Lori's Earth Friendly Blog

Announcing Lori's Earth Friendly Recipe Contest!

2011-03-03T21:28:00.015-05:00

Hey everybody, let's do a contest!

My husband is a wizard in the kitchen. He grabs whatever is around and whips up a gourmet feast, often in just a few minutes. He recently made a dish with Fiber Gourmet Wild Mushroom Blend Fettuccine Nests, a variety of mushrooms that he bought at a local Asian market, stir-fried with onions and seasoned with Garlic Valley Farms Garlic Spray. It was delicious!

This gave me an idea...what about giving my customers a chance to show their kitchen creativity using the products I sell on Lori's Earth Friendly Products? And so, without further ado...

The Lori's Earth Friendly Products Recipe Contest!

Have you come up with a tasty treat using Juice Plus Fibre? Do you have a pasta dish using Fiber Gourmet pasta? Have you created a mouth-watering vegetarian main dish based on our Textured Soy Protein? Have you concocted a delicious dessert using Vitalicious VitaMuffin Mixes? Now you have a chance to share your kitchen creations with the Earth Friendly Recipe Contest!

This is a great way to share high-fiber and low-calorie meal ideas with others who are looking for creative, delicious ways to get more fiber in their diets.

The rules are simple: Email your recipe which includes one or more products sold by Lori's Earth Friendly Products to recipes@earth-friendly.com between now and March 18. Starting March 20, we'll post our favorite recipes in our blog over the following three weeks. Each week we'll pick one lucky winner, who will get the official Lori's Earth Friendly hat! These are so rare that nobody outside the company currently has one! You can enter as many recipes as you wish but we'll only give out one hat per person.

Want to create something out of a Lori's Earth Friendly Product? Start experimenting: Order from any of the products below and have some culinary adventures!

Then email us your recipes!

Good luck, and happy cooking!

-Lori

PS: Check out my husband's recipe for the yummy mushroom dish I describe at the beginning of this article.

Mason's Wild Mushroom Pasta Dish!

2011-02-27T12:59:00.003-05:00

There's a great Asian market that recently opened up nearby and one of the things they sell there in great abundance and variety is mushrooms. They have mushrooms there that I'd never seen before so naturally, I bought a bunch of them and experimented. Here's one of the concoctions I cooked up the other night to rave reviews. (If you can't find the mushrooms found here, you can use a mix of regular white store mushrooms with portabellos instead):

2 Trumpet mushrooms, cut into 1/8-inch slices (cut the caps into narrow strips)
A small package of Enoki mushrooms, whole
3 Oz. of Beech Mushrooms, whole but separated from base
1 Vidalia Onion, diced
4-5 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
1 package of Fiber Gourmet Wild Mushroom Blend Fettuccine Nests
About 2-3 teaspoons of Garlic Valley Farms Garlic Spray
1-2 teaspoons of Sesame Oil

Boil the Fettuccine Nests until ready (approx. 7 minutes). Meanwhile, stir-fry the garlic clove slices, mushrooms, and onion in the Sesame oil until done. Mix in with the Fettuccine and the Garlic Spray. Serve hot.

It looks like this!

Photo ©Mason Resnick for Lori's Earth Friendly Products

Wintertime+Inactivity=Need for Fiber

2011-02-13T19:31:00.001-05:00

It's been a brutal winter and as much as I wish it was over, there's still snow on the ground and 5 more weeks before we can officially welcome spring. One of the unfortunate side effects of winter is that many of us don't get opportunities to do the kind of exercise that promotes normal and healthy elimination. You are less likely to take a brisk walk, for example, when the sidewalks outside are covered in snow or ice, even though a 35-45-minute walk is great for bowel movements.

Children who are cooped up due to wintery weather, likewise, have fewer opportunities to exercise. The result may be an increase in constipation. Yes, there are indoor workouts that you can do. Yoga, Squats, Spinning and other exercise regimens will help but you have to keep at it.

For times when you can't keep a normal exercise regimen (or for children who simply don't get to run around as much in the winter as they would in the warmer months), it is important to supplement whatever exercise you can do with additional dietary fiber. Lori's Earth-Friendly Products offers dozens of fiber-based products, from our best-seller, Juice Plus Fibre, to other sources such as Fiber Gourmet Pasta, Regulatory Plus, and our high-fiber Choc Chip Cookies. Go here to see our full lineup of high-fiber products, from cake mixes to fiber powders and more!

FiberGourmet High-Fiber Pasta on Good Morning America!

2009-08-20T06:52:00.003-04:00

FiberGourmet Pasta was mentioned yesterday on Good Morning America. Here's the video!

Coupon: 10% Off at the NEW Lori's Earth Friendly Products

2009-08-12T22:56:00.013-04:00

Welcome to the new Lori's Earth Friendly Products, your source for healthier living!

To celebrate the re-launch of Lori's Earth Friendly Products, and to introduce you to our products, we're offering a coupon for 10% off everything we sell!

Spread the word. Tell your friends and family. Tweet your followers.

Use this coupon as often as you want, thru September 15, 2009. Now's your chance to try all those great products you've been thinking about trying!

To receive this great deal, just type in the coupon code: 1d8983 during checkout.

Here are some of the exciting products you will find at Lori's:

Fiber Juice: great for children's constipation
VitaTops: only 1 point; natural, satisfying, delicious
High-Fiber Gourmet Pasta: low-calorie, high-fiber, tastes like regular pasta
Gentle Java Coffee: high-quality gourmet coffee that is gentle on your stomach
Soy Products: meatless entrees, textured soy protein, and more
More fiber products: fiber cookies, fiber powders
Garlic Spray

Please pass this coupon on to other health-minded people! Just click on the "Share" button below this article. And, let us know what you think of our new site, in the comments.

Now that we've finished our site, we're ready to add new products. Check back soon, to keep up on all our products, and to find more coupons.

LORI'S EARTH FRIENDLY PRODUCTS WEB SITE RE-LAUNCHED TODAY!

2009-08-07T11:10:00.004-04:00

We're proud to announce that Lori's Earth Friendly Products relaunched this morning! The new site has a completely new, more user-friendly design and navigation so you can find the products you are interested in ordering quickly and easily. The ordering system has been overhauled to include user accounts, which will streamline future orders for repeat customers. We will soon offer coupons to help you save on orders.

Finally, changes behind the scenes will make it easier for Lori to add more products. We haven't really added many new products recently because we've been working on this launch. Now that it's done, expect some really interesting, healthy products to be added in the near future!

Come and visit the ALL NEW Lori's Earth Friendly Products, your source for healthier living!

Big things are coming

2009-08-04T03:00:00.001-04:00

Lori is hard at work preparing for the re-launch of Lori's Earth Friendly Products. Unlike the current site, most of which looks like it was created in the 1990s (which it was), the new site will look fresh and provide cutting-edge functionality to make your buying experience more convenient and fun.

More products, easier ordering. The new web site has been in the making for a long time, and launch is coming soon.

Look for news about Lori's Earth-Friendly Products, Your NEW Source for Healthier Living. Very soon.

Cash for Clunkers gets another $2 Billion--go for it!

2009-07-31T15:22:00.000-04:00

Does your car get 18mpg (combined) or less? It's time to get a new car.

The U.S. Goverenment's "Cash for Clunkers" program will give you a refund of $3,500-4,500 if you trade in your clunker (defined as any car that's less than 25 years old and gets 18mpg or less) for a new car that gets at least 22mpg. If you improve your mileage by 10mpg or more, you get the full $4,500.

But here's the rub: With all the publicity, it's kinda hard right now to find out if your care qualifies. www.feueleconomy.gov doesn't list every year's model and mileage changes from year to year. And with so much interest in the program, the site's running pretty slow.

Here's the other rub: The $1 billion dollars allotted to the program was used up in less than a week. Today news came that Congress is likely going to approve another $2 billion, and you can do the math and guess how long that's going to last.

So, if your car qualifies and you're interested, you'd better hustle.

We all need to get serious about saving our natural resources. If we run out, remember that Sheryl Crow told you so...

Are Genetically Modified Food proponents being tapped for govt. food safety posts?

2009-07-29T14:05:00.000-04:00

According to this article, two "biotech bullies" are being seriously considered by the Obama administration for senior roles in the FDA. Michael Taylor, who ushered in the use of Monsanto's recombinant bovine growth hormone is already on board, as a senior adviser to the FDA on food safety...which is kind of like putting a wolf in charge of the chicken coop.

Speaking of which... Dennis Wolff is the Secretary of Agriculture for the Pennsylvania, and is a champion of agribusinesses, and his being considered to run the USDA's meat inspection. As the AgSec of PA, Wolff tried to ban labeling of dairy products that didn't use rBGH or rBST, and wouldn't allow communities to ban toxic sewage sludge from getting anywhere near their farms.

Go here to sign and send a message to President Obama, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (who oversees the FDA) demanding Taylor's resignation and opposing Wolff's appointment.

Deep Discount on Fruit Punch flavor of Juice Plus Fibre

2009-07-11T23:07:00.002-04:00

"What are you, crazy?"

We recently had our friend Joseph over for lunch. I enjoy talking with him about my business, because he usually gives me lots of creative ideas. I told him that I was currently having a sale on the Fruit Punch flavor of Juice Plus Fibre. "How much are you taking off of the price?" he asked me. I told him that I was selling it for $1 off--a great discount!

That's when he said it..."What are you, crazy? Do you think people are going to take that sale seriously? They are going to expect at least $3 off."

So, I decided to follow his advice, but instead of offering it for $3 off, I am doubling his discount, and taking $6 off the price!
Fruit Punch is a great summer flavor. It's refreshing and delicious. Kids and adults love it! Now's your chance to try this flavor, at a deep discount.

So, why am I offering it at such a big discount? When I placed my last order, the manufacturer forgot to tell me that the Fruit Punch has a Best Use date of October, 2009. So, not realizing this, I bought lots of cases of it.
The bad news (for me): I have to sell it before the Best Use date.
The good news (for you): you get a great deal!

So, stock up now, and enjoy the great taste all summer long!

Only $29.95 per case! Order as many as you want.

Offer good for the month of July, or while supplies last!

Buy Fruit Punch Juice Plus Fibre Now!

Juice Plus Fibre: a delicious, refreshing, high-fiber juice that packs 10 grams of soluble dietary fiber in each 8-ounce juice pack. Kids love it, and it tastes like real juice because it IS real juice!

Take advantage of this low price

Parody becomes reality?

2009-07-07T13:22:00.000-04:00

Many years ago, a parody newspaper called the Post New York Post was published with the glaring headline: "KABOOM! IT'S WORLD WAR III! Michael, Jackson, 80 million others dead". (I also found someone else who remembers this) It may be a little odd, but this humorous juxtposition is what I'm thinking about as I scroll past today's extensive Michael Jackson funeral coverage in search of real news. Alas, aspects of that spoof headline from 25 years ago may be coming true. And it isn't a laughing matter.

Under CNN's Going Green blog is the Polar Blog: "There's Something Afoot in the Arctic". Written by an Australian author, Eric Philips, a polar explorer who is writing from a two-month scientific mission to track the effects of global warning, the blog is tracking what he calls "the catestrophic events" being recorded by the exploration team that he has joined. "The veneer of fractured ice over the Arctic Ocean is changing, disintegrating before my eyes," he writes. "Never before has the channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland been this ice-free in mid-summer."

And then he lowers the boom: This week, world leaders will meet in Italy for the G8; Philips says this may be the last chance to take a stand on climate change and making cuts of up to 40 percent in greenhouse gas emissions for developed countries. That's ominous.

The arctic is melting. Why are we spending so much time obsessing over Michael Jackson's passing?

Read Eric Philips' blog on CNN.com.

Credit card processing service is back in business...and so are we!

2009-07-03T15:17:00.000-04:00

I am happy to inform you that our credit card service, which was knocked out this morning when a fire broke out in the building that housed its database, has activated its backup system, and can now process credit card transactions. That means Lori's Earth Friendly Products, after approximately 7 hours, is now gladly accepting and processing your orders.

At no time was your security compromised!

Now is a great time to stock up on your summer supply of Juice Plus Fibre fiber juice, Gentle Java stomach-friendly coffee, Vitalicious dieter-friendly muffin tops, and much more! It's also a great time to explore our selection of delicious, Kosher, healthy foods and perhaps discover something new to try!

Thanks again for your patience!

Latest news regarding credit card processing

2009-07-03T11:58:00.000-04:00

As of noon (ET), Authorize.net, our credit card processing service, is still down. We are getting reports that a fire in Fisher Plaza, Seattle, has caused a massive power outage that affected Authorize.Net, which is headquartered there. A fire in the building set off the sprinkler system, which fried the generators.

However, we have been assured by Authorize.net that they are focused on getting the backup system online ASAP so order processing can resume. Let's hope this is resolved quickly!

Customer service emergency notice: Our credit card processing is down!

2009-07-03T11:41:00.000-04:00

We have just learned that Authorize.net, our credit card company, has been knocked offline due to a fire in its data center. As a result, we are currently unable to process credit card orders. Authorize.net is the largest credit card authorization network in the U.S., and many retailers have been affected by this outage. For now we will be glad to accept telephone orders and will process them as soon as we are able to: 732-221-8749. I will be reachable until approximately 7pm ET today, but you can leave a message anytime.

The site has been down since approximately 6:00 AM ET--very bad timing since many people go shopping over the July 4th Weekend. However, due to the size and importance of Authorize.net, I certainly hope those running the service won't sleep until it is back up and their thousands of retail customers are able to get their orders processed. In the meantime, if you have tried placing an order today, and it did not go through, you now know why.

I apologize for any inconvenience. This is a "perfect storm" that is out of our control, and I ask for your patience.

Too much packaging waste: An open letter to Costco

2009-07-02T19:50:00.001-04:00

Dear Costco,

I am a long-time loyal customer of of yours, but there's something that's been bugging me that I have to get off my chest. It has to do with the environmentally unfriendly amount of excess packaging used on many of your products—especially, surprisingly, some of your produce. Take, for example, the somewhat artsy photo above of a package of six mangos. Was it really necessary to use so much hard plastic?

I have also seen 24-packs of Apples, packed in 2-foot-long plastic monstrosities that will cut you if you're not careful. The thing barely fit in my recycling can, and left room for very little else.

Yes, I know, we can recycle much of your packaging, and my town does pick up separated materials for recycling. But I have news for you: There is a glut of separated recycle materials and a small, dwindling market for it. My town, like too many others, is simply forced to dump our carefully separated and boxed recyclables in the same dump as the rest of our garbage. We're going through the motions so that if, one day, the demand for recyclable plastics and metals returns, we won't forget how to separate our stuff.

Why not simply put your produce in bins and provide thin plastic (or better yet, PLA biodegradable) bags and let your customers bag what they want? It would greatly reduce waste. And since you do such a massive amount of business, you can use your clout to lean on your suppliers to make them come up with more environmentally responsible packaging.

And that brings up another, related bone of contention: bottled water. Your bottled water is clogging up landfill and polluting the landscape. I urge you to consider the packaging approach taken by Glacia, which packs its Icebox water in recyclable, renewable and compostable material. People are carting out your bottled water 36 bottles at a time...imagine how much landfill you can save by using this product instead. (In fact, wouldn't it be great if all bottled water makers followed their packaging lead?)
I hope management at Costco, whose creativity and marketing savvy have made you a retail giant, will take a leading role in reducing wasteful packaging. You can start with Mangos. And water.

Sincerely,
Mason Resnick

Report from the Fancy Food Show

2009-06-29T07:49:00.000-04:00

For us at Lori's Earth Friendly Products, the Fancy Food Show, which is taking place now for members of the trade at the Javits Center in New York city, reflects the culinary minefield that for us is the real world: We keep Kosher, we are vegetarians, and we only are interested in organic, or that nebulous term, "natural," food. That limits us when we go to a show with thousands of exhibitors showing food from all over the world, including all kinds of delicious-looking cheeses, and not-so-delicious-looking meat products. But we do find things that fit our specialized requirements.

We also do pig out (pardon the expression). Everything we eat may be Kosher and veggie...but those gourmet chocolates are just too tempting to pass up! It's a good thing we only go for one day!

Here's a quick overview of some items we saw that we liked. Let us know in comments if you'd like us to carry any of these foods...

Sheffa are protein-rich snacks that have nuts and grains with yummy seasoning, and are only 2 points if you're on a diet program...Flavor Magic Portion Control has seasoning on plastic sheets that you put on meat, fish, or Tofu. The seasoning comes off and becomes part of your dish, and you throw out the plastic. It allows you to dole out the flavor in measured amounts. The downside? The plastic packaging and sheet are not enviornmentally friendly. Koppert Cress USA's Micro Vegetables are boxes of sprouts, still growing, that are sent directly to you. Very fresh, great for restaurants and caterers. Truly Organic Baking offered a yummy-looking Kosher Pizza dough mix, while Kernel Season Popping Seasoning, which you sprinkle on popcorn (or, really, anything you want to) is both flavorful and diet friendly, has been joined by a spray-on buttery spray.

Our favorite eco-friendly food product was Glacia Icebox Water, which is plain old spring water...but it is packed in a biodegradable box. Available in the same standard sizes as bottled water (5-liter and 1-liter boxes are available), it doesn't clutter landfill as bottled water does. We hope this will start a trend away from bottled water.

There was more at the show that we liked, and you'll hear about it soon enough.

Now, we need to take a long walk and work off all those extra calories!

Sweet news: Stevia seedlings spotted at Loews!

2009-06-25T14:52:00.000-04:00

We just got word from a relative in Atlanta that she is growing Stevia plants in her backyard...and that she'd picked up the seedlings at Loews Home Improvement Center. They were under the Bonnie brand, which Home Depot also carries, although a search through the Home Depot garden department yesterday was fruitless (or Stevia-less). We'll keep looking.

In the meantime, I just checked the Loews web site and there it is, a description of Stevia as one of the Herbs in stock! (The description is towards the bottom of the page.) There's also a nice, lawyer-friendly warning not to try treating yourself with herbs for medicinal purposes.

Have you had any luck finding Stevia seedlings at Loews or anywhere else? Leave a comment!

Welcome to our Blogroll!

2009-06-22T16:17:00.000-04:00

New feature: We're proud to announce our newest feature, Lori's Earth-Friendly Blogroll, our list of favorite blogs by fellow travelers. We welcome blogs and web sites that help raise awareness of personal health and environmental issues.

Kicking it off is Sustainability Blog: Recovering from affluenza and solving Global Climate Change on a budget.
This blog is filled with good advice for doing urban farming and other good stuff. Recent posts include ways to reduce e-waste (abandoned Cell Phones, computers, etc), growing produce in an urban setting, and reports about interesting green initiatives.

Check it out!

Save gas/electricity, build stamina with a person-powered lawnmower

2009-06-17T12:29:00.000-04:00

We have two lawnmowers: An electric one, and a hand-pushed version (that's mine, above). I prefer the latter. In fact, I haven't used the electric mower in over a month!

Why?

No wires to get tangled up
Zero carbon footprint!
Safer
Pushing it is a good workout
Quiet operation
Light, easy to maneuver
Less expensive than an electric or gas mower

Actually, I find it's less effort to use the hand-push lawnmower because I'm not constantly untangling the wires. If I had a gas-powered mower, I'd be constantly filling it up, and we know how much gas costs these days.

I don't remember where I bought mine but it cost about $100, which is the going rate no matter which brand. Amazon carries them (see ad on right side).

So what are you waiting for? Replace that resource-eating electric or gas mower and get a person-powered lawnmower!

45 years late, but we'll take it

2009-06-15T20:07:00.000-04:00

When I met her in 1983 at my first "real" job, Ellen Keeler was a strong woman but with a 3-pack-a-day habit who worked in a 10x10-foot office with the door closed. This enveloped her, permanently, in smoke. She coughed a lot, and by 1985, she was diagnosed with lung cancer, unfortunately. This surprised nobody and frustrated everyone. We all kept on telling her to quit. She said she's fine. Until she wasn't. Then she quit, but it was too late.

I visited her a few months after her diagnosis, and there she lay in her hospital bed, breathing through a ventilator, skin and bones. I could barely hear her tell me that when she started smoking as a teen, it was cool. Everyone did it. She told me that if she new then what this habit would do to her, she never would have started.

She died three days later, emaciated and in pain.

I thought of Ellen last week as news came in that Congress had finally passed legislation allowing Tobacco to be regulated by the FDA. And I was outraged. It should have happened the day after the Attorney General declared smoking a hazard, in 1964.

Cigarettes are the only product on the market that, when used as directed, will eventually lead to a painful, premature death. And yet, even though we knew this, it was also the only consumable product in the US to not be regulated by the FDA. 500,000 die every year due to ailments caused by smoking. That means that in the 45 years since we knew the truth but did nothing, 22.5 million people have died from smoking.

So while I'm happy for future generations and the millions of lives this legislation will likely save, I look back, and I see 22.5 million lives--people like Ellen Keeler--who lost their health and lives for no reason.

The Talmud says one who saves a single life is as if he has saved the entire world. 22.5 million lives. President Obama, please don't delay signing this legislation another day.

Biodegradeable "plastic" cups!

2009-06-14T08:14:00.000-04:00

I'm working with a local organization to help them replace their regularly-used food service supplies with more earth-friendly alternatives. In my research, I've found numerous sites that offer biodegradable and compostable versions of plates, cutlery, and cups.

The cold cups are made from PLA (Polylactic Acid), which is derived from corn sugar (dextrose) and although it looks just like plastic, it is completely biodegradeable. A company called NatureWorks, LLC manufactures PLA pellets, which are used to manufacture packaging and food containers as well as cups.

I ordered the cups to try out at home, and they look and feel just like regular plastic cups (use them only for cold liquid, though!) The cups can be recycled, thrown out, or commercially composted. Even in landfill, they will begin to decompose within a few months.

I've snooped around the Internet for these cups (and other utensils) and have found that the cost for PLA cups can be lower than those of traditional plastic cups that the organization I'm helping gets through its supplier. 2,000 7-oz. PLA cups cost around $71, compared to over $90 for the plastic versions. (Check the site to order your supply).

Earth-friendly and saving money? That's a no brainer!

Hey! How about a nice high-fiber punch?

2009-06-12T08:38:00.000-04:00

Have you tried Juice Plus Fibre? It's great for kids' constipation! It's real juice with a whopping 10 grams of soluble dietary fiber in each 8-ounce juice pack. It's our most popular product, and no wonder: Kids, especially notoriously picky eaters, prefer Juice Plus Fibre over other commercial fiber drinks because it's made with real juice, and they can't taste the fiber. The Apple juice tastes like Apple juice, because it is the real thing! Explore the entire Juice Plus Fibre lineup.

My kids love the Fruit Punch, especially in the summer, right out of the fridge. Chilled, it's a treat for them. Your kids may like it, too! In honor of Summer (really, it may be cool and rainy here in the Northeast but I know it'll warm up soon) I'm lowering the price on Fruit Punch as follows:

1 case, only $34.95 per case plus shipping,
2 cases, only $32.95 per case plus shipping, and
3 or more, only $29.95 per case plus shipping,

down from $35.95, $33.95, and $30.95 per case, respectively. The sale begins now, and will be effective while supplies last, so
hurry and order now.

How Big is Your Carbon Footprint?

2009-06-09T17:09:00.000-04:00

JNF, the Jewish National Fund, has just posted a GoNeutral Carbon Calculator that, based on your answers to a short survey, determines how big your carbon footprint in, in terms of tons/pounds...and how many trees you need to plant to offset this.

The JNF is a non-profit organization that plants trees in order to raise money to support the state's many infrastructure projects. A tree costs $10. Entire forests have been created this way. Think about it: JNF has been doing this for over 60 years, making it one of the oldest environmental groups in the world!

Turns out Lori and I have a carbon footprint that can be offset by planting 46 trees this year. Try it and let us know how big your carbon footprint is!

http://support.jnf.org/goneutral/carbonCalc.html

Our first post!

2009-06-09T17:01:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Lori's Earth Friendly Blog! I'm Lori's Earth-Friendly husband, and both Lori and I plan to post information to help you, your health, and the environment.

Or, to put it in the common lingo, whatup, blogosphere?