Eat Real Food I love the succinct nutrition message that Michael Pollan gives in his latest book “In Defense of Food.” He suggests that we “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Seven words that say so much. He goes on to define food as something that your great grandmother would have recognized as food. That calls into question many food-like substances that have a long list of ingredients, many of which we don’t recognize or can’t pronounce. We are lucky to live in Sonoma county with easy access to real food. Our grocery stores carry an ever expanding variety of fresh, whole foods, and I appreciate that they often give us local options. Santa Rosa has a year-round Farmers Market. Our market here in Healdsburg starts officially this weekend, on May 3rd. There are also several CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) options available, and a new local meat purchasing group. Add in the farm stands, and all of this is real food at its best! Last summer Bill and I subscribed to a CSA for the first time. We paid by the month, and each week were able to pick up a “garden in a box.” CSA’s are a great way to support local farms. The subscription gives them a guaranteed volume of business, helping them know how much to plant and harvest. I loved getting the weekly boxes. Evie of Tierra Vegetables sent us a weekly menu explaining what was in the box, along with recipes and cooking instructions. My favorite was early in the season when we got all the ingredients for the most delicious black bean soup I’ve ever had – complete with smoked tomatoes and nopales cactus! I thought I knew vegetables, so I was especially thrilled to experience a number of new ones. I also learned many new ways of cooking them. The amount of produce was a little overwhelming at times for just the two of us, but I can’t wait for it to get started again this summer. Besides Tierra Vegetables (707-837-8366, Santa Rosa), other local CSA’s include Canvas Ranch (707-766-7171, Petaluma) and Laguna Farm (707 823-0823, Sebastopol). I was a little worried that the CSA might prevent me from supporting the Farmers Market, but they turned out to be complementary. By the weekend I always wanted more produce, and especially some of my favorites that weren’t in the weekly box. Besides, the ambience of the market is hard to beat. I had lunch with Healdsburg Farmers Market manager Mary Kelley to find out more about the market. She explained that a Farmers Market is sacred ground for farmers who don’t have a farm stand. It helps them build a customer base. When we support them by attending the market and buying their products, we support sustainable agriculture, diversity and really, really healthy food. I was particularly interested in the question about organic versus local. Supporting local growers and small farms seems important to me. I learned that most of the growers use minimal, if any, pesticides and herbicides. Farmers growing fruit trees (especially apples and pears) often need to do some spraying at certain times of the year to manage their crop. Some flowers require a minimal level of spray to yield a sellable crop. Any spraying on a farm means the organic designation cannot be used, but often the vegetables have not been sprayed. I liked the way Mary put it: “local farmers bring the healthiest food possible to the market – they are not about to jeopardize the health of their neighbors.” Coming back to the question of organic versus local, I think it is helpful to understand the concepts behind them. There are lots of big companies growing organic products in conventional ways but without pesticides or herbicides. This is not a bad thing: it raises awareness, eliminates pesticides (increasing phytonutrients!) and is clearly a step in the right direction. But it’s not local; a huge amount of energy (read oil) has to be used in storage and transportation. Small local growers bring us products from our neighborhoods and neighboring counties, care for the health of the land, and allow us to eat fresh, real food at its nutritional peak. Buying local and organic is great. It is good to support farmers who have gone through the significant expense and paperwork to become certified. They enrich all of us. And we can still feel good about supporting other local growers who may not be designated organic but still use healthy and sustainable methods. As Renee Kiff suggests “Ask the farmer if their vegetables are pesticide free.” Ask questions and learn what they are doing to bring you the best food possible. I love knowing where my food comes from. It gives me a sense of community and wellbeing. I also enjoy passing a dish to guests and saying “these tomatoes are from the Kiff’s, and Earl and Myrna grew those peppers.” Try something new! Ask the farmers their favorite ways to cook the foods that they grow. Food can’t get much more real than this!
Kathy Nichols is the Healthy Habits Coach. Kathy blends her background as a registered dietitian with life coaching to help you create healthy and sustainable habits. Contact Kathy at 707 431-7524, Kathy@HealthyHabitsCoach.com or www.HealthyHabitsCoach.com. Blog: www.HealthyHabitsCoach.wordpress.com |
