Cows and Our Environment

I've spent a lot of time trying to be more vegetarian. I think at best I had my meat consumption down to about 2 servings per week. I can't believe how hard it is, even when mentally I'm convinced of the health, environmental, ethical and fiscal benefits. Maybe this will help you, as it did me, to get back on the train (or off, as the case may be).

My Favorite Smoothies

I make a lot of breakfast smoothies at my house for my husband and myself. They're relatively inexpensive, quick to make, and easy to eat on the go if you're in a hurry. They are a great way to get liquid nutrition into your body since part of the digestive process is already started in the blender. Plus, because you use whole fruits, nuts and seeds, you get the complete nutritional profile, fiber and all. A few basic rules of thumb are to pay attention to the color palette of what you're blending (color is a major factor in how appetizing smoothies are, especially for kids) and to manage the consistency and sweetness. Soaked nuts can add a great, creamy texture without depending on dairy, or you can use yogurt and honey to help bind ingredients together. Sweetness is an important part of the taste and can be achieved with natural, unrefined sweeteners such as agave nectar, real maple syrup, dates or simply ripe fruit. Here are three of my favorite smoothie recipes.

Strawberry Cashew
1/3 Cup raw cashews, soaked in water overnight
18 to 20 large strawberries, hulled and frozen
2 Tablespoons flax seed
4 Dates, pitted and roughly chopped
3 to 4 Cups apple juice

Rinse the cashews well and add everything to your blender. If your dates are not very soft, you can soak them in hot water for about 15 minutes to give your blender a break. Blend well, usually 1 to 2 minutes to make sure everything gets smooth. Adjust the amount of apple juice depending on how thick you like it and how powerful your blender is. This recipe makes about 6 cups.

Green Apple Kiwi
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and sliced
3 or 4 kiwis, peeled and sliced
1/2 Cup plain or vanilla yogurt
2 Tablespoons flax seed
1 large handful of spinach or kale
3 to 4 Cups apple juice
Alternative sweetener, to taste

Wash your greens, if necessary, and add everything to your blender. You might want to hold off on the sweetener until you taste it. I usually add a couple tablespoons of agave nectar or honey to this one because it can be a little tart, depending on the ripeness of your fruit. This is a nutritional powerhouse and is more palatable than most green smoothies. And since all of the major ingredients are green, the color is far more appetizing than mixing ingredients from across the color wheel. This recipe makes about 6 cups.

Banana Berry
2 Bananas, peeled and broken in pieces
1 to 2 Cups frozen mixed berries
1/2 Cup plain or vanilla yogurt
2 Tablespoons flax seed
1 Cup orange juice
2 to 3 Cups apple juice

Add all ingredients to your blender and blend well for 1 to 2 minutes, adding more juice if needed. I love the orange juice in this one because it really adds a lot of brightness and flavor. This recipe makes about 6 cups.

Any other smoothie addicts with favorites to share?

Garden Planning 2011

This past week I ordered my seeds from Tomato Growers Supply Company for the community garden. I had a great experience last year learning about seeds, plants, soil and sunlight. Barbara Kingsolver's book, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle," has been on my bedside table serving as inspiration to grow some of my own food again this year. Kingsolver and her family went local for an entire year eating only what they could grow themselves or buy from their neighborhood farmers. While I know I'm not up for that kind of a challenge I love reading about where food comes from, what it's biological history is and how to be more creative in the kitchen. She has influenced me to focus on heirloom varieties instead of all of the hybrids I grew last year. I'll still be using some of the leftover seeds from last year to grow another tomatillo plant, red bell pepper and an assortment of herbs, but the new seeds are all heirloom tomatoes.

The garden peach is my most unique heirloom tomato seed. It's advertised as being yellow-orange, slightly fuzzy and very sweet and fruit-like. I can't wait to try it out in salads and to juice it. Other seeds range from the beautiful, ribbed costoluto genovese to the practical, full-flavored sioux tomato. For homemade marinara I picked the Polish opalka which boasts a flavor so sweet and rich you won't need to add anything, and finally, an Australian cherry tomato for snacking called tommy toe. Heirloom seeds have been passed down for many generations and were pollinated in nature, not a controlled environment. This means that their offspring will usually be the same as the parent. With hybrid seeds you never know what you're going to get in the second generation. That's why seed catalogs love them — you have to buy new seeds every year. Of course, I loved the hybrids I grew last year, I just want to support the biological diversity that has existed for most of human history. I'll be planting my seeds indoors the first week of March to get a head start on the season.

Any other excited gardeners out there?

Hunger and Obesity

A few years ago while I was in Kenya, I came across an unusual challenge: how do I explain the word "diet" to deaf children in a third world country? I had picked up enough Kenyan sign language to get around, but this challenge was a cultural one. The small lunch room had just released it's guests and the kids at the school had noticed that some of the American girls didn't eat much of their lunch. I did my best to explain that in my country there is so much food that we have to be careful about what and how much we eat. I could tell from the expression on their faces that they weren't getting it. It was a very expansive moment for me.

Ellen Gustafson has also noticed this global inequality. She's done some great work to further understanding about the link between hunger, obesity and the global food issues that we face. Her story is worth listening to.

Food for Thought

There’s so much talk about food these days. It should be higher quality — no, make that affordable for all. Wait...what about the unseen costs? Okay, well, sustainable then. And ethical.

Each of us must decide on our hierarchy of values when it comes to the food we buy. Do we want quality, low price, taste or convenience most? If quality (such as “organic” only) is always at the top of your list, you’ve most likely accepted the additional costs associated with that. If taste is all that matters, maybe you’ve noticed the consequence on your waistline. Rarely, if ever, can you get all of your values met.

I’ve always been a frugal person concerned with my finances. A few years ago I attended a seminar by Janine Bolon focusing on how to lower your overhead and get out of debt. There was a lively discussion about grocery shopping and how much Americans pay for food. The room was split. There were vocal health advocates arguing against cheap food on one side while another side was arguing that beans are beans regardless of brand. At the time I didn’t know what to think or whose side to take. We’re only talking about food, right? With hindsight and a little more research behind me, I say both groups have a valid point.

There are many products at your local grocery store that are not cheap. Of those products, some are priced for convenience and have little nutritional value, while some are priced for the extra care taken in choosing more complete, unprocessed food ingredients. At the same time, there are cheap products. Of the cheap foods, some are processed and dead, while others are down at the bottom of the food chain and very nutritious. I’m talking about beans, lentils, rice, oats and other simple pantry staples. These are the kinds of food that 80% of humanity lives on.

These staples aren't exciting. Few celebrity foodies build a brand around simple, affordable eating because its not profitable for them. That's where this blog is a little different. My goal is to help my readers lower their food bill and eat better by adding more nutritious foods that are not expensive or time-consuming. The argument that healthy food is too expensive and unaffordable for most people drives me nuts. The real key is moving your calories down the food chain. This does not mean that everyone must accept an extreme dietary revolution. Simply substitute a few meals a week, or maybe only one to start, with simpler foods from lower down the food chain. Stay tuned to this blog for recipes and price comparisons to help you on your way.

1. Shah, Anup. “Poverty Facts and Stats.” Global Issues, Updated: 20 Sep. 2010. Accessed: 22 Oct. 2010. http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats