Healthy Eating Tips
This Month’s Recipes: Green Goddess Orzo Pasta
This month I am happy to feature Chef Jenny Jesch. She will share with you her thoughts on healthful eating, and a delicious recipe as well!
Hope you are staying cool, enjoying your summer, and eating healthfully!
~Chef Shana
Summer is in full swing, and with it brings an abundance of seasonal fruits and vegetables. This means there is no better time to eat lots of fresh, local ingredients. What great news for all of us folks up here in the Pacific Northwest where so much produce thrives this time of year! Today, I’m excited to share some great information on how to stick to diets rich in Whole Foods (Fruits, Vegetables, Whole grains, and Pasture raised meats) and free of preservatives, artificial ingredients, pesticides and genetically engineered ingredients.
First off, let’s talk a bit about diets. There are so many options out there these days (Plant based, Paleo, Whole 30, Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Etc.) And many people struggle with knowing what’s right for them, or even what to give a try. I think the most important factor of any diet is ensuring you are getting the best possible source of nutrition in whatever ingredients you choose to eat. I like to look at food as a form of preventative medicine, because what I put in my body is inevitably going to either have a beneficial or an adverse effect on my health both short and long term. This doesn’t mean I don’t indulge in the occasional sweet or eat cheeseburgers, but instead I focus on the list of ingredients in those foods and where they came from. Is the meat from around here, pasture raised? Below I put together a little “crash course” on what to look for and how to eat an Organic, Whole food diet.
Are your vegetables and fruits Organic? Conventional produce uses persistent chemical pesticides such as Roundup while Organic production bans the use of chemical sprays and uses only natural pesticides such Lady Bugs and Neem Tree Oil.
Are your Meat, Dairy, and Eggs Organic? For me, this is the most important factor in my diet. Conventional meat is mostly factory farmed and animals are often raised in inhumane overcrowded conditions where they are fed GMO corn, soy and alfalfa and may receive antibiotics and growth hormones. USDA Organic has much different standards which ban GMO’s, and these cage free and pasture raised animals get to live their lives the way nature intended, eating grass, bugs and organic grains, which result in a much healthier and happier animal!
Are you eating enough Whole Grains? Making the simple switch from white to whole wheat can do wonders for your health! Choosing whole wheat pasta, brown rice, quinoa and farro (to name a few) can provide you with up to 40% more nutrients such as vitamins B1, B2, B3, E, calcium, folic acid, iron and fiber which are in large part lost when wheat is processed.
Did you know, fat is GOOD for you!? We are told to limit the amount of fat in our diet, and this still rings true for bad fats such as trans fats and some saturated fats (think highly processed oils, fried food, fast food) but did you know that monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and a few saturated fats such as avocados, nuts, unrefined oils such like olive and coconut, grass fed butter, ghee, and pasture raised organic whole milk are some examples of nutritious and in fact necessary components of a healthy diet?
Whoo! That’s a lot to think about, isn’t it? One of the biggest setbacks for people is often the cost and energy it takes to meet these standards in their diet. As your personal chef’s, hopefully we can help make things a little easier for you in that department. As someone who is immensely passionate about all things food and nutrition, I am here to help answer your questions…just send me an email (jenny@readyseteat.net) and I’d love to speak with you further!
On a final note, below is one of my recipes to provide you with a healthy dose of whole grains, vegetables and good fats. Enjoy!
-Chef Jenny Jesch