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Food and Drink

The Most Efficient Snack: Pure Organic Bar

February 16, 2010
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A MetaEfficient snack bar. Unlike other nutrient bars I’ve tasted, this one’s delicious. My topic pick is the Orange Cranberry Bar. It’s made by a company called PURE, based in Holland, Michigan. 

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Nutrients Are Efficient

January 30, 2010
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Enzymes are metaefficient. My top picks are raw pistachios and raw cacao. Both have optimal enzyme levels when unadulterated.

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Updates From The MetaEfficient Kitchen Labs

July 5, 2009

This summer I’ve been working on food-related optimization projects, here are some updates:
I now have subscriptions with two local farmers (through a CSA or Community Support Agriculture). One farmer provides me with raw milk, raw butter and eggs, the other farmer provides vegetables and fruit. They both happen to deliver to same street in my neighborhood, so [...]

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World’s First 100% Solar-Powered Stadium

May 15, 2009

A couple of years ago, we wrote about a 1.3 megawatt solar-powered stadium in Switzerland. A new solar powered stadium has been built in Taiwan for the 2009 World Games in July. Designed by Japanese architect Toyo Ito, the stadium incorporates 8,844 solar panels on the roof. The roof will generate enough energy to power [...]

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HippoRoller Water Carrier – Simple Efficiency With A Far-Reaching Payoff

March 13, 2009

Water is an immediate, fundamental need for human survival, but one in six people worldwide don’t have immediate access to water resources, particularly in arid regions of southern Africa. The HippoRoller is a deceptively efficient water carrier with the potential to offer huge health, economic, and social benefits to developing communities.

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The Best Rice Cookers

March 5, 2009

Do you eat rice at least 3 times a week? If not, quit reading — after this paragraph. The most efficient rice cooker decision you can make is to NOT buy a hefty gadget devoted almost entirely to cooking just rice. Instead, learn how to cook rice perfectly in a pot or, if you’re aiming [...]

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AeroGarden: Easy, Efficient Indoor Gardening

February 18, 2009

In 2004, MetaEfficient.com pre-reviewed the AeroGrow aeroponics growing system. That was before the system was released. A couple of years ago, you couldn’t cut on your TV without seeing an ad for AeroGrow indoor gardening systems. It isn’t as ubiquitously advertised now, but it hasn’t disappeared from the market. In fact, five years after its [...]

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Best Electric Kettles

December 29, 2008

Stovetop kettles are nostalgically cute in movies and lovable as collector’s items, but when it comes to our time-crunched, energy-efficient world, electric kettles–which boil water twice as fast as their stovetop counterparts–are the way to go.

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Five Eco-Ethical Coffees To Jolt You Into 2009

December 21, 2008

Picking a morning caffeine pick-up’s gotten confusing, what with the proliferation of certifications: organic, fair trade, Rain Forest Alliance, Utz Kapeh — not to mention all the self-certification schemes companies like Starbucks are trying to sell. To help you cut through the clutter, here are five eco-ethical coffees you can feel good about drinking:

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Visit To An Efficient Winebar

October 14, 2008

I don’t think I would have ever discovered this winebar, had I not been led to it, through the labyrinthine streets of Arlington, by Chantrea, who is the originator of what I have to call a noetic zymurgy. I followed Chantrea through the avenues, and into a restaurant. I don’t recall which one, but I [...]

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Efficient Food Efficiently Proximate To Us

October 8, 2008

An efficient locavoristic cooking class at Cavallo Point.

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Notes From The MetaEfficient Labs

April 20, 2008

I’ve been doing a lot of work in the MetaEfficient lab. I thought I would post an update on my experiments and research:

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Optimal Green Instruction From Allison Rogers

December 6, 2007

 
Recently, I was lucky enough to meet Allison Rogers, who is now working with the House of Representatives to Green the Capitol.  Allison shared some of her optimal green techniques and  knowledge with me. I am currently documenting some of her activities on TreeHugger. Later, she surprised me with an unusual but efficient organic cheese [...]

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Green Coffee Beans

July 5, 2007

Roasting your own coffee beans at home is quite simple. It takes about 5 to 15 minutes and you get the freshest coffee around. Green or raw coffee beans can be bought for $4 to $5 per pound, about half the price of the roasted kind. Look for fair-traded, organic coffee beans — it’s the [...]

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World’s First Organic Tequila

May 7, 2007

4 Copas Tequila is said to be the world’s first organic tequila. The drink was certified by the international organization Bioagricert. The organic certification was announced at a gathering at the La Quemada distillery where 4 Copas is made, in Jalisco, Mexico. Named the Tequila of the Year 2006 by Wine & Spirits Magazine, the [...]

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360 Vodka: Green Bottling

May 3, 2007

A new eco-friendly vodka has been launched by McCormick Distillery. The bottle is 80 percent recycled glass with a unique closure that looks a little like the Grolsch beer bottle. It seems like the vodka is not organic, which is disappointing (we sent a email to the company to confirm this. In the meantime you [...]

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Efficient: Making Organic Beer

August 9, 2006

If you are going to brew beer at home, why not brew organic? You’ll have clean tasting, fresh beer without using ingredients that are not genetically modified, and not grown with pesticides. Organic brewmaking ingredients cost slightly more but the rewards are worth the expense (in our moderately humble opinion). On a more technical side, [...]

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Efficient: Eating Weeds

July 27, 2006

Weed ‘Em and Reap is a light-hearted but informative introduction to the free bounty of wild foods in lawns and woods, prairies and pastures. Even if you have no intentions of brewing up a crock of dandelion wine or tossing a salad of sour dock and purslane, you will enjoy reading Roger Welsch’s adventures in [...]

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Syzmo: The First 100% Organic Energy Drink

May 16, 2006

Syzmo is the first energy drink to be certified 100% organic. The drink contains no artificial colors and flavors, and contains no preservatives. It is sweetened with organic blue agave nectar. (We’ve featured agave nectar in a previous post.) The nectar is composed of 90% fructose sugars and 10% glucose sugars. Because fructose is 42% [...]

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Finding Local Organic Food: The Eat Well Guide

May 16, 2006

It can be tricky to find organic food, that is grown or raised within a hundred mile radius of your home. Luckily, there a couple of online resources to help in this endeavor. The Eat Well Guide is a free directory of sustainably raised meat, poultry, dairy and eggs from farms, stores and restaurants in [...]

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