What's New in Natural Foods

In This Issue

Preserving Summer’s Bounty
Chemicals and Cancer
July Meals

Hi Everyone,

The thick of summer. In the upper Midwest we complain about the stickiness and the mosquitoes, but we get darned excited about all the fine fresh foods we can enjoy. Wouldn’t it be great if we could enjoy our favorite foods throughout the year? Keep reading to find an uncommon, yet easy way to extend the shelf life of our summer produce. Also in this issue, learn about the President’s Cancer Panel Report, which was featured in recent mainstream media columns; then join the national discussion. In the meantime: fresh, local, summer. Get it while you can.

Preserving Summer’s Bounty

The buzz about local food movement has led to encouraging growth—more Farmers’ markets are springing up in cities across the country, Community Supported Agriculture is making connections between farmers and city customers, and people everywhere are growing food at home. In areas where we don’t have a year-round growing season, eating local foods requires a means of preserving the harvest, so we can enjoy it all year long. Canning, freezing and drying are among the traditional means of food preservation. A less common one is lacto-fermentation, which has its own health-supporting properties.

Fermentation happens when the carbohydrates in foods are broken down into more digestible components by the action of microorganisms. When lactobacillus bacteria are the organisms doing the fermenting lacto-fermentation happens. In this kind of fermentation, sugars are converted by the lactobacillus into lactic and acetic acids. When people intentionally ferment according to particular specifications, it’s called culturing food.

One of the benefits of lacto-fermented foods is that they contain enzymes and “probiotics,” friendly bacteria that promote intestinal health and defend us from “bad” bacteria, yeasts and other pathogens that cause disease. Probiotics also strengthen our immunity and assist with the digestion of our food. (Learn more about probiotics from a previous newsletter)

Learn how to preserve foods at my class at the Wedge Coop July 23, “Lacto Fermentation: Preserving Foods and Strengthening Health.” We’ll be making lacto-fermented salsa, pickled beets, raspberry “pop” and more. Call the Wedge soon to register: 612-871-3993.

Chemicals and Cancer

While it’s no news flash to those of us who know that organic foods are better for our bodies, this thinking is finally breaking through to the mainstream. Read New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof’s op/ed piece about a report published this spring by the President’s Panel on Cancer. As Kristoff writes, “It’s striking that this report emerges not from the fringe but from the mission control of mainstream scientific and medical thinking…” The report finds that “the risk of environmentally induced cancer has been grossly underestimated” and notes that of the 80,000+ chemicals on the market in the U.S., many are largely unregulated and their health implications have not been studied. The panel, set up under President Bush, recommends avoiding feedlot meat and eating organic foods. Huge news!

It’s a sad fact that we can’t expect the government to always act in our best interests, but it’s encouraging to see that the public conversation is moving in a healthier direction. Watch to see how industry reacts. NYU Food and Nutrition professor Marion Nestle, in an article in The Atlantic, guesses it may cause a furor, but provides readers with a minimal list of where to start.

In the meantime, shop local, organic and non-toxic whenever possible. And, as the panel recommends, filter your drinking water instead of buying bottled.

July Meals

I love summer food! So I’m especially excited to share this month’s Dinner with Jennette meals with subscribers. “Mojito Pork chops with Coconut Mashed Yams and Sugar Snap Peas,” “Catalan Baked Fish with Spanish Sofrito Rice and Green Beans” and “Turkey Cutlets with Nectarine Salsa, Brie Quesadillas and Butter Sautéed Summer Squash” are some of my favorites.

Not a subscriber yet? Get inspired and motivated to eat well all year long.

Best,
Jennette