Kopali Supergood Superfoods

Sometimes I just find advertising really confusing.

For example, I never understood those jam ads that said, "With a name like Smucker's, it has to be good."®

Why did it have to be good? Does the name Smucker's somehow intrinsically embody goodness?

On the other hand, with a name like Supergood Superfoods, you're certainly creating some high expectations.

Created by Kopali Organics, all 10 varieties of Supergood Superfoods are certified Organic according to USDA standards. Kopali says that means a government-approved certifier has checked the organic standards each farm, producer and processor involved in the production of Supergood Superfoods.

Kopali quotes the standards from the USDA's National Organic Program (NOP):

Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations... Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation.

Four varieties of the Supergood Superfoods (Mango, Pineapple, Mulberry and Goldenberry) contain just organic dried foods with nothing added at all - no sugar, no oil, no sulfites.

I thought maybe Kopali had created the term 'superfood', but according to Wikipedia, usage of the word stretches back more than 90 years to mean a food with lots of beneficial phytochemicals (compounds derived from plants or fruits).

Kopali's Supergood Superfoods certainly seem to fit that bill. Take the Goldenberries. These puppies are packed with Vitamin A (81% in a 1.8-ounce serving) and dietary fiber (20%).

I don't believe I'd ever tried a goldenberry before, which isn't too surprising since apparently goldenberries are one of the Lost Crops of the Incas. But now that Kopali has rediscovered this lost crop, I hope others jump onto the goldenberry band wagon. Simultaneously sweet and tart with a bit of crunch, the experience of eating a goldenberry is a bit like biting into a slice of honey-soaked lemon (only less messy).

Have a sweeter tooth? Indulge in one of the five varieties of Supergood Superfoods covered in Fair Trade Certified™ dark chocolate. The chocolate enrobes cacao nibs, goji berries, espresso beans, banana or mulberries. I tried the Chocolate Goji Berries and have to say that the chocolate sort of cloaks the organic berry hiding inside, but it felt good to know that I was getting 23% of my Vitamin A while nibbling on a chocolatey snack!

Incidentally, it doesn't show up in the Nutrition Facts box, but according to a December 2007 article in the UK Telegraph, goji berries are #1 when it comes to concentrations of antioxidants (substances that may protect your body's cells against damaging free radicals).

Finally, if you just can't make up your mind, you can always choose the Supergood Superfoods Organic Mix - goji berries, mulberries, pistachios and cacao nibs.

We don't have any gripes about the taste, presentation or ethos behind Supergood Superfoods, but we do have two quibbles. First, all the Supergood Superfoods come packaged in plastic pouches. Since the pouches themselves are kind of small, you'll go through a lot of plastic if you nibble a Supergood Superfoods snack every day.

Second, with an MSRP of $3.99 for 1.8 ounces (which translates into approximately $36/lb.), you'd need a SuperBankAccount to make Supergood Superfoods a daily snack.

At prices like those, you might want to grow your own Superfoods. Incidentally, that Telegraph article did say that goji berry plants are tough, self-fertile and easy to grow, so if you're looking for a new gardening project...

Where to buy:

According to Kopali, you should be able to find Supergood Superfoods at every Whole Foods Market for an MSRP of $3.99 each.

Buttermilk Falls Inn, Blue Ridge Destination Center, HomeAway.com, Hotel Rosa Alpina, Hotel SO, Earthsong, Callaway Gardens, Aerial Trams

In the summer, New York City (1GreenProduct's home base) can be a summer festival, but the heat and crowds can also get a bit overwhelming.

That's why it was so nice to get away for a couple of days last week to the historic Buttermilk Falls Inn, located about two hours north of the city along the Hudson River.

What makes Buttermilk Falls Inn a great destination for eco-minded travelers looking for a little rest and relaxation?

1. The organic kitchen garden and the organic eggs from the resident heritage breed chickens. This organic bounty goes into delicious and beautiful breakfast dishes such as scrambled eggs with cheese and broccoli or raspberry pancakes. As Local Harvest says, "The best organic food is what's grown closest to you." It's hard to get more local than an organic garden on the property.

2. A new spa that uses solar and geothermal systems to heat the mineral pool, sauna and steam room. The spa also features natural and organic skincare lines such as Dr. Alkaitis, Spa Technologies and Jurlique in its treatments.

3. The Inn's 70 acres of bucolic riverfront property provide plenty of room for hiking and strolling. You can borrow bikes to ride on gravel trails or the lightly trafficked local roads. You can play a bit of tennis or take stale bread down to the pond and feed the ducks, swans and one very aggressive goose.

4. Technically, you don't need a car. It's possible to reach the Inn via a 2-hour train ride on Metro North from Grand Central station. You get off at the Poughkeepsie station (last stop on the Hudson Line) and then take a $20 cab ride to the Inn. Note that the inn only serves breakfast, so you'll want to bring some of your own food and perhaps ask for one of the suites with its own kitchen, like the spacious and comfortable Gindelle Suite where we spent our time.

(Tip - If you do take the train up to Buttermilk Falls Inn, sit on the left side going north and the right side on the way back to NYC. You'll enjoy beautiful views of the Hudson River most of the way.)

Service was unfailingly polite and cordial at the Inn. Since travelers with cars will often head off during the day to explore nearby destinations like Hyde Park, you may have the property mostly to yourself if you decide to lazily explore the grounds and gardens.

Room rates range from $225 - $450 per night, although you can sometimes find discounted rates and special promotions.

Here's some more Green travel news we've uncovered recently -

• North Carolina - Travelers to the Blue Ridge Parkway can enjoy the new LEED quality Destination Center providing information and orientations services inside a building with active/passive heating and cooling, radiant floor heating and a green roof.

• Instead of staying at an eco-friendly hotel, why not consider an eco-friendly vacation rental? Sites like HomeAway.com can get you the keys to a villa in Spain that uses solar power for lighting and reuses pool water to irrigate the garden. Or how about an organic Italian farm with free range animals, olive groves and of course solar panels to heat water and make some of the electricity? Another Spanish mountainside home gets its energy from both solar panels and wind turbines, while giving visitors a panoramic view of the Mediterranean.

• According to a PR representative for Hotel Rosa Alpina in the Italian Dolomite mountains, the hotel (part of the Relais and Chateaux group) will soon start getting its power from a brand new water-driven power plant. The hydropower plant will apparently produce enough energy to power the entire town of San Cassiano. Nightly rates at Rosa Alpina range from approximately $440 - $540, depending on the season.

• Travelers to Christchurch, New Zealand are "so" lucky to have the option of staying at Hotel SO, a property that uses recycled paper throughout the hotel, 100% biodegradable vegetable-based soaps and shampoos, non-hazardous water-based cleaning products. Want to explore the city? Hotel SO has bicycles available to tool around town. Back in the rooms, water-saving showers and fluorescent or LED lights help you save energy and water. Amazingly, all these eco benefits come wrapped in what looks (from the website) like a gorgeous modern package with flat-screen televisions, wireless Internet and a touch-screen virtual concierge. Even better, rates start as low as ~$63 per night for a double room.

• Looking for more remote and wild (but still luxurious) New Zealand lodgings? You can also check out the Earthsong Lodge, about 30 minutes by air from Auckland on Great Barrier Island. The walls at Earthsong are built from the leftover stems of harvested wheat grain using straw bale construction methods. New Zealand Rimu timber used in window and door joinery were recovered and recycled from a demolished factory.
  Solar panels and low energy appliances reduce Earthsong's dependence on fossil fuels. The lodge even has its own aerobic treatment plant to clean waste water to the point where it is used to irrigate the resort's organic gardens. Read all about Earthsong's environmental program here. Since Earthsong is located on a rather secluded island, its room rates include airport transfers, cocktails, dinner and breakfast. Still, those nightly rates are rather steep with the least expensive option a bit less than $700 per night for a double room.

• Callaway Gardens, a 13,000 acre resort in Pine Mountain Georgia (about 80 miles southwest of Atlanta) recently opened a new LEED certified Lodge and Spa. The resort claims to have eliminated the waste of 200,000 disposable plastic bottles by using refillable shampoo and conditioner dispensers. Housekeeping chemicals are certified 'green' by GreenSeal. All conventional lightbulbs have been replaced with energy-efficient CFL bulbs. Native plantings reduce the need for irrigation, and Callaway Gardens has gone a step further in water conservation by even installing waterless urinals. We encountered a hiccup in the reservations system when we tried to check on sample nightly rates, but Callaway Gardens is advertising special "Back to School" packages through the end of September with rates starting as low as $169 per night.

• If you're heading to St. Lucia, Costa Rica, Dominica or Jamaica and looking for a way to explore a rain forest canopy without the heart-thumping zipline experience, consider a ride on a Rain Forest Aerial Tram. The slower pace of the tram allows for an unhurried ride (up to 90 minutes in the case of the Dominica tram), giving you a chance to examine the beautiful flora and fauna instead of having everything rush by in a green blur.

Beleaf organic cotton tote

For way too long I postponed buying a reusable tote to carry my purchases home from the drugstore, grocery store and other markets.


I reasoned that since I reused the plastic bags as trash bags, I was being somewhat eco-sensitive.


(I certainly didn't want to have to go out and buy plastic trash bags for my apartment...)


Then I discovered biodegradable, compostable BioBags made from corn starch.


Once I started using BioBags for my trash, I no longer had any reasonable excuse to keep accepting plastic bags at the markets.


Fortunately, about the same time, I discovered the Beleaf organic cotton tote bag.


What makes Beleaf a great green product?


1) It's made from 100% organic cotton, which is about a jazillion times better for the planet than conventional cotton as described here.


2) It's Stitched with Purpose ™. Yes, that's a slogan, but it's also speaks admirably to both the quality and care with which the bag was built. You can tell this bag was built to last and meant to carry some heavy loads. I'm not saying I'd load up the bag with watermelons (for that you'd want a wheelbarrow), but I feel confident lugging home some milk, cereal and other assorted goodies in my Beleaf tote.


3) It's got a beautiful swirly butterfly design applied using water-based inks. Yes, I'm a man who likes to carry a butterfly bag.


4) The wide straps with some reinforced stitching on the shoulder make it comfortable and natural to carry the bag loaded or empty. There's some smart design at work here...


5) 1% of all Beleaf bag sales go to the nonprofit organization 1% for the Planet. Beleaf's donations are funneled to American Forests to protect, restore and enhance healthy forests.


The Beleaf tote is a simple product, but it also happens to be one of our favorite green products we've found so far. Help cut down on the estimated 100 billon bags Americans throw away ever year. Get a reusable organic cotton tote today.


Where to buy:

Purchase the Beleaf tote online ($36) through the Beleaf website.

Spotlight - Urban Garden Casual / Tomato Casual

Even though we're trying to create a valuable Green resource on the 'Net, we recognize we can't fulfill all your Green needs. So every once in a while, we'll turn the Spotlight on other great eco-friendly online resources. This weekend, we turn our attention to Tomato Casual and Urban Garden Casual.

Before starting 1GreenProduct.com, I ran another blog focused on the benefits of eating locally-grown food.

Buy a tomato (or any other produce) in a supermarket and you've got little control over what pesticides or herbicides were sprayed on your food. Grow a tomato at home and you have control over how it's raised.

Buying an organic tomato at the market may be better from a Green standpoint, but you've still got the environmental costs of transporting the tomato from a faraway field to the grocery store. Grow a tomato at home and the food only has to travel from your back garden to your table.

That's why we're delighted to see our good friend Reggie Solomon, creator of Tomato Casual and Urban Garden Casual get some TV exposure on FOX News for all the great advice he gives home gardeners (and aspiring home gardeners) everywhere.

Congratulations, Reggie!

PS - For those of you born without a green thumb, another good eco-friendly food option might be to join a Community Supported Agriculture program that supports a local family farm. You'll get delicious fresh produce and help preserve farmland in your community.

Windspire Wind Turbine

We often try to feature affordable products on 1GreenProduct.com, because we believe that everyone should be able to live Green.

But how much would you be willing to pay to cut your monthly energy bill by up to 50%?

Mariah Power is hoping that $4,995 won't sound too steep. That's the MSRP on the new Windspire ® vertical axis wind turbine now available for purchase.

The Windspire includes a high-efficiency generator, integrated inverter, wireless performance monitor and tilt-up monopole. Installation by an authorized dealer costs around $1000 more.

Ideally you'll want a half-acre of land and 12-mile per hour average winds to get the full 2000 kWh of electricity from the Windspire.

If you're fortunate to have such a property, the Windspire may go a long way toward helping you harness the power of the wind to produce clean energy for your home.

PS - Want to take a gander at a Windspire in action before you buy? If you live near Washington, D.C., you're in luck. Stop by the United States Botanic Garden's sustainability exhibition on the Mall anytime before October 13th. Hey, if it's good enough for our nation's Capitol... 

Where to buy:

Email your sales inquiry to Mariah Power. The company will match you with a nearby dealer.

FYI, Mariah Power stands behind the Windspire (metaphorically) with a 5-year warranty.

According to Mariah Power, your purchase of a Windspire may also qualify you for various tax rebates or incentives.