This is seems to be the year of national food awareness. And it’s about friggin’ time!

Conversations heard at dinner parties, hot topics on TV shows and updates on Twitter streams are  buzz with three popular terms: “Food Inc.“ “Food Revolution“ and “Child Obesity“.

That’s why I am in love with the new quarterly cooking magazine Chop Chop that’s written for kids ages 5-12-years-old. I love the idea of creating young foodies in this next generation. As a child of the 80’s and 90’s I have blindly ingested some crazy sci-fi ingredients growing up, trusting our FDA, and now in my twenties I am realizing I need to cook/bake organically and naturally. I am happy to see that kids can now have their own food magazine that speaks their language and makes cooking {not microwaving} fun.

Another great bonus about Chop Chop is there are ZERO advertisements that promote or pursued unhealthy eating habits to kids. All of their sponsors are healthy and promote healthy eating habits.

I’ve always felt that children {ahem, and adults!} are too stimulated by action-packed and color-filled advertisements that convolute “healthy” and “rational” thinking. Six year old’s trust “make believe” and certainly can’t differentiate fantasy {advertising} vs. Reality {sugar, corn syrup, no nutrition}… I still have a heard time believing reality as well.

Bravo Chop Chop!

I would seriously watch a kid cooking show would you? How cute!

Here I am drinking Larry’s Beans while baking Purely Elizabeth muffins and May Cookies.

I’m not only an Abe’s Market employee, I’m also an Abe’s Market customer. Why? Because I believe in the products and the people who make them inspire me.

The saying “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life again” has probably crossed your mind as your alarm sets off at 7:30am and the day ahead already feels too heavy and too mundane. It’s Groundhog Day… all over again.

In this clouded, depressing fog you, like most of us, have probably fooled yourself to think your dreams of “changing the world” or “owning your own business” are unattainable… but they aren’t and this is why the Abe’s Market community inspires me.

Abe’s is a collective of dreamers, thinkers and most importantly entrepreneurs. All of their products and business manifestos are unique and have gone against the commercial grain. They were all able to mute the outside influences of “you can’t” “why” and  “who would buy that?” and kept their positive thoughts and dreams in focus and turned them into profitable and fulfilling businesses.

So the next time you tell yourself that your “rain saver umbrella” business is out of reach I beg you to read the following blurbs from our successful sellers to remind yourself that all is possible. Pursue your passion and never have a “job” again.

• “It all started with a passion for fresh, healthy, delicious food and lots of cookie baking!” founder May Cookie Company.

• “Josh is a former advertising executive turned New York Times best-selling author. Brent is a physician turned media executive. Now both of us consider ourselves farmers, plain and simple,” founders of Beekman 1802.

• “I set out to create what I desired,” founder of Joya Baby.

• “In 2004, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. After exploring all options, I found a natural approach to healing worked best for me. Food in its natural state without all the additives and pesticides is what the body needs to heal and feel good.” founder, Two Moms in the Raw.

• “One day, I set out on a mission to prove to the world that you can smear yourself with natural things and smell darn pretty doing it and, behold, a business was born,”  founder of Bunny Butt Apothecary.

• “It was 3 AM, and I was standing at my sink, completely sleep deprived, rinsing one of my 8-month-old daughter’s baby bottles. Today I am extremely proud to offer a full line of products that safely yet effectively clean “baby dirt,” one founder of Dapple Baby.

Me and a mid day treat

Most of us drink coffee – lots of it. (I take mine straight up. Black.) And coffee is a hot topic with regard to sustainability. The sustainability issues cover the life cycle from how coffee is produced to how it’s consumed to how it’s disposed of.

Working backwards, the issues aren’t too confusing. The best way to dispose of coffee grounds is to compost them. Coffee grounds are high in nitrogen and aid bacteria in turning organic matter into compost.

The consumption issue is also relatively easy. The main thing is to drink our coffee in durable mugs, not disposable cups. Carbonrally.com claims that Americans drink 100 billion cups of coffee annually, of which 16 billion are in disposable paper cups. Placed end-to-end, these cups would wrap around the earth five times and weigh around 900 million pounds, equal to the combined weight of 927, 747 airplanes. The estimate for 2010 is 23 billion disposable cups of coffee in the U.S. To make those 23 billion cups, 9.4 million trees will have to be cut down to harvest the 1.4 million tons of wood needed, equivalent to 352 Central Park’s worth of trees. The astounding stats go on and on, but the last one I’ll provide is that it’s estimated that 4 billion pounds of CO2 are released into the atmosphere during the production and distribution of coffee cups. If a single, mature tree can absorb an average of 48 pounds per year of CO2, it would take 83.3 million trees to soak up all the CO2 released in the cup-manufacturing process annually. It’s pretty clear: disposable cups = not good.

But what about coffee production? What should we really care about? Let’s start by discussing 3 common terms frequently associated with coffee. What do they mean?

Organic: The easiest one. Organic coffee is grown without the use of chemicals, pesticides, herbicides or artificial fertilizers. It makes for a healthier coffee for us to consume, and it’s safer for the growers and the populations in coffee-growing regions.

Fair Trade: Per Fairtrade.net, “Fairtrade is an alternative approach to conventional trade and is based on a partnership between producers and consumers. Fairtrade offers producers a better deal and improved terms of trade. This allows them the opportunity to improve their lives and plan for their future. Fairtrade offers consumers a powerful way to reduce poverty through their every day shopping. When a product carries the Fairtrade mark it means the producers and traders have met Fairtrade standards. The standards are designed to address the imbalance of power in trading relationships, unstable markets and the injustices of conventional trade.”

Shade Grown: Julie Craves, who blogs at Coffee and Conservation, writes in detail about the intricacies of shade grown coffee. Coffee has traditionally been grown in forested, shaded areas, which, “discourages weed growth, may reduce pathogen infection, protects the crop from frost, and helps to increase numbers of pollinators which results in better fruit set.” Shade grown coffee is also generally believed to taste better, as longer ripening times yield more complex flavors.

In an effort to drive faster, larger coffee yields, some coffee producers have taken to growing coffee in sunny conditions. Beyond the adverse impact to the coffee quality, growing in sunny conditions reduces the biodiversity of the coffee plantations. This has led increasing numbers of consumers to value shade grown coffee.

Organic.  Fair trade.  Shade grown. You decide for yourself how important each is to you.

As Lisa and I share a passion for coffee, we’ll be happy to wax poetic on it more later. For now, kick back with a cup of Larry’s Beans or Zoka Coffee or Cafe Altura and enjoy. In a mug.

I have always loved the excitement and fun that surrounds St. Patrick’s Day. The parades, the bagpipes and the green beer put me in a good mood almost instantaneously. However, there is only thing about St. Patty’s that makes me cringe a little: the way I looked donned in spartan green from head to toe. It’s not a pretty.

I’ve decided not to embarrass myself again this year (sorry green sweat suit, it’s been fun) and instead dedicate my daily beauty routine to my favorite “green” and all natural products from Abe’s Market.

1. Coffee:
I can’t start my day without a cup of joe Larry’s! Fair trade, organic coffee that taste delicious and most importantly gets my brain functioning.

2. Smile:
Did you know that our teeth represent the first signs of aging?  If that’s not a reason to keep them pearly white I don’t know what is. But I can certainly think of a reason why Tooth Whitening scares me: Non-food grade Peroxide and harsh chemicals. That’s why I love Lumio Tooth Whitener and Brightner; it’s a natural alternative to teeth whitening. Your teeth will be noticeably whiter within a week without the harsh, nasty chemicals that other whitner’s contain.

3. Wash:
I’m among those unlucky few who still break out years after puberty. It’s something I have never “grown out of” and according to many dermatologist’s I’ll never get rid of it unless I take antibiotics for the rest of my life – thanks but no thanks.  Instead I have opted to control my skin with nutritional soaps and cleansers like Complexion Zen Clarifying Soap by Bunny Butt Apothecary that feeds my skin instead of stripping it. The great thing about this bar is that it has super cleansing powers! It has been activated with all natural willow charcoal. Charcoal has been used since ancient times to cure and heal a variety of skin and health ailments. Yes please!

4. Moisturize:
It’s so important to remember to moisturize every single day even if your skin doesn’t show signs of dryness. If you think of your skin like a flower you can imagine what happens to the pedals if they aren’t given water (moisture) everyday. At first, you wont see any signs but very quickly you will see the pedals wilt, dry-up and die. Yikes.  It’s much easier to keep our skin moist than it is to completely dry-out and repair the damage later. This is why I love Hydroprotective Day Cream by BioSelect. Feels radiant, soothing and refreshing without looking oily. Also, it’s certified Organic and Vegan.

5. Apply, naturally:
Professional makeup artists use the right tools and brushes to give you the flawless look you love. Only problem is some of the commercially made brushes are made of plastic, which is awful for our entire eco-system. That’s why I love the Orglamix Vegan Bamboo 8-piece Makeup Brush set. These brushes are just as beautiful as they are functional; each sustainable bamboo handled brush is handcrafted from top-quality synthetic fibers. This set of 8 essential makeup brushes is specifically designed for use with mineral makeup. Fer-osh!

6. Radiate:
After applying my mineral powder I always finish with a beautiful blush. I love the way the sheer, luminous blush powders by Orglamix look on my skin. The soft-focused color enhances all skin tones by creating that perfect “glow” we are all soughing after.  I also love not having to worry about what my skin is absorbing while wearing Orglamix.

What Orglamix is formulated WITHOUT:

- Parabens

- Sulfates

- Synthetic Fragrances

- Synthetic Dyes

- Petro-Chemicals

- Phthalates

As you can see being a “green” faced beauty is gorgeous for all skin tones. Be happy, beautiful and green today!

Happy St. Patrick’s day!

with style,

Lisa

It was great to wander the aisles of Natural Products Expo West this weekend. Richard and I spent time with some of our current sellers (Nicobella, Eco-Me, Bag the Habit and others), met some soon-to-be Abe’s Market sellers (I’ll keep you in suspense for now), and spoke with some companies that may or may not sell on Abe’s, but they have great products and inspire me. Of the hundreds of companies I spoke with, here are are a few non-Abe’s sellers that stand out for me:

Preserve A pioneer in the natural products world, Preserve makes stylish, high performance, eco-friendly products. Using innovative methods, they turn used materials into razors, colanders, cutting boards, tableware and more. Cool concept. Great design.

Innovative Kids Books, games, puzzles and toys that help parents and kids cut through the clutter that makes up today’s over-marketed toy market.

Wow Baking Company All-natural wheat-free and gluten-free baked goods. These moist and chewy baked goods pack taste that rivals any traditional baked goods. You’d never guess them to be wheat-free and gluten free.

Vermints  All-natural mints from the Green Mountains of Vermont. Taste great. Fresh packaging with fun design. Organic, gluten-free, nut-free and kosher.