Not Just Organic

I believe that we live in a time that requires us to look at our many food choices holistically. Gone were the days where buying organic products meant that we were making a better choice for our health and environments. Now we know that organic does not always mean better and the time where everything was easily black and white is gone. It is safe to say that we now majorly find ourselves in an expanding and confusing gray area. This means that we the consumers must be smarter and take a more holistic approach when it comes to buying or consuming a product.

A classic example I would like to focus on today is a daily staple found in almost everyone’s fridge; milk. While milk has long been an easy, delicious way to get the daily dose of calcium (as well as countless other vitamins and nutrients) for centuries, we now are faced with a confusing array of colorful cartons of milk (some who are shelf stable for 5-6 months!) and a more complicated problem then the generations before has had to face. A typical grocery store will offer a dizzying variety and choice, organic or conventional? Raw milk, vat-pasteurized, regular pasteurized or what seems to be most popular now because of the extended shelf life, UHT (Ultra-High Temperature) Pasteurized. Which one should a person choose? It’s no surprise that we are so confused and in this case, ignorance is defiantly not bliss.

The ongoing debate over the benefits and risks of consuming raw dairy products (one that I will not delve into today) has been going on for a while and no matter what side of the fence you are on, it is safe to say, dairy that has been pasteurized at the lowest temperature possible (vat-pasteurized) will always be better than dairy pasteurized at ultra-high temperatures (UHT pasteurized). A big portion of milk products sold today is ULT (ultra-high temperature) pasteurized, and what’s even more upsetting is that almost all (if not all) organic milk is UHT pasteurized, which translates to a heating process at twice the temperature of basic pasteurization. This process inevitably strips the milk of all bad bacteria as well as all the good bacteria that is vital to keep your digestive track healthy. 

 This is where it gets confusing, because as a consumer we assume that a label stating that a product is organic means that it is overall better, but in the case of milk, this is untrue. A lot of so called organic milk comes from mass factory farms who are overcrowded, with sickening living conditions. To be certified organic, the farm feed the cows’ organic corn and grain but is this truly better? Let’s quickly compare this scenario to another dairy farm that will likely be smaller and may even be locally found. Because this farm let’s its cows graze off of grass (which they were created to eat and which will produce milk rich in vitamins not found in grain fed cows) most times they are unable to claim the milk their cows produce to me organic but as you can see, the milk produced from the grass-fed farm is a better choice for everyone. This of course is not to say that all organic products are necessarily bad all the time, because they aren’t. There are times when buying organic really pay off in quality, for instance, organic produce from a local farm is always a good choice. What I would like everyone to take from this (whether you choose this route of another) is to be more aware about what you are buying and approach it holistically. Knowledge is key and making informed decisions is important for us to take back control of our health and lives.

Eat and be happy!

-Miss Sunshine

7 Words To Live By: Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.

Hello everyone!

Today I’d like to delve a little more into the world of ‘real’ food and relay onto you a very useful tip I learned this past weekend that helps to narrow down what ‘real’ food really is. While doing research for my paper, I picked up the New York Time Bestseller book, “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto,” written by Michael Pollan. For those of you who do not recognize his name or books, Pollan is an American author and journalist who writes books and articles (as well as give lectures) about our relationship with food and the destructiveness of the so-called “Western diet”. Pollan believes that over the years the more we worry about nutrition the less healthy we have become and he calls this the “American paradox.” Pollan explores and breaks down what he calls the “Western diet”, which by his definition consists of lots of processed food, meat, unnecessary added fat, sugar and a disappearance of fruits, vegetables and whole grains or ‘real’ foods. He also gives advice on how we can relearn how and what to eat. In his attempt to sum up everything he’s learned about food and health simple enough for everyone to remember he came up with a three phase sentence, seven word sentence that is the overall message and theme of the book. 

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

Wow! That’s not too hard now is it? At first glance it’s almost a no brainer but Pollan goes on to explain that what, “…Americans now buy in supermarkets, fast food stores, and restaurants is not in fact food.” and that a practical tip when wandering the endless aisles of the supermarket laden with packaged, ultra-processed food is to imagine having your great-grandmother by your side and ask yourself if she would recognized whatever it is you are adding to your cart. Chances are she won’t recognize a huge portion of ‘stuff’ in your cart or basket. If this is the case, what exactly ARE we putting into our bodies three or more times a day I wonder? Sadly, the simple catchy phrase may not seem as easy or simple as we first thought, which says a lot. The endless miles of products being called food in the supermarket make this rule more easily said than done. But have no fear, Pollan is also of the opinion that a healthy lifestyle is never an all or nothing approach, we can’t and won’t be able to follow all his rules all the time (Oreos are extremely tempting especially paired with a glass of ice cold milk) but we can always try to incorporate these rules it into our lives as much as we can. Here is a recap of his three phase rule with a few selected examples summarized by myself.

·         Eat Food – Pollan describes this as eating real food, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and fish and meat and to avoid “edible food-like substances”.

-          Don’t eat anything your grandmother would not recognize.

-          Don’t eat anything with more than five ingredients, ingredients that you cannot pronounce or will ever have stored in your pantry or fridge.

-          Don’t eat anything that will not eventually rot.

·         Not Too Much – Pollan clearly points out it’s not just what we are consuming but how much we are consuming as well.

-          Always leave the table a little hungry.

·         Mostly Plants - Eat mostly plants, especially leaves and while scientists may disagree on what’s beneficial, is it vitamins? mineral? One thing that they do agree on is that fruits and vegetables are probably really good for you and at the least certainly can’t hurt you.

-          A benefit to consuming more plants is that will consume far fewer calories as well.

While I haven’t read the whole book yet, the other tips I have come across, for example, “Shop only the perimeter of the store,” because that’s where ‘real’ unprocessed foods are kept have proved to be very valuable tidbits as I plan my trip to the grocery store. Overall, I feel like this book explains and relays to us (the reader) very important information in a non-confusing way and I will try my very best to read the book cover to cover in the coming week to use as reference for my research paper as well as to educate myself. I highly suggest that everyone who eats or likes to eat (yes that means everyone) read this book. It will help you to better understand our food system and how we as individuals can navigate the food world with a new perspective. Until next time…

Eat and be happy!

-Miss Sunshine

Introduction...

Food. Everyone loves good food. While some people might spend countless hours shopping and preparing multi-course dinner to the delight of their dinner guests and themselves, others find it more enjoyable to trust a professional chef (and the helpful waiters) at a gourmet restaurant to do all the preparation so they can simply enjoy friends and family instead. Whichever path you choose, what’s most important is that it all ends in delicious food and a satisfied belly and soul. 

I guess I could say that I was born a foodie *smile* and I have both my parents to thank for my diverse palate. I’ve always had a healthy relationship with cooking and baking. Growing up, I fondly remember having girlfriends over and having ‘baking parties’ where we would first score cookbooks and magazines for yummy pictures and corresponding recipes, shop for the ingredients and finally whip up a storm of cupcakes, cakes and cookies. I remember the whole process always being very enjoyable; and while I still continue to enjoy good food, my interests have slightly formed into a new obsession, seasonal, local and organic foods. A few years back I watched Food Inc., a documentary filmed in 2008 that examines and explains corporate farming in the United States. At first sight, this documentary seemed boring, but once I began to watch it I couldn’t stop! I encourage everyone to watch it as well, as it shows us where our food comes from, who profits from the industrial productions of food, and who has to make the ultimate sacrifice for us to support our current lifestyle. If food is so important to us shouldn’t we at least know more about it?

The front of the movie cover states that, “You’ll never look at dinner the same way again.” And I haven’t. Now, I find myself more interested in supporting local farmers and trying to locate more ingredients from local sources as well as trying to make everything that I possibly can at home. This translates to me delving into a new obsession of bread and pastry making. To date, I have successfully made whole wheat rolls french bread for breakfast, strawberry and rosemary scones, sandwich bread and my latest accomplishment, croissants! I’ve managed to make the BEST croissants I have every bought or thought was possible to make! Yes, it took me 2 days of patience but I made it and boy was it delicious with a pat of butter and strawberry jam! My dream would be to one day have a backyard garden (notice that I said dream here…my thumb isn’t any shade of green by any means!) Where I can grow the freshest juiciest wild strawberries I can find on this side of the mountains before making into strawberry jam.

I would say that I’m approaching this new lifestyle in baby steps. I’m not the kind of person who could do a total 360 change on anything (it would prove to be too overwhelming!) This blog is going to be a combination of all things that go on in my life and are important to me, it’s going to be part food blog, part local food education, and yet another part that chronicles my journey through the maze of it all while slowly starting to implement the locavore lifestyle into my life…so sit back in your favorite chair (or bed!), put your feet up, grab you’re morning cuppa’ joe (hopefully one that was sustainably grown and ground and brewed by yourself) and enjoy!

- Miss Sunshine