On Healthy Living

I love random holidays. Every week and month are full of days, weeks and the months themselves that recognize different things. A check of Butler Webs tells us, for instance, that June is home to such events as Carpenter Ant Awareness Week, Step Parent Week and Hug Week. It’s also Dairy Month, Rose Month and People Skills Awareness Month.

But to me, the best “month” of all is Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month. I don’t know whose idea this holiday was, but it makes perfect sense. In much of the United States, the farmer’s market season is heating up (pardon the pun) and we’re starting to see lots of fresh fruit and vegetables at roadside stands and markets. I was amazed this weekend to see grown-in-my-state tomatoes in a major grocery chain as well as the first peaches of the year at my local farmer’s market.

I love produce in all its many forms, as long as those forms are organic, locally grown and eaten as close to raw as possible (well, except for roasted veggies, which I love as well).

To celebrate this month, why not go out and try a fruit or vegetable you’ve never had before? OK, if you’re a devoted vegetarian it might be tricky for you to find something you haven’t eaten before, but I’ll bet there’s something. Jicama, bok choy, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, rutbaga, pomegranate, pluot. Wander the stalls at the farmer’s market (or the natural foods store) and let your senses do the shopping. Pick something that looks beautiful or strange, or like something you’ve never tried before.

This is where it helps to go to a market where people really know food, not like my local grocery store where the checker didn’t know what a poblano pepper was (another checker at the same store didn’t know what tofu was!). Ask the grower how he likes his kohlrabi, or ask the produce stocker how she prepares oyster mushrooms. You’re bound to learn something and you just might get to add to your list of favored foods.

Sarah White wrote this on June 20th, 2005 and filed it under Healthy Living, Diet & Exercise, Healthy Cooking, Healthy Eating, Healthy Recipes, Health Foods, Vegetarian Cooking, Raw Foods, Natural Remedies |