Microgreens

Perhaps you've been to a restaurant that offers a salad of microgreens or you've seen them sold in a farmers' market.  But do you know what they are?  And why would you want to eat these tiny versions of familiar greens and herbs?
Well, basically, microgreens are young greens like radish, arugula, lettuce, peas, herbs, etc.  But they're even younger than some of the "baby" vegetables we see--baby spinach, for example.  These greens are usually no more than 14 days old.

While similar to sprouts (like bean sprouts), microgreens are different.  According to this NPR article,

Sprouts are seeds germinated in water just long enough (usually 48 hours) to grow roots, a stem and pale, underdeveloped leaves. Microgreens, on the other hand, need soil and sunlight and at least 7 days to grow before you can harvest them.

Microgreens have been getting more and more popular because of their sweet and tender taste as well as their look--really, they are kind of cute, aren't they?

But now some studies show that these tiny leaves give us a huge nutritional package.  From the same article:

The researchers looked at four groups of vitamins and other phytochemicals – including vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta carotene — in 25 varieties of microgreens. They found that leaves from almost all of the microgreens had four to six times more nutrients than the mature leaves of the same plant. But there was variation among them – red cabbage was highest in vitamin C, for instance, while the green daikon radish microgreens had the most vitamin E.
 

While microgreens will not overtake the popularity of their full-grown versions, it's good to know that great things can come in little packages.  As little fresh fruits and vegetables as we Americans eat, any place we can find to get these nutrients into our bodies is a great thing.

So next time you see some of these tiny greens on your plate, don't just move them aside like some common garnish.  Munch them down and get as much nutrition from your meal as you can!

Tea Totaler

Unlike most people, I don't drink coffee.  Just don't like the taste.  Never did and never will.

Tea, on the other hand, is a different story.  While I sometimes drink hot tea on a cold night, my drink of choice most of the time is iced tea.  I make my own from all sorts of different kinds of teas: flavored and unflavored, green and black and white and herbal, you name it. 

Now I never add any sugar to my iced tea--the somewhat bitter taste is what I like about it.  And I don't add milk or cream to hot tea either.

Turns out that adding milk to your tea could prevent you from taking advantage of the many health benefits that tea offers.

Different teas provide different benefits, but it's been well known that tea is loaded with antioxidants and other compounds that may increase the energy and calories you burn; regulate your blood pressure; help to prevent cancer, heart disease and clogged arteries; lower cholesterol; and reduce your risk of stroke, lung problems and Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases.  The list goes on and on.

There are some recent studies (click here for an NPR article on one of them) that show that milk proteins may bind with the flavonoids in tea and make it harder for your body to absorb the good stuff and give you the benefits that you're looking for from tea.

There are some experts, as is the case with most studies, who dispute these findings.  They say that the amount of milk that most people put in tea is minimal, so it probably isn't an issue.

Still, you may want to enjoy your tea milk-less just to be sure you get the full effect of the benefits of tea.  As for me, I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing.

Mushroom Capital

I knew, as many of you probably do, that Kennett Square, PA--that small town in Chester County--is truly the mushroom capital of the US (if not the world).  Farms there produce about 400 million pounds of mushrooms each year--that's over half of the mushrooms consumed in the US.  That's an amazing amount.

What I didn't know was how Kennett Square became the center of the mushroom universe.  An interesting NPR article gives more information, but here are some of the basics.

The story begins with Quakers.  According to the local story, in 1885, a couple of Quaker flower farmers in Chester County wanted to use up some ground under their flower greenhouses.  So they decided to try to raise mushrooms.  It worked.

White mushrooms ready for the picking.  (Photo courtesy of NPR.)

For this labor intensive work, they hired Italians who lived in the area, who eventually started their own farms.  By 1950, there were hundreds of mushroom farms in the area--many owned by Italian families. 

Raising mushrooms starts with the compost.  Most of the local farms use cocoa shells from Hershey, and corn cobs, hay, chicken manure and horse manure from area farms.  The spores are added to the compost in dark buildings, which creates fungus.  The farmers then lower the carbon dioxide level and temperature and add water.  This simulates winter coming on and the fungus then forces the mushrooms to grow.

Tending the mushroom growing barns, harvesting, etc are all done manually.  (Many of the workers are Mexicans who have worked these farms for generations.)  And timing is important.  According to the article, mushrooms can double in size in 24 hours, so when they're the right size, they have to be harvested. 

The mushroom business in Kennett Square continues to grow.  Unfortunately, that means that the big farms have gotten bigger and many of the smaller ones have folded.  With larger farms, it's harder to get enough of their needs met locally.  For example, compost ingredients have to be brought in from further away, which is more expensive.

Still, the farms that continue to thrive are a result of the hard work and ingenuity of the many who came before them.  And that's a pretty cool thing.

Eat Well for Less

For most of us, eating well is important.  But in these economic times, saving money is just as important.  So how can we continue to eat healthy, delicious meals while not emptying our bank accounts?

In a December article from NPR, chef Michel Nischan of the Dressing Room restaurant in Westport, CT gives his tips for frugal meals that taste great.  While some of the examples used in his tips may not translate to the home cook, his ideas are on target.

• Buy in season.  While it's a bit harder to do that in our area this time of the year, it's still possible.  Wintertime farm markets are popping up locally.  In the supermarket, look for fruits and vegetables that are grown closer to home if you can.  By all means, during the growing season, buy your fruits and veggies at a farm market--they're more nutritious, better tasting and will usually last longer.  Best of all, grow your own produce if you can.  That will save loads of money throughout the year.
• Buy in bulk.  In the article, the chef uses the example of buying a 24 lb bag of grain--a little more than a home cook would need.  But buying dry goods like flour, grains, etc in larger quantities will always save you money.  Join a club shopping store like Costco or buy from the bulk aisle at the supermarket. 
• Herbs and spices add "zing".  This is very true.  Grow your own herbs (easier in the spring and summer, but you can grow them indoors, too) and add them to pretty much everything for a burst of flavor and freshness.  In fact, a great way to cut down on salt in recipes is to add fresh herbs--both bring out the flavor of foods.  Garlic adds loads of flavor, too.  The same goes for spices--cinnamon, cayenne, cumin, pretty much any spice you like.  Not only do they add flavor, but they're also healthy.
• The chicken thigh secret.  Chicken thighs usually cost much less than breasts and are moist and flavorful.  They're great for marinating--picking up the flavors and moisture really well.  They can't always be used interchangeably with breasts and their cooking time is usually longer, but they're a cheaper way of serving flavorful chicken.  And you often can find them boneless and skinless.
• Not every meal requires meat.  There are many who feel that no meals require meat, but for those of you who are carnivores, try cutting costs by eating 2-3 meatless meals each week.  There are plenty of places where you can get your protein--beans, nuts, etc.  And meatless meals can be just as flavorful as dishes with meat--sometimes even more so!

Here are a few other tips from me:

• Clip coupons.  Yes, it's a pain to take the time and to organize them.  But you can save loads of money if you do it.  For example, we pretty much never buy breakfast cereal unless it's on sale and/or we have a coupon.  Be a smart shopper.
• Shop on the perimeter of the grocery store.  Not only are the foods on the perimeter of the store healthier--produce, meats, seafood, dairy--but they're cheaper than the stuff in the inner aisles. 
• COOK!  Eating frozen meals, pre-packaged foods and eating out all the time will cost you a fortune.  This food is full of fat, sodium, cholesterol and ingredients that you can't understand without a doctorate in chemistry.  Buy the foods that you need and use them.  I feel that's one of the biggest benefits of a personal chef service--I only buy the ingredients that are needed for the dishes I'm making for you.  No more buying things and having them go bad in the back of your fridge.  That's just throwing money into the trash can.

Do you have any other ways that you save money while trying to eat well?  Let me know!

Help Save Public Broadcasting

Sesame Street, America's Test Kitchen, NPR, Nova, Masterpiece Theatre, American Experience, Antiques Roadshow.  The list of quality educational, entertaining and important television and radio on Public Broadcasting goes on and on.

Right now, there are three separate bills before Congress to severely decrease or even eliminate all federal funding for Public Broadcasting.  If passed, not only could these bills prevent us and our children from watching and listening to these great shows, but local stations such as WHYY, WDIY, WLVT and others could be put in jeopardy.  Shows like World Cafe out of WXPN and distributed by NPR could also be terribly affected.

Do your kids watch PBS Kids shows like Jake does? Is it part of your routine to watch cooking shows on the weekends on PBS or listen to All Things Considered each afternoon on NPR?  If you love the shows on public television and radio, please sign the survey at 170MillionAmericans.org. 

Holiday Food That's Good for You!

Candy, cookies, pies, gravy, stuffing, egg nog, cocktails.  So many tasty stuff that we enjoy at the holidays are not so great for us.  How about a traditional holiday food that people have been using as medicine for hundreds of years?

The cranberry.

Native Americans used cranberries as a way to fight infection--both eating them and by making a paste from them to cover a cut on the skin--using them as an antibiotic.  When settlers from the Old World hit the rock in New England, they found these little red berries all over the place.  Of course, they didn't taste so great--pretty sour. 

But that was good as far as they were concerned.  They believed that sour things counteracted too much salt in the body.  And they thought that too much salt (from the sea, mostly) caused scurvy.  So they ate limes and, eventually, cranberries, to avoid coming down with this terrible disease.  Today we know that sour fruits are high in Vitamin C, a deficiency of which causes scurvy.  Whatever the reason, the New World settlers ate up the cranberries.

These days, more studies are being done on compounds found in cranberries (and other fruits).  We know that these berries (as well as a number of other fruits, including blueberries) are full of antioxidants, which help to slow the effects of aging and memory loss. 

Read more in this NPR article.  Especially fascinating is the information about blueberries and their effect on memory.  There are some nice cocktail recipes in the article, too.

So enjoy your cranberry sauce with your holiday dinner.  It just might help you to keep some of those holiday memories longer!

Are You Eating Your Fruits & Veggies?

We're supposed to eat 2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables to maintain a healthy diet.  Are you doing that?  Chances are, you're not.  And neither are most of the people you know.

According to a study noted in an NPR story, only 32.5% of adults are achieving that level of fruit intake and just 26.3% are eating that amount of veggies.  Yikes.

As you know, a diet with plenty of fruits and veggies helps to combat obesity, heart disease, stroke and maybe cancer.  Let's try to do better, huh?

Smart Carnivores

I just read a fascinating article from NPR: Food for Thought: Meat-Based Diet Made us Smarter.  In it, the author talks about theories that say that when our ancestors started eating meat, the evolution of our species changed.

That period is when cut marks on animal bones appeared — not a predator's tooth marks, but incisions that could have been made only by a sharp tool. That's one sign of our carnivorous conversion.

By eating meat, our brain, which uses about 20 times as much energy as the same size muscle, thrived.  Calories and fat from meat allowed our bodies to put more energy into brain development.  Our brains grew, we started using tools and cooking and the rest is, well, history.

There are plenty of detractors to these theories--see the comments after the article, but to me, it makes sense.  What do you think?