You may have seen this floating around the internet lately, but the intrepid locavores who spearheaded the White House Organic (WHO) Farm movement have moved on to encourage all 50 states’ governors (and Washington’s Mayor Fenty, I presume) to serve local and sustainably sourced foods this Independence Day. Take a moment to sign the Food Independence Day petition and see if your governors have responded. Locally, Kim O’Donnel reports that Maryland Gov. O’Malley’s July 4th menu will feature, naturally, Chesapeake Bay crabcakes and salad greens from the first lady’s vegetable garden. Join the cause by declaring your own independence from the industrial food system (seen Food Inc. yet?) and plan your own locally-sourced July 4th meal.

5 Tips for A Local 4th of July Cook-out:

1. Make those burgers local and grassfed — and avoid worry over the latest e.coli beef recall.
2. Buy the buns from a farmers market vendor or local bakery — they’re fresher and most likely made without the high fructose corn syrup and preservatives of most supermarket brands.
3. Stick with seasonal veggies — sweet corn is just beginning to appear here, along with fresh from the field tomatoes, garlic and plenty of herbs for a homemade fresh salsa.
4. Skip the made-in-China, flag-covered disposables — take sheets outside or have the kids decorate a (recycled) kraft paper banner to use as a tablecloth — local and green.
5. Nothing’s more patriotic than domestic beer or wine; just skip the (now Belgian-owned) Bud Light and search for a local craft brewer or vineyard, or stir up a red, white and blue sangria with berries from the farmers market. (And reserve some of those berries for a family-friendly cobbler for dessert!)

Some favorite summer cook-out recipes from the archives, for added inspiration:

• Roasted Tomatillo Peach Salsa
• Patriotic Potato Salad
• Peach Berry Sherbet

My son has requested that we spend the holiday at the Farmers Market and the pool, and I’m happy to oblige — with perhaps a few minutes spent getting a fresh Pennsylvania cherry pie in the oven. What’s on your plate for the holiday?

(Submitting this to Fight Back Friday over at the Food Renegade – go check it out!)

emptying the CSA bag, originally uploaded by dcaCRL.

I talk a good game about healthy eating, but I have to confess that despite my best efforts, there are still nights we just order pizza, or times I can’t help but head for the nearest McDonald’s drive-thru. (Not for the boy, but sometimes a cheeseburger is the easiest way I can think of to get some protein, fast. I have given up the fry addiction, at least.) When I decided to focus on healthier eating, I set three goals:

• Eat more vegetables
• Eat more protein
• Eat more whole grains/fiber

Joining a CSA (community-supported agriculture) farm this year was a key step towards meeting the first goal. Having a steady supply of fresh veggies on hand is enormously helpful, so when we do resort to fast food, we can still add fresh veggies on the side. And for back-up, I always keep a few bags of frozen, organic veggies in the freezer. The boy will always eat succotash, peas & carrots, or edamame. (But not green beans. Yet.)

As for protein and whole grains, I’m trying to look for quick meals that will reduce our dependence on pasta (I’m Italian, it’s always the fall-back option!). I’ve been having a lot of fun with the fabulous selection of grains at Trader Joe’s, many of which will be featured here. And while we only eat meat a couple times a week, I started the boy off on tofu early in hopes of incorporating more non-meat proteins in our diet. So those are the three items I’ll be focusing on here. I’m always looking for new ideas, so please feel free to comment and share.

And if you want to know what the FoodieTot family is really eating every night, check out our Twitter updates.

Making homemade baby food is quick and easy. It tastes better, is fresher and healthier and most importantly, you control what’s in it. Here are ten quick tips to get you started:

1. Start fresh. Organic produce is best, or make sure you use a vegetable wash if you can’t or don’t want to buy organic.

2. You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment: a pot with steamer basket & lid, something to puree with (hand blender or food processor), ice cube trays, plastic wrap & plastic baggies or freezable containers.

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