Reacquainting Ourselves to Healthy, Simple Foods
I read Barbara Kingsolver’s book “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” a few years ago and one of the passages I recall most vividly is when a young man accustomed to city life saw her pull a carrot out of the family garden. He was shocked that carrots grew in the ground.
This disconnect between real, simple food and the foods many people rely on to nourish their bodies is concerning to me. I see it in my own life when at speaking engagements. If the group is small, I will often ask people to share three things they always buy at the grocery store. The most common responses are all highly processed. People indicate they purchase diet frozen dinners, sweetened cereals, chips, frozen breaded vegetables, and other such “non-food” items.
It occurred to me recently that in many cases, a person must learn to reacquaint or even introduce themselves to real foods, different tastes, and healthy foods. In other words, in many cases, the American palate has shifted away from appreciating the simple foods in life to only enjoying foods that bear little or no resemblance to a natural food.
I take advantage of every opportunity I have to introduce people to real foods and love seeing their reactions. One evening I was invited to attend a meeting that included a potluck dinner. I made a couscous recipe that included freshly steamed vegetables, herbs straight from my garden, and no salt. Although some of the attendees were a bit dubious about trying my dish, the ones that did could not believe how good it was. They also could not believe how simple and fast the dish was to prepare. I shared the nutritional benefits of the dish with them and told them in my life, “Simple, natural foods often equal healthy foods.”
We had some of my children’s friends over recently and I made hummus and served it with carrot sticks cut into fun shapes, whole grain crackers, and cucumber sticks. One of the children asked me what the cucumbers were and none of them had ever heard of hummus. Although tentative at first, every single child ate all that I gave them and eagerly told their mom about the “new food” they had tried. I suppressed a smile as many of the moms said they had never really tried to serve their kids foods like hummus because they assumed their kids would hate it.
On the surface it does seem easier to just pop a frozen dinner in the oven or warm up some breaded vegetables, but in reality, we are doing ourselves and our family a disservice by eliminating simple, healthy foods from our diet in favor of highly processed foods.
After all, the foods we put in our bodies are the fuel our bodies require to run. The nutrients in whole foods are far superior to the preservatives and additives in many processed foods. I’d encourage you to make sure the people in your life are acquainted to real foods. Make a new recipe, introduce children to unfamiliar vegetables, and purchase whole grains that are great for your body.
Do you see an unfamiliarity with real, simple foods among your family and friends? Have you ever introduced someone to a new food?
Be well!
Diane
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Sep 12, 2012 @ 03:33:00
Great article! This is one reason my husband and I keep a garden and let the kids stay involved. They are much more likely to eat what they’ve grown themselves!
Sep 12, 2012 @ 05:08:00
Great post Diane! It is all about whole foods & more people need to incorporate them & let their kids eat them too. If you start them young, they know no difference AND they are healthier. I am not a cook 0 very simple me BUT I sure chat it up to people!
Sep 12, 2012 @ 06:40:00
My husband and I joined a CSA this past year and picked all our own vegetables. One of the most interesting and dirty jobs was digging through the dirt to pull out the red potatoes! I’ve tried several new vegetables as a result including bok choy, kale and swiss chard. I’ve also learned how to blanch and freeze the vegetables to have all winter long. It gives you a totally different perspective on food when you get it right off the plant as opposed to picking it up out of a bin, and it’s been a real commitment of time and energy. I don’t know if we’ll do it again next year, but it’s been a great experience for us.
Sep 14, 2012 @ 07:52:00
I see this every day via friends, family, viewers online, or even at the grocery store. And I certainly love to help, since I was definitely a part of the TV dinner generation myself!
Since we move around a bit, and rarely have a yard or garden-growing space, I haven’t ventured growing my own, but in recent years have embraced the CSA’s and co-ops for local produce. I liked fruits and veggies before, but these have given me a whole new perspective on food.
Now I must know what fun shapes you can cut carrots into?