March 2009

Mix My Granola: The Review

mix-my-granny12 days after I placed my order, my MixMyGranola.com custom-mixed granola arrived in the mail. I quickly opened the box, revealing a sleek white container emblazoned with the company logo. I had already been impressed by the selection of ingredients on the website (including organic muesli, dried papaya, organic flax seeds, and chocolate espresso beans) and the packaging of the food. Now I just needed to try what was inside.

Read more »

USDA Bans Downer Cows from Food Supply

Good news! After nearly a year of promises, and under apparent pressure from the Obama administration, the USDA has finally instituted a ban on downer cows in the US food supply.

Read more »

The First Garden

Just after the ground was broken on the White House's new, organic garden, the Washington Post quoted obama-gardenMichelle Obama as follows:

Read more »

NY Times on Eating Better Food, Organic or Not

My friend Chris recently pointed me to a terrific NY Times article by Mark Bittman from thnytimes-organicis past weekend. The article talks about the value of eating organic food as well as the numbers of people who are starting to buy and eat "at least some" organic food (30%, according to the article).

Read more »

In Defense of Food, Part 2

pollan-21I just love Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto- I return to it constantly. There are so many great ideas here, so much that inspires and aggravates me. Chapter One, From Foods to Nutrients, is an example of the latter.

Read more »

Organic, Fair Trade Peace Coffee

peacePeace Coffee is a terrific Minneapolis company committed to organic, fair trade beans. Here's what it says on their site:

Read more »

Big Bull Jerky is No Bull

I've made no secret of my love for beef jerky, and I've recently got my hands on a new favorite: Big Bull Brand beef jerky. I found it at my local Kowalski's in South Minneapolis, but you can order it online or visit the Big Bull beef jerky store in St. Paul, MN. Big Bull offers 15 flavors of beef jerky, including Jalapeno Six Pepper, Honey Maple, and "Texican." At $8.92 for 3 ounces, it's not cheap. I tried Big Bull (Teriyaki and Habanero flavors) because its packaging tells me that:

Read more »

Food4Thought.com: Bringing CSAs to Your Doorstep

food4thoughtlogoTony Pavelko, who recently started the Twin Cities company Food4Thought with Gina DiMaggio, recently sent me an email describing the service:

Read more »

Common Roots: Good Food from Scratch

I've been excited to write about Minneapolis' Common Roots Cafe for a while. I love so many things about the place, including their swanky logo, the building facade, the fact that they compost, the vegetarian options, the delectable pastries (from mostly - if not entirely - local, sustainable ingredients), and the fact that they are so involved in the neighborhood. Last week they provided free bagels, muffins, and scones to nearly 50 families at my boy's elementary school. All of the food was locally grown and made.

Read more »

Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

I'm still near the start of Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, and really liking it. It's my first Kingsolver book, so I king-folksdon't have strong feelings about the author either way (most people I know who've read her books do), but I'm really enjoying the way she describes her family moving east to become closer to the land and, more specifically, to the food they eat.

Read more »