Food for Real

Here’s a great guest post from James Kim about eating local foods. Enjoy!

Sometimes, you may get a bit tired of your food routine. If you already eat local, you may be receiving boxes from a local farmer through CSA and you probably shop at a farmers’ market. However, there are always ways to “jazz up” your local food eating. Here are some more ways that you can put local food into your meal planning.

Travel

Okay, maybe this doesn’t count as “travel,” per se, but you can take a little road trip to the outskirts of your town to expand the scope of your local eats. Pack the family into your car and take a mini-road trip to a nearby farm. This can be an educational yet fun experience for both the kids and yourself. Try to find a farm that also processes the food they grow. It is always exciting to view and play with farm machinery. If you are near somewhere that grows grapes, try going to a winery. You can find farms in your area by using the Eat Wild website.

You could also try a u-pick farm as another option for travel. Go to a peach farm and take the peaches straight from the tree. If you go to a u-pick, make sure you’re prepared for a day trip. Sunscreen, athletic shoes, contains for the food, and hats are all necessary. Try the Pick Your Own website to find a u-pick farm near you.

Know Your Seasons

Memorizing the seasonal timeline of your favorite fruits and veggies is an easy way to minimize food travel time. While it differs from region to region, there are some general rules of thumb. . .
March-April: AsparagusMay-June: StrawberriesJune-July: CherriesJune-August: Blueberries, blackberriesJuly-September: Peaches, figs, tomatoes, green beansJuly-October: RaspberriesAugust: Figs, Early ApplesSeptember-October: Apples and grapesOctober: PumpkinsDecember: Christmas trees

Picture Steph took at NYC Farmer's Market - Fresh Strawberries!

Smart Living provides a search engine which provides a list of seasonal food for each state.

Preserve

Make your local foods last through preservation. Try your hand at drying, preserving, canning, or even freezing. You could also make marinades or salad dressings with your left over farmers’ market finds. Check out these recipes for delicious jams like apple pie jam, carrot cake jam, or banana blueberry jam. You could buy a book on preserving to learn the best methods of preservation (try something like the Complete Guide to Food Preservation). If you’re more of an internet junkie, go to a website that specializes in food preservation, like the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

Local Food Producers

Buy coffee beans from the local coffee house, wines from the local winery, or a loaf of bread from your local bakery. You can easily find food producers through the Eat Well Guide. Simply type in your zip code and check out the lists of local bakers, restaurants, or coffee shops.

Get creative when eating local by taking a trip, knowing your seasons, preserving, and making friends with local food producers. These are all great ways to stay engaged in the local community.

James Kim is a writer for foodonthetable.com.  Food on the Table is a company that provides online budget meal planning services.  Their goal is to help families eat better and save money.

Today is an exciting day! It’s the final day of my dietetic internship. I have learned so much along the way, and I am very excited to apply my skills to my new job as Nutrition Communication Specialist for the New England Dairy & Food Council. I begin this new position on Monday after a fun-filled weekend at the Cape celebrating my best friend’s wedding. Life is good.

In times like these, when things are moving fast and life is very busy, it’s important to plan out your meals and snacks. Otherwise, it’s easy to get lost in your schedule which often results in skipping meals and overeating later and/or choosing foods on the run. Planning out some easy snacks throughout the day can help you combat this dilemma. Snacks are designed to satisfy hunger, but they should not have the same amount of calories as a meal. Each snack should contain both fiber and protein and should be no more than 250 calories depending on your energy expenditure (in general, active people burn more calories and guys typically burn more calories than ladies. To learn how to estimate your calorie needs, click here or for more accuracy, schedule an appointment with a Registered Dietitian!)  In honor of my new position at NEDFC, here are a few of my favorite dairy containing, healthy snacks:

• 1/2 cup Lowfat Cottage Cheese & 6 Triscuits (Hint of Salt) and a few cherry tomatoes: 230 calories, 4 g Fiber, 17 g Protein
• Nonfat latte and an apple: 200 calories, 5 g Fiber, 10 g Protein
• Vanilla greek yogurt and blueberries: 200 kcals, 3.5 g Fiber, 16 g Protein
• 1 Light String cheese and 2 stalks celery:  65 kcals, 2 g Fiber, 6 g Protein
• Glass of chocolate skim milk & cup of raspberries: 165 kcals,  8 g Fiber, 12 g Protein

Image Source

When you’re on the go and end up going too long between meals, these are great snacks that satisfy you and prevent overeating later in the day. Have them ready to go in your fridge or mini lunch pack (with an ice pack!) The chocolate skim milk & raspberries is my favorite post-work out snack, because chocolate milk has the perfect carb to protein ratio for recovery. Try it out! See what you think.

Care to share your favorite snack? Please do so here!

Be well and enjoy the weekend.