It Will Take A Village

I know a lot of you have been subjected to our barrage of emails and pleas to reach out and vote for us as a finalist in the Inc. Magazine/Alibaba.com Newpreneur of the Year Contest.  Aside from knowing us or our products, this has been a labour of love 20 years in the making.  And never have we felt more dedicated in knowing our mission can make a difference.

EAT CLEANER comes at a time ripe for change. With over 78 million reported cases of foodborne illness in the U.S. annually and concerns around pesticides, processed food and questionable handling practices, our products remove pesticides, wax and surface contaminants that can carry bacteria from produce, seafood and poultry. I founded EAT CLEANER with my dad, Dr. Shawki Ibrahim, Colorado State University Emeritus Professor, Ph.D., Environmental Health Sciences, M.A., Agriculture. With an emphasis on quality ingredients, sustainable packaging and beautiful branding, we created a line of all-natural products that allows consumers to take food safety into their own hands with the power of plant science. Dad has been an accomplished writer and professor for over 30 years, and began challenging government agencies to strengthen food safety procedures after receiving contaminated seafood at his local grocery store. I began my food and retail marketing career writing about sustainable agriculture and food safety issues (Food, not Phood) early in my career as the marketing director for Wild Oats Markets.

Dad’s brainchild and my love for all things culinary coupled with our mutual love for my two young children fueled the fire for this joint venture. We had discussed the product concept for years, but in 2005, the year my son was born, dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer. In 2008, I became a single mother, was traveling almost weekly and my home had lost 30% of its value. It hit me hard that life is uncertain and ultimately, you have to make tough decisions that are right for you. Tireless hours…I mean, long hours, sweat and tears from everyone who’s touched this brand.  Working 80 hours a week sometimes, it’s been a challenging road.  But we know we’re doing the right thing. 

In honor of my father’s lifetime of commitment to his practice and my desire to create a lasting legacy for my children and an improved quality of life, we decided to push EAT CLEANER into overdrive. For my friend Gayle whose daughter was paralyzed after a bad bout with foodborne illness and as a preventative measure for everyone who eats (yes, the whole population), eating cleaner is for all.

If you think after reading this we still deserve your vote, please visit www.inc.com/newpreneur/vote.html

It will take a village to take us into the finals.  Hopefully, we’ll meet some great neighbors along the way.

 

Squash: Part 2 of 4 – Butternut Squash Apple Cranberry Bake

Who doesn’t want at least ONE easy dish on Thanksgiving? For the last two years I’ve made this Butternut Squash Apple Cranberry Bake to rave reviews. It is a quick, holiday-appropriate and unfussy recipe from Elise Bauer’s wonderful Simply Recipes blog. This dish was submitted by Heidi H. of Carlisle, MA. Here, Elise takes us through creating “a colorful, simple harvest bake, with chopped butternut squash, tart apples, and cranberries.” This easy recipe can be made up to one day in advance and reheated in the oven before serving. Elise also suggests adding half a cup of toasted walnuts or pecans for a good counter-crunch.

Butternut Squash Apple Cranberry Bake

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 large tart cooking apples cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup (half a stick) butter
1 Tbsp flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground mace (can substitute ground nutmeg)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Slice and peel squash and apples. Put squash cubes in ungreased 7×11-inch baking dish. Place apples on top and then cranberries. Mix the flour, salt, sugar, and mace and sprinkle on top. Dot with butter.
2. Bake 50-60 minutes.

Serves 8.

Buying tip: Around the holidays friends ask me if they should buy the prepared butternut squash that is already conveniently peeled, diced, and ready for use. After all, cutting up squash can be an intimidating process and, for the inexperienced cook either the hardest part of the recipe, or a total deal-breaker. But the answer is no; do not buy the prepared squash because you are trading in flavor and texture for convenience. While you might get lucky and occasionally score a good “bag,” prepared butternut squash is often woody, and almost always tough and with lackluster flavor.

I am including preparation tips that will make the preparing and cutting of the feared squash a lot less mysterious and onerous. When buying butternut squash, keep in mind that size is directly related to quality: smaller squash have a more intense flavor and a better texture than larger gourds which tend to have a more fibrous consistency and watery taste. Even better, smaller squash are easier to work with! Therefore, when shopping for a recipe that calls for a large amount of squash, it’s better to buy several smaller ones than one or two large ones. The right size is no bigger than 2.5 lb.

Preparation: Following are guidelines for cutting up squash. Once this task is done, the rest will be easy breezy, I promise!

1. Remove the tough outer skin with a peeler and then cut once cross-wise with a chef’s knife to separate the neck from the bulbous end.
2. Next, place the bulbous end of the squash cut side down on your cutting board to stabilize it and then cut in half again.
3. Scrape out the seeds using a spoon then cut each bulb half into half-inch moons, and those moons into half-inch dice.
4. For the neck of the squash trim one thin, long piece from the side of the squash to create a flat edge; lay the entire neck on its side, flat edge-down to create a stable surface.
5. Slice the squash lengthwise into half inch planks.  Cut each plank into half inch strips and then each strip into half inch dice.

CSI Miami Digs the Dirt on E.coli

It’s sometimes difficult to discern if life imitates art or vice versa.  In the case of last night’s ‘Bad Seed’ episode, CSI Miami dug deep to expose the dirt on why food goes bad. Just last week, I met the mother of a woman who nearly died after eating tainted food herself. 

There’s a message here we all to need chew on.

On CSI, a woman becomes hospitalized after eating a tainted salad at a restaurant.  The team is unnerved by how quickly a seemingly healthy, young woman could slip so quickly.  And after diving into their investigation, they unearth the root of the illness:  cow manure infested irrigation water on organic crops.  

Meanwhile in real life Orange County, Alexis Sarti became paralyzed and blind after eating an ahi tuna appetizer that had been contaminated by raw poultry at a local restaurant.  Her mother, a teacher at my son’s school, saw me in a “Think Before You Bite” t-shirt and was compelled to ask me about it.  After I explained how our products work, she began to cry.  Then she told me why.

Although Alexis won a $3.2 million lawsuit, she will never have the life she lived before that meal.  Still in her 20′s, her mom shared with me the heartache of her trial and the long road her family has endured on her path to recovery.  As a mom, I could relate to the trauma she must feel knowing her daughter has suffered so much.  I explained to her that based on our third party lab studies, we proved a kill rate of 99.9% of E.coli and Salmonella. “Restaurants should be required to use products like yours” were here comments.  Then she went on to say “Thanks for making a difference with Eat Cleaner.  We need to all be thinking before we bite.” 

On the journey from the field to the fork, we know that there are several stops where food can go bad – from the irrigation water to the organic fertilizer to the 20 sets of hands that touch them after they’re harvested.  What we also know is that E.coli lives on the surface and is often the result of fecal matter, so if it is washed and cooked properly, it will be safe to eat. In just two minutes, you can take  food safety matters into your own hands and let the people you love in your life know how they can do the same. 

Food should be our pleasure, not our pain.

Eat Cleaner helps to cut through the crud. Dig it?