My Very Own Organic Vegetable Garden

This is a pretty big deal for me. I've never been one with earth, or even a weekend gardener. I have a potted plant in my bathroom that I rescued from my office I used to work at, (they were going to throw it away because it was no longer "perfect") a fern of some sort that is still living 7 years later (with many near death experiences - I sometimes forget to water it until I see it's wilting).

People who have knowledge about such things and are good at it, mystify me. But I eat organic, and know that fresh produce is so much better - taste wise and also for the environment as it doesn't have been transported via plane, trains and/or automobiles. And then there's my fantasy which goes something like this - I need tomatoes for dinner, and instead of having to run to the grocery store, I just step outside and pick a ripe one off the vine. Being self sufficient and eating the fruits of my labor are great ideals. I like it. Where can I get it?

Oh that's right that means I have to go to Home Depot and pick up a bunch of gardening stuff like organic soil, tools, seeds, and gardening shoes. That's right - gardening while wearing green rubber shoes that even your kid says look funny. And then there's picking weeds for 2 hours in the hot sun.

I sure hope my first attempt at gardening actually grows some vegetables. I planted tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, pumpkin, and onions. Simple veggies for a first time gardener.

Astrid helped me pull weeds, even out the soil, and plant seeds. She was so gung ho about doing everything until I actually let her and each time it wasn't as much fun as she originally thought. "I'm tired. It's hard and there's too much!" Yep. I felt the same way. But it will be so much fun to watch everything grow and a great teaching tool for Astrid.

I'll be so proud if I can feed my family with this garden. Now I just have to remember to water it everyday.

Kidfresh - fun, healthy meals-to-go for kids

"You are what you eat! Kidfresh believes in the importance of children eating natural, wholesome and balanced foods. We offer two great ways to provide your children with nutritionally proportioned, organic foods for every meal of the day. Kidfresh meals appeal to both parents and children alike."

KidFresh
1628 2nd Avenue (betw. 84th & 85th)
New York, NY 10028
www.kidfresh.com

**UPDATE** - Just got an e-mail from Kidfresh that they only make local deliveries in NY, and do not ship meals. Also no word yet on the nutritional content (sodium, sugar, fat). I guess you have to check the label on the package - that is when it's available in Los Angeles. (See below.)

Hi Rose
Thanks for your interest in Kidfresh. We hope to be in California very soon. At the present time, we don't ship our meals at all. We do local deliveries in the NYC market. As far as nutrition is concerned, our meals are developed with the help of leading pediatric nutritionists and are nutrionally balanced for children.
We hope to be able to service LA in the near future.
All the best
Matt

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With my daughter starting preschool soon, this creative idea/product interests me and my husband (as we're both busy, working parents), and we want to ensure that our daughter is eating healthy, organic foods, while still being "fun" in order to compete with and be just as enticing as the junk food other kids may be eating.

Purchases can be made online and shipped to the costumer. They're also rolling out their products in Whole Foods stores (currently at 2 NY locations - Columbus Circle, and Union Square).

The Store

Kidfresh is a store in NYC that provides "fun, healthy, freshly prepared meals-to-go just for kids for every meal of the day – without the junk." The store features a bar specially designed for children where they can customize a Shapewich by picking their favorite shape, select from an array of colorful, organic fruits to blend into a smoothie or even color their cupcakes. It also has it's own ice cream station.

Ready Made Meals
Kidfresh meals are packed with natural and organic ingredients that are high in a variety of nutrients, (with no additives, preservatives, artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners, and transfats). From breakfast to lunchboxes, snacks and dinners, Kidfresh prepares all the meals you need for your children.

Ordering Online

Kidfresh Grab + Go meals & Mix + Match meals

"Kidfresh recognizes that parents lead busy lives. With this in mind, we offer a helping hand to help keep life simple and convenient."

Catering

Kidfresh also offers catering services for your kids' parties. (However, they only service Manhattan at this time.)

Whole Foods

As I mentioned above, Kidfresh products are currently in 2 Whole Foods stores in NY. According to their newsletter, there will be more to come. "Stay tuned for more news regarding Kidfresh's upcoming rollout in other Whole Foods Markets..."

Question

I couldn't find anywhere on the website where it listed the nutritional contents of each. I'm most concerned about the sodium content, as many prepackaged meals are loaded with salt. But I also like to check the labels for sugar, and fat. I e-mailed the company and am waiting for a reply back before I put in my order.

Top 10 Genetically Engineered Food Crops

I found this list on the Healthy Child Healthy World website.

Scary stuff! Especially when I haven't seen ANY fresh organic corn on the cob this year. And we're all worried about what we're feeding our kids.

1. Corn: Our number-one agricultural commodity. In 2000, 79.5 million acres of harvested cropland in the U.S. were corn, 25% of which was genetically engineered. This includes Bt and Roundup Ready corn varieties.

2. Soy: The number-two U.S. agricultural commodity. Sixty percent of processed foods contain soy ingredients, and 82% of edible fats and oils consumed in the U.S. are soy-based. In 2000, 54% of the 74.5 million acres of soybeans grown in the U.S. was Roundup Ready soy.

3. Potato: Currently, the only GE potato is a Burbank Russet variety, marketed under the name NewLeaf. This Bt-producing plant is lethal to the Colorado potato beetle – and possibly to beneficial insects.

4. Tomato: The first GE tomato, the Flavr Savr, was introduced commercially in 1994, but flopped because it proved tasteless. Since then, other varieties, including a cherry tomato, have been genetically engineered to delay ripening and extend shelf life.

5. Canola: Of the 15 million acres of canola grown in the U.S. and Canada annually, 35% is GE, mostly for herbicide-resistance.

6. Cottonseed Oil: In 2000, 61% of the 15.5 million acres of cotton grown in the U.S. was genetically engineered. Every year, half a million tons of cottonseed oil makes its way into salad dressings, baked goods and snack foods. About 1.4 million tons of cottonseed meal is fed to livestock annually.

7. Papaya: More than one third of Hawaiian papayas have been genetically engineered to withstand the papaya ringspot virus. Organic papaya growers in Hawaii worry that the pollen from GE papaya trees will contaminate their crops.

8. Radicchio: Currently one variety of radicchio, called Seed Link, has been genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicide glufosinate.

9. Squash: Several varieties of summer squash have been genetically engineered to resist mosaic viruses. Some scientists are concerned that resistance to the virus may spread to weedy relatives, such as gourds, found in the U.S., creating invasive superweeds.

10. Salmon: A company called Aqua Bounty has engineered a salmon with genes from two different fish species so that it grows much more quickly than non-GE salmon. The company now seeks FDA approval to market this fish for human consumption. Escaped into the environment, (which is inevitable on fish farms), the GE fish may be larger and more aggressive, eat more food, and mate more often, though their offspring are less fit to survive in the wild, raising the possibility of wild species extinction. Human health effects are also relatively unknown. Currently, research on transgenic strains of 35 fish species world-wide is underway.

The Real Dirt On Farmer John

This documentary looks really interesting. Watch the movie trailer. It looks like a beautiful documentary.

What it's about
"It's the story about farmer John Peterson's astonishing journey from farm boy to counter-culture rebel to the son who almost lost the family farm to a beacon of today’s booming organic farming movement. The result is a tale that ebbs and flows with the fortunes of the soil and revealingly mirrors the changing American times."

How it was made
"THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN is directed by Taggart Siegel, who made the film in a most unusual way – shooting farmer John Peterson over 25-years of their evolving friendship, and using multiple media, from Super8 home movies to modern video -- allowing him to capture his alternately humorous, heartbreaking and spirited life with raw drama and intimacy."

Kudos
Winner of over 30 film festivals.

"This lovingly handmade, grassroots epic has garnered fans even in the corridors of power, with former Vice President Al Gore calling it “unbelievably special,” celebrity chef Alice Waters declaring it “a charming, wonderful and important movie” and master documentarian Albert Maysles describing the film as “genuinely beautiful . . . a cause for hope.” "