Tonight I enjoyed a tasty salad of mixed greens and radishes from a local farm. I added walnuts, Morningstar Farms Chik'N Strips Meal Starters, and Amy's Goddess dressing. Easy and tasty = my kind of dinner. Sadly this is the first time I've had fresh veggies in over a week. I'm starting to get lazy on the whole fresh fruit and veg thing. Luckily, I planned ahead for this: I joined a CSA last month! Now I get a box of fresh, local vegetables every week. I also get pasture-fed eggs (which are amazing...I could devote a whole post to them).
For those of you who don't know what a CSA is (p.s. I didn't either until 3 months ago), it is basically an agreement you make with a local farm to financially support their farming and they provide you an allottment of fresh produce. My farm is in Hillsborough. For the next 4-5 months, I pick up a box of veggies and a dozen eggs every Thursday. I got my sister, Ashley, to join with me so that we could reap the benefits at a lower cost - I just cook for myself and my boyfriend 1-2 times a week so I didn't think I'd use the whole box. So far it's working out really well. It's also fun figure out how to make foods I might not normally eat -it forces you to go outside of your routine. I actually had to look up several of the greens to find out what they were. Tomorrow I'm trying lambs quarter for the first time - it's supposed to be even better for you than spinach! Here's to hoping it tastes as good...
If you're interested in getting your own weekly produce, you can probably find one close to you just by googling "CSA near _______ (your town, state)." I found this one just surfing the internet and per both a co-worker's and friend's recommendation. The CSA's usually deliver to pick-up locations. If you don't have time for that, my co-worker Kimberly found an online service that delivers straight to her house at www.theproducebox.com. I also know the owner of www.bellabeanorganics.com that is similar, delivering to Durham, Chapel Hill, and Carrboro.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
What about pet food? Kittens love organic too!
Last October I found a 1-week-old kitten behind Chubby's Tacos in Raleigh, NC. I had no idea how much care she would need and how low her chance of survival would be. But survive she did - with the help of my supportive boyfriend, my sister, the entire staff at my vet, and Kim, an extremely dedicated veterinary tech who cared for her round the clock in those first few weeks when I couldn't. The little kitten is now 7 months old. Her name is Moneypenny. She is small for her age but full of spunk and she loves her brother, 007 (who is my 5 year old tuxedo cat).
007 is grateful to Moneypenny for introducing a daily breakfast of wet cat food. I have always been an advocate of dry food because of the dental benefits and easy storage, but Money has had a difficult time transitioning. Initially she had to be bottle fed with kitten formula (yes it does exist). Then you gradually wean them to wet cat food by mixing it with the formula. I was finally able to get her down to a morning feeding but I didn't have the heart to stop because she is so earnest-looking in the mornings. Also, because she has been small, I haven't wanted to compromise her growth by giving her only dry food and just hoping she eats enough. And, of course I had to give 007 at least a little wet food or he might start getting uber-jealous. So here I am, 7 months down the road, and I now feed my cats wet food every morning. What can I say? I told you I'm a sucker for animals.
This whole industrial farming issue expands beyond my personal diet. Pet food contains all sorts of animal products. The ingredients label is very unclear about what all of it is. I started doing online research about cats and what to feed them. I already knew that the kitties couldn't become vegetarian but maybe there are healthier, sustainable ways to feed them. In the extreme, some people would argue that cats should have a diet of raw meat with no filler grains or anything like that. There are recipes for grinding up your own cat food and some companies that you can buy from online. I considered these options but the hassle and cost were just too much. Plus, I worry about whether a home-made food would really have the right composition of nutrients, vitamins/minerals...not to mention the potential bacteria concerns with raw meats. I'm sure it works great for some people but not for me.
So how could I improve my pets' diet without breaking the bank and/or stocking my freezer with ground up chicken legs? To start, I am big on using a trusted brand for my pet food, especially after the whole China scare with contaminated pet foods. I like Purina, Iams, Science Diet. So I started looking at the packaging really closely. After all my researching, I have decided that organic meat is really the best I can strive for. While you don't have a humane certification for animal treatment, you do know that the living conditions have to be better to not allow antibiotics. Also, I have been choosing more fish ingredients than chicken or beef. I realize that the fishing industry has its own contaminants and issues, but in sticking to my main goal to improve treatment of traditional farm animals, reducing consumption of those products is a step in the right direction.
Dry Food: I have always used Purina One -it's not perfect but I think it's pretty good compared to other options. I have literally looked at every dry cat food in grocery stores, Wal-mart, Target, Pet Smart...none of them were ideal. None are organic, to say the least. I did buy some organic dry food at the local co-op, Weaver Street Market. It's called Wellness Kitten Health Cat Food and I got 2.5lbs for $9.99 on sale. The cats didn't seem to have a preference. I am still on Purina One, which is substantially cheaper 7lbs for $9.99 on sale -I've gotten it for as little as $7.99 with a coupon. It's not organic but that's just not a step I can take right now. It is, however, lower in animal by-products than other brands, which is supposed to be better for your pet.
Wet Food: I generally buy Fancy Feast (which is a Purina brand) and Iams 3oz cans. I am buying primarily fish flavors for the reasons I mentioned above. Today, I fed the kitties organic food by a company called PetGuard. (They make non-organic pet foods too, fyi.) I actually put 1/2 their normal food and 1/2 the new organic food. Guess which one got eaten first? The organic! I wasn't surprised because I noticed that this food was the first wet cat food I had ever opened that smelled good - kind of like chicken soup or something. My plan for now is to see if I can switch them to this food. I found 12.7 oz cans on sale for $2.59/ea, normal price was $3.59 but that's actually pretty reasonable if you can get it on sale. This is one of the best prices I've seen for all the online options. I usually spend $0.50-0.59 on a 3oz can. The organic food on sale is $0.61 per 3oz which is doable for my budget. Moneypenny is watching me type with approval even as I write this. I think I found a winner. :)
007 is grateful to Moneypenny for introducing a daily breakfast of wet cat food. I have always been an advocate of dry food because of the dental benefits and easy storage, but Money has had a difficult time transitioning. Initially she had to be bottle fed with kitten formula (yes it does exist). Then you gradually wean them to wet cat food by mixing it with the formula. I was finally able to get her down to a morning feeding but I didn't have the heart to stop because she is so earnest-looking in the mornings. Also, because she has been small, I haven't wanted to compromise her growth by giving her only dry food and just hoping she eats enough. And, of course I had to give 007 at least a little wet food or he might start getting uber-jealous. So here I am, 7 months down the road, and I now feed my cats wet food every morning. What can I say? I told you I'm a sucker for animals.
This whole industrial farming issue expands beyond my personal diet. Pet food contains all sorts of animal products. The ingredients label is very unclear about what all of it is. I started doing online research about cats and what to feed them. I already knew that the kitties couldn't become vegetarian but maybe there are healthier, sustainable ways to feed them. In the extreme, some people would argue that cats should have a diet of raw meat with no filler grains or anything like that. There are recipes for grinding up your own cat food and some companies that you can buy from online. I considered these options but the hassle and cost were just too much. Plus, I worry about whether a home-made food would really have the right composition of nutrients, vitamins/minerals...not to mention the potential bacteria concerns with raw meats. I'm sure it works great for some people but not for me.
So how could I improve my pets' diet without breaking the bank and/or stocking my freezer with ground up chicken legs? To start, I am big on using a trusted brand for my pet food, especially after the whole China scare with contaminated pet foods. I like Purina, Iams, Science Diet. So I started looking at the packaging really closely. After all my researching, I have decided that organic meat is really the best I can strive for. While you don't have a humane certification for animal treatment, you do know that the living conditions have to be better to not allow antibiotics. Also, I have been choosing more fish ingredients than chicken or beef. I realize that the fishing industry has its own contaminants and issues, but in sticking to my main goal to improve treatment of traditional farm animals, reducing consumption of those products is a step in the right direction.
Dry Food: I have always used Purina One -it's not perfect but I think it's pretty good compared to other options. I have literally looked at every dry cat food in grocery stores, Wal-mart, Target, Pet Smart...none of them were ideal. None are organic, to say the least. I did buy some organic dry food at the local co-op, Weaver Street Market. It's called Wellness Kitten Health Cat Food and I got 2.5lbs for $9.99 on sale. The cats didn't seem to have a preference. I am still on Purina One, which is substantially cheaper 7lbs for $9.99 on sale -I've gotten it for as little as $7.99 with a coupon. It's not organic but that's just not a step I can take right now. It is, however, lower in animal by-products than other brands, which is supposed to be better for your pet.
Wet Food: I generally buy Fancy Feast (which is a Purina brand) and Iams 3oz cans. I am buying primarily fish flavors for the reasons I mentioned above. Today, I fed the kitties organic food by a company called PetGuard. (They make non-organic pet foods too, fyi.) I actually put 1/2 their normal food and 1/2 the new organic food. Guess which one got eaten first? The organic! I wasn't surprised because I noticed that this food was the first wet cat food I had ever opened that smelled good - kind of like chicken soup or something. My plan for now is to see if I can switch them to this food. I found 12.7 oz cans on sale for $2.59/ea, normal price was $3.59 but that's actually pretty reasonable if you can get it on sale. This is one of the best prices I've seen for all the online options. I usually spend $0.50-0.59 on a 3oz can. The organic food on sale is $0.61 per 3oz which is doable for my budget. Moneypenny is watching me type with approval even as I write this. I think I found a winner. :)
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