Fantastic Farmer's Market Finds

It drives me crazy that my local farmer's market doesn't open until mid-June. But then when it does open, I walk through turning up my nose at things labeled "green-house grown." I want fresh and local, and I want it now! Which means I have to be patient. Luckily I was able to bring home some pretty good finds yesterday and while I've been considering what to do with them, I thought of some handy tips for shopping at a farmer's market.

• Try new things. If you aren't sure what something is, it's OK to ask the purveyor how it is generally used or what dishes it might complement. My best suggestion for trying a new vegetable is to first saute in olive oil with a little bit of salt and pepper; that way you'll get a sense of the true flavor before tossing it in with other veggies and seasonings. You'll be able to figure out yourself what it would pair well with!
• Bring cash and ask for weights. I'm not great at eyeballing what a pound of squash might look like, so it can be tricky to know how much to ask for when items are sold by weight. Yesterday I only had $3 left by the time I reached the final booth and the pattypan squash were $2/lb so I asked the woman for $3 worth. I ended up with a whole lot more squash than I actually wanted! But that's OK because it's delicious and I can share with friends. But I probably would've been better off asking how much a couple of small squash would cost to begin with.
• It's in season if there is a lot of it. A few years ago I was so excited that a stand had eggplant for just $1 each. Then the next summer I had a recipe in mind and went to the farmer's market all ready to purchase them only to find that I was several months too early for eggplant at such a cheap price. In the beginning of the season you're likely to find lots of lettuce and other leafy greens; tomatoes and other more colorful vegetables come a bit later.

Pattypan squash from the farmer's market

If you're looking for motivation to try a new fruit or vegetable, try doing an internet search for the health benefits. For example, I just got the newsletter from SCAN, the Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutrition subgroup of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. In it, I learned about the aerobic exercise performance enhancing qualities of beets, rhubarb, and arugula. One study showed that eating 7-8 beets 3 hours prior to performance can improve performance in addition to improving circulation! Another study showed that consuming tart cherries made for faster muscle recovery. So if you're looking for performance benefits or just looking for something delicious, head to your local farmer's market and get cooking.

Antioxidant Power House? Okie Dokie, Artichoke(e)!

My brother Erik and I recently decided to take a trip to California to visit our relatives. We wanted to add on a couple of days in a new locale and, based on tips from friends, settled on Big Sur, a region about 150 miles south of San Francisco and 300 miles north of Los Angeles. Not exactly big on planning ahead, we were chatting with family members the day before driving down about what our route should be. That's when I got some amazing news: directly on our way we would be passing through Castroville, the ARTICHOKE CENTER OF THE WORLD!!! I love artichokes. Growing up we would have them in the summer, steamed to perfection. We'd rip off the leaves, dip them in globs of mayonnaise, then carefully scrape off the weird hairy part to devour the heart. True, mayonnaise is not great for you. But cooked artichokes, according to a sign in Castroville, have more antioxidants than any other vegetable! Well worth eating, though you may want to find a healthier alternative to the mayonnaise like olive oil or lemon juice.

Some other fun facts about artichokes:

They are low in calories but high in fiber and many other nutrients like phosphorus, vitamin C, magnesium, folate, and potassium. Additionally, they are technically a thistle which, if you're like me, you never really stopped to think about.

If you've ever gone to buy artichokes and thought that they looked a little bit dirty or bruised, chances are that it was merely "frost kissed" which apparently "turns green like unkissed chokes when cooked" and is "preferred by artichoke lovers." I'd love to see their supporting data and would happily volunteer for a taste test.

Some other fun facts about Castroville, CA:

If you love artichokes as much as I do, you can go to the artichoke festival held there every year right around my birthday (this year it is the weekend of May 19-20). During this weekend you can make 3-D "agro art" out of fruits and veggies, eat artichokes in almost every form imaginable, go on a trip to an artichoke patch, etc.

There is a restaurant called the Giant Artichoke where they have an enormous artichoke perfect for photo ops and specialize in fried artichokes (they even sell them frozen so you can take them home). We got an artichoke sampler plate which featured a steamed artichoke, fried artichoke hearts, and artichoke bread which you'll notice came with an enormous scoop of butter (not pictured: mayo to dip the artichoke leaves in and ranch dressing to dip the fried artichokes in). Seems like maybe they could use an artichoke-loving RD on staff to help make the menu more healthy!

It's February! Hearts Abound!

What a coincidence that on the first day of February, which is American Heart Month, I had my first day of rotations for my Clinical Nutrition class where we are counseling patients on the cardiac floor of a local hospital about the heart healthy diet. In honor of that, here are the five things that you (especially if you're at risk of heart disease) need to keep in mind in order to keep your heart healthy:

• Keep total fats low. You can do this by eating lean protein and watching your consumption of fats like cooking oil and whole milk (for example).
• Keep saturated fats low. You can do this by decreasing the amount of animal products you consume, especially things like red meat, pork, and cheese.
• Keep cholesterol low. You can do this by limiting the amounts of animal products you consume such as egg yolks and certain types of meat and fish.
• Keep sodium levels low. You can do this by eating less processed and prepared foods, cooking at home more, and being aware of sodium content and serving size.
• Keep fiber levels high. You can do this by eating high-fiber cereal, beans, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables.

Want to get involved in heart healthy events? This Friday, February 3rd, is national wear red day put on by the American Heart Association. So put on your red dress, make heart-healthy choices in your meals and snacks, and celebrate the love.

How healthy is your heart?

(photo credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1998)

Healthy Cooking for Twelve

My family has a great tradition of getting together every year in North Carolina between Christmas and New Year’s. We catch up on the year’s activities, go for walks, read books that we were given for Christmas, and swim in my grandparents’ pool. But mostly, we eat.

We talk about what we’ll be eating next, we shop for the next meal, we plan for when the next meal will take place, we clean up from the last meal. In the past we would pile into cars and descend upon local restaurants but with mobility becoming more of an issue, these days we mostly take turns cooking. This is made especially challenging by a variety of food allergies, tastes, preferences, and dietary restrictions. There’s a shellfish allergy so severe that it rules out all seafood, several people who don’t eat beef, even more who don’t eat pork, a strong aversion to onions, a person with type 1 diabetes, a low-salt restriction, and a most-of-the-time vegan.

Barley Stew with Leeks, Mushrooms, and Greens

This year I decided to make an exclusively vegetarian meal and used my roommate’s inspiration to go all red and green for the holiday. I started out with this Barley Stew with Leeks, Mushrooms, and Greens recipe from Epicurious (kale! whole grains!), which I doubled, then served stuffed peppers with a side of whole-wheat bread. I love making these peppers because they’re easy to make for a crowd, they’re healthy, and they make a good presentation.

Red and Green Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers with Whole Grains

Serves 12

Ingredients:

1/2 package whole-wheat orzo (they sell this at Whole Foods but I haven’t seen it anywhere else)

6 large bell peppers, a variety of red and green

2 cucumbers, chopped into tiny cubes

2 containers of grape tomatoes sliced in half

2 cans garbanzo beans, drained

1 container feta cheese

Balsamic vinegar

Olive oil

Salt and pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Boil water and cook the entire package of whole-wheat orzo according to package directions (you can use the rest for leftovers).

Cut peppers in half vertically and remove seeds and white parts. Fill a large dish with a thin layer of water and put peppers facedown in the water. Cover and microwave for 3-4 minutes. You may have to do this in batches depending on how big your microwave is. The peppers should still be firm but soft to the touch. Place steamed peppers face up in a large baking dish.

In a large mixing bowl combine 1/2 of the cooked orzo, all of the chopped tomatoes, the chopped cucumbers, garbanzo beans, and feta. Douse with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper (if your guests will tolerate it) and mix. Fill peppers with the stuffing mixture and bake for 15 minutes. There will be a bowl of the orzo mixture left; place either in the oven or microwave to heat, then place on table so that people can add more orzo mixture to their plate.

Red and Green Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers with Whole Grains

This recipe is easily customizable; you can add or remove vegetables depending on guests’ preferences, you can change the type of cheese or the grain. How about Southwestern Stuffed Peppers? Just replace the garbanzo beans with black beans, replace the orzo with brown rice, replace the feta with shredded cheddar, and mix some taco seasoning in with the stuffing. Or Greek Stuffed Peppers with feta, Kalamata olives, and couscous? The sky is the limit for this healthy main course.

Healthy, Cheap, Easy Last-Minute Gift Idea!

Tis the season for finding last minute presents that are fast, cheap, and leave a lasting impression. I’m sure that the Internet is rife with homemade gift ideas, and here’s another one that fits the above criteria – plus it’s healthy! I got this idea after I made muffins for a brunch on Sunday that called for cornmeal. I got to thinking that I don’t have much use for cornmeal and worried that it might sit unused, like my large bag of white whole-wheat flour has been for a few months. Growing up, we used to sell cookie mixes in my parent’s gift shop that had all of the dry ingredients – just add a few specific things and voila! Cookies. They were sort of like cake mix in really nice packaging.

Homemade Muffin Mix

So this year I decided to make my own muffin mixes to give out as last-minute presents. At a locally-owned hardware store I bought a package of 12 wide-mouth quart-sized Ball canning jars for $9.99. I used the cornmeal and other dry goods I had on hand, and bought some extra cranberries at the grocery store. Here is what to do if you want to make your own:

Mix 1/2 cup cornmeal, 1 1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Mix well with a whisk. Pour into a clean quart-sized canning jar. Put 1 1/2 cups of cranberries into a zip-lock bag and place on top of flour mixture in the jar. Close the lid and decorate as desired! Make sure to attach this label so that the recipient knows what to do when they get the gift:

Cranberry Lemon Muffins

Adapted from a recipe from Eating Well.

Ingredients not provided are in bold.

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Whisk 1/2 cup sugar, 3/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt, 1/3 cup canola oil, 1 egg, 2 teaspoons lemon zest, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in a medium bowl.

3. Add yogurt mixture to the provided dry ingredients and fold until almost blended. Gently fold in chopped up cranberries.

4. Divide the batter among 24 mini muffin cups. Combine 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon lemon zest in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over the tops of the muffins.

5. Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Let cool then serve.

Per mini muffin: 93 calories, 3.5g fat, 2g protein, 1.5g fiber.

Healthy Holiday Habits

Now that you've gotten all of your holiday shopping taken care of, it's time to think about holiday parties. Is it possible to eat healthy at a holiday party? Opinions differ, but I've come up with a few tips that I personally plan to follow this holiday season. Have some of your own? Leave them in the comments section, I'd love to hear them!

A little disclaimer about these tips. A lot of them have to do with self-control and willingness on the part of the participant. The tips are for those that want a reminder that it is possible to survive the holidays in a healthy way. If you look forward to cookie and egg-nog fueled parties all year and don't make a habit of overindulging, then enjoy! Just realize that you'll feel better if you practice: (you guessed it!) moderation.

Eat a healthy dinner before you go. Just like with grocery shopping, arriving at a holiday party really hungry can make it difficult to exert self-control. This is one I struggle with personally because I really dislike being hungry - so if I arrive at an event hungry and there aren't healthy options, I'm likely to eat unhealthy food. Make sure your dinner has plenty of veggies to fill you up as well as some healthy fats to keep you full. Which leads me to my next tip...

Bring something healthy. You may remember over the summer when I suggested bringing gazpacho to a barbeque so that you'd have something besides charred meat to enjoy. The same goes for holiday parties. Veggies and hummus are a good option, or if it's more of a dessert and drinks event, try some seasonal fruit like baked apples or spiced pears.

Limit yourself. This is a big self-control tip. If you really want to try all of the delicious goodies, try picking a few that you think you'll enjoy the most and then eating only one of each. It can be helpful to visualize all of the cookies that you plan on eating (or have eaten) either on a plate. As you reach for that sixth cookie, think about whether on a normal day you would really sit down and eat six cookies. Is it worth it? The same goes for alcoholic drinks. Alcohol in it's pure form is 7 calories per gram. I'll let you look up the calories of your favorite beer or cocktail on your own, but it's safe to say that you could easily rack up over 500 calories just by having a couple of drinks (and those calories are not going to fill you up, are likely to become fat once in your body, and may cause you to make unhealthy eating choices later in the night).

These snowmen know how to keep active during the holidays!

Know when you're going to exercise. If you've already scheduled a run for the next morning or you put in an hour at the gym earlier that day, you're more likely to make healthy choices (in my opinion). It's not much fun running with a hangover or having sore abs plus a stomach ache from overeating. I realize it can be hard to carve out time when you're busy planning for parties, so try to challenge yourself. For example, see how many crunches you can do while the cranberry nut bread is baking in the oven. And chances are you'll want to shower before attending the party anyway, so why not get sweaty with a quick workout video before hoping in?

Eat, Drink, and be Active Gift Guide!

Chances are if you’re reading this blog that you know someone besides yourself who likes to eat, drink, and be active. And since the holiday season is upon us, there’s also a chance that you’re in the market for a gift for said person (or persons). Well you’re in luck! Just in time for holiday shopping, it’s the Eat, Drink, and be Active Gift Guide!

Because I was raised within the culture of my parent’s gift shop I’ve been at this for a long time (and loved every second of it, as you can see in this photo).

Please try to buy local for these products if you can, but I've included Amazon links if you're having a hard time finding them.

EAT

This time of year you can barely walk into a national chain or open a catalog without seeing at least one “kitchen” item. You know the ones I mean: the electric donut maker, the magic spaghetti cooker, the hot dog toaster… These gadgets don’t exactly encourage healthy eating (or show class on the part of the gift giver). Here are a few gift ideas for that person on your list who is making an effort to eat healthier this year.

Veggie Steamer – The old metal veggie steamer inserts wouldn't have made much of an inpired-looking gift. But with silicone technology, now the gift of a veggie steamer is a fun, colorful option. Pair it with a few colored silicon spatulas and a complimentary-colored kitchen towel and you’ve got a great gift set. On Amazon: Chef'n SleekStor Veggie Steamer

Knives – It can be hard to want to cook at home more if you’re cooking with dull or old knives. Even the person who has “everything” can benefit from a few new good, quality knives. A good knife makes chopping veggies a breeze. On Amazon: OXO Good Grips Professional Santoku Knife

Lunch Tote – I remember the days when lunch totes came in only less than appealing designs. But these days it can be hard to tell a lunch tote from a designer handbag! That may be a stretch, but bringing your lunch to work is more fun when you have a cute bag and this will prevent you from grabbing fast food or getting your sustenance from the vending machine. On Amazon: Built Neoprene Lunch Totes

DRINK

With new studies coming out every week on the benefits of coffee drinking and red wine consumption (hello phytochemicals!) giving the gift of drinking accoutrements is never a bad idea. Here are some ideas for the wine snob or coffee addict in your life.

French Press Travel Mug – I use my French press every morning and often enjoy the luxury of having 5 minutes to sit down to drink it. However, there are those mornings when I’m running out the door and don’t have the time and what happens then? I spend money on subpar coffee somewhere else. If this sounds like a problem you or someone you know also faces, consider this snazzy French press travel mug. On Amazon: Bodum Travel Coffee Press

Wine Aerator – When I came home a few years ago and my dad was serving wine through this interesting looking contraption I was a bit puzzled. I’d heard of decanters, but this was completely different. It’s much easier to use and faster than decanting wine and you can impress your friends by extolling the benefits of air bubbles in your vino. Pair the aerator with a bottle of red and you’ve got a gift just about anyone would love. On Amazon: Rabbit Wine Aerating Pourer

Electric Water Kettle – The other kitchen appliance that I use the most is my electric water kettle. A staple in most European households, it’s great for making tea or cocoa or even heating up water to cook with. On Amazon: Bodum Electric Water Kettle

BE ACTIVE

I recently went to a Black Friday sale at a locally-owned triathlon store where we got 40% off the entire store for a few hours. It was all I could do not to buy everything in site, just in case I happened to need those $125 compression tights someday. While being active is not something that you necessarily need a lot of gear to do, there is a lot of gear out there. Here are a few of my favorites (without getting too sport or activity specific).

Clif Bars – Full disclosure, I do work for Clif Bar. However, it doesn’t take working for them to know that they’re delicious and in my opinion they make great stocking stuffers.  And, as if they weren’t good enough stocking stuffers on their own, they come in fun seasonal flavors like Iced Gingerbread and Spiced Pumpkin Pie. On Amazon: Clif Bars

The Stick – Anyone who is active probably at some point has sore muscles. While massage gift certificates are one-time use, the Stick is forever. It comes in several sizes and colors and works wonders. Visit their site for retail outlets and ordering information.

Road ID – If you know someone who is active, they should have a Road ID. You customize them to have emergency contact info for those times that you are being active without bringing identification with you. These come in a couple of different colors and styles; I have the one that velcros onto my shoe so I don’t even notice that it’s there (but  always take comfort in the fact that it is). Visit their site for ordering information.

Still stumped? How about creating your own gift certificate for a local CSA share or offering to pay the registration fee for the season’s first race. Or, you could make a donation in someone’s name to a foundation that does good through food or sports like Girls on the Run, Back on My Feet, or a local food bank or pantry. Did you think of something I missed that is a must-have for active people this holiday season? Leave it in the comments section!

Be Thankful! (in Moderation...)

Being thankful is not something that you should limit on any day, especially on Thanksgiving. However, when consuming the celebratory meal that reflects that thankfulness, you may want to consider practicing that lovely word that you may be tired of hearing so often these days: moderation.

It's true that there are ways to make a traditional Thanksgiving meal healthier. You can make green beans without condensed soup. You can make the mashed potatoes with skim milk and garlic instead of cream and butter. You can eat the white turkey meat instead of the dark. You can make stuffing from scratch with whole grain bread, mushrooms, celery, and cranberries instead of from a box (basically refined flour and salt). You can eat pumpkin or sweet potato pie instead of warm, gooey, delicious pecan pie.

But the reality is that Thanksgiving comes but once a year and many people don't want to do Thanksgiving 'lite'. They want all the fixings from the creamy gravy to the browned marshmallow crust on the sweet potatoes. And that's OK to have! That is, as long as you have it in moderation. But don't just take my word for it. Let's look at a possible scenario...

You wake up on Thanksgiving morning and eat breakfast. Then you watch the parade and cook for several hours (tasting dishes along the way or snacking on appetizers). Then you sit and eat dinner for a couple of hours and then sit and watch football for another several hours. Then you either go to sleep or head for the mall to sit in line waiting for black Friday sales to begin.

The person that I've described probably burned around 2,000 calories that day being mostly sedentary. The Calorie Control Council estimates that the average Thanksgiving dinner contains 3,000 calories. First of all, eating that much in one sitting is going to make you feel very uncomfortable (if you've ever felt like you were going to explode after eating, you know what I mean). Plus, that is 1,000 extra calories that their body does not need and cannot use at the moment. Assuming that the extra calories are a mixture of carbohydrates, protein, and fat, guess what it will all turn into once you've eaten it? FAT. Extra fat stored in the body equals extra weight which is a heck of a lot harder to get rid of than it was to put on.

This Thanksgiving, the choice is yours: healthy portion control even if the dishes aren't as healthy as they could be, or reckless abandon complete with stomach ache and more fat stores. Whatever your choice, I hope you're able to spend the holiday relaxing with family or loved ones. And don't forget (after you've done all of the eating and drinking) to be active!

I'll leave you with a scene from my family's Thanksgiving morning five years ago:

Happy Halloween!

While hosting my annual pumpkin carving party the other night, one of the guests inquired about the nutritional value of the delicious toasted pumpkin seeds that I was serving. I made an educated guess that they're high in fiber (when you eat them whole with the white part still on, not the green pepitas that you can buy at a grocery store) and protein, but wasn't exactly sure about the nutritional breakdown.

Delicious toasted pumpkin seeds!

Questions like that are a great reason to do some research! Turns out that I was definitely right about the protein; a quarter cup of seeds has almost 8.5 grams of protein, which is 17% of your daily value (approximately). However, I wouldn't necessarily recommend eating a quarter cup of pumpkin seeds on a daily basis (first of all, that would be a lot of pumpkins to carve, even for those of us who love to carve pumpkins) because they are pretty high in fat. That quarter cup contains 25% of your daily fat allotment (again, approximately) which is a mix of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated, with most of the polyunsaturated comprised of omega-6 (rather than omega-3s which you may have heard are super duper good for you). BUT! It's not all bad news. In addition to being little protein power houses and a decent source of dietary fiber, pumpkin seeds contain healthy doses of magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and vitamin K. So as with all tasty treats this holiday season, enjoy them, just do it in moderation.

Kat's Protein Powerhouse Pumpkin Seeds
At least 3 pumpkins
Olive oil
Salt

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Carve several pumpkins. This works best if you have a party! Or a family.
2. Separate the "guts" from the seeds. Discard guts. Rinse seeds in a colander.
3. Spread seeds on a cookie sheet and place in the oven for around 10 minutes to dry off a bit from the rinsing.
4. Remove from oven and douse in olive oil. Sprinkle with salt.
5. Return to oven. Cooking time will vary depending on how wet they are and how crowded the seeds are on the pan, so check them every 5 or 10 minutes and remove them when they're slightly brown and look dry (see photo above). Enjoy!

Source of nutritional info: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrientprofile&dbid=117

The $5 Meal Challenge: Part II

As I mentioned in a previous post, this past Saturday I took part in the $5 Challenge presented by Slow Food USA. I love all of the conversations I've had with people about the goal, the message, the challenges, etc and thanks to everyone who came over for dinner! I had a total of 10 people, so my budget was $50. I did not take into consideration things like olive oil and flour which I already had on hand. However, there was so much food left over that in all likelihood people ate for more like $3 per person even if you figure in the olive oil!

In case you're curious, or you'd like to try this yourself, here is what was on the menu:

When people arrived: 

Bread with two different dipping choices, olive oil and vinegar or olive oil with Parmesan cheese and cracked pepper

 

Main course:

Vegan eggplant and tomato stew

Corn on the cob

Creamy spinach

Roasted potatoes, carrots, and onions (all from the farmer's market) seasoned with salt, pepper, and thyme

2 whole roast chickens, flavored with garlic and fresh rosemary

Dessert:

Whole wheat biscuits with strawberries and whipped cream

Not too shabby for fifty bucks, right? Here's how I did it...
The veggies: All of the fresh veggies were from the farmer's market. I got what was cheap - for example, eggplants are in season and only cost $1. The tomatoes in the eggplant stew were canned and the spinach in the creamy spinach (as well as the strawberries in the dessert) was frozen.
The chickens: Were on sale for 99¢ per pound. If I wasn't on a budget I could've taken into consideration things like cage-free or free-range, but that's not a luxury that a lot of people have.
The most expensive items: Probably the capers for the eggplant stew and the fresh rosemary for the chickens.
The nutritiousness of it: The meal altogether was pretty healthy when you consider how many vegetables were served. However, the chickens were whole and therefore not altogether a lean protein. The spinach was made creamy by using non-fat plain yogurt and the biscuits were made with 100% whole wheat flour.
The recipes: I used this roasted chicken recipe, this whole wheat biscuit recipe and the rest were things I'd either made before or just experimented with.
The best part: That night (at one guest's suggestion) I made chicken stock with the remaining bones. The next day I made chicken noodle soup using the stock and some left over chicken; today I made chicken salad. And there is STILL more chicken in my refrigerator!

The photos:

Starting things off nice and classy with bread and oil for dipping.

The full spread.

Note to self: next time start making stock immediately after dinner, not at 11:00pm.

What went wrong: Yes, things do go wrong. For example, you could spend the better part of the morning roasting, peeling, and chopping beets. And then drop the bowl.

Sad beets.

Thanks again to everyone who made the evening (and the leftovers!) a huge success. I think we proved extremely well that a $5 meal can taste must better, and be much better for you, than a fast food burger or sandwich.

The $5 Challenge: Part I

A couple of weeks ago someone posted on facebook about the $5 Challenge sponsored by Slow Food USA. Here is the challenge, from the website:

THE CHALLENGE: This September 17, you're invited to take back the 'value meal' by getting together with family, friends and neighbors for a slow food meal that costs no more than $5 per person. Cook a meal with family and friends, have a potluck, or find a local event.

WHY: Because slow food shouldn't have to cost more than fast food. If you know how to cook, then teach others. If you want to learn, this is your chance. Together, we're sending a message that too many people live in communities where it's harder to buy fruit than Froot Loops. Everybody should be able to eat fresh, healthy food every day.

I completely agree with this theory - that fresh food should not cost more than processed foods. [Sidenote: we had an interesting conversation in one of my classes the other day about the fact that while processed foods might be cheaper to purchase in a store, they actually end up costing more due to the price of health care (because the foods might contribute towards chronic illnesses such as diabetes) as well as the cost to the environment. But more on that some other time.] So, I decided to host a small dinner party with the idea that I would make sure that each serving costs only $5; partly because I really enjoy cooking when there is a challenge attached and partly because I just like hosting get-togethers!

As I considered what to make for the dinner, some obvious options came to mind: pasta is extremely inexpensive, as are many frozen vegetables and dry beans. However, it's still summer (barely) and the farmer's markets are still in full swing so I decided to go there for inspiration. I overheard someone say the other day "I can't afford to shop at farmer's markets." I can see that - sometimes produce can be pricey when it hasn't been flown in from another country (which is crazy, but again, more on that some other day). Since I was on a budget, I decided to just go, purchase whatever seemed in season (at a farmer's market you can often tell what is most in season by what is cheapest), and figure it out from there. Here is what I purchased today, for a total of $15...

4 ears of corn, 2 giant eggplant, 4 pounds of potatoes, 4 onions, a bunch of carrots, and a bunch of beets

Check back next week to see what I ended up making with this bounty (your guess is as good as mine at this point)! And consider this challenge as you cook dinner on Saturday night. Even if you don't sign up through the challenge website, it's good to think about the fact that a $5 meal doesn't have to come in a box or takeout container.

Oh So Blue, Berry

The heat is here! Which means unlimited amounts of popsicles and ice cream, right? Well... it's true that sometimes the easiest way to cool off is from the inside out, but a lot of delicious-looking frozen treats are high in sugar and artificial sweeteners (even the ones that claim to be good for you).  For example, Blue Bunny FrozFruit Chunky Strawberry, which proudly proclaims that it is fat free, contains 36 grams of sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Yikes.

My personal favorite summer cool-down snack is frozen fruit. You can either freeze the fruit yourself or buy it already frozen (just make sure to look at the ingredients or the small print when buying frozen fruit; it should say something like "no added sugar" and the ingredient list should contain only fruit). My new go-to summer snack is frozen blueberries. I can buy a large, resealable, store-brand bag of deliciousness for much cheaper than fresh blueberries, and they're a great way to cool down. 1 cup contains 90 calories, no fat, 4g of fiber, 15g of sugar, and 1g of protein. Frozen fruit is also great for adding to yogurt in the summer months. The fruit will thaw a bit, but it will still be an extra-cold treat. While you're at it, why not make your own smoothie-pops? Mix together some plain yogurt and frozen berries, toss them into a popsicle mold or ice trays, and a few hours later enjoy!

Other fruits that are delicious frozen include strawberries and raspberries (also often available already frozen with no added sugar), basically any berry, and then an old stand-by of mine, grapes. You can even substitute frozen fruit for ice when serving a refreshing summer beverage; try frozen raspberries in your lemonade, frozen blueberries in your iced tea, or frozen grapes in your orange juice.

One word of caution when eating frozen blueberries... for some reason when the temperature drops, the color seems to be a bit more concentrated, so probably best not to eat a lot of them before an important meeting or photo shoot (unless that photo shoot is for a story about eating blueberries like this one was):

You won't exactly turn into a blueberry like Violet did in Willy Wonka, but your tongue will turn a lovely shade of purple for a little while!

Active Fun in the Sun

Summertime is here (finally. seriously.) so being active is starting to become a way of life - something that I want to do rather than something that I tell myself to get through in order to deserve the hot shower. I talk a lot in this blog about eating healthy and being active, but there is something else very important to me that everyone should remember when being active and that is: use protection. Whether you are the fairest of the fair or the darkest of the dark, if you're out in the sun being active, you need to use sunscreen. Worried about not getting enough vitamin D? (Had to bring it back to nutrition for a moment) Don't be - even if you put your sunscreen on 15 minutes before you go outside, your skin will still be able to synthesis enough vitamin D during your time in the sun.

Ok back to sunscreen. There are a lot of sunscreens out there, so how can you know if the $4 bottle will do the same thing as the $16 bottle? Chances are that as long as you are getting a high enough SPF, you'll be fine with the cheaper version, although it might not be as gentle on your skin or might not smell as nice. One thing that I always look for is the Skin Cancer Foundation's seal of recommendation. They're in the process of changing over to a new seal, but it should look something like this:



You can find a list of products including sunscreen, sunglasses, clothing, and umbrellas that have received this recommendation here. A few things I recently learned about sunscreen that you may find interesting: The FDA has mandated that they can no longer claim to be water or sweat "proof" just resistant. Sunscreen with an SPF of lower than 15 cannot claim to help prevent skin cancer. Sunscreen cannot claim to be effective for more than two hours without reapplication.

That last one may be especially surprising to those of you who think that you can put it on in the morning and then be good to go all day. Remember the importance of reapplying though - even if it still feels like you're wearing sunscreen, the effectiveness might have worn off. I find this to be a good time to use the spray sunscreen (being the fairest of the fair, I don't tend to trust the spray to cover every fair bit of me during initial application). I'll keep spray sunscreen in transition during a longer triathlon and reapply between events. It's easy, it takes 5 seconds, and your skin will thank you years down the line. I also recommend keeping a bottle of SPF 30 (or higher if you are related to me) in your car or backpack or purse. You never know when you might be outside for longer than expected and prevention is key for skin cancer. Be smart and protect yourself this summer.

(For more on skin cancer prevention as well as warning signs of melanoma, visit The Skin Cancer Foundation website)