There are many studies that show it is not heart healthy. Wendy Brazillian, DrPh, RD tells us that coconut oil is made up of medium-chain saturated fatty acids. Some researchers believe these have a more neutral effect on heart health than the saturated fat found in butter and red meats.

It’s safe to say that eaten once in a while, coconut oil won’t cause a heart attack  - or make you any thinner.

(I just had a bowl for breakfast!)

African Curried Coconut Soup with Chickpeas

Serves 5-6
Toasting the millet before cooking brings out a deeper flavor. Simply add the millet to a dry pot or pan and stir constantly for 3-4 minutes until you catch the aroma of the delectable nutty fragrance. Don't toast it too long or you’ll be sorry!

1 cup millet, quinoa, or brown rice (I used millet!)

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped

1 jalapeno chili, seeded and finely chopped

2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon curry powder

3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

2 tomatoes, chopped (I used  a 15-ounce can diced tomatoes)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 bunch  kale, collards or spinach (or a mixture)

1 14-ounce can light coconut milk

1. Put the millet in a pan and cover with 3 cups water. Cover, bring to a boil, and then simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until water has evaporated. Set aside. This makes a lot, take out enough for a bowl for breakfast
    
2. In the meantime, heat the oil in a medium stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, jalapeno and garlic cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add curry powder and mix well to coat vegetables.
    
3. Add the broth, chickpeas, tomatoes, salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.  Add the greens and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes.
   
    
4. Add the coconut milk and millet and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 4 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve warm.
    

Per serving: 316 calories, 11g fat, 4g sat fat, 45g carbohydrates, 9g protein, 260mg sodium, 9g fiber, 125mg calcium   (Wow! Check out that fiber!)

Tropical Vegan Kitchen, Donna Klein?Adapted from the cooking blog, www.joanne-eatswellwithothers.com

Some of you have asked about an earlier column, in which I suggested sprinkling nutritional yeast on popcorn. Here is a question I received from Julie:

"Judy, You are the fourth person this week to mention 'nutritional yeast' to me. Can you tell us more about it? What is it, where do you find it, what is it used for, etc? Thanks"

Julie I have to admit that when I first started working at Outpost all of these strange products puzzled me too. Nutritional yeast was one of them. Now it’s a staple in my cupboard.

Made by RED STAR® Yeast Company, nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast consumed for its nutritional content. It is gluten free, dairy free, has no added sugar, preservatives or colorings and is a non-GMO food. It is not the same as Brewer’s Yeast, which is a by-product of the brewing industry with an inferior nutritional profile that must be further processed to remove the bitter taste of hops. Nutritional yeast has a cheesy, somewhat nutty and salty flavor – although the sodium content is very low. One of the best known uses for nutritional yeast is as a flavoring for popcorn. The Downer and Oriental Theatres have been offering it for years to their popcorn lovers.

Trying to cut back on salt? This is one of the best flavorings around and it’s great on vegetables, potatoes, casseroles – just about everything. It’s also used in making vegan cheeses.

It’s also a good source of protein and B vitamins, especially vitamin B-12. B-12 is especially important for people who eat a vegan diet and for the elderly.  Actually, the guidelines recommend that anyone over the age of 50 should be aware of B-12 in their diets or consider a supplement of vitamin B-12. Age and diminished production of stomach acids can result in a deficiency (B-12 is produced by bacteria in the GI tract).

We don’t need much, just 2.4 micrograms a day – smaller than the period at the end of this sentence. That amounts to what you’d get in 1 to 1½ tablespoons of nutritional yeast.

No need to refrigerate – it has a shelf life of 24 months if kept in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

This is a great recipe that was actually one of Outpost’s youtube videos: No-Chicken Chicken-fried Tofu

This recipe is called No-Chicken Chicken-Fried Tofu – I call it Crispy Tofu Squares. Either way it’s so yummy you won’t be able to stop eating! Simple Soyman tofu is my favorite and the best anywhere!

Crispy Tofu Squares

Serves 3 or 4

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound firm tofu, drained and cut into squares

1½ tablespoons tamari

¼ cup nutritional yeast (or less)

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

2. Add tofu squares and stir fry until all sides are golden brown, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with tamari and nutritional yeast and continue to cook until lightly golden brown.

   These tofu squares can be added to any casserole or stir fry or just to snack on!

    

   Per serving: 121 calories, 8g fat, 1g sat fat, 4g carbohydrates, 10g protein, 386mg sodium, 1g fiber, 185mg calcium

   It seems silly to give you nutritional information – when I know you’ll never stick to ½ cup!

   Adapted from the Simple Soyman

    

   If you’d like to read about the makings of nutritional yeast – here’s my source!

   http://lesaffre-yeast.com/red-star/

   Much of the vitamin B-12 information comes from The New Becoming Vegetarian, Vesanto Melina, MS,RD and Brenda Davis, RD

    

   Thanks for your comment, Julie – hope this answers your questions.

It’s Meatless Monday again.  Funny how quickly Monday’s roll around!

Well, hold on to your hats – this meatless recipe will knock your socks off. Tempeh Tacos were a hit in my last vegetarian cooking class. I have to admit I’m not normally too crazy about tempeh – it has a beanie and nutty taste by itself, but, like many other soy products it absorbs the flavors of whatever you’re making it with. This recipe is delicious!

Tempeh is made from fermented whole soybeans and shaped into the form of a flat cake. Sometimes other grains or sea vegetables are added for variety and added nutrition. If you’re wondering what the dark spot moldy looking spots are on your tempeh don’t freak. They are indeed harmless edible mold spores that are part of the fermentation process that doesn’t affect the quality of the tempeh. (Maybe you didn’t need to know that?)

It’s a nutritional powerhouse – check out that protein and fiber! Wonderfully, tempeh is very low in sodium too and has very little saturated fat.

Tempeh Tacos

Serves 4

1 pound tempeh

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons tamari

¼ cup lime juice

1 tablespoon Mexican/taco seasoning

1 onion, chopped

¼ cup cilantro, chopped

12 taco shells

Taco fixings

Shredded lettuce

Sprouts

Salsa

Grated cheddar cheese

Avocado slices

1. Crumble or chop the tempeh into small pieces and place in a mixing bowl. Combine 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, tamari, lime juice and seasoning in small bowl and pour the marinade over the tempeh. Let stand for 10 to 30 minutes. The longer time allows more absorption of the flavors.
2. Heat the other tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion and sauté until soft.
3. Add marinated tempeh and stir fry mixture until tempeh begins to brown.
4. Add chopped cilantro just prior to serving. Warm tacos according to directions on package. Fill shells with tempeh mixture and your favorite fixings.

Per serving (without toppings): 375 calories, 18g fat, 3g sat fat, 29g carbohydrates, 24g protein, 113mg sodium, 14g fiber 

Nutritional information will vary according to toppings used.

This sure doesn’t take long to prepare. Tempeh should be part of your pantry list for these Meatless Mondays – it can even be frozen for up to one year, making it easy to have on hand.

Looking for more recipes using tempeh?  

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/orange-panglazed-tempeh-recipe.html

A basic tempeh primer - http://www.thekitchn.com/five-tips-for-preparing-tempeh-63906

TGIF! You’ve made it through another week and need to take a break. Living in Wisconsin gives you permission to enjoy the traditional Friday Night Fish Fry, just not the “all you can eat” offering! Almost every restaurant, tavern and many churches have an offering of deep fried fish, French fries, baked potato or potato pancakes, coleslaw, rye bread and a hearty brew or two.

It’s snowing and blowing today – not the best night to be driving around looking for the place with the shortest wait to get a fish fry. Why not try a new take on the fish fry? This is so easy and much more flavorful than deep-fried fish – your heart will thank you too. (Speaking of heart – did you know it’s American Heart Month – another reason to enjoy a healthier recipe using fish.) I've listed cod as the fish, but tilapia works great, too, as will any other firm fish. Enjoy!

Fish Tacos

This is very easy!

Serves 4

Marinade for fish:

2 tablespoons tequila or white wine (regular or non-alcoholic)

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 teaspoons grated orange zest

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound cod

8 hard corn taco shells

Salpica Mango Peach Salsa (the best!)

2 cups thinly sliced red or green cabbage

2 green onions

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the tequila, lime juice, orange zest and oil.

2. Rinse the fish and pat dry with paper towels. Cut the fish into 3/4-inch cubes. Add the fish to the marinade and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate 10 to 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the fish with the marinade for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork and most of the liquid has evaporated.

4. To assemble, spoon one quarter of the fish into the corn tortilla along with as much salsa as you like, 1/2 cup cabbage and 1/4 cup green onion.

Per serving: 201 calories, 4g fat, 19g carbohydrates, 23g protein, 250mg sodium, 4g fiber

It’s Wednesday and the question of the day is “what’s for dinner?” A question I frequenlty get asked is “what do dieticians eat?” So, let me come clean and set the record straight right now – I’m not a purist nor do I eat healthy all the time. I try to, but I have my moments. It’s all about balance - isn’t it? On those really long days when I teach an evening cooking class and get home late there’s nothing I want more than a popcorn dinner when I get home. (After all, popcorn is a whole grain, with more than a gram of fiber in one cup. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and freshly ground black pepper and I’m in heaven.)

Since I’m teaching a class on herbs and spices today and I plan on making this recipe for turkey patties, I thought it would be a good idea to share. The fresh herbs offer an abundance of goodness, allowing you to skimp on the sodium and still get great taste. I’ve learned to love Italian parsley – any parsley for that matter – buy a bunch, put it in a vase and nibble on it whenever you walk past. There’s your natural detox!

Turkey Patties

This healthy version of a turkey burger can be made into meatballs, meatloaf or delicious patties.

Makes 4 to 5

1 pound Outpost freshly ground turkey (freshly ground lean thigh meat, it’s higher in iron than breast meat how cool is that!)

1/3 cup yellow onion, minced

2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, chopped

2 tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped

½ teaspoon fresh ginger, minced

1½ teaspoons garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed

Dash red pepper flakes

Olive oil for pan or grill

1. In a large bowl, combine the turkey, onion, basil, parsley, ginger, garlic, salt, fennel, oregano and red pepper flakes. Mix well. Shape into patties.
   
    
2. Heat a grill pan brushed with oil and brown the patties over medium heat on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Cover and continue to grill for 3 more minutes until cooked through. If using a meat thermometer, cook until temperature reaches 165 degrees. Or, in a sauté pan, add just enough oil to coat a hot pan and sauté over medium heat for about 3 minutes on each side to brown, decrease the heat and add a tablespoon of water. Cover to steam the inside, about 6 minutes.
    
3. Serve in a pita or on a whole grain bun.
    

Per serving: 142 calories, 6g fat, 1g sat fat, 1g carbohydrate, 16g protein, 181mg sodium, 0g fiber

How about serving this with Alexia Sweet Potato Fries and a green salad? And yes, popcorn for an evening snack!

Today is Meatless Monday. Meatless Mondays were established in the US during the first and second world wars to promote voluntary vegetarianism. Americans were asked to reduce their consumption of meat to benefit the economy. Today, the movement is more about nutrition.

They were restarted in 2003 as a public health awareness program. The campaign was endorsed by the Center for a Livable Future, a division of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Meatless Monday is now practiced worldwide and in many restaurants and schools.

Of course, I’m especially interested in the nutritional aspect of starting the week on a positive note. Mondays are good days to start anew – how many diets have you started on a Monday?

Less meat means more antioxidants and that means less cancer. Less meat equals less saturated fat and that can mean less heart disease. Research repeatedly shows us the benefits of eating a more plant-based diet. Why not give it a try! Check back next Monday for another delicious, meatless recipe!

Hippy Soup

I don’t know why this recipe is called Hippy Soup. It might be an archived recipe from Outpost. Not sure, just know that it’s a favorite I’ve been making for years – and it’s delicious. You just might have all in the ingredients in your pantry. If adding tofu scares you, add a can of garbanzo beans instead.

Serves 6

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 teaspoons ginger root, grated

4 stalks celery, chopped

8 ounce container white mushrooms, chopped

14-ounce can diced tomatoes

1½ cups firm tofu, cut into small cubes

3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

¼ cup tahini

¼ cup peanut butter

Red pepper flakes to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in a large pan or stock pot over medium heat. Add onions, ginger and celery and sauté until the vegetables begin to soften.

2. Add the mushrooms, tomatoes, tofu and broth. Bring to a boil, lower to simmer and cook for 20 to 30 minutes.
    
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the tahini and peanut butter. Add to the soup and stir to dissolve. Remove from heat. Season with red pepper flakes and pepper to taste.

Per serving: 282 calories, 17g fat, 2g sat fat, 15g carbohydrates, 17g protein, 567mg sodium, 6g fiber, 179mg calcium

Tip: For a heartier dinner serve this over brown rice.

Bon Appetit!

Repeat after me – I am not a quitter - I am not a quitter. Well I guess “life” happened since my last blog post, as I have blissfully ignored the fact I haven’t yet completed my list of lessons. It’s not because I’m hard pressed to produce some cleaver or pithy responses. I’ve just been busy living through a summer with more time for work, projects and leisure, constantly tempted by the convenience foods that surround me. And I mean constantly.

And so, without any more excuses, I bring you my final list of conclusions.

26 – While you can save a bit of money by baking your own bread from scratch, the true cost-savings can be found when making your own corn tortillas. Packaged corn tortillas can cost up to ten times as much as the ones made from scratch. And they are the easiest thing in the world to make – just watch!

25 – I’ve made my own ranch dressing now quite a number of times. In fact I’ve yet to purchase any bottled dressing since I ended my challenge. What I love about this recipe is that if you really strain the yogurt until it’s super thick, you can use this recipe as a ranch dip, not just a salad dressing.

24 – Making your own tortilla chips – totally not worth it. Unless of course you’re going to deep fry the little suckers, maybe then you can get a nice thin chip that is full of flavor.

23 – Modern day small appliance manufacturers will try to convince you that you need their products in order to successfully produce something like yogurt (aka yogurt maker). But you don’t. Use a slow cooker and some bath towels to keep it warm. What about a $69 pasta roller? I made it through the year without one by purchasing a good $10 wooden roller.

22 – On the other hand, there are some kitchen products I couldn’t live without. If you’re baking any kind of hearth bread, pita bread, bagels – you need a baking stone. I bought mine at a restaurant supply store for about $50. It gives the best crust on all of those breads, as well as a crispy pizza.

21 – While I’m still on the topic of small kitchen appliances, I would have never survived the year with any amount of sanity if I didn’t have a food processor. I’ve had some people tell me they use their blender for everything and that a food processor is unnecessary. From my experience they just don’t give you the same results.

20 – Leftover food is priceless. When every eaten has to come from scratch you eventually learn to make enough to have extra food that can be frozen, or eaten again for lunch the following day. Duh!

19 – Okay I’m finally in the teens on the countdown. Keep a list of frozen meals on your refrigerator, lest you leave them frozen for too long and you lose either all that great flavor or texture to freezer burn.

18 – While I know I reduced the amount of packaging I would have produced in a typical year of buying convenient foods, I did use a lot of plastic bags, and I purchased a number of additional plastic storage containers for the freezer. Some of the bags I could wash out and reuse, while others didn’t hold up so well. Overall, my carbon footprint was probably smaller than what is typical.

17 – Blogging takes a bit of time. If you’re a blog reader versus a blog writer – maybe you spend as much time reading as those that are writing. But it’s not just the writing - it’s the editing, the photography, the tagging, and the subject matter. I was going to buy a better camera during the year and never quite got around to that.

16 – Okay I need a new camera. Food photography when you’re the one both cooking and taking photographs, means your camera ends up getting caked in egg, flour, grease, honey, etc. And you need a tripod, which I didn’t use, which means many of my photos were way too blurry.

15 – Freeze chicken stock in 8-oz bags or containers, then simply thaw for one minute in the microwave. Talk about economical!

14 – Ancho chili powder – where have you been all of my life? It has a smokier mild flavor that can be used in Mexican cooking, as well as in something like a dry rub for ribs. Oh, I have to post that recipe someday too.

13 – I spent a good part of the year watching cooking shows on the Food Network. One might think I’d want to escape all of the cooking, but I was really inspired by the amount of creativity you can put into food, and it gave me the confidence to try some new things along the way.

12 – Lisa, my partner, was a really great sport this past year. Thank you Lisa!

11 – In the year of inconvenience, I inconveniently gained weight. Damn.

10 – If at first you don’t like a recipe, try adding your own twist. I like making a recipe for the first time as it’s written, then changing it up to how I like it the second time. If a recipe has good structure don’t give up on it just because the flavor wasn’t right.

9 – Oh boy, single digits. This is hard work people! And that was lesson number nine…next.

8 – People have stopped me, mostly strangers when out in public, asking me if I’m still growing or canning all of my own food. Point made.

7 – Have I mentioned I really missed cold breakfast cereal?

6 – While I started the year cooking from a pantry full of cookbooks, by the end of the year I was getting most of my ideas and inspiration from other blogs or websites. Times have changed – and the iphone isn’t just for making phone calls.

5 – I regret not learning how to can this past year. Freezing yes, canning no.

4 – Blog stats can be addicting. I’ve been amazed at the number of followers of the blog, where they are coming from (I believe they represent four continents), what posts draw the most interest, and the incredible power of social media.

3 – Never would I have imagined at the beginning of this journey, that I would have written more than 60 posts, which have produced more than 38,000 views of my blog. Never.

2 – I spent a lot of time cooking last year. I mean a serious amount of time. While most of those chores became routine after some time, I didn’t realize how much time I spent in the kitchen until the past three months this summer when I wasn’t spending that time in the kitchen. I’ve spent more time with friends, with my gardens, with a good book, and… well working as well. 

1 – At the beginning of this challenge what I wanted to learn most from it all was a true appreciation of food. Whether I grew it myself, made it from scratch, or tried to only buy it locally, I really wanted to connect to the energy it took to get that food on the table. And I did. I feel good about seeing it all the way through and not giving up when things got really stressful. And I still love to cook, in spite of my recent foray back to a frozen pizza and cheesy puffs. When all is said and done, this was truly an adventure of a lifetime. Thanks so much my fellow readers, for your inspiration and support!

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed sharing this journey with Outpost fans in particular. If you’d like to continue to follow me, please join me at the place this journey started.

http://outpostcoop.wordpress.com

Pam

But when push came to shove, there really were more lessons there than I originally may have imagined. So on with the countdown…

37 – Planning meals around seasonal ingredients is a great way to be a bit more creative with what goes on the dinner table. While we had many a meal composed of the typical “protein, starch, and vegetable” – there were some terrific moments of creativity using seasonal vegetables. Check out the spring asparagus salad (if it’s not too late in your region) or plan for this corn salsa.

36 – Processing your own tomatoes into something like sauce can be economical. I learned that while it takes a heck of a lot of tomatoes to get to the end product, the end product was generally a better value than the price I would pay off the shelf. By the way, I used 52 pounds last year to yield 144 ounces of diced tomatoes, 96 ounces of tomato sauce, 80 ounces of pizza sauce, 54 ounces of pasta sauce, and 28 ounces of roasted tomatoes. Check out the post, 52 weeks by the numbers.

35 – Roma tomatoes make the best sauce and give the best yield. I was a bit fooled by the notion that any tomato is a good tomato to process. I was wrong. The Roma’s make all the difference in the world.

34 – I won’t again be fooled into thinking I can “thicken” a pasta sauce by blending up the tomatoes with an immersion blender. Good sauce takes time on the stove. Plan for long cooking time, 4-6 hours not only helps thicken the sauce but it really brings out the flavor.

33 – I swore that after this year, I would never again purchase granola. It’s been eleven weeks since I ended my year, and I have made about six pounds of granola during that time. Keeping true to this lesson, it’s so easy to do yourself and the benefits are that I control the flavor, the sweetness, and the amount of pecans I want in every bite! I will start a batch at 6:30 in the morning, and it’s ready to eat by 7:15.

32 – Homemade bagels are not all that easy to make, they take a bit of time to make, and the flavor is, well OUTSTANDING! Don’t be scared by the bagel is the lesson learned. Also eat them quickly, they really are the best the day you make ‘em.

31 – I figured out my slow cooker isn’t just for dinner. We made “Crockpot oatmeal” which fills the house with a wonderful aroma, not to mention is ready when you get out of bed. And then there is Crockpot yogurt, which is not only so simple it’s also a great value. Strain some yogurt in cheesecloth to make Greek yogurt, and you’ve saved even more money.

30 – Bison is better than beef. Don’t get me wrong, I l-o-v-e beef of many cuts and eat it often. However when I want to cut down on the fat and calories without losing any flavor, then bison is a surprisingly great choice.

29 – One can make cinnamon rolls without yeast. While they taste a bit more “biscuity” than yeasty, once you pour on the glaze it hardly makes a difference.

28 – I won’t go back to eating frozen pizza. Okay, I did break that promise this week as we were leaving our friend’s house after helping her move and it was already 7:30 pm and we hadn’t had dinner. A frozen pizza was easy, and quite honestly pretty tasteless by comparison. I won’t go back to eating frozen pizza!

27 – I now understand what little Miss Muffet was thinking, don’t discard the whey! I still regret making the first batch of cheese and tossing all of that whey goodness down the drain. Now I use it in place of milk when baking and it really does add some great flavor.

I’m a big fan of citrus. I’m talking the “eat-oranges-till-your-mouth-hurts” kind of fan. I’m not ashamed to admit it. I’m sure it wasn’t good for my mouth or my teeth, but we’re OK now.

I still love citrus. For the longest time citrus seemed so mysterious to me. I’d picked fruits from trees before, but Midwest fruits like apples, peaches and pears. Citrus was so exotic.

Until a few years ago, I’d never seen citrus growing on the tree. I couldn’t wait to get to Los Angeles, where my sister-in-law lived, because she filled my head with fanciful tales of oranges. There were bags of them, free for the taking.

In some neighborhoods in southern California, people just give away their extra fruit — grapefruits, lemons and oranges. It was a dream come true. We visited one March, leaving the cold and miserable final days of a long Wisconsin winter. We arrived in Los Angeles at night. I awoke the next morning at dawn, walked into the yard and picked an orange from the tree. It is still one of my favorite memories.

I’d never tasted a Cara Cara Navel orange until I started working at Outpost. Everyone raved about them, as though there was no other orange worth eating. The first one I tasted reminded me of California. They’re extremely sweet, not too acidic (you still might want to monitor your intake) and seedless.

This is one of those items with a short season — now you see ‘em, now you don’t. That might be part of their charm. As I type this, Outpost is stocking Buck Brand Cara Cara Navels from Porterville, Calif. Later in the season, we could be stocking them from other growers and from other states. If you want to know where they’re grown, just ask one of the knowledgeable folks in our produce departments.

If you can’t visit southern California this winter, you’re best bet is to stock up on these oranges. It’s quite possibly the next best thing.
 

Learn more about Buck Brands Citrus or Deer Creek Heights Ranch

It’s getting harder to remember things from my childhood. It could be that I’m getting older. Maybe I’m too busy trying to help create memories for my own child that I don’t have the luxury of sitting around thinking about the time when I was her age. But it’s hard not to reflect at this time of year.

My family’s Christmas celebration is one of the few traditions I can remember from my childhood. More importantly, our Christmas Eve meal is what I remember the most. When my dad left Denmark as a young man, he didn’t look back. He arrived in this country and embraced everything about America, its customs and its traditions.

Fortunately, my parents made a point to create their own version of a traditional Danish Christmas Eve meal that we ate every year: roast duck, potatoes, red cabbage and rum pudding (my mother didn’t like rice pudding). Maybe this meal reminded my dad of his childhood. I never asked why we did things this way. It was just our custom.

Every year, we did the same thing. We went to church at 5 p.m. while our mom stayed home and prepared the meal. I can still remember the way the house smelled when we got home. We sat down at the table. We ate. Then we had dessert. One dish of pudding had an almond in it. Whoever had the almond received a special gift. Then we opened presents. Finally, we went to the midnight service at church. Every year, we did this, until my mom got sick. That’s when things changed.

I can’t remember the last time I had duck for Christmas. It was probably the year before my mom died. Christmas can be tough. It’s not easy conjuring up those memories, but it’s too hard to forget. The nice thing about those memories is that at the heart of it is a meal, prepared by someone I loved for someone I love. It was a gift that my mom gave to my dad. It was a gift that our family gave to itself every year, whether we thought of it that way.

Sure, we don’t eat duck anymore on Christmas Eve, but we’ll always have the memory of that meal, shared at the same time every year. That’s the wonderful thing about food. You can forget a lot, but you can always remember a good meal.

Want to know why the call sunflower sprouts a super food? Learn about it here.
Did you know someone wrote a thorough history of sunflowers? If you have the time, it's here for the reading.

If you run out of edible things to do, you could always make this lovely ornament ... that's right, it's a walnut shell.
 

Want to know why walnuts are so good for you? Here’s the scoop
Want to do something other than eat them raw? Try this tried-and-true recipe
Want to learn about one of the farms that grows your food? Read all about ‘em here

In the new report, called Cereal Crimes, the Institute argues that “natural” labels deceive consumers and undermine the effectiveness and worth of the “organic” label. (You can download a copy of the report here.)

The term organic is strictly defined by federal laws and overseen by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The study highlights several issues:

1)   The term ‘natural” has no regulatory legal definition. Without laws defining what the term might mean, companies shape it for their own purposes. At Outpost, of course, the term “natural foods” is actually part of our name, and you can find our definition of the phrase on our web site and in our product policies. To us, natural means “foods that do not contain artificial colors, flavors, harmful preservatives or sweeteners. Our naturally raised meats and poultry come from animals that have access to the outdoors, are treated humanely, and were not given artificial growth hormones. “

2)   Without legally binding terminology, consumers can and do get confused about the meaning of the word natural.

3)   Natural and organic are not interchangeable, but in the report, Cornucopia points to several manufacturers that have changed the labeling (and content) of their products from “organic” to “natural.”

4)   The amount of GMOs in conventional foods would likely surprise most people.

5)   Many of the ingredients used in natural cereals have been shown to contain detectable concentrations of organophosphate pesticides in data collected by the USDA in the past. The report did not test the actual “natural” cereals, but points to that USDA data to suggest that the “natural” cereals could therefore contain those pesticides.

The names of some of the cereals tested will be familiar to shoppers at Outpost. Barbara’s Bakery, Peace Cereal and Annie’s were among the companies called out by the institute for moving from organic to natural ingredients.

In what was probably a response to a decreased demand and to rising prices (or perhaps due to some research that told them customers would still buy their product even if it was no longer organic, I don’t know), some companies have in the past several years moved away from organic ingredients, replacing them with ingredients that hail from a wide spectrum of sources. Cornucopia charges that those companies are attempting to deceive their customers by moving to the more vague “natural” ingredients. My guess is that none of the companies named by Cornucopia really wanted to publicize the change. “Our product now slightly less desirable than before!” doesn’t really fly as a sales pitch.

So, a cereal that once was organic no longer is. Now it is “natural,” a term that has some nice feel-good sort of baggage but in truth can mean whatever the company wants it to mean. The terminology isn’t limited to cereals, of course. You can find “natural” meats, beverages, crackers, cookies, chips and many more in the supermarket.

Cornucopia clearly would like for us to stop selling the natural cereals (and probably those other “natural” products, too). Maybe you do, too.

But the dollars spent by our shoppers and owners tell us otherwise. They tell us that we should be offering choices. We sell some of the “natural” cereals. They do fall somewhere on the spectrum closer to the idea of healthy foods. They don’t contain artificial ingredients or colorings, for example, and are often lower in sugar than the conventional varieties, so in that way are more “natural” and probably healthier than conventional breakfast cereals.

We sell them, right next to the organic cereals.

Maybe we should tell you more about some of those organic cereals.

Nature’s Path is the single largest vendor in the cereal category at Outpost. They are numerous reasons we are proud to carry its products. Nature’s Path cereals contain certified organic ingredients, and the company is family owned and managed, is an active participant in the Non-GMO project and even has a plant right up the road in Sussex. It’s a local employer!

Another company we’re happy to work with is Country Choice. We sell its hot cereals and cookies. Country Choice also uses certified organic ingredients, also participates in the Non-GMO project and is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, making it a regional vendor.

We sell their products because organic foods are very important to our vision of a healthy community. We carry numerous organic products and we strictly follow regulations about the handling and sale of organic products. Our Co-op Community Fund has for years donated money to help Wisconsin farmers get organic certification. The issue has long been dear to our owners.

But our owners are 16,000 strong, and are, as you can imagine, a diverse group. Organic food is just one of numerous interests our owners hold. In recent years, local food and commerce has become a critical issue to many of our owners and shoppers. We now endeavor to seek out and work with hundreds of small local and regional suppliers, even when the foods they grow may not always be organic.

The local apple harvest, for example, is a highlight of the year in our stores, with delicious variety after delicious variety tumbling into our stores from Barthel’s Fruit Farm in Mequon. Barthel’s uses IPM – Integrated Pest Management – to control pests with as few chemicals as they can get away with. Our owners and other shoppers support Barthel’s with their purchases.

It’s a complicated world out there for the consumers hoping to do the best they can with the food dollars they spend. We all want good, nutritious food and a vibrant, healthy, diverse and economically sustainable local community.

We remain committed to providing you with the educational resources you need to make the best decisions for your own and your family’s health.

We also happen to think that you, the consumer, should know what is in the food you buy and eat. That is why Outpost is a sustaining member of the Truth in Labeling Coalition. The coalition is a non-profit organization whose mission is to make it mandatory for manufacturers to disclose GE and GMO foodstuffs on labels. You can help by signing the coalition’s petition here. 

The fish, with the brand name AquAdvantage, was developed by a Massachusetts company. The process splices genetic material from another variety of salmon and an eel into the cells of an Atlantic salmon. The new genetic material helps to govern and regulate the salmon's growth - and setting the new fish off on continuous rapid growth.

Proponents of the new fish and of the technology behind it point to declining wild fish stocks and the planet's burgeoning human population - and appetite. These new GMO species of fish drastically shorten the time it takes for fish to get to market size, which means, say supporters, more food for our hungry world.

But opponents of GMO foods are skeptical. They argue that potential health dangers of consuming GMO fish have not been adequately studied. And some opponents are worried that the fish, intended for land-locked fish farms and altered to prevent reproduction, may escape and mix with wild fish populations, causing unintended consequences. Talking Points Memo has a good review of the issue here.

What do you think? Is it worth the risk?

Small town grocers face numerous challenges, from centralized distribution systems to lifestyle changes to truly frightening competition from massive retail chains luring shoppers away from Main Streets and siphoning food dollars.

The USA Today articles reports on the decline of independent grocers in two Midwestern states, Kansas and Michigan, but the story is likely quite similar across the country. But what residents of the small towns are finding is that the loss of a grocery store has a profound and often domino effect. The owner of a neighboring hardware store tells USA Today that his business has dropped by half since the town’s grocer shut its doors.

The loss of the town grocery store affects nearby businesses, but the impact on some segments of the population is even more devastating. Eldery customers and others without easy transportation to the more distant stores - the large retail chains often build far from the center of any one town in an attempt to be within driving reach of several small communities -  suffer from the loss of a local store, as their access to the full product line offered by a grocer diminishes. Convenience stores and gas stations might offer some food items, but often lack fresh items.

It’s easy to rationalize a trip to the large retailer, with the seeming convenience of a full range of items for sale and discount prices of a sort that independent grocers may be unable to match. But these small town examples also serve as a startling wake up call for the widespread and long term consequences of failing to shop locally – empty main streets and diminished ease of access to healthy foods. Just look at the USDA’s Food Desert Locator to see the large expanses of our nation that qualify as food desrts.

The USA Today article does carry an encouraging report near the end of the story about Walsh, Colorado. After the town’s lone grocery closed, the town’s residents banded together and reopened it as a cooperative, and report that the store is now thriving.

We’re partial to the co-op route. It offers one of the best ways to counter the loss of control over the foods we eat and it empowers a community by deepening the roots of the local economy.

Co-ops and buying local – the path to good health.

Drought is a constant threat for farmers, so the market for a corn crop that can better tolerate drought is potentially huge, but the USDA itself reports that the GE corn doesn't perform any better than conventional corn varieties already on the market.

The USDA has also concluded that the GE corn poses little risk, something opponents of GMO and GE food crops argue hasn't been adequately proven. The Center for Food Safety claims the USDA's proposal fails to comply with federal environmental laws, making approval illegal. That organization has created an action page where people can send post their comments, which will be sent to the USDA. The agency is accepting public comment on the plan until July 11.

Weigh in on the USDA's proposal to approve GE corn here. Given that even the USDA says conventional corn varieties do just as well as the GE corn in tolerating drought conditions - and that many people continue to voice concerns about the potential for environmental disruption by cross contamination, this seems a no-brainer to us. No GE corn!

SO… that brings me to write about what I learned over this past year. This comes in no particular order, mostly from the ramblings in my head, however it leaves me a little surprised at the impact this has had on me, as well as the lives of others I now know through this experience.

A Year Of Learning, Inconveniently

52 - Convenience foods are packed, I mean PACKED, with sodium. Start to cook it all from scratch and your taste buds will notice the difference in a few short months.

51 - When making pasta, make sure you locate your flour well in which you will add the eggs, AWAY from the edge of the table. Cautious as you may be with stirring it together, the egg will break the wall and you will have to keep it from running onto the floor.

50 - I love bread and nothing compares to bread fresh from the oven.

49 - You can bake bread with a crusty, artisan-like texture by adding moisture to the oven. Keep a spray bottle with filtered water on hand to mist the top of the loaf. When using a baking stone, set a cast iron pan in the oven when heating, and add 2-3 ice cubes to the pan to create steam as you slide the loaf on the stone.

48 - When making mozzarella cheese remember one thing: kneading and stretching curds hot out of the microwave are quite honestly like touching the sun.

47 - I really, really, really hate cooking beans from scratch. Really.

46 - Someone in your life (aka: Mom) will try to feed you salty snack foods at every opportunity when she knows you are seriously trying to avoid them.

45 - A good stock (chicken or beef) takes 3-5 hours of slow simmer to give it a rich flavor. And a little fresh thyme is the secret ingredient.

44 - No one should have to buy chicken stock from the grocery store. It’s so economical to make, you can freeze it in whatever portion you like, it thaws in the microwave in no time, and it makes your house smell great while you’re making it.

43 - The secret is in the sponge, or in the starter. All great bread begins with a sponge or starter.

42 - The freezer is your best friend. You need a full upright or chest freezer to take on this type of cooking, without a doubt.

41 - Cooking from scratch requires a commitment to a production day once a week, if you have a busy work schedule and plan on eating a variety of foods.

40 – There aren’t many reasons to buy salad dressing when you can make great dressing yourself. You control the fat, the flavor, the salt, and the quality of ingredients. And there are plenty of good recipes out there.

39 – Mustard is one of the easiest condiments to make.

38 – Some of the best “foodies” live in Milwaukee and they have a great passion for sharing recipes. Check out many of them listed in my links!

To Be Continued…

The council voted 8 - 5 to pass the measure, which comes with a number of restrictions and includes a one-year sunset clause, meaning the ordinance would have be voted on and passed again next year. Read a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report here.

Residents will be allowed to house up to four hens in their yards, provided they applied for and recieved a $35 permit and got OKs from all adjacent neighbors. 

Here’s a glimpse into my 52 weeks of inconvenience, primarily cooking or baking for just the two of us (although some food items became gifts, while others were served to our dinner guests.

My year ended on April 17, and I still have some of the tomatoes and chicken stock in my basement freezer. I remember when I was so worried about putting up enough tomatoes last summer, to last me through the winter, and much to my surprise I didn’t use them all. We’ve eaten a few meals over the past two weeks (since the year officially ended) that were part of my stocking up on frozen dinners. Things like curried chicken pot pie, turkey meatloaf, turkey noodle soup, and pork carnitas have added a bit of value to what might have otherwise been a convenience food splurge for me.

In fact, over the past two weeks not a whole lot has changed for me… uhm yet. I baked two breads, made a batch of granola, one pizza, a number of from-scratch dinners, and averaged at least 3 out of 7 lunches from scratch each week. What did change is that I purchased pasta, chips, salsa, breakfast cereal, canned beans, a few salads and one sandwich from my co-op. I have a half-gallon of milk in the refrigerator right now for making yogurt (tonight) and I also think twice before buying anything convenient, partly out of habit and partially out of guilt. Could I actually be a changed woman? Only the next 50 weeks will tell for certain.