Fair Trade Day GIVEAWAY

Yesterday morning I had the opportunity to have breakfast with some sistah-bloggers and hear renowned dietitian Ashley Koff RD, speak about Fair Trade Day, which is coming up on May 14th. It was as enlightening as it was delicious!

What is Fair Trade? It's a movement to encourage folks buy goods that are produced in developing countries under safe working conditions, using responsible farming practices and paying sustainable wages. While fair trade products are not always organic (at the moment 62% of FT-certified products are) they are produced without GMOs and harmful agrochemicals. In order to be certified fair trade, producers have to meet strict farming, production and labor guidelines.

Many fair trade items are "specialty" goods, like chocolate, coffee, spices and exotic fruits. Things that we're probably paying a teensy bit more for already. It just takes a little more awareness to check out the label to support sustainability and fair wages around the world. I couldn't help but remember the data that came out just last week about the fact that there is still a wage gap in the US between women and men. Women still make less than men and Latinas make the least of all (which was fairly disturbing news to me both as a Latina and as the mother of a Latina). I think that support of fair and sustainable wages worldwide cannot but raise awareness of the need for fair and sustainable wages at home as well.

Some pretty big US brands are catching on. Starbuck's is currently the largest purchaser of fair trade coffee beans in the world. And Ben and Jerry's have supported fair trade for years.

So what can we do?
First, we can educate ourselves about fair trade and "vote with our dollars."
There are currently 9,500 fair trade products available in the US today, you can view a complete list at Fair Trade USA.

We can also participate in the Fair Trade Twitter Party on Friday, 5/13, @ 9AM PST
The hashtag is #fairtradeday.

Ashley Koff recommended that we start by swapping fair trade products for items that we're already using everyday. Like coffee and milk. I've been buying fair trade coffee at my local supermarket for quite a while and not only love the way it tastes but the price is definitely competitive with the coffee I would otherwise buy.

Fair Trade USA sent me away with a bag full of goodies to GIVE AWAY! I hope you'll enjoy these products enough to choose them the next time you hit your supermarket :)

HOW TO ENTER: Simply leave a comment below with your thoughts, questions or knowledge about fair trade! Contest ends midnight, May 18th and winner will be chosen at random.

TELL THEM WHAT THEY'LL WIN, VANNA!

Good luck!


Wishing you love with extra fair-trade cheese,
Nacho Mama


*Disclaimer: The products in the giveaway were gifted to me by Fair Trade USA, but the opinions shared in this post are entirely my own. I was not compensated in away for attending, as a guest, the event mentioned or for writing about my experience there.

Lighting Tips for any room in Your Home!

This morning I received San Diego Home & Garden's weekly newsletter and was surprised to see...ME!

They're featuring some of my tips for lighting in your home. You can check them out HERE.

Wishing you love with extra cheese-
Nacho Mama

Happy Cinco de Mayo (with Chicano Soul Soundtrack)

You know what I love about Cinco de Mayo? Aside from the food? And the margaritas?

By now most of us know that Cinco de Mayo is NOT Mexican Independence Day (I hope), but instead commemorates the Battle of Puebla, in which the Mexicans defeated the French who outnumbered them 2 to 1.  You can read more about this momentous day at Wikipedia. 

What I really love about this holiday is that it celebrates the fact that, even when the odds seem to be overwhelmingly against you, you can succeed.  I'm also a big believer in celebrating all of your victories in life, however small.

And then, of course, there's the food. And the margaritas. And by margaritas I do not mean some slushy, sugary neon-yellow concoction served in a fishbowl. I mean something made with fresh ingredients, served on the rocks in a lady-sized glass.

Photo via Wikipedia

And by food, I do not mean Velveeta microwaved with a can of Rotel and poured over Tostitos. I mean carnitas. And perhaps? Nopales.

I know some people hate on Cinco de Mayo, saying it doesn't mean anything to "real" Mexicans, and that it's a completely American phenomenon-an excuse to get your party on after Spring Break is over. I prefer to think of it as an opportunity to celebrate the pepper that Mexican-Americans (and Hispanic-Americans in general) have added to the Great American Melting Pot.

And in the spirit of celebrating our "flavor" - my soundtrack for Cinco de Mayo is not mariachi music (which I love, don't get wrong!) but always the awesome Chicano Soul music recorded in the 50s, 60s and 1970s. Here's a perfect example of what I'm talking about-the Blendells' "Hispanicized" cover of Stevie Wonder's "La La La La La" As promised in the intro, it'll make you clap your hands, kick your feet, and as a matter of fact, it'll tear you up.

What will you be eating and drinking this Cinco de Mayo? What will you be listening to? And most importantly, what will you be celebrating?


Wishing you mucho love with extra cheese-
Nacho Mama

Coming to San Diego for Blogher 2011? Don't miss HILLCREST!

If you're one of the 3,000 attendees expected at this year's Blogher conference this August here in San Diego, I hope you've set aside a little time for exploring America's Finest City (yes, I still have trouble typing that with a straight face :) but San Diego is awfully pretty!)

The conference will be downtown at the San Diego Marriott and Convention Center. There are scads of parties being planned all over the city but what about daytime, family or after-hours fun? From the Convention Center, it's just 2.5 miles down Fifth Avenue to my lovable, colorful stomping grounds, the neighborhood of Hillcrest.

R Gang Eatery? Yeah, it's in Hillcrest!

I've compiled a Top 10 list of places in Hillcrest to see, eat and shop for San Diego Momfia. You can check it out HERE!  Writing this post kind of reminded me of this...

Because you can buy Kale in Hillcrest too!


Wishing you Love with Extra Cheese-
Nacho Mama