Better for You: Snack Ideas

reported by Yahoo, NY Times, Reuters Health, and many other news sources:

Plain Greek yogurt with fresh picked fruit, maple syrup, and/ or honey 

plain Greek yogurt for less sugar and a healthy dose of protein

fruit-and-nut bar
look for Dark Chocolate

nuts such as pistachios, almonds, and even the peanut - a legume

a hand full per day -

according to NYTimes nuts are: 

- rich sources of unsaturated fat

-  contain protein, fiber, plant sterols that can lower cholesterol

- micronutrients like copper and magnesium

- approx. 62 percent of the fat in nuts is monounsaturated, the kind that supports healthy levels of protective HDL cholesterol and does not raise blood levels of harmful LDL cholesterol.

- Nuts contain omega-3 fatty acids that can lower triglycerides and blood pressure, slow the buildup of arterial plaque and prevent abnormal heart rhythms. 

-Walnuts are especially rich sources of alpha-linolenic acid, some of which is converted to heart-protective omega-3 fatty acids.

-Most nuts, and especially almonds, are good sources of vitamin E, an antioxidant. 

-folic acid, selenium, magnesium and several phytochemicals are among the compounds in nuts that have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory or anticancer properties.

-Nuts also contain dietary fiber, about a quarter of which is the type that reduces cholesterol and improves blood sugar and weight control. 

-Peanuts and especially pistachios are rich in resveratrol, which is being investigated for possible anti-aging effects. Pistachios are also rich in arginine, which gives rise to nitric oxide.

steamed edamame 

a single-serve packet of edamame is only 90 calories

One cup of air-popped popcorn 

only 31 calories

A homemade smoothie 

A banana 

only 121 calories and zero grams of saturated fat.

One ounce of dark chocolate 

antioxidant/people who eat it a few times a week are thinner than those who don't
carrots and hummus 

dried plums /fruit
oats 

Oats also offer a surprisingly good amount of protein, plus slow-digesting fiber from whole grains.

roasted pumpkin seeds
Pumpkin seeds contain good fats and protein. A one-third cup serving of roasted seeds is just 94 calories.

Training : Your Core ( Ab toning)

Ribollita: tuscan kale and savoy cabbage

This is one of my first products for the farmers market frozen foods for which I rec'd a grant in 2005.  The ideal go to meal from the freezer to the soup pot or microwave because it has so many nutrients!

The ingredients for this soup capitalizes on the fall harvest of vegetables including:
tomatoes
tuscan kale or lacinato
savoy cabbage
onion
garlic
celery
white or cannelloni beans - soak for 24 hours, cook, strain, and puree some of them for a thicker soup
Italian bread - I add this warm sliced bread at the "plating" stage with some rubbed garlic - Umh good
herbs - I am using sage and parsley

optional - I prefer to leave these out because the flavor of the tomato, bean, and kale is divine by itself
potatoes
carrots

Product Review: Local Shiitake Mushroom Farmer

I not grow veggies, care for animals, and try to preserve local foods in ready to eat meals - part of that is purchasing from other local farmers - This week I will pick up 5lbs of "fruit of the fungi" shiitake mushrooms.

From these, I will produce wood fired mushroom, goat cheese, and rosemary pesto Neopolitan style pizzas, mushroom soups, and stir fry of kale and mushroom.  All of these will be frozen as prototypes and as soon as the farm commerical kitchen is in place - we will provide lots more good meals for customers.

Shiitake mushrooms nutritional components include essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals, including iron and an antioxidant called selenium.

Lentinan, one of the main components of shiitakes has been found to be effective in suppressing cytochrome P450 1A, an inflammatory and carcinogenic enzyme and exhibit anticancer activities 

they have beneficial cholesterol-lowering and antiviral tendencies, strong anti-fungal properties and also helps decrease the proliferation of specific cancer cells. 

Selenium is a trace element found in soil and is required to maintain good health in trace amounts. In food, the mineral is found in Brazil nuts, poultry, seafood, and meats, while significant amounts are found in oats and brown rice.

A deficiency of selenium is rare but symptoms can include muscular weakness and fatigue.d a bad odor on your fingernails.

Selenium aids in many of the metabolic pathways and may help treat prostate cancer; ongoing research is exploring the relationship between low selenium levels and coronary heart disease.

Selenium also benefits the skin during healing following burn injuries. Shampoo with selenium may alleviate dandruff problems. For skin care, selenium’s antioxidant properties regenerate vitamins E and C, thereby decreasing the aging of skin.

Major benefits of selenium have been found to improve the immune system against bacterial and viral infections, against cancer cells and herpes virus, cold sores, and shingles. One of the major nutritional benefits of selenium is increasing the HDL cholesterol to LDL cholesterol for a healthy heart.

fava beans - sooo good delicious fresh picked

fava beans evoke memories if growing up Italian American. the fresh picked beans picked, shelled, and eaten out of hand. ...introduced to us by our father whose gardening know how was passed on to his children along with his love of fava beans.

Nutrition Profile
good source of vitamin B1, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, fiber, folate, and manganese.

How to eat
I like them eaten raw freshly picked with thinly shaved pecorino and chilled white or rose wine

Cold Buttermilk Fava Bean Soup

Combine in a food processor

1 to 2 large garlic cloves ,Salt and pepper to taste ,fava beans, shelled and skinned ,3 cups buttermilk, finely minced fresh mint or dill, minced chives

chill until ready to serve.

Organic Wine Growers

The perspective behind some of my work

I am a dedicated heirloom farmer, heritage breed caretaker, and homesteader! What does that mean? I realize there is no post on my blog with explanation or discussion.

I can summarize this dedication by sharing a dialogue with a friend today.

The friend said that the doctor recommended she have tomato in her salad every day, for health benefits. It is winter here in the Northeast, and she is still eating tomatoes! Well, I asked her if she knew where the tomatoes in the supermarkets came from? I asked how they could be any good with their coloration and hardness. (Of course, I would never eat one of these myself.) And what of the actual nutrition content - the very reason she was being instructed to consume more tomato? Well, she asked, what about canned tomatoes, are they better? I explained that canned foods represent 25% of the nutritional content of the original crop. One of the motivations in Farmers Frozen Foods -preserving optimum nutritients.

But really, does anyone know what the actual nutritional profile of each crop is these days, since everything is completely altered from its native state? She said she might grow one of those upside down plants this summer. I asked her if she knew where the seed came from? ... and on and on the conversation went.

Anyway, to make a long story short, very few people question their food sources right down to the seed or the breed that becomes their food. I am one of the few!

Genetic Diversity

Each race of native human populations represents a unique gene profile. Studies show that Italian and Finnish people have isolated genetic differences. Heirloom and Heritage is about preserving genetic differences. GMO - genetically modified organisms are our biggest threat due to wind borne cross pollination. We saw how quickly the late blight spread in Northeast tomatoes crops. The same can easily happen with exposing all corn crops to GMO crops.

What percentage of corn and soybeans is GMO?
92% of all soy and 80% of all corn grown in the US was genetically modified

Heirloom seeds

Genetic diversity in our farm fields are as beneficial as diversity in all aspects of life - a better diet results in better health - and pure seed represents the authentic nutrition vitamin, mineral, and amino acid profile. Hybrids are human designs to create a "better" crop - like increased sugar content of sweet corn. Some of these F1 hybrids meet a broader definition of heirloom if they were patented before 1928.

The benefits of saving seed and growing heirlooms has to do with preserving these rare, and in many cases, native crops.

Heritage Breeds

We adopted wild mustangs.

"These horses returned to North America with the arrival of the Spanish explorers and conquerors. These Spanish horses were from the finest strains and were regarded as the best in Europe. They formed the nucleus of the great herds of wild horses that spread upward from Mexico into the United States and the western plains country. Native peoples generally managed their horses somewhat loosely by European standards, allowing the horses considerable freedom. This management style augmented the growing wild herds.

Wild horses were variously called "mustangs," "mestenos," broncos, chapos (meaning short and chunky).

Horses bred to race are designed for speed and endurance - these are hybrids. So too, milk cattle are designed for greater production. Some breeds are naturally better milkers while others have higher butterfat solids. Farmers pick and choose breeds based on natural characteristics or those imparted by human bioengineering. Again, preservation of old world breeds and genetic diversity are the key reasons for raising and caring for heritage breeds.

Homesteading - as traditional crop varieties are being restored to native farmers and gardeners, associated farming traditions are being revived.

We have received favorable press each year in the following venues - each time I published a link to reareseeds.com as our recommended seed source. These include:

Growing Magazine, 2009

http://www.growingmagazine.com/article.php?id=4400Fruit Growers Magazine, 2008

Vegetable Growers Magazine, 2008

Fruit Growers News

http://www.fruitgrowersnews.com

Cornell Small Farms Quarterly, 2007

http://www.smallfarms.cornell.edu/pages/quarterly/archive/fall08/Fall08-11.pdf

SARE Grant Reporting and Proposal, 2005 and 2006

http://www.sare.org/MySARE/ProjectReport.aspx?do=viewRept&pn=FNE06-566&y=2007&t=1

We encourage farmers that grow for Farmers Frozen Foods to purchase seed from heirloom seed sources.