Local, Healthy Food Is Here to Stay

From new farmers markets to Whole Foods and King Soopers marketing whatever their definition of local food is, the idea of fresh, local, healthy, fair food is truly making inroads.

For years we have developed edible items we call food. Companies manufacture them to appeal to your taste buds and fortify them with vitamins and minerals in hopes of selling you more of something that may or may not be good for you.

Now we are starting to understand, in a scientific way, that food created and eaten the way Mother Nature intended has the best nutritional bang for your buck. If you pick it and eat it right there, you get the most nutrients. If you get your nutrients from fruits, vegetables or whole grains, your body easily recognizes what it’s ingesting and will absorb more of what you need with less trouble.

In another vein, we’re finally realizing that food is not all science, but that it should be enjoyed. So many of us eat in our cars, in front of our computers (who are not our friends, I assure you!), or in front of the television. If you sit and eat in the company of family and friends, you are much more likely to eat slowly, thereby digesting more fully and being more satisfied with what you eat. You are more likely to laugh, talk and be happy, and your body will be more receptive to the food.

That said, Local Food Week in Colorado Springs is here to introduce those of you who haven’t already gotten there to the pleasures of eating “real” food and those who are already there to connect around food in new and old ways. www.peaktoplains.com/localfoodweek.html has all the information about the events and who to contact for more details.

Events range from benefit dinners to educational events. Some are free, some inexpensive and some require your financial participation. All will be full of thoughts of good food, and some will even include that good food for you to try. Meet those who produce your food locally and those who will help you to learn about ways to do it yourself. This is the best way to understand what eating locally is all about.

One of the best experiments I did was a taste test between a beautiful conventionally-produced red delicious apple and a locally-grown gala apple. The results were unanimous – everyone preferred the sweet, juicy, crisp taste of the locally-grown apple to the red delicious, hands down. Take into account that conventionally grown apples are number two on the list of using the most pesticides and that you eat them with the skins on. It certainly made me choose organic apples from then on.

Finally, shop judiciously. Ask questions, not just of your local farmer, but of your local food markets. Just because a local producer is not certified organic does not mean that they don’t have the cleanest product for you. The farmers and ranchers I know are honest about their products. If you ask them, they will tell you what they used to ensure that a crop came through the season. Just because a supermarket slaps a “local” sign on a peach does not mean it was grown in your region.

Be in touch with your food, figuratively and literally. It won’t let you down and you might just feel better mentally and physically.

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