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FLAVOURS, HEALTH, COST: WITH MIAM MIAM EAT BETTER FOR LESS
The scene is the National Assembly on the 12th June 2008. The communist members have invited their colleagues and the Press to a “Hard Discount Banquet” (Le Monde 15/16 June 08). On the menu: mixed seasonal vegetables in a Provencal sauce (grated carrots with vinaigrette) – Strasbourg style ‘quenelles’ with supreme of flaky potato (sausage flavor dumplings with instant mash) – milk emulsion in a polymeric compound (natural yoghurt). Yuk!
Of course the people’s representatives really wanted to draw attention to bad industrialized food and the inflated prices of food products, particularly over the last few months following the increased price of oil.
I, Patrick du Cros, representing no one but myself – and after three years of organizing spice cooking courses, would like to add my modest contribution to this just cause with the aid of some advice drew from common sense and experience.
1. Eat local food in season. Summer strawberries in Provence and Roussillon, the best tasting varieties are the “gariguette” and the “mara des bois”, cost less than strawberries brought from Chili in winter, kept fresh in a refrigerated cargo plane. It’s the same situation with strawberries, cherries, tomatoes, “French beans” and all the rest grown in China or Mali. The winter tomato – the petro-tomato – forced in green houses heated with diesel oil is an abomination tasteless apart from the cost. At the same time you are saving on energy and on the transportation which is devastating our environment. And supporting your neighbors the small farmers, fruit growers and market gardeners. Without counting the wasted oil products used for plastic packaging and subsequently found littering the countryside and the oceans of the world.
2. Go to local Markets. Preferably around midday when the traders are selling off their produce. If possible, use organic markets, if not, country markets, and if you are in town the closest Chinese and Arabic markets. The produce is better quality and the people are knowledgeable. The fruit and vegetables you find there will be cheaper than in smart shops and you will find better spices to season your food. Buy fruits and vegetables from producers who are members of the “soil association” and who deliver weekly or monthly.
3. Reduce your consumption of meat and milk products. You will gain in terms of money, fitness and life expectancy. Look at our cousin the gorilla with whom we share 98% of our DNA. He eats only fruits and vegetables and he’s noted for his arms of steel. Save the tuna and the cod from extinction! At the port of Sete I find superb sea bass, little monkfish, red mullet and weever fish for less than 5 Euros per kilo. In short, the fish of the day. Then in the north there are sardines, herrings, anchovies and squid at good prices. Don’t forget the proteins that are found in lentils, soya and pulses – and costing considerably less.
4. Obviously – give up fast food low cost (palm oil, fatty acids are a disaster health wise but not expensive). Unless you want a future of obesity and illness. Try to read the information on supermarket products to understand the salt, sugar, fat, additive and food coloring content… And come to our course to learn how to prepare your own bread with spices and whole meal flour, healthy and delicious.
5. Would you like to know how to prepare twenty different green salads or potato salads? Pasta, rice, vegetables, salads, fish; Come to Miam Miam cooking courses to learn, in one week end, the art of variation and preparation of basic dishes, using 80 spices adjusted to your taste. Healthy, better and stimulating.
See you soon, in the market at Aulas, in the Cevennes!
Patrick du Cros
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