eating out sustainably

While it's hard for a large restaurant chain to serve food that is responsible to the environment, consumers, and it's employees, a few big-name restaurants are doing some things right. Here's a list of places you can eat out without having your conscience ruin your dinner:

Nationwide (U.S.A.)
1. Chipotle: The uber-popular burrito chain buys its pork from Niman Ranch, which raises its animals in a humane and sustainable way, following the Animal Welfare Institute's Animal Husbandry standards. In addition, Chipotle reports that 35% of their beans are organically-grown, their dairy products come from hormone-free cows, and, when possible, produce is purchased from locally grown producers. And to top all that off the restaurant is trying to use as many environmentally-friendly products (like napkins), appliances (Energy-Star), and even buildings (some are LEED-certified). 

Northwest

2. Burgerville: This restaurant's name may conjure up images of greasy patties, buns, and fries, but in reality Burgerville is hoping to change the face of the burger joint. While they serve  your standard fast food fare, you'll also find items like the Grilled Asparagus and Tomato Melt on their menu. Talk about original! Their meat is all antibiotic-free and raised locally, their eggs are from cage-free chickens, and they recycle their cooking oil into biodiesel fuel. Very cool.

Southeast +Cali
3. Evos: At first glance Evos's menu seems little different than your standard fast food chain's, including burgers, wraps, fries, and shakes. But look a little deeper and you'll see they could not be more different from your neighborhood McDonald's, Subway, or Taco Bell. Their fries, called "Airfries," are cooked sans-oil by using a circulating hot air method. And they have an extensive sustainability profile; one-third of Evos's energy comes from wind power, they use certified organic and fair trade products, and use disposable products, such as napkins, made from recycled materials. And that's just a few of the great things they do.

East Coast + Kansas + Cali
4. Pizza Fusion: This pizza joint uses organic ingredients, builds its facilities using LEED standards, gives customers discounts for bringing back pizza boxes to be recycled, serves food in biodegradable corn starch containers, and the list goes on. And on.

Virginia + Oregon + Vermont
5. American Flatbread: This artisanal restaurant serves flatbread pizzas, salads, and desserts, all made from organic and mostly seasonal, locally-grown ingredients. And besides selling sustainable food, the company also gives back to communities by donating organic bread to hospitals, supporting Vermont's Organic Food for Public Schools program, and holding "Benefit Bakes" to raise money and awareness for different community causes. Don't live in Virginia, Oregon, or Vermont? You can still enjoy their organic flatbread by buying it frozen in a grocery store near you.

Sources I used for this post:
Eco Friendly Eating at Sustainable Fast Food Restaurants, suite101.com.
Other Sustainable Sources, sustainabletable.org
Chipotle: Sustainable, Delicious, Profitable, triplepundit.com
Evos: Organic, Healthier, More Sustainable Fast Food. Seriously., sincerelysustainable.com.
Sustainable Fast Food Chain

Photo Credits: Flickr Creative Commons Artists: sun dazed, scaredy kat, and Carl Black.

summer reads

When I think of summer, one of the first images to pop into my head is one of me lying on a blanket on the grass, reading a book. Summertime is a combination of work and leisure, and I take the leisure part very seriously. And while I love to sit down with a classic novel (can't go wrong with some Jane Austen) or old favorite (HP forever!), I also try to pick up some books about new topics I find interesting and didn't have time to learn about during the school year.

My transcript may be full of nutrition and food-related classes, but very few of them address environmental sustainability, the health consequences of pesticides and processed foods, and so on. If you happen to be an avid summer reader as well and want to learn more about all the facts behind organic food, sustainability, fair trade, etc, I've compiled three reading lists to help you get started. And, keeping with the theme of this blog, I'm almost positive you can find these at your library or as inexpensive used copies on Amazon. Happy Reading!

"Dipping Your Toe In" List:
1. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
2. Food Rules by Michael Pollan

"More Than Curious" List:
1. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
2. Food Rules by Michael Pollan
3. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser


"Can't Get Enough of This" List:
1. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
2. Food Rules by Michael Pollan
3. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
4. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
5. The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

welcome to eat.to.glow

Why start a blog when there are millions out there already?

Hey! My name's Alyssa. My motivation in starting a blog about healthy eating stems from my frustration with trying to make healthy and sustainable eating choices on a college student's budget. If you are one of the many trying to do the same, you know how difficult this task is. But it's extremely important.

My mom grew up on a farm during the rough times of the '80s, and consequently I was raised to make frugal and thrifty spending choices. We bought generic food brands (but were still very health-conscious), shopped at garages sales, and used the library instead of buying brand new books. So, when I started in 2008 as a nutrition student at the University of Minnesota and began spending the majority of my time reading and learning about the link between diet and health, I began to stumble more and more upon terms like organic foods, sustainable agriculture, and fair trade products. While I had heard of these things before, I had dismissed them as elitist and too expensive. But the more reading I did, the more I realized that putting quality substances into our bodies is more than worth the added cost. While truly high-quality food may have a higher upfront cost, it will pay off over time through decreased health care costs, decreased damage to the environment, etc. BUT that does not mean that one's food budget needs to triple in size. This blog will explore why it's so important to eat as much fresh, unprocessed, and chemical-free food as possible without going broke.

For an in-depth look into the true costs of cheap food, check out these sources:
Time Magazine Article: "Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food," by Bryan Walsh.
Books: In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan.
Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser.