Monday Special - Watermelon

Every Monday I'm going to try to feature a new food (fruit/veggie/herb/nut/seed/grain/etc) so that we can arm ourselves with more knowledge about what we are eating (or, at least, what's good for us to eat!).

This Monday, I'm starting with watermelon. This is a fruit probably most of us have eaten at one time or another. I have some friends partial to yellow watermelon, but it's hard to find. Watermelon is in season right now, a very affordable treat, and stuffed with hydration for those hot summer afternoons.

Here are some things to know about watermelon:

• source of vitamins C and A
• source of the carotenoid antioxidant, lycopene (what gives tomatoes their cancer-fighting powers)
• contains an amino acid the body uses to prevent erectile dysfunction, improve insulin sensitivity and lower blood pressure
• a cup contains only 48 calories so eat up!!

Pick a watermelon that has lost its glossy sheen and its belly has turned from white to yellow. The tendril should also have turned brown and started to shrivel. Store your watermelon at room temperature, but put in the refrigerator after cutting. Always wash any fruit/vegetable before cutting - watermelons are no exception.

It takes my household a few days to go through a big watermelon so we only cut enough to last for the next day or two and put saran wrap on the exposed side of the watermelon and stuff it in the fridge. The pieces we cut up for the next day we cut very large (not bite-size) so as to reduce moisture loss. When we cut individual portions for the week, we learned quick that the juice would drizzle out and settle at the bottom. The top bites would be dry and not very sweet and the bottom pieces would be mushy. Some people even juice the rinds, but this depends on your particular tastes and/or access to a juicer.

So, watermelon is GREAT for you, super tasty, and nice to your budget (and I mentioned in season, right - so go get one!). I mostly eat it raw or juiced, but I have also had it grilled (but this is rather tricky and, as I understand it, to be successful you need to freezer seal it right away to prevent juice loss). I also prefer the seeded variety - something about eating sterile food is odd to me.

Hope you learned a little something about watermelon today without being overloaded with information. If I have piqued your interested, google away! There is a ton of info out there for those curious of minds.

Eating well on a budget - Part 2 of 2

Here are a few more tips that might help reduce your food costs when transitioning to a real food diet.

4. Discover your farmer’s market. Something you may not know is that organic certification is a costly process and can be a big reason those organic fruits and veggies in the store seem too costly compared to the conventional foods. My husband and I used to eat cucumbers daily – as a raw snack, dipped in hummus or chopped up in a salad. But at $2.50 a piece, there was no way we could justify the expense. The same went for zucchini and squash. It was out of our price range. Until I went to the farmers market. Organic (not certified, of course) cucumbers for $1 a piece. Same for zucchini – and these zucchini were the size of my forearm! Tomatoes were less expensive. Watermelon, too! And these were brought in by the truckload – priced to move! Additionally, I would find that more often than not a farmer would add an extra squash to the bucket, throw in a couple more tomatoes. I cannot promise this will happen to you, but these farmers have avoided the cost of certification. Also, sometimes you can find a sweet gardener that simply wants to share his/her excess with the city dwellers and isn’t trying to make a profit. It may not happen on the first trip, but if you spend a couple weekends perusing the farmers markets, it might just pay off. But be sure to get there early, as they can sell out quick! And don't be afraid to ask. If it says conventional, ask about their pesticide and fertilizer or if they have any no-spray produce. If the eggs say free range, organic, just ask how often they are outside and what they are fed. Most everyone at the market understands you want to know what you are paying for.

5. Find a cooperative or bulk buyer program. I am blessed to have an organic cooperative in my city. Every week I can order a box of organic fruits and veggies, sourced nationally, but from local, family farms as much as possible. Again, here I can pick up additional items often at a discount to the grocery store. Search for a cooperative in your area or look for a Costco if buying local isn't a priority.

6. Start your own garden. Whether it’s a couple plants in pots or digging up a row in your yard, this is an easy way to work against some of those grocery costs. Buy some good soil, water regularly (catch rain water if possible!) and keep away the pets (some like real food as much as we do!). My husband and I haven’t gotten our garden up and going yet (it’s only been a couple months) but the one thing we haven’t had to work much at is our herbs. And these can be difficult to find fresh, organic at the store. Uncle Sam's been preaching it for decades!!! (not that I always listen to Uncle Sam, but he got it right here!)

7. If all else fails, go to the internet. When it comes to nuts and produce that isn’t necessarily located in my area (I love cranberries, but don’t live in the northeast), I take advantage of the fact that we live in the internet age. My household invested in an additional freezer to order things in bulk (whether from our local rancher or at an online farm.

That's all for this week. I promise along the way to continue sharing all my tips and tricks to making healthy eating as easy as possible. I have learned a few things over the past year and continue to learn new things every day! Stay posted. Next week I will give you some ideas as to the costs of the various protein sources.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Basic tips for eating well on a budget - Part 1 of 2

Yes, say good-bye to those $2.50 lean cuisine meals and $1.00 flavored rice packages (IF YOU CHOOSE, OF COURSE). Welcome $6 a dozen eggs, $10 a gallon milk, online bargain hunting for imported almonds (a topic for a later post!) and pre-soaking dry beans. When my husband and I decided to change our diet we said goodbye to all those center grocery aisles, the meat section, dairy section.  I had a slight panic attack that first trip. Organic apples - $3/lb; organic grapes - $4/lb; organic cucumbers, $2.50 EACH. Organic broccoli, by the way, is not only $2-3 a bunch, it is 75% stalk, instead of crown. Wow, this was going to hurt. For those unaccustomed, it can be a real kick in the face. Ideally, if you can slowly transition your food choices, it will be easier to swallow. However, for those of you who know me, you know that I’m not doing anything short of full force!

1. Check out the dirty dozen list. Every year the Environmental Working Group publishes their list of the 12 foods they tested (of 45) that have the highest pesticide residue. These are the foods to try to first transition to organic in your shopping cart. And if you buy conventional produce, remember to ALWAYS remove any skin or peel (cucumbers, potatoes, kiwis) – as many of the pesticides reside in this part of the fruit/veggie.                                     http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/list/
2. Shop in season. It’s supply and demand, right? When there is a bump in supply, especially of foods with a short shelf life, the price comes down. What’s in season right now? Yummy peaches, plums, nectarines, strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, cherries, summer squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, avocados, okra. It’s hot outside, so fill up on water-filled berries and melons to beat the heat! Epicurious has a map to help you find out what is in season and local to your state. Local foods can sometimes be cheaper due to the reduced transportation costs. Check it out! http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/seasonalcooking/farmtotable/seasonalingredientmap                                                                        Also, putting in a little hard work can pay off while also providing some fun to your weekend. For instance, my husband and I stocked up on blueberries well under market cost by spending a couple Saturday mornings picking at a local farm (even cheaper when gas cost was accounted for). Another way I save on in-season produce is to stock up on fruit while it's inexpensive and freeze it for smoothies. This took some troubleshooting to make it worthwhile, but now I have my process down pat so it's easy and quick. (another post...?)
3. Plan to go to the market every 3 or 4 days, or twice a week. Real food has a shorter shelf life than processed foods (thanks to preservatives – of which I am certainly not a fan). Planning for trips to the market at least twice a week will help to prevent food spoilage, which can really take a toll when you are adjusting to higher food prices. I remember on trash day cleaning out the fridge and mentally counting $5, $3, $2, etc etc. It can really be frustrating. So, don’t try to make these foods last as long as you would like. It’s not going to happen. Also, unless you have an extra on hand, stuffing a week’s worth of real food into your refrigerator is going to be a challenge.  

Note that I have not mentioned animal products because these, if they are available at your local grocer (Whole Foods, etc.), will be more expensive than purchasing direct from the farmer. I will save that for another day.

Good luck to those of you who may be taking steps to buy healthier food. Hopefully these tips may lead you to more affordable real food choices! Stay tuned tomorrow for a few more ideas.

A Call to Action

http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/blogs/the-story-of-change-and-why-we-cant-shop-our-way-to-a-better-food-system/


Had to post this link. Take 6 minutes and see what you think... I am still going to inform and work to help you manage in today's system, but this urges the third point of my blog - to show you how you can get involved in changing the system!

Recipe Fridays

If or when (or now that you have!) converted to a real foods lifestyle, you will get tired of washing, chopping, slicing, prepping, portioning, blending, processing, juicing, soaking, spiralizing, sprouting, cooking, cleaning (OK, you get the picture...) basically, LIVING in your kitchen, especially until you get the hang of it. But even after, you still want to get out. Depending on your diet, this could mean drinks (tea/coffee/alcohol/juice, if available), maybe a restaurant, a gourmet treat, or a pre-made, possibly all raw, basket of goodies to take outside somewhere under the stars. Most of all, you want a break from all those things mentioned above... even cleaning dishes. So, Friday night my husband and I commit to getting out of the house and away from the kitchen. Saturday morning we go to the market and/or the coop (and/or the grocery store if needed - again, VERY LUCKY that all those places are within a stones throw of each other for us) and get what we need for the next few days.

SO, in that spirit, starting next Friday, the weekly post will be a recipe to try over the weekend. I had way too much information to get out to you up front, so that's why I chose not to start today.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Thanks for reading!

WHY ORGANIC + BEYOND ORGANIC

WHY I eat organic produce and BEYOND ORGANIC animal products

1) Organic fruits/veggies/seeds/nuts/grains

First, as I have mentioned before, I believe there is a link between chemicals (pesticides, fertilizers) and disease. I consider these pollutants, and conventional growing puts these in our air, our water, and food – a three-way assault on our bodies. Beyond Pesticides posts links to studies that study the link between pesticides and Alzheimer’s Disease, Asthma, Birth Defects, Cancer, Diabetes, Parkinsons, and more. For me, it just seems to pass the common sense test… if it kills strong weeds, insects, garden pests, contaminates our groundwater and soils and we are encouraged to use masks when applying, then maybe it isn’t something I want to be spreading around, much less eating.

Nuff said??

Tomorrow, I will post some ways to make eating organic produce more affordable. Stay tuned!

2) BEYOND ORGANIC animal products

Growing up, my family had cows. They were raised and sold to the feed barns. I was lucky to never see them jammed into a stall, standing in manure to their kneecaps with no room to turn this way or that. They grazed on the grass, on hay bales, on salt licks. In fact, one day, at the innocent age of 3, I decided to make my rounds giving them their daily hug and a bull had awakened on the wrong side of the bed! He straight head butted me and I flew through the air like a rag doll. Our chickens roamed freely. We lost some here and there to coyotes, the family dog, and chicken snakes.  My grandma had a large coop and I remember collecting eggs for her in my summers. We had a few pigs and goats and rabbits – none of them were very nice to me but maybe it was because I was so full of hugs and they weren’t feeling it. But, it was a happy little farm – pigs snorting, roosters crowing, baby cows and goats that needed to be fed milk. But that’s not how it was outside our little pasture. This was a true “going to the farm” scenario every child doesn’t want to know about. When our little ones got big enough to be shipped off, I didn’t know what happened.

I won’t go through the long story of what happens to these animals. Most of you know. The rest of you can easily find out. Google debeaking, CAFO, rBGH, or what happens in the stomach of corn fed cows. The animals aren’t treated humanely in the least. They are sick. They are stuffed with fat – which then in turns makes the consumers fat. 70% of the antibiotics in this country go into livestock production. Do you think that magically disappears when we eat them?

So, I ask, do you WANT to eat this? Or, if it was made more price competitive and available, would you opt for a cow, a chicken, a pig that wanders the fields eating grass and bugs, maybe some garden scraps, gets sun, exercise, shelter. A stress-free life. Stress causes problems for humans – why not for animals?

You can also look up any number of studies that prove these animals (and their milk and eggs) have much better nutritional profiles than industry-produced animals. These industrial animal factories also pollute the air and the water. Waste lagoons are not the environmental treasure companies would like you to think they are. This is a topic I could write an entire book on (and several are out there so I won't reinvent the wheel).

If you still think the jury is out, respond to this post and I will give you more information. Or, just rent Food, Inc. I think it's under five bucks on amazon.

So, now that I have provided a little background on why to eat this way, I can tell you more about how. Where to go, how to eat this way without breaking the bank. How I eat. All to come.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.

Introduction

Hello! My name is Valerie and I've been a real food advocate for about a year. But what does real food advocate mean? Well, someone who believes in pure, unprocessed, unadulterated food, grown or raised in the most natural way. The traditional way... before scientific manipulation with pesticides, chemical fertilizer, GMOs. Before animals were stuffed into tiny pens and fattened up and injected with hormones and antibiotics.

And I harbor no ill will or judgment towards those of you who don't choose to eat like I do. I believe every adult can make their own choice. And I believe as adults we should respect that choice. However, I just want it to be an informed choice. I lived a quarter of a century in the dark. Not knowing what my body needed, assuming all calories were created equal, battling weight fluctuations and illnesses here and there, lean cuisine meals and CAFO chicken breasts and fast food. If I had known the fundamentals of a truly healthy lifestyle I hope that I would have made this change many years ago and avoided all the headaches (literally, daily headaches) of fighting my body.

Second, if you take up the faith as I have (as it does take some measure of faith to believe pesticides cause cancer and that you can really prevent and heal illness through diet and that raw milk is safe to drink), I want you to have access to those foods you want to eat. This way of life becomes quite a challenge because 1) good food is very difficult to find, 2) if you find it, you might have to drive far to get it, 3) if you find it, you might be banned from eating it!, 4) it is much more expensive.

I am not pushing an agenda or lifestyle for anyone, I will never fight to restrict access to convenience products and low cost foods as there are certainly people who need or want that choice. I simply want to educate those who may decide to make the same choice I have. I want to inspire people to eat more fruits and vegetables and try green smoothies and juices! I want to be an outlet for those that may not have loved ones that understand and support this choice. And if anyone wants to join me in the fight to eat real food, I want to band together. We have a lot working against us... monster corporations who fight transparency in food production, legislation that denies market access, demanding lifestyles that require support to stay on the path.

So, I hope you enjoy this blog. To my friends that pushed me, thanks for all your love and support.

*1917