Category — Service Review
Ten ways to save money and buy organic and local to start the new year
- Shop at your local farmer’s market. If you wait towards the end of the market, many farmers are willing to sell at lower rates to get rid of inventory.
- Join a local CSA in your area for a weekly produce box, fresh from a local farm. Some of these items are much cheaper than at Whole Foods. Some examples of CSAs are FarmFreshToYou and others found on Om Organics’ website in the San Francisco Bay Area.
- Find private label organic food items. At Safeway, they now sell their own organic food line O Organics. At Whole Foods, they have their 365 everyday value items. These items tend to have reasonable food prices.
- Shop at your local co-op. My personal favorite is Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco. It is like the Costco of Whole Foods. Not necessarily the prettiest place to shop, but full of choices, bulk and great prices.
- Buy bulk items. Don’t bother buying core items like rice and oatmeal from small boxes. At places like Whole Foods, and co-ops like Rainbow Grocery, it is easy to find wide varieties of healthy grains, nuts, dried fruits and other goodies in the bulk aisle. One of my favorite items is the almond butter, fresh and bulk.
- My personal favorite store for value-Trader Joe’s. Sure their produce quality is not the best, but many of their packaged items are great prices.
- Use food delivery services like Planet Organics in the San Francisco Bay Area. They deliver straight to your home once a week, and you can choose any items you want, unlike a CSA. I’ve been using them for a month, and really enjoy the quality of their produce.
- Grow your own vegetables and fruits in your patio or yard. Tomatoes are especially a good thing to grow as they tend to be more expensive than other produce.
- Find coupons for organic and local food. Whole Foods has a coupon flyer in their stores that has many discounts on natural food items. There are local guides such as Green Zebra and EcoMetro Guide that have dozens of discounts for organic and local items.
- Avoid chains and try shopping at local markets. My favorite local market is Sigona’s in Redwood City for produce. Their produce prices are some of the best in the area given the quality of their organic and local sourcing. Another example is the Milk Pail in Mountain View.
January 21, 2010 No Comments
Greenleaf Platters and Hugh Groman Catering

For one of my social events, I hosted a 50 person casual brunch to celebrate an occasion. I didn’t want to spend too much money, but I still wanted high quality food. I found a great recommendation through the Berkeley Parent’s Network online, called Greenleaf Platters. They provide green, low cost, organic, local foods already made and delivered to your door. For my event, I ordered quiches, salads, fruits, organic lemondade and coffee.
The food was so great that my friends picked up their business card. Greenleaf then comes back to the venue after you’re done to pick up the glass plates that they lend for the event. Most of their food was organic and locally sourced. I highly recommend Greenleaf Platters for an event. Their manager Hugh Groman even called me the week before to double check my order even though I had already purchased it online just to make sure it was what I wanted.
February 5, 2009 No Comments
Mother’s Day at Henry Coe State Park
Happy Mother’s Day! I took my mom this morning on a surprise hike and Mother’s Day Breakfast in Henry Coe State Park, located near Morgan Hill and Gilroy. I bought tickets about a month in advance, each person costing $14 for the outdoor breakfast. My family started the morning with a quick one mile walk along wildflowers, oak trees, and madrones.
We saw California poppies and other flowers, including this spotted butterfly.
We finally ended at a campsite where the park rangers set up a nice breakfast.
And at the end of the hike, we were greeted by a great meal of eggs, strawberries, sausage (veggie option available!), potatoes, pancakes and juice and coffee.
We sat in a nice patio table under a shady oak tree, with a view of the park’s forest and skyline, while listening to some live banjo and fiddler music in the background. It was a fantastic day, with the perfect setting for a hike, and a special Mother’s Day for my family. I recommend reserving tickets next year as this sells out every year.
May 14, 2007 No Comments
Eco-friendly housecleaning service
But I found a good service called Emma’s Eco-Clean in Redwood City. It’s part of a nonprofit called WAGES which empowers low income women to build a co-op that does enviornmentally friendly cleaning services without toxic chemicals. I paid $70 (after negotiating down as a first time discount) for 2 hours of cleaning in my two bedroom condo. They vacuumed, cleaned my kitchen, bathrooms, and took out the trash and recycling. They did a great job and I’d recommend them. They have other locations that service the East Bay (Natural Home Cleaning) and South Bay (Eco-Care) too.
September 15, 2006 2 Comments
Too busy to cook? Organic meals delivered to your home!
Thanks to Om Organics‘ resource directory, here are companies that deliver organic meals to your door in the Bay Area:
- Aubergine Service: Catering, meal delivery Area: San Francisco & East Bay (Oakland, Berkeley, Albany & El Cerrito) p/e: 510.704.8847, joan@auberginecatering.com Specialty: Vegetarian & meat options.
- Convergence Catering Service: Catering, meal delivery Area: Bay Area p/e: 831.469.4643, converge@convergencefoods.com Specialty: Vegetarian & vegan options.
- Cook SF Service: Meal delivery Area: San Francisco p/e: 415.513.5328, info@cook-sf.com Specialty: Vegetarian and meat options. Specializing in California cuisine.
- Dining In SF Service: Meal delivery Area: San Francisco, Marin, East Bay, Peninsula p/e: 415.255.2433, traci@dininginsf.com Specialty: Vegetarian & meat options.
- Marcus Rios Service: Catering, personal chef, meal delivery Area: Bay Area p/e: 415.350.3113, marcus@chefmarcusrios.com Specialty: Customized vegetarian or meat menus
- Peal Cuisine Service: Meal delivery Area: San Francisco p/e: 415.826.2133, pealweb@gmail.com Specialty: Gourmet vegetarian & vegan options.
September 8, 2006 2 Comments
Organic weddings

My boyfriend Vivek and I went to a wedding over Labor Day weekend, where my old housemate Angela got married to Justin. It was a very lovely wedding in Los Gatos and I was very happy for the newly married couple.
This was the tenth wedding of the year that Vivek and I attended: including four Indian weddings, a Mexican Roman Catholic wedding, a Jewish wedding, a Hawaiian - Japanese wedding and a Chinese - Korean wedding. Phew!
Then it hit me; I began to wonder, with so many wonderful friends getting married, could there be a more sustainable, and organic way to create these special occasions? Check out this article in the San Francisco Chronicle on organic weddings and vendors in the Bay Area.
September 7, 2006 No Comments

