monkey in la: Organic

Showing posts with label Organic. Show all posts

November 6, 2009

Monkey Find: Your Daily Thread

What do you get when you take two global-minded Angelenos, cross them with a social conscious and a sense of style, and add a bit of curiosity? Your Daily Thread-a Los Angeles city guide with an eco-friendly heart and countless ideas for how to have fun while keeping it green. YDT's creators (and best buds), Lauren Johanson and Tracy Hepler, have sought out things to do, buy and see in this great town that are all geared towards sustainable living. In fact, they sought out Monkey so this is more like a YDT Find!

Make sure to check out YDT daily. You'll find interesting articles, like this one on green event spaces Marvimon and SmogShoppe, and the 2009 Environmental Media Awards, plus the ever-handy Neighborhood Green Guide which currently covers all things green and good in Echo Park, Silverlake, Los Feliz and Atwater Village including:

Delilah Bakery

1665 Echo Park Ave.

Feeding Birds Boutique

1825 Echo Park Ave.

Le Pink & Co. Apothecary

3820 W. Sunset Blvd.

Happy

4675 Hollywood Blvd.

September 24, 2009

With Love & Soap

It's not common to find two people who run a company built on honesty, simplicity and hard work. They make the products from start to finish, hit the sidewalk to sell them, and have prices for the every person. It's true. Opa's Soap is a local organic soap company that is the brainchild of (my friends) Thomas Marinello and Mercedes Kennedy. Upon the passing of their grandfather, Opa, they decided to make soap in his spirit and to help other people find healing and comfort through their products. Now, with everything from Schwedenbitter elixir to Soap Nuts, a natural clothing detergent, these two have turned love into a fabulous vintage-inspired world of soothers and suds. To find Opa's, you can shop online or at local stores or meet them at one of their upcoming events (where they will be doing all of the work, I'm sure).

September 21, 2009

Monkey Find: The Green Life

While carting my parents about town this weekend, we stopped at Urth Caffe in Santa Monica for Spanish Lattes (just like in Spain..delicioso!) and then came upon a year-old gem up the street: The Green Life. While there are many shops that carry organic items, none that I have found have such a range of products. This little shop, started by Scott O'Brien, carries everything from eco-friendly light bulbs to recycled wine and beer bottle glasses, aviary cage cleaner to great pieces by Amenity bedding. Much of their offerings can be found online, but certainly visit at least to tell them congrats on their birthday or to check out their monthly events. Also, if you ask nicely, they may let you peek at the interesting loft in the back.

Here's a bit of th e green life:

September 15, 2009

Going for Green

One of the books I picked up at the library on Sunday was The Food of a Younger Land, Mark Kurlansky's compilation of the historical writings of some of America's first foodies (though they might not have known it) under the Federal Writers Project (yes, Uncle Sam funded writing & the arts!). And it got me thinking about

local food. Organic foods. Non-GMO foods. The traditions of food. While I don't always mention this in my recipes, we certainly try to eat organic and we're working on getting to the farmers' markets regularly...Because you see, before there were giant supercenters and Safeway online, there were gardens and orchards where baskets of fruits and vegetables were grown without chemicals and picked for the enjoyment of locals, not to be shipped across the world. People shared recipes. They cooked with love. And they knew when to eat what. Sadly, we now eat pineapple in November. Hey, I'm guilty of it, but I've got to get a grip. In fact, with the enormous stack of food-related books on my nightstand, I really should be together about it.

In Los Angeles, there is no reason to not eat well even if you are living on a budget. We have farmers' markets every day of the week, tons of bookstores with useful information, our fair (maybe unfair) share of Whole Foods, co-ops and organic restaurants and if you drive a few miles, green farms where you can pick up grain-fed meats and cage-free eggs. And while yes, it seems easier to throw a couple of food items in your basket while picking up toothpaste at Target, the benefits of eating fresh and organic are countless, copious and bountiful!

Here are some ways to get a green grip too:

Eat Well Guide

Just type in your zip code to find organic and local food including

produce, dairy, meat, etc.

Greenopia

A green guide to everything including restaurants, shopping, and organizations.

Farmer Net

A listing of every farmer's market in and around LA including dates, times and what's in season.