the organic food blog

In an ideal world, every parent would like to see their children delve into their dinner and eat the lovely array of mixed vegetable before them with no complaints. It can be very frustrating for us parents when our children go through fussy eating phases. I have only met a couple of mums over the years who have happily declared that their child eats everything, no worries! I am not sure to take this with envy or disbelief! Here are some helpful tips and advice that I have had over the years from experienced healthy mums. These may help you through those fussy times…….

#1 Never give up serving it up!
I almost fell out off the kitchen chair this week when our son Charlie told me that he “likes zucchini now mummy”. We have been feeding him zucchini since he was 6 months old! It has taken 4.5 years for him to finally like it. Don’t fall into the trap of not serving up a certain veggie at the dinner table because your little one doesn’t like it.

#2 Fun encouragement
“Every good dinosaur tries everything at least once” There are some great children’s literature encouraging children to try new things. Even if they spit it out, at least they had a go, this should be encouraged rather than scolded. It can take a child or baby over 10 tries before they get used to taste and texture of foods, so every attempt counts. Check your local library for some fun food books for kids.

#3 Food is to be enjoyed
Even if your child is causing grief at the dinner table, remember that you are enjoying your dinner. Having a conversation around the table about how tasty the food is and what a great job dad or mum has done creating this delicious dinner will create interest to the one making a fuss. Soon they will realise that they are missing out and will want to join in.

#4 There is always breakfast!
When all else fails and dinner is out rightly refused, there is always breakfast. Food should not be forced. Our reply to Charlie in those moments is “No problem, you might have to go to bed hungry, but tomorrow we can make a big breakfast”. Making separate meals to keep your toddler happy not only creates a bad habit but extra work and stress for you preparing endless meals to keep the peace.

Remember, making the lifestyle choice of eating healthy organic foods is the best choice you could have made for you and your family!

By Sarah Butler

Author: Muna wa Wanjiru

For the person looking to get organic foods delivered straight to their house, the best option they have is to use an organic food delivery service, such as what an online organic store will supply. This will be the easiest option to take not to mention the most cost effective in the long run.

There are many reasons why using the organic food delivery services offered by internet based organic food stores will be just the thing that you need. But to state the first and the foremost (and the most obvious), you will get your organic foods delivered straight to your door. This means that you can avoid rush hour traffic, and you can avoid the aisles full of people who are madly dashing about in an effort to get home as soon as possible.

In fact by using these online organic stores, and utilizing their organic food delivery services, you can avoid any kind of traffic altogether, both the human and the vehicular kind. This saves you from the vein-popping anger and elbow in the gut bruises that you will most definitely get when shopping in the thick of food shopping rush hour.

Organic food delivery services will also save you the cost of gasoline, but then again, only if the organic food delivery service is free. This of course, normally happens if you spend over a certain amount that is specified beforehand. Otherwise you might find that the costs of buying your organic foods just went up along with the costs you have to incur for the organic food delivery service.

Of course by using an online organic food store which also provides you with a free organic food delivery service once you hit a certain spending level, means that you can reap the benefits of going organic even more. Why do I say this? Well, for the simple reason that unlike a physical building where you might normally do your food shopping, a cyber organic food store is not bound by the amount of stock room that it has.

What this means for you, is that you have a wider array of organic foods to choose from which in turn means that you will be more likely to stay organic instead of giving up on it after living on organic broccoli and carrots for two months!

And of course you know what a larger selection means for you. You will be able to choose more and more of your favorite foods, thereby spending more and more on the things that you really need, but in the ending getting your foods delivered free by the organic food delivery service which is offered to you by the online organic food store!

About the Author:

Muna wa Wanjiru is a Web Administrator and Has Been Researching and Reporting on Organic Foods for Years. For More Information on Organic Food Delivery, Visit His Site at Organic Food Delivery

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – How to Use an Organic Food Delivery Service That is Cost Effective

Your time is valuable and often you don’t have time to get down to your organic grocer to select all that delicious produce. An organic home delivery service is the answer.

Here is a list of organic fruit and veggie home delivery services in Australia. If you know of good organic delivery service in your area feel free to share them in the comments section.

Sydney – Lettuce Deliver
Melbourne – Organic Angels
Bendigo – The Food Garden
Brisbane – Farm Fresh Organics
Newcastle – Organic Feast
Perth – Freshline Organics
Canberra – Canberra Organics
Cairns – Access Organics

The economic downturn has made it hard for many families to buy groceries, let alone the sometimes pricier organic foods. Being on a budget doesn’t mean giving up eating well, however, as there are many ways that you can spend very little and still eat foods that haven’t been sprayed with pesticides or loaded with harmful preservatives. Whether you’re cutting back for personal reasons or because you’re afraid of your financial security, these tips can help you save big without sacrificing your health.

1. Shop the farmers market. Food at a local farmers market might be considerably cheaper than that at your local grocery store. Many communities, even small ones, have farmers markets during the weekend, so look up where one might be near you. You’ll likely find a wide assortment of fresh, organic foods that better yet have been grown locally rather than brought in.
2. Join a co-op. There are many communities where you can go out and join a co-op as a way to get reasonably priced groceries. You’ll pay a yearly or monthly fee but you may find that the savings outweighs the initial costs. Do some research to find out what options are available near you.
3. Buy into a community supported growing program. This can be a great way to get loads of in-season veggies without shelling out a fortune. Members of these groups will pay to buy a share in the program, and get boxes of produce in return at harvest time.
4. Focus on the important stuff. There are some foods that are much more important to buy organic than others. You can look online for a list of these and take this into consideration when you work up your food budget. When times are tight you may want to cut out those foods that have thick skins and don’t absorb pesticides as much as a way of saving money but still eating (mostly) organic.
5. Grow it yourself. If you have a backyard, it may be the perfect place to grow your own organic foods in the warmer months of the year. If you start early and grow from seeds you’ll pay very little for all the great foods you get when your plants are ready to harvest. Even if you only have a small balacony there are loads of inventive ways you can make the most of the space and grow some great food to eat.

This post was contributed by Kelsey Allen, who writes about the organic food coupons. She welcomes your feedback at KelseyAllen1010 yahoo.com

While households across Australia continue to take a hit from the current economic slowdown the popularity of organic food is continuing to rise.

According to Scott Butler, founder of Melbournes leading organic home delivery service, Organic Angels, busy mums and dads aware of the benefits of feeding children organic food are proving that organics can be done on a budget.
Parents are telling us that a commitment to organic food requires the acceptance of a slightly higher food bill but that the peace of mind that comes with healthy eating outweighs the additional costs, Scott said.
While many households continue to tighten their belts, Scott said there are ways to feed a family organic food by making simple changes to lifestyles and household expenditures.

Among his suggestions for doing organics on a budget are:

1) Accept that organic food costs are higher but the benefits of feeding children toxin-free food has long-term benefits.
2) Reduce junk food and take-away.
3) Eat out less.
4) Enjoy the experience of eating out. You can free-up extra dollars by preparing more meals at home and dining al fresco in parks, beaches etc.
5) Buy organic food in bulk from a box scheme ensuring that you get good quality produce that is in season.
6) Cook and freeze any excess for future use.
7) Produce at its peak and in season always costs less.

Andre Leu, chair of the Organic Federation of Australia said there are a number of good scientific studies which show that organic food is healthier for children and adults.
“One of the most recent studies out of the Washington State University compared 11 key nutrients and found that organic food, on average, had 25 per cent higher concentrations of nutrients.” Andre said.
Given that fruit and vegetables are usually the first foods introduced to baby, using organic fruit and vegetables is the best way to avoid pesticide residues.

Another reason to buy fruit and vegetables that are organically grown is the higher levels of antioxidants, vitamins and nutrients present when compared to non-organically grown produce.
Husband and wife team, Scott and Sarah Butler started Organic Angels in 2006 after failing to find an organic home delivery service that met their expectations in terms of great customer service and good quality produce.
The couple became advocates of organic food after their son, Charlie, started eating solids and they became more aware of what they were really feeding him.
“After reading into the many benefits of eating organic and reading the statistics on the high amount of pesticides and artificial hormones in food today, we slowly made the conversion to organic,” Scott said.

The business now provides organic fruit and vegetables to homes and offices across Melbourne after they visit the organic market and handpicking the produce on the mornings of the delivery days.
Scott and Sarah buy Australian-only produce and, where possible, from Victoria to reduce the road miles of the food.

They also provide organic groceries, including fresh bread, eggs, fair-trade tea and coffee and healthy children’s snacks.
Visit www.organicangels.com.au for more information.

As organic fruit is often sold soon after it is picked (unlike supermarket produce that was most likely picked a few weeks previously) it will sometimes get to you unripe. Here are some tips to ripen your fruit quicker:

To ripen Bananas (if a little too green) store at room temperature in a warm dark cupboard or try wrapping in a plastic bag and store in cupboard.

Avocados can be kept in paper bag until ripe, then store in fridge.

To ripen Tomatoes, place on warm window seal (if a very sunny window seal, keep tomatoes in paper bag so they dont be sunburnt!)

Ripen Stone Fruit at room temperature then store in a plastic bag in the fridge.

We give this advice to our customers but I thought it would be very relevant to post here: 

All modern fridges come with a crisper compartment for vegetables. But you may notice that if you place your vegetables straight in there, your lovely crisp veggies shrivel and flop fast. This is not because organic produce doesnt last, it does! And it definitely isn’t because the produce isnt fresh, it is!

Most vegetables won’t last because the fridge air is too cold. Its best to keep the fridge temp as is, so don’t go changing it, but what your veggies would love is a little protection from the cold. Here are some tips:

• - Put all vegetables in a sealed container (cant go wrong with Tupperware Fridgesmarts) or store in a plastic bag.
  Do not store in paper bags (expect mushrooms) in the fridge, transfer to plastic bag or container. Tip: Have some plastic bags that you can reuse and bag up several veggies together.
• - Ideally salad mix, lettuce & spinach should be washed, spun dry and stored in a container or plastic bag ASAP. If that is too organised, keep in bag or container until ready to use. Best stored away from top shelf and back of the fridge as they can freeze up!
• - Potatoes are best kept in a dark cool cupboard. Keep away from onions to prevent sprouting. Sprouting is a normal thing for potatoes and does not always mean they are not fresh and some varieties sprout easily than others.

 

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• Growing your own Organic Veggies
• Australian Seasonality List