Let's talk seafood.  Have you seen Otolith at your farmers market and wondered what it was all about?  We were curious last summer and found out that they are a CSA for seafood - or CSS (Community Sponsored Seafood).  There are several different sustainably harvested fish programs you can participant in such as salmon, sablefish, Dungeness crab, and halibut.  Last year we decided to order salmon and loved every bit of it.  We received 15 lbs of line caught wild salmon from Alaska for $180 - 5 lbs. of Coho, 5 lbs. of King, 3 lbs. of Sockeye and 2 lbs. of Pink.  Salmon is full of Omega-3 fats and other nutrients lacking in farm-raised "Atlantic" salmon.  One of additional perks is that we pay less than retail price for the best quality. Salmon similar to this would sell for about $18/lb. at a Whole Foods.  The fish is cleaned, portioned out, flash frozen at -40 degrees and arrives to us vacuum sealed at our farmers market.  It's the best! This year, we decided to get both salmon and sablefish (Black Cod).  We just picked up our first bit of the sablefish and I baked it spanish style with olive oil, lime juice, fresh tomatoes, red onions, and homegrown jalapeno.  It was so delicious that I have a feeling it will be a staple dinner in our house this summer. For more information about signing up for your own share, please visit Otolith's website.  They also have a store that you can visit by appointment, I promise you won't be disappointed!

Let's talk seafood. 

Have you seen Otolith at your farmers market and wondered what it was all about?  We were curious last summer and found out that they are a CSA for seafood - or CSS (Community Sponsored Seafood).  There are several different sustainably harvested fish programs you can participant in such as salmon, sablefish, Dungeness crab, and halibut.  Last year we decided to order salmon and loved every bit of it.  We received 15 lbs of line caught wild salmon from Alaska for $180 - 5 lbs. of Coho, 5 lbs. of King, 3 lbs. of Sockeye and 2 lbs. of Pink. 

Salmon is full of Omega-3 fats and other nutrients lacking in farm-raised "Atlantic" salmon.  One of additional perks is that we pay less than retail price for the best quality. Salmon similar to this would sell for about $18/lb. at a Whole Foods.  The fish is cleaned, portioned out, flash frozen at -40 degrees and arrives to us vacuum sealed at our farmers market.  It's the best!

This year, we decided to get both salmon and sablefish (Black Cod).  We just picked up our first bit of the sablefish and I baked it spanish style with olive oil, lime juice, fresh tomatoes, red onions, and homegrown jalapeno.  It was so delicious that I have a feeling it will be a staple dinner in our house this summer.

For more information about signing up for your own share, please visit Otolith's website.  They also have a store that you can visit by appointment, I promise you won't be disappointed!

No doubt about it, market season is here, and sign-up deadlines are fast-approaching for community produce shares. CSA, or Community-Supported Agriculture, is a model of food distribution where community members pledge their support to a local farm by purchasing a share. Boxes of produce are picked up weekly or every other week by customers, and usually contain a variety of in-season vegetables, fruit, herbs, and in some cases, dairy and meat products. Participation in CSAs not only boosts the local economy, but also saves the consumer money on produce in the long run, according to research from the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Despite these benefits, many are still hesitant to sign up for CSAs for fear of wasting precious produce they feel they might not be able to eat within a week’s time. Below are some ideas that will help you use up all your weekly goodies before your next pick-up. Kebab night - This is something I used to do when I was new to farmers market shopping. The night before going to the farmers market was reserved for kebabs, so I could use all the leftover produce on hand. Slice up any extra squash, onion, pepper, really any produce will do, and skewer them up. Cover the assembled kebabs in whatever seasoning suits your fancy (I usually sprinkle on some cayenne pepper for a kick), line them up on the grill, or place on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast on 350 for 10-15 minutes, rotating periodically. You can vary this recipe by adding pieces of chicken, shrimp, or other meats. Now, you’re clean out of produce and ready to stock up at the stand the next day. Crock-pot - Truth be told, I was a little afraid of the crock-pot until recently. Being a vegetarian, I assumed this was a kitchen appliance reserved for slow-cooking meat dishes, but a little research proved me quite wrong. Stews and soups can be slow-cooked in the crock pot with any starchy vegetables, like potatoes, and greens that will add density and flavor, such as cabbage, leeks, and onions. Below are two crock pot recipes that are quick and easy. Crock-pot recipes usually yield a lot of servings, so put a few portions in the fridge, pack up the rest in Tupperware, and freeze it until you’re ready to eat. One of my favorite crock-pot recipes is Sweet Potato Lentil Stew. Here’s another for Easy Italian Chicken. Smoothies - Smoothies aren’t usually the first thing to come to mind when you’re pondering what to do with your leftover spinach and kale, but it really is a tasty way to get your daily dose of greens. Adding fruit masks the taste of the greens, and you’re getting your daily dose of vitamins and minerals to boot! A favorite recipe: In the blender add:

• 1 banana, cut into 4 or 5 pieces—I find it blends easier this way
• A few handfuls of whatever frozen fruit you desire—try mango, pineapple, or berries
• Several leaves of kale (no stems), or handfuls of spinach, or both
• Sprinkling of coconut
• Blend

Here is a variation on the kale smoothie from Anna! Salad - When I’m looking to finish off any leftover produce, I make what I like to call a dump salad. Seriously, nowhere near as disgusting as it sounds. It’s pretty simple, really, just chop up all leftover produce (fruit included!), and dump it over a bed of greens. You can even incorporate leftovers from dinner, like a cold pasta dish or rice. My latest salad included spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers goat cheese, leftover veggie burger, quinoa, dried cranberries, and was covered in homemade vinaigrette. Below is the recipe I use. These measurements are for one serving. 1 tbsp. olive oil 1 ½ teaspoons of balsamic vinegar 1 tsp. Dijon mustard ½ tsp. of honey or agave nectar Salt and pepper to taste Chopped cilantro (optional) Whisk together until emulsified either by hand or in a blender or food processor. Drizzle over salad. For another homemade dressing variation, see Becca’s recipe for Balsamic Lemongrette. Soup - This is the simplest soup recipe for leftover squash. Any type of squash will do, acorn, butternut, even a pumpkin! Slice the squash into pieces and roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Let cool, and by this time the squash should be soft enough to pull the rinds off. Toss the squash into a food processor or blender with: 1 ½ cups of veggie broth ¼ cup of cream 1 tsp. curry powder a sprinkling of cayenne a pinch of salt. Blend and eat. Simple and delicious. Tips for herbs: For those of you who commit to the full CSA share, you will likely receive a few bunches of herbs in each box. It’s not always easy to use them up before they go bad. When the bunches begin to look like they’re wilting, I always think pasta. Heat some pasta sauce or tomatoes over the stove and cook in the leftover herbs. Serve over pasta, spaghetti squash, pizza, or freeze it for later. For big batches of leftover basil, pesto is always a great option. Freeze in ice cube trays, covered in plastic wrap. When you’re ready to use, pop out a few cubes and melt into your cooked pasta. You can also wash and dry your herbs. Cut open your grocery store paper bags and lay them flat on a table, and spread out your herbs. Once dry, store them in emptied spice jars on your spice rack until you need them. See Becca’s herb garden post from last summer for more inspiration! Please don’t hesitate to sign up for a CSA this year. Mega-Agribusiness destroys the environment by wasting precious resources, and is harmful to human health as a result of their overuse of toxic pesticides. Supporting local farms means you are supporting sustainable business practices, biodiversity and your local economy, as well as protecting the environment and your health. Here are some of Philadelphia Magazine’s picks for the best CSA programs in the area. Find a pick-up location near you!

No doubt about it, market season is here, and sign-up deadlines are fast-approaching for community produce shares. CSA, or Community-Supported Agriculture, is a model of food distribution where community members pledge their support to a local farm by purchasing a share. Boxes of produce are picked up weekly or every other week by customers, and usually contain a variety of in-season vegetables, fruit, herbs, and in some cases, dairy and meat products. Participation in CSAs not only boosts the local economy, but also saves the consumer money on produce in the long run, according to research from the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Despite these benefits, many are still hesitant to sign up for CSAs for fear of wasting precious produce they feel they might not be able to eat within a week’s time. Below are some ideas that will help you use up all your weekly goodies before your next pick-up. Kebab night - This is something I used to do when I was new to farmers market shopping. The night before going to the farmers market was reserved for kebabs, so I could use all the leftover produce on hand. Slice up any extra squash, onion, pepper, really any produce will do, and skewer them up. Cover the assembled kebabs in whatever seasoning suits your fancy (I usually sprinkle on some cayenne pepper for a kick), line them up on the grill, or place on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast on 350 for 10-15 minutes, rotating periodically. You can vary this recipe by adding pieces of chicken, shrimp, or other meats. Now, you’re clean out of produce and ready to stock up at the stand the next day. Crock-pot - Truth be told, I was a little afraid of the crock-pot until recently. Being a vegetarian, I assumed this was a kitchen appliance reserved for slow-cooking meat dishes, but a little research proved me quite wrong. Stews and soups can be slow-cooked in the crock pot with any starchy vegetables, like potatoes, and greens that will add density and flavor, such as cabbage, leeks, and onions. Below are two crock pot recipes that are quick and easy. Crock-pot recipes usually yield a lot of servings, so put a few portions in the fridge, pack up the rest in Tupperware, and freeze it until you’re ready to eat. One of my favorite crock-pot recipes is Sweet Potato Lentil Stew. Here’s another for Easy Italian Chicken. Smoothies - Smoothies aren’t usually the first thing to come to mind when you’re pondering what to do with your leftover spinach and kale, but it really is a tasty way to get your daily dose of greens. Adding fruit masks the taste of the greens, and you’re getting your daily dose of vitamins and minerals to boot! A favorite recipe: In the blender add:

• 1 banana, cut into 4 or 5 pieces—I find it blends easier this way
• A few handfuls of whatever frozen fruit you desire—try mango, pineapple, or berries
• Several leaves of kale (no stems), or handfuls of spinach, or both
• Sprinkling of coconut
• Blend

Here is a variation on the kale smoothie from Anna! Salad - When I’m looking to finish off any leftover produce, I make what I like to call a dump salad. Seriously, nowhere near as disgusting as it sounds. It’s pretty simple, really, just chop up all leftover produce (fruit included!), and dump it over a bed of greens. You can even incorporate leftovers from dinner, like a cold pasta dish or rice. My latest salad included spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers goat cheese, leftover veggie burger, quinoa, dried cranberries, and was covered in homemade vinaigrette. Below is the recipe I use. These measurements are for one serving. 1 tbsp. olive oil 1 ½ teaspoons of balsamic vinegar 1 tsp. Dijon mustard ½ tsp. of honey or agave nectar Salt and pepper to taste Chopped cilantro (optional) Whisk together until emulsified either by hand or in a blender or food processor. Drizzle over salad. For another homemade dressing variation, see Becca’s recipe for Balsamic Lemongrette. Soup - This is the simplest soup recipe for leftover squash. Any type of squash will do, acorn, butternut, even a pumpkin! Slice the squash into pieces and roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Let cool, and by this time the squash should be soft enough to pull the rinds off. Toss the squash into a food processor or blender with: 1 ½ cups of veggie broth ¼ cup of cream 1 tsp. curry powder a sprinkling of cayenne a pinch of salt. Blend and eat. Simple and delicious. Tips for herbs: For those of you who commit to the full CSA share, you will likely receive a few bunches of herbs in each box. It’s not always easy to use them up before they go bad. When the bunches begin to look like they’re wilting, I always think pasta. Heat some pasta sauce or tomatoes over the stove and cook in the leftover herbs. Serve over pasta, spaghetti squash, pizza, or freeze it for later. For big batches of leftover basil, pesto is always a great option. Freeze in ice cube trays, covered in plastic wrap. When you’re ready to use, pop out a few cubes and melt into your cooked pasta. You can also wash and dry your herbs. Cut open your grocery store paper bags and lay them flat on a table, and spread out your herbs. Once dry, store them in emptied spice jars on your spice rack until you need them. See Becca’s herb garden post from last summer for more inspiration! Please don’t hesitate to sign up for a CSA this year. Mega-Agribusiness destroys the environment by wasting precious resources, and is harmful to human health as a result of their overuse of toxic pesticides. Supporting local farms means you are supporting sustainable business practices, biodiversity and your local economy, as well as protecting the environment and your health. Here are some of Philadelphia Magazine’s picks for the best CSA programs in the area. Find a pick-up location near you!

Oyster House is one of my favorite restaurants in Philly, though I can only truly indulge in the experience once or twice a year. I distinctly remember visiting the old restaurant as a kid on a weekend trip with my dad and trying a small taste of his turtle soup. I love the vibe of the new restaurant and anyone who knows me can tell you that eating fresh seafood is one of my greatest pleasures. Being a Marylander, eating crabs in the summer has always been a must and there isn’t a plate of oysters that I’ve ever left unfinished. Through Oyster House’s consistent Facebook posts and email blasts (talk about a local business that’s good at staying on your radar) I learned about chef and cookbook author Aliza Green’s book signing of her new book: The Fishmonger’s Apprentice. The event also included a cooking demonstration and seafood discussion so signing up was a no-brainer. I have been learning to cook for the past year or so with steady progress in skills, technique, knowledge and confidence, yet I still find the hardest part of preparing any meal to be sourcing the ingredients. This is one of the reasons I am excited about a Co-op in South Philly. Having a say in what comes to your food supplier is a great start. Uncertainty in knowing where your food originates most of the time is also why I have the least amount of confidence in cooking some of my favorite foods to eat: seafood. It all boils down to knowing your ingredients, where they came from, and what to do with them. Aliza’s demonstration included pickled herring, sauteed calamari, and filleting an entire shad. Her insights were intelligent and her guests included the head of Samuels & Sons Seafood Co. and their expert fillet-man, one of the few who can actually properly fillet a shad and extract its roe. Just learning about a few new ways to prepare a fish I’ve never thought about buying was a real confidence booster and made me excited to visit Ippolito’s more often and ask “what’s fresh?” Here’s a few things I learned: go to a reputable fishmonger, ask what’s freshest and what’s in season, don’t be afraid of the smaller oily fishes, always ask for ice, keep on ice until the second you are ready to prepare your fish, try to prepare within 2 days of purchase, pickled and smoked fish can be a great way to enjoy seafood without worrying so much about its spoilage. For those of you who are obsessed with seafood and want to start preparing it more in your homes I would highly recommend checking out Ms. Green’s book: The Fishmonger’s Apprentice. It’s a great place to start understanding seafood as opposed to your traditional recipe based cook books that have the same old methods for searing tuna, grilling shrimp, baking salmon, and sautéing tilapia. Fortunately we Philadelphians live in a major port town in the Mid-Atlantic offering us a great selection of both local and international seafood. I may not be jumping into steamed cockles and broiled skate just yet, but I will be asking more questions, taking more risks and definitely buying more seafood this summer. Martin Brown is a musician and arts administrator currently venturing into the ice cream business with Little Baby's Ice Cream (www.littlebabysicecream.com). Being a Maryland transplant his favorite food is crabs, as a South Philly homeowner his favorite food is anything he grills in his backyard.

Oyster House is one of my favorite restaurants in Philly, though I can only truly indulge in the experience once or twice a year. I distinctly remember visiting the old restaurant as a kid on a weekend trip with my dad and trying a small taste of his turtle soup. I love the vibe of the new restaurant and anyone who knows me can tell you that eating fresh seafood is one of my greatest pleasures. Being a Marylander, eating crabs in the summer has always been a must and there isn’t a plate of oysters that I’ve ever left unfinished. Through Oyster House’s consistent Facebook posts and email blasts (talk about a local business that’s good at staying on your radar) I learned about chef and cookbook author Aliza Green’s book signing of her new book: The Fishmonger’s Apprentice. The event also included a cooking demonstration and seafood discussion so signing up was a no-brainer.

I have been learning to cook for the past year or so with steady progress in skills, technique, knowledge and confidence, yet I still find the hardest part of preparing any meal to be sourcing the ingredients. This is one of the reasons I am excited about a Co-op in South Philly. Having a say in what comes to your food supplier is a great start. Uncertainty in knowing where your food originates most of the time is also why I have the least amount of confidence in cooking some of my favorite foods to eat: seafood. It all boils down to knowing your ingredients, where they came from, and what to do with them.

Aliza’s demonstration included pickled herring, sauteed calamari, and filleting an entire shad. Her insights were intelligent and her guests included the head of Samuels & Sons Seafood Co. and their expert fillet-man, one of the few who can actually properly fillet a shad and extract its roe. Just learning about a few new ways to prepare a fish I’ve never thought about buying was a real confidence booster and made me excited to visit Ippolito’s more often and ask “what’s fresh?” Here’s a few things I learned: go to a reputable fishmonger, ask what’s freshest and what’s in season, don’t be afraid of the smaller oily fishes, always ask for ice, keep on ice until the second you are ready to prepare your fish, try to prepare within 2 days of purchase, pickled and smoked fish can be a great way to enjoy seafood without worrying so much about its spoilage.

For those of you who are obsessed with seafood and want to start preparing it more in your homes I would highly recommend checking out Ms. Green’s book: The Fishmonger’s Apprentice. It’s a great place to start understanding seafood as opposed to your traditional recipe based cook books that have the same old methods for searing tuna, grilling shrimp, baking salmon, and sautéing tilapia. Fortunately we Philadelphians live in a major port town in the Mid-Atlantic offering us a great selection of both local and international seafood. I may not be jumping into steamed cockles and broiled skate just yet, but I will be asking more questions, taking more risks and definitely buying more seafood this summer.

Martin Brown is a musician and arts administrator currently venturing into the ice cream business with Little Baby's Ice Cream (www.littlebabysicecream.com). Being a Maryland transplant his favorite food is crabs, as a South Philly homeowner his favorite food is anything he grills in his backyard.

A big round of thanks goes out to Shruthi Bajaj of Cardamom Kitchen for spending the evening of April 24th with five Co-op fans and helping us "demystify spices." (And trust me, for someone like me whose experience with spices is the cinnamon on my toast and the black pepper on my eggs, it was a demystifying experience.) [caption id="attachment_1094" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Getting our ayurveda on!"][/caption] Shruthi started the evening off by having us each take a quiz (good thing I studied!) to determine our constitutional type (or dosha). Our group had a healthy mix of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. (For the record I was a Vata with a side of Pitta, meaning that I when I am out of balance I can be a little scattered and anxious.) [caption id="attachment_1091" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="All that studying for this quiz paid off!"][/caption] Just after the quiz, Shruthi shared with us a sprouted mung salad that included one of the four spices she would go on to talk about later - cumin. The salad was fresh and delicious with an herb and spice mix that really made it pop. And, as her recipe notes, the sprouted mung beans enhances their digestibility and increases the content of vitamins C and B complex. (Considering what else I had to eat that day, it was good that I got something this healthy in my system!) I'd share the recipe but since I don't have Shruthi's permission to do so you'll just have to email her if you're interested. [caption id="attachment_1093" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="A healthy salad specially for spring"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1092" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="I feel more balanced already!"][/caption] Shruthi then went on to talk about the types of food one should eat depending on the season of the year and how eating the wrong types at the wrong time can throw a person out of balance. A Vata person who eats light foods in the spring or fall will almost float away and should balance themselves out with foods that have heavier textures. Does this seem like too much for you to keep track of? No worries. Shruthi can do it for you. Check out her website where she offers customers a service in which she'll visit your home and give cooking classes based in Ayurvedic insights or she can cook meals for you either as one-time deal or on a continuing basis. [caption id="attachment_1095" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="The great properties of coriander"][/caption] Finally, we talked about Shruthi's four "go to" spices: coriander, cumin, turmeric, and cardamom. In fact, she was so convincing about the healing properties of turmeric when mixed with sesame oil and applied as a balm that I came home yesterday to find the bottom and sides of my bathtub stained yellow because a certain someone used this on her ailing ankle. Rather than re-hash what we talked about, I refer you to Shruthi's website where she explains what makes these four spices so special. Thanks again to Shruthi and everyone else who made it out on Sunday.

A big round of thanks goes out to Shruthi Bajaj of Cardamom Kitchen for spending the evening of April 24th with five Co-op fans and helping us "demystify spices." (And trust me, for someone like me whose experience with spices is the cinnamon on my toast and the black pepper on my eggs, it was a demystifying experience.)

Shruthi started the evening off by having us each take a quiz (good thing I studied!) to determine our constitutional type (or dosha). Our group had a healthy mix of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. (For the record I was a Vata with a side of Pitta, meaning that I when I am out of balance I can be a little scattered and anxious.)

Just after the quiz, Shruthi shared with us a sprouted mung salad that included one of the four spices she would go on to talk about later - cumin. The salad was fresh and delicious with an herb and spice mix that really made it pop. And, as her recipe notes, the sprouted mung beans enhances their digestibility and increases the content of vitamins C and B complex. (Considering what else I had to eat that day, it was good that I got something this healthy in my system!) I'd share the recipe but since I don't have Shruthi's permission to do so you'll just have to email her if you're interested.

Shruthi then went on to talk about the types of food one should eat depending on the season of the year and how eating the wrong types at the wrong time can throw a person out of balance. A Vata person who eats light foods in the spring or fall will almost float away and should balance themselves out with foods that have heavier textures.

Does this seem like too much for you to keep track of? No worries. Shruthi can do it for you. Check out her website where she offers customers a service in which she'll visit your home and give cooking classes based in Ayurvedic insights or she can cook meals for you either as one-time deal or on a continuing basis.

Finally, we talked about Shruthi's four "go to" spices: coriander, cumin, turmeric, and cardamom. In fact, she was so convincing about the healing properties of turmeric when mixed with sesame oil and applied as a balm that I came home yesterday to find the bottom and sides of my bathtub stained yellow because a certain someone used this on her ailing ankle.

Rather than re-hash what we talked about, I refer you to Shruthi's website where she explains what makes these four spices so special.

Thanks again to Shruthi and everyone else who made it out on Sunday.

Back on March 27, the South Philly Food Co-op hosted one of our monthly educational events and welcomed Marie Winters, ND, of Two Rivers Naturopathy who taught about the benefits and medicinal properties of everyday fruits, vegetables, grains, and proteins. Marie discussed how eating seasonally helps to keep the body naturally healthy. That point cleared up a concern (at least a concern that I had) that strictly trying to eat local might cause deficiencies if we don't get, say, bananas or citrus fruit which don't grow locally. Not so. All of the nutrients we need, during the seasons we need them, can be found in locally grown foods. The nutrients we need in winter are found in the foods that grow around here in winter and so forth for the other seasons. Nature seems to have figured out what it's doing. Here's one last plug for Marie: her Two Rivers Naturopathy just recently moved into a space at South Philadelphia Acupuncture at 1532 East Passyunk Avenue. One of the goals of the Co-op as stated in its mission is to provide affordable, nutritious and locally sourced food. But it's also important to remember the Co-op's role in educating people in the community about the benefits of buying and eating those types of food. We hope to invite Marie back for more information sessions once the Co-op opens its doors. Eating local has a twofold benefit of supporting local and regional businesses, especially farms that use sustainable practices that try to minimize or eliminate damage to the land AND it improves public health. But it's a battle. Advocates for these practices are up against a system that has vast amounts of resources aimed literally changing people's palettes through marketing. When it's education and common sense vs. flashy commercials and messages and images that appeal to our subconscious, education and common sense aren't going to be able to put up much of a fight. But we press on. And you can help by spreading the word about the Co-op and getting your friends and neighbors in South Philadelphia excited for it. In fact, please direct all of your Facebook friends to "Like" us on Facebook. It might not seem like much, but it'll make it a lot easier for us to communicate with our most loyal fans when it comes time to appeal to them (and you) to become member-owners. In the meantime, here's another take on the benefits of eating locally and naturally from a blog that I've recently started following (and listening to their podcasts) - The Socio Capitalist:

At your local grocery store, think about where that fruit came from. Unless you live in Florida or California, chances are it’s not from around the corner. Is that natural? Of course not. We all know that fruit and vegetables are shipped all over the country, covered in chemicals, and no one wants to eat anything covered in chemicals. But what we don’t realize,is that more importantly than the chemicals (they wash right off anyway), is our food is losing its nutritional value before it even reaches us. What can you do? Buy local. The quality of the fruit and vegetables that are locally sourced – farmers markets are a good option, if you’re lucky there may be a local farm somewhere near you like this one – is markedly better. When you bite into a banana that was grown less than 20 miles away, the difference is immediately apparent, and the cause of that glorious taste is nutrients.

Back on March 27, the South Philly Food Co-op hosted one of our monthly educational events and welcomed Marie Winters, ND, of Two Rivers Naturopathy who taught about the benefits and medicinal properties of everyday fruits, vegetables, grains, and proteins. Marie discussed how eating seasonally helps to keep the body naturally healthy. That point cleared up a concern (at least a concern that I had) that strictly trying to eat local might cause deficiencies if we don't get, say, bananas or citrus fruit which don't grow locally. Not so. All of the nutrients we need, during the seasons we need them, can be found in locally grown foods. The nutrients we need in winter are found in the foods that grow around here in winter and so forth for the other seasons. Nature seems to have figured out what it's doing. Here's one last plug for Marie: her Two Rivers Naturopathy just recently moved into a space at South Philadelphia Acupuncture at 1532 East Passyunk Avenue. One of the goals of the Co-op as stated in its mission is to provide affordable, nutritious and locally sourced food. But it's also important to remember the Co-op's role in educating people in the community about the benefits of buying and eating those types of food. We hope to invite Marie back for more information sessions once the Co-op opens its doors. Eating local has a twofold benefit of supporting local and regional businesses, especially farms that use sustainable practices that try to minimize or eliminate damage to the land AND it improves public health. But it's a battle. Advocates for these practices are up against a system that has vast amounts of resources aimed literally changing people's palettes through marketing. When it's education and common sense vs. flashy commercials and messages and images that appeal to our subconscious, education and common sense aren't going to be able to put up much of a fight. But we press on. And you can help by spreading the word about the Co-op and getting your friends and neighbors in South Philadelphia excited for it. In fact, please direct all of your Facebook friends to "Like" us on Facebook. It might not seem like much, but it'll make it a lot easier for us to communicate with our most loyal fans when it comes time to appeal to them (and you) to become member-owners. In the meantime, here's another take on the benefits of eating locally and naturally from a blog that I've recently started following (and listening to their podcasts) - The Socio Capitalist:

At your local grocery store, think about where that fruit came from. Unless you live in Florida or California, chances are it’s not from around the corner. Is that natural? Of course not. We all know that fruit and vegetables are shipped all over the country, covered in chemicals, and no one wants to eat anything covered in chemicals. But what we don’t realize,is that more importantly than the chemicals (they wash right off anyway), is our food is losing its nutritional value before it even reaches us. What can you do? Buy local. The quality of the fruit and vegetables that are locally sourced – farmers markets are a good option, if you’re lucky there may be a local farm somewhere near you like this one – is markedly better. When you bite into a banana that was grown less than 20 miles away, the difference is immediately apparent, and the cause of that glorious taste is nutrients.