I’m big on milestones. New Year’s for reflecting and prioritizing, spring for weeding and cleaning out clutter (both literally and metaphorically).
So with April being Earth Month, it seemed a good time to look for ways to move the needle a bit on the carbon footprint front. I’m trying to ride my bike into town more instead of hopping in the car. I just built a new compost bin (we’ll see if I can keep a few worms alive this time!). And I was psyched to get an e-mail from Ashley at the Bulk is Green Council reminding me how buying from the bulk bins significantly cuts down on packaging waste.
If you’ve ever been in a grocery store with me, you know how very much I love the bulk bins. The variety! The beauty! The BARGAINS! It can get a bit embarrassing. But really truly, the bulk bins are a treasure trove, and an easy, dare-I-say enjoyable way to shave a good bit off your eco-impact.
Did you know that if all Americans bought their almonds from the bulk bins (instead of in packages) for ONE WEEK, we would save 1,500,000 pounds of waste from the landfills?
If you’re intimidated by the bulk bins, I hear you. At first, I found it tedious filling up the bags and writing those little tags. But now I’ve got it down to a rhythm.
First, I’m careful to get just what I need, so I’m not overwhelmed with all sorts of random extras later. Then when I write the bulk bin number on the tag, I also write what, exactly, I’m putting in the bag, along with any cooking directions that come along with it. That way I don’t find a bag of sandy colored nubbins two months from now and wonder whether they’re couscous or bulgur, or get home with my barley and have to look up how much liquid to use and how long to cook it.
If you’re new to shopping the bulk bins, you may be surprised by the huge variety. You’ll likely find half the ingredients for this recipe–all the spices, the chickpeas, the dates–in the bulk bins, for instance.
Get adventurous this week and take a spin down the bulk aisle … you know it’s where I’ll be hanging out on Earth Day!
OK, so here’s the deal: I never jumped on the smoothie bandwagon. Sure, smoothies are BIG these days, but they’re just not my thing. So when Tess Masters’ popular blog, The Blender Girl, started crossing my radar, I thought, Oh, yeah, smoothies.
Well, it is that, but not just that, as a peek at her new cookbook, The Blender Girl: Super-Easy, Super-Healthy Meals, Snacks, Desserts & Drinks (Ten Speed Press), proves — deliciously. Nor is it a liquid diet. “No, we didn’t check our teeth at the door,” jokes Masters, a self-confessed blendaholic. To celebrate, we’re hosting a giveaway for one lucky reader to win a copy of her book (keep reading for details to enter).
Masters has plenty of smoothies in there, to be sure, and a whole lot more among the book’s 100 gluten-free, vegan recipes, all of which involve using your blender. You’ll also find creative soups, salad dressings, entrees, desserts, some raw fruit butter and jam that looks really intriguing, and concoctions for nut milk and nut cheese. There’s even her margarita recipe — a nice touch with Cinco de Mayo around the corner.
But why blenders? Masters loves them for the same reason we all do — they make quick work of healthy, tasty meals. And for Masters, who was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr as a teenager and embarked on her own NOURISH Evolution to find a diet that was healthy and delicious, her “s’blended” appliance was the key.
She also shares her tips for choosing a blender (she’s tried them all so you don’t have to) and how to use it wisely. (Tip: Always wash your blender by hand, even if the manufacturer claims it’s dishwasher-safe. Your investment will last longer.)
So if you need some fun ideas to get more mileage out of your blender, Masters has ’em. I’m certainly digging in. Heck, I may even whirl up a smoothie or two.
FOR THE GIVEAWAY: We’re giving away one copy of The Blender Girl to one lucky reader. Here’s how to enter: Just leave a comment below. We’ll draw a winner at random and announce the lucky duck on the site on Wednesday, April 16, 2014.
In the meantime, you can try a taste of The Blender Girl with Masters’ recipe for Creamy Cauliflower Soup.
UPDATE (4/16/14): We have a winner: Nina S! Thank you to all who entered. Please check back for future giveaways!
Have you ever made something so good that you thought, I should bottle this and sell it! For most of us, that’s just a passing fancy. But Erika Kerekes, a working mom and food blogger in Santa Monica, CA, actually did it and just launched her line of Not Ketchup condiments with three flavors: cherry chipotle, blueberry white pepper and smoky date.
{Photo of Erika Kerekes by Christina Peters Photography}
It’s “not” ketchup because the Food & Drug Administration has ruled that condiments without tomatoes can’t be labeled “ketchup.” (Of course the FDA is wrong, and ketchup has been made for centuries with all manner of fruit.) But it’s delicious by any name. Here’s how Erika got it from her kitchen to store shelves.
When did you first realize you had an idea for a product you could sell?
I’d taken the kids on our annual cherry-picking trip up to [Southern California’s] Leona Valley, where we picked 30 pounds of cherries. After I’d made pie and cobbler and jam, I still had 15-plus pounds left. So I started thinking about what else I could do with the cherries … and somehow I hit on ketchup. I think it came to me in a dream, quite literally.
I knew it was a winning idea when my husband tasted it and said, “Wow!” He hates tomato ketchup, but he’s loved every flavor of Not Ketchup I’ve put in front of him.
Not Ketchup started your kitchen, but you recruited experts to help you get it ready for prime time. Who’s on the team?
I knew I didn’t want to make it in small batches in a commercial kitchen — if I was going to do this, I was going to plan for large-scale output.
First, I hired Barry Weinstein, an experienced food technologist, to help me turn my home recipe into a formula a factory could use to make the sauce in an industrial setting. From him, I learned about food safety — there are things you have to do when you make a product that’s going to sit in a bottle on a shelf for 12 months that you wouldn’t have to do in your own kitchen. I also had to source the main fruit ingredients, which ended up coming from different companies up and down the West coast.
Real fruit had to be the first ingredient on the label. And the ingredient list had to stay short and have only pronounceable ingredients.
Then I found a co-packer (also called a contract manufacturer) to manufacture the sauce from the formula Barry and I developed. Heiden’s Foods in Fullerton, CA, is one of the few co-packers where startups making smaller batches are welcome. Owners Dawne and Derek Walker helped me understand the nuances of getting all the necessary approvals, having all the pieces in place and controlling manufacturing costs.
What were the biggest challenges?
The hardest thing was sourcing the fruit ingredients. In a smaller factory like Heiden’s, I didn’t have the option of starting with fresh fruit, because it takes too much time and capacity to boil off the water that’s in fresh fruit. So I had to find ingredients that met my strict standards (no sulfites, no added sugar), worked in our formulas, delivered the taste and texture I wanted, and were available in relatively small batches. I made a lot of phone calls and did a bit of begging. Ultimately I found great suppliers who were happy to bend their rules to get me what I needed.
The rest of it was relatively easy because I was working with Barry and his 30-plus years of experience developing food products. I said, “I want it to taste like this and pour like this,” and he knew exactly how to get there based on my original recipe, the sample I gave him, and his knowledge of industrial ingredients.
Where did you refuse to compromise?
Originally I wanted the product to contain only unprocessed ingredients, but ultimately the only way we were able to maintain the right texture and flavor profile for the 12-month shelf life was to add a thickener (xanthan gum) and natural flavors.
But I stood firm on a few things. Real fruit had to be the first ingredient on the label. I used two unprocessed (and relatively expensive) sweeteners: demerara sugar and honey. And the ingredient list had to stay short and have only pronounceable ingredients.
Are there plans to offer a certified-organic version of Not Ketchup?
I hope to offer an organic line once the products are selling well and the brand is established. However, it’s already an expensive product in the ketchup category at $8.99 — the fruit is very expensive compared to tomatoes. So we’ll have to see if the market will support the added cost of producing it with certified-organic ingredients.
Not Ketchup is available at five stores in Los Angeles, and you can order it from Not Ketchup’s online store. It’s great on burgers, used in glazes on grilled fish and poultry, or as part of cheese plate. Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to trying the Cherry Chipotle on sandwiches with leftover Carnitas de Lia.
I’ve got a confession to make: I adore the heat and complexity of Thai food, but I rarely cook it at home. I always seem to be missing some key specialty ingredient, so unless I’ve planned ahead, a home-cooked Thai meal isn’t on the menu. There must be a lot of cooks like me, because Chef Katie Chin has come to our rescue with her new book, Everyday Thai Cooking: Quick and Easy Family-Style Recipes (Tuttle Publishing). And to celebrate, we’re hosting a giveaway for one lucky reader to win a copy (see below for details to enter).
{Chef Katie demonstrates techniques and ingredients featured in Everyday Thai Cooking.}
The book is especially welcome this time of year, when the indulgence that punctuates the season makes me crave light, bright flavors more than ever. Katie’s Steamed Mussels in Lemongrass and Basil made our Christmas Eve celebration. Her Tangy Pumpkin Soup yielded a nourishing, zippy meal to warm up a couple of chilly weeknights.
And while the recipes are mouthwatering, the section that’s perhaps most useful for the Thai cooking newbie is the rundown of signature ingredients. You’ll come away with a solid understanding of the role each plays in building the unique balance of the spicy, salty, sweet and sour flavors that characterize Thai cuisine, as well as helpful tips to make substitutions. Even better, you’ll be inspired to make a field trip to an Asian market to add some ingredients to your pantry and repertoire.
FOR THE GIVEAWAY: To celebrate Katie’s book — and make it easy for you to experience its delicious flavors — we’re giving away one copy of Everyday Thai Cooking to one lucky reader. And it’s easy to enter: Just leave a comment below. We’ll draw a winner at random and announce the lucky winner on the site on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013. Good luck!
In the meantime, you can enjoy a taste of Everyday Thai Cooking with Katie’s recipe for Tangy Pumpkin Soup.
UPDATE (12/31/13): We have a winner: Liz Carl Ulloa! Thank you to all who entered. Please check back for future giveaways! And สวัสดีปีใหม่ (Happy New Year!)
We’re heading to a holiday cookie exchange on Saturday (hence my cry for help on Facebook) that I’m really excited about. Our friends thought this type of party would be a great way to mobilize a bunch of people to help the community while having a lot of fun in the process. I could babble on, but I think I’ll just cut and paste the invite instead so you can see the details for yourself. Feel free to use it as a template for your own party!
We invite you to join us for our annual cookie exchange. Our hope is to again send you home with a wonderful assortment of delicious holiday cookies while at the same time working together to help make the holidays a bit better for others in our community.
COOKIES
The idea is for you to take home about half of the cookies you bring. Together, we will put the other half into individual tins to be delivered to seniors and shut-ins. So bring as many cookies as you want to bake! And if you do not care to bake nor to take home any cookies, please just bring more of the items needed for the food pantry.
FOOD PANTRY
We are also asking for your help with gathering items for local food pantries. Listed below are those items which they need most.
Beans + Rice: We hope that as many of you as possible will bring large bags of black beans (10#), pinto beans (20#) and/or rice (20#), all of which may be purchased at Costco. We will then work together to break down the large bags into smaller individual bags, which saves the food pantries a great deal of volunteer labor.
Senior bags: The Healdsburg food pantry assembles bags for about 35 seniors in our community and they are always in need of the following items in individual packages:
We look forward to spending a fun and rewarding afternoon together and thank you in advance for your generous souls.
How cool is that? I’m bringing these oatmeal cookies as one of my contributions and would LOVE to know your favorite cookie/bar/brownie recipe. Leave a link below or on Facebook!
Need more creative cookie ideas? Alison recently when to a cookie exchange hosted by Food Bloggers Los Angeles. Here are some more recipes from our creative friends at FBLA:
FBLA 2013 Cookie Exchange Recipes
Chai Tea Cookies — Cathy Arkle of She Paused 4 Thought (She also got tired of rolling the dough and refashioned the rest into Baby Hedgehog cookies.)
If you explored the 3,500 exhibitors lining the crowded aisles at the recent Natural Products Expo West, you might have been impressed by the incredible diversity in the organic and natural foods market. Indeed, there were many independent companies and new players looking for retailers to pick up their products. The country’s biggest industrial food processors were well represented, too, even if it wasn’t always obvious. General Mills was there (Cascadian Farm and Muir Glen). So were Kellogg (Kashi and Morningstar Farms), Kraft (Boca Foods), Coca-Cola (Honest Tea), Pepsi (Naked Juice) and M&M/Mars (Seeds of Change), to name a few others.
Of course, it’s no surprise that big food processors have gotten into the organic food business. It’s a fast-growing market. According to the latest figures from the Organic Trade Association (OTA), sales of organic food and beverages reached $24.8 billion in 2009. The heyday for big corporate acquisition of small organic producers was 1997-2007. At the same time, many processors rolled out organic versions of popular brands, while many of the country’s top food retailers commissioned the same manufacturers to produce private-label organic lines.
Does big corporate interest help or hinder organics?
“It depends on your values,” says Philip H. Howard, an assistant professor at Michigan State University, whose articles in academic journals have examined the consequences of consolidation in the organic food industry. “That’s the debate in the organic movement. Some people say that it’s so important to reduce the use of synthetic pesticides that we shouldn’t worry about who owns what. Others say it’s not just about pesticides, but our overall food system.”
(Image courtesy of Philip H. Howard)
Large players have made organic food more available and affordable. “It’s easier to find organic foods these days,” says Howard. “It’s literally everywhere now. And part of this is because big business has gotten involved.”
Mass market retailers (including supermarket chains, warehouse clubs and mass merchandisers like Wal-Mart and Target) now account for more than half of organic food sales. Natural retailers–a segment dominated by Whole Foods–make up another 38%.
“There are purists who believe organic is just for small entities,” says Christine Bushway, executive director of the OTA, which represents organic companies ranging from smaller independents like Alvarado St. Bakery to Kraft. “But the fact of the matter is that it’s a very, very fast-growing area because of consumer demand, and it takes some of the bigger players to meet that demand.”
Big corporations open up mainstream distribution channels for the smaller organic brands they own. Earlier this month, Coca-Cola completed its acquisition of Honest Tea, which produces a line of USDA-certified organic beverages. As Honest Tea’s “TeaEO” Seth Goldman explains in a video on the company’s website, Coke’s resources enable Honest Tea to reach a far bigger market and fulfill its mission to “democratize” organics.
But corporate consolidation of organics has some disadvantages, too.
Obscure Ownership
Honest Tea’s honesty about its affiliation with Coca-Cola is unique among organic companies with multinational corporate parents. Most opt for what Howard calls “stealth” ownership that makes it difficult for consumers to know if an organic brand is owned by a bigger corporation. For example, Muir Glen and Cascadian Farm are owned by Small Planet Foods, which in turn is owned by General Mills. But, you wouldn’t learn that from the products’ packaging or websites (though Small Planet does list the same P.O. box mailing address as General Mills, which you’d discover when you went to General Mills’ site).
Many organic companies hide their big corporate ties because they know their customers don’t trust the integrity of Big Food. Howard notes that Whole Foods refused to carry Tyson’s organic chicken line because the retailer thought customers wouldn’t buy a product made by a conventional meat processing giant. When I posted Goldman’s video on our Facebook page, commenters were skeptical about Coke’s ownership of Honest Tea. Other shoppers, especially those committed to the social responsibility roots of the organics movement, may be reluctant to buy organic products that support multinational food giants that have no qualms about pursuing less planet-friendly practices (like using GMOs) in other brands.
Fewer options
“Stealth” ownership also creates what Howard calls “pseudo-diversity” in organics. That means consumers to think there are more alternatives to Big Food than really exist.
Corporate consolidation also makes it more challenging for independent organic companies to reach customers. “Distribution has become so consolidated. If you’re a new, smaller independent company, it’s much harder to get national distribution,” says Howard. Aligning with a major corporation can make a huge difference. When Honest Tea partnered with Coke, they quadrupled their distribution outlets.
Weaker Standards
“Whether it’s Coca-Cola or a little farmer with seven cows, they have to follow the [USDA] National Organic Program,” says Bushway. “[Size] doesn’t really matter.”
Or does it? Howard’s research indicates that as large food processors have entered organics, they’ve also successfully lobbied to lower those standards. Some examples he cites are increasing numbers of feedlot-scale organic dairies operated by Horizon (owned by Dean Foods); in 2007, the USDA began allowing nonorganic “minor” ingredients (up to 5%) in organic processed foods.
Under corporate ownership, some subsidiaries maintain their commitment to organics (such as Cascadian Farm or Muir Glen), others quietly abandon organics in favor of the virtually meaningless “natural” claim. Howard points to another Coca-Cola brand, Odwalla, as one example. Another is Silk, which under WhiteWave (Dean Foods), now offers just four organic products in its extensive line.
What You Can Do
(Image courtesy of Philip H. Howard)
“Those cases show you have to be pretty vigilant,” says Howard. Even if ownership isn’t an issue for you, it still pays to double-check the labels of your favorite products when you grab them off the grocery shelf to be sure that organic seal is still there.
If you prefer to support independent companies, there are still some large independent organic brands, including Eden Foods, Bob’s Red Mill, Lundberg Family Farms, Organic Valley and others.
If you want to keep an eye on the ownership of your favorite brands, bookmark GoodGuide, a site that rates companies and products based on health, the environment and social responsibility. They also include corporate ownership information, and have a free iPhone app so you can check products when you’re shopping.
With our daughter now an active participant at the supermarket, I’ve become more attuned to how companies entice kids to pick up their products (“look, Mommy . . . it’s ELMO!”). But it’s not just kids who are taken in by food labels. I walked up and down the supermarket aisles last week with a keen eye towards the promises beckoning me and I found that, for the most part, the bolder the proclaimed virtues, the less likely the product was to be good for me.
Take Reduced Fat Ritz Crackers, for instance. The green stripe at the bottom of the box draws my eye toward a sunny icon proclaiming these Reduced Fat Ritz to be a “sensible solution.” They have half the fat of original Ritz, no cholesterol and little saturated fat–more than enough to convince a busy shopper to lob that box into their cart and feel good about it. But let’s take a closer look at those claims—and the ingredients and Nutrition Facts—shall we?
No Cholesterol and Low in Saturated Fat– These claims typically appeal to those looking out for their cardiovascular health (and bravo to you for doing so!). Where it gets misleading is that dietary cholesterol has turned out to have much less effect on our bodies than previously thought; it’s the types of fat we consume, and their respective impact on LDL and HDL cholesterol, that matter. Saturated fat raises harmful LDL cholesterol, but it also raises helpful HDL, so the net effect isn’t too terribly awful. Trans-fats—identified either by grams in the Nutrition Facts panel or by the term “partially hydrogenated” in the ingredients list—are by far the worst type of fat because they raise LDL and lower HDL. So let’s flip the box over and see what’s there. The nutritional panel lists trans-fats at 0 grams, but a product can contain up to .5 grams of trans fats and still list the amount at 0, so I like to double-check the ingredients lists for partially hydrogenated oils. And there, right in the middle of the list, is partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil. Uh oh. So much for heart-healthy.
Half the Fat – True, at 2 grams per serving these Ritzes are half the fat of normal Ritzes, which weigh in at 4 grams. But what does that really tell us? If we’re concerned about the fat itself, we already know that these are made with a less-than-ideal type. And if we’re equating fat grams with whether or not they’ll make us fat, we’re looking in the wrong place. Calories (or more specifically, an excess of calories) cause weight gain, not total fat grams, and these Reduced Fat Ritz have 70 calories per serving—not bad, until you consider that a serving is only 5 crackers. Up that to a more realistic 10 and you’re looking at 140 calories, roughly 7% of an average “calorie budget” of 2,000 a day.
So here you have a snack with virtually no value for your body that gobbles up close to a tenth of your calorie budget for the day and includes a downright dangerous type of fat.
This is a sensible solution? For whom . . . us or Nabisco?
So what to do? First off, stop and ask yourself what you want to achieve. Are you trying to manage your weight? Are you trying to protect your heart? Are you trying to find healthy foods to feed your kids? Whatever it is you want to accomplish, take a moment to learn which factors really make an impact. Once you’re in the supermarket perusing the aisles, ask yourself why you’re drawn to a box. If you already know what you want from a food, you can evaluate how well a package’s claims stack up to your needs by examining the ingredients, Nutrition Facts panel and serving size. Best yet, if there’s an option to go whole—like this Make-at-Home Socca—choose that over any package.
In any case, when you’re cruising the aisles, it’s best not to judge a box by its cover.
The first two months of 2011 have been busy for the USDA when it comes to approving genetically engineered (GE, also called genetically modified organisms or GMO) crops. At the end of January, the agency deregulated GE Roundup Ready alfalfa, followed a week later by the partial deregulation of GE sugar beets and deregulation of GE ethanol corn a week after that. Approval of GE alfalfa, in particular, created a firestorm of controversy in the organic community.
In December, when the USDA was considering deregulating GE alfalfa, the agency organized a “coexistence forum” for the various stakeholders to discuss measures to safeguard organic and non-GE conventional alfalfa while at the same time allowing farmers to grow the GE stuff. Attendees included representatives from the USDA, members of NGOs (among them, the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Center for Food Safety and the Cornucopia Institute), industry groups (such as the Biotech Industry Organization and the Organic Trade Association) and industry members (Monsanto, alongside Stonyfield Farm, Whole Foods and others).
At the time, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made it clear that biotech crops are here to stay. “We see biotechnology as a key component of U.S. ag production, and a powerful means to increase agricultural productivity, as well as sustainability and resilience to climate,” he told attendees. “At the same time, there must be a recognition that the organic sector is one of the fastest-growing segments of U.S. agriculture.”
Participation of some of the organic industry’s biggest players led Ronnie Cummins, national director of the Organic Consumers Association, to label them “Monsanto’s Minions.” Stonyfield’s CEO Gary Hirshberg countered that since the USDA was going to deregulate GE alfalfa anyway, it was crucial for organic interests to be represented as the USDA considers coexistence. That didn’t stop Hirshberg and others who were at the USDA meeting from later signing the “We Stand United in Opposition of GE Alfalfa” petition, which calls the USDA “a rogue agency in its regulation of biotech crops.”
When the USDA approved GE alfalfa, it released its plans to foster “constructive coexistence.” Measures include steps to preserve the purity of non-GE alfalfa seed, developing stewardship practices to prevent contamination and “assisting cooperation” among GE and non-GE alfalfa producers. There’s no timeline attached to these measures, and it’s unclear what kind of role the USDA might play in monitoring and enforcing any policies beyond research, advice and voluntary audits–or how those policies might apply to other crops. In the meantime millions of acres are being planted with GE crops. For example, the USDA is allowing GE sugar beets to be planted even though the final Environmental Impact Statement isn’t due until next year.
One question that stands out is whether such coexistence is practical.
“That depends on what you mean by ‘coexistence,’” says Fred Kirschenmann, distinguished fellow at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University and a member of the board of directors for the Organic Seed Alliance. He also participated in the USDA’s December meeting on GE alfalfa. “If one means that both varieties (GMO and organic) can exist on the same planet without any cross-contamination, then the answer is clearly is ‘no.’ One cannot isolate a living organism in nature.
“Proposing coexistence based on no contamination isn’t feasible, since that genie is already out of the bottle.”
Kirschenmann says that leaves “coexistence” based on planting crops far enough apart to minimize contamination, compensating organic farmers whose crops are contaminated by GMOs and, of course, the cooperation of all the concerned parties. But just the idea of planting GE crops far enough apart is daunting.
“There would need to be strict distance between crops,” says Kirschenmann. “Such distances would need to be established for each crop–insect- and wind-pollinated crops would need much greater distances.” (That would certainly be the case for alfalfa, which is pollinated by bees, as well as corn–another common GE crop–which is wind-pollinated.) Farm equipment, as well as processing, manufacturing and seed facilities, would also need to be strictly segregated, he adds.
The recent deregulation of GE ethanol corn raises additional concerns. That corn is approved for industrial use for biofuel, but it could easily contaminate food corn crops. “There is no way to protect food corn crops from contamination by ethanol corn,” says Margaret Mellon, director of the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Food and Environment Program. “Even with the most stringent precautions, the wind will blow and standards will slip. In this case, there are no required precautions.”
Albert Straus, president of Straus Family Creamery, knows firsthand how easily organic crops can be tainted. In a statement protesting the deregulation of GE alfalfa, he noted that “because bees routinely fly up to five miles from their hives to pollinate plants, it is impossible for farmers to prevent contamination of organic or conventional alfalfa crops from genetically modified pollen.” And because alfalfa is the key feed for organic dairy cows, that threatens the integrity of all organic dairy products.
Straus Family Creamery began voluntarily testing organic cattle feed for GMOs in 2006 after discovering it had purchased some organic feed that had been inadvertently contaminated.
GE crops come with serious environmental and potential health concerns. But ultimately, says Kirschenbaum, the issue boils down to property law. “Property rights work two ways: In this case, farmers have the right to use their property to grow GMO crops. On the other hand, organic and non-GMO farmers have the right to grow crops without being interfered with by GMO crops. Courts have waxed and waned on such issues, so it’s difficult to tell how the Supreme Court would rule.”
What You Can Do
Oppose GE crops? Here are some steps you can take:
Buy certified-organic food. According to the USDA’s standards, certified organic food cannot contain GMOs.
Look for products with the Non-GMO Project Verified seal. These have been tested and vetted by a third party to be GMO-free. (This is the verification program used by Straus Family Creamery.)
Support the Center for Food Safety’s legal fund to challenge GE crops in the courts.They’re suing the USDA for deregulating alfalfa.
Contact your representatives in the House and Senate to voice your opposition to GMOs. It’s working in the case of GE salmon–in recent weeks, bills to block the fish have been introduced in the House and Senate. [UPDATE: As of October 2013, it looks like the FDA is set to approve sale of the GE fish.]
Let your favorite retailers know that you prefer GMO-free food. Consumer activism may go a long way toward keeping GMOs off store shelves, as in the case of Friends of the Earth’s Campaign for GE-Free Seafood.
Here’s a healthy eating resolution that’s easy to do: Eat at least one piece of seasonal fruit a day. “I’m not much of a fruit person, so I tend to just skip over them,” Lia confesses. “But when I do finally bite into an apple or peel an orange, it makes me feel so grounded and good and vibrant.” I’m in the same boat. Fruit isn’t the first thing I reach for when I’m hungry, and I have to make a point of eating the stuff.
Lia and I aren’t alone in this challenge. In September, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a state-by-state analysis of fruit (and vegetable) consumption among American adults. When it comes to fruit, the numbers are dismal: Overall, less than a third of grown-ups eat fruit at least twice a day. Among states, just 18% of Oklahomans eat fruit twice daily while Vermonters and New Yorkers are the most consistent fruit-eaters. But even that doesn’t guarantee adequate consumption. According to the market research firm NPD Group’s Nutrient Intake Database, just 8% of Americans–of all ages–eat their recommended daily intake of fruit.
That means however much fruit you’re eating now, you probably need to eat more. How much is enough? That depends on your age, gender and activity level, and the CDC’s Fruits & Veggies More Matters website has an online calculator. Turns out, I should be nibbling at least 1-1/2 cups of fruit a day (along with 2-1/2 cups of veggies). That’s a modest goal, really, when you consider that a small apple or medium pear counts as 1 cup.
Here are four simple strategies for getting more fruit into your day:
Eat in season. Fruit that’s in season tastes vibrant–and it’s affordable, too, because it’s so abundant. Eating seasonally also helps expand your fruit vocabulary. These days I’m gobbling satsuma tangerines by the flat, but I can also sample other super-seasonal citrus, like the exotic Buddha’s hand. Not sure what to with an unfamiliar fruit? Ask the farmer at the farmers’ market or the produce manager at the store for ideas. Also experiment using seasonal fruits in your favorite recipes–it’s easy to swap fruits and the flavor will be even better. The Cook’s Thesaurus is a helpful resource to research how to use different ingredients.
Keep it sweet. Put fruit front and center in desserts to satisfy a sweet tooth and boost your nutritional profile. This time of year, try Pumpkin Oat Bread with Golden Raisins and Walnuts (yes, pumpkin counts as a fruit) or substitute sliced seasonal kiwi for the strawberries in Lia’s Strawberry Cheesecake Tartlets.
Make it savory. Fruit can lend wonderful nuanced flavor to savory fare, as I was reminded when I dined recently at Ludo Bites, Chef Ludo Lefebvre’s wildly popular Los Angeles pop-up restaurant. My favorite dish was his mussels and pineapple in veloute sauce–the sweetness of the fruit added a subtle, bright note to balance the richness of the dish. Try this sweet-savory strategy in our Fennel and Granny Smith Salad with Blue Cheese or Fennel, Red Onion and Blood Orange Salad with Miso-Orange Vinaigrette. You can use different fruits in spicy salsa (swap pineapple for peach in our Fiery Sweet Peach Salsa) or in a sauce (like our Star Anise and Brown Sugar Pear Butter, below) to pair with roasted pork or chicken.
Discover the range of flavors and textures. Many of us associate fruit with sweetness, but that isn’t always the case. Consider the avocado. It’s a fruit that boasts creamy texture and mellow vegetal flavor. So if you fix a bowl of Guatemalan Guacamole, you’ll enjoy a bonus serving of fruit.
We got together with friends last weekend for an early holiday dinner. It was a truly special meal, and this menu is in a similar vein. I have a soft spot for a traditional feast like this one, because it’s very similar to the special dinner my mom used to prepare every Christmas Eve.
Pre-dinner nibbles:
Coppa-Wrapped Dates with Blue Cheese are tasty little nuggets that will get the party off to a delicious start but won’t spoil anyone’s appetite. Open a bottle of Carbernet Sauvignon or Syrah to pour with these. Last weekend, I also baked a loaf of Nourishing No-Knead Bread–only I added golden raisins and walnuts. Then I thinly sliced and toasted the bread to serve with a selection of cheeses (Manchego works beautifully, so does a soft cheese like Brie).
To start:
This dinner gets a classic start with a simple salad of romaine lettuce tossed with our Bestest Buttermilk-Chive Dressing. The dressing is wonderful on its own, but I also like to stir in an ounce of crumbled blue cheese. Add s sprinkling of croutons and you’re ready to serve.
The main event:
Holiday entrees don’t get more traditional than our Prime Rib of Beef au Jus. Even better, our version includes a classic Yorkshire pudding side, which you can prep while the meat rests. This recipe serves 12, so you’ll have some tasty Boxing Day leftovers.
On the side:
Prime rib deserves some potato action, and our Celery Root, Potato and Apple Mash is an updated riff on plain-Jane mashed potatoes. I also like Brussels sprouts with this menu. Here’s how I make ’em: Blanch 2 pounds of trimmed and quartered Brussels sprouts (dunk ’em in boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain and plunge them in ice water). Cook 4 ounces diced pancetta in a saute pan over medium-low heat for 5 minutes or until crisp; remove with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat behind in the pan. Increase heat to medium-high. Add 1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots to the pan; saute 2 minutes. Add blanched Brussels sprouts; saute 3 minutes or until tender. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar; season with salt and pepper. Toss with the cooked pancetta.
