Keep Your Health Tips

February in Cherokee is “Gaga lu nee” which means “bony or hungry month.” It often feels that way to me. Of course I am grateful for the abundant choices of fruits and vegetables throughout the winter months, thanks to modern transportation. By February however, I am hungry for fresh organic fruits and vegetables grown right here, not 1500 or more miles away. Do I garden? No, I hire a farmer.

For years I have belonged to a CSA, or community supported agriculture organization. As a CSA member, I pay a farmer in advance for a share of the season’s production. In return, I get a box of freshly picked, locally grown, organic produce every week.

There are other important advantages to being a CSA member. One, you have a relationship with the farmer who grows your food. Most CSA farmers host a farm tour some time during the season and are happy for you to learn about and see how your food is grown. Two, you are supporting sustainable, ecologically sound farming methods that are safe for us, the farmers and the planet. Three, you are supporting a local often family run operation, enhancing our community. Four, the food is picked ripe, when it is tastiest and most nutritious.

It’s important to find out what your farmer grows. Some have specialties. I belong to the CSA at the Kansas City Community Farm because Katherine Kelly and Dan Dermitzel offer the most amazing greens. Tomato lovers enjoy Dan and Denice May’s Organic Way CSA. You’ve seen Dan’s heirloom tomatoes at finer restaurants in town.

Another factor to consider is delivery. Most arrange a location where all members go to pick up their weekly share. So choose a CSA that delivers near you. A few offer home delivery.

The cost varies depending on the duration of the season and the size of the share. Some CSA’s offer partial shares perfect for two to three persons. Last year, one CSA charged $14 per week with a one time $25 membership fee, another charged $330 for the season.

Now is the time to join a CSA. I joined what I think was the first CSA in the area back in the 1980’s. The 2005 Kansas City Food Circle Directory lists twelve. The pick-up or delivery location is listed in parentheses with the phone number below.

Fair Share Farm (Crossroads District Market) 816-320-3763

Golden Ridge Farm (Merriam Farmers Market) 913-898-6201

Homestead Farms (Olathe) 913-856-7412

JJ Farms (Raytown) 816-356-3938

Kansas City Community Farm (Kansas City, KS/Home Delivery) 913-515-2426

The Organic Way (Waldo) 417-944-2818

Peacock Farms (Crossroads District Market/City Market) 660-584-2526

Pickings and Pumpkins (Spring Hill/Home Delivery to South Metro Johnson County) 913-592-5438

Rolling Prairie Farmers Alliance (Franklin Store/Johnson County Community College/Lawrence Community Mercantile) 913-727-6121

Share Life Farms (Blue Springs Downtown Market) 660-886-3936

Weston Red Barn Farm (Weston) 816-386-5437

Bethany Klug, DO specializes in holistic medicine at the Kansas City Holistic Centre.

She teaches whole foods nutrition and holistic living online. Visit University Of Masters for information about her courses. Please enter “DRKLUG” in the referral box when you enroll.

She authors the monthly column “The Doctor Cooks” for the Kansas City Wellness Magazine. The Doctors Cooks Weblog is now online with past articles, menus, recipes, tips and other resources. Please subscribe!

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Impossible, you might say, especially if the vegetables you ate growing up were boiled into oblivion. Or maybe yours were embalmed as canned vegetables or cryogenically frozen. Treated with such disrespect, it’s easy to understand why many of us avoid vegetables, and lose out on the most life sustaining and disease preventing food available to us.

Vegetables (and fruits, too) are rich in special molecules called phytochemicals. Phyto simply means plant. Phytochemicals give plants their characteristic color, smell, taste and texture. They help the plant protect itself from disease and predators. We get the same benefit when we eat properly prepared vegetables and fruits. Food from animals, such as meat and milk, do not have this effect. The greatest benefit comes from a eating a variety of phytochemicals and is as simple as selecting vegetables and fruits of different colors. The array of colors will make your plate look more appetizing, too.

The easiest way to prepare vegetables is to eat them raw. One of my favorite simple meals is a bowl of soup with carrot sticks, celery sticks spread with pumpkin seed butter, sliced fruit and a piece of whole grain bread. Green salad is also easy. Visit your nearest organic farmers market and check out the bounty of baby greens available right now. Toss with some raw walnuts, fresh berries and balsamic vinaigrette.

Another way to prepare vegetables is to steam them. Add your vegetables to a saucepan, then add a small amount of water,

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Butter is back after being banished in favor of margarine. Margarine contains trans-fats that damage artery walls setting the stage for heart disease. Butter isn’t perfect. It contains milk solids that cause inflammation leading to heart disease, arthritis, asthma, ear infections, skin diseases and more. These solids burn at low heat, leaving an awful taste and look behind. Butterfat is a good source of saturated and monounsaturated fat, as well as fatty acids with anti-microbial and anti-cancer properties. Always choose organic unsalted butter. Conventional butter is a concentrated source of antibiotics, hormones and pesticides. Salt hides rancidity when older cream is used.

Enter ghee, the staple of Ayurvedic medicine from India. Ghee is pure butterfat without the pesky milk solids. It tolerates high heat, but becomes soft solid at room temperature for spreading. Substitute ghee for butter or oil in recipes. People with dairy sensitivities generally can eat ghee.

You can buy ghee, but it is easy to make at home. Get a canning jar with the two-part lid, some cheesecloth and some organic unsalted butter. Boil the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. It will make lots popping sounds. Meanwhile, cut a 6 inch square piece of double layer cheese cloth. Place it over the opening of the canning jar. Tighten the rim of the lid over the cheesecloth, pushing down on the cheesecloth to slacken it a bit. When the popping sounds quiet to one every second or two, carefully pour the hot liquid through the cheesecloth into the canning jar. Use hot pads to move the jar to a safe place to cool. The amber liquid will turn yellow-white as it cools. Remove the rim and the cheesecloth, assemble the lid and close the jar. Four sticks of butter make 12 ounces of ghee. Store at room temperature. Ghee has a long shelf life, but never lasts long in our kitchen!

Bethany Klug, DO specializes in holistic medicine at the Kansas City Holistic Centre.

She teaches whole foods nutrition and holistic living online. Visit University Of Masters for information about her courses. Please enter “DRKLUG” in the referral box when you enroll.

She authors the monthly column “The Doctor Cooks” for the Kansas City Wellness Magazine. The Doctors Cooks Weblog is now online with past articles, menus, recipes, tips and other resources. Please subscribe!

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