Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

Feedback has been fantastic so far from the 55 Knives e-book. The 55 Knives project is a joint effort of 55 top food bloggers offering personal stories paired with hand-selected recipes. I contributed a chapter, as did many of my favorite food bloggers. Definitely worth checking out.

More bad news for supplements this week. Seems protein supplements are toxic and omega-3 supplements add nothing to a healthy diet. Shocker I know. I’m also very curious to see how the salt battle will end. While I would certainly like to see less in processed foods, I would hate government regulation to interfere with my dining experiences. This weeks article in the Times takes an interesting look.

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For complete reading lists join me on the social bookmarking sites StumbleUpon and Delicious. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you there. (Note: If you want a follow back on Twitter introduce yourself with an @ message).

Links of the week

• The Hard Sell on Salt <<A thorough look at the politics and health issues of salt. Personally I think salt is fine on real food, because you don’t need that much to add flavor. But tons of salt is used in processed foods to mask the pronounced ass flavor. I don’t think salt itself is the real problem, food processing is. (New York Times)
• Consumer Reports tests find traces of heavy metals in some protein supplements <<BS of the week. This makes me angry. Not CR, they’re awesome. But that supplements are unregulated and therefore often contain poisons. Not that you should be taking supplements, but still. (LA Times)
• Brighten that dish with a dash of fresh herbs <<I thought I was the only one who did this, but I guess adding a huge amount of fresh herbs to your food is catching on. If I don’t have much food in the house, I’ll make a bunch of herbs the cornerstone of a  meal. Some work better than others (e.g. basil, cilantro, parsley). (SF Gate)
• After a point, more omega-3s don’t help the heart <<Another reason to get your nutrients from food instead of supplements. You don’t need any extra. (Medline)
• Sticky Rice is Secret Ingredient in Great Wall of China’s Strength <<How awesome is this?? (TreeHugger)
• Is Raw Milk Treated Unfairly? <<A good, thoughtful article. Raw milk is a tricky subject. (Marler Blog)
• Help your heart. Brush your teeth twice a day. <<It seems both what you put in your mouth and what you remove from it are tied to heart disease. Nothing wrong with fresh breath either. (LA Times)
• Discovering San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market <<Ecosalon has a great piece on my favorite farmers market this week.
• The Claim: Rosemary Helps Reduce Toxins in Grilled Meat <<Not sure I’d count on this, but it’s an interesting point about food interactions. (New York Times)
• Red and Gold Beet Salad <<A recipe overflowing with my favorite ingredients. Yummmm. (Macheesmo)

Tags: B.S. of the week, herbs, raw milk, recipe, salt, Supplements

Loose Beets

I know that it is technically still February, but I’m going to officially declare it springtime here in San Francisco, at least for all of us foodies.

The spring greens are in full effect. Today I found spinach, lettuces, asparagus and even pea shoots.

Pea Shoots

Asparagus

Brassica greens like kale and cabbage were around for most of the winter, but now we are seeing the late season varieties such as these savoy cabbages.

Savoy Cabbage

Herbs and onions are getting more diverse as well, as more delicate herbs like cilantro and thyme are reappearing. Still no basil though.

The giant leeks you can find these days are epic.

Big Leeks

Fresh Herbs

The root vegetable season is also shifting to the tail end. I’m seeing fewer radishes and other spicy roots, but sweet beets and carrots are thriving.

Carrots

In fruit, citrus is still where it’s at. Tropical fruits like kiwi, mango and guava are also available. But it’s hard to beat these $1 navel oranges from Hamada Farms.

Deceptive Tomatoes

Navel Oranges

You should still avoid the deceptively juicy looking tomatoes, however. Trust  me, they aren’t good. The vendor said it will be about 3 weeks before the heirlooms show up.

Until then you’ll have to amuse yourself with all the rest of the amazing spring produce. These flank steaks look pretty awesome too.

Flank Steaks

Today’s purchases:

• Broccolini (Iacopi Farm)
• Cauliflower (Iacopi Farm)
• Ruby chard (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Leeks (Dirty Girl Produce)
• Asparagus (Zuckerman’s Farm)
• Navel oranges (Hamada Farms)
• Sweet baguette (Downtown Bakery)
• Eggs (Marin Sun Farms)
• Yirg (Blue Bottle Coffee)

Is your season turning?

Tags: asparagus, beets, cabbage, carrots, Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, herbs, leeks, meat, oranges, pea greens, San Francisco, tomatoes

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

Thanks to all of you who humored me participated in last weekend’s completely childish melon caption contest!

The awesome commentor of the week award goes to Foodie Adventures!, because it really would take a jumbo melon to hit a head that big!

"Who wants to throw JUMBO produce at Kanye West?"

As usual there were a ton of great articles this week around the web. I can’t say enough good things about what Monica Reinagel is doing over at her Nutrition Data blog and podcast. Luckily I also learned this week that health podcasts can help you lose weight!

Check the links below to find some great ideas on how to preserve summer herbs, what to do with fresh shelling beans and some tricks to keeping your brain sharp.

Oh, and did you hear that a new study found organic produce is actually more nutritious? Share your thoughts in the comments.

I also encourage all of you to sign this petition against the Smart Choices food labeling program, which has been widely criticized as a slap in the face to both consumers and health experts. It’s easy and I had no trouble unsubscribing to their mailings after I got the first one.

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For complete reading lists join me on the social bookmarking sites StumbleUpon and Delicious. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you there. (Note: If you want a follow back on Twitter introduce yourself with an @ message).

I also invite you to submit your own best food and health articles for next week’s For The Love of Food, just drop me an email using the contact form. I am also accepting guest posts at Summer Tomato for any awesome healthstyle tips and recipes you’d like to share.

This post is an open thread. Share your thoughts, writing (links welcome!) and delicious healthy meals of the week in the comments below.

For The Love of Food

• Are you an American? Then you’re probably not at low risk of heart disease <<Can you believe less than 8% of the US population qualifies as having “low risk” for heart disease? I’m sure glad I’m one of them, and I hope you are too! (Los Angeles Times)
• Genetics of obesity: Why we’re never going to find one diet that’s right for everyone <<It is getting harder and harder for me to choose which Nutrition Data blog posts to link to because they are all so amazingly good. You may as well just subscribe.
• Put in those ear buds and watch the scale numbers go down <<I’m not surprised at all by this news that listening to health podcasts can help people lose weight. I’ll be posting a list of my favorites soon. Please send me your suggestions!! (Los Angeles Times)
• 10 Easy Ways To Preserve Herbs <<With winter around the corner, you may want to plan ahead and start preserving all the wonderful summer herbs we can get these days at the farmers market. (Tipnut)
• Should You Trust an iPhone App That Says to Skip Buying Organic? <<Let’s just say that if you think you need an iPhone app‘s help, don’t bother with any of it because you have totally missed the point. (Tree Hugger)
• Organic is Healthier and More Nutritious <<Sure last month you heard different news about organic produce, but really this is nothing new. Food grown in better soil has more nutrients (and tastes better). Conventional food growers, however, will fight tooth and nail to convince you otherwise. (Foodmagazine)
• Fresh Shelling Bean Salad <<I have never really known what to do with the fresh shelling beans I often find at the farmers market. David Lebovitz is an inspiration with these recipes! (david lebovitz)
• Y Water is a Healthy Kid-Friendly Beverage <<B.S. of the week Have you ever seen anything so irresponsible?! (Oh wait). Putting vitamins in candy does not make it healthy! The sad part is that I was torn between this and two other obscenely horrible articles by Diets In Review. *Sigh*
• New food safety website from the USDA <<Amazingly the USDA has created a website to inform people about food safety issues. Too bad not everyone can shop at farmers markets and avoid these issues altogether. But at least we now have an official resource other than Bill Marler.
• 47 Ways to Fine Tune Your Brain <<Fun tips to keep your brain sharp! (Dumb Little Man)

What stories moved you this week?

Tags: B.S. of the week, brain, food safety, heart disease, herbs, iPhone apps, Nutrtion Data, organic, podcasts, recipe

Fresh Herbs

Having the necessary pantry items is critical to getting started eating healthy, but obviously you need a lot more than that if you actually want to cook fresh, delicious food. Today I have prepared a list of groceries that should always be in your refrigerator. Many of these items are fresh, which means you need to buy them regularly.

(This post is part of the series How To Get Started Eating Healthy. Part one is Stock Your Pantry. Get future posts by signing up for email or RSS updates–subscribing is always free of cost and spam.)

As I have explained before you must set aside a small amount of time once a week to do your grocery shopping or else healthy eating will be nearly impossible. This time needs to be non-negotiable; you must find a way to make it happen.

So why not start to upgrade your healthstyle this weekend?

Put these groceries on your weekly shopping list and never take them off:

• Shallots or leeks These are members of the onion family, but milder and sweeter than you might be used to. Even if you think you do not like onions, I recommend starting most vegetable dishes with one of these ingredients. Shallots are like small, mild red onions. Leeks are like large green onions, but tender and delicate in flavor. Here you can see pictures of leeks and shallots.
• Garlic People feel very strongly about garlic, some can’t get enough while others avoid it. I have found myself in both camps at some point, but now I am somewhere in the middle. I go through a small bulb every week, but rarely use more than one clove per dish. With subtle amounts of garlic you can add depth and dimension to your meal. Too much can overpower all the other flavors.
• Lemon As I explained when discussing vinegar, acidic foods are extremely important in cooking. Lemon has the added bonus of possessing an amazing zest that adds both sweetness and brightness to your food. I panic a little if I don’t have lemon in the house.
• Parsley Flat leaf or “Italian” parsley is the perfect herb for everything. I always buy it, even if I do not know what I am going to use it for. It is also rather robust and keeps longer in the fridge than more delicate herbs, like cilantro. If you do not normally cook with parsley, definitely buy some and try it in your next vegetable dish. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
• Fresh herbs Of all the other fresh herbs, I usually only pick one or two to have in my kitchen at once. Which ones I choose depends on the other foods I am buying. Mexican food thrives with cilantro and oregano. French style vegetables are beautiful with thyme. I cannot live without rosemary on my roasted potatoes. Mint is perfect with Moroccan food. Experiment! Fresh herbs can change the way you approach cooking. If you don’t know how to use something, Ask Me! or ask Google
• Eggs I do not buy eggs every week, but I buy them regularly (always a half dozen farm fresh eggs). They are incredibly versatile and a great, quick meal any time of day. Check out my favorite scrambled eggs recipe.
• Tofu or tempeh However you think you feel about tofu should probably be reexamined. It can be very delicious when prepared correctly. Regardless of the claims of Dr. Atkins, science tells us it is actually much healthier to get your protein from vegetable sources. I love meat in all its forms, but during the week I usually stick to vegetable protein and fish. And sometimes eggs.
• (Soy) milk I use soy milk for my cereal and in my coffee. I know many people prefer different kinds of milk, and whatever you choose is fine. If you currently drink dairy milk, my only warning is to use it very sparingly. Consuming cow’s milk is strongly linked to increased risk of prostate cancer, breast cancer, osteoporosis (I know!), acne, type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis. If you were raised in America and do not follow nutrition science, I’m sure this sounds insane (it did to me). Unfortunately it is true. Easy on the milk.
• Condiments I mentioned last time I keep my soy sauce and almond butter in the refrigerator. The other condiments I keep handy are tahini, mustard, tomato paste, capers and olives. None of these are absolutely necessary, but they are nice to have around to mix up your flavors. They do not need to be purchased very often.

These groceries are always in my refrigerator and it is fair to say that I consider them essential. However, this list is by no means exhaustive.

Please share with us your favorite essential groceries so we can all benefit.

Read more How To Get Started Eating Healthy:

Tags: capers, eggs, garlic, getting started, groceries, herbs, leeks, lemon, mustard, olives, parsley, refrigerator, shallots, soy milk, tahini, tempeh, tofu, tomato paste