A Day at Tutti Frutti Farms

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of peeling fresh peas from the garden, pulling warm carrots from the soil, and plucking plump, juicing tomatoes straight from the vine.

My love of real food has only grown stronger since those childhood days.

So when I was invited to the Vons Fresh and Local Produce Tour at Tutti Frutti Farms in Santa Barbara county, I was so excited to have the opportunity to explore a local Californian farm that supplies fresh produce to its neighborhood markets. The farm is beyond beautiful – stretching over nearly 300 acres of sunny California landscape – placed half-way between San Luis Obispo (my old stomping ground) and quaint Santa Barbara.

 

 

 

It was truly a pleasure to meet Chris Caldwell, farmer and owner of Tutti Frutti Farms – a farm given its name by Chris’ wife, Cornelia meaning “all fruits.” Certified organic crops including tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and my personal favorite, pumpkins, are nourished to growth at Tutti Frutti Farms and later shipped to local Vons supermarkets where consumers are able to reap the benefits from Chris’ labor of love.

 

 

 

 

 

Lisa and I have touched on the topic of sustainable food practices a few times, including our preference for choosing grass-fed animal protein and also cooking affordable organic meals . Yet, my most comprehensive take on the organic food movement is featured here. 

 

Not only has organic food production gained tremendous momentum within recent years, the local food movement is also gaining ground. A press release from Vons states “Nearly 67 percent of Northern California shoppers believe fresh produce is synonymous with being locally farmed, according to a recent survey by Safeway.”

 

I’ve touched on the benefits of purchasing locally grown food before too, but here is a brief recap:

 

Since locally grown produce is often within a day’s drive of its final destination, it can be picked at the peak of growing season. The result? Fruits and vegetables that are nutritionally dense and also packed full of flavor.

 

Have you ever had the pleasure of pulling a carrot straight from the soil, or biting into a green pepper pulled from the vine moments earlier? The taste and smell is deliciously incomparable.

 

 

 

 

Not only that, but food tastes simply better when it has a story; and connecting with the hard working farmers that grow our food is the very best way to appreciate the meals that nourish us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The day at Tutti Fruitti Farms also involved a delicious organic heirloom tomato tasting, in which I came to one simple conclusion. Don’t walk, but run, to your nearest Vons and pick up a Pink Brandywine – a tomato so sweet you think you’re eating tropical fruit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tour wrapped up with a farm-to-table lunch my taste buds are still fantasizing about...

 

 

 A dish we enjoyed at lunch -- an heirloom tomato salad.

 

If you would like to receive more information on Tutti Frutti Farms, you can visit their website here.

Photos courtesy of Vons.

 

 

 

Why We're Real Food Enthusiasts

Over the past month, we've discussed what real food is, how to shop for real food, the benefits of buying local & seasonal real food, and provided you with some delicious real food recipes. So you may be wondering, why exactly are you both such real food enthusiasts?  

Well, let us tell you.

We love to eat real food. Unprocessed, unpackaged food. Food that sustains us, nourishes us individually and nourishes our communities, brings people together, and encourages us to feel our best.  In simplest terms, you can picture real food growing in nature; something our great-grandparents would recognize. For many communities, and especially for the children living in them, processed products are easier to put your hands (and taste buds) on than a ripe tomato.

The smell of basil picked just this morning, the deep orange yolk of an egg collected a few hours earlier, or the satisfying crunch of apples picked in season are not only real food pleasures, they are the foundation for a lifetime of healthy eating.

Real food means real health.

Our love of real food was inspired when were children. ***Cue childhood montage now.

                                                                          Lisa, at her childhood farm.

                                                                Me, working [very] hard in Grandma’s garden.

                                                                         Lisa, making sugar cookies…

                                                                     and me, making gingerbread cookies.

While we realize not every child has the opportunity to pull a ripe carrot from the soil, advocates of healthy eating including Jamie Oliver, Michael Pollan, and Marion Nestle understand the value of connecting to real food. Farmer’s markets provide a small window through which we can begin to understand where our food comes from, to taste how delicious real food can be, and to experience the wonder of the food that nourishes us – body and soul.

And as we’ve mentioned before, food just tastes better when we hear the story of how it travelled from farm to market. Connecting with the farmers who grow the food that will be on our table is the best ways to learn about what we eat – to learn where it comes from, how it can be prepared, and how it nourishes our body. Farmer’s markets and other real food resources provide local communities with the freshest foods – and makes eating healthfully a realistic and achievable goal. Not just flavor and nourishment, real and fresh food is a joy for all of our senses.

Curious to find local, seasonal, real foods in your area? We really love this interactive map from Epicurious to help you find what’s fresh near you. Plus, find ingredient descriptions, shopping guides, recipes & tips!

A Trend We Love: Local & Seasonal Real Foods

For both of us, the smell of freshly picked vegetables and fresh fruits still evokes memories of childhood visits to the farmer’s market with our parents on weekend mornings.

Even more than the food on display, we fell in love with the colors, the energy, and the high spirits we felt all around us. Surrounded by people who were passionate about what they were doing and the simple pleasures of sharing the results of their labor affected us in ways that, as children, we could not articulate, but as adults we now know were life-changing.

And whether it was jam canned in our kitchen or a neighbor’s, eating freshly-picked peas, or the smell of bread hot from the oven, our love for real food was inspired. Being raised on opposite ends of the continent, we were both lucky to be exposed to home grown food early in life. For me, it was mornings in Grandma’s garden stretching across the whole backyard and afternoons learning the pleasure of baking homemade buns.  For Lisa, it was a small working farm at her childhood home with a garden overflowing with tomatoes and corn, and with lambs and cows grazing in the field.

While we’re aware that buying local and seasonal foods seems to be the trend right now, and we normally steer away from fads when it comes to our eating habits, this is one we are fully on board with. And is it really a trend if buying locally grown foods was the norm for our ancestors? This fad has been around for centuries. We’re just bringing local back.

Here’s 5 reasons we think you may want to jump on the on the local, seasonal bandwagon with us.

#1. It’s better for you and the environment. Buying fresh foods, picked at the peak of their season equates to buying foods with their maximum nutrient content. After foods have been harvested and have to travel thousands of miles to reach their final destination, they lose some of their nutrients while also using a lot of fossil fuels in the process. By buying locally, you’re conserving your own health and conserving global resources.

#2. It tastes better. Have you ever eaten a tomato still warm from growing on the vine? Pulled a carrot from the soil to have as a snack? Or picked and peeled peas to eat them for dinner that night? If we could all eat our fruits and veggies this way, we would have no problem reaching our daily recommended intake. This may sound extreme, but they taste like candy.

#3. It encourages variety. Eating with the seasons sets the tempo for the year. It’s such a fun thing to see the first batch of strawberries in the summer and the variety of pears available in the fall. By eating with what’s available, you provide your body with a variety of nutrients and your taste buds with a variety of flavors. Plus, it encourages you to experiment a little more in the kitchen.

#4. It supports your local community. When you make the choice to buy locally, you’re supporting your neighbors, friends, acquaintances and the local economy in the general. Keeping money locally encourages your community to thrive. Not only that, food just tastes better when it has a story; and connecting with the hard working farmers that grew your food is the very best way to get that story.

#5. It’s fun. Going to the farmer’s market is still one of our favorite things to do. You usually run into people you know, have the opportunity to sample what’s in season, and can sit on the curb and enjoy the company of your best friend while eating some really good food.

You can also often walk away with specialty items you wouldn’t otherwise be able to get, including freshly baked scones, artisanal cheeses, or hazelnut flour (which we still have yet to use…)

California Dreamin'

Wow! Our first real NourishRDs blog post!  It has been a whirlwind of a year, and we (Lisa & McKenzie) can’t wait to share our stories with all of you.  First of all, a little history…

One year ago (was it really just a year?!!), we met over breakfast in the Bastyr University cafeteria on the first day of our Dietetic Internship.  We quickly discovered we must have been sisters in another life.  Our similarities are uncanny.  I mean, a lot of people love When Harry Met Sally, but who else doesn’t eat syrup on their pancakes?  Soon, we realized we didn’t just make great friends; we have the same career ambitions and our talents complement each other.  Our sum is greater than our parts.  And so, NourishRDs was born.

We created NourishRDs to share our passion for life with others.  Our mission—to inspire others to eat real food, love their bodies and laugh a lot.  We really live our mission and believe in what we’re doing.  The word diet is not in our vocabulary, and we don’t advise anyone else to diet.  We plan our travels around farmer’s markets and restaurants and can spend an entire day taste-testing our way through a city.  Emergency snacks are stashed in our purse or snack bag (more on the snack bag later this week) at all times.  We love food, and we eat. Often.  Preferably surrounded by the people we love.

Kicking off the start of our business, NourishRDs, with a road trip from Berkeley to Los Angeles, California sounded like a good idea.  What better way to find out if you really like someone than to spend seven days in a car traveling—and eating?!  Here’s a hint: we’re still business partners.

Day One – Berkeley, CA

For people who love and support real food, Berkeley is Disneyland.  The home of Alice Waters and Chez Panisse, Berkeley is a bastion of the local food movement.  We started our first day with breakfast with Lisa’s friend, Emily, who told us about Café Gratitude.

“You have to go to Café Gratitude while you’re in Berkeley,” she said.  “Their mission is really similar to yours, and they train their staff to infuse the food with good thoughts and gratitude when it is cooked and served.  I think you’ll like it there.”

We took her advice, and made a bee-line for Café Gratitude for lunch.  The menu, all vegan with many raw food choices, made McKenzie (a long-time patron of Real Food Daily and lover of vegan food) very happy, and made Lisa (a vegan and raw food skeptic) a convert.  The food was delicious—and spicy!  The tacos—titled “I am Transformed” were a definite favorite.

    

And then there was Chez Panisse.  From the moment the front door opens and you are greeted by a huge bowl of freshly-picked tomatoes glowing under soft lights, you feel transported to a place where time becomes unimportant.  For the next few hours, we tasted dish after farm-fresh dish of the day’s menu—starting with a rocket and fennel salad with eggplant spread; green bean, tomato and hazelnut salad with crème fraiche; and escarole with marinated beets, mustard and egg.  All tasted like we were eating right out of the garden. 

Next we shared a house-made campanelle pasta with pesto, cherry tomatoes, and Parmesan; and a meltingly-tender chicken thigh with summer squash gratin and chanterelle mushrooms.  For dessert (yes, we always eat dessert!)—a Gravenstein apple and raspberry tart with vanilla ice cream accompanied with a half of a perfectly-fresh peach and mulberries.  Devine.

Our bellies happy and our spirits high from our first day on the road, we retired to dream of tomorrow—a day at the beach in Santa Cruz.

More on our trip tomorrow, but our day in Berkeley inspired us to share some of the nourishing benefits of buying foods in season. Two of our favorite foodies, including the aforementioned Alice Waters from Chez Panisse and Cynthia Lair fromCookus Interruptus are passionate about the importance of foods’ seasonality in their recipes and meal preparations.  

Cynthia Lair says it best in her cookbook, Feeding the Whole Family: Recipes for Babies, Young Children, and Their Parents:

Choosing food that is in season gives the year rhythm and ritual. It is exciting for local strawberries to appear – they are sweeter and fresher than eating Mexican-grown berries in January. Anticipation is a wonderful feeling. I can’t wait for corn to be in season locally because it is so sweet it hardly needs to be cooked.

Eating seasonally also puts your body in tune with the climate you are living in. The stereotypical Southern Californian preference for raw salads and avocados has sense to it. The lighter diet that includes lots of raw foods is perfect for living in a sunny, warm climate. Pacific Northwesterners need the density of frequent servings of salmon, for example, to survive the cold damp of rainy winters….

Where do you live? What did the ancestors who inhabited your community grow and eat?

Check out these delicious recipes, emphasizing foods in season during the fall (bye summer L ) by Cynthia Lair herself on the Cookus Interruptus website.

Live in Southern California, like McKenzie? Check out this guide for local farmers’ markets.

Live in the Pacific Northwest, like Lisa? Check out this guide for local farmers' markets.

One last thing, we promise....

Take a quick peek at The Eat Local First Campaign on Facebook developed by Sustainable Connections (We love this organization!).  “A year-round way to connect farmers with more local market support, and the eater with more local and seasonal food at the places you buy it: grocery stores, restaurants and farmers markets”