Happy Earth Day! Hopefully you'll be able to spend time outside with your family today. A picnic with our organic chips, perhaps?
After months of working on them, our new multigrain chips are finally hitting stores! We have three delicious flavors:
Sea Salt by the Seashore
Along with winning Best New Product at the 2010 Natural Product's Expo, these new chips are also 100% Whole Grain, certified gluten free, peanut/tree nut free and give 10% of profits to the American Camp Association for summer camp scholarships for kids in need!
Please ask the store manager where you regularly shop to bring them in! We're excited to hear what you think!
As much as I've resisted saying goodbye to the best summer in years, back to school is officially here! Luckily, both of my sons are really excited about their teachers so it's making the transition a bit easier. It also got me thinking that this year my back to school post should celebrate teachers!
Everyone has a favorite teacher, one that made a real difference, and this is your chance to let everyone know about them! I have a lot of great teachers to thank and some I should probably apologize to, but my high school English teacher J.C. Smith really stands out. He believed in me and I’ve never forgotten him. Tell us about your favorite teacher (past or present) for a chance to win a World’s Best Teacher Care Package that includes a Late July variety pack, a World’s Best Teacher Trophy and a $50 Amazon.com gift certificate for your teacher and a Late July Variety Pack and $50 Amazon.com gift certificate for you (for being so thoughtful). If for some reason we can’t give the prize to your favorite teacher, you can select another teacher to receive the package. Please post on Facebook or on latejuly.com by Sept 31st for a chance to WIN!
Most (okay all) of our friends thought we were crazy to pack our two boys & two dogs into our not nearly big enough car for two weeks, but it was so worth it! Our two weeks were filled with creating lifelong memories like the one pictured above at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival where my boys listened to amazing music like local musician Kermit Ruffins and ate delicious local food like Louisiana crawfish bread. It was also a good reminder of what Late July is all about - those special moments spent with friends and family that you didn't plan, but stay with you forever.
Everyone asks why I chose the name "Late July" and I always say that Late July is a not just a time of year, it's a feeling, a way of living life that means seizing and relishing those moments. So I'm officially advocating that everyone go on a family road trip this summer to create your own "Late July" moments. We'll even provide the road snacks, entertainment and carbon offsets for one lucky family!
To enter send an email to offers@latejuly.com, post on Facebook or comment at www.latejuly.com to tell us where you'd like to take your family this summer or please share a special trip experience from the past. Our trip this year was my favorite, but we're hoping to get a few good ideas from you for next year. All submissions will get coupons, but our favorite will also WIN a Late July Beach Bag filled with at least $50 worth of Late July Organic Snacks, a $25 iTunes gift card and we'll also carbon offset your trip!
Full disclosure: we did have a few Wally World moments too, but that's part of what made it a great trip!
I can't believe we made it! We love many things about the arrival of Spring, but we are especially excited because it marks the return of my family's organic garden. We're getting more confident this year and the new issue of Organic Gardening magazine from our friends at Rodale has my head spinning with ideas. My sons and I are determined to grow organic watermelons (with the help of some advice shared by Marty Mesh, a fellow Organic Trade Association board member & organic watermelon expert, among other things). He told me all the things I had done wrong in the past and that it was essential to use sugar baby seeds and most importantly, to start them in a greenhouse because the climate on Cape Cod would make it too difficult to ensure enough hot growing days. Luckily, my son's school has an organic greenhouse, so we're going for it! Delicious organic watermelons (full of big ole seeds) have been sadly missing from our weekend beach picnics, but this is all going to change in 2010. Wish us luck!
In other Spring news: We've set up some great deals at retailers all around the country in March on our mini sandwich crackers and in April our mini sandwich cookies!
Also, don't forget to fan Late July on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!
Now it's just another 90 days or so until the 1st day of summer, but I won't get ahead of myself! Happy Spring, everyone!
Watching Unwrapped the other night I was surprised to learn that Oreos are the most popular cookies left out for Santa! So the boys and I, along with some of our facebook fans, were thinking maybe Santa would like something organic this year.
Hope everyone is having a holiday season filled with peace, love and joy! See you in 2010!
I wait all year for the first weekend in December to make my first batch of holiday cookies. Now my youngest son, and sometimes my oldest will bake with me. Everyone's favorite part is always adding the vanilla extract. I've always been obsessed with vanilla and it seems I've passed it on because the vanilla is the only part the boys will fight over. This obsession meant I had to get the vanilla for our Vanilla Bean with Green Tea cookies just right.
Vanilla, grown from a beautiful orchid, is one of the most complex flavors in the world containing over 150 aromatic components. It also has to be hand pollinated and the pods must be hand harvested which accounts for the high cost. Every pod is examined daily to determine when it's ready to harvest because they ripen individually. Each vanilla region has a distinct flavor and after sampling all the vanillas, I concluded that Madagascar was my favorite for its rich, less smokey flavor. My testing also reaffirmed my love for the seeds which we ultimately included in Late July's blend.
In the end, I found a supplier even more passionate about vanilla than I am, Lemur International. Not only did their vanilla have the best flavor, but their commitment to sustainability and giving back to the growers at the farming cooperative in Madagascar was impressive.
I consider it a great honor to make food for other people, whether it's holiday cookies with my sons or on a larger scale through Late July and the ingredients that go into both are what make the end result special. Every ingredient has a story and I'm always willing to share ours. If you're ever curious about any of our other ingredients just email us. Happy baking!
Happy Holidays everyone. I wanted to share some of the best eco-friendly holiday gifts I've seen this year. Hint, hint to my family & friends...
10.
Organic Wine Club Membership from Medlock Ames Winery. The recipient will get 4 shipments of either 2 or 6 bottles of pre-release wines and special access to their beautiful "by appointment only" winery that has been called "an extraordinary example of environmental sustainability". I am a member and look forward to every shipment!
9.
Give someone an original movie poster from Posterati. I know movie posters aren't traditionally associated with eco, but this gift is the ultimate in reuse! There are so many to choose from, you can pick their favorite movie or one that will remind them of a favorite memory.
8.
Late July's mixed cookie pack or cookie cracker sampler! Make sure your favorite college student is well fed! Email us at info@latejuly.com about a snack of the month club.
7.
Snuggleherd's adorable upcycled tshirt stuffed animals make great presents! Each comes with a cute story and you can also get a matching romper.
6.
Handmade recipe journal. Help someone create a lasting family keepsake. I have one that holds all my special family recipes and my kids get so excited every time I get it off the shelf. Pictured is one from Bittybook's and this one I found at Uncommon Goods is handmade and uses recycled paper. You could also make your own from recycled materials. This gift will be in their family for generations.
5.
Seedling Pot maker and spider web frame! Create little pots for seedlings with old newspapers. Combine this gift with organic sunflower seeds and this garden spider web frame and even my seven year old would think it was cool!
4.
Give your favorite family cookie recipe, an itunes holiday playlist and these wonderful mixing bowls from Preserve made from 100% post consumer #5 plastic.
3.
For the little chef. My 3 year old loves to cook pretend food. Last year he got a wooden play kitchen. This year I'm getting him this set from Green Toys to go with it! It's made from 100% recycled milk jugs and contains no lead paint or BPA.
2.
Home canning gift. A canning set and book make the perfect gift for the organic gardener. Weck Home Canning Company makes glass jars with glass lids so they don't contain BPA like standard metal lids. Weck has an order form on their website.
1.
Looking for a sentimental gift that will last a lifetime? Then a seasoned cast iron skillet is the perfect gift! My husband gave me one this summer and I was skeptical (and a little scared) at first that it would really be as non-stick as you hear. I imagined myself having to spend hours cleaning every time I used it, but the one he gave me came seasoned and after just a few uses it has become one of my favorite pans! It's so nice to be able to use a non-stick pan again without worrying about cancer causing materials. I can't wait to see my skillet 50 years from now! Now I just need a second so I can pass them down to my sons!
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