Speeding Up the Slow Food Movement

For years now I've been pondering over why it's so easy in America to obtain cheap & unhealthy food? And why we're obsessed with thinking that this IS what good food is. I know, I'm guilty of the gluttony too...which is how I found out about Slow Food International. It's a movement which focuses on using food close to the source to create a variety of cuisines and flavors that are healthy, delicious and fresh. They organize farmers markets, dinners and events worldwide....but I think we need more.

Sure it's fun to getogether with others who understand why you want to eat wholesome food that actually tastes good, but why can't we start a healthy fast food movement with no excuses?

Just follow me here through some scenarios that takes today's transfatty-saturated-preseravative options and replaces them with those of a healthy culture:

Unhealthy: "I was sooooo hungover, that I NEEDED those Rally's chili cheese fries."
Solution: What's so wrong with having some baked potato fries and topping it with a fresh low-part skim cheese and a fresh black bean and turkey chili? It's just as comforting, maybe a little more time to prepare but not much, and will absolutely save your life in your post-party state.

Unhealthy: "I had to rush to a meeting, so I grabbed a Taco Bell Cheesy Gordita Crunch"
Solution: First of all, I wouldn't want to be meeting with you after your run to the border....but I've had mexican fare that tastes much better than Taco Bell and most Mexican fare is simple to prep and definitely won't break the bank.

There are restaurants that have made some progress after Jared started eatin' fresh at Subway...

• Ziggy's Healthy Grill in Houston had the idea right, but recently decided to replace their quick counter service with a less-than satisfactory table service. Bad move Ziggys...
• Ruggles Green, also in Houston, cooks up an organic menu with gluten-free options. Some menu items are healthy, but others are just as high calorie as anywhere else...so you have to be cautious of your choices. Great concept with delicious food, but it's slow and overpriced.
• My Fit Foods is definitely on to something with their dietician-approved freshly prepared meals. The prices aren't too bad, the staff is knowledgeable, the food is amazingly flavorful and filling, and the preps are quick.
• New Orleans' own Naked Pizza has received rave reviews on Yelp for their yummy pies. They are use whole grain crust and fresh toppings with no preservatives. Even the skeptics seem to enjoy it. They're looking to franchise nationwide...good luck guys.

I just think it would be so simple to have a drive through healthy fast food option with baked items, healthy sandwiches, veggies and fruits instead of what we are currently harming ourselves with. What is it about knowing that something is so bad for you that makes you want it more? I guess just the feeling of rebellion....but if you could replace it with something that won't put you in a post-meal coma for the same speed and price....would you do it?

Houston has a certified organic restaurant...really!

Nope, it's not April Fool's Day....the city filled with big trucks, hummers, and cowboy hats actually has some green to it. Ruggles' newest restaurant is Ruggles Green, the city's first certified organic restaurant and I dined there for the first time last night.

It's a meal you can feel good about...well unless you succumb to the temptation of the decadent desserts staring at you through their glass encasement. Although they looked so delicious (and Ruggles is known for their amazing desserts!!) that you probably wouldn't suffer from PDCD, post-dessert consumption depression.

The parking situation is not-so-hot (I had to walk from Whole Foods) and the layout didn't feel very comfy while eating. Mainly because everything was so close together and the music was rather loud. I do love Jack Johnson, but with every table seated so close together, the mixture of convos and laid-back jams made it hard for me to talk to my dining buddy....but that's the extent of the rants.

I want to go here all the time so I can try everything on the menu!! It all sounded so delicious, but I was in a chicken curry salad kind of mood. It was delicious...a perfect mixture of sweet and spicy. The dried mangoes were really what put it over the top for me!

My dining companion chose the fish tacos and raved over how delicious they were!! The plate was piled high with cabbage and fish...one can never go wrong with that!

Wine by-the-glass selection and prices were reasonable, they also have an espresso bar, and an extensive assortment of condiments for dressing up your eco-conscious meal. Everything was healthy and organic....truly a feat for Houston, which Ruggles has successfully accomplished.

I felt like I was reducing my carbon footprint with every bite I took. Can't wait to go back and try the sweet potato gnocchi!!

Jack J and crew are reducing your Concert Carbon Footprint!

I thought this was a very interesting article, especially since my week has included calculating Carbon Footprints. Also, check out Rogue Wave and Mason Jennings, two of Brushfire Records' artists mentioned in the article. If Jack approves, they must be good!

By Quinn Brown
CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Don't let Jack Johnson fool you.

Tabbed as a "mellow rocker" by perhaps one too many publications, the chart-topping singer-songwriter has a fire within that belies his laid-back manner -- a fire that extends to his company, Brushfire Records, and his environmental activism.

Johnson started the record label in 2002 "as a way to put out soundtracks for surf movies we were making," he says. "Then our friends G. Love and Special Sauce were coming to the end of their record deal with another label, and the idea came up to put out their stuff."

The Hawaii-based artist -- whose latest album "Sleep Through the Static" hit No. 1 in the U.S. and sold over 2 million albums worldwide -- has continued to assemble talent. The label's roster now includes indie-rockers Rogue Wave, folk-pop musician Mason Jennings and keyboardist Money Mark.

Johnson says the record label is not driven by dollar signs.

"We never try to talk anybody into joining the label, but we just offer a lot of creative control over all their music and a fairer deal than with most other labels," he explains.

Rogue Wave frontman Zach Schwartz is one of the converts. "The music business is traditionally pretty cutthroat, nasty and evil, but [with Brushfire], it is not that way," he tells CNN. "You can make the music you want to make."

Still, even in these major-label-dominated times, artist-friendly labels aren't unusual; Dave Matthews has also attracted talent with his ATO Records. It's in making Brushfire a model of green business that Johnson and his colleagues have stood out.

As keen environmentalists, Johnson and his team have required Brushfire and its distributors to engage in earth-friendly implementations that have influenced others in the record business.

"The music is one thing, but there is this business side," says Zach Gill, a Brushfire solo artist and member of Johnson's touring band. "I think more and more businesses are saying, 'Yeah, we want to be responsible. Responsible to our employees. Responsible for the waste our company generates.' We're starting to see that a lot in all kinds of businesses, not just in music," he says.

Entertainment industry giant Universal Music Group -- the largest family of record labels in the recording industry -- has taken notice. Under Brushfire's direction, UMG uses recycled stock on all of the packaging for its releases, including movies, ensuring that the paper is as environmentally friendly as possible. Some is even made using wind power.

Moreover, Brushfire's artists have exerted their eco-influence on venues and promoters for concert tours worldwide. The tour rider, a checklist of artists' requirements at each venue, usually consists of specific brands of beer or (in one case involving Jennifer Lopez) the way the coffee is stirred. Brushfire uses an EnviroRider, a handbook of eco-friendly options and actions for various components of concert tour production.

"It gets augmented every year. What started out as suggestions are now becoming requirements [for us to play at a venue]," says Johnson.

Johnson and his management also created All At Once, a social action network that provides tools and information to people who want to become more involved in their community and worldwide. Visitors to the All At Once area at tour venues will be rewarded with exclusive music downloads by their favorite Brushfire artists. Johnson's charity, Ohana Charitable Foundation, will match any donation (up to $2,500) to nonprofits made by fans at the shows or online.

"We shrink our carbon footprint always, but we have all these nonprofit groups that we all work with," says Johnson. "Money from the shows goes to these groups and helps bolster their memberships so that after we leave the town, these groups can continue to do good things. So more than just lessening our negative [environmental] impact, it's actually leaving a positive impact [wherever we tour]," says Johnson.

Additional actions taken by Brushfire tours will include fueling tour vehicles with sustainable biodiesel, offering eco-friendly merchandise, working with venues to create waste management programs, onsite recycling and encouraging fans to use alternative transportation.

Back at home, Brushfire has adopted a similar strategy. All the power for the recording studios and the offices is generated by solar panels. Insulation is supplied by cotton from scraps of blue jeans. Energy-efficient lighting runs throughout the building. Second-hand furniture is all you will find in its offices.

The mission resonates with the other artists on the label's roster.

"For me, it's so great to be a part of the label because so many people provide information about what we can do to make it better -- touring more efficiently, biodiesel -- stuff like that," says Jennings. "I'm learning a ton being around those guys."

At bottom, the atmosphere of collaboration and common purpose is rooted in the shared love of music, says Gill.

"Music is the great synchronizer. They've become quite a wonderful community to be a part of. I feel grateful to Jack for having the idea to bring together all these like-minded people to make music together," he says.

Johnson agrees. "It's everything. It is the whole reason to play music. I learn so much from playing with these other musicians," he says.