Tag Archives: Organic

Addicted to Weeds…and Seeds

I’m addicted to Weeds. Oh stop it, you. If you’re from British Columbia you’ve read that as “Weed” and that’s not what I said. What I said and mean is Weeds. Weeds & Seeds, actually.

Weeds&SeedsCerealI discovered Weeds & Seeds at the Vancouver Wellness Show, a showcase of products meant to promote health and wellness. I do mean products that promote health/wellness, though not necessarily actually produce it.

After cruising aisle upon aisle of nicely packaged, well-marketed products, many from healthy-sounding companies, it became very clear that if you want to be healthy you’d better take your health education into your own hands and not rely on branding, marketing and sales brochures to ensure your wellness. But I digress. Continue reading

Don’t Waste a Bite of That Apple

Once you realize how precious your organic food is, you’ll be much more inclined not to let it go to waste or accidentally rot in the back of your fridge. Consider that in order to go organic someone may have to hand weed, hand de-bug and hand pick the food that ends up in your cloth grocery bags. Between that and the dear price you pay for it (which now makes more sense), you’ll not want to waste a nibble of it!

Here is a great example of how to get every last ounce of goodness from the apples that are readily available this time of year, courtesy of Foodbeast at Huffington Post:

It works!

“Live Inspired” Event with InspireHealth and Nature’s Fare Market

Two of my most favourite local resources have gotten together for the month of October to inspire living a more healthful lifestyle.

Compliments of InspireHealth and Nature’s Fare Markets enjoy a free webinar on the role of nutrition in cancer prevention and treatment, as well as many more tidbits of the information kind and the delicious, nutritious kind (yum!).

Thursday, October 25th, InspireHealth staff and volunteers will be on location in Kelowna to host information tables at all Nature’s Fare stores to distribute information and research about the value of an integrative cancer care approach and the power of cancer prevention. If you’re in the Okanagan, do stop in. We would love to talk with you!

At 7:00 pm on Tuesday, October 29th, InspireHealth physician Dr. Joe Schnurr will present a FREE one-hour webinar designed to raise public awareness of the overwhelming evidence of nutrition’s role in the prevention and treatment of cancer.

You MUST register for this free webinar in advance. Register Now

Live Inspired is a month-long health and wellness promotion and fundraiser, which will take place at all eight Nature’s Fare stores throughout October. In addition to discovering the benefits of different natural food items and supplements that help to prevent cancer, this in-store program will include store demos and sampling. Stop by any Nature’s Fare store and pick up a selection of natural foods and supplements recommended by InspireHealth’s medical doctor, and nutrition team.

Is Organic Meat Worth It?

While chatting about trends in organic food, my friend Sandra boldly declared, “I don’t care if it’s grass fed or spoon fed. I just want to know if it tastes good.”

She has a point. If it doesn’t taste good, the discussion ends there. However, organic meat does taste good, very good. So if that’s all you need to know, consider the issue resolved. If you still aren’t sure why you’d want to pay more to get the good stuff, you may want to know a bit more about what you’re actually eating when you sit down to that nice, juicy steak.

As I’ve become more aware of what’s involved in meat production, I’ve also become much more keen to source organic, grass fed beef for the occasions I choose to eat it.

Organic

On the organic side of the equation it boils down to this: the last thing I want entering my body is genetically modified corn, pesticides (sprayed on the corn), hormones and antibiotics, passed down to me in the form of beef.

  • Cows in the industrialized meat industry are fed GMO corn.
  • Corn is a grain, which cow stomachs are not designed to digest.
  • Mass-produced cattle are also fed animal by-products. Note: cows are herbivores. Feeding them their kin is messed up on many levels. Remember “mad cow” disease…
  • Cows are ruminants, they chew their cud. In the industrialized food process, cows are kept closely packed together and cannot lie down to chew their cud.
  • Cows are kept in such close quarters and in such great numbers that disease is easily spread, hence the heavy dosing of antibiotics.
  • The only priority in commercial farming is profit, so cows need to fatten up quick. That’s where the growth hormones come into play.

Cutting out the carcinogenic chemicals and going organic was a no-brainer, especially when I learned that all the nasty stuff collects in the fat of the animal. Fat is also what gives food its flavour so if you want tasty meat, you are eating fat.

Grass Fed

Then there’s the “grass fed” part of the equation. Why  not choose beef that’s organic and be done with it? Or choose “naturally raised” beef?

Well, if you’ve never seen how mass-produced cattle are raised, just wonder for a moment why it’s called “factory farming.” Really, it’s just like that. No pastoral scene of mother and calf, this.

  • Grass fed cows eat grass. Not grain and not other cows. That’s more healthy.
  • Grass fed means a cow has had access to grass. In a field. At liberty. With other cows, doing what cows do.
  • Cows need to chew their cud to digest their food. It’s what nature intended. In a field, there’s room for a little ruminating.
  • Stockyards used to be where cowboys drove their cattle after life on the open range. Now, they may live almost their entire short life there. To me, that is inhumane.
  • Cows are animals, not machines. The research is very clear — they have feelings, they need to socialize, they develop bonds. Providing them an opportunity to live without undo stress seems the least we can do.

If you are still one of the few who believe the treatment of animals is no big deal, you can hold to that opinion and still recognize the value of grass fed beef. When I thought that way, I still couldn’t believe there was much nutritional value in a cow eating food it was never meant to eat, in an unnatural environment.

The Final Word

Don’t take my word for it that. You need to know enough to decide what matters to you. Just don’t stay in the dark about where your food really comes from.

The resources are endless, but here are a few to get you started:

Our Daily Bread the Movie
FRESH the Movie
King Corn the Movie
Food, Inc. the Movie
The Food Revolution by John Robbins
The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
Ecoholic by Adria Vasil

Readers, I welcome your comments on books, movies or other resources you’ve found helpful in understanding all that goes into choosing healthy food. Please leave a comment and share…

At the August 1st West End Farmers Market…

cherry_tomatoesThese organic cherry tomatoes are bursting with flavour. I recommend using them to accentuate a dish of pasta al olio. Often regarded as a good test of cooking ability by Italians of discriminating taste, pasta al olio is both delicious and deceivingly simple to prepare. The key is to not over complicate things. You just want to use a few quality ingredients and allow them to shine through. In this case, I think that the addition of the cherry tomatoes works well.

When you start cooking your pasta (a quality bronze dyed fettuccine is recommended), add the halved cherry tomatoes, some thinly sliced garlic, a sprinkling of kosher salt, and a generous amount of olive oil to a second pan. The tomatoes will start to break down while your pasta boils.  Be careful to cook at a low temperature, ensuring that the slices of garlic do not brown. When your pasta is al dente, the tomatoes will be ready. Toss to combine and, if needed, add some of the reserved pasta water to bring it all together.  Finish with some torn basil leaves, a little freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano and a few cracks of pepper if you like.  Simple and very, very good.

pasta_olioThere will be a greater selection of heirloom, field-ripened tomatoes at the market this week; they may still even be around if you wake up at 11. A variety of peppers including Hungarian hot bananas and a Spanish delicacy called padrones will also be available.  Apricots, an early apple variety or two, and maybe even some peaches will make an appearance. Superstar and Walla Walla onions, both fresh and cured garlic, several varieties of basil, zucchini, cucumbers, and a selection of beans should also be among the offerings from the friendly folks at Klippers Organic Acres.

Granola Leaves Me Dry

I’m working my way through a package of New World Natural Foods organic, barley malt granola. It’s slow going.

I liked all of the things that the packaging had to say:

  • Locally made here in BC
  • Organic
  • High fibre
  • Low sodium
  • No sugar added

What I can’t get past is the crunchy chew. I don’t mean the traditional crunchy granola texture that’s a result of a toasted, sugar coating. I mean a crunchy, the-oats-didn’t-quite-get-cooked-through texture. Like rice that’s taken off the stove too soon and is still crunchy inside.

Maybe that’s what they were going for, but I like even my healthy food not to wear out my jaw.

On the upside, New World is pretty conscientious about their product. They source locally as much as possible, pack in recyclable or biodegradable containers, add no processed sugar and very little salt.

And I recognize and can pronounce everything on the list of ingredients.

Have you tried this product? Add your feedback, post a comment…

Vegan Tastes Good. Who Knew?

You can be forgiven for thinking the word “vegan” means the opposite of “tasty” as I did until my recent run-in with New World Natural Foods chocolate Bliss Balls. I’d seen them around before, but always steered clear since the regular ones look a little too wholesome and fibrous to actually taste good.

I expected them to be full of chewy ground nuts, grains and fruit, but these chocolatey treats are more like large, quality chocolate truffles than a (slightly) more healthy alternative to same. What they don’t have is eggs, milk or wheat. What they do have is smooth, velvety, melt-in-your-mouth, great taste.

I guess what it boils down to is this: some people want to eat vegan and still have a few treats, and those of us who aren’t vegan like the idea of eating a more socially responsible form of chocolate decadence.

I’m good with that.

Note: Another thing I like is that the container was made of corn and fully biodegradable, even though it looks like standard issue, plastic.

Have you tried this product? Add your feedback, post a comment…

Wishes Come True, A Garden at the White House

At the end of her interview with Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes, Alice Waters talks about her ongoing campaign to have a garden planted on the grounds of the White House.

Ms. Stahl and some of Ms. Waters detractors may think she’s only a dreamer, but folks, dreams can come true when you have a vision! The New York Times today reported that the White House will indeed have a garden — an 1,100 sq. ft. one at that.

Hmmm, I think urban gardening has just gone mainstream.

Alice Waters Interview, 60 Minutes

In an interview with Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes, Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame is touted as the “mother of the slow food movement.” While technically, this takes license with the facts (the Slow Food Movement started in Italy in the 1980’s), she could rightly be referred to as an initial champion of the concept in the US.

While many viewers, judging from comments on the CBS website, take issue with her “arrogance” (personally, I don’t see it), I think she’s been a very successful advocate in raising awareness and standards of what constitutes good tasting, quality food . And, as with any cause, it’s only when someone steps into the limelight that the general public hears about it. (Uhm, was mainstream media interviewing Ms. Waters all the years she sweating in the kitchen?)

Does the 60 Minutes clip tell the whole story? No. Can any sound byte do that? No. Does it spread the word? Yes.

If people are talking — even if they are arguing — at least there is dialogue. Frankly, I think it’s great that there is some controversy, it just helps give the topic more airplay.

Check it out for yourself and feel free to send us your comments…