Organic suprise

Rummaging through my freezer for something to eat, i came upon some of my favorite burritos. These burritos aren't just normal burritos you see, they are incredibly good for you. They are low in fat and the carbohydrate to protein ratio is pretty good as well and a perfect amount of calories, a perfect little meal really. Well i grab it out and what do i realize, my burrito that i have been eating for years is made with mostly organic ingredients!

Cedarlane burritos are sold at Costco. They are listed as low fat, and all natural. There is no USDA approved organic symbol on it, So knowing that all the ingredients must be organic i looked at the ingredients list. There are Organic pinto beans, organic brown rice, organic tomatoes, organic tomato puree and organic flour tortilla. That is a lot of organic ingredients, but they also used soy cheddar cheese, green chilis, onions, herbs and spices, tamari, cilantro, sea salt and corn starches. Because these ingredients were not organic the whole burrito is not considered organic.

Using soy cheedar cheese still makes this a lot more earth friendly and a whole lot more body friendly. Cheese is normally very fatty, but the entire burrito only has 1g of fat.

The most interesting part of this burrito was the price. It is sold at Costco so you know that it can not be very expensive and it is not. It is sold at 8 6oz. burritos, and is very well priced. "I love them because they are really good for me," said Megan Higgins, graduated ASU senior. They taste extremely good for being so healthy for you.

"We have a lot of Organic foods, not because we are searching them out, but because if given the choice, we'd pick organic as long as we don't pay more," says Higgins. The burritos are placed in the freezer isle just along with all the other burritos. There is not distinct label saying its organic and no other organic foods around.

Something like this makes you wonder why there are not more people making their products out of organic produce, and why it seems that most of the time organic food is more expensive.

Good and good for you

When you wake up in the morning and need something that is not only filling, but good for you as well. A nice bowl of Oatmeal is always a great choice.

Oatmeal is a very popular breakfast choice for lots of Americans. When you think of oatmeal you think of hearty and good for you. =All natural also comes to mind so you already know that its going to be good in the body.

Don't forget that all natural oatmeal is not the same as organic oatmeal.

Oatmeal can it be good in the body, but it can be good for the environment too now with Organic Oatmeal. Organic Oatmeal uses all organic ingredients. The oatmeal retains all of its healthy values and is now healthy for the ground as well.

Quaker, one of the most popular oatmeal distributors has come out with their own organic oatmeal. They feature two flavors, maple and brown sugar, and regular.

According to Quaker, their organic oatmeal is in limited distribution. You must go on the website to call them if you want to find locations where it can be found. If you don't want to have to work hard to find some organic Oatmeal Trader Joe's also has their own brand of organic oatmeal that they are selling.

Their oatmeal is actually also very well priced, it is $2.99 for an 8 packet box. The only flavor that they offer is regular though so it is recommended to go out and get yourself some kind of organic fruit or organic brown sugar to add to it to sweeten it up.

How'd they string that together

For a while now, string cheese has become one of america's favorite snack foods. Why wouldn't it be after all, its cheese which is delicious and its extremely portable which is nice, but the best part about string cheese is that you are supposed to play with it before you eat it.

Organic string cheese is making its way into the market today. When making a lunch box for the kids before school, why not throw in a nice organic string cheese, it has lots of protein and is good for the environment as well.

Trader Joe's has their own brand of organic string cheese. It is Organic, but it does not lose and of the rich cheese flavors found in regular string cheese. It tastes very good, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between this string cheese and non organic string cheese which is important.

The main organic ingredient in string cheese is Organic cultured pasteurized milk.

The price of the organic cheese is not cheap at all. At Trader Joe's it costs about $4.99 for 9 string cheeses. Sounds a little steep for me.

Megan Higgins, who eats string cheese had this to say, "I think of string cheese as just a little snack here and there, its great for when i go out and what not, therefore i don't eat it too much so i don't really care if its organic or not, especially if i have to pay more for it."

Trader Joe's is not the only merchant to come out with organic cheese, there are many more companies that are also producing this, such as Organic Valley, they call their stringles, and hopefully with more and more competition coming out it will help pull down the prices.

Eating a green breakfast

Everything these days seems to be going organic.

Anything that you can dream of is going organic and that is starting with some of todays favorite breakfast foods, the pop tart. The pop tart now has now gone organic. It is labeled as USDA approved just like other organic products of its nature. The question that i raised is why it is not seen more often. When you go down the breakfast isle you won't see any pop tarts listed as organic. I had to go to Fry's and look down a special organic isle they had away from all the other food. It may be more benifical and helpful to try to get the organic food into the market by placing it with the others of its kind. If someone is deciding on what to buy in a store and checking out pop tarts and they see an organic kind and a regular kind right next to each other then the odds of them getting organic increase greatly.

The nutrition facts of the pop tart were all the same as the regular ones for the most part. There was no real significant difference. Obviously all of the ingredients were listed as organic, but for the most part all of the ingredients were also very similar as the normal ones. The Organic pop tarts were a little more expensive then the regular kind, but not too bad.

Sean Stull, who buys regular poptarts says he doesn't really care what kind of pop tart he gets. "I would get an organic pop tart if it were cheaper then the regular kind," said Stull. "As long as it all tastes the same then it is fine by me, especially if its better for me."

Another fun product that was noticed was an organic type of nutrigrain bar as well. It tasted exactly the same as a normal product and had all the same nutritional value as well.

Eating a green breakfast

Everything these days seems to be going organic.

Anything that you can dream of is going organic and that is starting with som of todays favorite breakfast foods, the poptart. The poptart now has now gone organic. It is labeled as USDA approved just like other organic products of its nature. The question that i raised is why it is not seen more often. When you go down the breakfast isle you won't see any poptarts listed as organic. I had to go to Frys and look down a special organic isle they had away from all the other food. It may be more benifical and helpful to try to get the organic food into the market by placing it with the others of its kind. If someone is deciding on what to buy in a store and checking out poptarts and they see an organic kind and a regular kind right next to eachother then the odds of them getting organic increase greatly.

The nutrition facts of the poptart were all the same as the regular ones for the most part. There was no real significant difference. Obviously all of the ingredients were listed as organic, but for the most part all of the ingredients were also very similar as the normal ones. The Organic poptarts were a little more expensive then the regular kind, but not too bad.

Another fun product that was noticed was an organic type of nutrigrain bar as well. It tasted exactly the same as a normal product and had all the same nutritional value as well.

Isn't green tea always Organic?

Green tea is one of Americas new crazes. It has broken into American culture at incredible rates. The reason that people drink green tea is supposed to be for the antioxidants that it contains. There have also been lots of rumors as well as articles that say it helps you lose weight as well because of the EGCG that is contained in a cup of the green tea.

People may think that green tea should be organic, but once again it is all natural, which is very different of course. Regular green tea should only be made with a green tea leaf and maybe few other remidies that are straight from the earth. "Until now i just assumed that all natural and Organic were the same," said Mike O'Havor, ASU grad.

The thing that makes some green tea different from others is the way that the leaf is grown, organically, no chemicals and on chemical free soil, and the soil must be organic for a minimum of 3 years for it to be certified organic.

The green tea that i got is Traditional Medicinals Organic Green Tea. It was purchased at Fry's, which had a very large selection of Organic Products. It is labeled on the box USDA Organics, and Fair Trade Certified.

When comparing the organic tea to a all natural tea, TEA a world of tea, the only difference was that Traditionals said Organic greeen tea leaf, and TEA's said 100% all natural green tea leaves.

Between the two, the organic tea was a lot more expensive. It was a few dollars more expensive, and came with about half as many tea bags. The tea bags were also a lot more fancy in the organic box, which could be a reason for the extra price. "Things seem to sell well if they are Organic reguardless of the price," said James, store clerk at Fry's.

The brewing instructions are also very different when comparing the two different types of tea. The All natural tea says to be brewed for about 4 minutes, while the organic tea reccomends that you brew your tea for about 10 minutes which is a very big time difference.

The taste however was basically the same, There have been lots of different types of teas tasted before, and they all taste a little different, but the overall experience was pretty much the same.
"I love all green tea," said O'havor. "It gives me more energy in the day and i think it makes me healthier."

According to Traditional Medicinals, they assure that farmers in developing countries receive a fair price for their crops and have safe working conditions.

Traditional Medicines grow their green tea at the Ambootia® Estate. It is located in the Himalayas in Darjeeling, India