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Heroines for the Planet: Anna Getty

One could peg Anna Getty any number of titles — holistic lifestyle expert, author, entrepreneur, yoga teacher, heiress, and environmental activist among them. But each come in a distant second to her most cherished roles, that of mother and wife.

What I found infinitely charming about Anna is that she doesn’t care how she’s labeled. Her main objective is to be of service to others and the planet, and so long as she’s doing just that, she’s at peace.

I asked Anna about her latest endeavors, how she helps others live more consciously, and whether being an heiress to an oil fortune has affected her environmental activism.

Lindsay: What compelled you to leave the glamour of Hollywood to pursue an interest in cooking?

Anna: To be honest with you the life I was living as a struggling actress was not very glamorous at all. I was working as a yoga teacher, a messenger and in a catering kitchen while pursuing my career. I did get the odd job but it was not consistent. I felt very insecure about myself and my future and ultimately when I thought about what I was doing studying for auditions, working my way through hours of traffic across Los Angeles to get to auditions only to be analyzed by a bunch of strangers in a room, I personally had not felt that I found my service or my calling in the world. Although I pursued an acting career for almost ten years, the shift came very easily once I made the decision. My goal was not to pursue my interest in cooking. I wanted to help people make more conscious choices about their lives, what they ate, how they took care of themselves, their families and children and the planet. I continued teaching yoga, took part of what I knew and loved ( cooking) and started forming my career. I feel like I cut and pasted or collaged together the work that I have come to do. The acting training did however bring me the confidence to do public speaking or work in front of a camera so it was not for nothing.

LB: What was the inspiration behind your cookbook “Anna Getty’s Easy Green Organic?” What about the process of creating the cookbook did you enjoy most?

AG: It’s already a few years ago but looking back, I was approached to write the book by my publisher. I had not intended writing a book, let alone a cook book. I had been a freelance writer writing for a couple different magazines and had been working with various non-profits in the green and organic movement so it pretty much fell together. Writing the book was very challenging because at the same time, I was offered a second book deal to write an eco-Christmas book that needed to be finished within a month of the cook book. So I had double the work. The best part was recipe testing and developing, experimenting with flavors, picking through the fresh locally grown, organic produce at the farmer’s markets and building a recipe around what I came across. I loved having my friends over for taste tests. We would open a bottle of organic wine and eat what I had made and I would get notes from them. It was a very fun and creative time in my kitchen.

LB: Are you a vegetarian now? What was your relationship with food like growing up?
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anna getty, eco, Food, green, health, Home, mom

Examine Your Foodprint: Resolve to Waste Less in 2012

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by Lindsay E. Brown · 12/29/11

Sometimes someone’s words really stick with you, whether it be a card, a conversation, a piece of sage advice, or even a tweet. A message that strikes a chord is rare in a time when there’s no shortage of opinions and no shortage of mediums with which to share them. In between our consumption of copious e-mails, texts, posts, tweets and videos, meaningful messages are few and far between.

That’s why you have to appreciate the gems when you see or hear ‘em.

I felt the weight of Maryam Henein’s words recently when she said this to me, “I think that we’re living in a time when we have an opportunity to raise our consciousness. When people talk about 2012, it’s not really about the end of the world. I believe it to be the end of certain systems in place. Whether it’s big pharma, factory farming, etc., it’s all connected. These are outdated models that need to collapse. ”

Long after our conversation, I thought about Maryam’s thoughts on a changing landscape — the “systems” in place that aren’t lifting Americans up and the old ways we’re still doing things that are just so wrong.

I wondered: What’s the one thing we all have in common that we can change?
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cooking, Food, Home, waste

Interview with Jess Woods: Mother Nature Meets Her Match

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by Haley · 01/31/11

I met Jess Woods six and a half years ago. She’s a blonde, curly haired, blue-eyed lady who shouted love from the moment I worked with her. Fast forward to now for she’s a mother of two girls under the age of five, homemaker, and breadwinner with an adorable hubbie. She is a brilliant writer who let me know that I could write, but she also taught me a ton about being eco-concious before it was a “thing”. She’s the kind of gal who walks into a room, and things get a little bit better. Since she is so brilliant I had to ask to borrow a little bit of her time for an email interview!

Haley: Why was it important to you to have a house with a garden?

Jess: I’ve been trying, since I moved to New York permanently in 2000, to express how much I love this city. I love its architecture, its grid of streets above 1st and its paved cow-paths down in the Financial District. I love that there are 192 countries on this planet (as recognized by the UN) and that, last I heard, there are representatives for 191 of those living in this city and calling it home. I could go on and on here, but what I want to say, I guess, is that I cannot imagine a more vibrant place to raise my two daughters – a more teaching, generous, electric place than New York City in which to have them grow up.

I want to show them the world, and part of that is not just the world’s people and their cities, but nature and food and where that food comes from. We have been striving to eat organically, seasonally, and locally. These things are possible here, more so than is initially apparent. But there’s no way to do so more authentically than by growing food in your very own garden. So we’re doing that. Admittedly, last year was full of its foibles. My tomatoes were a disaster, for example.
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eco-aware, eco-baby food, eco-concious, eco-home, Gardening, gardens, Home, mother nature

Home Grow Micro Farms – Save Time and Eat Healthier in 2011!

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by Haley · 12/30/10

Talk about starting the New Year off on a healthier foot! Who doesn’t want garden-fresh veggies to choose from when dinner time rolls around? But say what you will about gardening, no matter how much you might love it, it’s very time-consuming. If you are a just-picked veg lover, but have trouble with the preparing, planting and watering part of keeping a garden, check out Home Grow Microfarms, which is very much what its name suggests.

The vegetable boxes are delivered to a home or office with the plants established and within 30 days the first harvest is ready. Home grown produce not only tastes better than grocery produce, but it is an awesome way to reduce your environmental footprint. Long distance transport, harmful pesticides, and genetically modified seeds usually associated with commercial farming aren’t used (Home Grow Micro Farms uses organic seeds and fertilizers, as well as a water-saving irrigation system).

And, they’re twice as productive as a normal garden bed! When you are done eating all the yummies they contain, the company will come pick them up and set you up with a fresh batch. Check out what’s available each month; in January you can choose from a greens box, and herb box, a watermelon box and more! Mix and match to your heart’s (or your bellie’s!) content!
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farm, farms, Home, micro farms

Fall Eco Fashion Beats the Chill In Style with Keds, Loomstate and Eileen Fisher Organics!

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by Haley · 10/15/10

It’s official. Fall is off to a cool start! The best part about fall is the chance to start anew: new initiatives (turn off that a.c. and switch to eco-bulbs), new motivations (make lunch), and new clothes! You want to look street smart even when it is cold and this new apparel is both warm and eco-chic.

The limited-edition eco-conscious Loomstate poncho!

Since there’s been a chill in the air, there’s never been a better time to sport a cute overlayer. But with the season not quite winter the hustle and bustle of a thick wool coat overwhelms. Eco-Chick has a solution! In mid- October Loomstate, a men’s and women’s eco-conscious brand, presents their limited edition poncho in celebration of Barney’s CO-OP’s 25^th Anniversary.

Pair the chic poncho with organic denim and prepare to be enviable!

The poncho is made from organic cotton canvas and recycled blankets. It’s cute brown and blue colors make it an essential wardrobe piece to pair with the cutest of cotton organic skinny jeans, for they go the best with the sneaks, like these from Eileen Fisher. Not only are these jeans made from cotton grown without pesticides, they are dyed (jean dyes are notoriously polluting) under the Global Organic Textile Standard. And if you’re not into this style, Eileen Fisher offers a whole line of organic denim on their site and in stores.

Made from non-polluting organic cotton canvas, these sneaks are eco-chic.

Sneakers are a must – whether you’re running around, walking home from work, or taking a stroll in a local pumpkin patch. Whatever you’re up to, cute comfortable sneakers are essential! Keds are superclassic and come in various colors – but this month they’re eco-chic too! Introducing Keds Organic Champions, chic footwear made from one-hundred percent organic cotton, stitched eyelets, and tea-stained laces. The sneakers are 55$ and can be purchased at www.keds.com.

Don’t back down for the fall chill. Beat it. Sport this super cute outfit and be an eco-chick.
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