I Am A Discerning Eater - Enjoying Real Food

About three years ago I began my journey to learn more about the food that graces my plate.  Where did it come from? How did it get to me? What processing has it gone through? How does it impact health and nature?  The journey began by watching a documentary, King Corn, and it was furthered by reading such books as Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, and Food Politics by Marion Nestle.  What I learned was double-sided...it was new in that I was totally unaware of the changes in the food industry and the processing of foods and yet it was old in that it reminded me of the way I ate as a child, my grandparents' gardens, Italian salads, vegetables, greens, tomato sauce made on the stove and vegetables canned in the basement.

As my knowledge grew, I found my habits changing.  I began to grow some of my own food, I began to shop at the Farmers Markets, I began to question the amount of animal protein that I prepared and where I purchased it.  I also found my tastes changing.  I began to crave....Real Food.

There is much in the media today about "real food"...food that is a product of nature rather than a product of industry.  Real food is food that nourishes:  the consumers, the producers, the earth and the communities.  This week I discovered a very interesting chart on the blog Cyber-cise that attempts to define real food.   So as I look forward to the coming week, I feel my salivary glands begin to perk up...what shall we eat this week? 

First thing this morning, the sun was shining and we headed out to the Santa Monica's Sunday Farmers Market.  It is a cozy well-attended market and I am always excited about something new I might discover.

Jay feels the food vendors should also be supported so he had a little snack while listening to a local band perform.

I hit the produce section.  

 Smith's Farms has beautiful organic veggies and just a little way down is Harry's Berry's with their succulent strawberries.  Last week we attended a panel discussion with Farmers and Local chefs and we learned that the Farmers Markets nourish the farmers by providing a niche for their produce.  They are not big enough to compete with large commercial distribution so they appreciate the markets and we appreciate them!  My interesting find for the day...celery root.  I have never prepared celery root before and the farmer said he didn't know how to cook it either...he had grown it by mistake, thinking it was celery.  The plants look similar when they are little. So now he is selling it at his stand and people are buying it. :-) 

Tuscan kale and celery root!

So far on my mental menu for the coming week I have some of the items we purchased this morning.  Of course, roasted peppers...they are still in season; a sausage/bean soup with the rainbow swiss chard I found there; some braised Tuscan kale and something with the celery root. 

Then with the beautiful Meyers lemons (right off the tree) that we received from friends, Al and Marilyn, a roasted lemon chicken, some lemon bars and maybe a Lemon Olive Oil cake.

Of course we still eat some processed food...after all, most of the dry pasta I regularly prepare was processed someplace, usually in "la bella Italia."  But I do read labels, I do try to avoid anything with long list of chemical sounding ingredients, and I definitely do not buy "food-like substances" that are simply the creation of food chemists in a laboratory. I follow Michael Pollan's advice to "Eat food,.... not too much and mostly plants."

Buon Appetito!!