The Easter tradition of dying easter eggs for most American kids is all about using toxic supermarket Easter-egg dying kits. But you can use organic foods such as juice, onion skins, paprika, cabbage, carrots, coffee and spinach to make your own Easter egg dyes. Christina over at the SoloMother blog tells us how.

Warda, who publishes the 64 sq ft Kitchen blog has a wonderful recipe for roasted garlic oil. The reciepe will produce, in fact, two foods: oily garlic (called garlic mash), and garlicky oil. The Vegetarian Organic Blog, as you know, is all about the most healthy, delicious foods. And I also believe that a little planning and common sense can make the preparation of great food quick and easy. Roasted garlic oil is a perfect way to plan ahead for health and deliciousness. Garlic is one of the most powerful superfoods around. Eat it often to avoid getting sick, and when you do feel under the weather, garlic will fix you faster than any other food. Olive oil is an extremely healthful cooking fat. As always, buy only organic garlic and olive oil. As Warda points out, roasted garlic oil keeps unrefrigerated for at least a month. The garlic mash lasts that long, too, but in the refrigerator. The garlic oil will make it easy to prepare other foods that call for olive oil and a mild garlic flavor. The garlic mash will supply you with an instant superfood replacement for unhealthy things like butter, or store-bought relishes and dressings. Enjoy!

A new study commissioned by Organic Consumers Association finds that some leading "organic" brand personal care products that are not USDA certified contain the carcinogenic 1,4-dioxane. Although 1,4-dioxane is commonly used in conventionally produced personal care products, the USDA National Organic Program prohibits the use of Dioxane in organic products seeking certification by the USDA. The study found that many well known "organic" brand name companies' personal care products including shampoos, body washers and lotions make use of the toxic practice known as ethoxylation. Some unscrupulous "organic companies" use Ethoxylation as an easy way to make harsh chemicals feel soft.

This shameful practice involves using the cancer-causing petrochemical Ethylene Oxide, which produces Dioxane as a by-product. Dioxane not only causes cancer as well as kidney, neurological and respiratory damage but it is also a major groundwater contaminant according to the California Environmental Protection Agency. For a complete list of tested products and test results click on link here.

What Can You Do About It?

Boycott deceitful "organic" companies that have betrayed our trust in their products--they have been poisoning us and the environment. It's unforgivable how some companies are exploiting unsuspecting consumers who pay a premium for products they believe are free of harmful chemicals that can cause cancer and pollute the environment. It's time to take action; use your purchasing power and boycott unscrupulous companies who use toxics out of greed and at the expense of our health and that of the environment. Reward companies who are true to the organic movement and truthful in their claims about the products they make.

The best way to ensure that products have been produced in accordance to the USDA National Organic Program is by purchasing only products emblazoned with the USDA certified organic label. As Ronnie Cummins, Executive Director of the OCA, said in a statement: "The practice of ethoxylating ingredients or using other petroleum compounds must end for natural personal care, and is that much more outrageous in so-called 'organics' brand products." The OCA recommends avoiding products with unfamiliar and unpronounceable ingredients. Read labels carefully and avoid buying products that contain ingredients with words such as “myreth,” “oleth,” “laureth,” “ceteareth,” or other words ending in “eth” (which implies the ethoxylation process that generates 1,4-Dioxane).

Shame on companies deceiving consumers and selling products containing carcinogenics. Boycott these decietful companies until they publicly commit to stop using toxicants in their products that poison consumers and the environment:

Citrus Magic
NutriBiotic
Nature's Gate Organics
Giovanni Organic Cosmetics
Kiss My Face
365* Everyday Value by Whole Foods
Circle of Friends
Aura Cacia
Alba
Ecco Bella
Ecover
Earth Friendly
Shikai
ShenMin
Seventh Generation
Sea-Chi Organics
Rainbow
Planet
Emerald Forest
Healthy Times
Jason
Life Tree
Method

In this issue: Your action plan for times of crisis; romanesco cauliflower; purple potatoes; pots and pans; and this week's Vegetarian Organic Life Recipe of the Week, Vegetable Comfort Soup! Read it here!

Sugar beet farmers in the U.S. will soon decide whether to plant genetically engineered sugar beets. A new genetically engineered strain of sugar beet created by Monsanto and designed to resist Roundup, an herbicide also created by Monsanto, is the latest available option approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2005. The final decision will be largely determined the type of sugar food manufacturers such as McDonald's, Campbell Soup, Kellogg, Kraft Foods, Sara Lee, PepsiCo and Hershey's commit to buying for use in their production of foods in 2009. Sugar is added to most processed foods, including candy, cereals, health bars, beverages, juices, bread, candy bars, frozen foods, dressings, fast foods, etc. It might be difficult to find items to which sugar isn't added. It's commonly known that high intake of sugar is unhealthy but unless we eat mostly homemade meals from scratch, we end up consuming large quantities of sugar whether we want to or not. Take a moment to keep GM sugar off our food.