Monument Cafe in Georgetown, Texas

One of the most personally satisfying benefits of moving our spending more towards local businesses has been discovering some truly fun places. Topping our list is dining at the Monument Cafe.

The Monument Cafe in located in a beautiful building in Georgetown, Texas. Surrounded by raised beds and gardens, the sleek mid-Century modern building reminds me of a happier version of Hopper’s Nighthawks. When we are there, I expect to see men in fedoras to stroll in and sit at the counter. The simple decor makes the inside feel very restful and calm.

The food is equally pleasurable. We’ve been there several times over the last few months and have enjoyed everything we have ordered. The restaurant serves “locally-grown and organic vegetables, meat, and dairy to the greatest extent possible.” In addition to the food grown around the restaurant, the ingredients come from a network of local farmers developed over the restaurant’s seven year history. And the chefs are always experimenting with new ways to expand the local, organic options. Just recently, homemade ice cream was added to the menu!

The owner, Rusty Winkstern, is also working to expand the options for local food network for others. Beginning next month, he and his business partner Clark Lyda plan to open a market for fresh seasonal foods grown within a 250-mile radius. The Monument Market will be located at 1953 South Austin Avenue (the original cafe location for locals) and will be open to the public seven days a week.

The experience is rounded out by the friendly wait staff. The first time we thought we got lucky but, without exception, we have had helpful and pleasant servers. On our last visit, our eldest daughter placed her order herself (something she had been practicing with us beforehand since it made her a little nervous). When she ordered with a ‘please’ and ‘thank you,’ our waitress said, “What nice manners!” and gave her a huge smile. Our daughter was thrilled! (As were Richard and I. I could have hugged our waitress for her kindness!) Richard and I have been talking with the girls about how important good manners are and how many people notice and appreciate them and here was proof. Having our kids hear that very message – independent from us – was so powerful!

So, in our quest to support local businesses, we found a gem that supports our local food network, satisfies our desire to eat healthy, organic food, and provides our whole family a truly enjoyable experience every time we visit. That is a win by any standard.

If you live in Central Texas, or are passing through, I highly recommend a visit to the Monument Cafe. If you don’t check the recipe section of the cafe’s website to get a little taste.

Photo by rutlo at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rutlo/ / CC BY 2.0

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After posting an earlier article on how to afford organic food, I realized that it may have given the impression that I believe organic food is healthy food. I do believe, based upon loads of research (like this and this) and my family’s own experiences, that organic food is healthier than non-organic options of the same items.

However, I don’t believe that organic = healthy. A diet of chips and cookies is not high quality nutrition, even if the chips are made with organically grown potatoes and the cookies contain only unrefined sweeteners. Choosing organic food is only one consideration of many for healthier eating.

It can seem like eating healthier is amazing complicated but there are some simple changes you and your family can make that will have you all eating healthier soon. Here are a few:

1. Make water your first beverage choice. Let’s be honest, soda is not a healthy option but more Americans drink soda than any other beverage. First there is the added sugar, much of which comes in the form of high fructose corn syrup. The same high fructose corn syrup that has been found to contain mercury and has been linked to a variety of diseases including diabetes and pancreatic cancer. Then there is the bone weakening effect of phosphorus and the extra calories, just to name a few more issues. And don’t think that drinking diet soda is better – studies have shown that people who drink diet soda have a higher risk of obesity than those who drink regular soda. Save your health, and a bunch of money, by drinking water instead.
2. Surround yourself with easy healthy options. One of the draws of many snack foods is how easy they are to eat. Help to level the playing field by making your healthy food more accessible. Put a bowl of pre-washed fruit on the counter so you can grab and go. When you get home from the farmer’s market or store, take a few minutes and cut up some of your veggies so they are ready for snacking or cooking. Keep nuts on hand for more than parties. The goal is to have a couple of healthy choices ready for those times when you or your kids just can’t wait to eat.
3. Make the hard decisions in the store. Part of surrounding yourself with healthy options is limiting the unhealthy options around you. If you don’t buy a bag of chips while you are shopping, only only have to deny yourself the chips once. However, if you buy them and bring them home, you have to make the decision not to eat chips every time you see them in the cupboard. Make it easy on yourself by setting guidelines for what you will buy and then stick with them.
4. When you do eat a treat, slow down and enjoy it. After we had a family chat about the Slow Food movement, our girls really latched on to the idea of enjoying the food we eat. I recently discovered my eldest daughter sitting at the kitchen table, eating with her eyes closed. When I asked her what she was doing, she said, “I’m savoring it, Mommy.” This is great advice! If you are having a treat, treat yourself to the time to really experience it and enjoy it on a whole new level.

What changes have you made to make your eating healthier?

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January is a time for resolutions, many of which focus on health and finances. To help people get off to a good start on their goals this year, I want to discuss a topic that comes up frequently as we chat with other parents. How the heck is it possible to eat organic food when finances are tight?

We’ve been able to switch almost all of our food purchases to organic items without increasing the money we spend on food. Here is what helped us:

1)    Shop only from a list. We keep a white board in our kitchen. As we begin to run low on an item, we write it down on the board. When we’re ready to go to the store, what is on the list is what we buy and nothing more. This helps us avoid the tempting, and often expensive, items that sing a siren song while also cutting down on our food waste.

2)    Identify areas of weakness. The list idea works great when it is followed. However, we learned the hard way that going shopping with two cranky children makes it much harder to stick to the list. After one truly horrendous shopping trip, we banned grocery shopping after birthday parties – the switch from cake and games to walking quietly by the cart was just a bridge too far. And I know that if I am facing a big deadline, I am much more likely to swing by the candy section where for some reason there aren’t a lot of healthy bargains. Now we try to be more thoughtful about who will go to the store and when they will go so we can stay strong.

3)    Select a couple of quick, healthy meals and keep their ingredients on hand. Some of our family favorites turned out to be easy to put together. One example is brown rice with refried beans and cheese. Another is nachos made with corn chips and cheese (just put in the oven at 250 until the cheese melts) with beans (black, pinto, and refried beans all work well), sour cream, and cheese. Both of these can be ready quickly, especially if there is cooked rice already in the frig, and the ingredients can be easily kept on hand. This makes it easier to avoid the last minute orders for pizza.

4)    Join a CSA. I’ve written here and here about our experiences with Community Sponsored Agriculture. Joining a CSA did more to save us money and shift our eating to organic options that anything else. Check out Local Harvest to find one near you.

5)    Explore farmer’s markets. If you don’t have easy access to a CSA, want to buy smaller quantities, or need to supplement your CSA share, farmer’s markets can be a gold mine for inexpensive organic options. There is no middle man between you and the grower so prices are often lower than in the stores. Make sure to ask if items are organic – just because someone is selling at a farmer’s market does not mean they grew the food organically. Also know that many small farms cannot afford the organic certification but may still utilize organic farming methods. It will give you an excuse to strike up a conversation and get to know the people growing your food! Local Harvest can point you to your area’s farmer’s markets as well.

6)    Buy ingredients rather than dishes. Whether you are shopping in a grocery store or at the farmer’s market, focus on buying items as close to their natural state as possible. Apples are cheap while apple pies are not.

7)    Cook more often. Buying ingredients means you’ll be doing more in the kitchen than opening a box and firing up the microwave. There are tons of sources for recipes online. I particularly like Cooking Light’s Recipe Finder because it is possible to search by ingredient – handy when a new item shows up in our CSA box. Richard is a huge fan of Alton Brown; here are his is most popular recipes from Good Eats.

8)    Use meat thoughtfully. Currently we are an omnivorous family. Vegetarianism does a lot to lower food costs, since meat is one of the most expensive items people buy. (This switch also does a lot to reduce one’s carbon footprint.) While we aren’t vegetarians yet, we purchase and use meat carefully. Our eggs come from a local family that raises truly free range chickens. When we buy beef, we buy grass-fed pastured beef. If you are not in the Austin area, check out Eat Wild to find humane sources near you. We then use meat more for flavoring than for the main entree. Think stir fry rather than a steak or pasta with meat sauce rather than sausages. And, as you can see from our favorite meals above, we simply don’t eat meat with many of our meals.

9)    Shop smart. These apply whether you are looking for organic food or not. Compare prices, be willing to try new brands, focus on produce that is in season (see the National Resources Defense Council’s food miles tracker for a helpful listing of what is in season in your area), use coupons (try Mambo Sprouts and VegWeb for organic food coupons), and watch sales.

If your pocketbook can only handle a small shift to organic food at a time:  First target the items that are located higher on the food chain (meat, eggs, dairy), then find organic options to the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen (click here for a handy wallet-sized guide), and then work on switching out the foods your family eats the most. If you have a baby or are pregnant, however, these three options should shift down a notch and purchasing organic options for the growing baby should become the first priority.

Here’s to a fiscally sound and healthy 2010!

Do you have any other tips for eating organically on a budget? Please share them below!

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Ms Richardson has been called “a fresh voice in the movement to create a healthier and sustainable food system” by Marion Nestle. I have not yet read her book but can say that the writing on her blog is informative, thoughtful, and well researched. I always learn something there. How many things can you say that about?

If you can’t make this event, Ms Richardson will also be speaking and signing books at the Austin Farmers’ Market on Saturday, November 7 from 10:00 to 1:00 (hosted by the Sustainable Food Center) and at Cafe Caffeine on Sunday, November 8 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm (hosted by the South Austin Food Co-op).

All of this makes has me feeling incredibly grateful to be living near Austin! Now let’s do what we can to help others have as many healthy, local food choices as we are blessed to have!

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The article links to Canning Across America, which has some yummy looking recipes along with links to resources and events. The National Center for Home Food Preservation is a good source of information on canning as well as pickling, freezing, fermenting and other preservation methods. If you want to take advantage of the season to load up on locally grown food, PickYourOwn.org can help you find both sources of food in your area and preservation methods to match what you harvest.

Happy eating!

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Over the past few years, I’ve felt that people’s attitudes about food are shifting. Once the recession hit, I read article after article that predicted the economic changes would stop that change in its tracks. At the same time, the waiting list for our CSA was growing and more of our friends started their own gardens. Maybe we live in a bubble, I thought. Maybe it is because we hang out with so many parents of young children, I hypothesized.

So, when I read the article above, I literally pumped my fists in the air when I read that the sales of organic foods are not just holding steady as families wrestle with their finances but they are growing! Hip hip hurray!

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When we saw TerraBurger’s sign go up several months ago, we were curious but frankly more than a little skeptical. Lots of businesses have jumped on the green bandwagon for marketing and little else. We wondered how green Terra Burger’s operations would really be. We checked them out online and were impressed with what we saw.

From their website:

At TerraBurger, Rule #1 is “all natural”–we won’t serve anything that contains artificial ingredients, period. No artificial colors or flavors. No flavor enhancers. No trans fats. Nothing highly processed. No artificial additives. In fact, we have an extensive list of banned ingredients that don’t make the cut. For more detailed information on the practical meaning of “all natural”, go here: http://www.naturalingredient.org/naturalingredients.htm.

Next, we’ve chosen to go Organic for our core ingredients—our beef, produce, veggie burgers, cheese, milk, ice cream, fruit, among them—are all 100% USDA Organic. A list of our all natural and organic ingredients is here.

“All Natural Everything, Organic Where it Counts”.

For more information on the difference between All Natural and Organic, you can read about it here. We have spent literally hundreds of hours, vetting hundreds of suppliers who make the best all natural and organic food products in the market, and paring them down to who we think are the best of the best — our suppliers.

Their suppliers list includes some of our favorite local sources for food, such as Sweetish Hill, which made our wedding cake, and Richardson Farms, whose pork is some of the yummiest we have had in Texas.

That left two big questions – would the food be tasty and would the restaurant be a place our family would enjoy visiting? Like many families, we limit our dining out so really want to enjoy every aspect when we do make the trek.

Terra Burger delivered on both counts. The food was delicious. I had a TerraBurger, my husband and eldest daughter got the Hill Country Hickory Burger, and our youngest daughter got the kid’s meal with kid’s burgers. The Hill Country Hickory Burgers disappeared quickly and the kid’s burger was a big hit as it was deemed, “Just my size!” The TerraBurger was scrumptious and I really liked the fresh bun.

We also had the sweet potato fries with our meal. My husband prefers really crunchy food so thought the fries needed to be a little crisper but I thought they were great, as did the kids. (Richard didn’t leave the table until the fries were gone so he liked them well enough, I think!)

After seeing the posted comment cards contained many rave reviews for the milkshakes, the girls and I made a second trip just for shakes. As you can imagine, this was not a tough sell. And once we tried the shakes, we knew that would be the first of many ice cream only visits. We tried three flavors – chocolate, cookie dough, and mint chocolate chip. The latter was the favorite for all of us. Both it and the chocolate contained shavings of chocolate that made the flavor pop. Every last drop of all three disappeared and the girls are trying to convince me that we need to go back and try out the remaining flavors. I think they are right!

Turkey burgers and vegetarian and vegan options are also available if beef is not your thing. Check out their menu for more details.

The restaurant has both a drive-thru and an outside seating area. The owners built the latter with families in mind. There is a fun playscape, complete with swings, slides, and sandboxes. Oak trees provide shade to some of the tables and umbrellas are on the remaining tables. Shade covers have also been installed over large portions of the playscape. For those of you outside of Texas, shade is essential in the summer and early fall months so this is a big plus!

My kids’ favorite part was the splash area. Colorful sprinkers have been set up on one side of the eating area so kids can have fun and stay cool. The favorite feature for my husband and me was the fence around the outside area and the great sight lines in the play area. We could see the kids at all times, which allowed Richard and me to sit and talk while the kids played. An uninterrupted conversation with my sweetie – a true summer luxury!

The owners have definitely thought through many details. Employees’ shirts are made with 100% organic cotton, compostable cups held our drinks, easy-to-find recycling bins were placed by the playscape, xeriscaped grounds surrounded the building and playscape, and the used cooking oil is used to make biofuels.

Visiting TerraBurger and knowing all conscious choices that went into its operations made us feel better inside and out.

This article was syndicated on the AustinEcoNetwork. If you live in the Austin area, or want to learn about eco-happenings in Austin, be sure to visit the site.

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So you’re recycling your bottles, cans, and paper, right? I think that’s a given for our faithful readers. Hopefully, you’re not even taking the plastic bags in the first place but, if you are, you can recycle those, too.

How about composting? My wife and I have been composting off-and-on for over a decade now so I thought I’d provide some thoughts on our experiences. I’m no expert, though, so by all means feel free to contribute your own comments and tips!

In case you don’t know already, composting is just taking organic material (non-farmers, like me, stick exclusively to plant-based stuff) and allowing it to decompose somewhere on your property so that you can use it as fertilizer. I live in a warm climate (106º of warmth  today) and it seems to take at least six months for it to decompose to the point that  there aren’t any “recognizable bits.” I think it would take longer in a cold climate, right? I’m not sure that’s the sign of ready-to-use compost but that’s what I look for.

What can you compost? Fallen leaves, grass clippings, orange peels, coffee grounds, that vegan meal that went wrong, the “hairy carrots,” and the stinky-slimy spinach. We throw our eggshells in, too, but avocado pits don’t seem to break down well and you’ll have a lot of fruit flies if you throw in a bunch of banana peels.

We keep a stainless steel, lidded container on the counter and it usually fills up by the end of the day. The kids take it out after dinner and, since we adamantly avoid anything animal-based (other than the aforementioned eggshells), we have no problems with flies even though it’s about 10-15 feet from the back door. And, I assure you, there is no unpleasant odor.

Why would you compost? First, a huge amount of yard waste unnecessarily ends up in landfills. I don’t bag my grass clippings and my city offers curbside leaf pickup and composting (how cool is that?) but even with just the food waste, it’s amazing how much composting keeps us from throwing away.

Second, it will make your yard and/or garden plants do a little happy dance. We used a huge amount of compost on our wildlife garden last year and, I’m proud to say, it has grown like crazy this year. We even had our first hummingbird visitor last month! But I digress….

We took the low-budget approach with our first attempts at composting. You know–the big bin made of chicken wire and wooden stakes. That held a LOT of stuff but you’re supposed to turn it every so often (I was shooting for once a month) and it proved to be, shall we say, arduous. So arduous, I’m embarrassed to admit, that it basically never happened.

When we put our house on the market, I just took away the chicken wire and spread it all over the lawn as best I could. It wasn’t fun (or pretty).

We now use one of the compost tumblers and it has served us well. The one we use can be seen here. I’ve never ordered from this company so I can’t personally recommend them but I was amused at the embedded video. Yes, it spins and that does make it quite a bit easier but they show it spinning freely like a bicycle wheel. When it’s loaded with 50+ pounds of decaying material it WILL take some effort to turn it over! The whole “compost in two weeks” thing is optimistic, too, methinks, but I’m sure I would have better results if I gave my decaying vegetable waste a little more TLC.

My next big project is to start a vegetable garden this year (more on that later) and my currently-rotting herbaceous material is ear-marked for that. Talk about completing the cycle! I can’t wait to eat my first tomato grown from this year’s unused Jerusalem artichokes that came with last week’s CSA box (really—what WAS I supposed to do with those things??)

Anyway, give it a try. There are ways to get started that range from free to $500. Choose one that’s right for you and take the next step in recycling. And please, if you have comments fire ‘em our way!! (Anybody know anything about worm composting?)

Lucas is a professional children’s author and songwriter from Austin, Texas. Check him out at www.lucasmiller.net. He is currently working on a song about composting – we’ll let you know when the decomposing ditty is fully composed!

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Once I took a deep breath (OK, a couple of deep breaths), I realized one of the best things would be to make sure my kids, Rich, and I have strong immune systems. Our time at preschool, elementary school, and work gives us exposure to plenty of local germs. I wanted to make sure all our defenses were in tip-top fighting shape for whatever we encountered.

Here are some of the best ways to bolster immune systems. As I wrote this, I was struck by how many of these items have multiple benefits. If we did these things all the time, my family would be leaner, happier, and healthier.

(1) Get plenty of rest. This can be tough, especially for new parents, but a good night’s sleep will do both you and your immune system a world of good. Studies have shown a clear link between immune functioning and sleep. A recent study suggests that sleep may have even evolved to defend against disease.

Experts recommend 7-9 hours of sleep per day for adults. The recommended amounts for children vary according to the age of the child. If you aren’t sure how much sleep your child should be getting, check out this handy sleep guide on Web MD.

(2) Eat healthy food. Nutrient rich foods supply tons of ammunition for your body’s immune system. They also contain little sugar, which has been shown to reduce immune functioning. Healthy eating, as we all know, includes lots of fruits, veggies, and whole (not refined) grains. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Fruit smoothies, salads, and other quick and healthy meals are actually faster, and much cheaper, than picking up fast food.

(3) Move your body every day. Moderate regular exercise is simply magic. The benefits range from more stable blood sugar levels to reduced risk of high blood pressure, many cancers, heart disease, osteoporosis, etc., etc. to increased immune functioning.

For those of you who are serious athletes,  know that intense exercise has been shown to decrease immune functioning for up to three days. If you are running a marathon or participating in another intense endurance event, take extra steps to strengthen your immunity and reduce exposure afterwards.

(4) Have a laugh. Laughing helps your immune system by increasing the number and activity of  T-cells, which are part of your body’s first line of defense against viral attacks. It also reduces stress hormones and releases endorphins, the natural opiates produces by the brain, so lets your body’s defenses have a break. Tell silly jokes with your kids, watch a funny movie together, or just think about laughing.

(5) Make time for tea. With two daughters, we have many tea parties. It turns out that all that tea is good for our immune systems. Drinking tea increases your body’s ability to fight off germs and infections. Both green and black teas contain an amino acid called L-theanine, which increases the boy’s infection fighting capacity. No wonder our teddy bears are so healthy!

(6) Get some sunshine. Vitamin D has received a great deal of press lately (bone saving! cancer preventing!) but one of its less well-known traits is strengthening immunity. The easiest way to get the Vitamin D you need is to have 10-15 minutes of sun exposure. Exposure through windows or on skin covered with sunscreen will not do the trick.

If you work nights or live in an area that does not receive much sun, supplements are available. Cod liver oil, tuna, salmon and fortified milk are all dietary sources. You may find Epidemic Influenza and Vitamin D particularly relevant and interesting reading.

(7) Take steps to reduce your stress. Stress does more than cause headaches and tense muscles – it also depresses your immune system. Take the time to do something nice for yourself to help reduce the impact of stress in your life. Talk with a friend, take a hot bath, meditate, read a book, or do something else that makes you feel relaxed. You’ll rejuvenate yourself and your immune system.

The Centers for Disease Control have also published some helpful tips for limiting exposure.

Be well!

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In case you are in the midst of your holiday shopping, these would make good gifts! Gaiam is an earth-friendly company so even your greenest friends and family members would be excited to see a package from them. Gaiam was the first company to use a carbon-neutral shipping program, which they developed with The Conservation Fund. The program, called Go Zero, allows customers to add a small, tax-deductible donation at checkout. Each donation is used to plant trees, which offset the carbon dioxide emissions that result from shipping the order. Their mailing supplies are comprised of 100% recycled materials. Gaiam can also provide gift wrapping for your package.

Whether you purchase for yourself or a gift, organic cotton items are great green purchases. Cotton is the most pesticide-intensive crop in the world today, accounting for 24% of the global insecticide market and 11% of the pesticide market. Five of the top nine pesticides used on cotton are cancer-causing chemicals. As just one illustration of the harm these chemical do to the environment, it is estimated that pesticides kill 67 million birds annually. An organic cotton purchase helps organic cotton farmers, the textile workers, the owner, and the environment.

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