Review: Iloves Organic Divina Pitted Green Olives

This post is LONG overdue. My friend Heidi brought us a goody bag years ago that included two jars of Organic Divina olives. First of all, I love olives. Second of all, I love filthy dirty martinis, which are only as good as the olive juice. 

I've had olives of every size, shape, origin and color, and firm mild green ones are a favorite. 

These Organic Divina olives are in a class by themselves. Firm-fleshed, not too salty, sort of buttery, mild and flavorful. Seriously, simply the perfect green olive marinating in barely cloudy juice that begs for top-tier vodka. 

They are grown in Northern Greece, where they are cultivated organically--no pesticides, coloring or additives. 

I set out to buy them and had to get them on Vitacost. They are not inexpensive at $4.59 a 10.2-oz jar, but worth it and if you buy 11 jars, shipping is free (haha!). 

Olives are full of good fat and delicious flavor, which makes them a great snack. Hope you get to try them and leave me your thoughts! 

Formula for Thought

Today, I was making bottles for my 10-month-old and discovered to my horror that we didn't have any more cans of formula. First of all, you're probably thinking, why is this "green mama" not breast-feeding (with indignation!)? Well, I did until at 8 months, I just couldn't do it anymore. I was happy to have made it that far and really enjoyed the bonding.

As you would expect, I researched formula ad nauseum and finally settled on Bright Beginnings Organic Milk-Based Infant Formula. I think I've written about this before. It's made by PBM, which also makes formula for WalMart called Parent's Choice (in standard milk, soy and organic milk variations, among others). I really only know all this because today I had to choose something other than Bright Beginnings, which is not carried anywhere local. Argh. I always order it a case at a time online at Diapers.com. Not that a case is any cheaper than six individual cans. But I digress.

Anyway, in my panic to come up with a suitable alternative for a couple of days until the case arrives, I turned to Google. I discovered that Parent's Choice Organic Formula and the Vermont Organics Formula are very similar to Bright Beginnings and the website said you could get it at WalMart. I headed out in a hurry.

Of course, they did not have any Organic variety of PBM formula. They did have Similac Organic, but I've read many posts suggesting that this is very sweet and that it's not well tolerated--did I want to risk it? I stood at the shelves for probably 15 minutes, reading labels and looking at the prices. Do you know that non-organic formula is only $11 a can at WalMart? I'm paying $24 and change, same as the Similac Organic. In this day and age, can you blame families for forgoing organics, when the surcharge is more than double? This is a budget item that in one month, for one baby, is about $55 versus $150? RIDICULOUS.

If WalMart at least carried the organic variety in their store, there would be something moderately priced for budget-minded people to consider! Somebody write a memo.

Anyway, I ended up getting Parent's Choice Immune Support, as a one-time backup for $13. Hopefully, it won't make him gassy or miserable or anything. The Bright Beginnings ordered online today (a Sunday) will be here on Tuesday with free shipping. I think we can make it.

Something called "Ranch" ought to be natural

Holy smokes another two weeks has passed me by. We've been busy entertaining friends for Hersheypark outings and have family coming this weekend to celebrate my son's birthday (4th). So I was grocery shopping today in an effort to be an organized and prepared hostess. Ha.

Anyway, I wanted to get some ranch salad dressing, which is always a favorite. I used to buy Hidden Valley Organic Ranch Dressing but I can't find that anymore. According to their website, they still make it, so my Giant must not carry it. (They also discontinued Welch's Organic Grape Juice, which was stupidly positioned in the regular juice aisle instead of the organic aisle. Shame, it is bursting with juicy goodness, so much so that I have to dilute it. But I digress...)

So I started picking up every bottle of Ranch dressing on the shelves and, lo and behold, every single one had MSG in it, even Ken's "Healthy Options" Ranch, which I find really misleading. There was no Newman's Own Ranch anywhere, which is another good option. Wishbone and Kraft and all those mainstream brands all had MSG, among other lousy ingredients in them. I bought Nature's Promise Organic Ranch Dressing. I can't find any product info online, but it seems to be MSG-free and generally all ingredients you know and love. One word of caution with the Nature's Promise items (and organic items in general, especially if you live somewhere this "trend" isn't hot): Always check the expiration date. One time, I bought NP Caesar dressing that was a year old and didn't realize it. Not cool.

While I'm on my soapbox about discontinued organic/natural items at Giant, I also could not find the Organic Savory Herb Stuffing Mix from Arrowhead Mills. This stuff is delicious, plus it made my cheesy squash casserole SO much better than bread crumbs. I'm going to have to get over to Wegman's and see if they have a better selection, or maybe try the Giant in Camp Hill, which seems to be better stocked with organic-leaning items.

If anyone wants the casserole recipe, let me know. It's basically zucchini or summer squash (which we have now in overabundance), milk, eggs, cheese, onion, butter and stuffing (my way, anyway). It's super quick to throw together and really yummy. And you can modify (skip butter, use skim milk and lowfat cheese) to be healthier.

Eco-fabulous skincare straight from...Iowa?

I don't remember where I bumped into this brand, but I immediately liked Aguacate & Co.'s branding and the sensibility. So I checked it out and it seems to be the real deal in terms of safe ingredients. Most products are Certified Vegan (honestly didn't know there was such a thing, but now I do). As a company, they are approved by Green America, are a member of the Organic Trade Association, are a signer of the Compact for Safe Cosmetics and participate in 1% for the Planet.

Billed as "premium skin care with organic ingredients," Aguacate offers cleansers, exfoliators, toners, moisturizers, replenishers, gifts sets and -- best of all -- trial sizes. I've been to the site a few times and they are frequently sold out of the trial sizes, though.

You can buy it online at the company site, or a handful of other eco sites. If you happen to be in San Diego you can shop for it at The Hidden Spa. Or if you find yourself in Fairfield, Iowa, stop by the At Home Store.

There's not much in their About Us section, but a little research shows that the company has been around since 2007. It's hard to confirm, but I'm fairly sure they are Iowa-based. In case you're wondering, aguacate means avocado in Spanish, which references the line's key ingredient, avocado oil.

Where do you draw the line?

Organic produce is not always a must. I trust this guide from Environmental Working Group to decide what to buy organic and when I can get by with conventional. (I'd draw the line at #20 in an ideal world.)

EWG's Full List: 44 Fruits & Veggies and their pesticide load

RANK / FRUIT OR VEGGIE (SCORE)

1. Peaches (100 -- highest pesticide load)
2. Apples (96)
3. Sweet Bell Peppers (86)
4. Celery (85)
5. Nectarines (84)
6. Strawberries (83)
7. Cherries (75)
8. Lettuce (69)
9. Grapes - Imported (68)
10. Pears (65)
11. Spinach (60)
12. Potatoes (58)
13. Carrots (57)
14. Green Beans (55)
15. Hot Peppers (53)
16. Cucumbers (52)
17. Raspberries (47)
18. Plums (46)
19. Oranges (46)
20. Grapes-Domestic (46)
21. Cauliflower (39)
22. Tangerine (38)
23. Mushrooms (37)
24. Cantaloupe (34)
25. Lemon (31)
26. Honeydew Melon (31)
27. Grapefruit (31)
28. Winter Squash (31)
29. Tomatoes (30)
30. Sweet Potatoes (30)
31. Watermelon (25)
32. Blueberries (24)
33. Papaya (21)
34. Eggplant (19)
35. Broccoli (18)
36. Cabbage (17)
37. Bananas (16)
38. Kiwi (14)
39. Asparagus (11)
40. Sweet Peas-Frozen (11)
41. Mango (9)
42. Pineapples (7)
43. Sweet Corn-Frozen (2)
44. Avocado (1)
45. Onions (1 lowest pesticide load)

I have an organic beef

My Costco used to sell delicious organic ground beef in three convenient, freezable one-pound vac-pacs. When I couldn't find it on my last trip, I inquired. Apparently it sold so well as a pilot item that they planned full distribution. Only problem--sufficient supply was not available for the whole chain, so only "top stores" were now getting it.

Go figure: When beef is raised to organic standards, it's not sustainable on a huge scale. Maybe Costco should have looked for local suppliers for each part of the country instead of trying to stretch one rancher nationwide. As someone who's cut back but not cut beef out, it's just another reminder that eating beef, even organic beef, is not helping the environment.

UPDATE (5/09): The organic beef 3lb package is back. Different supplier, but still certified organic. Thank you, Costco!