Cheap Eats

I don't know where fresh, handmade mozzarella has been all my life. I can't believe how creamy and smooth it is. And swiss chard. I can't get enough of the goodness that was picked hours before I bought it. And milk that was bottled within days, rather than months. The flavors we are experiencing are amazing. I don't think we can ever go back to the way we ate before.

But that tiny little ball of mozzarella was $4.5o. Quite a bit, really, but every bite of it was eaten consciously. We are conscious of its deliciousness, the way its flavor bursts in our mouth with creamy goodness. We are conscious to slowly savor every bite because we appreciate that it was made this week by human hands, hands that make a living feeding local families. We are conscious that it is not cheap eats.

From what I understand, the idea of cheap and plentiful food came from the Eisenhower administration. During the post-war years the government felt that the best way to help Americans to feel that all was well, was the plentiful availability of inexpensive food. So they put programs into place that helped Americans have the sense that they were well-fed and food was highly affordable. This was the beginning of our current day, mass produced, low nutrient food that is highly refined and high in calories. To this day, we believe that we should be able to spend the least amount possible on food to fill our families' bellies. We go to the store believing the goal is to buy cheap, with no other consideration than getting the most food for our hard earned dollar, regardless of its origins or affect on our bodies.

But what is the long term cost of cheap eats? If I spend money today on a low cost, high sugar cereal or corn fed beef that is full of hormones and antibiotics or even vegetables that are grown with chemical fertilizers and sprayed with pesticides, what will be the cost to me in 20 years? What will be the effect on my health? Diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, obesity are on the rise.

Studies have shown that local, organic veggies actually have higher nutrient value than their corporately grown counterparts that were likely picked unripe, sprayed with ethylene gas to ripen them as they go on their journey of hundreds of miles to the American plate.

Actually, our family's food budget has not increased. We are eating out less, partly due to our commitment to this diet and partly due to the fact that now that we are eating healthier, restaurant food is rather a disappointment. We are buying less and what we buy is high quality, highly nutritious and fresh. Instead of more food for our hard earned dollar, it is more value. Not just to us, but to the farmers that labor to bring it to us in connecting, eco-conscious and sustainable ways.

Sweet as Sugar

We visited our local Farmers Market this weekend and came home and admired the beautiful local and organic bounty. Almost too pretty to eat. We have carrots, swiss chard, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, new potatoes, green pepper, garlic, bok choy, lettuce, strawberries and eggs. We also came home with local milk, creamer, cheese, yogurt, hot dogs, hamburgers, and breakfast sausage. Very sweet.

But, as I start to run out of basic things normally stocked in my larder, I am beginning to find more challenges to this diet. Each time I run out of something I ask, Is it grown or made locally? Can I find a local substitute for this? Can I make it myself? Can I live without it?

Take sugar, for example. Sugar cane is grown in warmer climates closer to the equator. Where I live, I have different options: honey, maple syrup, stevia and even agave nectar are made or grown locally. I can substitute one of these in most recipes calling for sugar.

Honey works well in breads and some baked goods, but not all. It's good in yogurt. But I don't care for it in my coffee. I like stevia okay in my coffee (another not-local product, yikes), and it has a zero glycemic index and zero calories, but I really prefer the flavor of raw sugar in my coffee. The flavor of stevia is strong and has an aftertaste, but it is certainly better for you than saccharin or aspartame.

Maple syrup is very sweet and you need less of it than the sugar called for in most recipes, but it is very high on the glycemic index. In other words, it really affects blood sugar levels. Agave syrup is from the agave plant (indigenous to Mexico) that is gaining popularity as the new low-glycemic sweetener, is 40% sweeter than sugar (however they figure that out) but it still does affect blood sugar levels. I like agave in my coffee. There actually is an agave farm in the Hudson Valley with a company called Organic Nectars.

IMO, some baked goods just need real sugar to taste right. I don't bake a lot, but when I do, I don't want to sacrifice the integrity of some treasured recipes with substitutions. Of course, any of these options is better than highly refined white sugar. But what choice will THIS family make, based on our desire to eat locally? Surely, with the great number of natural and local substitutes we have, I can for the most part, use a local substitute for raw sugar. But I don't think I can have a larder without it. It will have to go on my list of "Can't do without completely, but will cut down where I can."

Meatloaf, New Potatoes and Digestion

Last night's dinner included meatloaf, broccoli, new potatoes, corn and cantaloupe. It was all grown locally. The ground beef came from Meadowland Farm in Clinton Corners, NY. We picked it up last week when we stopped at Wild Hive Farm Store for flour and lunch. It is grass fed beef, but expensive at $7 for the lb I bought. It was very low in fat, though, so no waste, and I made it into a meatloaf, beating my homemade bread into the milk and eggs, which will extend it through 3 meals or 6 servings. Do the math, that's not too bad.

I love new potatoes. They are so flavorful. The only thing I don't love about them is that they don't stay new. You have to enjoy them in July when they are in season, but new veggies are sure good for cleaning you out. I parboil the little potatoes in salted water, saute them on medium high heat for a few minutes in butter and finish with chopped parsley.

This, by the way, was my husband's dinner. My son's did not include green or orange. He liked the corn, loved the potatoes, tolerated the meatloaf. Green things enter his body disguised in dehydrated pill form. Don't tell him.

My dinner did not include the meatloaf, but I had some soft, spreadable, probiotic Fresh Herbed Farmer’s Cheese from The Amazing Real Live Food Company on some bread. These cheeses are available in a variety of flavors, and all are made fresh, in small batches, in the Hudson Valley’s Columbia County. The company's philosophy is to make delicious, wholesome ‘vittles’ for friends and neighbors. Their products contain essential probiotics, dense nutritional values, and key digestive enzymes, which the human body naturally thrives on, helping bodies become healthier.

Our bodies natural ‘gut flora’ are thrown out of balance by the use of antibiotics, medicine, alcohol, stress, diseased states, and exposure to toxic substances. Probiotic rich food like yogurt, kefir and this company's farmers cheese help balance the environment inside our intestines.

If you have any kind of digestive problems, the first place to start is with yogurt or kefir. The second step is uncooked veggies or fruit or fresh juices with every meal to provide natural digestive enzymes. That sprig of parsley on your plate actually is full of enzymes; it isn't just decoration. Probiotics also need fiber to flourish. Do not complain about digestion until you populate your gut with good bacteria and understand that every meal needs enzymes. Believe it or not, our bodies are not asking for the little purple pill.

I Love My Garbage Man

Ode to the Garbage Man

Whether you believe the reports about global warming or not, there are still issues that impact our environment that we can do something about. No Impact Man and The Lazy Environmentalist have given me a sense of my own power when it comes to my daily choices that affect my world.

For example, how much can I reduce the amount of garbage I personally put in the landfill? It's great when it disappears from my front sidewalk, but the reality is we are shipping our garbage to other countries. So along with the diet challenge, I started to become more conscious of what is going into my garbage can.

I checked with my city and found out that besides recycling the usual glass, plastic, corrugated cardboard and newspapers, I can also recycle cardboard mac and cheese and cereal boxes. As far as plastic goes, I can only recycle the little triangles containing 1,2,3 or 5. Lids of any kind, however, are not recyclable where I live.

The grocery stores will take my plastic bags (including the plastic that comes around toilet paper and paper towels) and recycle them. I do my best to remember to bring my reusable cloth bags into the store and farmers market. I am only about 80% on remembering.

I do like to garden, so I have a compost pile in my backyard for kitchen scraps and shredded paper. Since we have been buying local meat, we no longer have Styrofoam trays and plastic wrap. The meat I buy comes in sealed plastic bags, which I wash and dry and recycle. The milk and yogurt we are buying from the farmers market come in returnable glass bottles. Produce from the farmers market gets dumped into my cloth bag with no plastic packaging.

So in making choices about what I buy, I look at the packaging and think, "Can I recycle, return or reuse this?" Before I throw something out, I think, "Is there a better way to purchase/make/reduce this without creating waste? Can I make a choice that will be easier on the environment and on the garbage man?

Today I offer a free gift: a happy little song by Deborah Henson-Conant that always makes me smile, "Ode to the Garbage Man." Click here: http://www.youtube.com/user/hipharpist#p/u/10/yxBodB9Bx2w

Corn on the Cob

Well, I did it. Last night's dinner was kale with garlic and lemon, corn on the cob, pork chops and homemade bread. All locally grown or raised. Not as hard as I thought it would be.

I was actually amazed to find local produce at Hannaford market. There was corn, garlic, basil and honey. A brown and white "Close to Home" sign hung in the produce dept. showing where the farms are located and what was in the store that day. Each item had a similar "Close to Home" sign indicating it was locally grown. Only 4 items, but it is a start. I bought the corn, garlic and basil.

Well, well, well. See what happens when a movement begins? Demand goes up, business listens. So I went to Hannaford's website, found a product feedback form and submitted it. I also "Liked" them on Facebook and wrote on their wall. It appears that there are going to be more local products offered throughout the store. Keep up the good work, Hannaford. Check out their "Close to Home" magazine archive here. Also, a cool interactive map here.

FYI...don't overcook sweet corn. Boiling it 4 or 5 minutes is plenty and will leave it crisp and juicy. Overcooking it makes it mushy. I like to throw in some sugar or honey in the water to make it sweet. Also, try to shuck the husks just before cooking.

Kale

I am not an exotic cook. I like to cook with simple, wholesome ingredients.

However, *simple* becomes *boring* when making Trader Joe's organic mac and cheese from a box for the 7000th time. Although my son says I make it better than anyone, it is only shells, milk, butter and cheese. Maybe love is the only variable. I don't know.

I was thinking about sharing recipes here, but I am told that even though I write down recipes they never turn out the same as when I make them. I think the reason is that, basic cooking skills aside, I tend to *feel* cooking rather than *think* cooking. More like an art form. More like passion. More than just "feeding the troops."

This week, I bought some beautiful local kale at the farmers market. I like looking at it as much as I like eating it. The stems were wrapped in a wet paper towel, which turns out to be a good way of keeping it fresher longer.

Kale is a superfood. It has beta-carotene, an important nutrient for good vision, vitamin C, which is good for cold prevention, as well as a reduced risk of colon cancer and is also rich in minerals, such as iron, manganese, calcium and potassium. Kale also contains compounds that may lessen the occurrence of some cancers. Studies suggest that the phytonutrients in kale may actually help the liver neutralize potentially cancerous substances.

Here is my version of simple when it comes to kale:
(this works best for the more tender varieties rather than the curly ones)

Kale with Garlic and Lemon

1 bunch of kale, washed with woody stems removed and sliced crosswise about every inch
2 or 3 T. olive oil
1 or 2 cloves of fresh garlic sliced (depending on your love for garlic)
One half of a lemon and one slice of lemon quartered
Salt and Pepper

1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet on medium-high heat.
2. Saute the sliced garlic for a minute or so until it is very lightly golden and smells heavenly
   
3. Add the sliced kale to the pan, noticing its lovely green and red (or yellow) color
   
4. Saute until soft and a rich dark green color
   
5. Squeeze a little juice from the half lemon onto the kale and stir
6. I also take a slice of lemon and quarter it and stir it in at the very end
7. Salt and pepper to taste
8. Be sure to notice the pretty contrast between the deep green and bright yellow
   

Okay, yes, lemons are not locally grown. I still had a bag of organic lemons in my fridge. I think that lemons are going to have to be one of my exceptions to local. (along with coffee and salt) I think a couple of teaspoons of apple cider vinegar will probably work also. The olive oil is organic, however a product of Italy. Oils still have to be sorted out for this 100 mile diet challenge.

Yep, it's a challenge. But it is also a feeling.

Really Small Miracles

I feed some of the pickiest eaters on the planet. Of course, my son will eat anything as long as it is macaroni and cheese. My dear husband believes all meals should start with a meat and end with a side of pasta. When we go out to eat, he only orders seafood pasta. It doesn't matter what kind of restaurant. Chinese: Shrimp Lo Mein. Japanese: Seafood Udon Soup. Italian: some kind of Fruit de Mare and pasta. Many nights he will make a bowl of noodles as a bedtime snack.

There are no green things allowed on their plates.

I exaggerate. My son will also eat hot dogs.

So this week, we stopped at Wild Hive Farm Store in Clinton Corners, NY specifically to buy locally grown and milled flour. We also found some local humanely raised beef hot dogs with no nitrites or nitrates. I was ecstatic. Tonight, after cooking some for my son, I learned that they are perhaps the best hot dogs known to mankind. Score. I served them on homemade, organic whole wheat bread. Score again. We are thankful for small miracles.

My husband, after eating local and organic AND vegetarian at the Wild Hive Cafe and thoroughly enjoying it, ran off that night to go to dinner with his boss, only to come home bemoaning the fact there was no meat offering at this catered event. The next morning, excuse me, but he eliminated easily and, well, without odor. He was amazed and said perhaps he should cut back on meat. I swear I heard angel choirs singing hallelujah. Miracle number 2.

Thank you, Wild Hive Farm, for whatever spell you cast on my family.

I Cook Meat

I cook meat because although I am a vegetarian, no one else in my family is. I am not a snobby nothing-with-a-face kind of vegetarian, I just don't enjoy meat. I believe I was born a vegetarian as evidenced by the nausea, stomach cramps and the youseriouslydon'twanttobearoundme emissions that meat treats me to. But my dear husband believes the four basic food groups are Chicken, Beef, Pork and Fish. Hence, I cook meat.

I went online to check out the meat farmers at my local farmers market. I found Bornt Family Farm. I learned that Gerald Bornt is a 5th generation farmer whose great-great-grandfather, Chauncey Bornt established the farm in the 1870s. Today, he provides fresh, all-natural beef, pork and veal that is USDA inspected and hormone- and antibiotic-free. The animals, pastured for spring, summer and most of fall, are grain and grass-fed with wheat, oats, barley, corn and hay from right on the farm. During winter, they’re brought inside to the barn where they’re kept from tearing up the muddy fields for the next season’s planting.

We have been purchasing Gerry's meat for a couple of weeks now and I am very impressed. It is a bit more expensive than supermarket meat, but there was virtually no fat in the hamburger or steak. I was able to get 2 or 3 meals out of the packages, including the pork sausage and Canadian bacon.

One thing I learned though, is that meat that has no fat cooks faster and I ended up overcooking it. I will be more careful next time.

An unexpected benefit is that Gerry knows my face and greets me each week, understanding that he supplies meat to feed my family and I value what he is doing by supporting his business.

How Feasible?

I am learning as I go how feasible a 100 mile diet actually is. As long as I know what is in season, local produce is not a problem. Thankfully, New York's Capital Region has an abundance of farmers markets. But I want organically grown produce, so I had to do a little research on the farms I buy from to see what their mission and practices are. Local doesn't necessarily mean organic, but I was pleasantly surprised to find so many farm families that share my own values about farming practices. Humanely raised meat is not a problem to find either, as well as milk, cheese and yogurt from cows that graze, are not fed an unnatural corn diet and are not given growth hormones. Having these healthy ingredients in my fridge is a good basic approach, combined with my herb garden.

But questions arise like what about bread? Locally baked with organic grains from far away? Is that the best I can do? I did some research and found that wheat is actually grown in NY, and one mill is within the 100 mile parameter. The local one is called Wild Hive Farm and their mission is "to help build sustainable communities and support regional sustainable agriculture by producing food products made with the local, organic bounty of the Hudson Valley." Works for me.

I can buy their products online, but it happens that tomorrow I am going that direction to transport a dog, so we are going to stop in and purchase some grains. I found a barely used bread machine on craigslist and have begun to bake our bread with the organic flour I had left in the house. It is working great. I used to baked bread this way years ago, but the machine eventually died after about 10 years of regular use, and I never replaced it. I tell you, bread machines have come a long way since then. The water I use is filtered tap water at room temperature. I used local honey in place of the sugar. The yeast is not local, but it comes in a glass jar that is recyclable so somehow I feel better. And sea salt...oh well. But the main ingredient is whole wheat flour so good bread, mainly local is doable and delicious. I will let you know how the local organic grains work out.

The First Question

The Hundred Mile Diet Challenge is our simple experiment: is it feasible to sustain ourselves on food that is grown or raised within 100 miles of where we live?

I have been trying for a few years to feed my family a healthy and organic diet as much as I can. Then recently, we watched a documentary called No Impact Man about a family in NYC who tried to live for a year without making a net impact on the environment. After sitting and discussing the movie for awhile we decided we wanted to try to implement some of their ideas in our family, mainly the 100 mile diet.

The reason we want to try comes down to what we believe in and how we want to live. We want our lives to reflect what we value. We want to make conscious choices. We believe in small business and the entrepreneurial spirit and want to support it. We believe in and want to support small farmers who care for the land and their animals in organic and sustainable ways. We want to eat healthy foods that nourish our bodies the way nature intended.

I have read other blogs like this one and have found them helpful and encouraging. I hope that this blog will be the same for others who might also be taking the HMD challenge.