Lettuces (Photo credit: AlyssssylA) |
The problem is that many of us have forgotten what real food is supposed to taste like. If you go by what you find on the grocery store shelves, yeah, maybe the "healthy" stuff doesn't taste so great. With the produce section filled with bland, waxed, under ripe fruits and vegetables picked who knows how long ago, and the common presumption that the "low fat" or nonfat version of everything is the healthiest, you're right - it's not so tasty. But the difference between a grocery store tomato, and one picked ripe from your own garden in the summer sun, is (almost literally) comparing apples & oranges. The difference between the bag of chopped iceberg lettuce and shredded red cabbage (graying around the edges) from Kroger, and the salad bowl full of 7 kinds of mixed lettuce and greens picked from the garden yesterday (or this morning) that I get in my CSA share every week...well, one can't even hold a candle to the other - and it doesn't take a genius to know which one tastes better.
This year was the first time I added the cheese option to my CSA share, and although I almost didn't do it (it was pretty expensive), I was almost instantly addicted. The rich, tangy, flavorful variety of cheeses I got to experience bore no resemblance to the uniform orange shrink-wrapped rectangular blocks from the supermarket (and don't get me wrong - I love cheese, of almost all kinds). Plus, they were made locally, using fresh milk from local farms, and contained no preservatives, artificial coloring, or any such junk. Each variety contained only milk (goat, cow, or a combination), salt, enzymes, and cultures. And each was totally different from the other. From salty, dry Feta, with a fresh taste never experienced with store-bought Feta (which I usually love), to soft goat cheese gently smoked and rolled in spicebush berries, to creamy, mild Gouda, each week was a new taste sensation to experience.
Not to mention the wide variety of fresh vegetables that fill my refrigerator - all grown and harvested within a couple of hours from me, usually the day before. Swiss chard (which, by the way, can be bitter after being refrigerated a few days, so if you tried chard from the store and didn't like it, this may be why), salad mix, mushrooms, sprouts, spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, garlic, radishes, herbs, the list goes on - all of these much fresher, sweeter, and downright tastier than anything you'll find in the grocery store produce section.
CSA Box - Week of April 30 - May 6 (Photo credit: Suzies Farm) |
The same is true with other foods too - though. Fresh milk - lightly pasteurized (or raw, if you can get it) tastes nothing like the watery stuff in the plastic jugs sitting in rows in the refrigerator cases at Giant Eagle. Fresh bread, warm from the oven (even the plain old Walmart kind) has no resemblance to the bland uniform slices in the packaged bread aisle. Or try whole grain sprouted bread for a real taste (and nutrition) treat!
And I don't guess I need to even mention the proverbial apples and oranges, as nowhere is the sad lack of flavor more evident than in mass-produced supermarket fruit.
All that said, maybe I couldn't pay you enough to eat a Wasa cracker. And I do admit they are pretty bland and tasteless. I just love them for some reason! But in general, real, whole, fresh foods are not only the healthiest, but also the best tasting foods you'll find anywhere. If you're trying to eat healthier, try joining a local CSA and see just how good healthy can really taste. Or for the ultimate in fresh, grow (or cook) your own!
For some helpful resources, just visit the links below.
Finding a CSA: http://www.newholisticliving.com/csa.html
Growing your own food: http://www.newholisticliving.com/sustainablegardening.html
Cooking from scratch: http://www.newholisticliving.com/cookingfromscratch.html
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