Twenty years ago, living a healthy, sustainable life was not a simple matter. One had to seek out books on the subject and hope they were helpful. Then it was a matter of finding places where organic and sustainably grown food was available; hopefully it wasn’t in the next county or the next state. On top of all that, you had to learn the best methods of cooking these new foods! Needless to say, it took a real pioneer spirit to embark on such an endeavor.
Thanks to some hardy sustainable-food crusaders, several growing movements, a proliferation of farmers’ markets and an ease of communication, courtesy of the Internet, healthy eating has now gotten at least a little easier. It’s also made far simpler by folks such as Jennifer Spaide and her GreenChic website.
Jennifer’s journey to the sharing of tasty natural recipes, nutritional counseling and being a personal chef was not a short one. “For me, it was a bit of a long process of self-discovery,” she told Organic Connections. “It started out with my getting a master’s degree in nutrition, because I’ve always been into health and healing. I opened up a little office but then discovered I didn’t have the patience for one-on-one nutritional counseling. I was, however, very passionate about helping people redefine their relationship with food, have fun in the kitchen and explore healthy eating.”
The term Green Chic just kind of popped into her head one afternoon. “I thought it was perfect; it defines exactly what I’m trying to educate people on—green being healthy, organic and sustainable, and chic being hip, fun and not boring or tedious.”
Part of the idea, of course, is to bring eaters away from conventionally grown produce. “In my opinion, there’s so much wrong with it,” Jennifer said. “Primarily it’s the chemicals that are used in growing everything—they disrupt the natural environment; then they get onto the food and get into our systems. I also think it’s kind of ridiculous that the scientific community says there’s no scientific literature supporting the use of organics; but there’s also no scientific literature saying that these chemicals aren’t doing damage to us.”
Jennifer shares as well in the growing concern about genetically modified crops. “To me, the concept of genetically modified foods takes away from the whole idea of sustainable, local eating.”
From her viewpoint—the communities in and around Norwalk, Connecticut—awareness of such issues and the need for local, sustainable produce are growing. “In my area, people are quickly becoming more concerned with it. They’re latching on to these issues a lot better. I think, in general, the public are becoming aware of how important it is to eat healthfully, organically and locally as much as possible.”
The route to helping average consumers make the conversion, says Spaide, lies in making it fun and taste good. “I think it’s important to make it fun and exciting for them and to stress that food and cooking is an adventure. Have fun in the kitchen! Play around with new foods and spices and cooking techniques. They can create meals that not only are healthy but taste good and are satisfying.
“That’s one of the biggest things with my clients: they’re surprised by how healthy the food is, how good it tastes and how filling it is. It contradicts what they imagined healthy food would taste like.
“One of the key concepts of my business is getting people to understand that being healthy, eating healthy and living healthy, being green and sustainable, doesn’t have to be crunchy or boring or time consuming,” Jennifer concluded. “Those are all misconceptions. You can eat healthy and you can do it on a budget and you can do it quickly. I think it’s just a matter of getting people to redefine their thinking around it.
“If you buy a head of broccoli and some chicken at the store, it doesn’t take that long to throw it together in a pan with some garlic and ginger, and you have a tasty little meal. I think it’s just getting people into the kitchen and exploring what they can do that is really key and will help change that attitude.”
Jennifer’s site, www.thegreenchiclife.com, is a great place to introduce people to healthier eating. Her blog archives feature excellent recipes, such as pan-sautéed Brussels sprouts, pomegranate chicken salad, eggplant napoleons and Georgiablue steak salad. Just looking these over will get anyone motivated, if only to experience the taste!
