One of my favorite companies is Equal Exchange.  Their coffee is superb*, their mission is amazing.  Since 1986, Equal Exchange has taken on the mission of creating a world where farmers are getting paid fairly for their work, farm families are able to support themselves financially, and sustainable farming methods are used to insure a healthy farming society, a healthy planet, and a healthy us!

Their products are more than coffee.  They have teas, chocolates, nuts and berries, and another favorite of mine: cocoa.  In fact, Marc and I are decking the halls tonight with Equal Exchange hot chocolate in our hands!  Yum!

So why, you ask of me, am I raving about Equal Exchange?

Equal Exchange is an awesome gift for the holidays. AND they have a great deal on a holiday gift basket until December 15th!**

Now, my families do not give presents for Christmas.  Not because we’re Jewish.  Not because we are holier-than-thou and snub the holiday.  In part because we decided to peel away the stress of what holiday gift-giving had become, and in part because nearly half of the people in my families have lost their jobs and been out of work for longer than a year.

Regardless, I like to bring coffee beans and treats with me for holiday fun.  Everyone gets to enjoy treats and company.

I always preach that no matter if you are struggling with money, or floating in money, each dollar you spend is a vote, each penny is a reflection of what you care about or disregard.  Coffee and chocolate are always two areas I feel guilty if I do not buy fair trade and sustainably grown.

The Equal Exchange holiday gift basket has all of these yummies in an awesome grass basket from Ten Thousand Villages:

• Organic French Roast Coffee – 10oz, drip grind
• Organic Hot Cocoa Mix – 12oz
• Organic Very Dark Chocolate – 3.5oz bar
• Organic Dark Chocolate with Almonds – 3.5oz bar
• Organic Milk Chocolate with a Hint of Hazelnut – 3.5oz bar
• Organic Tamari Roasted Almonds – 5oz
• Roasted Salted Pecans – 5oz

Hurry though.  Seriously, December 15th.  Twelve days.  Less than two weeks to order, which you need to be getting all the shopping you are going to do anyhow.  Trust me, remembering you do, indeed, need to buy something for someone and rushing out a couple days before Christmas is the perfect recipe to buying stuff from China that you do not even feel good about giving because it is a cheap, thoughtless crap.

The site has lots of other cool gifts and items as well, each with a full description and pic. 

Cheers to each of you, your holidays season, your family, great ethical companies, and a belly of yummy Equal Exchange!***

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

PS.  This cool company also offers educational materials to help you and your kids’ school groups share awareness that each penny we spend, each sip we take, each bite we enjoy, impacts many others than us.  How cool?!

*In case you’ve never read this blog, I have a bit of a coffee addiction.  I’ll even drink Maxwell House instant if I must… yck… of course, only if it is my only option for a long time to come, a situation which I try to avoid putting myself in.

***Sorry I sound like an advertisement recently.  I figure, for Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, birthdays or whatever, we all do give gifts out of love… and I can promote ethical, loving companies as where each of our dollars goes.  Cheers!

A little while back, Earth Fare asked if I wanted to give a $50 Earth Fare gift card to one lucky (Green)Grounded reader.  With a landslide of holidays coming, a $50 gift card is exactly the stimulus package we each could use!

A happy Earth Fare gift card, valued at $50, is waiting for your happy, warm wallet.  I would love for each of us (myself included) to receive one, but only one winner for this giveaway.

So how do you win?

1.)  Leave a comment with your favorite tip for living green in a grounded way.  You know… how do you live a little greener without feeling a tremendous pinch?  A tip that perhaps someone else could use as they and their families are heading into this holiday season.

Me?  I started buying hand soap in the refill pouches and bottles instead of always getting the pretty little container to go by the sink.  Now I just refill the cute soap bottle and keep the giant refill stash under the sink.  Less packaging is a great thing, plus it saves me money!

2.)  Want a second way to enter?  Twitter fans have the advantage here.  All you have to do is tweet this (or something similar):

Living greener & tastier is easy with a $50 @EarthFare gift card giveaway via @AshleySue at http://idek.net/eQa!

Then, come back and leave a second comment with your Twitter @ handle.

One comment on being green = one chance.

One comment on being green + one separate comment about your tweet (with @yourname) = two chances.

I cannot wait to hear all the different ways you live greener and more grounded!

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

(Contest runs Tuesday, 10th November 2009 at 930 A.M. EST until Monday, 16th November 2009 at 7 P.M. EST. Winner will be selected on Monday, 16th November 2009 at 7 P.M. EST.  Winner will be contacted via email.  Once winner acknowledges winning and replies with physical address, gift card will be sent via USPS.  Winning comment number will be selected via Random.org.

Also, many of your comments may be held for moderation.  Do not worry, I will daily approve comments, so they will appear within 24 hours, and in the order received.  Thank you for your patience as I fight spammers.)

Not literal rockstars, but Larry’s Beans Coffee is pretty close to stardom, and they are a crown jewel in the Triangle’s hip and green market.  Yesterday,  I noticed a full-time job opening at Larry’s Beans as an Account Manager.

Larry’s Beans coffee is organic, fair trade, kosher and a plethora of other fantastic certifications.  The beans are roasted here, they have a cool bus, and their coffee is as awesome tasting as their names are fantastically whimsical. Seriously, who can pass up a cup of “El Salvador Dali”, “Bean Martin”, “Frank Sumatra”, or my favorites, the “3 Moon Peru” and their holiday blends.

These coffee addicts and self-proclaimed fair trade mavericks are one of my favorite coffee brands, period.  Add to that their sustainability school, and you can see why I love this company.

By now you should be sold on why this company would be great to work with, but just in case, look at the awesome Rock Star characters you would work with in this small, kickbutt company.

So, if you feel like you could get stoked to be a full-time ambassador of fair trade, sustainable company ethic and coffee, click here to get a better look at the job and how to apply.

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has a hunting trip planned for first-time and beginning women hunters.

Ten women will spend two days (October 23 and 24) in North Hampton County.  $135 includes your food, lodging, and an experienced guide to help you get used to hunting, all while building possible friendships with other women exploring the arena also.

If you are not familiar with hunters at all, you may be surprised by the women in the field.  They are not 230 lbs. women with bad perms and a love of roadkill.  I learned from my NC Hunter Safety Training Course that in hunting, stereotypes need NOT apply.  Just check out these women hunters.

More women hunting resources:

• Women Hunters
• Hunting Magazine for Women: The Woman Hunter
• Camp Wild Girls
• Shoot Like A Girl
• Prois Hunting: Take Pride in NOT being one of the guys
• Women’s Outdoor News

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

While visiting my family last week, my Dad chimed in to ask, “Did you know that organic vegetables and fruits are not any more nutritious than conventional produce?”  He asked with all sincerity and not at all in a sense of trying to prove something over on me.

“I have heard that, in fact,” I replied.

“I had no idea.  I was really surprised to hear that,” Dad said incredulously.

I took our conversation a step further and explained to him that while organic produce may not offer more vitamins and nutrients so much as I am appalled by the levels of toxins I must consume with my nutrients when I purchase conventional products.  While I may not gain extra antiobiotics from organic vegetables and berries, I prefer to bypass the pesticides and residues left on conventional goods.  Pesticides and residues that indisputably hinder, and even destroy, my health (and even my unborn children’s).

Seems that the study my Dad referred to is quite the topic of conversation currently.  It also seems that I am not alone in choosing organic (when I can afford to) for the reason I do.  Maryanne Conlin posted a link from her twitter page (@mcmilker):  Phil Lembert of The Supermarket Guru explains what organic means to shoppers in today’s post.  The post also explains (last line) why I cannot always buy organic despite my beliefs, values, and preferences.

How about you?  Where do you stand with organic versus conventional produce?  What do you only buy organic, or what do you feel you can bypass for the cheaper conventional version?

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

As a vegetarian/vegan of over a decade, taking a hunting safety education course and trying deer meat were not things I saw myself doing.

Yet here I am.

For background, you should know that I have not eaten land animals in any capacity since 1996.  Oh, except an episode of pepperoni under pizza cheese at my friend Mary’s 21st birthday.  One bite into the slice and vomiting shortly commenced.

I largely gave up seafood, the love of my life, in 2003 upon reading Howard Lyman’s Mad Cowboy.  This book propelled me into strict veganism for two years until I ate a cheese cube at a baby shower.  I have struggled to return to strict veganism since.

I also have to let you know, as background, that Marc comes from a hunting family.  The woods have always been Marc’s Dad’s sanctuary, and his connection with the food he feeds his family is one of deep understanding and respect.  Marc announced two years ago that he wanted to join his father in the woods and give hunting a shot (pun possibly intended).  This, you may have guessed, horrified me, concerned me, and best put, simply baffled me.

Fast forward to now.  I see how much Marc, who has always adored nature and wildlife, feels more connected with the natural environment.  I see how much more Marc connects with nature now.  From the trees and soil that nourish the land, to the deer that navigate the land to raise their fawns, to the way the sunlight falls through the leaves onto the forest floor, Marc has become a nature detective.  I also see how deeply bejiggity he gets when he is not regularly able to spend time on the land.

He also profoundly appreciates food more now than he ever had before.  He knows how food gets to his plate, as he is a part of that process.  From studying life, to deciding whether to “harvest” the animal (standard lingo, not his words), to actively dressing and preparing the animal and its meat for consumption, Marc sees, and is, the process.

Do I understand any of this?  No.  I do see, however, that hunting is not the barbaric, ignorant, cruel, animal-hating, big-man-with-a-big-gun act of uneducated backwoods folk I once regarded it as.  Granted, a few hunters certainly fit that stereotype, but a few vigilante veganazis (my word choice) disgrace us all and leave people like myself to fight stereotypes of the paint-throwing, screaming, sometimes-hypocritical, always-self righteous, animals-mean-more-to-me-than-any-humans freak.  Does every label not have a few extremists?

A couple weeks ago, Marc cooked some of his deer for a couple of our dear friends, a married couple.  In actuality, being that one of those friends is a land-animal vegetarian of 16 years, Marc cooked the deer for the husband and himself.  I made made roasted bell peppers, wild rice, and asparagus for all of us.

The wife had always been curious of Marc’s deer meat, however, and decided to try it.  I had never been curious, but decided I would try it as well.  Why would I also not try Marc’s deer?  I consider deer hunting to be a sustainable food source, I know how and where the meat comes from, and I am embarking on a “project” regarding the sustainability perspectives of hunters.

The deer was good, I am sure.  To me, it was simply odd.

Not bad.  Meaty.  Warm — not in actual heat but in some otherwise indescribable this-is-an-organ kind of warmth.  For someone who does not desire meat, the one bite sufficed.  If you enjoy that warm, soft, meaty taste in a shredded barbecue texture, you will probably love it.  It reminded me, as someone who has only vague memories of most meats, of my mother’s pot roast from childhood.  I was never a fan of pot roast.

On the contrary, one bite did not suffice the wife, as she broke away from her 16-year-abstinence and had a plate full of deer.  She had loved pot roast as a child.

Anyhow, keep updated.  The point of this background story and recent anecdote is:

1. Unlike what some “friends” have claimed, I am honest about what I do, and do not, eat.  What I choose to eat or not, and when I choose to or not, is my decision.  I have zero to hide.
2. I was inspired in Spring for a research project… After 13 years studying why to “go veg”, I am taking in all the information about hunting I can, and I will be sharing my findings with you along the way.  This includes taking an upcoming hunting safety education course with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

This, I have a feeling, is going to be an interesting winter for me…

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

Funny to think that a few years ago, Marc and I regularly gorged ourselves on spray-cheese-in-a-can and prepackaged dinner packs, but the more we learned about how food effects us and our environments, our food philosophy changed dramatically.  Now grocers such as Earth Fare and Whole Foods are in on their own food philosophies.

Marc and I spend seemingly exorbitant amounts of money on our food in comparison to our days eating dry, crumbly, cheap ingredient foods out of boxes, but now we eat not only for today but for a long, healthy life.  I knew with the weight-gaining of the last decade – and by looking at my family – the health problems I have lurking ahead if I do not eat better now.  Further, I really hope to have a child one day.  I have to consider more than what I food habits I want to share with that child, but I also have to consider what I consume today that affects my health and fertility and can affect my (albeit hypothetical) fetus.

I happily began supporting (more…)

Without dramatics or great elaboration, here is a list of common ingredients in foods that I work hard to avoid.  I would love to hear what ingredients you choose to avoid and why.

• A huge “duh”: High Fructose Corn Syrup, despite their fluffy (ridiculous) ad campaign
• Should be a huge “duh”: Corn Syrup, period
• Monosodium Glutamate, aka MSG
• Aspartame
• Propyl Gallate, which prevents fats from going rancid in food and cosmetics
• Propylene Glycol, which I found in my cosmetics, antifreeze, and shredded coconut
• Acesulfame K, aka “Sweet One”
• Food Colorings, such as FD&C anything
• Olestra
• Potassium Bromate (see here also regarding iodine deficiency…your bread is a culprit!)
• Sodium Chloride, aka “table salt”
• Sulfites (very hard, as they are in most beers and wines, but can cause asthma attacks, rashes, headaches, etc)
• Non-organic Corn (likely genetically modified, which concerns me because of this, this and this)
• Non-organic Berries, Grapes, Apples, Leafy Greens
• Meats (for Marc) with Sodium Nitrites or Nitrates, Butylated Hydroxy anything (BHA or BHT)

These can be very tricky to avoid, and I have learned not to take anything for granted.  Now I read every label, and you might be shocked to realize what “healthy”-marketed brands have completely horrific ingredients.

Any food ingredients I need to avoid that I missed?

Always do your own research.  Know what your ingredient list is.  Decide for yourself how you feel.  Plus, be warned that finding credible third-party information from peer-reviewed scholastic independent journals can be incredibly hard to find.  Do not rely on any information supplied by branches of the government, pharmaceutical companies, or food processors… as they have obvious ties and financial interests in securing you to believe what they want you to believe.  In fact, with every single study you find, you have to find out not only who conducted the study, but who paid for that study.  Like the “high fructose corn syrup is made with corn, so it’s good for you” ads: provided by the Corn Refiners Association of America.  That said, please do not rely on scare-tactic emails and Wikipedia as your sources either.

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

Quick updates:

At the beginning of next week, I should be posting a contest to win a $50 Earth Fare gift card! Yay! Who doesn’t adore Earth Fare’s delectable, healthy, conscientious grocer selection and body care?! I know I have been thrilled to familiarize myself with Earth Fare! So keep an eye out for that NEXT WEEK!

Until then, for today (Friday, 26 June 2009), you can print out this coupon to visit your local Earth Fare and receive a FREE PRE-MADE DELI SANDWICH! I personally am excited for the coupon, so feel free to bump into me at Earth Fare!

Also, I attended the third annual Mountain Green Conference at Warren Wilson College ~ and I have a true plethora of information to share. From sealing your thermal envelope of your house, reducing air leaks and drafts, greener automechanics, building science, owls, local foods, beekeeping, the groundbreaking historic measures of WWC, NASCAR, and some generally nifty (albeit common sense) knowledge, posts are coming!

Bonus: posts of my Pisgah National Forest retreat will be coming too!

Lastly, HUGELY, I will spend part of this weekend and next week doing a MASSIVE overhaul of this website layout.  I have a lot of issues with the functionality and aesthetics of this theme, so I will be designing a CSS to make it better suited for (g)g and my purposes.  So get excited about that ~ I am!  This is LONG overdue change!

Hoorah!

Cheers to you all ~
See you at Earth Fare today!

Sustainably yours,
Ashley Sue

The list of companies claiming natural and green efforts grows every day, and often, unfortunately, these companies have little to offer.  Two national companies, however, showing progress in their sustainability practices are Reynolds and Kerr Drug.

What do these two companies have to offer?

Reynolds finally caught on to recycled foil.  For an Earth Day promotion, they gave away coupons for a free roll of their 100% recycled aluminum foil.  I am partly excited by this because I do think Reynolds foil is often better quality than many off-brand foils.  Plus, Aluminum, which can be recycled countless times, is a great way to practice your Rs.  When you finish with using foil, you can recycle it or reuse it yourself.  No matter what, make sure you clean off the foil.  Any foil with residual grease and oil cannot be used by recycling facilities, and you certainly do not want to reuse sticky foil.

Kerr Drug, which I never thought I would be giving thumbs-up, sent a “Naturally Kerr” flier in the mail this week.  Claiming to carry “over 3,000 natural and organic products for a healthy lifestyle”, I opened the paper and gave it a look.

Honestly, I was thrilled to see how many legit products they stock.  From organic groceries such as sugar, Late July brand crackers, FEED granola, JASON and Avalon Organics toiletries, natracare tampons and organic cotton pads, Seventh Generation products, Amy’s Organics, gluten-free foods, vegan foods, and even Pirate’s Booty snacks (I wonder if they carry Tings), Naturally Kerr by Kerr Drug is setting a standard for what a chain pharmacy/store can provide for their communities.  Who knows where this chain can go and where they are headed!

If you have not noticed, I rarely give chains a shout-out, so this post is a big deal for me.  Naturally Kerr, which is located at Harvest Plaza, 9650 Strickland Road, Suite 105, Raleigh, and 1124 Patton Ave. in Asheville, even had an Earth Day celebration today.  They gave away free reusable tote bags filled with natural and organic goodies.  The store also had drawings for a free mountain bike, as well as gift certificates to my absolute favorite Raleigh restaurant Irregardless Cafe and Flying Biscuit (never been).  I love the local aspect of this.

So, Kerr and Reynolds, cheers.  Keep up the amazing progress and set even higher standards.  Ready, set, go!

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue