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Category: Food & Recipes

Organics Live: Organic Delivery Service + Franchise Opportunity in PA, DE, NJ
Post written in partnership with Philly Social Media Moms for Organics Live.
Enter below to win a Vitamix S30 Blender!

Imagine what it would be if, as a national policy,
we said we would only be successful
if we had fewer people going to the hospital
next year than last year.

How about that for success?

The idea then would be to have such nutritionally dense,
unadulterated food that people who ate it
actually felt better, had more energy, and weren’t sick as much.

Now see, that’s a noble goal.

~Joel Salatin

Trying to eat in a way that’s healthy and sustainable for your body, your lifestyle and the earth? Invested in preserving and improving the world we share?

A logical first step is to incorporate more organic fruits and vegetables into your diet.

Local peeps, huddle up. Today we’ve featuring a company that delivers locally sourced, organic food right to your door— for less than retail.

And they’re offering opportunities to become a partner, so you can grow your own business while supporting organic.

And there’s a chance to win a Vitamix blender at the end of this post.

Read on, friend.

So, raise your hand if you or someone you know is making more of an effort to eat organic fruits and vegetables.

We hear all the time about the benefits of eating organic and supporting organic farmers. But for many of us, shopping for organic food can be a timesuck and a chore, requiring a stop at the farmer’s market or CSA plus a grocery store or two just to get the foods we feel good about feeding our families. In addition to these reasons, many people feel eating organic is too expensive for their family budget.

What if I told you there was an easier way?

What if there is an easier way to get affordable, fresh, certified organic fruits and vegetables: delivered right to your door every week?

Organics Live, a company founded in Canada, is coming to our area and will be offering their popular weekly delivery service to homes and businesses. Organics Live delivers certified organic, sustainably produced, and locally focused food and groceries for less than the cost of shopping retail! That and their 100% Satisfaction Guarantee is part of their very successful formula.

Right now, Organics Live is looking for the right partners in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware Areas as they expand to the U.S.
- Have you always dreamed about being in business for yourself?
- Did you leave the workforce to raise your kids and are now looking for something to generate income and a different type of satisfaction?
- Are you already passionate about health and wellness and interested in partnering with a company that has the same values?
- Are you a go-getter who works hard and feels it’s time to personally reap the rewards of the success you generate?
- Are you looking for a way to achieve work/life balance?
If you said yes to any of the above, you may be the one of the partners Organics Live is looking for.

Why Organics Live as a possible business venture?

Organics is growing!

Sales of organic products in the United States jumped to 35.1 billion in 2013, up 11.5% from the previous year’s 31.5 billion. 81% of U.S. families now choose organic food at least part of the time.

You can join a rapidly growing company founded by concerned dads with a shared belief that strong, prosperous communities can be fueled by good clean food!

“At Organics Live, everything we deliver is sustainably produced with a heavy focus on supporting local growers and producers. We run a carbon neutral operation, offsetting all parts of the businesses, from field to plate. Our boxes are “best-of-season”, meaning that we source the freshest, highest quality fruits and vegetables available at any given time and deliver to homes and business weekly. Our mission is to build sustainable local food systems by providing our franchisees the support they need to move sustainably produced goods and services from makers to consumers with as little waste as possible.”

Corporate makes it easy

No inventory, warehouse space, or product management. No receivables, billing, or collection. No sourcing, buying, receiving, packing, or deliveries. Corporate even provides your website, IT, sales hotline, and marketing materials!

Not the usual franchise start-up costs

Territory ownership of households and businesses, full franchise status with resale rights, no royalties, and no brick and mortar required means your investment is 1/10 of a typical franchise operation start-up cost.

If any of this appeals to you and you want to learn more or claim your desired territory before it’s taken, please visit Organics Live to learn more at www.franchising.organicslive.com.

As for the rest of you, Organics Live looks forward to making it easier and more affordable for you to eat the way you want to! We can’t wait to show you the Organics Live difference! Stay tuned!

Follow Organics Live on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with happenings, expansion and seasonal recipes.

To celebrate the U.S. expansion, one of you lucky readers will win this beautiful Vitamix S30 Blender! It is a powerhouse! Good luck!
April 13, 2015
Love This: Lifefactory Glass Food Containers and Water Bottles
Now that’s what I call high quality H2O!

-Bobby Boucher, The Waterboy

Note: this post contains affiliate links, meaning if you click through to Amazon I get a small % of any resulting sales. If you’d prefer not to use those links, you can check out the full Lifefactory line on their site.

I work out 4-6 times a week. Maverick comes with me 3-4 of those times. Cassidy has soccer practice and games. We drink a LOT of water in this house: during workouts, and in between.

At home, we use the CamelBak Relay Pitcher I was sent on behalf of the Fitness Magazine FitBlog event to filter our hard well water (I should really write a separate post about that, we love it). But on the go, I have one true love and that is Lifefactory glass water bottles.

Why? There are a couple of reasons:
- I’m convinced stainless steel and reusable plastic water bottles retain some taste from the dishwasher or from dish soap. It can be helped by using special cleaning tabs (or you can use something like Efferdent) but I’d be using those all. the. time.
- I don’t like that I can’t see inside stainless steel bottles to make sure they’re not building up funk inside.
- Glass bottles, by contrast, can go into the dishwasher and come out clean— no extra step.
- There’s none of the “do they or don’t they?” concerns about chemicals leaching like you have with plastic bottles.
- Glass is infinitely recyclable.
- Lifefactory glass bottles are clothed in a silicone sleeve so they’re super sturdy (we’ve had ours for years now and trust me, they’ve taken some abuse), don’t leak even a little bit so I am comfortable tossing in my gymbag or a kids’ backpack, and come in a bunch of fun colors.
I scanned back through some of my Instagram and Facebook posts and easily came up with proof that my Lifefactory bottles rarely leave my side:

No joke, this pic used to be on some of my business cards

You get the idea. I prefer the flat cap that screws on & off easily; it’s widemouthed so I can add ice cubes or protein powder. But they also sell with a flipcap or a straw cap.

Well, I just discovered that Lifefactory now has food storage containers! We already use Pyrex glass containers for our leftovers, but I’ve never used them for packing lunches because I was afraid they’d get broken. These come in 1, 2, and 4 cup sizes and the smaller ones would be PERFECT for kid lunchboxes.

These may seem expensive out of the gate, but I know I’m forever replacing plastic tupperware, especially small ones. The lids fall onto the dishwasher bottom and get mangled, they crack, and pretty much the first time anyone uses it to hold onions or anything with red sauce it’s done for.

Lifefactory also has water or wine glasses (depending on the day you’ve had. With different color sleeves, you’ve never take someone else’s glass by accident again!) and baby bottles (4 and 9 oz), as well as silicone teethers. The baby bottles are made from thermal shock resistant borosilicate glass, so they can transition safely from freezer to boiling water. You can also buy sippy caps or flat caps for these bottles, so they’ll get years and years of use! Cass has a 9oz bottle with a flat cap and it fits into her lunchbox (it’s the only bottle Jeff will let me use to pack milk in his lunch on PB&J days).

Now, I’m really hoping that you don’t need to be sold on the idea of reusables in general. Plastic doesn’t go away, and reusables divert a ton of waste from landfills. They also alleviate a lot of concerns about chemicals released when plastics break down over time.

So any reusable is better than none. But IMHO, Lifefactory is the best. Who do you like?
September 1, 2014
The Philly Farm and Food Fest: Local, Organic, Sustainable Family Fun (Ticket Giveaway!)
I’m so excited! Something came up last year and we couldn’t make the Philly Farm & Food Fest. This year we received a pair of press passes and I can’t wait to check out the local & sustainable exhibitors, cooking demonstrations, speakers and (yay!) beers.

The Philly Farm & Food Fest takes place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center Annex from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm on Sunday, April 13th. Kids under 12 get in free, and there’s plenty to do that’s just for them: watch Watermelon Magic, a family friendly film, and then make & take a craft; sample local & organic treats from five different ice cream & ice pop makers; and shop at the Whole Food Markets mini grocery store.

This is the Farm & Food Fests’s third year— and it’s been growing by leaps and bound each year! On Sunday you can check out:
- shopping! The freshest organic foods from around the region will be collected under one roof— 132 vendors will be sampling and selling their locally grown and produced foods. Meet the farmers, chefs and small business owners that are on the cutting edge of Philadelphia’s flourishing artisan food scene.
- demos on beekeeping, small batch canning, growing native plants and more.
- the Demo Kitchen. Learn from farm-to-table chefs like Chef Barbie Marshall, a Southwest Philadelphia native who competed on FOX’s Hell’s Kitchen; Roberta Pipito, who will prepare a noodle-free, gluten-free “spaghetti,” and Char Nolan, who will demonstrate whole food, vegetarian dishes that can be made for under ten dollars in ten minutes.
- “Great News About Good Food” panel discussion led by hospitality consultant and food blogger Clark Wolf.
- Local Libations Lounge featuring Dad’s Hat Rye Whiskey, Dock Street Brewing Company, Frecon Farm’s Cidery, Paradocx Vineyard (that’s right down the street from me!), Philadelphia Distilling, Sly Fox Brewing Company, Stonekeep Meadery, Subarashii Kudamono (who will introduce a new dry Asian Pear Wine), Victory Brewing Company and Weyerbacher Brewing Company. Maybe I should have Jeff drive.
- Shellfish Salon, a guided tasting of delicious east coast oysters and clams led by Sam Mink, owner of Oyster House. Experience freshly shucked salty beauties from Cape May Salts and Choptank Oyster Company and freshly cooked clams from Heritage Shellfish Cooperative.
Now, here are the deets:

General Admission tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Children 12 and under are free.

A limited number of tickets are still available for the timed and guided tastings in the Local Libations Lounge and Shellfish Salon for $15 per person (must be 21 for those and you have to buy the tickets in advance).

Tickets are available at phillyfarmfest.org but I have a pair to give away! Just comment below letting me know who you would take. Entry period closes at midnight on Friday, April 11th; winner will be selected at random.
April 10, 2014