children, and $147 billion in adults, this seems like a sensible preventive effort. In fact, 36 states have programs to encourage women and young children to benefit from the healthful produce available at farmers’ markets. Luckily, in the US there are over 6,000 farmers’ markets, with annual sales of over $1billion, and more are opening all the time.

School lunch programs are also becoming healthier – and so is the connection between farm and table. A program called Farm to School (which has branches in all 50 states) helps schools link lessons and contacts with their local farmers. In our area, Marin, Berkeley, Hayward and San Rafael have schools that participate in Farm to School.

The beauty of the program is that it does not require a large initial commitment—a school can start by just adding one item, such as local apples, to its offerings. That’s how Dover-Eyota schools got started, and now it’s adding other locally grown foods. Check out the article, “Minnesota Schools “Digging” Their Local Farms This Week.” Carrie Frank, nutrition director for the district, says, “This excites me – the opportunity to buy local, to buy the freshest. I’ve been in schools now for 17 years, and I don’t know when I’ve been more excited to be in the industry.  The students are quite proud of it. I hear comments like, ‘My mom grew this.’ Or one child said, ‘My grandfather and I picked this.'”

*Story also found on Examiner.com


Are Green Products Less Powerful?

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  • Posted on September 10, 2010
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Recently, I have been switching all of my household products to organic ones. According to a recent article “Green at Heart, Not in the Wallet” and a study in the Journal of Marketing, consumers have been skeptical to purchase eco-friendly products in fear that they may not be as strong as the leading competitors. They believe other products are more durable and efficient then sustainable ones. To be honest, I too hesitated before I made the switch because I wasn’t sure it would be able to get the job done. I have been using my green products for over 4 months now and I can honestly say that I use less of the product because it can clean anything efficiently!

My suggestion is to try it out by starting with one product and see how you like it. Orange TKO Cleaner was a featured at the SF Green Festival this year. I have yet to try this one in particular, but it is an organic multi-cleaner where a little bit goes a long way. Let’s diffuse the myth that green products are weaker and make this planet more sustainable!!


The Opposite of Fast Food–Slow Food

In Food, Recommended Company, Take Action,
  • Posted on August 5, 2010
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Like the weather, we all deplore fast food – but one organization is doing something about it! Slow Food was founded in Italy over 20 years ago in conscious revolt against America’s fast food intrusion into a nation that prides itself, justifiably, on its culinary artistry.

So in a concerted effort to restore the leisurely family meal, the rare breed of a crop, and lovingly made artisanal foods, this organization (with 100,000 members worldwide in 132 countries) gets people together to rescue their cultural heritages. Not to mention helping the environment by getting away from pesticide-drenched crops!

Something you may not have realized is that, like wildlife, biodiversity in food is threatened – the group Renewing America’s Food Traditions (RAFT) has found that over 1,000 American food species or varieties are endangered! So one thing you can do every time you go shopping is to buy a fruit or vegetable you’ve never tried before – that encourages the farmers to keep growing them. Slow Food’s diversity project is called the Ark of Taste. They help preserve endangered vegetables, wines (and the vines grapes grow on), fruits, and the minimally processed foods such as olive oil, cheese, and preserves.

And plenty of Americans agree that fast food is a sign of more than junky, manufactured meals – it’s also a sign of haste, uniformity, and family fragmentation. Slow Food USA has over 200 chapters nationwide . One local chapter (Berkeley) hosts monthly mixers every second Sunday. This month, it will be on Sunday, August 15, 3pm-6pm at Lake Chalet in Oakland (near Lake Merritt BART).

Try Dragon Fruit

Also found on the Examiner.com/san_francisco


Happily Green Ever After: The Earth-Friendly Wedding

In Recommended Company, Take Action,
  • Posted on July 29, 2010
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What do you do if you’re planning a wedding, but you don’t want it to become a wasteful extravaganza that burdens the earth with throwaway cameras, meat-heavy menus, a cascade of pesticide-grown flowers that will die soon, and all the rest? Did you know that the wedding industry in this country is at least $58 billion a year in direct costs, plus $80 billion of indirect expenses? The average wedding and honeymoon create 9 to 16 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

We’re happy to report that this big business of happiness, food, clothes, travel, and gifts is going green. The green wedding market niche is your answer. Brides are choosing organic silk or hemp fabric for their gowns; some couples ask not for gifts but donations to environmental charities or carbon offsets for their guests’ air travel. You could do this, too! You could ask your caterer to serve organic, locally grown food, offer vegetarian options, and donate leftovers to food banks. You could reduce your gift registry and ask friends to help conduct the wedding as their gift to you. What an opportunity to exercise your creativity! At one wedding, the bride carried her beloved (and very laid-back) cat down the aisle, instead of a bouquet!

One earth-friendly wedding planner in the San Francisco area is Vibrant Events, which can customize that special day while keeping in mind the earth and its communities. Or you can google “green weddings” to find other earth-friendly event organizers.

It’s heartening to know that love of spouse and love of planet can go hand in hand.

(This is also found in the Examiner.com Be sure to check up more of Linda’s articles!)


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