Category — Seasonal Eating

An NPR interview following up Michael Pollen’s article: Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch, where he identifies our lack of cooking with the increase of cooking shows on TV.  Listen in.  He will further the conversation with discussing such topics as:

1. How America was turned on to fast food like cake mix
2. How the evolution of cooking formed our human identity
3. How obesity rates relate to the amount of time people take to cook
4. How cooking shows are structured like a professional football game
5. How cooking may look like CRAZY behavior to our next generation

Most of us, especially those who live in the city, are so use to buying our fruits and vegetables from our closest grocery store.  We’ve been trained to chose fruits and vegetables that are plump, shiny and free of bruises or scratches.  Regardless of the weather outside, we are given the luxury of having all types of fruit and vegetables available to us year round.  But, has all of this deprived us from staying in touch with nature?  Are our bodies needing strawberries in winter or kale in the summer?  Does a scratch or bruise really change the nutirents?  Before big box grocery stores, transportation, and the art of visual merchandsing we (country and city folk) were connected to the foods our body needed.  We only had access to foods that could be produced in that particular climate/season.  Nature was naturally taking care of us.

So, how can we get back in touch with nature?  By gardening! It has been proven that even the most stubborn of children will start eating ‘that yucky green stuff’ when they get to play in the garden.  Children love to get dirty and feel great reward from nurturing a seed into a sprout and a sprout into FOOD!  Suddenly, that boring carrot or yucky green bean turns into something exciting to eat, cook and share because they ‘MADE IT’!

But, maybe it is not realistic for us all to have a garden.  Window boxes are a great way to tap into nurturing nature.  You could grow herbs or easy veggies, like tomatoes.  And even if that is too much to think about, you can always enjoy nurtured food by shopping at your local farmer’s market.  Or even easier, get a fresh basket of goodies delivered by CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) every week.

With Spring beginning tomorrow, now is the time to fall back in love with nature and start gobbiling up the nutrients of eating the freshest and most quailty foods available to you!

Need some inspiration to get you started:  Join our First Lady, as she breaks ground on the white house lawn in efforts to help fight our child obesity epidemic through gardening!!!