Two great articles online by food guru Steve Manfredi have caught my eye this week - worth pointing out to animal vegetable mineral customers and would-be customers.

In a cut above the rest he looks at butchery, the limited choice of cuts in the stupidmarket, and good old-fashioned advice from the butcher. His focus is on beef rump caps and the article includes two recipes for roasting a rump.

In fritter it all away it's all about the cauliflower which (little did I previously know) is related to horseradish and wasabi and thus the further down the stem one travels (away from the florets) the bitier it gets. A great idea for remoulade and recipes for cauliflower fritters and cauliflower with hazelnuts in Gorgonzola sauce are included.

I think the first article is particularly relevant. I was lucky to grow up in a household with an expert on meat. Unfortunately many people are turned off eating red meat owing to poor preparation as a result of not understanding cuts of meat and their usefulness.

Does this apply to you and/or people you know? What information would you like?

Limes & Lycopene

Sydney nutritionist and herbalist Kathryn Elliot has an open and refreshing approach to nutrition and I have been reading her blog with interest.

For the month of August she's doing 31 Days to a Better Diet.

I quote from her newsletter:

Last year during August I ran a series of posts called 31 Days to Better Energy. Each day of the month I posted a tip. Something quick and easy you could do that day, which would make your energy levels just a bit better.

This year, I’m going to repeat the series, but this time concentrating on what you eat.

It’s easy to think you need to make sweeping, broad changes to improve the way you eat and this can seem too hard. However, during the 31 Days to a Better Diet I hope to show that by making small, incremental, regular changes, you can improve the way you eat. And also the way you feel.

Over the 31 Days there will be a new tip posted every day on Limes & Lycopene. As well as suggestions from me, you’ll also be hearing from others. Some guest bloggers who’ve made changes to what they eat, to improve their health.

How to get involved:
Make a commitment: If you want to change your diet and your health what are you going to do during the 31 Days to a Better Diet? Login each day and try the tasks? Or are you only able to manage three times a week? Make a commitment to yourself now and follow that through during the 31 Days.
Post your experiences in the comments section: If you’re taking part, come back and let the community know how you’re going. Did you find a particular task difficult or easy? How are you feeling? What changes are you making?
Blog about what you’re doing: If you’are a blogger, then write about what you’re doing on your blog – and let me know. The more conversation, discussion and tips the better.
Read the weekly round-up: At the end of each week I’ll post a summary. This will list the tips for the week, but I’ll also be including a round-up of what readers are doing. And if you’re a blogger, write about your experiences and I’ll include this in the weekly round-up.
So let me know how you are going with the tasks in the 31 Days to a Better Diet.

Now I'm not into online challenges and blogging events, but I quite like what Kathryn has to say and she gets me thinking about what and how I eat.

You might like to give it a go.
Visit Limes & Lycopene to participate.

What to do with...

Here's a neat little website we were introduced to today. It's american, so there'll be a few quirky bits for we Australians, but it looks like a useful tool for using up those "surprise" ingredients in your seasonal box!

a-z: one for the good guys!

"Take one seven year old boy named Freddie and his mother as they face the challenge of turning him from a Vegetable-Phobic into a boy who will eat and even enjoy some of life's leafier pleasures. Join us as we work through the A to Z of vegetables!"

Charlotte Hume, The Great Big Vegetable Challenge

This blog caught my eye some time ago and along the way has clearly captured the hearts of many as Charlotte chronicles the journey of Freddie with Alex and friends in tow through the vegetables alphabet. So much so that their adventure is now a published book!

The Great Big Vegetable Challenge goes beyond good parenting - if you ever find yourself wondering what to do with "that vegie" Charlotte has probably documented it.

asparagus, aubergine, artichoke, broccoli, beetroot, butternut squash, brussel sprouts, beans, cauliflower, courgette, celeriac, carrot, cabbage, corn, celery, cucumber, chard, chicory, cress, Daikon, dandelion, edamame beans, eddoes, fennel, garlic, green beans, horseradish, herbs, jerusalem artichokes, jicama, kale, kohlrabi, Karela, lettuce, leeks, mange tout (snow peas), marrow, mushrooms, nettles, nori, nopales, okra, onions, parsnips, pak choi, peas, peppers, pumpkins,potatoes, plantain, radishes, raddicio, rocket, salad shells, samphire, sorrel, squash, sweet potato, tomatoes, turnips, vegetable kebabs, watercress and zucchini.

convenience and cost

Perhaps the Sydney Morning herald is beginning to realise "good living" is not synonymous with "eating out"!

Whilst I enjoyed Growing, growing, gone (children that help grow vegies eat them), there is also an encouraging article titled Home and away in which Kate Duthie examines the time/convenience and cost of eating in and having take away/delivery over a week (for each). Not surprisingly, cooking dinner at home is cheaper costing $88.83 as opposed to the take away bill of $295.85. Duthie apparently spent 12.8 hours on the week of cooked meals including shopping, prepping and cooking time in comparison to 3.8 hours on ordering and delivery/pick up time.

In this little experiment, time is proportional to cost. I personally think the hours are too long on the cooking side of things. Of course a little organisation would reduce that as would selecting meals or preparations that don't necessarily take great amounts of time. I would also discount the time taken to prepare a slow-cooked meal such as a braise as it's possible to do other things concurrently.

What Duthie doesn't talk about is how she felt at the end of each week - it wasn't a subject of the article - I would however, be interested to know. Another thing that gets overlooked in the scenarios is how the time and money spent on home-cooked meals also contributes to lunches, snacks and other household benefits over the week.

animal vegetable mineral customers know that they can shave further time off the weekly meals - not only do we bring the ingredients to your door, but we've also got lots of meal packs and other helpful information to expedite meal preparation. Shopping takes only a few minutes on the website - no rogue supermarket trolleys, flourescent lights or car park scrambles. We're also happy to help with advice on ingredients and our seasonal boxes take the thought out of ensuring you're getting the minimum requirement of fruit & vegetables.

animal vegetable mineral - convenience without the con!