A tour of the Polyface Farm in Virginia…..a whole different way of growing our food.
Category Archives: Nutrition
Wholesome or not?
Whole Foods has a wholesome aura. When we walk in, we tend to suspend our skepticism and give in to the idea that we are surrounded by sustainable, local produce from a family farm. The reality is that Whole Foods carries conventional produce as well as organic and some of it may even have arrived on it’s shelves from a different continent altogether. This article brings out some of the questions that we all struggle with as we try to eat healthy, respect the environment and balance our budget! One important consideration that will help make these decisions is to eat seasonal produce. It is summer, blueberries are growing all around us so they are local, and we can even pick our own organic ones at a nearby farm. If it is winter and you are looking at blueberries, they have traveled a long way, will cost more and not taste as good; so vote with your feet and your wallet, do not buy any and the store will not be motivated to stock them. Small actions can have a big impact.
Posted in Climate Change, Green, Living, Nutrition
Tagged climate change, Green, Living, nutrition
Fries By Any Other Name…..
GOOD reports on the National Restaurant Association’s new healthy eating initiative based on the idea of optimal default. What this means is that the customer is offered the optimal menu and has to actually ask for the less healthy option. So you will be asked if you want apple fries or french fries and will have to order full fat milk as kids’ beverages will all be low-fat. This is a good first step, but still a small one. Can we stop frying up everything, please? “Would you like a fruit cup or fries with that?” sounds so much better.
Peas are the new Spinach?
President Obama urged all parties involved to do the right thing in the debt ceiling debate, unpleasant thought it may be. So, he says we need to get serious, rip off the band-aid, or “eat our peas”. Well, when did peas go out of favor? I thought that was supposed to be broccoli or spinach.The fresh new ones in summer are delicious, with a little butter. Perhaps the President should try some from the White House Garden!
Food and (Virtual) Community
It is almost dinnertime. You are staring at the green beans and thinking, “not again”.How do you think up a fresh, new dish with the same old beans? Check out the Internet, of course! It is positively bursting with blogs and websites where you can learn to cook just about anything. But for some people who wanted to grow their own food, in an apartment ,no less, a quick search was not always enough. Thus , grew the online community of Windowfarms. An initial model for growing plants indoors in a hydroponic system was set up online and users from all over the world could use this model and bring in their own input based in their experience of using the model. A great way to share and grow knowledge! Windowfarms is also the subject of a research project at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute which aims to study how online communities work. One of their conclusions was that the community members were motivated to join because “it was fun to do”. If the project involves growing basil in a wine glass, fun describes it really well.
Posted in Food Security, Green, Living, Nutrition
Tagged food security, Green, Living, nutrition
What did Frankenstein’s Monster Eat?
If you guessed vegetables (or, even if, like me, you were clueless!), this article in Lapham’s Quarterly magazine’s food issue will prove an intriguing read.
Food Fraud!
This is a pet peeve of mine: the theory that it is a smart idea to get kids to eat vegetables by “hiding”/”disguising” them. So you “sneak in” as the proponents like to say, a serving of vegetables into the mac and cheese or other dishes that kids love and they will eat it without objection. I always want to ask this question: what happens when the kid leaves for college or gets a job (assuming the economy improves!)? Will he/she gravitate to the salad bar at the cafeteria or buy a nice steamer with their first pay check? No, because they will not have learned to enjoy veggies and make them a part of their diet.
So,what do we do about the daily veggie war? I would remind you of the old rule of parenting: kids do what they see not what they are told. So if your kids see you enjoying vegetables at your meal they will follow as well. Also, kids will eat it if it is tasty. Vegetables cook fast and there are plenty of recipes out there to suit the needs of all cooks. Splashing on some olive oil, salt and pepper and putting a tray of broccoli heads in the oven does not take much longer than spinning it in the microwave but it tastes much better.
I wrote this after learning that Kraft is adding a portion of freeze dried cauliflower to its instant mac and cheese and marketing it as a “healthy” option. First, what nutritional value do you think the kids will get from freeze dried anything? Second, in the time it takes to reconstitute the mac and cheese from the box, you could roast up some cauliflower heads and get more taste and nutritional value. Third, it is up to us parents to decide what is healthy, do not rely on what the box says.
Instant mac and cheese is a great option for crazy days when we seem to be rushing from work to school to ballet to swimming without pausing to breathe, but pushing veggies is still something we need to do.
Five Foods for Home Gardens
Five Great Foods to Grow in Urban Gardens. Great ideas and gorgeous pictures!
What is Local?
There is a general feeling that eating local is more “green”. Farmer’s markets are getting more business and more people are experimenting with vegetable gardens. But here is what a new study shows: the biggest impact on the global climate comes from growing food, not transporting it. If you want to make a good environmental choice, it would be more effective to focus on going meatless for some meals as meat production is a huge contributor to global warming.
So, does this mean we should stop reading the produce labels? Not really. The answer lies in analyzing the intent behind eating locally. One, it provides an outlet for local produce and contributes to local farmer’s incomes. Second, it is fresh and has not been treated in any way to last out the journey to your plate. Third, eating local, means also eating in the season. Instead of eating the same group of fruits and vegetables throughout the year (as they are readily available at the supermarket), we start eating a more varied diet as we are pushed to try different options from the local produce basket. This is a healthier way to eat and more importantly, it helps to conserve biodiversity by ensuring that a variety of produce is grown. If I only buy bananas, apples, broccoli and carrots throughout the year then that is what farmers will grow. By eating locally, I might try something new like a different type of squash or berry and these varieties will not be ignored and lost.
Now, about the meat question: both grass-fed and conventional beef fail badly on the green meter. Also, we know that a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grain is better than one based on meat. So making a change towards a less meat-centric diet is beneficial to people and the planet. We can always start with baby steps: incorporate some beans that, like meat, are high in protein and also have big flavors, or start a new-veggie-a-week plan and discover some great flavors at your farmer’s market!
Eating locally= healthier diet+healthier planet so continue to read those labels and make good choices!
Local Food Sourcing By Chipotle
Chipotle is often the option of choice for those of us who need a quick meal without having to sacrifice quality. The beans are mostly organic, the meat is largely naturally raised and now that it is planning to double its use of locally sourced food, it should get a big boost in business. This is not “local” as in farmer’s market “local” (“local” here is a 350 miles limit); but I would take it any day over a distorted food system where we insist on importing out of season produce over huge distances just so we can satisfy our demand for asparagus in the dead of winter.We hear businesses say profit constraints prevent them from making choices that are better for the planet so when we see an initiative like this, we need to support it.
Thought + Food 