Salad Salad Salad...

The Farmers markets are just amazing right now.  It seems like just over night all our favorite salad ingredients became available.  I eat salad almost every work day.  In order to eat salad every day you do need to change it up a little bit.  There are so many options available just experiment and see what you like.  Shopping farmers markets is a little bit different than shopping the conventional grocery store.  It is a good idea to go to the market with an open mind and base your menu on what items look amazing this week.  So this week I am having a beet and goat cheese salad for lunch.  Check it out...

Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

Roasted beets from Denison Farms, www.denisonfarms.com

Bibb lettuce from Denison Farms,

English style cucumbers from Denison Farms,

Vidalia onions

Radishes from Denison Farms

Goat cheese from Sweet Spring Farm, www.sweetspringfarm.com

Garlic Expressions Salad Dressing and marinade, www.garlic-expressions.com

Combine ingredients to taste.  You can see I'm a little heavy on the goat cheese but I have to tell you the goat cheese from Sweet Spring Farms is amazing.  I love Garlic Expressions salad dressing, they use hand cut whole cloves of garlic.  It is a really light flavor not sharp like a lot of vinegar based dressings.  You could use your favorite balsamic vinaigrette if you like.  I think you can tell I'm a fan of Denison Farms.  They always have a great variety of items of excellent quality.  If you are lucky enough visit Saratoga Springs this summer stop by the farmers market, www.saratogafarmersmarket.org.  You can find both Denison Farms and Sweet Spring Farms there among other amazing vendors.  Enjoy!

Today is day 1 of  Wanderlust Vermont a festival that brings together yoga, hiking, music and art at the beautiful Stratton Mountain Ski Resort.  wanderlustfestival.com  Such a pleasure to be at an event where organic even vegan food is readily available.  In an effort to have a zero carbon imprint the festival even provides hydration stations sponsored by Camelbak reusable BPA free water bottles.  When I left this afternoon around 3 they had already prevented over 700 plastic bottles from ending in the trash or using energy to be recycled.  It shows that all it takes is some forethought and a little bit of effort and we really can make a difference.  

To start the day right I made a smoothie for breakfast.

1 Cup Skim Milk from Battenkill Valley Creamery battenkillcreamery.com
1/2 Cup Whole Milk Greek Yogurt from The Argyle Cheese Farmer, cheesefarmer.com
1 Tbl Maple Peanut Butter from The Saratoga Peanut Butter Company, yopeanut.com
1  Organic Banana

Put all ingredients in blender and blend. Add ice, blend, enjoy! 

YUMMY! I can't source any local bananas in upstate New York but at my local Hannaford supermarket organic bananas were only 20 cents more a pound compared to conventional bananas. 

GMOs reads like a horror story but we're living it.

I can't stop thinking about GMOs and the dangers they pose to human health and the health of the planet.  I read just this morning about a newly approved flu vaccine that contains genetically modified organisms.  Flublok is manufactured by Protein Sciences Corporation.  Two people actually died in the clinical trial and it has been shown to cause serious side effects like GSB.   GSB or Guillain-Barre Disease is a deadly nerve disease. but the FDA approved the drug anyway.  I guess you can't get the flu if you're dead.  Oh and Monsanto has a solution for the bee colony collapse we've experienced the last few years, they have proposed genetically modified bees that have been engineered to be immune to pesticides.  I don't know about you but I find a manmade bee that can't be killed kind of sci-fi scary.   What's scary about a field of genetically modified wheat found growing in Oregon?  What's scary is that the GMO wheat project was abandoned by Monsanto in 2005... so where did the wheat come from?  The board of Similac recently had a shareholder's meeting and surveyed the shareholders regarding sourcing of GMO ingredients, shareholders voted to continue sourcing GMO.  This is what you are feeding your baby!  These people whose primary interest is profit are deciding what you feed your baby, and they don't want you to know. 

Maybe the horror story will have a happy ending.   I'm really happy to see Connecticut passing a law that requires labeling of GMO ingredients.  Maine is fast on their heels with a bill on the governor's desk.  The March against Monsanto was a worldwide event that had over two million participants in over 50 countries. People have trust of the food industry, the package has a picture of a farm on it, it must be wholesome.  More people are learning everyday that their trust has been betrayed. 

Knowledge is the best weapon in the battle for your health.  Right now there is no required labelling of GMO foods.  Even the label "natural" can contain GMO food since the bacteria spliced into the soy, canola and corn is a naturally occuring organism.  It just doesn't naturally appear in the DNA of corn. If you choose food with the organic label you can be sure the food is non-GMO.  The Non-GMO project is an independent group certifying products as GMO free.   Take the time to educate yourself.  The information is out there but you need to seek it out. Go to nongmoproject.org for more information.

That's one head of lettuce, isn't it a beauty.  Lettuce is really easy to grow even from seed and what's better than going outside and picking your salad.  Start planning your vegetable garden today! 

Food Inc

I just watched the movie Food Inc the other night.  Having read the Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollan I was familiar with much of the information.  I highly recommend Michael Pollan's book, he details how government subsidized corn is in all of our food and details the benefits of grass fed beef over grain fed.  A cow is biologically meant to eat grass not corn.  When we feed cows corn E. coli grows in its gut.  Since feed lots are filthy places where cows stand knee deep in their own manure the E.coli ends up in the food supply.  Sometimes E. coli kills people.  Pollan is a commentator in the movie Food Inc which details the E. coli situation and many other aspects of the commercial food industry.  You can follow Michael Pollan on Twitter @MichaelPollan.
Other interesting food facts are given in the movie.  It gives details about GMO foods.  GMO foods are genetically modified organisms.  In one case a company that sells herbicide modified soybean and corn seeds to produce plants that will not die when the poison they make is applied to them.  That way the farmer can apply the herbicide to the whole field and the corn or soybeans won't die. There are even some seeds that create plants that produce their own pesticide so in affect if you eat the plant you are eating pesticide.  Some groups have attempted get the USDA to require labelling of GMO foods but the food industry has some serious lobbyist and the latest attempt was denied. 
I felt I had a good awareness of the secrets of the food industry and this movie was still an eye opener for me.  Some of the practices of the food industry will leave a bad taste in your mouth. 
Oh I have a Twitter account now too...you can follow me @Lisalynnwil

Saratoga Farmers Market

I started this blog for a class I'm taking at Pace University.  It is a requirement for my Social Media class.  Well I have to confess I'm supposed to post once a week and I am late!  Sorry Dr. Sachs.  I think I will keep this going after class is over.

Today I went to the Saratoga Winter Farmers market.  Even in the dead of winter you can get fresh greens, cage free eggs, locally bottled milk, hydroponic tomatoes....  Today I got cream at The Battenkill Valley Creamery.  Unbelievable stuff, it actually comes in a glass bottle.  For Easter dinner I'm making a ham from a "homegrown" pig and creamed potatoes with the creamery cream.

Creamed Potatoes

3 lbs potatoes
8 oz heavy cream
1 stick of butter

Boil potatoes for about 20 minutes unpeeled.  They should still be firm.  Peel potatoes and cut them into 1" cubes.

Combine all the ingredients in a double boiler.  Simmer for 3 hours.  Do not stir for the first hour, after that stir occasionally and gently.   Add salt and pepper to taste.  I can't say it's a skinny dish but it's real!  Definitely something to indulge in only once in a while. 

If you want more information about the Saratoga Farmers Market go their website saratogafarmersmarket.org and the Battenkill Valley Creamery at battenkillcreamery.com

Farms not Factories

I first became aware of the true nature of commercial food many years ago when I read John Robbins' book Diet for a New America.  In this book Robbins details how our food choices affect the environment, our health and the treatment of animals.  Immediately after reading the book I had a hard time making food choices.  The organic movement hadn't yet started, after some time I kind of gave up trying to eat cleaner as a lost cause.  For years after I would have a sense of guilt everytime I purchased beef from a big feed lot.  I was squeamish over buying caged chicken knowing that they were so pumped up on steroids that their legs were not able to hold them, that the chickens were raised in such filthy conditions they needed constant antibiotics.

Thankfully it has become easier to make food choices with a conscience.  I am lucky to live in an area with many farms and beautiful farmers markets.  Farmers markets bring the source of your food closer to you.  You can talk to the farmer and ask about their methods, you can shake the hand that raised your food.  Farmers markets often offer organic produce, grass fed beef, cage free chicken and chicken eggs.  There is less loss of nutrients because often the produce is picked the same day or the day before you purchase it.  Once you eat a free range chicken egg and see the brilliant orange yolk you will never want another supermarket egg again. 

There are many resources available to find a farmers market in your area.  You can go to www.localharvest.org or www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets. to find a market near you.  Many growers offer CSA, or community sustained argriculture.  When you sign up for a CSA you are underwriting the farm and receiving a share of the product as a result.  Eat local, eat in season, eat with a conscience...