A dear friend, who not only creates and prepares some of the most delicious meals on the planet, but also writes exquisitely about food, wrote an enticing and slightly sexy piece about figs. I was inspired. Although when it comes to figs, I’m easy.

This ancient fruit may indeed be the first cultivated fruit in the Middle East, but for those of us living in the US, we can be grateful that California has risen to become the third largest producer of figs in the world, just behind Greece and Turkey. For some riveting facts about figs and their rich history, the California Fig Advisory Board supplies a healthy dose of interesting tidbits.

This unlikely sexy food only makes a brief appearance and sadly does not last very long nor refrigerate well – I suppose this is why dried figs are so popular!

Figs are attributed with mighty powers and without going into serious research as to the veracity of these claims, I will only say that there are some wild claims as to this fruit’s ability to cure or heal everything from ’sexual weakness’ (?) and venereal disease to bowel health, diabetes, earaches, abscesses and asthma.

All I know from experience is that experiencing fresh, ripe figs is a sensual experience – with their plump, round shape and multi-textured sweet meat and fun tiny seeds, figs are a riot of taste and sensation.

What is slightly more documented is the Fig’s potent mineral and fiber content. Figs are high in vitamins A, B1 and B2 and minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and manganese. According to one Suite 101 writer, dried figs have 250 mg of calcium / 100 g, which is more than 100 g of whole milk, which only contains 118mg!

I was really turned on to the magic of figs a couple of years ago when attending a Suppers Program, which is a program about getting back to basics in whole food nutrition. It was held at a woman’s home in Princeton and we all went out to raid her garden and each of us came up with a recipe (she had obviously purchased some of the main course/protein stuff). I was immediately attracted to her fig tree, which was full and ready for my greedy hands. I created a simple and delicious Fig & Tomato salad (the recipe is at the end of the old post in the previous link) using fruit from her garden. Yum.

I’ve got fig tree envy, but know without any doubt that the vigorous and tenacious critters that dwell near our home would never let one grow in my back yard. I’ll have to rely on my local producers (or my grocery store if desperate) during the short growing season.

My advice is to RUN don’t walk to find some of these sensual treats!

eat. blog. be merry!
GD Meg

Terro Fruit Fly Trap

So we come home from summer vacation to a kitchen full of fruit flies. I thought they would just go away in a few days, but as we filled the veggie and fruit basket on the counter with our farm stand purchases,  they just multiplied!  Clamoring on the cabinet doors and landing on every bit of food I had out was very annoying!  Then I remembered my handy Terro Fruit Fly Trap from the Terro company – a non-toxic, ready-to-use, fast-acting trap that prevents flies from breeding and multiplying.

I just poured the food-based liquid into the trap (which looks like a piece of fruit) and placed it under the cabinet, near the fruit basket (which I emptied) where they were lingering.  Within an hour they were all hanging out on the fake fruit and overnight they were all gone – dove into the trap!  Amazing!

Thank you Terro!  — Green Diva Jen

The Green Divas are taking a much-needed break for a couple of weeks. We’ll be off the air until September 2. We already have great shows planned for September, so don’t forget to tune in, log on, whatever. Until then, enjoy the rest of your summer!

Meanwhile, please find us on Facebook: Green Divas Radio Show. Green Diva Meg will be posting from the road!

eat. blog. be merry!

This awesome bag, which I will be very hard pressed to give up, is made from material that is made from recycled plastic bottles. Yup. Keeping plastic bottles out of the landfill and from what I can tell, it is going to last a long time.

The maker’s of this wonderful and useful piece of eco-style are GreenSmart and we are going to get to talk to one of the founders, Tom Larsen tonight on the show and get an update on what’s new in their product lines that just might be relevant to the ‘back to school thing’, learn a bit about recycled bottle fabric, and find out what other fun things they are involved in (and I heard it through the organic grapevine that they are hosting a visit from The Big Green Bus).

Don’t miss our fun back to school show (sorry kids)!

Meanwhile, you can see my original post about this awesome bag here.

Tune in and turn on a friend!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
7 – 8pm EST
HomeGrownRadioNJ.org

So, tonight’s show is all food. We have two interviews folks. The first is with Kendrya Close, Executive Director of the Food Shed Alliance, which is based not far from our studio in Blairstown, NJ. The Food Shed Alliance is an amazing organization that has helped to support and promote area farmers and bring more awareness to the surrounding communities through a variety of events, including really yummy farm-to-table dinners hosted at some of the local farms. Kendrya will tell us about all their wonderful programs.

Then, our second interview will be with Misty Krupier, owner of a Brooklyn-based food business that is dedicated to using locally sourced food that is sustainably and responsibly grown. Through her business, Lucas Fine Foods, Misty will be starting a program to provide healthy lunch boxes for local kids. Can’t wait to hear more about that!

And of course, if you haven’t already heard, it is National Farmer’s Market Week, so if you haven’t been to yours yet, make sure to get to one this week – the harvest is ripe for the taking!

Tune in and turn on a friend!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
7 – 8pm EST
HomeGrownRadioNJ.org

Well, we’re glad John Voelcker, senior editor with High Gear Media will be calling in tonight to give us the 411 on what’s going on in the rapidly evolving ’green car’ tech world.

If you have any questions (and we know you do), please IM us during the show: YahooIM – green.divas OR you can email us: info@thegreendivas.com OR BEST OF ALL, become a ‘fan’ on our FaceBook page and post there during the show: Green Divas Radio Show

Tune in and turn on a friend!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
7 – 8pm EST
HomeGrownRadioNJ.org

I’ve been using Tom’s of Maine toothpaste, dental and personal care products since . . . well, for longer than I care to admit here, but let’s just say that I was an early adopter.

Back in the last century (1980s), when I was just a babe, I was publishing the first version of Relevant Times and running a small marketing agency.  There were a handful of socially conscious and sustainably minded businesses coming into their own and Tom’s of Maine was one of them. We used to dream about doing marketing for companies like this, but back then, there wasn’t enough money to support our growing families . . . so we lamented.

Now, WOW, companies like Tom’s of Maine are leading the way in raising the bar in creating and maintaining corporate standards for sustainability and corporate social responsibility. While the company was purchased by Colgate-Palmolive  in 2006, Tom and his wife Kate stipulated that their socially responsible corporate policies be retained. To their credit, the company seems to be doing a great job of continuing and even expanding on the fundamental philosophies of no animal testing, natural and healthy ingredients, sustainable sourcing and environmental manufacturing practices, employee and fair trade consciousness and extensive community outreach, awareness and give-back programs.

My family has used so many of the Tom’s products and while I’ve personally pretty much always used the toothpaste, I’ve never been attached to any particular flavor and sort of rotate through a couple of the regulars and add new ones to the rotation as they appear. However, when I got an opportunity to review their new ‘Wicked Fresh’ toothpaste and mouthwash, I was curious, but without much expectation of finding anything too different than I’m used to from Tom’s.

I am quite surprised at how much I like this new ‘flavor’ and how attached I think I’ll be now to this one particular product line. If you go to the website, you can see the ingredient list and THAT is refreshing . . . it is nice to see not only a simple chart of pretty clean ingredients, but where they are sourced and what they are used for!

I’ve always loved Tom’s of Maine, but now I’m a devotee of the Wicked Fresh line. Check it out!

eat. blog. be merry!
gd meg

Green Diva Jen is also a holistic mom and one of the early members and founders of our local chapter of the Holistic Moms Network. We have definitely found that conscious moms who are concerned about natural health and wellness for their children and families, tend to be green moms and be more willing to adopt and teach their families sustainable living practices.

The Executive Director of the Holistic Moms Network, Nancy Massotto, will be calling into the Green Divas Radio Hour tonight. She’ll talk about what’s new with this fast-growing network of smart sustainable moms and all about their upcoming annual even this Fall.

Try IMing us on our new Yahoo IM handle during the show: green.divas@yahoo.com!

Tune in and turn on a friend!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
7 – 8pm EST
HomeGrownRadioNJ.org

Jeff will be calling in tonight on the Green Divas Radio Hour to update us on his travels, talk about his book and of course talk with us about how cheap being green is.

Tune in and turn on a friend!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
7 – 8pm EST
HomeGrownRadioNJ.org