March 5, 2010
· Filed under Delicious, Eat Local, New Things, Organic · Tagged local produce, monsieur marcel
I have been in LA all week on business, hitting the streets spreading the word about MADE, selling a few cases here and there. Usually 4+ nights in a hotel setting equals real food disaster. However, I have to say it is always easier in CA to eat well & simply. The abundance of local agricultural produce in enviable. Seems every town I am in had a farmer’s market coming up this weekend (or one going on all the time) plus all the produce that is available every day not only at Whole Foods but the other supermarkets as well.
Yesterday we were fortunate enough to stop by Monsieur Marcel at the Farmer’s Market next to The Grove. Fantastic light fare. Gorgeous atmosphere.
Baked Brie (I didn’t eat the pastry part (wheat!)). Grilled asparagus.
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March 1, 2010
· Filed under Delicious, Eat Local, Organic · Tagged grass-fed, Organic, pioneer woman
I have to say I found following all the Food Rules pretty simple last week. Mainly because I literally could not eat my tooth hurt so badly. It started last weekend with a dull, throbbing toothache, making it’s way into a dull headache and finally blowing up into a full fledge toothache. It was the worst one I had ever had – so bad that I was excited when Monday morning came so I could get to the dentist. Pretty bad. I found out I had an infection in an old root canal. They had to open it back up (twice) and clean it out. Enough about that, the point being that I really did not want to chew. So I lived for several days on a recipe I got from The Pioneer Woman. Read the rest of this entry »
February 23, 2010
· Filed under Delicious, New Things, Tenaya · Tagged Michael Pollan, omnivore
A bit of OMNIVORE’S DILEMMA has tricked down to our eldest son. As you can see, he had a book report at his school and he chose to do it about one of his parents’ favorite subjects: how to eat better. He was really shocked to see the difference between a major brand of beef jerky and one that we frequently purchase from his Uncle Ken. Ken makes THE BUFFALO GUYS bison jerky out in far Northeastern Kansas and we buy it on-line because it tastes great and it helps out family too. I know the picture is kind of small, but you can get the idea on how short the ingredient statement is for the bison jerky versus the big brand.
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February 19, 2010
· Filed under Delicious, Eat Local, New Things · Tagged Food Rule, Michael Pollan, Rice Krispie treat
The last couple of days, the Food Rules from Michael Pollan have focused on eating mostly plants. These have been motivating but not life changing. I know that eating more vegetables is a very good thing. And I eat more and more of them all the time, dragging my family along with me. Last night we had meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans & carrots. As we sat down to eat, I realized I had never cooked a green bean. They were delicious. I shudder to think how many miles they traveled to get to my plate, but I can’t distract myself with that right now. It actually made me look forward to the local green beans in the not-too-distant future. I am anxious for another growing season.
We live on the very spot my grandparents did, we renovated their house a few years back. I can’t help but reflect on my grandmother, Nanny to me, and the way she cooked in the very kitchen I cook in every day. Nanny had her own food rules, I guess. Really we all do. She made a lot of delicious dishes and boy did she have an adoring audience. My brother, sister and I were eager consumers of all Nanny whipped up. Fluffy scrambled eggs, 10 story tall Belgian waffles, homemade breads – things I have tried time and again to recreate to her standard. She also made quirky dishes. Jell-O with bananas and peaches, Jell-O cakes topped with Dream Whip, Watergate Cake. I loved them all. When I think back on the warmth and love associated with every dish she made I feel the emotional connection to food. Read the rest of this entry »
February 17, 2010
· Filed under Delicious, New Things, Organic · Tagged Food rules, gluten-free pizza, Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan’s 23rd Food Rule, Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food, is yet another that I immediately related to upon reading. I don’t eat meat at every meal. I eat it with breakfast once or twice a week and we have meat with dinner once or twice a week. My decision wasn’t a huge one to stop eating meat, more of a slow shift in taste preferences. Sometimes I get a hankering for a great steak, more often I crave sushi, but not too frequently.
Today started with FAGE yogurt and a banana. I had a League of Women Voters meeting over lunch where I munched on egg salad, grapes and cantaloupe. Dinner brought me the best, meatless surprise of the day. Gluten-free pizza!
Ever since I found out about my wheat allergy back in the fall I really haven’t felt too left out not eating foods that contain wheat. The transition to my new diet has been rather uneventful. The one exception was my husband’s homemade pizza. He makes a mean pizza. Delicious. I was bummed when he made it and he and the kids enjoyed it as I sat back scraping the toppings off the delectable crust (the base being wheat flour).
But he knows me and was determined to find a great gluten-free (wheat-free) pizza crust recipe. Then I could again enjoy the whole piece, not just the toppings. He did it. He found one and made it for me.
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February 16, 2010
· Filed under Delicious, New Things, Organic · Tagged bacon, Food rules, Michael Pollan
Rule #20 from Michael Pollan’s Food Rules sounds simple and unassuming. It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car. But with a busy schedule it is harder than it sounds. We had soccer games until 10 on Friday night and starting at 7:30 on Saturday morning. A full schedule plus the fact that sometimes I just don’t want to keep cooking makes fast food sound really appealing. Except for the fact that it really isn’t the best option. At all. But it is so easy. We resisted. Dining on breakfast sandwiches in the morning (local eggs, Applegate Farms bacon, Organic Valley swiss cheese on whole wheat bread (except me, mine was sans bread)), leftovers for lunch and stir fry veggies for dinner.
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February 12, 2010
· Filed under Delicious, New Things · Tagged bacon, Food rules, Michael Pollan
So, now I have been following the Food Rules laid out by Michael Pollan for the last several weeks and feeling pretty good about it overall. Again, it isn’t too far away from how I normally attempt to eat. But we all have our challenges (see downhill day) and these latest three rules are proving challenging.
17 – Eat only foods that have been cooked by humans. So not giant corporations. I am cool with that. But wait. My FAGE yogurt was made by a big corporation with big machines. What about my dinner? Yes, so was my gluten-free pasta. And my butter. And my parmesan cheese. I feel failure around the bend.
18 – Don’t ingest foods made in places where everyone is required to wear a surgical cap. Again, no corporate food. I get it but I also know they where those surgical caps/hairnets to keep food safe. I like safe food. And I like Garden of Eatin’s blue chips. Is that a no-no? I can make a lot of things, but frankly I am not so sure about blue corn tortilla chips. I don’t care for this rule.
19-If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t. Wow. I am going to go ahead and say I don’t think I can do this rule. I could play along and do it for a day, maybe 2 or 3. But that isn’t a sustainable change for me and my family, today and probably not tomorrow. It starts with bacon. I love Applegate Farms Sunday Bacon. Actually the four of us do. Love, love it. Served with local eggs scrambled and accompanied by a fruit smoothie, it’s a great breakfast the whole family eats. We don’t eat it everyday, but once or twice a week. I feel like it is good choice in bacon. And again, I don’t think I can make bacon. Really.
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February 9, 2010
· Filed under Delicious, New Things · Tagged Food rules, Michael Pollan
First of all, I went off the beaten path last week after I found out my father-in-law had to have open heart surgery (triple bypass, valve replacement). I had been following the Food Rules from Michael Pollan’s latest book at the pace of about one a day. Once the surgery came up all schedules/routines/general concerns went out the window. Of course, I had the rules in the back of my mind. I made good choices, when I ate. Frankly, I was so worried I wasn’t really hungry at all.
The one meal I purchased in the hospital was flounder with green beans and sweet potatoes. It was the best choice in the place at the time. I skipped the patty melt.
The good news is my father-in-law is well on the road to recovery. So now back to life and back to Food Rules. I had two rules to incorporate – get out of the supermarket whenever you can and buy your snacks at a farmers’ market. I have to say that in February in MO this is proving difficult. However, it is possible. I get out of the supermarket when I can and we currently buy our meat, milk and eggs from a local farm – Pasture Nectar in Mount Vernon. They definitely are not a supermarket. It is nice to get to know the people who are raising your food. I love having that connection. I enjoy seeing the cows that our milk comes from, I like that they really do seem happy.
Now, buying snacks at a Farmers’ Market. I know that the Greater Springfield Farmers Market has winter hours/days but I haven’t made it there since it got cold. I just try to buy most “snacks” at Mama Jean’s. And I really try to eat a minimal amount of snacks. Because if I have snacks around I will eat them all. Especially Kettle chips.
I hit the road to KS on a work road trip – I left after the Super Bowl so I was driving late at night and got to the hotel in the wee hours of the morning. I had to be up and at ‘em about 3.5 hours after my head hit the pillow. Plus I had to get breakfast. I did it. I went to McDonald’s. I ordered a yogurt parfait and orange juice. I took a look at the ingredients and sugar is the second ingredient in the yogurt – breaking food rule #5. I am in a very small town in KS and I figured the only Food Rule option I would have had was to go to the grocery store and buy some produce. I didn’t feel like I had the time and I certainly didn’t have the inclination to go into the store and buy a bunch of bananas. So I ate my sugary yogurt.
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February 4, 2010
· Filed under Delicious, New Things, Organic · Tagged betty crocker gluten free, Food rules, Michael Pollan, yoga
Rule # 14 from Food Rules, by Michael Pollan – eat foods made from ingredients that you can picture in their raw state or growing in nature. Again, this one was pretty easy. Easy most of the day. I have been sticking to foods that are close to their natural state. Breakfast consisted of eggs with peppers, broccoli and a tomato. These were all in their raw state.
Lunch was from my new favorite lunch grab-n-go spot, Mama Jean’s. Quinoa with edamame, cherry tomatoes, pepper, corn, carrots, garlic, olive oil & salt. Simple and so close to raw form. Not much visualization required. I could see the ingredients in all their glory. So clean. I loved it. I was running to a lunch meeting of the League of Women Voters so this was a perfect dish to take with me in the car and eat quietly in the back of the room.
Dinner. It was yoga night so dinner isn’t really part of my plan, I just don’t enjoy yoga as much with a full belly (no surprise there). However, post-yoga I was famished and came home and saw the pan of gluten-free brownies my friend Sheri had made me.
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February 4, 2010
· Filed under Eat Local, New Things, Tenaya · Tagged Haralambos, MADE
Tuesday Frank and I visited with Haralambos Beverage Company in City of Industry, CA. About a month ago we agreed that Tenaya and HBC both wanted to work together so we sat down in beautiful SoCal and figured out when our joint sales meetings would be, promotional details, account targeting, etc. It is very exciting for me to meet with them (Frank has done it already a few times). HBC is the leading DSD in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Because I lived out in Valencia, CA for many years I am really excited for friends to be able to see the MADE product on-shelf. So to all of you – soon, very soon. We will be back out in late February and early March to work along with the HBC folks to make it all happen.
-Charley
