End of my organic road

All good things must come to an end. After tonight, I will no longer be posting about organic foods in this Field of Greens blog.

I started posting as an on going project for my online journalism class, The Cat Scan, at the University of Arizona. In a little over two weeks, after four years of assignments and exams, I will be graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and political science.

I have learned a lot by becoming a blogger. Before my post, I really had no idea that organic foods actually have to be certified by the United States Department of Agriculture. Or that all-natural is actually different from organic.

All I knew then was that I liked eating salad. Tonight, I know that green eating goes beyond things that are the color green — there is fair-trade coffee, organic ranch dressing and more.

And there is a number of places to find it. From the isles of your local grocery store, to Aqua Vita Natural Foods, Sunflower Market, Trader Joe's and Wild Oats. Even Target sells a number of organic products.

I even learned last week that Jamba Juice is now using organic granola in some of its smoothies.

As I've learned, I hope you have learned along with me. And continue to learn after me.

Here are some of my green living related articles not in this blog:

• Habitat for Humanity: eco-friendly housing with video
• Hamstra says maintenance is key to reducing energy cost
• Houghton BRAKEmax is Tucson's newest Green Shop with video
  
• Eco-friendly bags on sale but easy to make
  
• Want to save the earth? Yarrow has 1,001 ways
  
• St. Patrick's Day can be greener than just a beer
  
• Farmers markets offer fresher produce, lower costs to shoppers
  
• Prices steer some healthy eaters away from organics
  
• Online organics bring healthy foods to doorsteps

I also compiled a list of food resources that you might find helpful.

My final post does not mark the end of my journalism career. Although I am sure about my future plans, I invite you all to continue reading my work — which is bound to include some green living issues after my enlightening experiences in The Cat Scan.

Visit my personal Web site www.jamieblanchard.com.

Until next time, happy eating.

Raw greens sometimes a waste of green

Almost everything that I eat is cooked in some form.

My steaks need to be practically burnt with absolutely no pink. For my side of vegetables, I like them steamed. And sometimes I even order fried ice cream to top off a meal.

So on Friday, when I set out to incorporate raw foodism — which is a lifestyle that promotes the consumption of mostly uncooked and unprocessed foods — into my diet, my body was surely in for a shock. Raw greens not in salad form can be interesting.

My first venture into unfamiliar territory was a green smoothie from the Shot in the Dark Café, 121 E. Broadway Blvd. I thought about turning back on my adventure of eating raw greens by getting the always delicious orange juice with bananas and strawberries. But I went with cucumbers and sprouts instead.

Let’s say that there was plenty of green left over but it wasn't in my pocket. So after that interesting encounter, I changed my mind. Eating anything raw, not just the greens, would be the new challenge for the day.

When I got home, I decided someone on YouTube had to make something exciting that I could eat on this raw food diet of mine. I thankfully found Raw Allison's recipe for pizza, which is basically all the fixings without crust. Brilliant.



Wild Oats had all the ingredients for the pizza including the unprocessed cheese. But I already had guacamole from Trader Joe's.

I cheated myself for dinner. Instead of trying something new, I decided to simply stick with the challenge at hand by making the most out of the leftover raw pizza. I threw it over some organic baby lettuce from Trader Joe's. And it was delicious.

Throughout the day, I snacked on raw peaches and raw snap peas. And when I was ready to congratulate myself for a job well done, I realized I was also drinking Dr. Pepper so I ended up failing my own assignment.

I'll get 'em next time.

Here's more about going from a standard diet to a raw food diet:



If you're interesting in going raw in Tucson, check out the Tucson Raw Food Meet Up Group for raw food information as well as contacts in the raw food community. And don't miss the Raw Spirit Festival that's happening Sept. 12-14 in Sedona.

Until next time, happy eating.

Green options for your cup

On Sundays, one of my favorite ways to pass the time before the newest Rock of Love episode is to stroll the isles of the nearby Target for things I don't really need. Today the adventure was for a case of Dr. Pepper.

I know — there is nothing organic about high fructose corn syrup. So I also decided to consider healthy beverage to maybe, at least, make me break even in eco karma points.

On the coffee isle, the budget brand Archer Farms offers organic options including a fair trade harvest blend that sits along side a traditional non-organic breakfast blend. Just add a spoonful of organic cane sugar and some organic milk from Wild Oats Market.

Then I moved on to browse the juice isle, where everything any juice conusor could want was within a arms reach. Market Pantry cranberry. Ocean Spray ruby red grapefruit. Welch's grape. Yet nothing organic, nothing all-natural.

Next I moved onto Archer Farms' selections of organic tea. Blueberry, green jasmine and sangria selections on sale for $5.94 (retails regularly for $6.99).

That's about all Target had to offer.

But alas, I decided to buy that case of Dr. Pepper because sometimes you just need an unhealthy dose of high fructose corn syrup. It went well with my fattening potato chips.

And I felt bad about it an hour later. So I decided to Google some organic drink options that I can explore next time I get the urge for anything other than refreshingly bad-for-you Dr. Pepper.

Here are three things I'd be willing to buy:

• Blue Sky Organic Soda: In appealing flavors like lemon lime and root beer, Blue Sky says its sodas have "no artificial color or flavors, no preservatives and, of course, no caffeine."
  

• Shift Organic Energy Drink: It's marketed as a drink that "provides real nutrition and sustainable energy, to help keep you going all day long." Shift is 99% fat-free, with 200 calories per 10-ounce serving, and comes in berry boost, power punch and strawberry banana, so that sounds better than a Slim Fast for sure.
  

• Square One Vodka: Square One Vodka is an eco-chic beverage from 100% American rye. It boosts itself as one of the first alcohols certified by the United States Department of Agriculture. At least you can feel good about your eco contributions while you're getting trashed.

But none have the Vegan Vixens like Steaz Organic Energy.



Unfortunately, they don't make me want to try that one.

Until next time, happy eating.

I should have skipped the Bell to skip the uhh

After spending two days on the couch after an encounter with a Taco Bell cheesy beefy melt that went astray, I decided to take a look at the leading causes of food poisoning.

Right there at the top of the list was everything that organic food supporters have been telling me all semester. Regular grains and vegetables, like the ones in Taco Bell kitchens across the country, come with a ton of hazards from the moment they are farmed with pesticides.

But it could have been the ground beef.

Maybe it was even the cheese.

Or there was something about that rice.

Whatever it was, it knocked me down long enough that I did some serious thinking about what I put in my mouth. Could I have gone organic with that burrito instead of opting for the cheap convenience of fast food? The answer is of course, yes.

For about $1.99, I received attitude from a teenager along with a 570 calorie (I know!) tortilla stuffed with cheese, ground beef, seasoned rice and sour cream with lots of hot sauce. All are ingredients I could find in all-natural or organic packaging from local grocery stores.

Trader Joe's sells reduced fat organic cheese in the block, shredded and string format with about 100 calories per-serving.

Wild Oats sells organic whole wheat tortillas with 130 calories per-serving.

Trader Joe's sells ground beef from grass fed cows with 270 calories per-serving.

Whole Foods sells organic rice with 178 per-serving.

Safeway sells Horizon Organics sour cream with 60 calories per-serving.

And organic salsa is everywhere including Target.

Organic foods are "without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, human waste, or sewage sludge, and that they were processed without ionizing radiation or food additives," according to Wikipedia. That means less is left to chance.

And organic beef comes without antibiotics and growth hormones.

It may have cost a little bit more but having back the weekend that my nephew, Callahan James, was born would be priceless. So the next time I stop for fast food, I'll be thinking about what healthy choices I could be making for myself on both the short and long-term.

And maybe, like the following YouTube poster, I could just grow it on my own once I'm through with the college lifestyle.



Fast food is no stranger to food poisoning by the way. And unfortunately, it's a much more serious kind than what I experienced on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday.



Until next time, happy eating.