Desiree's Holiday Wish List

It's the gift giving time of year again and as much as I am loathe to collect more stuff, a thoughtfully given gift that someone will actually want and use can be something to treasure. So as all of the holiday gift round ups are flowing through my inbox, I have been creating a mental wish list that I thought would be fun to share with you. As always, almost all of it is foodie focused :) I am a girl with a one track mind! 

Just in case you are hitting the malls this weekend trying to finish up your shopping, these might provide you will some awesome ideas. And in case you prefer your shopping with a mug of cocoa on the couch, most of this stuff is available online. Perfect if best intentions to be productive this weekend turn south.

I love this nature-inspired flatware set from West Elm...all you need is plaid napkins and candlelight to transport you to the cabin. 

Not so talented with pastry? Leave the architectural labour to the experts and get this uniquely Vancouver treat: a Vancouver Special Gingerbread House from Beta5 Chocolates. And if you need a quick hostess gift, Beta5 chocolates are always welcome (got my first box last weekend!)

This was my first patio gardening year and I am already missing my hodgepodge of pots and greenery outdoors. Patch Planters are just the ticket. They are self watering and perfect for teaching little ones to grow indoors. In fact, if you buy a Patch, they will provide one to Growing Chefs - a great local org that teaches kids how to grow (and cook!) their own food.

Love to eat local? What about reading local? Instead of scrambling all over Vancouver trying to snag a copy, have Edible Vancouver delivered to your door instead with a yearly subscription.

And of course, there are plenty of excellent cookbooks to add to your collection. I am wishing for Jerusalem, The Sprouted Kitchen and Modern Flavours of Arabia. 

I am a foodie first, but I am also a bit of a beauty junkie at heart. I love these natural lipsticks by local company, Ilia Beauty and have been dying to try this totally organic skincare from Belmondo (also local!).

Food is always a welcome gift and instead of buying more fruitcake which most people don't eat, buck the trend and offer some To Die For Banana Bread. Hostess gifts, solved! Cocolico products, now available at Whole Foods, are delicious. I love the raspberry chocolate sauce. Also perfect for holiday giving, I have been coveting Noble maple syrup, available at Marche St George and The Old Faithful Shop.

Experiences can be even more enjoyable than stuff and I have yet to treat myself to a cooking class at The Dirty Apron so maybe Santa will slip a gift card into my stocking. Gift certificates to restaurants are always a welcome gift (especially if they come with a free night of baby-sitting!) I think I need to spend a little more time at Les Faux Bourgeois, The Parker, L'Abattoir and (let's aim big here...) Hawksworth.

Stockings can also be stuffed with one of my favourite local teas, Organic Creamy Earl Grey from Secret Garden; Vancouver Farmer's Market Bucks (cute wooden coins instead of gold chocolate ones!) and cute kitchen gadgets from Cookworks. 

If you are looking for the can't-live-without-it gift, I never imagined I would have loved my Nespresso machine as much as I do. It makes damn good coffee and all it takes is a press of the finger. This is NOT your average pod machine. Available at The Bay and Cookworks (and other places!).

Finally, to help people get healthy in the New Year...these would be on my wish list! I have been hesitating buying a slow juicer for quite some time but would love to be able to have fresh juice at my finger tips. And a Blend Tec would certainly amp up the horsepower in my kitchen. 

And remember, sometimes the best gift is simply time. So offer to cook a friend dinner at home, plan a cookie decorating party for neighbour kids, bring some home-baked treats over to a family member or just pick up the phone and call. 

All the brightest of the season to you,
Desiree

Behind the scenes at Terra Breads

On Friday, I was lucky enough to be invited on a tour of Terra Breads bakery, led by Mary MacKay, Head Baker and Co-Owner of Terra Breads. To learn more about Mary and the passion she brings to baking, check out this video of her speaking at Food Talks. 



For those of you who don't live in Vancouver, Terra Breads is an artisan bakery that has grown to provide breads for many of our favourite local stores, in addition to their own bakeries and cafes. What is exciting about Terra is that, in this world where labels like 'artisan' and 'gourmet' and 'chef-inspired' are slapped on industrial slop daily, Terra Breads are still created using human hands. 

The food geek in me has a current fascination: living things and their role in creating the food we eat. Specifically, fermentation. I am not the only one...there is kombucha, kefir and sauerkraut on store shelves as far as the eye can see. So I was really excited when Mary started talking about the "mother": the sour culture that they have been using since the day Terra Breads was started. I even got to taste it. It is amazing how flour and water mingle with the resident yeasts and bacteria in the environment all around us take over and turn that mixture into something that will become an amazingly chewy, complex, flavourful loaf of bread. Mary noted that they only ferment at their main bakery because otherwise, the resident critters in each location would lend a totally different flavour to the breads. The Terra Breads flavour lives in East Van! 

We started our tour with this "mother" and followed it all the way through the ovens where the breads are baked directly on the stone. The bakery relies on some mechanization but mostly, human hands create the goodies you see on the shelves from good quality ingredients such as organic flour and freshly toasted nuts and seeds.

Bread is not a food I tend to eat a great deal of; however, if I am going to eat it...I am going to eat good bread. So when I given some bread to take home, it was time for an old-fashioned bread and cheese fest. In the best possible expression of that amazing duo.

Not-your-average Grilled Cheese

To perfectly recreate this sandwich, you need to use the right ingredients so I am going to tell you exactly what I used. Wonder bread and Kraft singles this ain't, folks!

2 slices of Terra Breads Fig and Anise Loaf (mine was a mini loaf!)
A few generous slices of organic, raw milk aged cheddar (I used L'Ancetre)
A slice or two of crisp, local apple
Organic butter for spreading (L'Ancetre again!)

Spread the outside of the sandwich slices with room-temperature butter and then layer the ingredients inside. Heat a non-stick pan to medium-high and place the sandwich in. Lower the heat to medium. When browned on one side, flip and cook the other side for about 2-3 minutes. Enjoy. 

PS... Terra Breads didn't know I was a blogger, I was invited as an educational opportunity because I work for Choices Markets. So this blog post was totally unsolicited and my own idea.

What is a sustainable eating plan?

Patio Produce...now THAT's sustainable

I live by a truly integrative approach to nutrition. It is not enough for me to search out the best sources of fibre or omega 3s and admonish you to eat them. Whether we are conscious of our food choices or not, we arrive at those choices via complex processes. Similarly, the impact that those food choices have on our body, mind, spirit, culture and environment are equally complex. Sustainability is a word that gets thrown about a great deal - but what does it mean to eat sustainably? 


Many of us choose to eat a vegetarian or vegan diet in the name of sustainability. And there is plenty of data to support this. According to the EWG's Meat Eater's Guide, if everyone in the US went without meat and dairy for just a single day (Meatless Monday, anyone?) it would be akin to taking 7.6 million cars off the road. However, even within a plant-based diet, there are plenty of sustainability concerns.


We must also consider how we process our food, where it is grown and by whom. If a vegan diet contains plenty of exotic super foods such as matcha, acai and goji berries, does that negate its sustainability? Is it more sustainable to purchase fair trade, organic quinoa from Peru or to buy conventionally grown wheat from Saskatchewan? Is it greener to buy 100 mile greenhouse-grown tomatoes in March or field grown from Mexico? If only someone could create a perfect, all-encompassing calculation to help us weigh the options and deliver a tidy little point system to help guide us!


What about seafood? The evidence on the health benefits of omega 3 DHA and EPA from seafood is quite strong but we must contend with whether it is sustainable for us to eat any fish at all. And does contamination with mercury and PCBs, rampant in our polluted oceans, negate the long term benefits?


Another local Vancouver dietitian, Dean Simmons, published a wonderful essay on the topic of sustainability and other ethical issues in nutrition practice in the journal Critical Dietetics. It is free to access the journal (but you must create a login) and the essay is well worth the time to read it. I agree with Dean that as nutrition professionals, we need to consider more than just the latest research when choosing how to form our nutrition philosophy and guiding others on making food choices.


I have to say, I don't think I have all the answers. This is not a prescriptive article. I know which choices make the most sense for me - as they are the choices I make on a daily basis. I feel that eating locally grown, organic food is important. As is eating more plant foods and fewer processed foods. However, I still choose to eat organic dairy and eggs. And I can understand why eating ethically raised, pastured meat makes sense for people. Vegetarian diets, as I learned when I completed my first 100 mile diet challenge last year, are a luxury borne by access to plant proteins - which we don't really grow close to home.


And I can't dismiss the sustainability issue of the family food budget. It is getting more and more expensive to house and transport yourself. I have a difficulty with praising buying local food from the farmer's market to a family that is trying to make ends meet. If you are interested in what it costs to feed a family a basic healthy food basket, read this report on the cost of eating in BC. I do feel that we all have a right to high quality food...but that is a soapbox chat for another day.


Of course, at the end of the day, sustainable food choices also mean that they are food choices you can continue to make for life. Eating nothing but patio kale and locally caught sardines is no way to live. I have seen plenty of instances where someones sincere desire to live healthfully has led to an expensive, restrictive, joyless diet. Food is something that should nourish your senses and your spirit...as well as your stomach. It is up to you to determine what a sustainable lifestyle will look like in your world - I would love to hear your thoughts.

Happy Food Day, Canada!

You know what makes a food geek want to celebrate? A whole day devoted to food! Today is Food Day Canada, so I thought I would share some of my favourite ways to celebrate food. Pick one to try today or try them all while the sun is still shining this August!


1. Go U-Pick. Nothing will make you appreciate those gorgeous overflowing cartons of berries more than realizing how long it takes you to pick them yourself. Plus, I can't think of a better way to spend a summer morning than out in the sunshine, plucking sweet, juicy berries. Followed by eating said berries.


2. Have an amazing, leisurely meal at a local restaurant celebrating Food Day. One of my favourite neighbourhood haunts, Campagnolo, is taking part.


3. Go to the farmer's market and say thank you to a farmer for all of their hard work. Not from Vancouver? Search for Canadian markets here or US markets here. Then rustle yourself up some gorgeous grub and pick a shady spot for a picnic lunch. 


4. Invite friends over for a potluck. My favourite dinner party is one I didn't have to spend 6 hours preparing for. 


5. Take a cooking class. Here is one sweet and one savoury on my wish list.


6. Go to the beach. Bring along tasty snacks and some foodie reading. 


7. Try making something you have never cooked or baked before. For inspiration, try this or this or this.


8. Treat yourself to your favourite food. Write a haiku about its pleasures.


9. Have a recipe swap. Ask friends to email you their best family recipes and then you can distribute them all to the group. No chain letters, please!!


10. Tell me what Food Day means to you!

A Few Favourite Summer Things

Wow! It seems like so many posts the last few months have been so serious. Time for a bit of summer fun!


The sun is shining (finally!) and there is plenty to explore. Here are a few favourite things...


Ice cream is one treat I am always in the mood for; this local delicacy is out of this world! You can find it at this little shop and eatery; proof positive that the strathcona neighbourhood is transforming before our very eyes.


When I hit the beach, I like to bring along some picnic worthy grub. When I am craving spice, I get takeout from this Victoria-based noodle shop. I just wish they would open up on Main St! I am probably the last person to discover this amazing new addition to the food truck scene. I am looking forward to trying this new tapas bar and this new (vegetarian!) addition to the neighbourhood. 


This is my new favourite summer sipper and if I actually have a moment to pick up a book, I am in the middle of this leadership guide and will dig into this novel next.


Enjoy the sun, summer is fleeting...

Be Happy...Local Food on Kauai

I just got back from a week long stay in Kauai so I thought I would share a few of my favourite  things to eat there. Kauai has an amazing local food culture and for such a tiny island, it seems like everyone is making some kind of amazing food product, cooking at a food truck or restaurant or serving beautiful local fruit or juices - sometimes right off the back of a pick up truck!

When searching for something to cool you off on a hot day, the only thing better than an ice cold coconut just might be Lappert's Hawaii, Kauai's very own ice cream factory. For a great plate lunch, this is the spot - just not for vegetarians. Vegetarians will find plenty of tasty tofu options, big enough to feed two, here. My husband is a massive fan of Bubba's, which I can appreciate because at least all their beef is 100% grass fed Kauai beef. He ate here more times in the week than I care to admit for a dietitian's husband. Their veggie burger is nothing special but the Hanalei outpost offers local organic salads. And for a special meal out, don't miss BarAcuda in Hanalei on the north shore. I didn't get to try it the last time we went to Kauai and it was absolutely our finest meal of the trip. This is truly original and delicious food, not just overpriced ahi steaks like you will find at other local restaurants.

For foodie treats to take home, you have to stop in a little pottery store in Kilauea to pick up locally blended gourmet salts and spice mixes - I like the red salt with Hawaiian red clay. I also love the granola with crystallized ginger from Anahola Granola, which paradoxically is made in Hanapepe. And this passion fruit mustard makes any sandwich better - really it does.  On this trip, I also discovered this locally made raw chocolate bar at the Healthy Hut - my favourite little health food store.

Should you find yourself in paradise, now you will at least know where to eat when you wake up from your nap on the beach.

Aloha!

Words to Eat By...

Obviously, I have a lot of opinions about food. I would be in the wrong career if I didn't. However, there is a difference between the advice of Desiree, the dietitian, and Desiree, the eater. Why? As a dietitian, it is my job to give each person the utmost in support on their healthy eating journey which includes remaining open to different perspectives, cultures, emotional attachments and deeply held beliefs about nutrition. As an eater, I have my own perspectives, culture, attachments and deeply held beliefs. So here are some thoughts on what I think it means to eat well...as contradictory or irrational as some of them might seem. Love them or hate them, I offer them in hopes they will help open a dialogue for you on your own personal definition of eating well so that you can continue on your own journey towards being as healthy as you can possibly be. I encourage you to share your own views here, to add to the discussion.


1. If your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize it as food, steer clear. Your grandmother thought margarine was food...she was wrong.


2. Genetically modified foods are useless at best and toxic at worst. At the very least, corporations should be forced to label them so we, the public, would finally realize how much of them we are eating and have the power to choose. 


3. We should not be eating refined wheat 6 times a day, regardless of whether you believe it is healthy or not. Time to drop the granola bar and pick up a carrot stick. 


4. Whether we love steak, crave cheese or pine for vegan cocoa cupcakes, we should all be 80% whole foods vegan. That means that 80% of the time, eat unprocessed fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds and legumes. If you do that, whatever tickles your fancy the other 20% of the time, your body can handle. 


5. Remember, it's just food - constantly obsessing about the merits of almond versus hemp milk or counting every gram of sugar will drive you (and all of your friends and family) crazy.


6. Food is medicine. Not the blunt force object that pharmaceuticals are, but no less powerful. 


7. The reason that all of us bleeding-heart, organic-touting, farmers' market-obsessed foodies wax lyrical about bloody heirloom beets is because our society is so fooled into believing that cocoa puffs are actual food that we need to make a religion out of real food so we can all get back to our senses. See point one.


8. Eating well is not reserved for the rich. You don't need goji berries. Rice and beans, one of the humblest and cheapest foods around, will save your value-meal-eating soul.


9. Good, healthy, safe food is a human rights issue. Get political.


10. Yes, nutritionism got us into this mess. However, if rhapsodizing over the anti-oxidant values of kale gets you to eat it, I am all for it.

Desiree on Daily Perricone

Photo courtesy of my amazing partner-in-crime, Heather McColl RD.

Today, my dear readers, is a first! The Fresh Sheet, my local food recipe blog with Heather McColl RD, is a guest blogger for the Daily Perricone blog. If you haven't heard of Daily Perricone, Dr Nicholas Perricone is an NYC dermatologist, author and formulator of the PerriconeMD skincare line. How do a couple of foodie dietitians fit in? Dr Perricone is a pioneer in connecting our health, and the health of our skin, to chronic inflammation and recognizing the role that a healthful diet plays in helping to squelch inflammation. 


Starting today and for the next 3 Wednesdays, we will feature the health and beauty benefits of four super foods and each following Thursday will feature a delicious vegetarian anti-inflammatory recipe inspired by the season from us Fresh Sheet gals. I hope you will join us on the Daily Perricone! Now, if only we could actually go to NYC...foodie road trip!

Eat...lots more beans (a book review)

Dear Readers,

I must be forgiven for some of my nutritional (and editorial) idiosyncrasies...after all, I share my thoughts and passions in genuine attempt to inspire others to eat well. So it is with that humble admission that I must again turn our conversation to beans. Sweet, glorious legumes in all their shapes, sizes and colours. The fibre! The protein! The magnesium! Not a seminar goes by without my singing the praises of the musical fruit...and I can barely go 3 weeks on EDBH without sliding in a plug for the noble bean. And now I have found allies in my quest to encourage the world to eat more beans; they have even written a cookbook to entice you to do so. Julie van Rosendaal and Sue Duncan, two Canadians with a love for the humble legume, published their book, Spilling the Beans, just this year and thanks to my mom...their book ended up in my kitchen. 

What I admire about this book is that it is a love affair with beans and all of the comforting, hearty meals that they inspire. This is not a vegetarian book, although many recipes are vegetarian. It is also not a "health food" book, although many recipes are incredibly healthy. This is a book to appeal to everyone, from the bacon lover to the sweet tooth. It will convert you to our bean mission. I promise. The authors offer some compelling reasons for eating more beans in the book's brief introduction: that beans are planet friendly, economical and, of course, incredibly healthy. And they have found a way to get beans into almost every type of food imaginable: from cinnamon buns to muffins and mac and cheese to scones, there is a bean recipe for every appetite. 

The photography, from Julie herself, hits just the right foodie note and the book is beautiful. So far, I have tried 3 recipes and all of them have been a smashing success: the black-eyed pea and kale soup with cheesy croutons; the chard, white bean and sweet potato gratin which my 15 month old could not get enough of and the black bean brownies. You heard me, brownies. I am sharing the gratin recipe  here as I have made it 6 times since owning the book. It has gotten in the way of my trying other recipes, just like when you can't stop ordering the same dish every time you go out to a certain restaurant. 

Recipe

Chard, White Bean and Sweet Potato Gratin

Excerpted from Spilling the Beans (Whitecap Books) by Julie van Rosendaal and Sue Duncan and used with permission. 

Canola or olive oil, for cooking
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 bunches chard, leaves and stems separated and both cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tbsp (30ml) butter
2 tbsp (30ml) all-purpose flour
2 cups (500ml) milk
2 garlic cloves, crushed
salt and pepper to taste
1 large dark-fleshed sweet potato, peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick
2 cups (500ml) cooked white beans or a 19 oz (540ml) can, rinsed and drained
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup (250ml) coarsely shredded Gruyere, old cheddar or Gouda cheese




Heat a drizzle of oil in a heavy skillet set over medium-high heat and cook the onion for a few minutes. Add the chard, sprinkle with salt and cook until the chard wilts and there is no moisture left in the pan. Transfer to a bowl.


Add the butter and flour to the skillet and whisk together to make a paste. Whisk in the milk, then add the garlic and bring to a simmer. Boil for 2 minutes, whisking; season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat. 


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spread half of the sweet potatoes in the baking dish. Top with half the beans, a sprinkle of nutmeg, salt and pepper, half of the greens mixture, half of the cheese and half of the sauce. Layer the rest of the potatoes, beans, greens and sauce and top with the rest of the cheese.


Cover with tin foil and bake for about 45 minutes, then take the tin foil off and bake for another 15 minutes, until golden and bubbly. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving. 

Be Happy...Grow Your Own

My new baby...a tiny little Brownlee's Russet Apple Tree.

I am a modern, urban, concrete dweller. I, of romantic grow-your-own ideals and, until this August, virtually no direct sunlight. My north facing view was lovely for gazing at the city skyline but terrible for attempting to grow anything useful. After a couple of disastrous attempts at harnessing the 1/2 square foot of sunlight that I enjoyed from July through August, I swore off growing things until I moved to sunnier climbs. I would flip longingly through stories of patio produce and condo farmers thinking that one day, my time would come. The ultimate embodiment of my fruitless (natch!) dreams was realized the day I saw a picture of an apple tree, happily bearing fruit while trellised on someone's patio. Someday, I thought to myself, I will have my own apple tree. I will have to wait for my third best seller before attempting to own an actual house and yard, but a tree...I can make that happen.

This summer, I moved into a new suite that indeed had access to actual sun. Soon, I thought...I can grow something! I thought I would wait for summer, until my trip to the UBC apple festival a couple of weeks ago. It was a beautiful crisp autumn day. There were trees for sale. Grafted onto dwarf stock. Could they be grown in a container? They could, I was reassured! Giddy with local food fever, I decided to take the horticultural plunge.

From a sea of options, parameters were defined: I would need a tree with hardy root stock (M109, I was told) to resist disease and the opposite-of-ideal conditions of life in a container. I would also need a self propagating tree. You see, you need a boy tree and a girl tree to grow apples. I was not aware. And, given that I was already getting myself in over my head with my new tree, perhaps I would not dive into having twins just yet. So, a Brownlee's Russet it was! I was so excited to take that little tree home...I could practically taste the apple crumbles, homemade cider and apple butter to come...

Recognizing the glimmer of cluelessness about me, the wonderful volunteer at the apple festival sent me home with a sheet of instructions on how to grow apples in container. I studied and surveyed. The very next Saturday, I schlepped to home depot and picked up some supplies. Husband and son safely exiled for a walk, I set about to potting this little gem.

Following my instructions, I drilled holes in the pot for better drainage (yay, power tools! and cute gardening gloves!)...

As per instructions, I mixed some perlite and lime with my soil for better drainage and pH balance...

And then in went my little tree!

I now stare at my tree daily. It looks very small and delicate and I hope I can help it thrive. As the days get colder, I will wrap it with a blanket to keep warm (don't laugh...the instructions tell me to!) and do my best not to ignore it as I do all of my house plants. 

I will keep you all posted...wish me luck!! And, if you have any container gardening tips, please do share.

Drink...something mysterious

With a name like Kings and Spies, how could I say no?

It has been a long while since I have done a drink post, hasn't it? 


Given that I was without drink for a good year and a half I suppose it is only fitting. However, with the dry spell complete it is time to delight in all sorts of libations (in responsible moderation of course)! When they are deliciously local, all the better. 


I have to admit, Sea Cider had me at "spies". I have been meaning to try Sea Cider for a long time as I drive past the turnoff to the cider house on many a trip to the island to visit family. So when I was in the store today, it was the siren call of Kings and Spies that caught my attention.


The Kings and Spies referred to on the bottle are actually heritage apples. In this libation, King and Northern Spies apples create a wonderfully refined and grown up cider. The bottle also features an optimistic valve top (as if the whole 750ml won't disappear in one sitting!). And when you buy this specific variety of Sea Cider, proceeds go to Lifecycles. If it gets much better than this, I am at a loss for examples.


You can buy Sea Cider at specialty stores or they will kindly ship cases in BC for free. And if you find yourself on the gorgeous Saanich Peninsula, be sure to stop by and say hello.


Salute!

UnDiet...Week 31

Hello UnDieters!


It's hot out there, people! As promised, for another week or two we are going to keep our approach to healthy eating simple lest we anger the blood with too much exertion. So when I was thinking how best to keep my cool during these dog days, I immediately thought of cucumbers. Cucumbers don't get much respect in the nutrition world but they are a deliciously cooling vegetable and at their best right now as the heat produces some gorgeous field cucumbers. 


That gorgeous dark green skin is chock full of anti-oxidant pigments and its high water content is perfect for these dehydrating days. Rich in anti-inflammatory flavonols and a unique source of anti-cancer lignans, cucumbers deserve a regular place in your diet. So this week, try and have some cucumber everyday.


Here are some easy ways to enjoy cukes...


If you juice, add a bit of cucumber to a green juice (goes well with lemon, apple and kale)


Make a tzatziki or raita...the ultimate cooling blend of yogurt and cukes!


Chop cucumbers with tomatoes, olives, red onion and feta for a classic greek salad.


Top cucumbers with hummus for a quick snack.




Stay cool, cucumbers!
Desiree

UnDiet...Week 29

Local heirloom tomatoes...worth more than any dusty knick knack!

Oh UnDieters...you haven't given up on me!

Week 29 into this journey of ours, I would like to ask something special of you. August is the perfect month to celebrate all the good food that is around us so it is time to really get connected. I, along with my friend Heather, am doing the Growing Chefs Get Local! Local Food Challenge for 7 days starting Sunday. We are chronicling our journey (and our recipes!) all week long on our new blog, The Fresh Sheet. 

So what does eating locally have to do with being healthy? I am glad you asked.

1. Eating close to home is better for the planet. A healthy planet makes a healthy human through the air we breathe, the water we drink and the land that our food grows in. Shipping food long distances pollutes the earth and wastes precious resources. Food grown close to home doesn't have to travel far.

2. Food that doesn't have to travel far can be picked closer to its ripe peak. Ripe fruits and vegetables express their full flavour and nutrition. So food tastes better, satisfies us more fully and nourishes us more fully. In addition, less travel time means that less nutrients are lost between farm time and dinner time. 

3. Choosing foods based on their social and environmental impact helps us think more intelligently about the act of eating. So often, we have a distorted and self-centered view of food; it is entertainment, pleasure, reward and penance. Thinking about the act of eating and where our food comes from connects us to the miracle that is food grown out of the earth.

4. Buying local food is a vote that you make with your dollars that quality food means something to you. Food companies, which exist solely to sell us our food, respond to where they see the money going and if enough of us vote, our food supply will become healthier as a result. Supply follows demand, always.

5. Focusing on local foods means focusing on real, whole foods. Our current health crisis is one borne of eating fake, processed, lifeless foods. Eating fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, meats, nuts and seeds nourishes our bodies and sustains our health.

I hope that this week you will join us at The Fresh Sheet and then commit to eating as local as possible for at least one meal a day or one whole day next week. As you do, think about how the act of thinking critically about your food changes your relationship to it. And see if you don't feel a whole lot healthier for it.

Get local, people!

Desiree

PS...while times are tough, if you are able, please consider supporting Growing Chefs by pledging us this challenge week. They are looking to raise $4000 which is enough to put 4 chefs in the classroom for the school year. Educating the next generation to be conscious and healthful eaters is critical to our future success as a nation.

Kerrisdale Farmer's Market

Tacos...off the  Wagon

The Kerrisdale Farmers Market opened on Saturday so my friend Heather and I decided to check it out. Bread Affair was there so Heather grabbed a 100 mile loaf and I bought a gorgeous basket of organic heirloom tomatoes. But as tummies were grumbling, we were stopped in our tracks by a beacon of tacodom....

Of course we HAD to get tacos...

I had some delicious roasted yam and black bean tacos and a lime cilantro spritzer (not too sweet!). 

This could be YOU! Shop at the farmers markets.

I had some delicious roasted yam and black bean tacos and a lime cilantro spritzer (not too sweet!). Be sure to check out the market this weekend...and if you aren't shy, go hug a farmer.

Get Local, Folks!

Desiree

Good For You, Good For the Earth

My friend, Lori Petryk RD, has created these awesome mini-episodes on local food nutrition for Shaw TV called Good For You, Good For the Earth. I hope you like them....see more at http://www.goodforyouandearth.com 

UnDiet...Week 25

Hello Summer (and UnDieters)!!


I hope you are enjoying the glorious summer sunshine; it has finally graced Vancouver with its presence for 2 consecutive days and I am feeling optimistic that it is here to stay.


So now that summer is here in our Pacific Northwest home, that can only mean one thing...berries. So this week, it is time to celebrate in true UnDiet fashion and commit to eating 1 cup of fresh berries every day. 


Berries are one of the most nutrient dense fruits that nature offers us. Not only are they full of filling fibre and glow restoring antioxidants, their nutrients also help to stave off heart disease, cancer and other chronic disease. Berries are also slow to release their energy, making them a great choice for maintaining stable blood sugars. Did I also mention, they are delicious? Nothing beats the succulent crush of berry juice dribbling down your chin - it is like summer itself. Choose whatever tickles your fancy at the market: strawberries or blueberries, raspberries, cherries or blackberries. Just enjoy a cup full everyday.


What to do with berries? Snack on them instead of something starchy at movie time; swirl them in yogurt for a snack or bake them with an oat topping for a treat. And if you really want to earn bonus points, go find yourself a few flats of berries and either can them or freeze them to enjoy local berries off season. 


Go berry pickin', people!
Desiree

Lawns to Loaves...Home Grown in Vancouver

In today's Globe and Mail newspaper, there is an article about Andrea Bellamy's Lawns to Loaves Project that examines the impact of city food production and the politics of supporting local food. Andrea is growing wheat in the city - it's not much: enough to make a few hyper local loaves of bread. What I find fascinating is how radical such a project seems to some. 


There was a point in time that growing food was just a part of daily life, like taking out the trash and making dinner. It says a lot about the world we live in that we are examining "the point" of growing food and that some in local politics could think of such a project as "goofy". That our mayor could be ridiculed for caring about local food and not city "basics" shows me that we have lost our way. Feeding ourselves is basic. Without a healthy food supply, our city would wither away and the exciting fabric of creativity and innovation and culture that our city stands for would cease to exist. While it is reasonable to argue that those of sufficient income will never starve, eating a diet that is filled with manufactured food starves our cells and the result is disease, which is not exactly an ideal outcome. And, while not an inevitability, food crisis is always a threat as mother nature doesn't always grace us with the ideal growing conditions to feed a ballooning population.


If we are to reconnect to food and make it meaningful, getting serious about growing within the city limits is vital. As a new mom, I do not want my child to think that food is a sterile commodity. I grew up knowing that blackberry bushes could prick, dirt was good for you and that salt and slugs were a particularly entertaining combination. Food knowledge is fundamental for an evolved society. Our children should be able to see food around them, whether they live in the city, suburbs or country.


Let's spend less time in debate and more time growing, eating and sharing.




Get Growing, Vancouver.
Desiree


Read the full article on Globe and Mail

Eat...Rhubarb

Rhubarb Compote with a little Greek Yogurt and Nature's Path Hemp Granola

At the Trout Lake Farmer's Market last weekend, I bought four hulking stalks of rhubarb, which I promptly forgot about in the fridge until Wednesday. So how to revive it? Make a super easy compote. It is so delicious and easy to eat. I ate it over yogurt and granola for breakfast, downed it by the spoonful and even made it into popsicles. 

Recipe
Cardamon Scented Rhubarb Compote

4 large stalks (2 lbs) of local rhubarb

1 cup water

1/2 cup sweetener of your choice ( I used good old fashioned sugar)

Ground Cardamon and Cinnamon to taste (start with 1/8 tsp each and work your way up)

Chop rhubarb into 1 inch pieces and combine with water and sweetener in a pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Add spices and then slowly simmer for about 15 minutes for flavours to blend. Stir occasionally and the rhubarb should breakdown and the mixture should be like a loose jam. Let cool and then refrigerate or eat on the spot!

To make into popsicles, simply fill molds and freeze. OR....I mixed about a cup of the mixture with a shot of vodka and then filled the molds. Vodka and rhubarb and popsicles? Most definitely.

Cheers,

Desiree

UnDiet...Week 20

Hello UnDieters!


Into every life a little rain must fall...shall I blame the rain for my absence? Since you are all on the UnDiet path, I am sure that you can appreciate that not everyday is a "perfect" one on the path to health so let's consider the total absence of Week 19 my blip on the path to good bloggership :) It has been a crazy couple of weeks to say the least. 


But I now pick myself up and dust off a new challenge for week 20 of the UnDiet. This week, as the sun starts to remind us that summer is really here I want to challenge you to step outside of your normal routine and go find a farmer's market. 


Why is this important to your health? For several reasons, not the least of which that you will find the best quality food possible from the farmers who live within driving distance of you. Better quality food means a better quality you. In addition, you can often find wild and wonderful produce that you may not be used to seeing (or eating for that matter). Eating well is not just about healthy food but a healthy sense of adventure. 


Buying at the farmer's market also helps to support smaller family farms who typically farm in a more sustainable manner. And, since you are talking to the farmer themselves to purchase your produce, you can make sure that they have sustainable practices like organic farming or purchasing manure from a neighbour farm instead of shipping it long distances before you buy. You also help support agriculture in your area and ensure that those who work long hours to feed us get a reasonable price for their harvest.


So this week, get outside and find your nearest farmer's market and buy at least one item of produce, preferably one you have never tried before and then bring it home and cook something with it. I will be doing the same this Saturday with my friend Heather. We may just show you the results! Spoiler Alert!!


To help you, here are some resources on farmers markets near you:


Vancouver Farmers Markets
Farmers Markets in BC
Farmers Markets in Canada
Farmers Markets in the USA




In Good Health,
Desiree

Local, Fresh and Organic...Kauai Part 2

Living Foods Market in Kukui'ula Village

 Everywhere you turn on Kauai, you will hit some good local food. I had a couple of favourite places to shop for local food during my visit...

 Living Foods Market, in the posh Kukui'ula Village in Poipu is just over a year old. The Market is owned by San Francisco transplant, chef Jim Moffat who also owns Bar Acuda in Hanalei.


The Market is pricey (even for Hawaii) and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for general shopping unless you need to slim down an overstuffed wallet. There healthy packaged staples at a better price. The Nut Thins I purchased there were $3 more a box than the grocery store in Lihue. 

What you do come here for is the gorgeous cafe (get Jim Moffat's cuisine on the cheap!) and for the local produce. 

As I mentioned in my previous post, grocery stores typically don't have any local produce. Not so here - they proudly display a Kaua'i Grown sign in their small produce case. 


I also picked up some incredibly delicious local honeycomb....

And some yummy tropical granola. The store also had locally baked gluten free bread!

In terms of organic shops, there are tons on the island, particularly in Kapa'a but my favourite by far was Healthy Hut in the north shore town of Kilauea. As someone who has been shopping in health food stores since before quinoa was a household word, I really appreciated the honest, friendly vibe at Healthy Hut. They have plenty of local and organic products for such a jewel box sized location and it was there that I found the BEST BABYFOOD EVER!!

Best.Babyfood.Ever.Seriously!!

I make my own baby food at home, believing that I don't serve myself canned food everyday, so why would I feed my baby canned? However, given that it was my first time traveling with E I decided to leave the mini food processor at home and give prepared food a go. 

Surprisingly, given the number of organic food shops on Kaua'i, finding organic baby food is difficult. There was one dusty jar at Long's Drugs; ditto at Vim & Vigor in Lihue, niente at Papaya's in Kapa'a and EXPIRED food at Hoku. So thank you, Healthy Hut! They had a great selection of Plum Organics food. 

Why do I love them so much? I love the blends, they don't shy away from good stuff like spinach and broccoli. The packaging is ingenious; just squeeze directly from the package onto the spoon when you are on the go. They taste delicious (I won't feed E anything I wouldn't eat myself) and they are clean, simple and organic. Now I just have to get these to Vancouver! I will be adding Plum to my Healthy Grocery List for sure.

Luscious Links

http://livingfoodskauai.com/

http://www.healthyhutkauai.com/

http://www.plumorganics.com/index.php

Aloha!

Desiree

PS...as always, the companies don't know I was featuring them...no paid ads here!