Merging Health, Agriculture and Wellness

How do you merge health, agriculture and wellness in a meal? Here's how I did that in this menu of Turkey Chili and Apple Cornbread. 

• Act locally.  The turkey, beans, vegetables, apples, cornmeal and eggs were all grown or purchased locally.

• Write the recipe. The recipes are my choices for our upcoming Farmers Market Sampling.  While these are based on seasonal recipes I find in current magazines or the internet, I choose the ingredients to use whole foods, less sodium and healthy fats and re-write the recipe.

• Emphasize nutrient rich foods.   "The food we feed America should make people healthy."  These recipes are rich in nutrients for the number of calories contained.  Vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber, antioxidants abound in this meal with only a moderate amount of calories.

• Feature animal protein. "Animal agriculture is part of a sustainable diet." Locally raised turkey and laying chicken are treated with tender loving care by our farm family friends.

• Minimize food waste.   43% of Americas food waste is in the home.  These recipes utilize leftovers from a Thanksgiving type meal. The "bouillon" cubes for the turkey broth are homemade from the turkey roasting drippings and brine.  The brine for the turkey was made with simmered apple cores.  The turkey was pulled from the carcass of the bird.

The above quotes and ideas were messages I heard emphasized at the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo last week where over 10,000 registered dietitian nutritionists in attendance learned the latest in evidence based nutrition.  Below are the Food and Nutrition Magazine Stone Soup guest bloggers who gathered for a group photo.