Grounded Grub Weeklies! 03.24.2020
Hello Grounded Grub Community!
Every week we’re sent amazing articles, books, podcasts and other content from our community. We love hearing from everyone and having these resources, so we decided to start pooling together these recommendations, as well as some of our favorites, and sharing them once a week on Tuesdays. We hope you enjoy and feel inspired to share with us if you see/hear/try something that inspires you in the future!
Today: March 23, 2020
What happened on Grounded Grub last week:
We wrote about avocado toast and how you can make the “classic milennial” breakfast a bit more sustainable. This article took a deep dive into understanding the impacts of avocados but also into the understanding that some recipes might not have a sustainable alternative. Sometimes eating a dish in moderation rather than every day is the best thing that you can do for the environment. Read about our perspectives here.
Ben took the kitchen by storm yet again with his tried and true crispy brussels sprouts. With a delicious hot honey glaze these brussels sprouts are on another level, but his technique for getting them crunchy works no matter how you want to spice them. Check out his awesome recipe and tips in our latest recipe.
Coming up on Grounded Grub…
We have a new perspective about the dairy industry coming in from contributing writer Maddy Kinnear. Maddy was an environmental science major and grew up with dairy farmers as neighbors. Maddy brings a sustainability perspective to dairy production and begins an important dialogue about the role of dairy in a sustainable diet. We love that this piece takes a stab at some people’s disagreements with our dairy series and truly starts a dialogue on Grounded Grub. Contributors are able to bring in perspectives that we might not have or agree with, but really foster more discussion about our food system in a deep multifaceted way.
We’re beginning a new series on alcohol and we’re so excited to go down this fun path! We’ll start of this weekend with a deep dive into tequila and mezcal from production to glass. Keep your eye out for it coming soon!
Have any other ideas for things we should cover? Reach out on Instagram, Facebook or email. We love hearing from you and some of our best articles have been from community suggestions.
Media articles of the week:
One year after Native-owned Tanka Bar had lost nearly everything, the buffalo are on their way back. Marylin Noble, The Counter. “Niman Ranch and Native American Natural Foods (NANF), maker of the Tanka Bar… announce a unique collaboration. The aim: to restore the buffalo to its revered place in Lakota society and regenerate prairie, while helping Niman create a new source for bison and organic and grass-fed beef.” We love this story because it showcases the deep tension between trying to make change within our food system and environment, and capitalist need for production and profit. Read this amazing story here. Thank you for sharing this piece, Xavier Eddy!
Milk Street Cooking Classes are FREE online until the end of April. Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street is often featured as a recommended podcast in our weeklies and now their cooking courses are free online! So much fun to be had while cooking at home. Check them out here.
Oregon State University Master Gardener Program Vegetable Gardening Short Course available online for FREE. It’s spring, and the interest in growing more of your own food may have increased recently… Check out this thorough course online by following this link.
Book of the week:
Where Our Food Comes From - Gary Paul Nabhan
This was one of the first books recommended to me when I started to study plants and eventually found my way to food systems. Where Our Food Comes From follows Nikolay Vavilov, one of the first agronomists to ever start a food bank and his quest to end famine through plant breeding. Vavilov later died in a soviet prison, a scapegoat for famines during the time of Stalin, but Nabhan retraces his steps through this book. Nabhan is a renowned agricultural writer who weaves together fantastic stories of food around the globe through the telling of Vavilov’s story. It’s a wonderful read. Buy the book here, find it at a local library, or borrow from a friend!
Podcast of the week:
How I Built This — LÄRABAR
How I Built This is an amazing NPR Podcast that interviews entrepreneurs from the guy who founded Spotify to Tom of Tom’s of Maine. We love this episode with Lara the founder of the simply and delicious Lärabars.
Check out this episode and other episodes of How I Built This for stories of entrepreneurship in and outside of the food system. Listen to this episode by following this link, or searching the title wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Letter from the editor:
While the Coronavirus pandemic has set the entire world on hold, it is our global responsibility to slow down and keep physically to ourselves. I feel so grateful for the grocery store workers, delivery personnel and healthcare workers who are continuing to serve their communities and put their lives on the line for all of us. If you are someone at home it can feel very isolating and helpless.
Some things you can do during these times:
Prioritize your mental health. That can mean a variety of different things for different people: yoga,
Connect with people. FaceTime parties, call your parents, check-in on neighbors, but physical isolation does not have to mean emotional or social isolation.
Shop and eat smart. Reduce waste and reduce shopping trips by planning ahead and considering what foods will go bad first.
Take cooking classes from Milk Street, they’re free right now! Link in articles above.
Learn how to grow a vegetable garden with Oregon State University Extension’s Master Gardener short course, also free right now! Link in articles above.
Read, listen and watch things you are interested in and love, but not necissarily related to the crisis. Send anything our way that you want to share! We’re eager to connect with you all.
Many food pantries are staffed by elderly adults, considering donating your time if you are in a low risk group.
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