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Eating & Cooking Local Presented by:

Cindy Mann, HHC

Brought to you by:LifeWork StrategiesSource: Boundless Wellness

+Eating & Cooking Local

Why eat local

Why the end of summer rocks!

Cooking with summer/fall ingredients

When to buy organic

Where to shop

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Why Eat Local?

Good for the local economy

Farmers on average receive only ___ of each food dollar spent. The rest goes towards transportation, processing, packaging, refrigeration and marketing.

20 cents

Farmers who sell food to local customers receive almost 100%.

Encourages people to use farmland for farming, thus keeping development in check and leaving open spaces.

From field to fork, an average dinner travels 1,500 miles.

+ Good for your health

Produce is at its peak nutritional value when it is ripe.

Fruits & veggies that travel long distances to markets aren't picked when they’re ripe but before ripeness. While the produce might gain color and softness on its journey to the supermarket, nutritional value comes through the stem from the living plant. Once harvested, a vegetable is as nutritious as its going to get.

Nutritional value actually decreases every day past harvest.

Why Eat Local?

From field to fork, an average dinner travels 1,500 miles.

+ Good for the earth

How does food get 1,500 miles?

Planes, train and automobiles = gas, emissions and pollution.

Local farmers are more likely to rotate crops and use less pesticides, which means healthier land.

Why Eat Local?

From field to fork, an average dinner travels 1,500 miles.

+ Good for your taste buds

Eating food that’s local means that it is in season. Food that’s in season tastes better.

Compare a tomato in January with a tomato in August.

From field to fork, an average dinner travels 1,500 miles.

Why Eat Local?

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Best of two seasons.

Summer’s bounty and a fall preview.

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Why the end of

summer rocks.

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Summer’s Bounty

BasilTomatoesGreen BeansBok ChoySummer SquashEggplantPeachesWatermelonBerriesLettuce

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+Basil Pesto

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts

3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

+Basil Chicken Salad

4 split (2 whole) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 cup small-diced celery (2 stalks)

1 cup green grapes, cut in 1/2

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts, skin side up, on a sheet pan and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Set aside until cool.

When the chicken is cool, remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin and bones. Cut the chicken into a 3/4-inch dice. Place the chicken in a bowl; add the mayonnaise, basil, celery, grapes, 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and toss well.

+Roasted Tomato Sauce

2 pints grape tomatoes

3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled

Extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp sea salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 cup fresh basil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

On a large baking sheet, toss tomatoes and garlic with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until tomatoes start to burst and turn brown.

Remove from the oven and pulse in a food processor with basil until desired consistency.

Add more salt or pepper to taste.

+Baby Bok Choy with Cashews

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup chopped green onions, including green ends

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 pound baby bok choy, rinsed, larger leaves separated from base, base trimmed but still present, holding the smaller leaves together

1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil

Sea salt to taste

1/2 cup chopped, roasted, salted cashews

Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add onions, then garlic, then bok choy. Sprinkle with sesame oil and salt. Cover, and let the baby bok choy cook down for approximately 3 minutes. (Like spinach, when cooked, the bok choy will wilt a bit.)

Remove cover. Lower heat to low. Stir and let cook for a minute or two longer, until the bok choy is just cooked.

Gently mix in cashews.

+Ratatouille 2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons dried parsley

1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Sea salt to taste

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 zucchini, sliced

1 large onion, sliced into rings

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

1 green bell pepper, sliced

2 large tomatoes, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat bottom and sides of a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with 1 tbsp olive oil.

Heat remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until lightly browned. Mix in parsley and eggplant. Saute until eggplant is soft, about 10 minutes. Season with salt to taste.

Spread eggplant mixture evenly across bottom of prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with a few tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Spread zucchini in an even layer over top. Lightly salt and sprinkle with a little more cheese. Continue layering in this fashion, with onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, and tomatoes, covering each layer with a sprinkling of salt and cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.

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Beginning of Fall

KaleApplesBeetsArugulaBrussels SproutsSweet PotatoesCilantro

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+Raw Kale Salad

1 bunch of fresh kale (about 1 pound)

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 lemon

2 tso sea salt

½ cup of dried cranberries

1 red pepper, diced

½ cup of raw pine nuts

Wash the kale and pat dry. Remove the stems and cut the kale into thin strips. Place in a large bowl. Add the olive oil to the kale. Slice the lemon in half and add the fresh juice to the bowl. Add the salt.

Massage the kale with your hands for 5 minutes, or until the kale leaves are bright green and shiny. Add more oil, lemon juice or salt as needed.

Add the cranberries and red pepper. Mix to combine.

Let the salad sit for at least one hour before eating. This salad gets better with time, so feel free to enjoy it for a couple of days.

Add the pine nuts before serving.

+Roasted Beet Salad

4 medium to large beets

Extra virgin olive oil

4 tbsp balsamic vinegar

4 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 garlic clove

Sea salt and black pepper

1 cup of arugula, washed

4 tbsp (more or less if you like) Soft goat cheese

½ cup walnuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Toss beats with olive oil and wrap in foil. Roast for about 45 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork. Let cool and remove skins. (Gloves are a good idea!) Cut into 1-inch pieces.

In a small food processor, combine vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper.

Arrange arugula on a plate and top with beets, cheese, walnuts and dressing.

+Not Your Mama’s Brussels Sprouts

1 pound of Brussels sprouts, rinsed

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

Dash of sea salt

Dash of black pepper 

Cut the tops off of the Brussels sprouts and remove any brown leaves. Cut in half and then cut into strips.

Heat a large pan over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Toss in the sprouts and then using a microplane, grate the two garlic cloves into the pan. Toss to combine.

After about 5 minutes, stir the sprouts. You should be getting some good brown bits. Continue cooking until sprouts are bright green with yummy brown spots.

Toss with sea salt and black pepper before serving.

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Why buy organic?

+Choose USDA Organic

NO Pesticides – Pesticides are present to some degree in most conventional food. Pesticides are used to improve the appearance of food and to protect it from bruising and spoiling. Pesticides are designed to kill organisms – weeds, pests, insects, etc. Pesticides are usually sprayed or dusted onto plants and seeds or injected in the soil. However, they wind up in the water, soil, and air. We are exposed to pesticides directly from produce and through animal products.

NO Synthetic Ingredients in Fertilizer

NO Bioengineering – Scientists can manipulate an organism’s DNA—its genetic blueprint—to block or add certain traits. Genetic engineering usually involves isolating a gene from humans, animals, insects, bacteria or plants, and adding it to the DNA of an entirely different species.

NO Radiation

+Choose USDA Organic

Cherries

Lettuce

Imported Grapes

Pears

Spinach

Potatoes

• Peaches• Apples• Sweet Bell

Peppers• Celery• Nectarines• Strawberries

* Environmental Working Group, www.ewg.org

The Dirty Dozen*

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Eggplant

Broccoli

Cabbage

Bananas

Kiwi

Asparagus

Frozen Sweet Peas

Mango

Pineapples

Frozen Sweet Corn

Avocado

Onions

The LEAST Contaminated

Choose USDA Organic

+Tea

ORGANIC! Can be highly sprayed with pesticides.

Roots, flowers, herbs, plants all make teas.

Medicinal teas offer significant health benefits

Ginger helps with nausea and enhances digestion

Kukicha, Licorice, and Cinnamon tea curb cravings

Yerbe matte give an energy boost.

Caffeine content varies greatly.

Teas contain caffeine unless it says caffeine free.

Herbal teas do not have any caffeine.

+Where to Shop

www.freshfarmmarket.org

www.washingtonpost.com (search for Farmers Markets)

Farmers Market

+Where to Shop

Know how to shop

1. Cruise the market

2. Make your list up as you go (no guarantees)

3. Try to spread the wealth

4. Bring you own bags

5. Small bills, please

Farmers Market

+Where to Shop

Washington’s Green Grocer - www.washingtonsgreengrocer.com

Local Health Food Stores

Whole Foods

Yes, even Giant and Safeway

Other Ideas in DC/MD/VA

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Where to Shop

Join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)

Here's how CSAs work:

Customers pay an annual membership fee in advance to cover farm production costs. The farmer provides a "share" of the harvest -- a box of seasonal produce -- on a weekly basis for a predetermined number of weeks. On most farms, a full share is enough vegetables to feed a family of four (two adults, two children) or two vegetarians for one week. (Half-shares and mini-shares are also available.)

-- Washington Post

www.localharvest.org/csa/

+CSA – A Great Way to GrowCommunity Supported Agriculture (CSA)

People can support local, environmentally friendly farming while receiving high quality produce directly from the farm.

When you buy shares of produce through CSA, you benefit from fresh foods. Farmers receive 100% proceeds on your purchase.

CSA: www.marylandagriculture.info/category

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Remember: You are what you eat, so eat the good stuff!

Thank you!