A Sense of Community

I start interning with the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle very soon. I am so excited about this opportunity. For those of you who don't know about the IFFS, they are an organization here in the Triangle that not only gets food to those of lower socio-economic status, but they teach them how to cook it and how nutritious it is to eat fresh fruits and vegetables. I get the opportunity to help recruit local professionals, such as chefs and other dietitians, to come help teach some of the classes, and also talk to local groups and businesses to encourage sponsorship of these very beneficial classes. This is important because while many food banks across America can offer fresh fruits and vegetables, many go to waste because people just don't know what to do with them. It's much easier, in their mind, to make a pot of boxed macaroni and cheese than it is to make it from scratch (or even from a box) with some beans and veggies thrown in, and I'm truly simplifying. To make a good, home-cooked, nutritious meal takes no more time than to go to a close-by fast food chain, or bake a frozen pizza. That's why it's so important to reach out to these folks. They cannot afford to see a dietitian or take cooking classes like many of us can (even if we choose not to) and it's also so important to give back to your community.
This is my chance to do that, as well as learn the ropes of how to run a business that teaches people how to grow food, cook food, and how nutritious fresh food is. This is exactly what I want to do with my career, so its exciting that I can takes the first steps towards my dream. There's a lot to do, though.
The biggest change I'm going to have to make is learning how to approach and engage people better. I'm naturally a bit shy, and usually let the other person guide the conversation, but I'm going to really step out of my shell and learn how to sell my ideas crossed with the IFFS's message so I can inspire others to this cause. Any ideas?

A New Idea

I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up, and I'm already 30! I know some people never quite figure it out, but it's driving me crazy. Actually, scratch that, I do know, I just don't know how to get there. I want to combine my love of all things food, growing it, buying it local, cooking it, eating it, the science behind it, and educate and inspire the general public about it. See, the problem with the food movement, more specifically, the local food movement is that there are those who still see it as not practical, even unattainable. Some opponents even call those of us who are a part of this movement elitists. They claim that the average American cannot afford to buy food that is good and wholesome, that they must sustain themselves on government subsidized crop foods. I say, they can't afford not to.

While it's certainly true that you can eat lunch at a fast food restaurant for under five dollars, and that food certainly provides plenty of calories which provide energy to the body, that food is lacking so much. Not to pick on just fast food, it's any convenience food that packs in the bad and markets itself as quick and easy, for the average busy American. However, this same busy American watches 2.8 hours of television a day. I'm not disagreeing with the idea that our lives are hectic, and some down time is necessary, but look at the statistics overall. Americans are stressed, they spend a lot of time working, taking care of the household, taking care of kids, so the idea of coming home after a long day and trying to whip up a healthy dinner is mentally exhausting. I get it, I do, but here's the thing. Americans are also getting more overweight, and therefore more unhealthy. Over two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, and even more disturbing, we are the heaviest nation in the world! The days of entitlement and over-indulgence have come home to roost, right around our midsections. As for the statement that we can't afford not to eat healthy, it all comes down to two things; economy and health care.

We live in a capitalist society. You thought we had a democracy, but we don't. It's all about the bottom dollar. How companies can make the most money by marketing to the people what they think they need. Actually, more like, how companies can make the most money by marketing to the people what the companies think they need. Over 40% of Americans are in debt, with a good portion of the rest hovering on financial insecurity. For the most part, it's not because we don't make enough to support ourselves, but because we feel like we have got to have stuff. That's the best word I can come up with, stuff. Fancy clothes, shoes, games, vehicles, books, computers, movies, home entertainment systems, recreational vehicles, etc. We don't work to live, we work to keep ourselves in stuff. I have actually heard someone once say that they weren't sure if they could make the rent, but they were definitely going out to have a good time, and it happens all the time. We spend so much money on stuff, but the second we're asked to spend $5 on a head of broccoli, we go crazy. Five dollars?! I can get a double cheeseburger and fries and a large soft drink for that!

True, but what else are you getting? This leads us to health care. A lower socio-economic status mother who works two jobs to try to take care of her three children thinks that feeding her family frozen dinners is going to give them everything they need. Or worse, when I worked as a cashier at a grocery store, I would see cartload after cartload of chips, soda, ground meat, snack foods, and nary a green vegetable. Where is this leading us? Into health care hell. With two-thirds of Americans overweight or obese, there are a lot of problems that come with that. One of the saddest is that the children of today have a shorter expected life span than their parents. Children are experiencing diseases that once-upon-a-time only much older adults experienced. Diabetes, heart disease, stress, depression. This means that the amount the average American spends on health care rises considerably as they try to combat preventable diseases for both themselves and their children.

What we need is a total change. Okay, so we live in capitalistic society. That means vote with your dollar. Keep you dollar local and give it to those who really need it- the men and women who work hard to provide quality, not quantity, and keep your dollar out of the hands of the greedy corporations. Spend less time in front of the television and more time with family. If the whole family pitches in with a meal, the task doesn't seem so daunting. Not to mention, spending time with loved ones can reduce the stress that makes the lure of overeating and sitting on your tush so appealing. If you need help, see a professional. No, not a psychiatrist. Someone more like me.

See, what I want to do is educate and inspire the average American by helping them learn how to grow their own vegetables, and/ or visit their local farmers market. I then want to show them how to turn that produce and meat into a tasty meal the whole family will enjoy. I want to show them eating well can make them feel more energized, get sick less often, and even lose some pounds, if needed. It's not that difficult, and certainly not that expensive. We are not elitists, trust me. We just want whats best for everyone.

My next step is to figure how to do this without sounding like a nagging parent- eat your vegetables, they're good for you. Any suggestions?

Garlic

There was a mad dash this weekend to get outside. It was the first truly nice weekend of the year, with temperatures close to 70 degrees on Saturday (middle of February, I might add). I had forgotten, once again, to get the garlic planted in the fall, and while it was waiting patiently in a pot, I knew it had to get into the dirt officially. Okay, I didn't completely forget, and last year's crop did great even though it was planted in the spring. The true reason I put off planting the garlic was that the garden needed to be extended and I was waiting for a nice weekend to complete the daunting task.

Turns out, thanks to my hard-working hubby, it wasn't so daunting. He spent an hour on Tuesday breaking up the grass, so come Saturday we only had to dig out the grass, put up the retaining wall, and dump about a ton of dirt and cow manure into the new area. It was a lot of heavy lifting, but worth it.

Towards the end of the work, I could contain my patience no longer and grabbed the pot filled with dirt and about 25 cloves of various garlic types. I dumped the contents out and was very pleased to see that each clove had developed about 3 inches of roots. I was not pleased to see that since I had thrown the cloves in the pot any old way, many cloves were sprouting sideways! I can only pray that the quality of the finished bulb will not be affected. 

I never thought growing garlic would be so easy, but decided in 2009 I would give it a shot. A couple bulbs of gourmet garlic ran about 7 bucks, so if it didn't work, I wouldn't be out a lot of money, and if it did work, I would have a terrific supply of gourmet Persian Star garlic. Luckily, it worked. So this year, I thought I'd try again with Persian Star, but also try Music, a popular variety, and Inchelium Red garlic. Of my new garden extension, a third of it got turned over to all the garlic.

To me, garlic makes a dish. I add it to every savory dish I make. It imparts a pungent, spicy almost sweet flavor and is necessary, as far as I'm concerned. It also has medicinal properties. Garlic is thought to be a cancer preventing, cardiovascular clearing, bacteria fighting wonder bulb! It even wards off vampires and the evil eye. Okay, that last bit was a joke, even though that is what folklore tells us. We should be eating more of it. True, it does give the consumer a case of stinky breath, but if we all ate it, no one would notice.

Between the culinary and medicinal properties, it truly is a special plant. That's why I nearly broke my back this weekend getting it planted, I'm giving over a good portion of my new garden extension to it, and I can't wait until the newly planted bulbs stick their leaves above the soil.

"Without garlic, I simply would not care to live" Louis Diat, a fabulous French Chef

Spring is for the birds

So far this year my favorite event has been sitting in my kitchen around 9am, sipping a cup of Masala Chai and watching the neighborhood birds sift through my garden in search of food. I've seen up to fifty birds at one time, mostly robins with a handful of blue jays, cardinals, grosbeaks, chickadees, and finches scattered about. They kick through my garden soil looking for worms, hop across the grass looking for other small bugs, or seeds even. My yard has become a bird haven. That is, until the hawk shows up.

During one of these morning rituals, one minute all the birds were happily looking for food, the next minute they rose into the air and took of, some calling out in fear. I thought maybe one of the neighborhood cats had come by, as they are also drawn to the sheer number of birds, although I've seen more cats attacked by birds than the other way around. Instead, it was an adolescent hawk. The hawk managed to catch a small bird. I was first aware of this as feathers flew around my yard like a localized blizzard. I was sad to see the small bird trapped by the hawk, but wasn't about to do anything about it. Nature has its checks and balances, whether we like it or not.

I especially love these checks and balances in the summertime, when my vegetables are at their peak and bugs from all over try to come enjoy the smorgasbord of nutrients before I get the chance to. I hate using pesticides as I feel they are dangerous to our environment, and they would kill not just the bad bugs, but all the beneficial insects that flock to my garden, and even harm the birds as well. I have a lot of pollinators, which are super important in making sure the plants continue their life cycle. I even have quite a few bug-eating bugs, and would hate to upset that balance with a pesticide, as its been proven that the bugs you are trying to kill can eventually develop a resistance to the pesticide, much in the same way that bacteria is doing with antibiotics (if this isn't an argument for evolution, I don't know what is). That's why its important to sustain nature's checks and balances. One of those are my favorite feathered friends, the birds. They too are drawn to the insect population, both good and bad. The bad are often easier to get too, as the bad bugs are content to chill out in my vegetable garden.

Last summer, I was thrilled to watch a cardinal in action. At first, I wasn't sure what he was doing. He was clinging sideways to a tomato stem, inspecting the underside of each leaf thoroughly. I've had my tomatoes ravaged by birds before, so I couldn't decide if he was seeing what other parts of the plant looked edible, but held my ground. He slowly hopped up the stem, peering under each leaf, until he suddenly reached out and plucked something green and wriggly from the leaf. Turns out, cardinals make great tomato horn worm pest control. He repeated this several times over the course of the summer and I didn't have to spray anything.

When I do spray pesticides, I use Neem oil. Neem oil is derived from the Neem tree which is native to India. Neem is used for everything from medicines to cosmetics to insecticides. How, you ask, is Neem oil safe for medicine, but also works as an insecticide? First Neem oil is extremely bitter, so it starts off as an insect repellent. If the insect does decide to eat the leaf/stem/fruit that is coated with Neem, it then messes with the insects hormones, making it forget to eat or mate or any basic life functions. So, how is this safe for humans? We really would only use Neem oil topically as soap or a DEET-free insect repellent (though beware using Neem as an insect repellent for yourself as the bitter scent may keep people away as well. Look for all natural insect-repellents that contain Neem, but also some other herbs that can make the repellent less repellent to humans). Its safe to use topically, and if a small amount is ingested, no harm will come to you. It is also safe to use around beneficial insects as most beneficial do not eat plants. I say most because you do have to use caution around plants that may harbor butterfly caterpillars. I am growing milkweed this year to attract Monarchs, so I will avoid using Neem oil near that plant.

Besides birds and carnivorous insects, there are other chemical-free ways to control insects, such as floating row covers to deter insects from attacking small seedlings. You have to remove the floating row covers once the plants flower so they can be pollinated.

Still, nothing is more entertaining (to me) than watching the birds preform their natural duty of insect hunters. It keeps my garden happy and keeps the birds healthy. Now, if only I can keep the darn cats out of my yard.

German Cuisine

I was recently invited to a potluck dinner party. I love to cook and love to show off even more, so I was excited, but had to ask- is there a theme? Good question, and the answer left me stumped for a minute. German food. Now, I'm going to sound ignorant for a second as I admit I was concerned that German cuisine left a lot to be desired. Beer, brats, and cabbage- that's all I could think of. I knew better than that, however, and thought back to German food I had before. I remember it being a bit heavy, but delicious. Then I Googled German food to get a few ideas.
When it comes to German cuisine, many of the foods are a bit heavier, due to the climate. Germany has a very cool climate, rarely exceeding 75 degrees Fahrenheit. On the flip side, the temperature rarely drops below 20 degrees. This makes it a good climate for meat animals and root vegetables, both huge parts of German cuisine. Also featured, beer, bread, cheese and a few other cool season vegetables. So, I had something to start with.
Thanks to my beer-brewing husband, I have found a new respect for beer. I'm still not its biggest fan, and definitely prefer a good Chardonnay, but the idea of a beer dish appealed. I decided on Beer Cheese soup, which would feature a dark German Bock and Gruyere cheese. Both, I knew, would add an amazing flavor. I couldn't leave it at that, though. I love to bake, and couldn't resist going with a popular choice- Black Forest Cake. The cake is named for the specialty liquor of the Black Forest mountain range region, Kirshwasser. I have a predilection for fruit and liquor, so this was a grande idea, in my opinion.
I conferred with the dinner hosts and other guests and a menu was agreed upon. Chicken schnitzel, spaetzle, bierocks, bretzle (yes, that's pretzel) with homemade mustard, meatloaf, feldsalat, and Black Forest cake. Turns out German food had more to offer than just beer, brats, and cabbage. Some of us couldn't even eat the next day!
Here's the recipe for the Beer Cheese Soup. Good stuff!

1 Tbsp butter + 2 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 yellow onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 medium-large potatoes, cubed
1/3 cup flour
12 oz bottle dark German Bock beer
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste
10 oz Gruyere cheese, grated
2 oz medium cheddar, shredded

Heat oil and butter together in a large pot on medium-high. Add garlic and onions once butter is melted. Saute for 1 minute, turn heat down to medium, then add carrot, celery and potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the flour gradually and stir in for about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk. Then add beer, mustard, hot sauce and Cajun seasoning. Salt and pepper to taste. Lower heat to low, add cheese a handful at a time, stirring between each handful. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid burning on the bottom. The soup is ready once the potatoes are soft but not mushy.
This made enough for about 6 servings. I topped with green onions, and my husband suggested bacon, also. Enjoy!

I'm glad I opened my eyes to German food, and hope you will remember that trying new things can open your mind to so many great experiences. If that fails, just drink a little extra beer!

The Seeds are Sprouting!

I planted several varieties of vegetables and flowers five days ago, and all my Chinese cabbage and Italian broccoli have emerged. Everything else is taking its time. I hate waiting, I want to see all my little babies, make sure they're alive and healthy. The nice thing about the cabbage and broccoli emerging so early is that I hope to plant them in about five weeks, and that should work perfectly. All the other stuff I wouldn't want to plant for about ten more weeks, so they have time, but still, I want to see a few more sprouts! Not to mention I was hoping to sort of succession plant as the seedlings grew and I upgraded them to larger pots, I could use the empty smaller pots to start other fruits and vegetables that need less time to get to a plantable size.
That's the problem with vegetable gardening. Even though I'm extremely lucky to have a long growing season here, part of that growing season is so hot and can stay so dry for such a reputedly humid area, that I'd like to establish most of my plants by June, which means they should get a good head start.
I also hope these next ten weeks fly by, because I'm sure the neighbors behind me are not my biggest fans right now. The best place for me to grow my seedlings is in the spare bedroom window. For the best growth results, I installed a grow light. A grow light needs to stay on for about sixteen hours a day, roughly 6:00am to 10:00pm. Since the sun isn't rising until 7:00am and is setting at 6:00pm, that means there is five hours that this really bright grow light is casting light into our backyard. It's bright enough, I thought I had left the back porch light on. Even if I close the blinds, the light is still very visible.
So, grow all my other seedlings, so I do not waste so much electricity and incite yet further angst from my neighbors. I'm already dreading the talk I need to have with them about the property line. It goes further into their yard then we originally knew when we first started the garden. We've already had the preliminary discusion, and they seemed fine, but we'll see what they think when we start actully utilizing that area this weekend to extend the vegetable garden area for said seedlings who have yet to poke their heads above the soil. Grow, damnit, grow!

Milk- It Does a Body Good?

What’s white, helps bones grow and stay strong, and goes great with cookies? Americans are taught from a young age to drink milk because it helps bones grow big and strong, but are we consuming too much? More importantly, if the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) are higher than necessary, would our government tell us? The dairy industry is multi-billion dollar industry and supplies the government with a lot of money, through taxes-from what consumers pay for the milk, and on the profits the dairy companies make- and from large donations to the government and campaigns, so if milk consumption were to drop, the money the government receives would also drop. The government and the dairy industry use ploys like the calcium crisis and the weight loss campaign to the keep the consumption of dairy products high. However, all is not what it seems if the consumer scratches the surface of these stories. Many citizens feel that our government is here to take care of them when in reality the government is really just taking care of its best interests.  

The food guide pyramid and the dietary guidelines are the government’s way of reaching out to the people and helping them make the best food choices through the government branch of the USDA, or the United States Department of Agriculture. The USDA was first involved in making the food pyramid in the early 1900’s when there actually was a cause for concern of malnutrition. The USDA looked at what America was producing and came up with a way to prevent malnourishment and support agriculture by promoting the consumption of a wide variety of foods. The 1977 Farm Bill explicitly stated that nutrition and health relate to US agriculture and deemed the USDA the leading agency of the government to conduct important nutrition research and education. However times have changed in the past hundred years and it might be about time for the USDA to step away from the recommendations and perhaps let the Department of Health and Human Services take over, as Americans are no longer in danger of being under nourished, they are now in danger of being over-nourished as obesity rates, as well as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, cancer, and many other nutrition-related diseases rise. 

Yet that may not happen. Already, America’s farms are dwindling as the younger generations look for more glamorous jobs and many foods are imported from countries where labor is cheap and resources are still plentiful. The government will do anything in its power to protect what is left of the nation’s farmers, including promoting foods that may not be as beneficial as they’re made out to be, such as dairy products.

Dairy products are promoted as a way to build strong bones and teeth, and maybe even lose those few extra pounds along the way. While those promotions aren’t truly false, the numbers may be. No two organizations can agree on exactly how much calcium a person really needs. The current DRI for American adults is 1000 mg. In the UK and Europe the recommended intake is 700 mg, in Australia it is 800 mg, while the World Health Organization only recommends 400-500 mg/day. Why the differences? Calcium intake is based primarily on output, or excretion, and the balance of the two. There are several factors that increase the excretion of calcium and those factors are found in higher amounts in the Unites States. They will be discussed later.

Other influences on recommended intake values are the many short-term (a year or so- not nearly as reliable) and the few long-term (many years) studies that look at calcium intake and the prevalence of bone fractures. These studies look at calcium intake versus bone density. While the short term studies show that an increased consumption of calcium- usually through supplements- equals an increased amount of bone density, the long-term studies show that there is not a significant reduction in the amount of bone fractures and breaks. In fact, one of the most famous studies, the Nurse’s Health Study, showed that women who drank two or more glasses of milk a day were just as likely to fracture or break a bone as women who drank milk once a week or less. There is currently a study in process by the NIH with the Women’s Health Institute that may give us more answers, but the study will take a few years to finish. Another reason studies are not too reliable is that they don’t just focus on calcium and its effect on bones, because it would be too difficult.

While the best source of calcium is dairy products, calcium can be found in a variety of other foods as well. Canned salmon and tuna are good sources of calcium because of the soft, very tiny pieces of bone. Some dark, leafy greens such as kale, Chinese cabbage, and turnip and mustard greens are good sources of calcium. White beans and pinto beans contain some calcium. A lot of foods and juices are being fortified with calcium, such as cereals and orange juice. If nothing else, there are supplements. Of course, it’s not just the foods that contain calcium that are important, but whether or not the body can absorb the calcium from those foods. There are factors that that aid with calcium absorption, such as vitamin D, lactose, and protein- which are all found in milk, making it the best bioavailable source. Fortified foods and supplements are also good sources of bioavailable calcium. With plant foods, there are factors that inhibit absorption such as fiber, phytate, and oxalate, making them not very good sources.

Calcium is the structural component of bones and teeth, and also helps with muscle contraction, blood clotting and enzyme activation. Once ingested, the acidic environment of the stomach helps break the calcium away from the salts it is bound to in foods, then active (requiring ATP, or energy) and passive (no ATP needed) transport systems within the intestines absorb this important mineral. Once in the body, most calcium is deposited in the bones while a little is found in intracellular and extracellular fluids. Excess is filtered through the kidneys and excreted. The body receives the greatest benefits from calcium during the years of linear bone growth and the years immediately following, typically childhood through early adulthood.

99% of the body’s calcium is found in the bones, and bones are comprised of mostly calcium and also phosphorus, fluoride, magnesium, potassium and sodium, as well as proteins and water. The three main types of bone cells help build (osteoblasts), breakdown (osteoclasts), and maintain (osteocytes) bone structure, and are acted upon by hormones, such as PTH and estrogen. The cells make up both cortical (dense) and trabecular bone (spongy). Bone cells are constantly being remolded and replaced, and as the chemical structure is broken down, some of the calcium can be released into the blood to be filtered and most likely excreted. It is this turnover that ingestion must match, if not exceed. The average adult needs about 550 mg of calcium daily to meet average turnover needs.

A look at other countries and their calcium intake shows that many countries consume less calcium than Americans do, yet they also have less bone fractures. The theoretical reason behind this is the US has a much higher consumption of sodium, phosphorus, and protein- all of which are related to increased calcium excretion, and US citizens have lifestyle factors, such as smoking- which increases calcium excretion, and not enough exercise, especially weight bearing exercise- which helps increase bone mass. In fact, a reduction in intake of protein and sodium can lead to a decrease in need for calcium, as 1 gram of animal protein leads to urinary calcium of 1 mg, while 1 gram of sodium leads to urinary calcium of 15 mg.  In other words, if someone reduced their intake of protein by 20 grams, and their sodium by 1.1 grams, a person would be able to decrease their calcium needs by 200 mg.

Since dairy appears to be the best source of calcium, why not consume it? Well, dairy products are high in saturated fat, cholesterol, some contain lactose, and there is also the issue of cow treatment and how it affects us. Saturated fat is one of the nutrients to avoid as it can lead to obesity and heart disease. Even if a consumer were to choose low-fat dairy products, there is still the issue of lactose, which up to 50% of the US population cannot digest. This is a huge amount of people, and most of them are ethnicities other than Caucasian. Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest the milk sugar lactose because the enzyme lactase is not present. Biologically speaking, this enzyme is not needed after about the age of 5 as the child should no longer be breastfeeding. Technically speaking, cow’s milk is made for baby cows not humans, so it is not the natural course of things to still be consuming milk at an adult age.  

Then there is also the issue of milk being full of artificial hormones and antibiotics. Many cows are given a Bovine growth hormone created by Monsanto to increase the quantity of milk the cows produce, and cows are given antibiotics because industrial dairy cows are kept in close quarters and are generally allowed to wander around in areas contaminated with their own excrement. These hormones and antibiotics can be passed through the milk to us, and while it is unknown the exact implications of this, we’re seeing more antibiotic-resistant bacteria and young children, especially young girls, seem to be maturing at a faster rate.

            Also, recent studies are showing that it is just as important to get enough vitamin D in the diet and the FDA is now allowing health claims on products that contain both calcium and vitamin D to protect against osteoporosis.

          Calcium is an essential part of everyone’s diet, but it’s not just calcium that builds and maintains strong bones throughout a lifetime. In fact, there’s no benefit to consuming more calcium than the body actually needs. There are many other diet and lifestyle choices a person can make to ensure their bones don’t become osteoporotic. The government may continue to suggest three servings of dairy a day, and the dairy industry will continue to make sure the government backs them by shelling out big bucks, but it is truly up to each person how they meet their daily requirements of calcium, and all other nutrients. While the different recommendations may make it confusing as to how much the requirement of calcium is, I suggest about 800-1000 mg daily. If a person wants to meet their requirements through consuming dairy, so be it, but there are plenty of other options for those who can’t or won’t consume dairy products. I also recommend choosing organic milk if possible, because organic milk won't contain artificial hormones or antibiotics. If organic milk is out of your price range, at least look for milk that does not contain rBGH, as least while dairy companies are still allowed to label it as such. Also, choose low-fat dairy products such as skim or 1% milk, low-fat yogurt and low-fat cheese.