Life After Elon

After a week of being home I have started to realize that our final project did have a lasting impact on my lifestyle. I have yet to eat fast food, turning it down on multiple occasions and I have spread my knowledge of healthy living styles to my family. My parents however were already a step ahead of me. They go food shopping at Adam’s Fairacre Farms, a local food store which supports local businesses around the area. They not only carry local products but have a large selection of organic foods. Places such as this our becoming more popular and need to be in order to have less impact on our environment.

After seeing everyone’s final presentations I have made some changes in my house other than food. We no longer have bottle waters in our home, use paper towels or use paper plates. Simple changes like using the Brita filter and using a more permanent water bottle, using a towel rather than paper ones and using reusable plates than paper ones make a big difference.

This project has had an everlasting impact on my lifestyle. We are the generation that needs to address our problems directly so we have a healthier, safer future. It is our responsibility to educate ourselves and spread this knowledge throughout our community. As the summer progresses I will continue to spread what I have learned over the semester to make my community a more sustainable environment.

Wrapping it up!

So, as this semester comes to a close, we reflect on what we've gotten out of this blog activity. It really isn't so hard to eat healthy after all.

We'd be surprised how much of the food we eat isn't in season! And that sometimes there is nothing in season (in those cases, how do we know what to eat?) at all. We learned that the summer is the best time for berries and such, and that the costs of transporting all of our fruits, meats, and vegetables, is much more than the costs of the fruits and vegetables themselves - then where does the money go? Someone, somewhere, is getting the short end of the stick, and because we have high demands as a result of our throwaway and convenient lifestyles (especially in the United States), the food market is more than willing to transport foods as long as there is profit being made somewhere down the road.

Awareness. That is something that is most key concerning the environment, and anything, really. With a greater awareness of what we are putting into our bodies, and making sure that it is not infused with pesticides or irradiated, we can also determine what is better for the greater good of the environment as a whole. Eating organic doesn't have to be expensive, either. That may be the most tangible thing we've taken away from this assignment - it is possible for a college student on a budget to eat organic and eat healthy!

So, to conclude, eating healthy and organic is not as hard as it's all cracked up to be! Elon students can do it! Take a page out of this blog, go to the supermarket, and try and buy foods that are good for the environment.

-Global Food Group

Organic Living!

So last week Genevieve and I went shopping for organic food. We started out at a farmer's market off of Church Street; the farmer there told us that he did not have any fruit or vegetables that were in season, all he had were canned goods and flowers. I bought apple butter which was organic from the farmer, and it is divine. We then decided to go to a grocery store that would carry lots of organic food. We choose Lowes Foods since we did not know where a Whole Foods is. There are a surprisingly high number of organic food choices offered at Lowes Foods; the company that offers organic choices is called Full Choices. I actually did not buy anything from the Full Circle brand but I did buy other natural or organic food items. I bought True North 100% Apple Cinnamon Nut Clusters which are ABSOLUTELY delicious! I also bought the Lowes Foods brand string cheese, which although not advertised as being so, are organic. I bought Amy's organic frozen macaroni and cheese which were good but needed more salt in my opinion. Lastly, I bought challa bread to eat my apple butter with.

The food is all really good, but I knew it would be. My mother and I love to cook and we are planning on cooking lots of organic meals this summer.

Whole Foods

I traveled home this weekend so that I could visit my family for mother's day and decided to share what I have been doing in class. My family was very interested in trying new recipes and wanted me prepare something over the weekend. I am not a great cook, but last night I used left over grilled chicken to make a salad. I found a recipe online and went to Whole Foods in Hillsborough to buy a few ingredients for the salad. Whole Foods is grocery store that mainly caries organic products. Most of their products are also locally grown. I bought peaches, a red onion, pecans, and a head of lettuce for under 10 dollars. I prepared the salad and then made home-made peach-pecan vinaigrette dressing that was easy to make. The grilled chicken salad turned out very well and my family was surprised that I was taking the time to be healthy. This was a very healthy meal and was very simple to prepare.

GRILLED CHICKEN SALAD WITH PEACH-PECAN VINAIGRETTE

Ingredients

1/4 cup toasted pecans, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped candied ginger (optional)
3 peaches, pitted and sliced
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 red onion, sliced
1 head lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
10 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts and/or thighs, grilled and chopped

Method

Purée pecans, vinegar, ginger, one-third of the peaches, 2 to 4 tablespoons water, salt and pepper in a food processor until smooth. If desired, press through a fine sieve for a silkier dressing. Transfer to a large bowl. Add remaining peaches, onion, lettuce and chicken and toss to combine; garnish with more pecans.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 11.5oz/328g-wt.): 200 calories (60 from fat), 7g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 40mg cholesterol, 130mg sodium, 18g total carbohydrate (5g dietary fiber, 6g sugar), 18g protein

Easy Organic Meals

When googling "Organic Recipes" this website was the first one I came across. "The Organic Dish" These meals start out with the freshest natural and organic ingredients. All ingredients are bought from local Colorado farmers and rancher. Buying locally ensures maximum quality and freshness, supports the local economy, and minimizes transportation which results in less greenhouse gases. The meals containing poultry comes from Rosie Organic Chicken from Petaluma in California. Beef and pork is all natural (not organic). Natural raised beef and pork are animals are raised without antibiotics, growth promotents, preservatives and hormones and not fed animal byproducts. Fish is wild caught fish, all fish is low in mercury and P.C.B. and sustainably harvested. All meals can be modified for vegetarians needs and other special needs. Here are the steps in ordering your meals. 1. Select your main dishes 2. Select your side dishes 3. Select your your delivery options 4. Review your order 5. Checkout. They offer convenient local home and office delivery of our frozen organic meal kits every week. They deliver to locations in Denver and Boulder County. Although buying organic meals can become expensive but all deliveries over $200 or more are FREE!

http://www.theorganicdish.com/

- Andi Cochran

Global Warming

Global warming is the heating of the earth and the melting of the ice sheets due to the amount of Carbon Dioxide in the earths atmosphere however, the issue we are choosing to focus on is climate change. Climate change is global warming in edition to all the things it effects including the ecosystems, animals, migration patterns ect. Climate change is a serious issue that if not confronted now, will have a terrible effect on us in the future. Despite the mounds of information, research and scientific evidence, ignorance is still prevalent in our society. Although, the debate over the existence of global warming is supposedly over, others continue to question its significance. Part of this is related to how one person can have a relative positive effect on the environment. One small change can have a huge effect on the planet. Take for example, The Boy Who Harness the Wind. His dream for supporting his village with wind power, allowed him to responsibly help his community. A final and extremely important issue to consider is the economy. China is a prime example of large amounts of carbon dioxide emissions, due to the hundreds of coal plants built per year. At the rate China is going, they will have to take a larger and aggressive step towards saving our earth.

- Michael, Genevieve, Andi, Melissa

Cooking Friendly

After watching An Inconvenient Truth in class it got me thinking of ways I can reduce my own effect on the environment and since this is a blog about food I decided to research environmentally friendly cooking practices. After doing a quick Google search I found solar panel cookers. You can go out to a store or go online and purchase a solar cooker for relatively cheap. If you are willing to spend around $50 then this is a great option to reduce your effect. Another option which is even more environmentally friendly would be to build your own out of objects that can be found around your house. Here is a link with over a dozen different solar cooker designs that can easily be built:

http://solarcooking.org/plans/

When I go home I will attempt to build one of these cookers and see how it works out. This is a simple thing that can put less strain on our environment. If we all look into small things such as this we will be able to significantly reduce of effect on our Earth.

An afternoon excursion!

Today, we decided to take a little field trip out to the lovely town of Burlington to see what we could discover about organic foods and local foods! Melissa and I first went to the farmer's market near the McDonald's right outside of our beloved Elon (the farmer's market outside Parish House is on Thursdays from 3-6:30 as we learned, if anyone is interested!!).

After taking a look around at the sparse options, we questioned the farmer in charge, and he told us that there are actually no foods in season in North Carolina right now, but that strawberries, cantaloupe, and broccoli are all starting up! Unfortunately, he was not able to give us much more information than that or tell us about any organic food markets or co-ops nearby in Burlington, and after some calls, we decided to check out the "organic" and "all-natural" food options at Lowe's foods. Although we will elaborate more on our discoveries there during our final presentation, we did discover the brand that seemed to be everywhere, and actually was organic - the Organic Full Circle logo was what we continuously looked for in every aisle. My groceries consisted of:

• 2 Amy's quick frozen dinners, on sale for 2/$5 (if this sounds familiar, think of the Amy's frozen products sold in the Fountain Market in downstairs Colonnades - that's right! Elon is trying to sell us natural frozen foods! Finally, some progress with food on campus! )
• a 24-pack of mozzarella cheese sticks (which were Lowe's food brand, but had the exact same ingredients as the Horizon organic cheese sticks, of which there were only 6 and they were twice the price)
• organic chips
• organic salsa

Although these will probably not feed me for two whole days, I will get two whole organic, all-natural meals out of this! My total came to about $16, pretty good for organic grocery shopping, I'd say, using a Lowe's card and the handy paper they hand out at the front of the store!

But wait! There's more! The RecycleMania group will be happy to hear that I remembered to ask for PAPER bags at the checkout! (Although we did realize that we forgot our sustainability cloth re-usable grocery bags, we still tried to do as much as we could to help Mother Earth :) )

-Genevieve D'Cruz

Organic Shopping and Cooking

I love cooking; I took four years of culinary arts classes in high school. my mother loves to have me use up ingredients in the fridge when I come home. This weekend, we had some organic broccoli in the fridge, so I decided to do a completely organic entrée dish. I googled "organic broccoli recipes" and I found one entitled "Fresh Herb Organic Broccoli Tossed with Pasta, Toasted Pine Nuts & Parmesan Cheese". The recipe calls for olive oil, organic garlic, organic broccoli, white wine, organic chicken stock (or vegetable if you are going vegetarian), pine nuts, organic lemon, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, and various fresh herbs (I used basil and oregano and Italian parsley). The skill level of the dish was very easy and my family loved it (except for my fourteen year old brother who will not touch anything green). I brought the recipe to school and am planning on cooking it during exams for my friends that I live with.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons olive oil
6 garlic cloves
1 1/2 lb Broccoli, cut into florets and small stem pieces
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup of pine nuts
1 cup fresh herbs
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

Method:

Cut broccoli from the stems and into small florets. Trim and shave off dry ends stems (if necessary) and slice thin.

Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add garlic, broccoli, white wine, and chicken stock to pan and pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 30-45 minutes over medium high heat until fork-tender and broccoli is falling apart.

While broccoli is simmering, toast pine nuts in a dry pan over medium low heat
until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

Once broccoli is done, combine it in the food processor with pine nuts, herbs, lemon juice, and parmesan cheese. Blend until slightly chunky.

Toss broccoli mix with cooked pasta, add olive oil (if necessary) to loosen it up a bit. Taste for seasoning.

Serve and enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Wraps

After being sick of fast food I decided to change it up a little bit. A few of my friends decided to bring out the grill last night to make dinner. Deciding to make a healthy dinner I had the idea to look up a easy recipe and try it. I went to the grocery store and bought a few ingredients but I decided to go with a bag of chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken to feed more people. I ended up spending around 20 dollars for 6 people. Which comes out to 4 dollars a person.

Ingredients

• 1 chicken, cut in half
• Salt and pepper
• Grilling sauce, recipe follows
• Wheat Wraps
• Honey Mustard
• Lettuce

Directions

Season cut up chicken with salt and pepper. When coals are white, spread them out for even heat distribution. Place chicken pieces on the grill with larger, fattier pieces (such as the thigh) near the center and smaller pieces to the outside. Brush grilling sauce on chicken through the cooking process and turn chicken as needed. Move chicken toward the outside as the leaner pieces (such as the breast) get done. Brush with grilling sauce just prior to removing from grill. Serve warm.

The meal was very easy and healthy. Not only did I have the sense of satisfaction of eating a healthy meal, it also felt good to know that I made the dinner. The meal was low in fat and in calories, and had a high source of protein. I was very pleased with myself to not settle for the convenient fast food restaurants around campus for once.