Reasons to Eat Local (part 3) - Definitely Lead to Reasons to be Cheerful
This week Adam will be mainly eating……..
Purple Sprouting Broccoli still going strong on the PJ taste allotments March 28 2014
Food Plan for Adam Etches by PJ taste
Week Commencing: 31 March 2014
Each week we are devising and preparing a nutritious meal plan for Adam Etches as he trains for his next challenge. This week we have looked at the benefits of local growing and list some of the advantages at the end of this document.
This week plan is downloaded here
MONDAY
Breakfast: PJ taste fruit pot with Longley farm bio-active yoghurt and granola and
PJ taste Porridge Pot with Our Cow Molly semi-skimmed milk; choice of tea (trad English, green tea, or fruit and herb tea) or PJ taste handcrafted coffee
Lunch : Tuna niçoise salad with local boiled egg, greens and olives with cous cous. PJ taste Power bar 500ml semi-skimmed Our Cow Molly milk
Dinner Roast Beef Dinner with local grown vegetables
TUESDAY
Breakfast: 3 eggs scrambled on two slices of wholegrain bread (Fosters of barnsley or Cat Lane Sheffield bread) fried tomatoes (in (Yorkshire rapeseed oil) and one rasher Whirlowhall Farm bacon. Banana. Choice of tea (trad English, green tea, or fruit and herb tea) or PJ taste handcrafted coffee
Lunch: Oriental style duck shredded with rice salad. Fresh fruit. PJ taste Real Lemonade with a Hint of Yorkshire Mint
Dinner: Fish cakes with Mushy Peas and PJ taste grown Broccoli with chilli and nuts
Snacks and drinks: 50g mixed nuts; English apple;
WEDNESDAY
Breakfast: PJ taste porridge pot with organic hemp seed fruit and nuts
Vanilla poached figs and pears with Longley Farm Bioactive Yoghurt, Choice of tea (trad English, green tea, or fruit and herb tea) or PJ taste handcrafted coffee
Lunch: Large wholemeal bread roll with Smoked mackerel pate, watercress and cucumber, Roasted garlic and tomato hummus with crisp vegetable sticks, bottle of PJ taste Rosehip and Hibiscus Citrus Hits (no added sugar),
Dinner: PJ taste meatballs with on herby Puy Lentils, PJ taste grown white sprouting broccoli and carrots; PJ taste low sugar chocolate meringue with local grown berries, low-fat yogurt,
Snacks: 50g mixed sunflower seeds, pumpkin and sesame seeds
THURSDAY
Breakfast: Granary toast with 2 Whirlowhall Farm fried eggs, fried tomatoes (Yorkshire rapeseed oil) low-fat spread and honey; banana; Chilli and jasmine fruit salad –
Lunch: Salad of smoked mackerel with puy lentils and salad. Apple with mixed fruit and nut selection
Dinner: Grilled steak with baked sweet potato wedges, grilled mushrooms, tomatoes, salad, Low sugar muffins
Snacks: bananna
FRIDAY
Breakfast: PJ taste fruit pot with Longley farm bio-active yoghurt and granola and
PJ taste Porridge Pot with Our Cow Molly semi-skimmed milk; choice of tea (trad English, green tea, or fruit and herb tea) or PJ taste handcrafted coffee
Lunch: Fritatta of local free range eggs, new season potaoes and watercress (V), PJ taste fruity flapjack, Harrogate spring water
Dinner: Stuffed chicken breast with wholewheat pasta and a selection of steamed market vegetables, PJ taste chia seed and chocolate mousse
Snacks: 50g mixed nuts
This week’s nutritional food insight – all comments welcome
Reasons to Eat Local (part 3) – Definitely Lead to Reasons to be Cheerful
We love to grow our own but of course time, space and the sheer volumes required tend to conspire against this being a whole solution. However, we do specialise in growing edible flowers and during the main summer months, even into October/November, we are self sufficient in lovely colourful garnishes flouishes for our cakes and desserts. The next best think is souring as local as possible for fruit and vegetables for the reasons outlined below. (Source: “Why Buy Locally Grown? ” Source: Community Alliance with Family Farmers).
1. Local produce tastes better and it’s better for you.
Studies have shown that fresh produce loses nutrients quickly during transportation. During the trip from harvest to dinner table, sugars turn to starches, plant cells shrink, and produce loses its vitality. Food grown in your own community was probably picked within the past day or two and therefore is much fresher.
2. Local food supports local farm families.
Local farmers who sell directly to consumers cut out the many middle people and get full retail price for their food – which means farm families can afford to stay on the farm, doing the work they love.
3. Local food protects genetic diversity.
In the modern industrial agriculture system, produce varieties are chosen for their ability to ripen simultaneously and withstand harvesting equipment. Shippers demand produce with a tough skin that can survive packing, transport, and a long shelf life in the store. Only a handful of hybrid varieties of each fruit and vegetable meet those rigorous demands, so there is little genetic diversity in the plants grown. In contrast, local farmers that sell direct to you or direct to your local restaurants and grocery stores grow a huge number of varieties selected because they have the best flavors, provide a long harvest season, and come in an array of eyecatching colors. Many varieties are heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation because they taste good. These old varieties contain genetic material from hundreds or even thousands of years of human selection. They may someday provide the genes needed to adapt to a changing climate or new pests.
4. Local food preserves open space, and can support a diverse environment.
As the value of direct-marketed fruits and vegetables increases, selling farmland for development becomes less likely. The patchwork of fields, hedgerows, ponds and buildings can serve as habitat for many species of wildlife. That landscape will survive only as long as farms are financially viable. When you buy locally grown food, you are doing something proactive about preserving the agricultural landscape.
5. Local food is about the future.
By supporting local farmers today, you can help ensure that there will be farms in your community tomorrow, that there will be green space for wildlife, and that future generations will have access to locally grown food.