Me and Leika Suzumura of Seattle Tilth. She hosts monthly community dinners in “food deserts” bringing farm fresh food and cooking with kids in the neighborhood.

Do any of you know exactly what a food desert is? According to MarketMakeovers.org “Food deserts are all over the US, in urban and rural areas, sometimes in places that ironically used to grow food, and usually in low-income communities. Sure there’s stuff to eat, but it’s probably not food you should be eating regularly (plenty of calories, few nutrients). Fast food signs dot the landscape, but you can drive for miles without seeing a healthy place to eat. There are few supermarkets and a lot of land in between them. Residents buy food and drinks from local markets selling unhealthy stuff with an unnaturally long shelf life. Junk food ads surround you. As a result, folks are overfed but undernourished, prone to overweight, obesity, diabetes and chronic illnesses.”

From Skyway to Newark, Harlem to the Bronx I’ve lived in plenty of food deserts to know that it’s not always easy to find healthy options. I remember long rides on the train journeying to Newark, New Jersey after a trip to Union Square’s Trader Joe’s. It was a hassle but the food was cheap, organic and healthy. The options in my neighborhood at the time? C-Town (please burn down, please), Rite Aid and a Pathmark that was at least 5 miles away.

Fortunately, I lived with lots of health conscious and proactive neighbors who worked at the urban farm across the street and discovered a great way to support their local growers and community via the use of a co-op. The way it worked was we paid $26 per week and received a big box of fruits and veggies. It was always a surprise as to what we would receive (typically anything in-season) and whatever we didn’t want we just traded each other for.

Are you dying to get on a green and organic diet lifestyle but don’t have a lot of resources in your neighborhood to support your mission? Here are a few resources that can literally be delivered to your door, or public neighborhood location for inexpensive produce you’ll feel good about eating:

Local Harvest – I’m all about delivery. That means it saves me a trip to the store or eliminates an errand I have to run. Local Harvest brings the products of family farmers home to you with over 11,000 products. Check them out at www.localharvest.org to purchase groceries online, find a co-op and restaurants.

Cooperative Grocer – So you might have to do a little digging and find a co-op as close to home as possible. Co-ops are awesome grocery store alternatives, are supported by the community, build jobs and promote sustainability. Search for a co-op in your area or work in your community to bring one into your neighborhood.

Full Circle – A friend on twitter turned me on to this awesome service. It’s currently only available in the North West. You can customize your produce, select the size of your box dependent upon the size of your family and pay weekly ($22 – $45) or in advance (with a 5% discount). Best of all the food comes from local farmers which is great on the environment and great for sustaining the local economy.

Growing Your Own – Another popular new trend in this green and organic food system has been the advent of home gardens. You can literally grow your own food. Now I’m not going to lie and say that I’m the one to get down and dirty with some lettuce but if I had a more stable lifestyle, I’d surely give it a shot. If you’re interested in growing your own produce check out how to start your own garden. Even if you’re in a small space or an apartment you can also get in on the healthy action. Click here for more.

Additional Resources:

Food Desert Locator

Are you fed up with not having healthy options in your neighborhood? What have you done to go organic or make changes in your community?

Love and Beauty,

OBV

My life is often spent behind the guise of a computer screen. Whether I decide to take up space at a local coffee shop, fiddle on my iPhone with never-ending work emails or keep content wrapped up in a blanket at home, sometimes it can be overwhelming to be so connected so often. So when my bestie snagged a Groupon for a local escape to a random section of Washington, I was on board and ready with my bags packed.

What ensued was completely unexpected and as we drove to Wenatchee wine country from Seattle, an overwhelming sense of spiritual anxiety burdened our hearts. For the first time in months the two of us finally had a chance to breathe. You never know exactly how exhausted you are until you have the opportunity to truly relax and listen to your own voice.

With India Arie’s “River Rise” vibrating through the car’s speakers and driving through the mountains, what we witnessed was completely unexpected, amazing, poetic and life-changing.

The day I became a mountain I internalized a few realities. As a believer, I’ve often heard in church that God has the power to make mountains move. What’s also often and almost listlessly uttered in church that with the faith of a mustard seed we can move mountains. I’m from the North West and mountain views are common place on regular city streets. But it isn’t until you are up close and personal with the massive formation that you really begin to understand faith.

I immediately updated my Facebook status with the following thought:

“We say that God has the power to make mountains move. I’m driving through the mountains with my bestie. Until you’ve been up close and personal with a mountain you can’t even fathom the captivating power of faith. A mountain isn’t formed all at once. The rocks fall, the rivers create new pathways, the snow disperses. The mountain is formed detail by detail. And then it is great. We are these mountains!”

Understanding that my experiences, my struggles, shifts in life and those annoying disruptions are shaping my very existence helped me to find a peace in my life and become thankful for exactly where I am. I’m breathing as a mountain that was created piece by piece and not all at once. OBVs, I encourage you to become mountains as well…

Check out some of my pics from the wonderful adventure below:

Of course before we began our journey we had to stop by our favorite place for some healthy snacks. Hummus, snap peas, colby cheese & whole wheat pitas courtesy of Trader Joe’s!

Speechless…

The rushing river, fresh air & scenery was to live for!

Me posing in the center of this random bridge. Wish you could smell the air!

Thank God we didn’t get arrested for carving our names into the bridge. Ari & Rell Best Friends For Life!!!!

Nothing says relaxation like a glass of red wine. I could literally live at a winery. They’re gorgeous!

Love and Beauty,

OBV

OBVs I am super excited to announce the recent launch of my new eBook, Eco-Glamorous: A Fail-Proof Guide to Ditching Toxic Beauty Products, Protecting Your Health & Greening Your Beauty Routine, available now on Amazon!

In addition giving you the key principles of living an eco-glam lifestyle,  created to condense the wealth of information available here on my blog, I partnered with eco-beauty retailer Spirit Beauty Lounge to help you get started on your way to eco-glamorousness.

What You Can Win:

$50 gift card to Spirit Beauty Lounge – Your destination for luxury, organic, and natural cosmetics, skin care and more.

How to Enter:

Purchase Eco-Glamorous at Amazon then tweet the following message…..

I just bought Eco-Glamorous, the new ebook by @organicvixen. I want to win the $50 @spiritbeauty contest!

Other Details:

I’ll pick the winners and make an announcement no later than June 1^st.

A little more about the book:

The foundation of beauty isn’t smeared across a fashion magazine or displayed prominently on a cosmetics counter. It is shaped in the notion of knowing that beauty is much more than skin deep and shouldn’t be tainted by the products we use to enhance what we’ve already got.

Unfortunately, the products we buy to feel “beautiful” come at a not-so-glamorous cost. Carcinogenic chemicals and other toxic ingredients are found in our every day personal care products. As a result, our glamorous routines are affecting the very health of our bodies and our environment.

Eco-Glamorous is an easy to understand resource guide that condenses the wealth of eco-beauty information for the woman looking to take her first steps into the world of eco-glamorous living. This guide spells out how to begin sans the confusion and frustration.

In this compact and concise guide you will learn, discover and share:

• The top chemicals in cosmetics and personal care products to avoid
• Brands that are meeting the mark when it comes to safe cosmetics
• Hands on pampering recipes for healthy skin and a plentiful bank account
• Resources for expanding your eco-glamorous lifestyle beyond the basics
 

Good luck!

Love and Beauty,

OBV

If my life were to be solely defined by statistics I wouldn’t be where I am today.  As one of many children born into this world under the nucleus of a single-parent home, society can often make us feel, well… disadvantaged and left out. Sure, I’ve had to deal with not having my father in my life and struggle with the continuous discovery of my identity, but feeling disadvantaged and left out never played a factor in the way that I was raised. In fact, my being raised in a single-parent household allowed me to develop certain strengths and skills I learned from having a no-nonsense mother who raised me to believe in my own strength.

Don’t believe the hype people. Single parented children aren’t doomed. We’re blessed. And here’s a look at why:

It Takes a Village – My aunts, grandparents and close family friends were my mother’s biggest support system. When she needed to, she called on her community to arrange for pickups from tap practice, rides to summer camp, the “birds and bees” conversation, driving lessons, etc. Looking up 25 years later that same community supported me with care packages when I was in college, took me to dinner when they made a trip to NYC, offered their wisdom and advice when things got tough and continue to support me in all of my endeavors. My heart is bigger, wider and impregnated with love simply because my “village” threw their arms around me and filled in the gaps when my mother was in need.

Only My Best Is Good Enough – Slacking off in school wasn’t an option. My mother was an educator and no matter how tired she was, she always took the time to read to me at night before bed when I was young and help me with my homework. A subpar performance in school was unacceptable and I recall several occasions when my mother showed up at school to talk to teachers about my work and classroom performance. Although she was a busy woman, my mom still had time to call me on my b.s. when I got lazy or didn’t make an attempt to try. She always said, “If you do your best and fail I am still proud that you gave it your all.”

Nothing is Impossible – My mother was also a “survivor” of a fatherless home. Her childhood was riddled with poverty but founded in love. She’s educated, a home owner, a prominent staple in her community and has successfully built a career that reached far beyond the stigma of statistics. I’m sure that there were times she felt like giving up but she didn’t. That’s the woman I watched dress in the morning , slide on her Jones New York chocolate skirt suit, fill her lips in with a powerful plum MAC lipstick and rock high heels that clapped the dining room floor as we left the house to head to school and work. My mom was baaaaaddd and I knew that one day I too would put on a fancy suit and walk powerfully and proud of my place in this world.

What were the most profound moments of your childhood that helped you become the person you are today?

Love and Beauty,

OBV

Photo: Me and my mom

Image Source

Are you a fan of crushed beetles in your strawberry shake or ammonia in your beef? By choice you may not have an option. After the Starbucks fiasco and countless warnings by popular mediums like Food Inc. and Fast Food Nation, you would think that there would have been a complete overhaul of our food system. Unfortunately, most of us don’t really know what we’re getting when we scarf down those chicken nuggets from McDonald’s or slurp up our drinks from any other fast food restaurant.

If you’re still teetering with the decision to go organic, live and process-free with your diet, here’s a look at a few ingredients that will surely put you over the edge once you’ve discovered  exactly what ingredients you’re eating in your favorite processed foods.

• Chicken nuggets – Contain the chemical dimethylpolysiloxane, an anti-foaming agent that is also found in silly putty.

• Strawberry Frappucino – Starbucks faced a lot of heat in recent news when public interest groups and animal rights activists discovered that the color used to make their Stawberry Frappucinos look… well like strawberry, was actually created not by the fruit itself but by cochineal beetles. Talk about bug juice!

• Taco Bell’s meat filling – Most of the meat we eat at fast food restaurants contain very little meat at all. Silicone Dioxide, found in sand, is used as an anti-caking agent added to meat to keep things from clumping. Taco Bell was sued a while back for calling their meat beef when in fact it mostly consisted of meat filling.

Love and Beauty,

OBV

When you’re part of the who’s who crowd everyone listens. Even me and my beauty banter on this blog can’t bring the level of influence to a mission that famous faces typically can. Some of my favorite celebs are the face of great brands that bring to light our need as women of color to go green, ditch toxic chemicals and live in a way that protects our health and our environment.

Keep an open mind as you scan through the images and brands. I know that some of them still have a long way to go to be truly “green” but I give them credit for making an effort to do their part in the global community to spread the message.

Brown Beauty: Solange Knowles

Brand: Carol’s Daughter

Image Source

Solange is probably my favorite girl crush. Her funky clothes, wide afro and effortless beauty always screams natural, individualistic and unconcerned with the status quo. Though many will scream in rebuttle  to my choice of Carol’s Daughter as a natural brand, when she first hit the mainstream market she was the only accessible brand that offered women of color natural solutions for their natural hair. Founder Lisa Price still gets an A in my book for recyclable packaging, ditching many toxic chemicals (though she still has some work to do) and bringing beauty to women of color everywhere in markets that NO other brown beauty brand has ever been in. Sephora, Macy’s and CD retail stores integrate the concept of all women being beautiful by carrying the brand.

Brown Beauty: Tika Sumpter

Brand: The Body Shop

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I had the pleasure of meeting actress and rising star Tika Sumpter during The Body Shop’s earth day event last year in NYC. She was just getting started on the path of going green. As a spokesperson for the brand she was committed to taking shorter showers, not driving as much and swapping out her grocery bags for reusable ones (not that she shops for her own groceries). Not sure how the rest of her lifestyle incorporates eco-glam living but I do hope one day she makes it a plan to go natural. One can only hope…

Brown Beauty: Angela Simmons

Brand: PETA

Image Source

Talk about going green Ms. Simmons strips down to her roots au natural in an ad campaign for PETA that made us (and I’m sure her father) blush a little. A vegetarian that makes going meatless sexy, Angela represented an alternate lifestyle that inspired many of us to consider ditching animal flesh in favor of more fruits and veggies.

What celeb / brand combinations would you like to see in the future?

Love and Beauty,

OBV

They give them away at every Earth Day event and most grocery stores now sell them as quintessential staples you can pick up for .99 cents. Those reusable grocery bags are a prime example of good gone wrong. In our effort to be green, reduce our use of plastic and feel good about being eco-friendly, reusable bags are now presenting environmental and health issues that we didn’t see coming. It’s true OBVs and I wanted to make sure that I brought this issue to your attention so that we can do something about it now.

According to an article that I recent read on Mother Nature Network, a nonwoven polypropylene bag, for example, would have to be used just 11 times to make up for the negative effects of a plastic bag used one time, according to a British Environment Agency study that compared bags. A cotton bag, however, would have to be used 131 times.

Many companies are producing these reusable sacks to encourage folks to get on the green bandwagon but instead of using them, most people are tossing them in the trash or giving them to Good Will.

Here are a few other concerns these reusable bags are presenting:

• More waste with companies that continue to give them away for “free”
• Spreading of norovirus from bags that don’t get washed regularly
• Decrease in plastic use has remained steady

Keep your routine green, chic and clean by:

• Washing your reusable bags regularly (I’m guilty of not doing so)
• Using the ones that you have and not accepting anymore free ones (unless of course you need them)
• Have your bags separated when you get to the grocery store (don’t hold up the line or tick off the cashier or I will find you)

Additional reading and resources:

10 commandments of reusable bag use

Could those reusable grocery bags make you sick?

Publix Reaches 2 Billion Paper and Plastic Bags Saved

Boulder to consider fee on paper, plastic grocery bags rather than ban 

Love and Beauty,

OBV

Let me be 100 percent honest with you OBVs. I’m trying really hard to balance my spiritual life with my natural desire to collect pretty things. Gilt.com is one of my favorite shopping sites (thank you for my new DVF wallet) and as soon as I can track down that H&M cobalt gown from their conscious collection in the Seattle area, that will be all that she wrote. While I spend time focusing on my next look for the next season, millions of children in America will go to bed hungry tonight before this post even makes its way around the internet. Even more children will die from cancer and other diseases due to our environment and lack of access to quality healthcare. Families will be evicted from their homes and one more individual will lose their job that was already barely making the rent.

With all of my love, compassion and free the world banter, I can’t help but feeling guilty as I take a spin around my bedroom and re-consider all of the clutter that makes up my life. I have everything that I need. So what is this desire to want more? My life isn’t perfect. I’m no longer in my gorgeous Harlem apartment living above it all, shopping trips to 34th street nor evening rendevous with my girls on a nightly basis. Between student loans, working on my independent projects and simply surviving through this “recession” I don’t have it to foolishly spend on “stuff”.

I’m sure that we are all guilty of putting ourselves and our needs before that of others. But to whom much is given much is required, so where do my personal values fit in to play? When I survey my life I realize that I have not given much. I give my voice, my words and my encouragement for all to witness via social networks and my random encounters with friends and family. But is that really enough? Absolutely not!

My goal is to step up my giving in 2012. Whether it’s through my time, my skills, or sharing a portion of what I have to help lift someone else up. It’s hard out there folks and sometimes all we need is the compassion and love of one another.

Let’s start each day by asking the simple question: “What do I plan to give today?”

Love and Beauty,

OBV

Image: Taken with my iphone. Loved this cup of frozen yogurt and the message.