How to Use Farmer’s Market Vegetables
July 3, 2021
Heard the buzz about buying local and shopping at farmer’s markets in the summer for your produce? Join us as two nutritionists and a culinary educator chef tackle the topic of how to shop the market and what to do with all those delicious veggies once you get them home.
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Transcript:
BRITNI: Good morning to all of you joining us today and welcome to Dishing Up Nutrition brought to you by Nutritional Weight and Wellness. Today, we will discuss why you may want to start shopping at your local farmer's market. We'll also be sharing some tasty ways to cook those fresh vegetables. I am Britni Vincent. I'm a Registered and Licensed Dietitian. And today will be my last time co-hosting Dishing Up Nutrition for awhile because just in a few weeks I will be delivering twin girls; very excited and feeling great. And you know, I think part of why I'm feeling great is because of my nutrition. I just want to say I'm so appreciative to have learned how to eat, to support my own health, but also the health of my twins. So what exactly have I learned over the years? And this isn't the same as what I learned in school either. So I learned that I need to eat quality meat and eggs at least four times a day. I choose protein that's been grass fed or free range; pasture raised. So it contains the fatty acids and more nutrients to support my brain function and overall health. I also eat a lot of vegetables and this time of year, it's so great to go to the farmer's market to buy those locally grown organic vegetables. I've also learned that my body and my twins need lots of beneficial fats. So I use grass fed butter, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil. And I use those to sauté my vegetables; nuts, avocados, olives as well throughout the day. As we always say on Dishing Up Nutrition, food matters when it comes to your health. So now you know, a little bit about me, but we have two other co-hosts with me today who will also share a little bit about themselves. Marianne, please introduce yourself.
MARIANNE: Thanks so much, Britni. It is fun to be here with you both. I am Marianne Jurayj. I'm a chef and a culinary nutrition educator. And I have to say that shopping at the farmer's market is definitely one of my favorite things to do. I also have the pleasure of teaching cooking classes for Nutritional Weight and Wellness. And I do this via Zoom, right from my very own kitchen.
BRITNI: That’s so cool.
MARIANNE: Yeah. And in these classes, I demonstrate how to cook real food. And we use recipes from the website and cookbooks. In fact, I just taught a couple of classes this week on what to do with all those farmer's market veggies. I love food and teaching people how to cook. And I am a huge advocate of organic, especially from local farmers. And right now there is so much that is fresh and in season. So I'm a farm girl.
I was born and raised on a cattle farm in western Wisconsin. And you know what? Farming is a lot of work and often a thankless job. So anytime we can put money directly into that farmer's hand, it is good for us. And it's good for them.
BRITNI: Absolutely.
MARIANNE: Yeah. So on our farm, we had a big garden. I grew up loving vegetables. And through my years in restaurant kitchens, I've learned that you don't have to have complicated recipes when using fresh local ingredients. But prepare them simply. Let their flavors be the star of the plate. Unfortunately, the other thing I learned in restaurant kitchens is that most of them are using bad industrialized oils and fats that are wreaking havoc on our health. And this is why we are teaching clients to take control in their kitchens where they know where the ingredients come from and can prepare simple and delicious food that's nourishing. So I am really excited that we are here to talk about nutrient rich meats and veggies from the farmer's market.
BRITNI: That's great. Well, you know, I just read that only three to 5% of people in Minnesota will shop this year at a farmer's market. That's not, not very many people at all.
MARIANNE: I can’t believe that.
BRITNI: Yeah. It's a little shocking. So today we want to help to inspire you to find a farmer's market near you and take an outing to get some delicious tasty vegetables. I think it's just such a fun way to spend a Saturday or Sunday morning. Of course you can go different times of the week too, but it's, it's an adventure. And you may not realize that there are over 65 farmer's market farmer's markets in Minneapolis/St. Paul and the surrounding suburbs. And again, they're not just open on Saturday and Sundays. You can go different days of the week, different locations. And I had mentioned earlier, we have a third co-host joining us this morning who will also share some of her reasons she shops at the local farmer's market. Elizabeth, please share your story with our listeners.
ELIZABETH: Sure, Britni. Good morning. So let me tell you, I did not grow up going to the farmer's market. In fact, I had probably never heard of the farmer's market as a kid. It was actually quite the opposite. You know, I grew up eating the standard American diet; cereal, chips, candy, lots of bread; basically very highly processed foods. And really because of eating that type of food, I suffered the consequences. I had terrible constant digestive problems, fatigue, anxiety. And as a young adult, I decided I needed to learn how to feed my body so I could get on with my life without having to live everyday suffering every time that I ate something. I realized I needed to get quality food and I needed to eat real food and a great place to get real food at an affordable price is a farmer's market. And I have to admit, I did not learn to cook when I was growing up either. So even though I'm a licensed nutritionist with a master's degree in clinical nutrition, the cooking part doesn't necessarily come naturally to me. So I realized I needed to learn a few more cooking tips. And I took Marianne's cooking classes here at Nutritional Weight and Wellness to strengthen my own cooking skills. And let me tell you, if you've never taken a cooking class, it's a really fun experience. And Marianne is a great teacher. She always has new fun ideas. Even us nutritionists and dietitians always learn something from her.
BRITNI: Yeah. I've heard wonderful things about your classes from, from our, our clients and class participants. And it's so affordable too. Well, we'll talk more about those later. And you know, some of you may have noticed going to the grocery store, things are a little pricier lately. So I just read that the cost of everything we need and use has gone up about 5% in the past few months. And that really does add up. And that's again, another reason I have been shopping at the farmer's market. It's good for my food budget. And those locally grown organic vegetables often cost less than the vegetables at the grocery store. And also many of the farmer's markets have some meat too. A lot of people don't necessarily realize that. So when I buy my meat and fresh vegetables at the farmer's market, I save money. So it's a win-win all around.
MARIANNE: Yeah. That is a great thing. And another important thing to mention, since we were talking about last year is, is the, these vendors are local. These farmers are, are close by, so they don't have far to travel. In fact, I know that the St. Paul farmer's market has a rule that any vendor farmer has to be within 60 miles in order to sell there. So that's their real, I don't know about Minneapolis, but that's the rule in St. Paul. And if farming isn't tough enough, these, these vendors are often up at 3:00 AM, loading up their fresh picked vegetables so that they can get set up by six, which the St. Paul farmer's market starts at six. There's plenty that start at nine, but, 6:00 AM is when you'll find me there for sure. And, and there's no shipping. So think about how much food we had shipped over the last year; all that packaging. And then even at the grocery store, things are coming on trucks and trains from a huge distance. And so we're going to have less waste and no package material.
ELIZABETH: Right. And you have to realize, sometimes vegetables at your local grocer have been sitting there in storage on trucks for weeks before they actually get delivered to the store. If you taste salad greens picked locally the night before and compare them to greens picked in California or Mexico shipped here for weeks, then sold at your local grocery at your local grocery store, you'll become very aware that the taste, the quality, the nutrient density, you can kind of see in the, in the richness of the color, the nutrient density, the greens shipped to us are far inferior to the local greens that you can find at the farmer's market.
BRITNI: Yeah. Oftentimes we'll get mothers that make an appointment with one of our dietitians or nutritionists at Nutritional Weight and Wellness, because they can't get their child to eat vegetables. And I encourage them to the farmer's market. Shop together and get your children involved in it because they're going to be a lot more excited to eat something if they played a part in picking it out or even cooking it. And you know, I remember one mother telling me that she took her daughter to the St. Paul farmer's market in the fall. And they saw a Brussels sprout tree. And her daughter was so intrigued that she had to buy it for her. So when they brought the tree home, her daughter showed all the neighborhood kids. And after they cut the Brussels sprouts off the tree, they mix them together with some cubes of sweet potato, tossed them in some avocado oil and sprinkled them with a little salt. And then they put that mixture on a sheet pan, baked it at 300 until it was browned. And the best part was the daughter asked for a second helping. And I had never seen one of the Brussels sprout trees until I went to the farmer's market. And there's so many cool things that you see there that you might not see other places. But you know what? It is already time for our first break. You are listening to Dishing Up Nutrition brought to you by Nutritional Weight and Wellness. If you shop at your favorite farmer's market, you already appreciate the quality and savings you're experiencing. It is such an uplifting, fun experience where you can meet a variety of vendors, ask your questions and go home with quality food to support your health. We'll be right back.
BREAK
ELIZABETH: Welcome back to Dishing Up Nutrition. There's a misconception about the goal of nutritional counseling and changing what you eat. Many people believe you only change what you eat to lose weight. For most people losing weight isn't the number one reason. The number one reason for some people might be to reduce blood sugar numbers or to get cholesterol and triglyceride numbers in a normal range, or to eliminate digestive problems, to sleep uninterrupted through the night or to reduce aches and pains in their body. These are all big reasons to improve your diet. So think about what is your reason and how can we convince you that the food that you put in your mouth makes a difference to your health and how you feel; both good and bad. I suggest you make a series of appointments and establish a health goal that's important to you. And then make the necessary changes to eliminate or reduce your symptoms.
The nutritionists and dietitians at Nutritional Weight and Wellness will provide a plan specific to your needs. Give us a call at (651) 699-3438. And let's get started. Your triglyceride numbers and digestive problems, your aches and pains, they won't get better until you make those necessary food choices. Well, before break, we were talking about how cool Brussels sprouts look on that big stalk. And I remember thinking that too, Britni. When I first saw that, you would never know how Brussels sprouts actually come to be, versus when you see them at the store, they're just loose. So Marianne, what are some other things that you might find at the farmer's market that look different compared to how you would find them at the grocery store?
MARIANNE: Yeah, there's actually quite a few. So I would say beets come with the beet green connected to it. And those greens are so good for you. The stem; it's all edible, the stem, the greens; you just chop up the stem and, you know, throw them into a pan, sauté them up. They are so delicious. So that's an example. I'm going to say garlic is also an example. You have the green on fresh garlic before it's been dried. So you get that. And fresh ginger is fantastic. You're going to get that in the fall. It is beautiful and it has a bright flavor. And so I tend to buy it up and I freeze it so that I can keep it all year long.
BRITNI: That’s such a great idea.
ELIZABETH: Well, and locally, grown produce tastes so much better than what you can find at these big box supermarkets. When vegetables are fresh, they taste good. So there'll be easier to prepare and get your family to eat. Just sauté them in a little avocado oil; maybe some bacon fat or butter, sprinkle a little salt, and your family will be asking for more. I'm sure there won't be any leftovers because what I find is that a lot of times when people say they don't like a certain vegetable, they've just never had it prepared correctly. So it doesn't taste good.
MARIANNE: Yeah. Yeah. I agree. And I'm going to say that if you cut a vegetable in a different shape, you can often get someone to eat, eat a vegetable they thought they didn't like. So I'm going to throw my husband in here. He did not like broccoli. He didn't like the floret of broccoli. So I started cutting up the stem really thin, and I would sauté that and he had no idea he was eating broccoli and now he loves it. So, so just think of, think about riced cauliflower is certainly a great example of where some people may not like it in the floret form, but then you rice it up and it tastes fantastic. So, so that is a, that's a great example. And you know what? The farmer's market is also a great place to meet people. You're going to meet the people that raise the animals that's going to be the meat on your plate. And you know what? They often have pictures of their farm displayed on the table. And you know what? They love their farm. So, so ask them questions. They love to interact. And you know what? You're never going to get that in a big box store. Big box stores have meat that's often raised with hormones and antibiotics, and they are fed GMO grains with pesticide residue. So, so whenever your budget allows, I think it's great to buy your meat organic and local whenever you can.
BRITNI: You know, as we were preparing for this radio show and podcast, we tried to think of some questions that those of you who have never stopped at a farmer's market might have. So Elizabeth and I will ask Marianne some of those questions, and again, hope that we inspire you to check out the farmer's market soon. So Marianne, we will start with this first question. When I go to the farmer's market, there's so many different vendors and it can be overwhelming, especially at like the St. Paul or the Minneapolis farmer's market. So how do I decide which vendor to buy from?
MARIANNE: Well, that is a fantastic question. So I'm to, I'm going to start to give you my, this is my strategy. This is how I approach it. You know what? I go religiously. I am certainly there. If I'm in town on a Saturday, I will always go to the farmer's market. So, I encourage clients to walk through the market first. So see what the vendors are selling and kind of get an idea of what you want to buy, sort of, sort of plan out your week a little bit. Most farmers are going to be selling the same produce, because obviously the same things are coming out of the ground at that time. So, and this is a little, a little bit of information that people may not know is the farmers meet in the morning before the market opens and they discuss pricing so that they're not competing against each other. They realize that they all have the same product and they really want a level playing field. So I don't want to call it price fixing, but there is an understanding of, you know, if you have a, a pound of asparagus, this is what we're all going to sell that pound of asparagus for.
BRITNI: That is so neat.
ELIZABETH: I didn't know that.
BRITNI: I didn't know that either.
MARIANNE: Yeah, so it sort of keeps everybody, you know, then you don't have to feel like you're robbing Peter to pay Paul, so to speak. So, so, so, so then I suggest to clients that they ask lots of questions. So, so if you see a vegetable that looks interesting, but maybe it's not familiar to you, we talked about, you know, how the Brussels sprouts are, are, are look looking and like kohlrabi. Chinese cabbage is beautiful. It's got yellow flowers on the end and it's all edible and you could take those yellow flowers and garnish your salad with it. It's just pretty. It's so lovely. So, so they love to talk about their produce and you will often get a great story and you're going to get a great recipe. And, and so then you're going to, you're going to leave the market with, you know, with a sense of community. And again, you're never going to get that at a supermarket. It is just, you just don't have that kind of community. So, and so the other thing I suggest is if you really want to get a deal, ask the vendor, if, if they will cut you a deal, if you buy multiple things. So, so find the vendor you want to buy from, if they have on their table, if they have multiple things that you want to buy, you know, say, “Hey, I'll, I'll buy, you know, three or four or five or six of your items,” you know, “Would you give me a couple of dollars off?” And sometimes they do it automatically because they really do appreciate that. So I encourage that for sure.
BRITNI: Great ideas.
ELIZABETH: And buying in bulk too. Wouldn't they give you a discount if you get a, a large portion of something?
MARIANNE: Yes, they absolutely will; so for sure.
BRITNI: Marianne, you mentioned kohlrabi, you know, I grew up eating that. I love it, but a lot of people have no idea what it is. Can you explain what kohlrabi is and how you might eat it?
MARIANNE: So it is in the brassica family, which is sort of like cabbage. And it has the flavor, I'm going to say it's a cross between a jicama and maybe a radish, but without the spiciness of the radish. And you know, when you, when you look at kohlrabi, and it at the farmer's market, it's going to have the leaves on it. But when you cut the leaves off and it has the little stems coming out of it, I call it the war of the world’s spaceship, because that's what it looks like. But again, all of it's edible. You really just cut off maybe the hard part around the outside. Chop it up. You can roast it. You can eat it raw. I shred it into salads, dip it into, you know, into a veggie dip. It's fabulous. I love it.
BRITNI: Those, those of you that love crunchy snacks, I'd encourage you to try it just with a little salt. You really get that crunch factor.
ELIZABETH: Know what else I was thinking too? Speaking of using all of these parts of the vegetables and the produce, if you are not comfortable eating a part or maybe a part's inedible, throw it in a bag in your freezer, make a beautiful broth, bone broth, vegetable broth. That's my tip for any of those extras. If you're not composting, put it in a bag in your freezer. Make broth with it. That way you're not putting it to waste and you can make essentially a free broth with those scraps then.
MARIANNE: Absolutely. You're getting all those polyphenols. They're going to go… They're going to be held in stasis in that broth and it's so good for you.
ELIZABETH: Right. All right. Well, thank you so much for the helpful tips so far, but my question is, you know, depending on the day and time I go to the farmer's market, especially on Saturday mornings, the market can get so busy. I need to park sometimes several blocks away. And you know, all these, these veggies and meats in bulk that I tend to get, it can be so heavy to haul. So many of our listeners have never been to a farmer's market, but what do you suggest they put their vegetables in and carry them around in? And especially when the weather's been so hot, like it has been, how do you suggest people haul their vegetables and keep them cool?
MARIANNE: Yeah.
BRITNI: Keep that thought. It's time for our second break. You are listening to Dishing Up Nutrition. You know, over the past year, let's be real. It's been very stressful for everybody. And many people have turned to food to help reduce their stress. And if you're feeling the effects of eating more processed food over the past year, it may mean that it is time to get back to eating real food in balance and start feeling better. I suggest you sign up for our Nutrition for Weight Loss 12 class series, either online or via Zoom. If you have questions about the class, call 651-699-3438, and we will answer all of your questions and help you get signed up. By eating real food in balance, you will not only lose weight. You will also have more energy and fewer aches and pains. We'll be right back.
BREAK
MARIANNE: Welcome back to Dishing Up Nutrition. I invite you to join me in one of our Weight and Wellness cooking classes. They're so fun. I get to do them from my own kitchen. And in July, we are offering a class called Cooking Heart-Healthy Meals. And our cooking class in August is going to be Creating Healing Foods for Your Gut. Each class is only $25. And they are both taught in the comfort of your own home via Zoom. So we want to inspire you to turn some of those farmer's market produce into healthy healing meals. And so to sign up for these classes, just call 651-699-3438, or you can sign up online at weightandwellness.com.
ELIZABETH: So before break, I was just asking Marianne for our maybe listeners who haven't been to the farmer's market, what do you suggest bringing to haul your fresh produce in, and especially during these hot summer months, how do we keep them cool, especially the meat, which is vulnerable to these temperatures?
MARIANNE: Yeah, boy, it has been hot. It's like August in June here. It's amazing. Oh my gosh. But we, you know what, we are really lucky. We are lucky that we have so many options. As, as Britni was saying earlier, you know, we don't just have the big city farmer's markets. There are a ton of satellite farmer's markets. There's, they have them in small towns in suburbs, and they are often in, they’re setup, like in a church or a store parking lot. So they're a manageable size. So you don't, you have less parking issues. So you can be a little bit closer to the action. And, so, so think about that when you decide. And you, if you, and like I said, you can go on that map, that Minnesotagrown.com and you can find a farmer's market near you, and it may be a smaller satellite market that's, that's easier to manage, especially, you know, if you have mobility issues or you're taking grandma to the market; things like that. So, so, and of course, some of them are on the weekends in the morning. Like I said, the St. Paul is from 6:00 AM to one. But there's plenty that are like on weeknight afternoon sites for people that are, are at work and they might stop on their way home. And they aren't quite as busy and they're a lot easier to navigate. And I always suggest that you bring an insulated bag if you can. Something that I usually put my meat in my insulated bag, or like one of those little portable coolers is kind of nice. That's, there's a lot of great, great insulated bags now. So, so take one of those, or just your reusable, you know, canvas bags that we all have a zillion of if we remember to put them in the car right after we bring them in the house. So, and, and this is also why I encourage that people walk around the market first, so that strategy of going through the aisles and sort of figuring out what you want to buy, and that way it consolidates your buying so that you're not hauling these heavy bags all the way through the market. You sort of make the rounds and then, and then fill the bags. Or it's also good to bring someone with you who is willing to carry the bags. That's always helpful.
BRITNI: That’s a very good suggestion.
MARIANNE: Right.
ELIZABETH: I've people haul wagons around too.
MARIANNE: Yes; wagons or little carts with wheels. There are people that, that do that for sure. That's a very European thing. When people are shopping in Europe, they, they have their little cart that they pull behind them. And so that is absolutely helpful. And you know what? At the St. Paul farmer's market, they actually have valet parking there. So you can drop your car off and then put all your stuff in the corner near the valet, and then you can load your car from there, which is great. So, so, and obviously if you want to beat the crowds, we mentioned that. I would say shop during the first or the last hours of the market. But you have to keep in mind if you are looking for those fabulous farm fresh eggs that are like, sometimes you get a blue egg. That's beautiful. Those things go so fast. Oh my gosh, they're almost gone by nine o'clock. And so keep that in mind. And then also, if you're there the last hour, there may not be something there that you had in mind. Although the big markets, I would say that's probably not the case, but, but a satellite market, you might, you are taking that chance, but you're also going to have the opportunity to get another deal, because there's a lot of farmers that don't want to have to pack this back up. So, so they'll give you a deal. So, so the, you know, the thing is the early bird gets the worm with the eggs, but the late person gets the deal.
BRITNI: You know, sometimes when I go to the farmer's market, I it's really easy to get carried away. Everything looks so beautiful and delicious, and I want to buy some of everything, but then I get home and what do I do with it all? Do you have any tips for cleaning and storing vegetables?
MARIANNE: Yes. You know, and I am absolutely one of those people. And I, I am a self-professed food hoarder. I love food. It's hard for me to not go to the farmer's market and just, you know, try and take it all in. Because I know that there is a finite amount of time that I can get this until the next year. So, so I do have to curb my enthusiasm for sure when I'm at the farmer's market. But I do encourage clients to be realistic about what and how much they're going to purchase. So, so as they're, they're doing, you're, you're sort of making the rounds through the aisles, think about the week ahead and make a little bit of a rough plan for what you want to bring home. So let's say I really want some green beans and maybe you're going to have that for dinner on Tuesday, but I'm also going to have it for dinner on Friday. And those salad greens, you might combine them with tomatoes and cucumbers. And so those might be some weekday lunches and add a good protein to that to make it a nice balanced lunch. And yes. So, so, this is similar to a CSA when you get a CSA and you have that box and you're thinking, “Oh my gosh. What am I going to do with all this?” And you have to wash it and store it. So, so for me personally, I like to wash my vegetables when I get home. Do you guys do that as well? Is that your plan? Or…
ELIZABETH: I try.
BRITNI: Yeah. Sometimes it happens.
MARIANNE: I mean, usually I feel like, okay, I'm taking them out of the bags. I, they have to go somewhere. And, and often I just want to, that that's part of the job that I want to get done. So, so what I do is I take a big bowl and everybody gets a bath. So all the vegetables get a bath. Most of them are organic. So they are, you know, they're not, they're not laden with pesticides. So, so you can just give them a quick wash. And, and then I put almost everything into a salad spinner, which is a great tool. If you don't have one, they are fantastic. And, I know you can get them at Target. I put them in, I put green beans, pea pods, cherry tomatoes; give them a quick spin. It sort of pulls the water. And then I dry them like with a little tea towel and then I put them into a bag or a glass container, and I have them in my fridge. They are ready to go. I think whenever you want to have your vegetables ready, I think it's easier to be successful with whatever plan you have through the week. It's, they are ready to eat raw or chop up and throw into the pan. So I think that's an important part of the, the equation here when you feel overwhelmed. So, and I like to see what I have in my fridge. It's nice to put things in glass containers so you can see them. And, now the one exception here is berries. So berries, if you wash them, they're more susceptible to mold. And so you don't want that. So, so just wash those just before you eat them and throw them into your smoothie or whatever you're going to do. And, and so, and there's no need to make prep work drudgery. You will often find me sitting on my front porch with a big bowl, and I'm either tipping my green beans into a, into a bowl. I'm shucking some corn, or I'm taking that string off the peapods. And it's, you know, I'm sitting outside and once and once I have them washed and stored, ready to sauté or eating a salad or snack. So, so, and I recommend trying to pair these veggies with some our Green Veggie Dip, which is on our website, weightandwellness.com; fresh herbs. It's delicious. I encourage you to try that.
BRITNI: Well, in making a plan for what you're purchasing, a lot less food waste and preventing you from going to the grocery store the second time or third time during the week. I know people that have to do that a lot.
ELIZABETH: Yes. And Marianne just mentioned some great tips as far as making sure you're eating those vegetables, like washing them so they're ready to go, chopping them so they're ready to go, displaying them in those glasses; because how many of us have forgotten the vegetables and the back of the fridge? And then they go bad.
So those are all great tips. And she mentioned, you know, enjoying this process too, of, of shucking the corn. I have fond childhood memories of doing those things; cutting off the, the stems of the green beans. I think it can be a really fun family friendly activity too. So…
MARIANNE: Absolutely.
ELIZABETH: Not thinking of it as a chore as so much, something to, you know, think back fondly on summer memories, right?
BRITNI: Absolutely. You know, it is already time for our third break. You are listening to Dishing Up Nutrition. I want to announce that our Woodbury location is now open. It is located on Queens Drive just off of Valley Creek Road. And the phone number is (651) 288-2700. And as dietitians and nutritionists, we have many clients who are concerned with the lack of bone density or osteoporosis. The total bone building supplement I recommend to them is called Key Osteo Plus. It has everything you need to support strong bones. And when we come back from break, Elizabeth will share some reasons for weak and thinning bones. We'll be right back.
BREAK
ELIZABETH: Welcome back to Dishing Up Nutrition. What are some of the risk factors that may lead to osteoporosis? Risk factor number one is having inadequate nutrients. So your body actually steals minerals from your bone reserves to get those nutrients. Risk factor number two: eating too many processed carbs and sugar. These are damaging foods to your bones. Risk factor number three is having deficient vitamin D. Calcium needs adequate vitamin D levels to deliver the calcium into the bones. Risk factor number four is lacking sufficient amounts of magnesium. We often hear calcium, calcium, calcium for bones, but we really need adequate amounts of magnesium for bones to be strong and flexible. Risk factor number five: having ongoing chronic stress that can result in excess cortisol. And this is actually damaging to your bones as well. Risk factor number six: lacking weight bearing exercise. So we know we need to do weight bearing exercise regularly to keep our bones strong. And finally risk factor number seven: taking certain medications that either demineralize the bones or interfere with bone remodeling. So if you are concerned about osteoporosis or osteopenia, I recommend you make an appointment for a bone healing eating plan and targeted supplements to increase bone density. Give us a call at (651) 699-3438 to set up an appointment that's convenient for you. So before break, we were talking about, okay, now we have all this fresh, beautiful produce, local meats. Marianne, walk us through how you would cook up one of your favorite recipes with all this food that now we have, what do we do with it? How do we make it into a beautiful meal?
MARIANNE: Yeah. Boy, that's a loaded question. We could be here for a long time, but, but you know what? I'm going talk about certainly it's, it's grilling season. And so I'm going to talk about a recipe that we used in the, in our farmer's market cooking class that we just did this week. And, and so what I like to do is cut up zucchini, peppers, mushrooms, onions, and cherry tomatoes. So those will all be coming in season in the next couple of weeks. So, you know, through July, August, you're going to see all of these. And there's a lot of cool mushroom vendors now at the farm, which is so fun. So I encourage that for sure. And so I use a little avocado oil and balsamic vinegar to make a simple vinaigrette. And so I let them marinade, you know, even if you do it for just 20 or 30 minutes, that's great. You can also do it overnight. And then I thread them onto skewers. I personally like metal ones. You can use the wood ones, but, it is challenging to keep them from burning. So the end starts on fire and now you've got, it's like having a candle on the, on the, on the grill. And so, so I, if you do, if you do like to have kebabs a lot, I, I recommend that you invest in some. They're inexpensive metal ones. They're kind of fun. So, and then I might, I might toss a couple of bone in skin on chicken breasts, which I, I get from one of my vendors at the farmer's market who isn't, you know what? He's not certified organic because it's really expensive to, to be certified. There's a lot of bureaucracy with that. So a lot of them operate as an organic, but they just don't have that certification. And that vendor is like that. And, and so I get the skin on bone and cause it makes them really juicy.
BRITNI: You know, I, I get questions a lot about cooking meat and I have many of my clients say that they're afraid of under cooking their meat and then especially chicken gets so dried out and it's stringy and tough and really unappetizing. So invest in a meat thermometer. We use it all the time at our house. There's no guesswork; check the temp and you're going to have a lot tastier meat and not have to worry about anything.
MARIANNE: I agree. And I would say get an instant read thermometer, because it'll tell you the temperature right away. When you put it in, put it in the thickest part of the muscle and make sure that it doesn't hit the bone because the bone is going to be hotter and it'll give you a, a different, sort of an incorrect temperature. So if you do that boy, you're, you'll always have perfectly cooked chicken. And, and, let your, your meat rest for sure, cause it wants, you want to redistribute those juices. So, so, so here's how I cook the chicken. I heat up my grill so that one side is really hot and the other side is my indirect side. So what you're really doing is sort of turning your grill into an oven essentially. So when you lower that lid, the cooler side is just an, it's the ambient temperature of that, of the inside of the grill, that's cooking your meat. So I would put the chicken on that cooler side because we don't want to create those carcinogenic charred marks. And so I would do that for like 30 minutes. So put the cover on your grill and let that go. And, and then I would transfer them to the hot side just for a few minutes, so that you crisp up that skin. You want that skin to be nice and crispy and then I would remove them to a platter and let them rest, let those juices redistribute. And that's, while that's resting, that's when I would put my veggie skewers on the hot side of the grill for like five minutes per side, but there is a tip that we had on, we had a blog post about grill tips recently, and we talked about the 80/20 rule.
ELIZABETH: And really that means to let your, let your meat cook for 80% on one side before you flip it, because it's hard to just let it sit and not fidget with it. Right? You want to keep playing around with it. But really we want that, the meat to sit there for the majority of its cooking time before we flip it. Again, like Marianne was saying, we want that crust to form. We want the, the juices to stay intact.
MARIANNE: Yeah, exactly. Yup. And, and, and it's, it's a little bit easier to tell if your meat is done that way as well. And it works really well with burgers. It keeps your burgers really nice and juicy. So I, I suggest that for sure. And so while your, your, your chicken’s resting, you've got your, your skewers cooking for five minutes per side, and then they're going to be crisp, tender and beautiful. And I would probably eat this alongside of maybe a half a cup of our Mediterranean Potato Salad that we have on our website as well. It's sort of a vinegar, it's almost like a nicoise salad. So it's got the green beans. You could add some olives probably. And it's delicious. It's, and it's not, you know, it's, it's not too heavy. And that would balance out the meal and be really satisfying and wow, am I getting hungry.
BRITNI: Yeah. Yeah. Sound so good. And make extra of everything.
ELIZABETH: Yes
MARIANNE: Yeah for sure.
ELIZABETH: Fill the grill.
MARIANNE: Yup. Fill it up, and then, you know, see you have stuff for the whole week. And, it all tastes great. I always make more than I need.
BRITNI: Yes; same here.
ELIZABETH: Well, one, one tip that I found actually on the grilling blog that Marianne wrote recently that I found interesting, I mean, we, as nutritionists don't want people to eat the charred meat because those are carcinogenic, but Marianne mentioned that that's not the case with vegetables. So can you kind of explain how it's okay to eat a little bit of charred vegetables?
MARIANNE: Yeah. So, so there is that, that compound that when you're cooking meat, you know, those grill marks that everybody feels like they need to have, it's actually not good. It, it, they do have compounds that we don't want to eat, but that is not the case with vegetables. So you, and not that we want to, to blacken our vegetables per se, but we do want to have that little edge of crispness that's, that's so tasty. So you don't actually have to worry about that, that compound with vegetables, which is great because that, that way you can cook them on the hot side of the grill and get those, that char. They look beautiful and it tastes fantastic.
BRITNI: Yum. Great idea. You know, I grew up, having the foil packs on the grill all the time, and it's a delicious way to get your veggies. You know, we always had the potatoes and then got a little crispy, but you know, we've learned that cooking with aluminum foil is really not the best thing for our health. So you could easily do the same thing and just put parchment paper inside in between the foil and the veggies. Right? So that would be another way to cook your veggies on the grill. And essentially you could cook everything on the grill, right?
MARIANNE: Yeah, absolutely.
BRITNI: So much less cleanup. And using your cast iron pan could be, you know, another, another way to cook on the grill. You know, as we say over and over again, food matters when it comes to your health. And we hope this show has inspired you to go to your local farmer's market, buy fresh, locally grown, organic vegetables, grass-fed meat to cook and eat for your health. And our goal at Nutritional Weight and Wellness is to help each and every person experience better health through eating real food. It's a simple yet powerful message. Eating real food truly is life changing. Thank you for joining us today and have a Happy 4th of July.
