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Recipes for Health – Earth Day Edition
In commemoration of Earth Day (April 22), we acknowledge and are grateful for the individuals who are dedicated to investing in our planet and in human health by following traditional food practices. These include health practitioners, regenerative farmers, and culinary innovators who are motivated by their passion for food to help heal our broken food system.
One such innovator is Alice Waters, founder of the Edible Schoolyard and the beloved Chez Panisse café. In our interview, Alice Waters Through the Years, she shared that her work hasn’t stopped there, but that she’s now working with the University of California, Davis to develop plans for an Institute for Regenerative Agriculture and Edible Education in Sacramento. Find Alice’s Brussels Sprouts Gratin recipe below, along with others full of wholesome ingredients to boost your health.
Be sure to check out each of the links below to view our recipe reels, captured as we’ve made them in our own kitchens, and get a preview of what to expect when preparing them for yourself!
An ‘ancient crop for modern times,’ lentils, like other legumes (also called pulses), played an important role in our shift from hunter-gatherers to early farmers. Despite their long-standing prevalence in agriculture, including being one of the earliest domesticated crops to inspire use of intercropping (crops planted in close proximity for optimal growth, such as the ‘three sisters’ planting technique), lentils didn’t make their way onto American plates until the red meat rations during WWII.
The third most widely grown legume in the world, lentils remain an important protein source for many regions and continue to be important, agriculturally, for their positive impact on nitrogen levels in the soil.
Click here for the recipe and video.
Cook time: 45 minutes
Garlic and Herb Pan-Seared Steaks
Despite accusations of contributing to global warming (incorrectly taking the blame for the effects of industrial, non-regenerative methods of livestock production), cattle have played an integral role in our transformation from hunter-gatherer to agrarian societies and have provided us with life-giving milk, meat and manure since the Neolithic Revolution, with genetic data indicating that the modern bovine is a direct descendent of the Wild Aurochs that roamed Europe over 10,500 years ago.
Today, grass-fed beef continues to attract eaters with its impressive nutritional benefits. Higher in essential amino acids and omega-3 fatty acids than grain-fed beef, grass-fed beef is also a great source of antioxidants, such as alpha tocopherol (the most active form of vitamin E), and beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A, both of which are pivotal for preventing oxidative damage in the body.
Click here for the recipe and video.
Cook time: 30-40 minutes
Originally cultivated in northern Europe around 2,500 years ago, this member of the Brassica (Latin, meaning ‘cabbage’) family owes its rise in popularity to chefs who have made it their goal to bring sustainable eating to the table, such as Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, whom we featured in our interview, Alice Waters Through the Years.
Thriving best when grown in coastal regions, particularly in California, this hardy, cruciferous vegetable provides a good source of vitamin C during the winter. Although a bitter addition to the diet for many individuals (owing to a high level of ‘glucosinolates,’ an organic compound containing sulfur and nitrogen), their flavor can be improved if the sprouts are halved prior to boiling, to leach out some of the glucosinolate that is more heavily concentrated in the center of each sprout.
Click here for the recipe and video.
Cook time: 45-50 minutes
A globally-loved dessert that comes in many forms (such as ostkaka from Sweden or vatrushkia from Russia), cheesecake may have first originated in ancient Greece. According to the ‘De Agri Cultura’ (the oldest surviving Latin text) by Cato the Elder, savillum (which means ’cheesecake’ in Latin) was a simple affair and typically was baked over low heat and finished with poppyseeds, a spice that was especially loved by the ancient Romans.
Unlike the pasteurized, cream-cheese-based version that we are accustomed to seeing now, traditional cheesecake recipes, like savillum, called for fresh cheese (typically goat ricotta) and raw honey, the latter of which was an ingredient the ancient Romans used extensively and has been shown to provide cardiometabolic benefits.
Click here for the recipe and video.
Cook time: 2-4 hours
In case you missed the last Recipe Feature, you can find it here:
Recipe Feature, April 14, 2023
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To your best health,
The Price-Pottenger Team