Madonna Badger and Organic Food

Do you remember the Madonna Badger story? She’s the woman who lost her three young children and her parents in a house fire on Christmas 2011. Just typing that sentence left a pit in my stomach. I cannot or do not want to even contemplate loss and grief on that level. I listened to a recent interview she did and a couple of things stuck with me. I have a great book I was planning on sharing today but that can wait.

Madonna talked about her pain. She was in the hospital for a while following the fire but eventually she was faced with the daunting process of continuing to live. She talked about numbing out and said she couldn’t shoot heroin or drink to numb the pain. She had to feel the pain. She had to feel the pain in order to heal and she had to accept that this pain wasn’t going to go away. How many of us numb out with drinks or food or just going and doing nonstop in order to avoid something? Maybe, as Madonna said, the avoidance is even more difficult than the feelings.

Toward the end of the interview Madonna was reflective. She said she wished she knew then what she knows now. I’m paraphrasing but she said organic food doesn’t matter. She repeated saying sure it’s good but the deadline at work or getting kids into great schools or eating organic doesn’t really matter. I knew what she meant and I felt her words. All of the details we consume ourselves with are luxuries. We think about organic or weight because things are moving along in that semi predictable way everyday life does. However, are we doing the things that are even more important? Are we listening to what our children or parents say? Are we feeling what we need to feel and showing up to the celebrations or lessons and really being there?

This resonated with me as I put my kids to bed. The extra minutes they were up past bedtime seemed sort of meaningless. I will sit with them for breakfast this morning versus rushing around the kitchen and yes it will be an organic breakfast.

Did you recall the Madonna Badger story? Do you tend to "numb out"? Is it possible to stay connected to those truly important things? Can we care about the little details and still be present, honest etc? 

When Your Kids Use the "F" Word

  

I thought about this post a lot. At first, I decided not to discuss this because it’s a conversation I had with one of my children. Then I realized I could present the scenario but not attribute it to anyone in particular. That didn’t seem the way to go. I then was going to write about another topic altogether like how Paul Ryan “forgot” his marathon finish time or the Times article that concluded organic foods are no better. But why waste time on lies? I’m going to tell you something truthful.

My boys were away at camp for seven weeks this summer. We can email or occasionally call them but their only means of communication with us were letters (no technology, love it except the spelling errors).  One son would give us the date and time and a maximum of two sentences. His brother, on the other end of the information spectrum, told us everything. I would’ve been fine without knowing every score of every game or when they were “robbed” but my sentimental side comes out while they are away. One letter in August talked of a visit to a girl’s camp. “They had a carnival with rides and delicious food.” Interesting. “And all the girls thought I was cute.” Whoa, did he write “girls” and “cute” if it weren’t for the handwriting and abundant sports scores I would’ve thought this was written by another child. His lack of modesty aside, I was happy he shared that information and I didn’t say another word about it until he came home.

First night home (within an hour of seeing him) I couldn’t contain myself:

“So you mentioned girls, they thought you were cute?”

“Yes, it was strange, I’ve never heard that from girls my age.” I let the age thing go and skipped to “and did you think they were cute?”

“No mom, they were all fat.”

I wasn’t prepared for that. Especially with my profession, “fat” is not something he’s heard me say. I may say way worse words, such as the original "F" word especially when I cut myself cooking or get cut off while driving but not fat. I may say I feel “gross” or “bloated” or many other not-so-positive things but I stay away from fat.

“You know it wouldn’t hurt somebody’s feelings if they were called that.” I said. “Mom, I didn’t call them that and I’m not being mean, they were fat.” Some people are fat and some are thin.” My head started to spin. This poor child was enjoying his first hour home in his house and I was thinking of a frat house with him surrounded by older versions of his camp friends as they discussed various females and their appearance. Was I raising one of “those” guys?

I went off. I told him that girls develop sooner than boys. He had learned about puberty at school or as he said “when you get hair in all sorts of places”. I added it’s what’s on the inside that counts. I gave alternate words for fat such as large and overweight and rotund. My mother always pinned everything on my friends so I told him if others were saying hurtful things about girls, he shouldn't join in. And then I realized this kid will never share anything with me again so I said “I’m happy they had good food at the carnival, it sounds like a fun day.”
We spend so much time working on girl's self esteem and body image do you think we neglect speaking to boys? We are all influenced by appearance how to we make sure boys get right message? What would you have done in this situation? And if you'd like to chime in about Paul Ryan or organic food that's fine too.

My Nanny State

A little over ten years ago my older son was born. Like most new parents, Marc and I were completely clueless. Since we both work, hiring a nanny seemed logical. After a series of interviews we foolishly decided to go with the smartest and sharpest of the applicant pool. Every morning smarty-pants would come into work; before she would touch or acknowledge the baby she’d make herself tea and oatmeal. I’m not a timid person but this woman was running the show. I’m embarrassed to say I put up with this insanity for six months until I started to get a clue. I sent an email out to everyone I knew looking for a new nanny and somehow hit the babysitter jackpot.

This go around, our son was there to help us. L* came into our apartment for her interview and he crawled over to her and sat in her lap. This stranger instinctively hugged and kissed him as she’s done for the past nine plus years. Friends of ours have switched babysitters as their children got older but L is a part of our family. Aside from being patient and loving, L is a fantastic cook; my boys love plantains, ackee, saltfish and curry thanks to her. And because I’m such a pain in the ass particular L has learned some things from me as well. She knows that the produce for the house has to be organic, beef grass-fed, water filtered and in glass bottles…and the list goes on. Did I mention L was patient?

I’m going somewhere with all of this. Yesterday, I left the office early to pick up the boys on their last day of school. I came into the apartment, to drop my computer ,and was greeted by this

not my definition of "joy"

My heart started to race, I may as well have been staring at an explosive device “L are you eating McDonalds?” “Yes, just once in a while Lauren, that’s all.” I couldn’t believe the enemy was in my house. “L you really shouldn’t eat it, it’s total junk and you’re so careful about what you eat. Plus, we have a whole fridge of good stuff.” I decided to stop there but 10 minutes later couldn’t help myself  and said, “seriously, McDonalds?” In her kind way she said, “Lauren, you’re making me feel guilty.” In my snarky way I replied, “that’s fine, you should.” Then I thought about it some more. My kids are at school, she feeds them really well, aside from concern or repulsion do I have a say in what she chooses to eat? I don’t think I do but she has horrendous reflux. Hypothetically, if she eats foods that aggravate it and has to miss work, is it my business then? It can get a little complicated but if this was the first time in 10 years, I’m hoping my kids will be in college before it happens again.

What is your take on this? Do employers have a say in what employees eat? Or can you say what isn’t allowed in your home or office? Would it be different if she had it in front of the children?

*even though she eats McDonalds I’ll still protect her privacy.

No Impact Woman

No Impact Woman

Friends gifted us with a Roku player this winter after staying with us in Vermont. I’m not that much a movie watcher but the boys were thrilled. With this contraption, you basically can access Netflix instantly via your TV. One day, when I wasn’t skiing, I turned it on and spotted a food documentary section and sensed an addiction in the making. That night, I treated traumatized my young children with Food Inc. I now think this should be required viewing for all kids as it connected them to their food. It was more valuable than be telling them to eat something “because it’s good for you”. My 9 year old really got it.  This past weekend, the boys were skiing and I turned on a documentary called No Impact Man.

No Impact Man follows a writer and his family, in NYC, on a yearlong experiment to try to have no adverse impact on the environment.  This meant local food, no elevators, no cars or trips. At six months they yanked their electricity eliminating refrigeration and necessitating lots of candles. This couple had a 2-year-old daughter so disposable diapers (and toilet paper for the adults) were no more.  No Impact Man is Colin Beavan, a writer, who wants to veer away from historical writing. For me though, the star of this film is his wife Michelle Conlin who accepts her husband’s challenge and goes from self-confessed reality television, shopping and coffee junkie to no impact woman. When you see someone with no experience in environmentalism making sweeping changes it’s pretty inspiring.

Of course I zeroed in on the food changes invovled:

No meat (responsible for more greenhouse gases than cars) or fish

No food from more than 250 miles away (no such thing as local coffee in NYC), lots of farmers market trips

No packaged food, if it wasn’t from the farmer’s market food came from bulk bins

No restaurant meals because many ingredients come from faraway places

No take out; after all takeout comes in containers

No paper towels, dishwasher.

As you watch Michelle go to work on her scooter, bid farewell to her makeup and eat lots and lots of parsnips and cornmeal porridge you start to think about what you really need. I should also note that her local diet, scooting to work and 9^th floor apartment led to a 10-pound weight loss and her pre-diabetic condition reversed. Michelle calls the scooter “no impact Ambien.”

In the film Colin points out that when you insinuate people should “do without” it traumatizes people.  And a lot of the potentially traumatized dismissed these efforts as crazy. I flinched while watching when the point is made that it’s not enough to just bring your reusable bags to the market with you. This stung as I’m a believer in doing what you can do, even if it’s not full force. The truth is, the day after seeing No Impact Man I walked instead of jumping in a taxi, asked for an emailed versus paper receipt, turned down a bag and cancelled catalogs we don’t need (or don’t need multiples of). They real key, says Beavan, is to get what you need in a way that doesn’t hurt the planet versus simply living without. I love this from a blog post Michelle wrote:

What I learned from No Impact was that there is a steep cost to supporting all your stuff. To a life devoted to getting and having. In my days of high consumption, I'd been searching for something. It turned out that it was right in my own home.

My refrigerator and coffee aren’t going anywhere and there’s no composting in my immediate future but I appreciated the wake up call. I liked the perspective to be able appreciate having light and  a dishwasher. We can all pay attention to packaging, walk more, ride less  and encourage our friends and family to do the same. Here are some tips from the No Impact site:

Save the world by improving your diet.

• Cutting beef out of your diet will reduce your CO2 emissions by 2,400 pounds annually. Will you commit to a week without beef? A month? A year?
• Giving up 1 bottle of imported water means using up one less liter of fossil fuel and emitting 1.2 pounds less of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. Will you commit to a week without plastic water bottles? A month? A year?

• Don’t buy anything, don't use any machines, don't switch on anything electric, don't cook, don't answer your phone, and, in general, don't use any resources. Do it for a whole day each week to cut your impact by 14.4% a year. Will you commit to one hour a week for a month? A year?
• If an average family contributes 1% ($502.33) of their annual income ($50,233) to an environmental non-profit, they could offset 40.7 tons of carbon dioxide per year. Will you commit to tithing .5% of your annual income to an environmental non-profit? 1%? 2%?

• If you can stay off the road and ride your bike or walk just two days a week, you'll reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 1,590 pounds per year and get good, healthy exercise and we'll all breathe fewer fumes. Will you commit to using your own steam for one day a week? Two? Three?
• Take time off from television watching each week and join with others to improve our planet. Spend three fewer hours each day sitting in front of your plasma television and you will reduce your carbon emissions by 550 pounds each year. Will you commit to 5 hours of eco-service a month? 0? 15?

And if this inspires you I would check out the Roku.

What food film has had an impact on you? Any you’d recommend? Do you think you could do a month or a year with “zero impact”? Or what can you see yourself doing to reduce your impact?

Market Melissa Visits East Side Fairway and Dreams up Her Ideal Food Store

Market Melissa reviews the new Fairway Market and dreams up her what her ideal market would look like, take it away Melissa.

You won’t be hard-pressed to find a food market in NYC but what’s tricky is finding one that has everything on your weekly shopping list. I often go to 3 different stores in order to get the best produce, seafood and organic food. Fairway Market is a true one-stop shop. While Westsiders have been enjoying this store for over 50 years, the East side was just recently blessed with one this summer.

Brittany (our summer nutrition nerd) and I checked out the new store on a recent Friday afternoon. We were there around 11am and had quite an enjoyable shopping experience. This was a sharp contract to my experience at the West side store, which I like to compare to the game show Supermarket Sweep.

What I love about the new East side store are the wide aisles (for NYC) and how well everything is laid out and organized. The organic produce is clearly labeled in its own section of the store. In addition to the organic choices, you will also find all of your mainstream brands you find at other supermarket chains.

Here are some of the highlights that wowed us Supermarket nerds:

• A wheat free, gluten free, dairy free section – You won’t need to scour the aisles to find products that meet these allergy needs. All of the products that meet these criteria are neatly labeled and packed into a nook downstairs. 

• Ground peanut butter and almond butter station – Whole Foods has this as well. This is perfect for those who can’t be trusted with a full jar of peanut butter at home. You choose how much you want to purchase with a no nasty ingredients added. 

• Probiotic section – Next time you experience digestive woes or your immune system needs a kick in the butt, head to this section of the store. You will find everything from Kombucha, yogurt shots such as Siggi’s yogurt here. and supplements including Culturelle. 

• Oil tasting section – No more just picking up a plain extra virgin olive oil. Fairway has a whole section dedicated to different flavored oils, which you can taste with a small piece of bread that is offered. We opted out but there were numerous shoppers dipping in (perhaps double dipping).

• Made to order sushi – For all of you sushi lovers out there, Fairway offers grab and go, as well as made to order sushi. The best part is you can also request brown rice.

Despite the "specialty" nature of the store, Fairway is known for great value. I have yet to find a store in the city that can beat Fairway’s prices. Shoppers beware though – not everything is healthy. As always, read your labels and steer clear of the hot food self-serve bar upstairs.  They were serving fried chicken and mac n’ cheese during our visit.

Lauren asked me what my ideal supermarket would look like. After spending a good part of the past year at various markets I said:

It would be a place where everything you could possibly want would be available to avoid running to 10 different stores.  I would have a seasonal/local section and plenty of organic options. I'd love a cafe like Whole Foods so customers could buy food and sit down and eat and really spend time there. A juice bar would be nice. My store wouldn’t sell items with HFCS, hormones, food dyes or artificial sweeteners (so it may be a smaller store). And of course there would be someone like myself who could offer shopping advice and recipes to correlate with what the store was currently selling.

Where is your favorite place to shop? Do you find you need to visit numerous stores to find everything you need? Tell us about your dream market.

Overwhelmed with food shopping? Join us on a Market Foodtraining tour at the new Fairway or your store of choice. Contact Melissa to hop on the next tour. Not in NY? Follow Melissa on twitter (@MarketMelissa) for the latest market finds. Melissa is also giving away a NYC Market Foodtraining tour for four. To be eligible leave a comment below telling us you’re in the NY area.

Just how bad are pesticides?

Last week EWG came out with their annual “dirty dozen” (and here’s a CBS segment on the subject I was interviewed for).  The dirty dozen summarizes the most highly contaminated produce and there’s also a “clean” list.  Jenn, of Peas and Crayons wrote a terrific post on the subject. I’m always curious if consumers really take action based on the results. Sometimes it seems as though there’s  the “already organic” camp who go organic to whatever extent they can afford. Then there’s the “organic schmorganic” camp (my mother is a member of) who dismiss the notion of organic is optimal. In the Venn diagram of produce purchasing the “Schmorganics” have substantial overlap with “organic = exorbitant”.  Perhaps, if we stop and think what pesticides have the potential to do to us, people would be swayed. So, just how bad are pesticides?

“Cide” means to kill. When we, or our family members, ingest pesticides we are in ingesting something designed to kill. Sure, they are designed to kill pests but you would you take a hit from an exterminator’s can? As I said to CBS, every bodily system is affected by pesticides. From cancer to Parkinson’s the research is grim. A few examples:  

Pesticides may harm your children, even if they’re not born yet

Pesticides kill insects by attacking their brains and nervous systems, it’s not surprising they affect the development of children’s brains. One study showed ADHD may be cause by damage to neurotransmitters that are affected by pesticides.

A study in the Journal Environmental Health Perspectives  also suggests pesticides may be associated with the health and development of children. “Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health have found that prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides -- widely used on food crops -- is related to lower intelligence scores at age 7.”

What made this especially concerning was that  the results were similar for the NYC children studied at Mt Sinai Medical Center as they were for the children in California living in an agricultural center in Monterey.

Pesticides can make you depressed and less fertile

Pesticides can affect your mood with studies showing depression associated with chronic pesticide exposure. Pesticides can affect those spermies and fertility. I always talk about pesticide exposure when I see clients who are TTC. 

Pesticides can make you gain weight

We think about how certain medications make us gain weight, ever think about how each of the chemicals on your produce affect you? There's an herbicide called atrazine that causes weight gain in rodents. The mice gained weight and in  particular gained visceral fat that increases risk of heart disease. Atrazine is on of the most common pesticides used on crops, particularly on sweet corn.

Purchasing certified organic ensures that no pesticides are used.  You want to eat your fruits and vegetables without a bad taste in your mouth…and those pesticides? They taste like crap too.

Are you “already organic”, “organic schmorganic or organic = exorbitant?  Do you use the dirty/clean dozen to guide your decisions? 

What Your Grocery Bill Says About You

Tuesday I attended the Museum of Natural History’s “Spring Environmental Lecture and Luncheon”. Each year there is a different theme and a panel of experts assembled. I couldn’t have been more excited that this year’s topic was food. Lynn Sherr moderated and we heard about vertical farming (in skyscrapers), programs educating New York City school children about the environment and healthy eating (43% of city public school children are overweight) and my favorite fact of the day- that the museum’s giant dinosaur’s consumed around 100,000 calories a day.

After the presentation the floor was opened up for questions. An audience member stood and introduced herself as a local farmer. She asked “why is it that people will pay $4 for a latte but not the same for a few pounds of organic carrots? Nevin Cohen, an expert in urban food policy, explained that each of us “votes” three times a day. With these votes we can support smaller-scale farms or whatever it is we deem important when it comes to food.

The day before this lecture I posted about a new drinkable probiotic from Siggi’s yogurt. Some people chimed in that they loved Siggi’s, a couple that they didn’t particularly enjoy it. These divergent opinions were expected. What surprised me was that a couple of commenters, authors of fantastic nutrition blogs, said that they hadn’t tried Siggi’s yet because of its price tag. It was “too expensive.” While I’m all for being mindful of what you spend (with the exception of shoes) I believe we have to “vote” for our local farmers and for small companies producing quality products. We have to vote for them and buy them or they will not be there.

In 1949, Americans spent 22% of their income on food. In 2009 that figure decreased to 10%.

While it seems like saving money is always a good thing, this isn't anything to cheer about. Cheap food is often the product of factory farming and industrial agriculture. With jumbo size products being sold for cheaper, Americans may be gaining more for their dollar, but they're also gaining more weight, losing their health, spending more on their healthcare and supporting environmentally unsustainable practices.

 The comments above and this poignant, must-watch video clip are from a Huffington Post piece “How Much do Americans Spend on Food". 

Now I’m in no way saying that everyone needs to eat organic carrots or Siggis yogurt. The nutrition bloggers I referenced earlier are definitely not in favor of the processed food harming NYC children and children around the country. I just think we have to reconsider what “value” is when it comes to food and what we deem “too expensive”.  The domination of our food supply by factory farms and food conglomerates has been alarmingly costly in other ways. And just in case Starbucks takes offense to the Natural History mention, I have nothing against a latte (make with organic milk) either.

Are you budget-conscious when it comes to food? What do you feel your food splurges are? Would you rather spend $4 on a latte or organic carrots?

Milk Matters

Last Friday we had a meeting with the head of my boys’ school. No, it’s not what you think; the Slayton silliness isn’t that out of hand. All is well in 1^st and 3^rd grades; we were meeting about nutrition. There are 4 of us, 3 RD’s and an MD, all moms’s at this UWS nameless-for-now private school. Earlier this year, we met with the head of the lower school and outlined some suggestions to improve the food situation. The meeting went well and we left encouraged.  Certain changes were implemented and Friday’s meeting was to follow up on a few matters.  First on our list was organic milk.  As soon as we asked we were told, rather bluntly “there isn’t going to be organic milk.” It turns out the head of the entire school feels organic milk is ultra pasteurized and that therefore conventional milk that is “free of synthetic hormones” is just as good.  My head was spinning. Here we are in NYC, I would guess that less that 5% of the parent body uses conventional milk at home.  I silently reminded myself I had 2 children at this school and needed to keep my passion under wraps. We agreed I would “gather all pertinent information” and circle back.

So what is ultra pasteurization and is it bad?

Ultra pasteurization (or UHT pasteurization) means that milk is heated at a higher temperature that pasteurized milk (280 degrees for 2 seconds versus 167 degrees for 15 seconds). The drawback of this process is that ultra-pasteurization kills nonpathogenic bacteria in addition to pathogenic. Many discussions of ultra-pasteurized milk also mention the burnt or cooked taste but I am not enough of a milk drinker to verify this. There is some concern that ultra-pasteurization destroys vitamins. UHT extends the shelf life of milk and is attractive to retailers for this reason. Dean Sparks of NY Milk states, “This is all about THEM and nothing about YOU and your family.” With “them” in this example being retailers. While ultra pasteurization may not be dangerous, it doesn’t appear necessary or desirable.

Some fantastic companies who offer non-UHT milk are:

Natural by Nature  

NY Milk 

Milk Thistle Farm 

Organic Valley – offers both UHT and not UHT

Evans Farmhouse Creamery

Clover Stornetta 

*We eliminated certain producers based on Cornucopia’s dairy farm ratings.

 Is “no synthetic hormones” conventional milk “just as good”?

Cows naturally produce hormones so no milk is technically hormone free. As for contains no “synthetic hormones” in my opinion I am not OK with this. Alexandra Zissu, Foodtrainers’ favorite green expert and author confirmed my suspicions saying, “There isn't a government organization or third party agency verifying the hormone and antibiotic claims.”  The USDA organic standards are government regulated. Plus, hormones added or otherwise aren’t the only issue here.

Why does it make sense to buy organic milk?

Organic milk has fewer pesticide residues as no pesticides or non-organic fertilizers are used for the cows’ feed. No BGH is used to increase milk production and no genetically modified ingredients are fed to the cows.  Under the organic standards if a cow receives antibiotics it will be a year before they are used for milk as a washout period. And finally, the cows used for organic milk live in better conditions and have access to grazing and grass. Organic milk has higher levels of vitamins, antioxidants and omega 3’s.

 Advice from Dean Sparks: “If the date on the top of the seal is more than 3 weeks out, you’ve got UHT milk. Also, it will say “ultra pasteurized” right on the carton. You want none of that…put it back and find some good, wholesome, local fresh organic milk to drink. Doing so almost ensures you are supporting small family farms that are doing things right.”

To summarize:

• Choose non-UHT milk whenever you can.
• Conventional “no synthetic hormones added” is questionable at best and without a doubt inferior to organic.
• I was pro-organic before this post but even more so after delving further into dairy.

What type or brand of milk do you buy? Did you know about ultra pasteurization before? How do I tell the school they don’t “pass” the dairy test?

Ask and You Shall Receive

A typical morning in the peaceful, easy Slayton household goes something like this. I bark requests (ok commands) while my children feign deafness and my husband tells me to calm down. Last week, as our departure time approached I looked at my shoeless son Myles and said “can you give me one reason why your shoes aren’t on?” He stared at me annoyingly tranquil, despite my hysteria, and answered “because you didn’t ask me to.” I went through the catalog of orders I had given the boys and he was right, that morning I hadn’t mentioned the shoes. Touché’.

I thought of this exchange on Monday when I attended a breakfast meeting and panel discussion on organic food sponsored by Stoneyfield Farm, Nature’s Path, Earthbound Farm and Native’. I listened as the moderator, a nutritionist named Ashley Koff, discussed visiting farms to observe the difference in organic and conventional soil. I nodded as Alex Lu, who is in environmental health at Harvard explained that nobody needs to prove conventional food is healthy. And what people would say if, instead of “organic” you asked if they want chemicals in their food or no chemicals? The U.S., it seems, has led the way in cleaning up our air and water but unfortunately not our food. As far as I was concerned, the esteemed panel was preaching to the choir. I was already pro-organic and when presented with the option vote organic for taste and health.

When it came time for the Q & A, I had a question I was dying to ask. Ashley had mentioned that her group had to pay the Westin in order to not serve their food and instead offer organic items. I had a room service delivery of non-organic coffee and hormoney milk back at our hotel thought I would never consume a conventional dairy product at home. As far as the convention I was attending I would place my bet on the needle in the haystack over finding organic food in the food court. I was passed the microphone, complimented the panel and asked “practically speaking, what do you suggest people do when they are away from home with few organic options?” The response was eye opening to say the least.

Jeff Moyer, from the Rodale Institute said the farmers grow what is requested of them. Sadly that’s often the potato that will make the maximum number of French fries or the tomato that can withstand the picking machine. “If people demanded organic, producers and companies would come around.” He said that if every 12 year old demanded organic pizza, the wheat industry (controlled by pizza) would change. This was completely eye-opening for me. I spend hours every day helping people make choices to improve their health and nutrition and hours more writing about the state of these areas. While I do work with my children’s school in improving the food offerings, I don’t think I had considered the power of us all acting as our own lobbyists. Why should we have to eat inferior food when away from home? Let’s each try to change the food selections at one school, store or restaurant and I think we’ll be pleasantly surprised. Some ideas:

• Ask your local coffee place if they serve organic milk. Tell them people would perhaps pay more for it and they can alert their customers they’ve made the change.
• Find out where your workplace gets food for meetings and see if the fruit or lunch meat can be changed to organic.
• Work with your children’s school; start with organic snacks or organic produce.
• And talk to your local pizzeria. Request organic cheese or organic flour (organic whole wheat or is a home run)
Let me know where you plan to “ask” for organic food options and pass this concept on to your friends, family members and coworkers. This time next year I hope the Westin has its own organic options.

Organic Apology

Perhaps in reading this post you’re seeking a credible nutrition professional to dispense dietetic advice. After all, I have a couple of nutrition degrees, maintain my continuing education and have a reputable practice now into its ninth year. While that’s all very nice, I’ll tell you who I really am. I’m a guinea pig here to test-drive any new food trend, wacky workout or interesting idea if it pertains to nutrition. After all, how can I encourage or discourage clients from doing something if I haven’t read about or tried it? This week was no different. There are a number of cleanses that have gained popularity here in NYC. Having tried a few I learned quickly, that while I love experimenting (some things never change), I hate starving. All liquid regimens don’t work that well for me or my exercise routine.


I have heard great things about Organic Avenue; I have been to their Stanton Street store and sampled some of their soups and smoothies. They offer an array of cleanses. What stimulated my interest was that, although raw and vegan, on some of their regimes you can eat. I like to eat and called and spoke to Peter at Organic Avenue and signed up for the L.O.V.E. (stands for live organic vegan experience) Easy cleanse for 4 days. I was excited and a little nervous. Sunday night I received an email confirming not the LOVE easy but the LOVE fast cleanse, a mostly liquid “experience.” I emailed back alerting them of their error but was delivered the wrong package the next morning.

I decided to give it a try. On Monday, I worked my way through a nasty chlorophyll shot, sour grapefruit juice and an average greens juice. In the afternoon I popped open a Goji Berry smoothie and loved it. It had fruit and Gojis and coconut (an ingredient which figures prominently on this cleanse). This beverage was my favorite of the day and lifted my spirits a smidge. I arrived home from work famished and a little foggy. Dinner was a dandelion salad the size of a supermarket container of hummus or a cream cheese tub (not large). My husband asked for a bite and I almost killed him. Did I mention I was also PMSing? I cannot imagine how unpleasant I was but I’m sure you can. I went to bed hungry and exhausted at 8:45pm.

The next morning my delivery was corrected and my “easy” cleanse arrived. There was falafel for lunch (3 the size of cherry tomatoes that I ended up having at 1045am) and another salad for dinner and dessert. After the previous day I was encouraged by the quantity but a little disappointed. One of the reasons for trying the daily deliveries was to sample new things. Many of the items repeated from the previous day and as someone who juices I wasn’t bowled over by the taste of the drinks. I emailed Organic Avenue to tell them I wanted to cancel the cleanse. They emailed back their cancellation policy which basically stated you cannot cancel. They did throw me a bone (a raw vegan bone) and said they would credit me for their mistake Monday and I could use the credit to try some other items on Friday. I wasn’t overjoyed, I was hungry and missing caffeine and did I mention my PMS? I tweeted about my frustration with it all.

On Wednesday morning things changed, I woke up feeling AMAZING. I am not an exaggerator by nature and trust me; I had decided I was done with this experiment. I slept more soundly than ever, my normally dryish skin wasn’t dry and I popped out of bed. I was a little nervous as I had an 8-mile run on my training schedule. I actually thought when I started the run how pathetic it would be “nutritionist passes out in park running 8 miles during a cleanse.” My run was great, I felt strong and energized even as I finished. I worked until 730 that night without tea or coffee or anything. I came home and had my dinner and actually forgot I still had one of the pretty glass bottles of coconut milk waiting for me to drink. I wasn’t as hungry.

Thursday was a breeze. I was enjoying having everything planned out for me. I wasn’t craving anything. I still ate my raw burrito lunch on the early side but I was sated and I felt guilty. I felt badly for criticizing Organic Avenue, I felt guilty that I was tempted to stop early on and I felt guilty for my frustration tweets. For someone who “tries it all” it’s hard to surprise me with a food experience. I swear it’s not some cleanse-induced euphoria talking but I feel different. I lost 4 pounds (I know not the point but I’m psyched); I am accustom to smaller portions and really have never felt better. If you are a guinea pig like me, I would highly recommend Organic Avenue and hope they accept my apology.

Have you done any cleanses? Have they been difficult? Have you had any food-related epiphanies?

Market Melissa

Melissa O'Shea (aka Market Melissa) and I have developed an off-shoot of Foodtrainers called Market Foodtraining. Melissa guides small groups of participants through various NYC markets offering her expertise on organics, ingredients and more. I had a few questions for Melissa  and she will offer weekly tips, so check back with us!
Lauren: You’ve been touring around groups for your market foodtraining tours, what do people have the most questions about?

Melissa: What foods to buy organic is always a question I get and also how to work organics into their budget. On the tours, I give participants the organic do’s and don’ts. For example, DO buy the in-store organic brand, this can shave 20% off your grocery bill.

Lauren What’s exciting that’s in season now?

Melissa: I feel like in summer we all go crazy for the delicious variety of fruits in season, but in the fall some of my favorite veggies are in season. I am making soups and chili with butternut squash, pumpkin and kale and love roasted sweet potato fries. These ingredients make the chilly weather not seem so bad.

Lauren: You’re always tweeting (@marketmelissa) about ingredients and food-shopping, any tidbit you’d like to share?

Melissa: Oh there are so many to share! A recent one I found was that the average carrot travels 1,800 miles to your dinner table. We grow carrots in NY! It seems silly when we can get them from a farm that is less than 100 miles away.

Lauren: I love when you say “these jarred tomato sauces are great, I can’t use jarred ones, I have an Italian husband.” For those of us who don’t, what is your advice for making things from scratch?

Melissa: Oh I still remember the look on my husband’s face the first night I made pasta with jarred tomato sauce. What does an Irish girl know!? While I admit I was intimidated at first, it isn’t as hard as it seems. My husband’s grandmother says “if you have good ingredients, you can’t go wrong.” And she’s right, I now make all own soups and salad dressings…I’ve come a long way.

Lauren: Any favorite new product/discovery?

Melissa: I’m usually not a huge fan of cottage cheese, but I have to say Rachel’s (http://rachelsdairy.com) now makes ones that come in flavors like cucumber dill and pear mangosteen…yum!

Lauren: What’s new in market foodtraining?

Melissa: In September and October we were doing a lot of ‘back to school’ tours with parents on what’s to pack in school lunches and easy weeknight dinners. As we transition to winter, we are going to focus on flu-fighting foods, as well as comfort foods made healthy and winter produce. I am always looking to keep the tours fresh and exciting. Blog readers, come check them out!