With so many choices in the grocery aisle, it can be daunting when you are confronted with making a decision about what foods to buy for your family. Our advice: Take it outside.

Tips For A Healthy Organic Kitchen

#1: Shop for whole foods.
Be fresh…where it matters. Shop for natural and organically grown meats, veggies, and fruit. Skip frozen and canned to avoid irradiated, GMOs (genetically modified organisms), chemical additives, colorings, or preservatives. The foods we choose should be the real deal, full of life energy and nutrient density. Fresh food is also more flavorful and comes complete with all the nutrients bundled in nature’s perfect package, packed with beneficial nutrients. Plus, less packaging (skip the plastic bag) makes it better for the environment.

#2: Keep it seasonal.
Wise Mother Nature gives us what we need each season to thrive in our environment—hearty root vegetables and squashes in the winter, lush berries in the summer, and lovely apples in the fall. Seasonal eating helps prepare our bodies for the next season, keeping us healthy and preventing illness. Locally grown food means you get access to amazing varieties that grow under optimal conditions for your region. So if you live in NYC, your farmer won't have tropical pineapples, but he might have tasty red Honeycrisp apples. Nature designed it this way for a reason, so that we would live in tune with the earth's rhythms.

#3: Shop for color.
With colorful foods emerging in the springtime, especially greens, it’s a great time to introduce color to the equation. Sourcing a variety of colorful foods will ensure that your family gets a broad spectrum of nutrients, as each pigment corresponds to beneficial substances in our food. Take carotene, an orange pigment and found in yellow, orange, and green leafy vegetables. It’s responsible for fighting against harmful free radicals, supporting a healthy immune system, and nerve and eye health. Colorful meals are balanced meals. Create a fun game for the kids at the market by having them select a color and let them pick out a food that corresponds.

#4: Support the locals.
Local is the new organic. Support small family farms and the local economy by purchasing from your local farmer’s market. It tastes better, costs less, and is more nutritious because it is picked when ripe and retains its nutrients often lost in travel. You can ask the vendors about the farm's growing practices, as well as learn about ways to prepare your seasonal finds. Plus, it’s a great learning experience for your kids to talk the person who grew the Patty Pan squash you're having for dinner.

Added Nutritional Value
If you want to save some money on food this spring and summer, consider joining Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). CSA is a concept that began in Japan where consumers, called shareholders, buy a portion of a farm and pay for their share early in the season. This guarantees the farmer will have the necessary income to cover start-up expenses, such as seed and other supplies, and it becomes a way for shareholders to support a farm. You’ll get delightful produce in a recycled box on a weekly basis with spending as low as $22 a week. For more info check out LocalHarvest.org.

Healthy Family Meals
Spring is a wonderful time to embrace new and exciting foods because there is so much variety with the warm weather. Celebrate the lively green color that is in bloom all around us with the following quick, tasty, and easy recipes. Pesto two ways is bound to please kids and adults alike.

Spring Pea-stou
Pistou is a French sauce from Provence similar to Italian pesto, but where Italian pesto always includes pine nuts and Parmesan, basic French pistou traditionally uses only basil, olive oil, garlic, and salt. The following recipe is a take on French Pistou using sweet spring peas.

1.5 lbs peas, shelled
1 squeeze of lemon
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1/2 cup freshly shredded parmesan (optional)
1 tiny pinch of cayenne
2 pinches of lemon zest
Salt to taste

Quickly blanch/cook the peas, then drain. After draining, puree the peas. (I prefer a hand/immersion blender.) Add a generous squeeze of lemon. Add the toasted pine nuts, and puree one more time. Stir in the parmesan, cayenne, lemon zest, and a few pinches of salt. Taste, and adjust for seasoning. You can use it as a spread for bread and cucumber slices, plus serve it over pasta.

Sassy Sage Pesto
This tasty and aromatic pesto takes a slightly different route than the standard. It’s rich in color and nutrients.

1 cup basil, fresh chopped
3 tbsp chopped ramps (young wild leek)
1 tbsp sage, freshly chopped
1 cup pine nuts
1 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp sea salt

In food processor, gently pulse all ingredients until finely minced. When pulsing is complete, toss with olive oil for a wonderful pesto variation. Spread over bread, veggies, and pasta.

About Chef Latham Thomas HHC, AADP, RYT
Latham is a graduate of Columbia University and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She is a certified holistic health counselor, and a member of the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. She mixes her passions of botany, holistic wellness, fitness, yoga, and healthy ethnic cuisine into a lifestyle program that supports the various needs of her clients. She’s an expert on organic foods and kid’s health, and is a creative natural foods chef. Learn more at her culinary site, Panela Productions.