Farmers Market Archives - Sensory Nutrition

2013 White House Kids’ State Dinner

As part of former First Lady Michelle Obama’s signature “Let’s Move” initiative to end childhood obesity in America, on Tuesday, July 9, 2013 the second annual White House “Kids’ State Dinner” as a formal luncheon was scheduled to celebrate the winners of the 2013 Healthy Lunchtime Challenge. (2017 UPDATE NOTICE: Unfortunately, the Let’s Move website is no longer active since Michelle Obama is no longer the current First Lady. You may find that previous availability of recipes and information from the Let’s Move program may have been scrubbed from other government related websites as well.) Selected healthy focus recipes were

Tabbouleh Salad (aka Tabouleh, Tabouli, Taboli, Taboule, etc.)

This salad favorite is perfect for late “springtime” or else “summertime” enjoyment. We look forward to eating every year (especially at a “BBQ” type event). Once mint is again growing in the garden, it is time to make Tabbouleh! Tabbouleh is a classic chopped vegetable salad of which there are many variations, depending upon where in the Mediterranean or Arab/Middle Eastern world the recipe version originated from. Photograph ©Stephanie B-H/SensoryNutrition/US12

Farmers Markets Can Provide a Rainbow of Color (Food, Nutrition and Prostate Cancer)

Warmer weather usually means more rain storms and thus the potential for more rainbows as well. Virtually all of us should be aiming to consume a “Rainbow of Color” from nature’s color wheel when it comes to fruits & veggies. There are many health benefits associated with the colors of the rainbow nature so graciously provides, and particularly for those discussing prostate cancer prevention, incidence & progression, treatment, and survivorship as noted in the 4 part series we started late last month and will be continuing with this month. Beyond their beneficial vitamin content, consider the rich antioxidant & anti-inflammatory content of

Make It Now At Home Pizza (An Alternative to Delivery, Frozen, or Take-Out Pizza)

Even on days when almost every last bit of energy seems to be used up, you can still nuke a cup of water, right? Well, we’re here to tell you that if you can nuke a cup of water, you can make at home a no-kneading-required pizza! No kidding! We’ll share a single rise crust, fun to top and super simple to bake pizza recipe that our webmaster has kindly agreed to share with our readers. It is adapted from the Pizza Dough I recipe which can be found at the allrecipes.com website, so full credit goes to that source

COOL Food Identification & You

COOL identification for covered food items is something all consumers should be familiar with, yet many still are not. Regulations regarding COOL identification went into effect back on March 16, 2009. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) maintains responsibility for the implementation, administration and enforcement of COOL regulations. Just how familiar are you with COOL food regulations?

Yummy Apple Chutney

As apple harvesting season continues in “Upstate” NY, the fragrant and enticing smell of apples seems to be everywhere, including at area Farmers Markets. Years ago, having found a recipe for an “apple chutney” in the then local print newspaper, we modified it ever so slightly and it turned out to be an easy to prepare and delightful accompaniment to many a dinner meal on cooler evenings. The original of the Harvest Apple Chutney recipe turns out to be found on the Kikkoman website and makes closer to 4 & 1/2 cups of cooked product. (Apple orchard image courtesy of gabriel77 at

Kale Chips–Good Enough for the White House or Your House

Do you remember hearing or reading about the First Ever White House Kids State Dinner (actually a luncheon) served on August 20, 2012? A blog post of that date focused on the event since we feel the entire Let’s Move campaign being supported by First Lady, Michelle Obama, is such a great idea! The entire Healthy Lunchtime Challenge culminating in that White House Kids State Dinner event was a collaborative effort involving a number of partners. It involved a wide range of staff, including from the Let’s Move campaign, the White House, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Education, and Epicurious

Tips When Shopping for August Abundance

In the Northeast, August is the month where truly more localized produce variety increases and all sorts of marketplaces will start to feature a wider range of locally sourced product. We’d like to share some tips below to help make shopping for August Abundance that much more enjoyable for you. We’ll include ideas for before you head out shopping, once you arrive at the market place destination and while you are there, and then after you get back home again. In PA the weather has often been more temperate in the growing regions and they’ve had enough rain fall to

The Skinny on Tomatoes, Including the Tomato Genome

Tomatoes qualify as a very popular non-starchy “vegetable” (even if they are botanically a “fruit” per se) based on per capita consumption in the USA, second only to potatoes. Year 2005 data from USDA noted tomato consumption from various sources, including primarily canned & frozen, as well as some fresh, to be close to 100# of farm weight/per person/per year. The next closest non-starchy vegetable category item, carrots, was noted to have consumption levels at just above 10# of farm weight/per person/per yr. (Different Tomatoes 2 graphic courtesy of salsachica at rgbstock.com) What contributes to the wild popularity of tomato

Anti-Inflammatory Food Item Sources

We’ve discussed the importance of eating food choices from the “rainbow of color” options out there, but some readers wrote in asking for even more specifics than we have previously listed in various blog posts. Although within the US we have moved from using a model of a food guide pyramid to using a model of a plate to encourage healthful choices in dining, there are still some useful pyramid options out there. (Fresh Produce on Display in Taormina, Sicily, Italy, graphic courtesy of Betty H) The “Mediterranean Diet” (general Mediterranean style dietary intake as part of a total lifestyle)