nutrition

I’m a sucker for color, I admit it. I’m sure anyone who knows me or even sees me on a regular basis could attest to that statement based solely on the clothes I usually wear. One might even guess that my love of color is simply inherent, given the color of my hair (a rather unusual and interesting shade of orange-red). I have also been known to make a big deal about the colors of the autumn leaves or the shades of pink and orange in the sky at sunset, and I’m that person who is always talking about the colors in someone’s flannel, or the stripes on someone else’s socks.

Now that the weather is turning cooler and school is back in session, the SGT Book Club is back, with not one but two books. In Minneapolis, the book club will be discussing Marion Nestle’s Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition & Health; in Bemidji, the book club will be discussing David Agus’s The End of Illness.

Meetings are open to all, whether you finish the whole book or just have fresh ideas about our food or health system that you want to discuss. So come on out and join us for a lively discussion!

This is the fourth post in the series “Great Grains” highlighting unusual whole grains and easy ways to incorporate them into your diet.  Check out posts on bulgur, millet and rye as well. 

Is it a grain or is it a vegetable? Is maize the same thing as corn? What counts as the “whole” grain form? Corn gets such a bad rap—Is it even healthy for you? 

This fall, Brenda Langton, owner of Cafe Brenda and Spoonriver, will be leading a must-attend workshop series in partnership through the University of Minnesota's Center for Spirituality & Healing. The Healthy Eating, Healthy Living course, now in it's third year, offers a full view on the simplicity in learning how to nourish your body with tasty food. This is done in a three-part series covering breakfast through dinner including those much needed mid-day snacks. All classes take place in a real kitchen as a hands-on engagement. This week, I had the opportunity to speak with Brenda about the course, in advance of attending.

Last week, I attended a Farm Bill listening session held by the Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) in Minneapolis. The organization was looking for input about what should be its 2012 Farm Bill policy priorities, but what it got instead was smorgasbord of ideas that would be difficult -- if not impossible -- to put into the Farm Bill as it is now. Because the Farm Bill directly affects the lives and livelihoods of all Americans (and many around the world), there are many stakeholders. But because it is both so broad and so complex, it’s hard to please everyone. It's even harder to get entrenched interests to agree to anything but incremental change.

I don’t know about you, but until recently, the words “lunch lady” conjured less than pleasant memories of crabby women in hairnets glopping mystery meat and mashed potatoes onto plastic trays with ice cream scoops. Had I taken a moment to consider their point of view, I suppose I might have realized how annoying it would be to dish out food, day after day, to disrespectful kids yelling “ewwww, gross!” I’m ashamed to admit that this level of empathy was beyond me in my elementary school years. I was too busy yelling “ewwww, gross!”

We at Simple, Good, and Tasty write, think, talk, and meet with people about local, sustainable, organic, good food all the time.

Would you laugh if I told you the key to human potential is a bowl of vegetable soup? Or a plate of meat loaf? A chocolate chip cookie? If the food is part of a delivery from Open Arms of Minnesota, then it is indeed key to someone’s independent and meaningful life.

Since 1986, Open Arms of Minnesota has run a meal delivery program for Twin Cities residents living with, and affected by, chronic progressive illnesses. (Full disclosure: I’ve volunteered in their kitchen for close to twelve years.) Its largest and original client population is people living with HIV and AIDS. Open Arms also serves people with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), MS, breast cancer, and similar illnesses. The meals can be the difference between staying healthy and spiraling into disability. For many, this means living at home instead of going to a hospital or nursing home.

Photo Credit: Kate NG SommersPerhaps you shop at the local coops and look for that label on all of your purchases. But with a limited budget, maybe you’ve wondered what makes the most sense to buy organic. As a nutritionist working with people to improve the quality of their diet, I get asked this question a lot. So here are six suggestions for prioritizing your spending to maximize your dollars and your health.

I just love Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto- I return to it constantly. There are so many great ideas here, so much that inspires and aggravates me. Chapter One, From Foods to Nutrients, is an example of the latter.