Month: February 2013

Boycott Florida’s Tomato

Previously, I wrote about a fascinating new study I read on NPR.com. The gist of the research claims organic tomatoes are stressed from natural pests, so they produce more nutrients.

The NPR article also included quoted disputes by Harry Klee, a tomato researcher from the University of Florida.

When I noticed he was from UFL, my very first thought was how can he possibly understand healthy tomato growth when his home-state produces tomatoes grown in sand by slave labor?

Klee’s current research (according to his UFL page) is improving conventional tomato flavor (or lack thereof), by studying the genetic and chemical make-up. Ugh! That’s just what we need. Another scientist wasting millions to “fix” a problem by changing genetics, instead of admitting that it’s actually distorted agricultural practices that caused the problem in the first place!

When will Big Food ever realize we already HAVE perfect tomatoes? They just aren’t supposed to grow on Florida factory farms.

Getting back to Florida, and why I boycott most of their produce.

Florida is the 2nd largest producer of tomatoes in the United States. But due to extremely poor soil, (*cough cough* sand), their fertilizer & pesticide use is through the roof.

Worse, Florida is tied to agricultural “slavery”. Human workers forced to live in poverty, earning next to nothing, while being exposed to dangerous levels of toxins from chemicals, used to grow tomatoes.

That’s why, months ago, I vowed to never knowingly purchase/eat another tomato from Florida again, organic or otherwise.

Change Is Good

Thankfully, since the public has become more aware of the horrors of tomato farming in Florida, there have been changes.

Large food buyers have promised to purchase tomatoes only from growers who agree to comply with the code of conduct. The buyers pledged to pay a penny-a-pound premium for every box of tomatoes they purchased from participating growers, who will hopefully pass the increase to their workers. This could mean that each worker will earn .80 (up from .50) for a box of tomatoes.

According to the Fair Food Program at CIW (Coalition of Immokalee Workers):

Yum Brands (2005), McDonald’s (2007), Burger King (2008), Subway (2008), Whole Foods Market (2008), Bon Appetit Management Company (2009), Compass Group (2009), Aramark (2010), Sodexo (2010), Trader Joe’s (2012), and Chipotle (2012) are participating in the Fair Food Program. All ten companies have agreed to pay a premium price for more fairly produced tomatoes, and to shift their Florida tomato purchases to growers who comply with the Fair Food Code of Conduct.

///What I want to know is why it took so long for Chipotle and Trader Joe’s to come on board??! Not cool!

See more at: The Other Side of the Tomato

Isn’t it crazy that we still need to worry about fair-wage (like “fair-trade”) standards in the United States!? How could something like this happen here?

Anyway, I’m glad situations are starting to change for Florida workers, but I still avoid purchasing most produce (strawberries, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, etc) from Florida. Besides the extra fertilizer and pesticide load, I still don’t trust that all farms are doing the right thing when it comes to their farm workers.

If everyone stopped purchasing out-of-season produce from Florida, then our fractured food system would have to change! It’s the little steps that count. Vote with your fork!

Links:
Why supermarket tomatoes taste
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-09-02/opinions/35494934_1_florida-tomato-growers-tomato-industry-immokalee-workers
TomatoLand book from Amazon.com
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/26/139972669/the-unsavory-story-of-industrially-grown-tomatoes
http://www.theperennialplate.com/blog/2012/03/the-other-side-of-the-tomato/

Also check out the (heartbreaking) video over at Lupe Gonzalo: Episode 96 of The Perennial Plate from The Perennial Plate on Vimeo.

Organic Tomatoes Are Stressed, But More Nutritious

Yesterday, I read a fascinating article at NPR.

There is a new study suggests that organic farms grew tomatoes that were 40% smaller (than conventional), BUT were actually significantly higher in vitamin C, sugar and lycopene.

Their reasoning is because organically farmed tomatoes are “stressed-out” more than conventional due to less pesticides. The organic plants are forced to fight off pests naturally; the additional stress equates to additional production of stress-fighting compounds like Vitamin C and Lycopene.

Yes, we need to further investigate this study’s conclusion, but when I was researching tomato hornworms and cabbage worms last summer, many experienced gardeners advised that it was better for the plants to have a few pests because it made them stronger. It does make sense when you really think about it, doesn’t it?

The extra bonus is there’s so much more to a tomato than vitamin C & lycopene, so just think of all the tiny un-known micronutrients that are bursting from a responsibly-farmed tomato. Can’t get that from a lab-created vitamin!

tomatoes from my garden last summer

Organic Bugs Me

Yeah, sometimes eating organic gives you a surprise or two.

This afternoon, I was cutting off bits of the farmers market celeriac and plop, out fell a small (dead) worm. SURPRISE! GASP! EEK!

I tossed it in the trash, but then I also noticed another teenie one on the counter that was slightly wiggling. Tossed that one too.

So, what’s more gross? A couple of occasional worms or pesticides? I’ll take the bugs thank you!

Finding them always make me gasp and flutter, but it’s worth it when you know exactly where your food is coming from. Hey and bugs have to eat too, right?

Mahoney’s Winchester Winter Farmers Market-2nd Trip

Another trip to the Mahoney’s Garden Center Winter Farmers Market! Excellent selection of vegetables from 3 farms again.

From Springbrook Farm, I purchased a 5+ pound bag of russet potatoes for $3.
From Oakdale Farm, I spent $8.25 for small broccoli ($3/lb), sweet potatoes ($2/lb), beets ($1.50/lb), and a lovely cabbage head ($2 ea).
From Silverbrook, I bought two large celeriac for $4 ($2.50/lb)
Everything totaled $15.25; I say that is a bargain, considering it’s winter, & I have enough vegetables for the week (plus celery and kale from Whole Foods Market.)

I am so lucky (and blessed) to live near farms that are good enough to grow and share many wonderful vegetables with others.

Life is good!

Kaniwa, The New Super “Grain”

Kaniwa is a new (old, ancient) grain (technically it’s a seed). I discovered it a few days ago, at the bulk section in Whole Foods Market.

Kaniwa is very similar to quinoa, but it offers more protein and fiber PLUS there’s no need to rinse before cooking like quinoa. Talk about a perfect food!

So I’ve been searching for brands, and there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot out there. Only two that are readily available to me: Roland (from Amazon) and Laurel Hill (from WF bulk) and neither is organic.

I was so ready to try it, but until I find an organic option or learn more about kaniwa growing practices (ie pesticides, sustainability), I’ll probably have to wait until this little powerhouse grain becomes more mainstream, like quinoa.

Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman Book Review

I’ve been an occasional reader at the Smitten Kitchen blog by Deb Perelman, but after reading her new cookbook, I’ve become a regular subscriber.

I borrowed the The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook from the library and I knew I needed to read it quickly as the library wait list was extensive.

I started out flipping through pages reading the recipes, noting a few favorites, and checking to see if I could find similar recipes online. But as I read one of her many book reviews/recipes online, she mentioned how funny and charming Deb’s stories were, as it was the first cookbook to make her laugh out loud.

I was intrigued so I slowed down, and started reading from the beginning. I have to admit up until that point, I was already hooked, but reading her charming narrative really did add another interesting aspect.

I even found several recipes that I originally bypassed, but after reading her recipe back-stories, I was excited to try. The whole wheat raspberry scones was one recipe!

Besides the sweet stories, she makes many elaborate sophisticated recipes seem attainable and simple to make, such as pizza dough, scones, and blintzes. I love her take on unique flavors and ingredients, and she assures that all but fifteen of the recipes are brand new!

There are tons of detailed, wonderful photos, including plenty of all-important finished dish photos. The one thing I can’t stand is wasted space for artistic photos of fancy cookware and close-ups of ingredients that illustrate nothing about the actual recipe. There’s none of that in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.

Just a few of the recipes that I want to try:

I’m sad to return this cookbook back to the library this week, but I have requested it again; in a few weeks I’ll have one more chance to read through it.

Update (May, 2013): I have borrowed this book at least 2 more times because I am so inspired by it!

Disclaimer:
I love reading cookbooks, like some people love reading novels! I am inspired by recipes, and enjoy learning ideas from cookbooks, which means I’d rather put my own spin on a recipe than follow it exactly. Please keep in mind that my opinions might be completely different from the other home cooks.

Winter Farmers Market at Mahoney’s Garden Center

I finally made it to the winter farmers market at Mahoney’s Garden Center in Winchester today. It was awesome; I was very happy I ventured out in the cold!

There were 3 farms, selling lots of vegetables!

Per usual, I initially walked around the floor, checking out the offerings, and I decided to buy a little bit from each of them.

Oakdale Farm had a great selection of root veggies: carrots, beets, onions, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, along with radishes, kale and small bags of greens. Plus I was surprised to see broccoli and brussels sprouts.

Springbrook Farm had small bags of mixed greens and spinach.

Silverbrook Farm offered parsnips, carrots (massive!), beets, potatoes, sweet potatoes, celeriac, turnips, kale, swiss chard, along with mixed greens and cute micro greens.

I was really surprised and so happy that there really was a lot to choose from, plus prices were not outrageous for most of it. The root veggies were $1.50-$2 per pound. Oakdale farm was selling the broccoli, kale and radishes for $3 per bunch.

The baby greens were pretty expensive, but that’s to be expected in New England wintertime. I paid $4.50 for about a half pound.

Anyway, I ended up spending $15.40 for a bag o’ greens, beets, potatoes, onions, sweet potatoes, celeriac, and kale. (the kale weighed about 1 lb, so at $3, it was comparable to Whole Foods)

Next time, I’m thinking maybe carrots, parsnips and radishes.

My Healthy $400 Food Budget: Jan 2013

January Healthy Food Budget: $384.16

It’s great news that I ended up $15 under my $400 budget this month. Whoo hoo! Netted to the January slight underage and February overage, I’m still ahead by $2!

I was very pleased with our dining-out budget. We went out 5 times, but really kept it cheap!

There were two bulk purchases, Amazon’s subscribe & save tuna and three 2lb bags of shredded coconut from Tropical Traditions (which by the way is scrumptious!). Plus a half bottle of fish oil (split with the dog budget). All totaling about $55! Taking that into account, it really was an awesome month!

January Food Spending $384.16

Dining Out: $80.46
Groceries: $288.41
Vitamins & Supplements: $15.29

My summer canning and freezing is paying off. There’s been no need to purchase any jelly/jam yet and I’m hoping to can a few jars of citrus marmalade soon. My tomato stockpile is plentiful, and still should be enough until next tomato season.

I popped open a jar of my home-canned corn salsa, and it was absolutely delicious. I was hesitant to can additional salsa recipes because when I initially tasted this batch, it was over-the-top too vinegary; it must have mellowed over the months. We go through about a jar of salsa every week, so to be able to can my own, is thrilling. I’m looking forward to next summer when tomatoes are abundant! I’m already getting some tomato salsa recipes organized!

Lastly, I received a large delivery ($180) of local frozen meat this month, but I’m going to account for the cost as we consume it. It should last us 4-6 months, so it’s like I’ve created my own personal meat CSA. ;)

Where I Spent My Grocery Dollars This Month

Market Basket 83.24
Whole Foods 79.43
Trader Joe’s 67.98
Tropical Traditions 20.97
Amazon.com 18.60
Open Meadow Farm 13.26
Seven Acres Farm 7.00
Vitacost 4.94
Misc Credit for gifts ($7.10)

About My Healthy Budget

My healthy budget goal is to eat seasonal (local if possible,) home-cooked meals while sticking to a $400 monthly budget for all food including groceries, dining out, entertaining, vitamins/supplements, and gardening.

There’s two of us eating (mostly) 3 meals per day. DH occasionally eats take-out lunch at work, & that $ comes out of his personal cash stash.