Fresh Food Perspectives

Local Farms: Why Everyone Wins

 

{Today FFP is bringing you another great article from my nutrition intern, Noor. I'm so thrilled that she has begun her local food journey and she shares it here. There are so many great reasons to try to use more of your food dollars on local produce and goods. This is just the tip of the iceburg.  Please leave a comment about why you choose local food. - Jenna}

I’ve never been one to call the process of buying fruits and vegetables “fun.” Chances are, you aren’t either. But I have found a way to to make buying fresh produce actually enjoyable (groundbreaking, I know): local farmer’s market.  

Walking into the Beaches Green Market and seeing all of the color, I felt...inspired. Is it strange to call fruit and vegetables inspiring?  Let me put it this way,  I will never be faced with a dilemma of cheesecake versus fruits and vegetables and prefer the latter. For those of you that disagree, you have a superpower. But in this instance, fruits and vegetables appeared comparable to cheesecake. I really am saying a lot here. I just wanted to eat produce for days.

Let me start off by saying local food does not necessarily mean organic food. Local foods refers to how close the food was produced to where it’s sold (keep reading for more details). Many local farms may use organic practices but cannot afford to be certified organic.

I picked this market because it’s open every Saturday, 2-5PM (rain or shine, according to their website). I hadn’t gone to a farmer’s market before because it’s a solid 25-30 minute drive out there and the grocery store is only 5 minutes away. I also live in Florida, meaning it’s hot and humid most of the time. The idea of grocery shopping outside in this weather didn’t exactly thrill me. But this trip turned me into a die-hard local farmer’s market fan. Seriously, after just one trip, and a few conversations with the farmers themselves, I'm convinced it is worth every extra mile and every ounce of heat.

If you’re on the fence about whether to make the drive yourself, consider this:

It’s Good for You

One farmer told me nutritionally, local foods blows conventional out of the water. He is correct. Since local produce is picked fresh and doesn’t undergo much transportation, it’s nutrients are preserved. Something else that’s retained? Taste. I overheard one customer saying the color and taste of produce at farmer’s market just isn’t comparable to anything else. Unlike conventional farms, the focus of local farmers tends to be quality, not quantity. Another advantage is that you have direct access to the people that grew your food. If you have a question about how the plant was treated, what it tastes like or even how to prepare it, just ask. 

Local farmer’s markets are a way to break the common “fruits and vegetables are the devil” kid complex.  As a kid, grocery shopping was more of a groan-worthy errand than anything.  I just wanted to roam around but the aisles were too restrictive for my taste. The farmer’s markets I went to was outdoors, spacious, and had a park within walking distance. This is as close to a childhood dream as it comes. At the end of the day, anything that helps you (or your kids) eat more produce is a really good thing. That's how you become healthier. 

It’s Good for Farmers and the Economy

One farmer told me it’s important for people to come out and see what local food is all about. The farmer’s are well-versed in their product and they really care about the quality of what they are selling. 

I talked to Francisco of KYV farm. He said being a farmer isn't just a job, it's a lifestyle. He works 10 hour work days almost everyday. Francisco tries to take a few weeks off at the end of every season but this doesn't always happen. If it's a bad season, then forget any days off. The jobs of farmer's are heavily dependent on a factor they have no control over: the weather. It’s our job, the community, to support this hard work so small farms can continue to thrive.

When spending money locally, this money is kept near your community.  A study showed an increase in the direct sale of local foods had a positive effect on income growth. 

It’s Good for the Environment

Conventional products often travel 1500-3000 miles by the time they reach your plate. Although there is no set definition of local foods, a survey showed half of consumers define local food as being produced within 100 miles of their homes. Less miles means less environmental damage like greenhouse gases and feul use caused by transportation. Bonus: less traveling means a reduced chance of contamination. There is also minimal to no packaging involved in selling local foods, another example of a sustainable practice.

I’ll sum of the lengths of this post in a few words: eat local (when you can). You may even have some fun doing so. Find a farmer’s market near you using the USDA Farmer's Market Search or Local Harvest.

How to Brine Your (Hopefully Local) Thanksgiving Turkey

Are you planning on roasting up a free-range, happy turkey from a local farm this Thanksgiving? I hope that you are. You won't regret your decision for all the social, enviromental, and ethical reasons that go along with supporting local agriculture. But you will certainly not regret it from a flavor standpoint either IF you brine your turkey first. 

See, most of the mainstream turkeys you find in the grocery store have some added ingredients beyond just "turkey". Here is what you will find on one particular major frozen turkey brand:

Ingredients: Turkey, Water, Salt, Modified Food Starch, Sodium Phosphates, Natural Flavorings.

Hmm, not what I really want for a holiday that celebrates our founding roots and the natural gifts from the harvest. So for this reason, I strongly recommend you buy a free-range, local bird. To find one, you can visit Eat Wild, a wonderful source for finding grass fed and humane meats and eggs. They have a button on their home page right now that directs you how to find a Thanksgiving turkey.

A natural, free-range bird has not had anything done to it, which is a good thing. But it needs a little help to get nice and tender/juicy for your big meal. This is where brining comes in. Last week, I posted on the Black Hog Blog about brining. Check out this article for more reasons why you brine and for a basic brine recipe. 

Last year I started using a "kit" for brining that includes the brining salt mix and a large brining bag. This made the process so easy and I am definately doing it this way again. In fact, my friends at Snazzy Gourmet sent me their Gourmet Complete Gobbler Brine and Rub Kit and I'm really excited to try it. If you need a brine kit, I recommend you order this one. Remember to use the code FRESHFOOD at checkout for 10% off. 

Here's a couple of pics of last year's bird brining in the fridge and my 2010 turkey out of the oven. (I am the official turkey maker in the family and I love it!)

What are your turkey plans this year? Do you have a favorite recipe, method or secret to the perfect bird? I'd love to know.

Disclosure: Snazzygourmet.com provided me with their brine kit free of charge. I was asked to blog about it. I was not compensated for my time and the opinions are my own. I have not used their brine kit yet (as it is before Thanksgiving) so I can't say exactly how it will work for you, yet. I do NOT receive any kickback from your orders at www.snazzygourmet.com.

More on the New Organic Food Research

This morning on First Coast News, they ran a story on the new organic food research I wrote about last week. I had the opportunity to comment on the story so please watch the below clip.

I would like to give a shout out to Black Hog Farm, whose beautiful produced is featured in the clip.

One of my key messages that was left out of this story is that you cannot go wrong supporting our local food system. Check out Black Hog Farm and the many other options you have to in Northeast Florida (or your area) to eat local. I am working on a resource list for you to help locate local eating opporunities. Stay tuned!

 

Meal Plan Monday - Summertime Grilling

Today I guess I go back to work "officially" since having Jackson. Clearly, I've been working for the past 11 months, just predominantly from home with an afternoon of work out once or twice a week.

This week, I start teaching (albeit, part-time) on campus again at University of North Florida. I've been looking forward to having a little more of a set schedule and the opportunity to teach college students. The reality of the situation does hit me this morning though - a little less time with Jack and more reason to stay organized with healthy living. 

Meal planning is always the greatest weapon I have for staying on track through the bussiness of life. Remember, that healthy living does not happen by chance but because you have a plan.

This week my goal is to grill as much as possible. I love the flavor of grilling, the act of grilling, and most importantly, the ease of grilling. If the tropical storm doesn't ruin my plans, I hope to be grilling almost every night this week. 

On Saturday I went to the Riverside Arts Market and picked up some grass-fed beef from J.D. Beef. I've had his meat before and was very pleased. I was most excited though because he had ALL the cuts of beef, including my favorite, flank steak. So that will be on the grill for sure this week!

I encourage you to take a few minutes this morning and plan out your meals and exercise for the week. Don't let the dreary rain or busy summer get you off track from staying healthy. It must be an everyday decision! You can do it.

Meal Plan for Week of June 25th

Monday: Grilled chicken and potatoes (Wrap whole potato in foil and put on the cooler side of the grill. Turn occasionally. Cook for 45-60 minutes). Salad

Tuesday: Flank Steak Tacos with peppers and onions on corn tortillas

Wednesday: Grilled fish (may need to use a fish rack for the grill), watermelon and grilled veggies

Thursday: Homemade marina with ground beef over multigrain pasta, salad

 

P.S. I have a few more places to blog about from our trip. Keep checking in for more on my travels.

A Visit to the Garden

This past week Jackson and I visited one of our family members, Aunt Sally, who has a beautiful, big garden. She is a master gardner and I always learn something important from her. I hope to expose my family to food in the ground throughout their life so I was thrilled to spend the day with her. 

Here are pictures from our day. I hope to one day have a portion of the garden she has. 

 

Rows of tomatoes

 

Cabbage

 

Collard greens

Pulling up carrots for us

When I got home from our visit, I had a bag full of produce from Aunt Sally and my Black Hog Farm Delivery to "process".

 

 

Our goodies from Aunt Sally's garden

 

I spent a couple of hours that night washing, chopping and bagging my goodies. Since I had such a large quantity of veggies I bagged them up for munching. I also tried making smoothie bags containing collards, beets, carrots and squash that I can now just dump in my morning smoothie. It has helped make it even easier to get my veggies in my smoothie.

 

Smoothie bags of veggies

 

The produce drawer in our fridge full of munchy bags

 

One day I hope to have my own garden so if you don't have a garden to visit you can come to mine. What a great place to teach nutrition! One day...

Northeast Florida Tour de Farm Pictures

Today was one of those days where time seemed to stand still. I know I am very into this whole food-farm-connection thing, but the atmosphere today was truly joyful. From the weather, to the music, to the food, to the animals, to the people present, this was a perfect afternoon. 

I spent the most time at Black Hog Farm in East Palatka where we had lunch, listened to Joel Salatin, and walked the farm. The Watkins family did a tremendous job of making everyone feel welcomed.

We also stopped at the University of Florida's Extension Research facility where my husband's aunt is a master gardener volunteer. She showed us what she has been working on in alternative crops and hydroponic growing. It was fascinating. 

Here are some pictures from the day. I hope they capture how great of a day it was. I'll follow up with some thoughts later in the week. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Eating Organic Affordably, Part 2

Just this morning, I had another friend ask me if eating organic was really that important. This reminded me that this is an important topic and I need to finish my little series on it. If you are just jumping in to this conversation on my blog, check out part 1 of the discussion and figure out where you are on this organic-eating journey.

To flat-out answer the question, "Do I think eating organic is important," I would say yes. If you look at my own food choices, you would see many organic options. (Just a quick reminder though, that my personal way of eating is not the only way to eat 'healthy'. Each person needs to work out their own healthy eating lifestyle.)

At my Farm to Plate dinner a couple of weeks ago, the farmer of Black Hog Farm reminded me of something that I have been saying for a long time: Local trumps organic. Yes, it's true. Why? Because local food is the freshest, meaning the highest nutrient content. It also travels less time to your plate which means less preservatives are needed and less gas is used driving it around. You also have the opportunity to get personal with your food. You know the people that grow it or raise it. If you have a problem, you can go directly to them.

Many of the local growers don't have the means to go through the organic certification process. So they may be following organic practices, but are not able to promote their items as such. But again, when you know your producer, you can just ask them about it. So all this to say that you should take advantage of any and all local resources that you can. A dollar spent here goes directly back to the producer to continue making high quality food. This is money well spent.

Many of the farmers markets offer a plethora of affordable, local produce options. I would recommend starting here. Produce is probably the most important place to start buying organic. Forget the processed foods for now. Spend the money on the whole, real foods. I would even say this for your kids. To me, processed is processed, whether it's organic or not. Save the extra dollar or two on conventional processed foods and put it toward your produce. I am working on compiling my list of local produce distributors and farmers markets to post for you.

Please post questions that you have about this topic so that I can make sure to answer them.

Eating Organic Affordably, Part 2

Just this morning, I had another friend ask me if eating organic was really that important. This reminded me that this is an important topic and I need to finish my little series on it. If you are just jumping in to this conversation on my blog, check out part 1 of the discussion and figure out where you are on this organic-eating journey. To flat-out answer the question, "Do I think eating organic is important," I would say yes. If you look at my own food choices, you would see many organic options. (Just a quick reminder though, that my personal way of eating is not the only way to eat 'healthy'. Each person needs to work out their own healthy eating lifestyle.) At my Farm to Plate dinner a couple of weeks ago, the farmer of Black Hog Farm reminded me of something that I have been saying for a long time: Local trumps organic. Yes, it's true. Why? Because local food is the freshest, meaning the highest nutrient content. It also travels less time to your plate which means less preservatives are needed and less gas is used driving it around. You also have the opportunity to get personal with your food. You know the people that grow it or raise it. If you have a problem, you can go directly to them. Many of the local growers don't have the means to go through the organic certification process. So they may be following organic practices, but are not able to promote their items as such. But again, when you know your producer, you can just ask them about it. So all this to say that you should take advantage of any and all local resources that you can. A dollar spent here goes directly back to the producer to continue making high quality food. This is money well spent. Many of the farmers markets offer a plethora of affordable, local produce options. I would recommend starting here. Produce is probably the most important place to start buying organic. Forget the processed foods for now. Spend the money on the whole, real foods. I would even say this for your kids. To me, processed is processed, whether it's organic or not. Save the extra dollar or two on conventional processed foods and put it toward your produce. I am working on compiling my list of local produce distributors and farmers markets to post for you. Check out my "Favorite Things" page for some of these links already. More to come in part 3. Please post questions that you have about this topic so that I can make sure to answer them.