What's Wrong With What We Eat

From my sister in Charlottesville, Virginia:

"I am sending this link along because this is what I have learned in my lifelong interest in healthy food. It demonstrates what I feel is the most important thing: eating real food for our health. You might like to read more about this movement: I recommend anything by Michael Pollan, especially The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food. And that is just the beginning.

It is a video presentation by the food writer and cookbook author Mark Bittman called "What's wrong with what we eat".

"Highly recommended। Overview of things we already know (at least those of us old enough to remember real food), but very well done [sic]. Michael Pollan in a nutshell."

Quality Foods

Daniel Max, founder and director of Max Sense of Self, is a health counselor, massage therapist and nutritionist in Watertown, Massachusetts.

In his most recent email newsletter, he recommends "eating quality foods as the best strategy we can use to improve our health and lives as well as the health of our planet." He also states that "endless nutritional studies have proven that the diets of cultures that keep traditional diets of fresh, whole, & local foods are dramatically healthier than diets of cultures relying on mostly refined or mass produced foods."

"Quality can mean: fresh, organic, lovingly made, homemade, locally produced, free of pesticides and herbicides (these are anti-nutrients and disease agents), free of antibiotics and growth hormones, heirloom varieties, nutrient dense, free of artificial ingredients."

Email Daniel at daniel@maxsenseofself.com if you would like to be included on the newsletter list. He also offers free tele-classes and personalized health programs in the Boston area.

Spring is here

There are so many topics to talk about now that Spring is here in full force.

1. One of them is lawn fertilizer. I opted to use up the four step non-organic brand that is so popular by most people. I confess to buying it one year when the crabgrass was out of control. I figured it was better to get rid of it by using it instead of throwing it out. Now that it is gone, I've made an oath to myself (and the bunnies and birds that live on my lawn) to only use organic from now on. You can find organic fertilizer at most hardware stores. That's easy.

2. The other step I want to take is to purchase a composter. I saw an ad for one that has a handle and rotates the debris inside, only $100. Now I can recycle the coffee grounds, leaves, eggshells, etc. that have up till now been stuffing the garbage bags and landfill. It will also be a good way to fertilize the lawn and garden!

3. Soon, the locally grown outdoor markets will be open for business. Unfortunately, June is planting time for New England. But, July should offer some fruits and vegetables. Check out the site Epicurious for a seasonal map and recipes.

Greener

The grass is not greener in New Zealand, but the beef certainly seems to be. After searching for grass fed beef in a local Whole Foods, I was directed to the hot dog packages. That's it? There certainly aren't any grocery chains that carry grass fed, until now... but it's from New Zealand. Trader Joe's grass fed stew beef and hamburger is delicious and not much more expensive than the cows force fed on corn while crammed in feed lots in the US. I recommend it. It tastes better and is better for you.

This doesn't exactly fit into the sustainable farming model of eating meats from local farms. But, if there is enough demand, politicians may provide the leadership to change the laws that favor factory feed lots at the expense of the local farm. For more on this and other farm bill topics go to Agricultural Law blog.

LISTINGS

BREAD:
•Iggy's Bread of the World, 130 Fawcett St., Cambridge, MA.
•King Arthur Flour The wheat may not be grown in New England, but it is a Vermont based company.

EGGS/DAIRY:
•Chip-in Farm, Bedford, MA, Fresh eggs from pure grain fed, free running hens since 1944. Can be purchased at A. Russo & Sons, 560 Pleasant St., Watertown and elsewhere.

FRUIT/BERRIES:
•Kelso Homestead Blueberries, Chester, MA These make great jam for freezing. Also at Russo's in season.
•Apples Orchard listing in eastern Massachusetts. Look for local apples at your supermarket.
•Wyman's Wild Blueberries, Milbridge, Maine, Find in most supermarkets in the frozen food section.
•Cape Cod Cranberries Listing in eastern Massachusetts. Most supermarkets in the Fall carry Ocean Spray brand. Use as fresh fruit, frozen, juice, dried sweetened and as sauce.
•Butter Brook Organic Farm for "Pa's plums", gigantic, meaty Italian tomatoes grown from the same seed in this region for more than 100 years, 982 Main St., Acton, 978-263-1936.
•Nicewicz Farm, Their peaches can be found at 10 farmers markets in the area: Belmont, Newton, Somerville, Brookline, Natick, Worcester until late September.

BEANS:
Baer's Best Beans, Moraine Farm, North Beverly. Specializes in unusual varieties. Can be found at the farmer's market in Marblehead and Gloucester and also at A. Russo & Sons, 560 Pleasant St., Watertown and Wilson Farm, 10 Pleasant Street, Lexington.

HERBS:
Oregano, Rosemary, Basil, Sage, Parsley, Mint, etc. Grow at home! The organic garlic at Land Sakes Farm is a high quality that lasted all winter.

VEGETABLES:
•Potatoes from Maine are awesome! I found a big bag at Shaw's. Prince Edward Island is also preferable to large Idahos, which are exposed to a lot of pesticides.
•Hubbard Squash grown in Massachusetts can be purchased at Sudbury Farms in Sudbury most of the winter months.

MEAT PRODUCTS:
•Lionette’s Market carries lard rendered from Vermont pigs. 577 Tremont Street, Boston 617-778-0360
•Boston Smokehouse Company Chicken and turkey sausages Available at Savenor's, 92 Kirkland, Cambridge
•De Pasquale's Market for sausages. 325 Watertown St., Newton, MA 02458 Phone: (617) 244-7633
•Codman Community Farm Grass and grain fed Beef, Pork and Lamb, Lincoln, MA, Butchered in Groton, Frozen at 58 Codman Road. Also have Chip-in Farm eggs.
•Owen's Poultry Farm 585 Central Ave., Needham, MA, 781-444-1861
•Raymond's Turkey Farm Whole birds and savory pies, 163 Hampstead St., Methuen, MA, 978-686-4075

HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS:
•Copper - Sprinkle the cut side of a lemon half with coarse salt and rub it over to make it gleam!
•Use White vinegar
•Use Baking Soda

PAPER:
•NRDC ratings on paper products.
•Marcal of New Jersey uses recycled toilet paper and paper towels and can be sometimes found at Shaws and Staples.
•Seventh Generation, known for its environmentally friendly products, is located in Burlington, VT.
•Trader Joe's has paper that is partially recycled.

Look for the organic farm nearest you by going to:
Local Harvest.com
City of Newton, MA, Farmers Market.

Northeast Grown

These last few years I've been reading a lot about the Local Food movement in books, magazines and newspapers. I noticed that there isn't a central website that would help New Englanders find a way to feed themselves with food grown nearby. There are multiple benefits to eating locally. We eat better food. We enrich the community and support local farmers and help preserve their farmland which is under constant pressure to be sold to developers. In addition, eating local helps the environment, the earth's soil, water and air. There is the added bonus of less trucking and use of foreign oil.

New England's biggest obstacle is a four month growing season. Do we gorge ourselves in the Summer and Fall only to starve in the Winter? Bill McKibbon (see reading list) recommends investing in a small freezer to store summer's bounty. Following his advice, I cooked locally grown seasonal fruits with pectin and stored the small plastic containers in a corner of our refrigerator's freezer. (Maybe this year we can get the big freezer) The blueberry and raspberry jams were fabulous — less so, the strawberry and peach. Gone by December were frozen packets of roasted tomatoes, onions, garlic and herbs that turn an ordinary pizza and pasta sauce into a rich reminder of summer sun.

With your help, this blog will include recommend reading, excerpts of articles and a continually growing list of places to buy (or pick) vegetables, fruits and sustainable meat and dairy. I have a small head start on lists of places in the western burbs of Boston. I'm looking forward to Spring and another season of Northeast Grown food!