An Apple A Day for Healthy Kids and a Healthy World (#BAD09)
Thursday, October 15th, 2009Can one apple make a difference?
One fresh apple instead of a bag of chips in a kid’s school lunch is healthier for the child, obviously, and it’s one small step to fight climate change. Potatoes grown with conventional fertilizers and pesticides require fossil fuels, more are used when they’re processed into greasy chips, and still more used for packaging and shipping those little bags in bulk across the country. It’s easy to see how the carbon footprint of an apple beats that of a bag of chips.
One local apple keeps local orchards from being converted to housing developments. One local apple — or jar of fresh-pressed apple cider — supports local farmers in their efforts to preserve vanishing apple species. Buying fresh apples instead of apple juice — 80% of the world’s apple juice now comes from China — saves American farms. Protecting farmland fights climate change.
One fresh, local apple can save the world. Send your kids to school tomorrow with an extra apple and encourage them to share with a friend. Together, our many small acts will change the world!
This post is my contribution to Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change. It’s also our 2nd anniversary here at Foodie Tots, which was founded in part to help save the world one family’s diet at a time. Read our previous Blog Action Day posts here and here, or click over to the official site for live posts and tweets from around the world.



We recently celebrated a family birthday at a fairly new addition to our neighborhood, La Strada in Del Ray, Alexandria.
We had just enough room at the round corner booth, though on busy evenings I imagine the outdoor patio would be a great place to eat with kids. The boy was supplied with reading material and crayons while we waited for our orders to arrive, and the food was a great blend of fresh, seasonal ingredients incorporated in classic Italian dishes. You can check their website for daily specials featuring local produce. My father-in-law loved his light-as-air gnocchi in a hearty meat sauce; the husband and I split a family-size portion of ravioli in a morel cream sauce. It’s a little more upscale than your typical neighborhood Italian restaurant, yet the family-style servings enable you to enjoy great food without breaking the bank. For an even better deal, visit La Strada during Del Ray’s Dining Week, which kicks off today and runs through June 14. La Strada is offering a 3-course dinner for just $29. Any restaurant that can satisfy picky New Yorkers and an active 2.5-year-old is a winner in our book. (Restaurant photo by La Strada.)















