red lentils, then add fresh ginger and gar- lic, sautéed onion with cumin, and fresh spinach and tomatoes, and then serve it with whole-wheat pita bread.
Ingredient-First Cooking Jane Zieha, a certified public ac- countant, knows that feeding people and watching the bottom line can go together. She owns the acclaimed Blue Bird Bistro, in Kansas City, Missouri. An avowed all-natural, organic, sustain- able and local foods passionista, Zieha has stayed true to the principles of her Pennsylvania upbringing.
“I didn’t eat like anybody else growing up,” she says. “We never ate packaged food. We ate what was fresh. When I was old enough to go to a friend’s house for dinner, I was surprised at how they ate.” Today, both at home and at work, Zieha continues to select the best that local farmers can provide. “I don’t start with a recipe and then find the food, like most chefs and restaurants do,” she explains. “I find the ingredients and then go from there.”
Meat as a Condiment
More expensive ingredients, such as heritage turkey, can bring more flavor and texture to an entrée as an ingredi- ent instead of a standalone part of a meal, advises Zieha. She might feature heritage turkey in an enchilada filling, pasta or savory bread pudding, so that a little goes a long way.
It also makes sense to shop for va- rieties of fish or cuts of meat that aren’t widely popular or that take longer to cook. Slow Food’s Viertel, who shops near Brooklyn, New York, remarks: “I buy ‘trash fish’—sea robin, squid, mackerel, sardines—because they are cheaper and I believe, taste best. The same is true of the other meats I buy. I never cook pork chops or filet mignon; I cook oxtail and short ribs.”
Then, O’Donnel adds, the frugal cook turns bones of roasted poultry or trimmings from a whole fish into a deli- cious stock. Any homemade broth can be just the frozen asset we need for yet another tasty “value” meal.
Cookbook author Judith Fertig writes at
AlfrescoFoodAndLifestyle.blogspot.com.
HEALTH STARTS HERE
Whole Foods Market Demystifies Budget-Friendly, Healthy Eating by Lillie Viola
T
he sheer number of con- venience foods invitingly displayed in a supermarket leave consumers hard- pressed to resist quick and easy pre-packaged foods, as well as frozen meals that cost less than fresh meat and vegetables. Throw in conflicting media reports
and information about what should be eaten for good nutrition or well-being, and the task of food shopping can seem daunting.
To help shoppers in pursuit of improving their health through a better diet, Whole Foods Market introduced its companywide Health Starts Here initiative, which reflects the philosophy of CEO John Mackey. The program re- volves around four key pillars of healthy eating: choosing whole, natural and organic foods; maintaining a plant-based diet that includes legumes, nuts and seeds; consuming healthy fats from plant sources like nuts and avocados; and opt- ing for nutrient-dense foods that are low in calories, but high in micronutrients such as vitamins, minerals and antioxi- dants. Other aspects include educational tools, recipes to improve health and sup- port tools to inspire interest in foods that help enhance and maintain health and vitality. Foods throughout the store that are part of the program display Health Starts Here signage.
Additionally, a Five Ways to Save program, noted with yellow and red signs, helps shoppers create delicious meals for less. The signs highlight weekly specials (deep discounts on select and limited items); hot weekend deals (Friday through Sunday only); great buys (long-term discounts that staff buyers negotiate and pass along to consumers); and family-sized savings (larger sizes/smaller prices), as well as sales on hundreds of items throughout the store in every department. Cus-
tomers that sign up for the weekly newsletter offered by the Naples store or become Facebook or Twitter fans are notified about specials and recipes. The easy-to-use Shopping List featured on the Whole Foods website allows customers to customize a “My Groceries” personal
shopping list, which even suggests ingredients that are available under the store’s private label 365 Everyday Value brand.
To help consumers get even more bang for their nutrition buck, the company has partnered with Eat Right America to label many foods sold in the market according to an Aggregate Nutrient Density Index (ANDI) score, which indicates the food’s nutrient den- sity on a scale of 1 to 1,000; dark, leafy greens like kale earn the highest score, while soda scores a one.
Backed by a medical advisory board, the retailer also offers a variety of cooking classes, along with healthy eating supper clubs, for a modest fee. The Naples Health Starts Here and Green Mission Specialist, Julie Joiner, is on hand to talk about the Engine 2 Diet 28-Day Challenge, a program devel- oped by Rip Esselstyn, son of Caldwell Esselstyn, who appears in the documen- tary, Forks Over Knives. Joiner can also help customers identify the best items to toss into their shopping carts. “We teach people how to shop for good health, because Health Starts Here is a lifestyle,” says Joiner, who adds that the best part about the program is turning people on to some really great food and inspiring them to get back into the kitchen.
Location: 9101 Strada Place (the Mer- cato), Naples. For more information, call 239-552-5100 or visit WholeFoods
Market.com/stores/naples. See ad, page 66.
natural awakenings March 2012 41
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