Today in the Kitchen: New column for GV News

This is a column about food - growing it, cooking it, eating it, preserving it, and understanding its impact on our health; about getting in touch with one’s environment, and what one eats. I would like to share over thirty years of natural foods kitchen wisdom, and ask for your participation.

I love the seasons and the foods that grow in each season. Due to the wonders of transportation, most of us have access to most any food, most any time of the year. But that might be out of sync with nature and the cycles of the area we live in.

There is a great movement afoot to eat locally, which means not only supporting local growers, but also eating what is grown within a 100-mile radius of where we live. Barbara Kingsolver wrote a wonderful book, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle,” which is an account of a family’s year-long experiment eating only what is produced where they lived. It is an engaging look at gardening, preserving and cooking food, as well as bartering with neighbors, and rediscovering what foods are indigenous to an area, when they are in season, and the joy of living in harmony with the rest of nature. One way for us to do this is to go to the Green Valley Farmer’s Market, every Wednesday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Green Valley Village, La Canada Drive and Esperanza Boulevard. There is a great assortment of local products there, from organic produce to grass fed beef, tamales to gelato, jewelry to dog cookies.

Another admirable new look at how and what we eat is the Slow Food organization. Its premise is the opposite of fast food — about the return to cooking good food, and the joy of sitting down to a meal with other people instead of gobbling down a fast food sandwich while driving in one’s car. This is an international organization with great educational and socializing potential. There is a local convivium (chapter) in Tucson — check it out at www.slowfoodtucson.org.

In addition to the aesthetics of these concepts, there is a fundamental nutritional consideration: that the quality of what we eat deeply influences our health.

One thing to keep in mind is that no matter how well we eat, if the digestive system is not in good shape, we can not absorb the nutrients we ingest. So it is a good idea to clean out once in a while. Spring is a nice time to do a little cleanse. It does not require complete fasting, just giving the system a rest by drinking mostly fluids (pure water, herbal teas, fresh vegetable and fruit juices) and light foods such as fruit and salads, for a few days. This allows accumulated toxins to be flushed from the body, and regeneration of a heavily used system. In addition, there are certain foods that help promote intestinal health, such as aloe vera juice, fermented foods (yogurt, for example), fiber (whole fruit, vegetables and grains) and supplements such as probiotics.

Those of you who went to the Health Fair recently may have stopped by my table for a sample of my “morning gulp,” which is a great way to start the day. It is simply a mixture of a low-sugar fruit juice such as pomegranate, blueberry or cranberry, with some aloe vera juice, a liquid vitamin (much more absorbable than pill forms), and some green powder (dried greens such as wheat grass and spirulina, which are nutrient-dense foods). All of these products can be found at a good natural food store. It’s nice to find a store you like, and get to know the people there. They can be a wealth of information.

There is so much to discover in the world of healthy eating: What are sea vegetables, quinoa, lactose/gluten intolerances? What foods are anti-aging? What about supplements? What’s the truth about drinking water? What ingredients should we avoid in body products?

I hope to explore all of these and more. Please let me know your interests. This column is for you.

Samaya Jones is a holistic nutritionist and natural foods personal chef. She has written for health websites, newspapers, and taught wine education classes. She can be reached at ncsamayaj@gmail.com.