Going green where food is concerned need not be a confusing and painful experience. It's often as easy as going to your regular grocery store or keeping in mind which cafes or restaurants have the good stuff and going there when you got the munchies or you really need that cuppa joe.

Here are some resources to point you in the right direction:

Grocery Stores     Home Delivery     Online Shopping     Cafes and Restaurants

Specialty Items


Grocery Stores

AJ's Purveyor of Fine Foods
AJ’s Purveyor of Fine Foods offers a ton of healthy options including organic salad dressings. While the store offers delicious and fresh baked items, which unfortunately are not organic, it makes up for it by selling fair trade coffee so green living can start with a cup of black.

Aqua Vita
Aqua Vita is a natural foods store. One of the perks of shopping at Aqua Vita is that according to its Web site, there is a 10-percent senior citizen discount all day everyday so healthy living does not have to break the ban for its customers. Shop Aqua Vita for organic produce as well as herbal remedies.

Food Conspiracy Co-Op
Food Conspiracy Co-Op has only one location in Tucson but it’s close to downtown and the university at 412 North Fourth Avenue. In addition to offering just about any organic item that a green shopper could ask for, Food Conspiracy Co-Op also offers an organic soup of the day besides the fresh produce.

New Life Health Centers
New Life Health Centers has four locations in Tucson to sell its healthy products. The center lives up to its “New Life Knows Nutrition” by providing an ingredient glossary on its Web site.

Sunflower Market
Sunflower Market is a grocery store that specializes in products that are compatible with a green lifestyle. The stores, which can be found in a number of places like Albuquerque and Las Vegas, offer fresh produce as well as everyday snack food like organic blue corn tortilla chips and organic salsa.

Target
Target is venturing into the organic world with its house brand Archer Farms. With all of the selections available on the shelves, including spinach and feta cheese pizza on a whole wheat crust or chocolate chip peanut trail mix bars, a person could make a four course organic meal on a Target budget.

Trader Joe’s
With more than a dozen locations throughout Arizona, and locations scattered throughout the country, Trader Joe’s is one of the top sellers of healthy and organic foods in the nation. Trader Joe’s not only offers fresh fruits and vegetables but also sells frozen dinners, like chicken lasagna, that are ready to eat after a few minutes in the microwave. The store also sells fresh flowers.

Wild Oats Natural Market
Sometimes known as Whole Foods, Wild Oats Natural Market offers a plethora of organic items. Besides the standard fruits and vegetables, the store also ventures into personal care items like cosmetics.

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Home Delivery

Matt’s Organics
A Tucson based home delivery service that brings certified organic fruits and vegetables to homes across the Tucson area. Matt’s Organics delivers the produce three days a week with different areas of Tucson serviced Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, for $33-55 for each delivery. The company also sells gift baskets.

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Online Shopping

Adventure Coffee Roasting
Tucson based Adventure Coffee Roasting offers fair-trade coffee in its gift baskets.

Arbuckle Coffee
Arbuckle Coffee is the first coffee roaster in Arizona to become certified organic by the United States Department of Agriculture. While Arbuckle is served around town including the Tucson International Airport, it is available for purchase online through its Web site.

Matt’s Organics
A Tucson based home delivery service that brings certified organic fruits and vegetables to homes across the Tucson area. Matt’s Organics delivers the produce three days a week with different areas of Tucson serviced Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, for $33-55 for each delivery. The company also sells gift baskets.

Manna Harvest
In addition to offering organic items, Manna Harvest also gives visitors free downloads like a 47-page recipe book that was offered in April. The Utah based site offers everything from baking products to personal care items. The site is run in conjunction with Organic Kingdom and True Foods Market.

Organic Kingdom
Based in Utah, Organic Kingdom sells hundreds of certified organic products that can be delivered across the world. The site is broken into more than a dozen categories including beans and grains, infant and child care, garden and a pet supply, which helps you find your desired items quickly. The site is run in conjunction with Manna Harvest and True Foods Market.

Park Student Union
Even though the outside advertises unhealthy options like Panda Express, the University of Arizona’s Park Student Union offers options for people on a gluten-free diet in it’s market.

Taste the Earth
Taste the Earth is a Web site that sells organic sauces, spreads and vinegars not available in stores. The site also sells gift baskets starting at $25.99 for bottles of both red and white balsamic vinaigrette. Taste the Earth offers other gift baskets ranging to $399.99. Throughout 2008, the site plans to expand its product offerings.

True Foods Market
True Foods Market is another Web site based on Utah. With new products added each month, the list of products available continues to grow from the basics, like organic cocoa powder, to more unusual items. The site is run in conjunction with Organic Kingdom and Manna Harvest.

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Cafes and Restaurants

Bentley’s House of Coffee and Tea
Located near the University of Arizona campus at 1730 E. Speedway Blvd., Bentley’s House of Coffee and Tea offers fair-trade coffee as well as wireless Internet.

Casbah Teahouse
Located on Fourth Avenue in Tucson, the Casbah Teahouse is a vegetarian restaurant that offers healthy vegan options like chili and nachos. And true to its name, the Casbah sells organic tea to wash down the delicious desserts that the Casbah baker makes with mostly organic ingredients.

Govinda’s Natural Foods Buffet
Govinda’s was awarded the "Best Fine Dining-Vegetarian,” "Best Therapeutic Meal" and "Best Vegan Selection" by Tucson Weekly. It specializes in mostly vegan foods but also has a mostly organic salad bar in addition to breads, pastas and sandwiches. Students can receive a $1 discount with their ID. Also, seniors receive a $1 discount too.

Oy Vey Café
Oy Vey Café is a kosher eatery inside the Hillel Foundation building on the University of Arizona campus. With a menu full of only vegetarian options, many that include organic produce, the café is a source for healthy eating in a location known for fast food.

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Specialty Items

Adventure Coffee Roasting
Tucson based Adventure Coffee Roasting offers fair-trade coffee in its gift baskets.

Arbuckle Coffee
Arbuckle Coffee is the first coffee roaster in Arizona to become certified organic by the United States Department of Agriculture. While Arbuckle is served around town including the Tucson International Airport, it is available for purchase online through its Web site.

Matt’s Organics
A Tucson based home delivery service that brings certified organic fruits and vegetables to homes across the Tucson area. Matt’s Organics delivers the produce three days a week with different areas of Tucson serviced Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, for $33-55 for each delivery. The company also sells gift baskets.

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