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BANG FOR THE BITE
If 10,000 Biters buy a fresh pineapple instead of packaged and preserved pineapple chips, we'll avert the CO2 caused by 18,776 roundtrips to the supermarket by car.
COCKTAIL FACT
Hmm... Since 1996, the USDA has categorized frozen French fries as fresh vegetables.
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Do Funyuns count as a vegetable?
The Bite
Sorry, but nope. And the "natural flavors" you see on ingredients lists could be, well, anything. This year, try spending more time in the produce aisle, and fill your grocery cart with unprocessed, unpackaged foods. More onions, fewer Funyuns!The Benefits
- Getting your five-a-day. Fruits 'n' veggies pack important stuff like fiber, iron, and magnesium. (It sucks, but the fries in your value meal don't really count.)
- An energy diet. Of the energy that goes into getting food on your plate, 16% is used in processing, and 7% is used in packaging; fresh fruits and veggies require almost no energy for these things.
- Getting picked up. More time in the produce aisle means more opportunities to compliment fellow shoppers on their cantaloupes.
Personally Speaking
Pre-Ideal Bite, we assumed that "natural flavoring" meant stuff that does a body good. Tricky labelers...Wanna Try?
- Local Harvest - find local farmers markets for the freshest produce.
Jan 09,2008
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Producing Good Produce
Mom taught me that when selecting fruit I should go with the apples that smell like apples, melons that smell like melons, and above all, tomatoes that smell like tomatoes. If it smells like nothing, it tends to taste like nothing. And while I really don't consider myself an expert, I smell and size up, turn over and touch when I shop. Every now and then, someone will observe me, presume I know what I'm doing (never a good idea), and put the same thing in their cart.
If you haven't spent much time in the produce section, think about perusing a fruits-and-veggies-101-type book beforehand. This one is paperback, so you can tote it along with you, and it's not too expensive, so you can save a few bucks to spend on organic rutabaga: Field Guide to Produce: How to Identify, Select, and Prepare Virtually Every Fruit and Vegetable at the Market.
Happy carrot and kumquat biting!
-Jenifer Morgan...off to vegetate...
If you haven't spent much time in the produce section, think about perusing a fruits-and-veggies-101-type book beforehand. This one is paperback, so you can tote it along with you, and it's not too expensive, so you can save a few bucks to spend on organic rutabaga: Field Guide to Produce: How to Identify, Select, and Prepare Virtually Every Fruit and Vegetable at the Market.
Happy carrot and kumquat biting!
-Jenifer Morgan...off to vegetate...
Biter Comments...
This tip is misleading. Should we all aspire to purchase locally produced fruits and vegetables? How many of us could buy a locally produced pineapple? I too read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and was impressed with Kingsolver's comments about why we except all produce to be avilable all the time. It's something we should all think about.
I have to admit this is the first ideal bite tip I've felt compelled to blog . . . (Do Funyuns count as a vegetable?) Talk about food and agriculture and you've got my attention, big time! This is fabulous info for all to read and consider and act on. It's so basic. It's so simple. It's so smart. And . . . you win in every way. It makes a huge impact on your personal health, the health of our local economies, and the health of our planet. Be smart consumers. Eat well (local & organic when possible) and think about all that nasty packaging.
Sure, I'll spend more time in the produce aisle -- AFTER I HIT THE LOTTERY!! I really LIKE fruits and veggies, but I just can't AFFORD fruits and veggies, and ESPECIALLY not the recommended five a day!
You can't afford fruits and veggies? Horrors! What kind are you eating? There are lots of choices, and even regular supermarket ones are better than preprocessed foods of any sort.
By the way, a "serving" is only considered to 1/2 cup (4 oz)! That's like 1/2 of any but the tiniest of apples.
We try to eat fresh, followed by eating local, followed by eating organic (now, organic can get expensive, but less and less as time goes on, sorta like electronics). And, referring to Animal, Vegetable, Miracle again, what's in season will often be less expensive.
Interestingly, not that long ago Americans used to spend around 1/4 of their income on food. No more. Now its lower on the list of necessities? I don't get it.
99% of all the best stuff in any supermarket is around the walls. Stay out of the aisles and you'll be surprised!
Well . . . we're paying out-the-nose for what we eat already (even the "cheap" stuff), so don't completely discount your idea of winning the lottery in order to survive. We are paying escalated health insurance fees (due to our poor health) and your taxes pay for subsidized agriculture (check out the farm bill which is a hot topic). All very costly because of our "Western diet," to quote Michael Pollan. It's crazy complicated . . . Eat veggies! It's money in your pocket and tastes good too.
It's actually 9 servings of fruit and veggies a day, not 5. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which serves both as the nutrition advisor for Americans AND the marketing arm for the U.S. agriculture industry, was finally forced to strengthen the standards a couple of years ago. In an unusual political win for nutritionists and consumers, the beef, pork, poultry, and packaged food industry lost the battle over nutrition recommendations.
If you have any doubts about how important fresh fruit and vegetables are to your health and survival, read T. Colin Campbell's "The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health" a very nuts and bolts guide to eating for Americans by a now retired nutrition professor/researcher from Cornell. This is the best nutrition book I've ever read and it's organized by the most common causes of death for Americans -- diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc. The book's available at amazon and dozens of other places, maybe even your public library by now.
Like Melinda and Catherine -- I find this a misleading tip, especially in January!! Fresh fruit and veggies are not at all in season in much of the US. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is a fantastic book - I also heartily recommend it!
As far as cost (when it is in season) - farmer's markets. I make very, very little, but make food my top budget priority because it's so important to me that we eat well and support a healthy food system (not to mention saving tons of waste.) Trust me, there are WAYS to do it. Buy dried beans instead of canned, sodium filled ones and you'll save TONS of money. Bake your own bread...I could go on. :)
Now, I admit I live in Calif. (up by the Oregon border, and have my own (currently deep in snow) garden... But I am a former Pennsylvanian and can't you find, at least in the lower 48, reasonably local winter squash, cabbage, carrots, apples, swiss chard, turnips, potatoes, onions, garlic, and beets in winter? These are winter or fresh stored winter crops and should be local and not ridiculously expensive... But I don't really know for everywhere else. I do know they are all delicious :^)
Please don't make blanket statements about processed foods. While fresh from the field produce is best, nothing in a mid-winter grocery store is fresh from the field. Far more nutrients (and flavors) are lost from fresh produce in the time it takes to get to market than in the canning and freezing process. Local canned foods are a viable option to local produce during off-season months, they don't require expensive (and polluting) refrigerated storage and transportation, they offer convenience, nutrition and flavor. By the way, metal cans are and always have been fully recyclable.
Caledonia Minnesota (SE corner of MN) 100 year old organic farm for local frozen veggies and fruits ... best peas, corn, and cranberries in the world!!! Ask your grocery store to stock them.
www.snopac.com
Yeah, Steve, I've heard about the nine-a-day thing, but I can't even afford FIVE, never mind NINE. (Some recent sources STILL say five, though.) As for T. Colin Campbell, he's just trying to sell a book, so he has a vested interest. Anyone with a vested interest in anything, I'm not interested in. Besides, if Mr. (or Dr.) Campbell sells enough copies of his book, he'll have no trouble paying for HIS fruits and veggies. (By the way, you're not his publicist, are you?) Diet isn't the cure-all for diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure, anyway. It MAY help, to some degree, but it's no panacea. There are other factors involved, like genetics. And besides, you can be as healthy as the proverbial horse and get hit by a bus; there goes your longevity. Anyway, as important as fresh fruits and veggies may be, there's no point in trying to stay healthy by eating them if you're only going to go broke in the process.
Dottie, I'm not eating ANY kind of fruits and veggies at all. The closest I come to "eating" fruits and veggies is drinking a glass of V-8. I mainly eat breads and pasta because they're cheap. I avoid fast food, except for Subway, which I have a couple of times a month, and I take supplements. Also, I'm not a cook, so even if I COULD afford veggies, I wouldn't know how to cook 'em, although I do have a veggie steamer which I've had for a few years, but never used.
Ashley, just because YOU have the options you mentioned doesn't mean EVERYONE does. Bake your own bread?? Get real! It's a nice idea, (nothing smells and tastes like freshly-baked homemade bread), but who has time for THAT!?! Farmers' markets ARE a very good idea, though, but they're only seasonal, and unfortunately, here in New England, that season is very short.
Yeah, Nancy, veggies DO taste good, but what they COST leaves a bad taste in my mouth! Also, the reason we pay escalated health insurance fees in this country because the federal government allows the insurance companies get away with charging those exorbitant fees. That's why so many Americans can't afford preventive health care so that any health problems can be caught early before they get too far along and expensive to treat, if they can be treated at all.
Dottie,
I'm very sorry you're not open to ideas of someone like T. Colin Campbell who spent his entire life dedicated to nutrition research. I doubt he would agree with your interpretation that he wrote the book to make money. Academic researchers and authors of little niche books like this usually are involved with their work because they are committed to the public good and rarely make much money at it.
And for the record, I have no relationship whatsoever with T. Colin Campbell, although I did meet him once at a book signing.
And yes, Kristin, diet has a profound impact on your health, as I hope you'll learn as you grow older. Otherwise, you'll follow the path of most Americans down the path of obesity, chronic illness, medications to manager your chronic illnesses, and a diminished quality of life. For all of our sakes, I hope more people will take responsibility for their own health and incorporate healthy food, exercise, and spirituality into their lives.
Apologies to Dottie. My comment above is to Kristin.
Sorry, Steve, you tried twice and STILL ended up addressing your comments to the wrong person.
"A diminished quality of life." By WHOSE standards??? The standards of an elite, intolerant few? Just because you're fat doesn't necessarily mean you're going to develop chronic illnesses. (I'm speaking from personal experience.) Thin people develop chronic illnesses, too, ya know. Sounds like you've been brainwashed.
As for T. Colin Campbell, well of COURSE he wouldn't openly ADMIT to writing his book to make money. Who does? If he's so committed to the "public good," then why doesn't he write a book that most of the public will actually READ?? The reasearchers should just stick to their research and butt out of our lives. Healthy foods are for those who can afford them, and folks like you (and your T. Colin Campbell) should stop making those of us who can't afford them feel guilty and just leave us alone!
It's official! Talking about food is as sensitive and PERSONAL as politics and religion. WOW, Linda. You get this wound up over blog comments? I'd hate to cut you off in traffic. Chill. Life's too short.
I would love to eat more healthy which is hard to do when meat and produce is expensive as stated in an earlier blog. My delima is that even though fresh fish is 30 minutes away and relatively cheap, I am DEATHLY ALLERGIC TO FISH AND SEAFOOD and shellfish. In fact, Oct. 5, 2007, I licked some ceasar salad dressing and felt my throat close off immediately. if i didn't pop some Benedryl when I did i most likely wouldn't be here today. yet most diets call for fish and the like. I also am intolerant to anything containing monosodium glutimate (MSG) and aspertame, so I love splenda but buy sugar which is more affordable in my bodget. I just glad our canadian health care system covers my propranolol for my migraine prevention. meds are bloody expensive
I agree with your mom.
As organic farmer, I have to say that your mom had the key to choose the better fruits.
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: Catherine | January 09, 2008 at 06:38 AM