Make Mom's Day

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Get mom out of the kitchen by treating her to a dinner made from organic food grown by local farmers. Check out www.localharvest.org or www.eatwellguide.org to find restaurants in your area that serve local and/or organic food; www.vegdining.com lists vegetarian restaurants. Better still, take her to a restaurant run by a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier International (www.ldei.org), an organization focused on promoting the advancement of women in the food industry. Many members are chefs and run restaurants devoted to sustainable agriculture, including Alice Waters of the venerable Chez Panisse and Kate Jansen of Willow in Alexandria, Virginia; read more about them in this week's Fresh Finds.

If mom prefers staying in the kitchen—where she's a dab hand with new recipes—culinary institutes around the country offer cooking classes with an emphasis on local, seasonal and organic foods; see www.sustainabletable.org for schools.

Since Mother's Day falls on the same weekend as World Fair Trade Day this year, help her forget labor pains by purchasing chocolates and coffee harvested with worker welfare in mind. Sweet Earth Chocolates offers "Good-For-You" chocolates that are certified organic and Fair-Trade and packed with fillings like blueberry and green tea, which are rich in flavonoids, and nuts like hazelnuts and almonds that are high in vitamin E ($16.50; www.sweetearthchocolates.com, 805-544-7759). A coffee-of-the month subscription from The Fair Trade Coffee Company delivers a pound of coffee of her choosing either once a month or every three weeks ($165/full year, $85/half year; www.fairtradecoffee.org, 800-909-9807).

More and more studies are demonstrating that red wine really does promote heart health. Since heart disease is the number one killer of women, make sure she has an ample supply! The Eco-Wine Club sends three bottles of organic French wine monthly for $47 (www.ecowineclub.com).

Last but not least, moms work hard. Help yours get some carefree (and much deserved) sleep by tucking her into Rawganique's organic hemp, linen and cotton sheets. Silky smooth and 100 percent organic, they are sure to make your mom rest easy (prices vary, www.rawganique.com, 877-RAW-HEMP).

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