Greetings!
They say that March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. It’s proving true this year with a big snowstorm on the east coast. I was in Washington DC for a long weekend, the Federal government had a 2 hour delay due to 6+ inches of snow! To find out why I was in DC to speak with my senators, read my blogpost
After the wild weather, I arrived home with a dead computer that needed a total lobotomy to revive it. Fortunately, my computer maven, Lynn Leventhal was able to bring my laptop back to life.
It’s been a challenging winter, but despite the snow, spring is on it’s way. It’s time to plant seeds literally and metaphorically. What do you want to happen this spring and summer? The time is now to start putting things into action after the stillness of winter.
Here’s wishes for a happy and healthy March. Susan 🙂
| The Nutrition Game: Fun Ways to Teach Children Healthy Eating Habits |
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 Calling all parents, teachers and school dietitians! If you have a hunger to turn the tide on the growing epidemic of childhood obesity and the decline of children’s health, this is the class for you. I’ll be show you how to teach nutritional concepts to children of all ages using fun and engaging techniques that include as examples: how to read a food labels and detect “health hype”; how to recognize the foods that are in season; how to play the “picky eater” game; and more. These creative coaching methods, together with a complementary workbook filled with comprehensive lists of internet resources and entertaining activities for your children or students, will empower you to ignite their desire for a healthy relationship with food. Date: Wednesday, March 25, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. |
| A Stimulus Package You Can Sink Your Teeth Into! |
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 If you had purchased $1000 of shares in Delta Airlines one year ago, you will have $49.00 today. If you had purchased $1000 of shares in AIG one year ago, you will have $33.00 today. But—- if you had purchased $1000 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the aluminum cans for recycling refund, you will have received $214.00. I’m not a big beer drinker, so this investment plan wouldn’t work well for me. Here’s a strategy that I like better than the beer. For example, if you purchased just $2 worth of tomato plants, your yield would be over $100 worth of fresh organically grown food that has no carbon footprint. While tending to your tomatoes, you’ll also benefit from additional Vitamin D in the form of sunshine, thereby reducing your risk of both cancer and osteoporosis. Saving you costly medical bills. Want to make an investment that pays higher return than any Wall Street stock? Invest in seeds and grow some food. It’s easier than you think. Community gardens are springing up everywhere. Containers like the Earth Box can easily work on a deck. Teich Garden Systems can help you to create a state of the art animal resistant garden for your yard or school. My friend, Roger Doiran’s initiative Eat the View is gaining momentum nationwide. I’m happy to tell you that there is a strong possibility that President Obama and his family will break ground on their garden this summer. A White House garden will inspire millions of Americans to grow some of their own food, similar to the Victory Garden movement of the 40’s. |
| Slow Food Westchester Spring Events |
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 I’m proud to say that our Slow Food Westchester chapter is growing and thriving. My co-leaders, Jan Maltby of Sleepy Hollow and chef Michele Kim of Brewster have worked to bring a variety of events for all ages, locations Last weekend, Jan organized a sold out bread baking event at Wave Hill Breads This Friday, January 6th, Jan will be holding lunch bunch at Comfort Restaurant. We are combing the county to check out Slow Food friendly restaurants each month. |
| School Food Public Speaking |
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 I continue to travel near and far to speak about school food. These days with budget cuts along with environmental concerns, school food is even more important than ever. The issue is starting to heat up as legislation for the National School Lunch Program is being set for re-authorization this fall. Will it be business as usual with big agribusiness and junk food companies running the show? Stay tuned! March 10th, I’ll be speaking at the Whitby School on Why School Food and Gardens Really Matter On March 19th, I’ll be in Portland Oregon to attend the National Farm to Cafeteria Conference and the NW Real Food Summit. |
| March Recipe: Cha Cha Chia! |
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 As a result of an longstanding family joke, my daughter bought me a chia pet for Christmas. I’ve had fun this winter growing chia sprouts on my kitchen windowsill. It’s reminded me that the green of springtime will soon be on it’s way. There are many ways to add chia seeds into your daily diet. You can mix chia seeds into yogurt, sprinkle them on your hot cereal in the morning, add to salads, or even add them to your baking. They don’t need to be ground up like flax seeds do. You can eat your Chia pet sprouts too! Sprouts are a great source of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and enzymes. Their nutritional value was discovered by the Chinese thousands of years ago. Chia seeds are similar to flax seeds, they are both high in Omega 3 fats, a source of good fiber as well as antioxidants. You don’t need a degree in biochemistry to eat healthfully. It comes down to simply this: You can’t go wrong eating seeds and leaves! |
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Food & Climate Change
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| Food plays a big role in climate change, 30% of greenhouse gases are agricultural in origin.
While you may hear about CO2 levels in the conversation about global warming, other gases are involved too. Methane, which comes from cow belches and farts, is 21 times more powerful at warming the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Our industrialized food system feeds cows corn and soy, which they don’t digest well, leading to more gas. You may have experienced this phenomenon yourself when you ate something that really didn’t agree with you! Cows were meant to eat grass, clover, green stuff! In addition to consuming less energy, grass-fed beef has another benefit. Cattle raised on pasture actually produce more methane than industrial feedlot animals Eat Wild is a great resource for more information on grass fed products including where to find them in your community. |
