We took some time to speak with local expert Christine Dionese about
some important FOOD questions, and man, were we impressed with the
answers that we got!!
Culinary Concepts:
A large portion of our clients are corporations ordering meals for
their staff. Why is it important for a company to be choosy about what
they order and who they order from?
Christine Dionese: In the spirit of
supporting local businesses, it’s always nice to order from a neighbor
who will get to understand the client’s unique needs and wants rather
than some far-off, stranger. I like to highlight the good business
practice of mutual accentuation when choosing who to align with. A local
company offering fresh, carefully selected produce and food items not
only will take special care to reflect their client’s personalized
taste, it’s a win-win situation for both. The corporation ends up with
happy, healthy employees and the provider of these creations reaps the
rewards of approval, referrals and financial gain. The best part about
local companies working together is that money stays in the local
economy- benefiting everyone in the community on some level!
CC: Throughout the year, we revise our menus based on the seasons
to reflect what is ripest and freshest. What are some suggestions you
have to eat healthy (and deliciously) now that Spring is upon us?
CD: Get the family involved, grab the kids,
get a friend and head to the farmer’s markets! It’s time to try new
things this year! Each time I visit the market I like to get chatty with
the sellers to learn about how they grow their food and what they love
growing most. I always ask about herb- and pesticides used during
growing and crop fertilization to be sure I’m not getting anything I
don’t want. After I get that question out of the way, I try to find two
new types of produce to help me get creative in the kitchen to design
new and fun recipes.
I love cooking medicinally, but I also have a huge sweet tooth, so I
like to get ripe fruit to add to dishes and make syrups I can drizzle
over veggies! If you have kids, give them about $5-10 bucks allowing
them to choose on the condition that they have to choose at least one
new item. This will help your kids get healthy without even realizing
it!
CC: Everyone assumes eating healthy costs
more. How can we as a catering company, as well as our customers, make
healthy conscious eating decisions without breaking the bank? What are
some offerings that you might suggest we add to our menus to enhance our
meals, that won't also cause us to dramatically raise our prices.
CD: Educating staff and customers alike is
key. When folks understand how to eat, their purchases can have real
money-saving results. It’s okay to crave strawberries in winter, but how
about waiting until they’re at their peak and found locally. I like to
call it “prime for the pickin”- this means the type of produce is
available locally and fresh because it’s growing during it’s natural
season. Produce grown locally and chosen seasonally not only saves money
(no importation costs and taxes), but is also far more nutrient dense
than produce that’s gone beyond it’s peak or has been shipped in.
Don’t be afraid to be choosy at the market either! Go ahead and barter.
Just make a case for your intention when offering your price to the
seller. If they don’t accept it, move on and choose something different.
Another way to think about the real cost of food is directly related to
what types of food we choose to purchase. Think nutrient dense vs
nutritionally void. You’ll end up spending a touch more in the
short-term to procure minimally processed foods and produce, yet, in the
long-run, you will have saved yourself a fortune on health-care
expenditures that would otherwise be a result of eating cheap,
un-healthy foods. This is a hard one for parents of young children. In a
recent interview at Pure Mamas,
a popular local blog discussing healthy ways for parents to feed kids,
we determined that families can feed their kids organic baby food if
they make it at home and save about $600 big ones per year!
Also, the more healthy food you fill yourself up with, the less junk your body will crave!
CC: Are there ways for families to not only save money, but time when it comes to healthy food choices?
CD: As I just mentioned, making foods at
home in large batches, such as baby food is a great place to start.
There’s always ways to save money and time together. One of my
favorites, as I’m sure you can guess is cultivating a kitchen-garden at
home! Many readers may initially think, but I don’t own my home or I
live in an apartment, how will I grow my own food? It’s easy I tell you,
it really is (Garden Eats claims they can grow a garden anywhere, even
hanging from your ceiling)!
- The best place to start is with your regular grocery list. Circle the top five, most expensive produce items you spend on. This has just been transformed into your first-year grow list!
- Green Up! The health benefits of greens goes on for miles and we could all use a little more. Greens are one of the least expensive and most abundant garden yielders that exist! Try your hand at some micro-greens to get going now. Starting with something easy will build your confidence and provide food all year long. Greens are my favorite to grow in pots as well. If you think you’re going to run out of space, give away a few house plants and replace with your new edible garden!
CC: We get a lot of special dietary requests--lactose free, gluten free and vegan. We have some go-to menu offerings but are looking to expand our selections for these guests. Are there any ingredients or substitutions we should be using? I know vegetarians must be tired of portobella mushrooms by now! For example, quinoa pastas, almond milk, tempeh--all newer items that seem to be gaining in popularity. What are some trends in these food areas that we should be aware of?
CD: This is so much easier than a lot of us think; that is, offering delicious meals with alternative ingredients! My suggestion to both chefs and customers alike is, focus on what you can have, rather than can not and suddenly your choices become abundant! Half the time, we don’t even need to put the gluten or lactose in the food to make it taste great (sometimes it will even enhance the taste with fewer filler items). Take my gluten-free meatballs for example. The client makes out because the meatballs are free of bread-crumbs and the maker saves money because they didn’t have to use an ingredient. The meatballs are rich, delicious and safe.
Sometimes a subtraction won’t cut it and you’ll need to come up with a healthy substitution. I suggest chefs call on their knowledge of fats and proteins when making these subs. Fats (yes, I prefer the healthy omega-rich fats of course) and proteins make great “glue” to hold certain foods together or enhance taste naturally. Coconut flesh, almonds and hemp meal are three of my favorite alternative ingredients that can easily be added to anything from entrees to desserts.
A little trick I like to add nutritional value to food or substitute for cheese is a combination of coriander, a dash of sea salt and garlic, coconut flesh and oregano. Combine these ingredients in a Vitamix or industrial blender and the result is a creamy cheese-like texture that can be spread on lunch, stuffed into turkey burgers, slathered over tempeh, as a substitute for fancy butter... If you wish to slide your taste from savory to sweet, simply subtract the garlic, oregano and coriander and replace with a drop of vanilla and a few shakes of cinnamon. Kids love this on french toast, to dip fruit in and on bagels.
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Christine is an integrative health care specialist, medical journalist, food writer and business development consultant. Popularized by health care professionals and patients alike, her blog, Reaching Beyond Now features a socially conscious take on integrative medicine and the future of lifestyle design. Christine loves teaching people and families how to sustainably design health through food while savouring the richness of eating. Check out her latest endeavor, Garden Eats to learn more about seasonal kitchen gardening and medicinal culinary therapy.
Follow Christine at twitter here!
