Buying Local, Growing Vocal

by Innes Hope

Sustainable blessings on our kitchens! May cooks be filled with renewable energy, long life apply to every appliance, every utensil sing its usefulness, and our toasters toast the health of all life on this precious planet.

Innes Hope works in the arts, crafting thoughts into words, verses and recipes for a better world.

Shifting Seasons

Unlike supermarkets and greenhouses, nature doesn’t provide a continual supply of everything. She wants us to tune in to her rhythms, enjoy variety, go without sometimes, and drool over her fresh creations as they come into season. Eating seasonal produce supplied by local growers is a great way to tune in.

You can’t get more local than your own backyard. And you won’t have to open your wallet much at all if you grow your own fruit and vegies. Silver beet is a fabulous staple, and even a pot of herbs on the windowsill is a start. With the climate crisis disrupting our food supply and sending prices through the roof, now is the grow-your-own hour.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) calls for a 30% reduction in animal product consumption by everyone. Yes, everyone. We need to eat more plants for the sake of our planet, our health and, ultimately, so humanity can survive.

But most of us can’t grow much food at home. Our commercial growers keep you and me alive. The more we can respect this, identify with them, and buy local, the better.

Growers have to had to adjust to fluctuating yields and new challenges every year. But with skyrocketing costs, unpredictable financial returns, labour shortages, shifting seasons and shock after shock of extreme weather events, they’re being forced to be more inventive than ever. These ongoing trends will force us as consumers to adapt too, and the faster we do, the happier we’ll be. We’re all in the climate crisis paddock together; a field now required to yield more and emit less greenhouse gas.

Reinventing Farming

Open days and food events give the public a behind-thescenes look at what’s involved in providing us with food. I went on the ‘Horowhenua Taste Trail’ and loved every minute. My focus was on plant-based food, and how our local producers are rising to the challenges climate change is hurling their way.

Where I live, tornadoes and hail the size of golf balls have been tearing infrastructure apart, and floods and droughts are threatening soil-grown crops. Many growers across the country are going through the mill, and they know extreme weather challenges are going to increase.

I thought I’d see concern and bravery on our local grower’s faces. Instead, they were full of enthusiasm and kiwi ‘number 8 wire’ attitude. I didn’t find animal-food producers who are replacing their stock with plants or food crops for people. But at least reinventing horticulture is on the menu. Ten of the sixteen participating businesses were producing plant-based food. Fantastic!

Genoese Foods, here in my hometown, Levin, was one of the first NZ companies to make plant-based pesto. It contains a generous amount of basil, which, for various reasons, had to be grown in Fiji. They reinvented systems so they can use locally grown basil. This significantly reduced the company’s food mile footprint and created work for local people.

Creativity and experimentation are also all go at Lewis Farms. This family business supplies New Zealand with ‘Tendertips’ asparagus. Like several companies who are thinking ahead, their crop sites are spread across the district to provide some protection against isolated climate events. Now they also grow strawberries - in grow-bags, off ground at easy-harvest height, so workers don’t have to break their backs bending down to the soil.

The under-cover method protects these juicy treats from harsh weather and extends the seasonal supply. Energy use is lower than an enclosed greenhouse because heating and cooling is not needed. Geoff Lewis was buzzing with excitement as he showed me around. Seaweed is added in the nutrient mix to provide natural trace minerals. Grow bags and nutrient runoff are recycled for reuse. Biological pest control means no chemical sprays. I found all this impressive, considering it is not an organic farm.

Staff enjoy being creative in the new farm kitchen, too, reducing food waste by making small batches of ice cream and jam from strawberries that would be otherwise be rejected by the markets. More diversification is on the way. Raspberries are next in line.

A substantial percentage of New Zealand’s vegetables are grown by another family business in the Horowhenua, Woodhaven Gardens. Though they use regular fertilisers and sprays, they are reducing the amount applied. Crop rotation is practised, and cover crops are ploughed back into the earth to enrich the soil. They say one of the keys to the farm’s success has been the ability to adapt and, in some cases, pre-empt changes.

“Many a night in summer was spent hand watering plants from a trailer-mounted tank. Now we irrigate via automated irrigation systems and monitor water and fertiliser use. Planting was all done by hand, but it’s now done via cell transplanting. We’ve also made major advances in integrated pest management and how crops are produced and harvested. This allows us to achieve healthier products and more sustainable production.”

With the climate crisis accelerating, growers everywhere are going to need to adapt, even more extensively and with increasing speed.

The word ‘sponge’ was suddenly on every expert’s lip after the Auckland floods; soil and natural waterways absorb water like a sponge instead of gushing along roads, smashing bridges, bringing down trees and destroying people’s homes.

As thousands of onions were being washed along the streets in Pukekohe, American journalist, Ryan Peterson, happened to be writing about the ‘sponge’ principle on regenerative farms. In an article for Civic Eats, he said, “Every 1 per cent increase in soil organic matter equates to 20,000 gallons of additional water holding capacity per acre in the top 12 inches of soil.”

That will be water held safely in the ground, ready to help crops survive the next drought. We can do the same in our own yards, enriching the soil with kitchen compost. Peterson reminds us that “this organic matter is comprised largely of carbon, meaning these soils are also acting as carbon sinks.” Commenting on similar floods in California, he adds a proviso, “These farmers may suffer some losses from the severity of this weather. No one is immune. But their systems are far more capable of bouncing back.”

Rebuilding Community

It was inspiring to see so many small businesses taking part in the Trail. I enjoyed tasting their food. Yum! Artisan-style chilli sauces, gourmet mushrooms, hemp products, chocolate, and cider, as well as crunchy seed crackers and Thoroughbread’s soft and delicious vegan loaf. Thoroughbread gluten-free bakery have won several national awards, beating the biggest and best in the land.

Many areas in the country are growing and producing plant foods. Yours will be too. Small businesses are at the heart of every community. Support them. They bring people together in local shops and stalls and provide products suited to the area. They’re a source of local pride, or sometimes when warranted, of local disapproval. People talk, and knowing the cons is every bit as helpful as knowing the pros. You can learn far more about what you’re buying from a small, local provider than from a multinational corporation.

Food banks and local farmers’ markets are strengthening our communities. People with initiative and a social conscience are starting fresh produce exchange schemes, community gardens and creative, small ventures. Together we can create a better future.

Redefining Luxury

The climate crisis is accelerating, making food increasingly expensive. But does the population want to look at the root cause and act to slow climate change in our own lives? The majority still demand imported tropical fruits, tomatoes in winter, and ‘to die for’ luxury treats.

We can ease the cost-of-living blues by redefining luxury and raising the pleasures of living a simple life to luxury status.

No cafe cake or food treat compares with the flavour of a fresh cape gooseberry for me now. The comforting taste of locally grown new potatoes is a high in itself. Raw baby peas – swoon! Any freshly harvested produce, for that matter. Local food. The first foods of the season. Oh my! Doesn’t a firm, fresh, locally grown tomato taste good when you’ve not bitten into one for almost a year!

You’ve not experienced this particular bliss? Then I’ve a challenge for you.

THE ’YES!’ CHALLENGE

Are you strong enough to stick to a Year Eating Seasonal? A year enjoying locally grown fresh fruit and veges? This is the YES challenge!

Don’t worry. No one will be judging you. There’s no map, no attractive illustrated plan of action, no certificate of achievement. You decide how to proceed as situations unfold. A few exceptions are OK … bananas are one of mine. It’s the journey that matters, discovering how nature does things.

Taking up the YES challenge you’ll be supporting and living the ‘low-food-footprint’ three R’s – Reinventing Farming, Rebuilding Community, and Redefining Luxury. It could well change your life like it has mine. I’ve still got a long way to go, as we all do. But there’s no way I want to turn back.

As for growing vocal – if you’re like me, you’ll want to talk with the whole world about the joy of eating plant-based - so delicious and rewarding.

Here’s to your success!

Happygut Piccalilli

Zingy, gut-friendly, onion & gluten free. Multiple uses too! - Innes Hope

Mustard-cum-turmeric pickle is a pantry staple. Here and in Britain, cauliflower, onion, zucchini and cucumber are used. Piccalilli is made with capsicum and green tomatoes, or gherkins and green beans in the US. This version is low in Fodmaps (natural sugars that can irritate the gut). Choose veges to suit your body.

INGREDIENTS - Prep Needed a Day Ahead

1.5 kg veges - your combination of zucchini marrow, cucumber, silver beet stalks, green or yellow capsicum, and green beans. Maybe some broccoli or cauliflower.

METHOD - Next Day

1. Drain the liquid out of the veges.

2. Rinse the veges thoroughly in cold water several times until the salt is washed out.

3. Heat oven to 150◦C. Wash half a dozen or more jars, then put them in oven for 15mins. Better to heat too many jars than not enough. Soak lids in boiling water.

4. Mix 1 cup of the vinegar with the flour and spices to make a paste. Set it aside.

5. Pour a litre of vinegar into a large pot and stir in the sugar. Bring to a simmer, then add the vegetables and boil for 6-7 mins (‘til just cooked, but still crunchy).

6. Stir in the rice ‘n spice paste, and boil for 3 mins, stirring all the time.

1/2 cup

5 cups

1/4 cup

3 Tbsp

1 Tbsp

1/3 cup pickling salt (see tips) vinegar (cider or white, not red or malt) rice flour mustard powder each of ground turmeric & ground ginger raw sugar

Optional extras: seeds of cumin, coriander or mustard

METHOD - The day before

1. Peel the cucumbers and cut out the seedy section if it’s watery. Trim the beans, then chop all the veges except silver beet stalks into chunks - small enough to look nice in a salad dressing.

2. Slice the silver beet stalks thinly to resemble sliced celery.

3. Put all the veges into a large plastic bucket, layer by layer, sprinkling each layer with salt as you go. Cover with a tea towel. Leave overnight.

7. Take jars out of oven with tongs and fill almost to the top with hot pickle. Screw the lids on and leave them to cool. Check they are sealed. Store in a dark place for 2 weeks to develop a full flavour before eating. Well-sealed, your Piccalilli will keep for at least a year.

Tips

Salt draws water from the veges, resulting in more crunch. You won’t be eating all that salt - it is washed out once its job is done. Pickling salt is plain, white salt with no added iodine or free-flowing agents.

For a nice yellow pickle, use mostly white or colourless vegetables. Small chunks of green veges enhance the yellow.

Making pickles from ‘glut’ veges in season is a great money-saver.

Think of pickles as a thick, ‘nutrient dense vinegar.’ Blend it for a smooth texture or mix it with soy yogurt, avocado, or nut butters to dress salads.

Cranberry Wild Rice Pilaf

A simple rice pilaf recipe made with nutty wild rice, sweet and tangy cranberries, leeks and fresh herbs. A lovely side dish, easy enough for any day of the week. by Florentina at veggiesociety.com | serves 4

Ingredients

1.5 cups 1 sml

1 1 1/3 cup 1/2 cup 1/3 cup

3 cups

2 1 1 wild rice blend sml leek, chopped & rinsed well capsicum (bell pepper), diced carrot, grated vegan white wine (optional) could replace with apple cider vinegar dried cranberries dried cranberries -for garnish low sodium vegetable stock or water leaves bay sprig rosemary sprig sage

8

3 1 Tbsp

1 pinch 1 splash sprigs fresh thyme sprigs fresh oregano dried oregano red pepper flakes or to taste water

Method

1. Preheat a large deep skillet or pot over medium low flame. Add a splash of water (or a drizzle of olive oil) and the chopped leeks. Sautee with a pinch of sea salt until translucent.

2. Stir in the grated carrot, thyme, oregano, sage, rosemary, bay leaves and red pepper flakes. Add the wild rice mix and stir well to combine. Allow it to toast together with the aromatics for a couple of minute.

3. Add in the chopped capsicum and 1/2 cup of the cranberries. Pour in the wine and simmer until reduced by half then add the vegetable stock (or water). Stir and taste for seasonings. Add more sea salt to your taste if desired.

4. Bring the rice to a simmer, cover with a tight lid and cook on low flame for 50 minutes. Turn off the heat but do not remove the lid. Allow the rice to sit covered for 10 to 15 minutes and continue cooking in its own steam.

5. Discard the bay leaves and the woody sprigs from the herbs. Use a fork and gently fluff up the rice.

6. Serve warm or cold garnished with the remaining cranberries and fresh herbs.

by Nicole Morgan

Irish born twins Steven and David Flynn, aka The Happy Pear, set out to put a strong sense of fun back into everything health and wellbeing. They are best known for their passion for plant based food and lifestyle and have spent almost 20 years inspiring thousands of people from all around the world to eat less meat and more veg. Their humble beginnings back in 2004 saw the opening of their very first fruit and veg shop, and since then the twins haven't looked back. The Happy Pear business, which now comprises cafés and food shops, not to mention an entire digital media, online learning and publishing enterprise as well as delicious and healthy supermarket ready meals and soups, has their personalities stamped all over it.

We grabbed an opportunity to talk to The Flynn brothers who graciously agree to tell us a bit more about The ever expanding Happy Pear community and what it takes

to create social change.

Your personal and professional journey as ‘The Happy Pear’ since 2004 has been immensely successful. Did you ever envisage your business growing to the size it is today?

In all truth we initially never saw it as a business, but as a means to create social change. It was all about creating a happier, healthier, ‘more-together’ and sustainable community. We are very lucky to have had such successes and to have reached so many outside of our little town of Greystones. That being said, even after 18 years we feel like we are just getting going. The world is large and we are still very small. It gives us great purpose and meaning. We really believe in what we are doing - and we love it!

How did you initially go about building and influencing your audience into making a switch to eating more plants? Did you still live by this same ethos almost 20 years on?

We learned quickly that people find it much easier to hear the suggestion to “Eat more veg” rather than telling them they should be vegan. It’s a lot easier. A friend of ours (Seanie Cahill) has a great saying -“It’s easier to attract people with honey than it is with vinegar”. Being kind, accepting and open is a lot more attractive than being judgemental and critical. Do we still have the same ethos? Quite simply, yes absolutely! We've been eating a vegan diet for 20 years. For the first couple of years we were probably righteous and judgmental, and we found that this was quite fractious. It didn't really entice people or inspire others. So instead, we focused on encouraging people; meeting them where they're at, and taking baby steps - using the mantra to ‘Eat more veg’. That's what we tend to focus on.

Have you noticed a change in people’s attitudes towards plant based health since the inception of the Happy Pear? How did you overcome this barrier and can you impart any advice for others facing the same challenges?

Massively! When we first started, we never used to hear the word vegan or vegetarian because it was strange and weird and cold, whereas nowadays, it's actually become fashionable. Today people almost go, “wow, I want to be vegan too. How do I do it?” So that's an incredible step. When we first started a cafe, we never labelled it vegan or vegetarian, we just labelled it ‘healthy food’. Today it's pretty much exclusively vegan. Because the market is ready for it. The reason we say ‘exclusively’ is because we offer dairy milk for those who asked for it, and we offer dairy based butter for those who ask for it because we're still a community based business, and we want to do our best to meet people where they're at, while still respecting our own ideals. We try. We try to find that middle ground as best as we can. We are far from perfect.

What has been your biggest challenge as The Happy Pear over the last 20 years and how did you overcome it?

There's been so many different challenges over the years; so many little ones and so many big ones. To pick a singular one is quite hard, so lets pick a recent one. Prepandemic we had four cafes. Over the pandemic, we've unfortunately had to close three of them down, the most recent being last month. It it has been difficult in a sense that society tends to celebrate as you get bigger, and you've got more cafes, or more land or more staff or more of whatever it is. To overcome it we have found that accepting and realising that less can be more. It is very hard to have three or four really special places. We have come to terms with the fact you can't have something that's widespread and special. Typically, what's rare is special. There is a well known expression in Irish - a proverb or ‘seanfhocail’ in our native language. It goes “An rud is annamh is iontach” and translates to ‘The thing that's seldom is wonderful’. In this case, we found that having one cafe and really putting our heart and soul into it with the sourdough bakery and the veg shop, and supper club. We have found this to be more beautiful.

The movement here in New Zealand and Australia is still very much in its infancy. How do you think acceptance of the message has progressed over time - for instance, do you think the subject is more ‘palatable’ now than when you first set up?

Most definitely. When we first set up there wasn't really a conversation around how diet and what you eat impacted climate change for instance. Politics starts on your plate - back 20 years ago, you didn't have those type of conversations, and if you did, it was kind of strange. Nowadays, it's widely accepted that the most healthy thing you can do for the climate or to positively impact climate change is to eat a vegan diet or plant based diet. It's kind of irrefutable scientifically that a plant based diet is the only diet to reverse cardiovascular disease. Even if you look to the Blue Zones, the areas in the world where people are found to live longer than average, and there is a strong emphasis on the whole food plant based diet. I think it's changed hugely. We believe, in terms of good health, that eating a healthy plant based diet is pretty much the best you can do; and we think it's wonderful.

What do you most enjoy about being “The Happy Pear” and what are you most proud of?

We love our work, we love getting to work with so many friends and getting to do work that we really believe in; that we each love. We love the variety. And so I think what am I most proud of is the life I get to live - to spend time with my children every day, to go and swim in the sea with friends, to work with wonderful humans that I absolutely adore, and to be part of a community. It's great.

have a Sleep Course coming with a neurologist and sleep doctor. We have a happy shape course with a Bariatric GP. So in essence we have created a platform and community with loads of wonderful courses, content and recipes to remind people that eating a whole food plant based diet, moving more, sleeping well and most importantly having a community to support you is so important for anyone who wants to live a healthy and happy life.

The underlying importance and connection between what we eat and planetary health is still only dawning on people. Do you think we’re all making that worldwide connection…is that a hope you would have for the near future?

How did the pandemic affect the Happy Pear business and community?

We’d have to say positively. It got us back to our core. We kind of got caught up with growth. We had four cafes, we were turning over more than €10 million, there was loads of bits going on. The pandemic helped us get back to our roots and to not get caught up with excessive scaling. Although closing down three cafes was difficult, it has been very good to get us to really focus on what we're doing and to be able to focus on something special. The re-grounding and the time allowed us to focus on our flagship shop and the community, which led us to launching our app. We were able to focus on one special thing while bringing people together, and not those that were in our little town of Greystones. We create a platform, The Happy Pear: Healthy Living because it's well known that the key to any sustainable lifestyle change is community. Healthy Living allows us to recreate that environment to support people to be healthier, happier and to eat a plant based diet. It helps people to eat well and encourages you to move more. It provides access to medical support systems such as gastroenterologist for gut health revolution. We've just released a Menopause Course with a Senior Consultant Gynaecologist. We

I think if we don't have hope, I think we have nothing because we have to turn it around. Otherwise we're going to become extinct. I really do yearn, hope, plead for our society, society at large, to start to realise the importance of eating more plant based and moving more towards a plant centric diet for the continuation of our own species. It’s outlined in research by the University of Oxford in 2018, that the single biggest thing you could do for climate change as an individual was to eat a plant based diet or a vegan diet. Politics does start on your plate and what you eat is like a vote for the world you want to create. So our answer is yes. I really really hope it and that is what our work is all about is trying to inspire people to eat more vegetables, come together as a community, so we can all live a happier, healthier, and more meaningful life.

We're offering our readers a one time discount of 50% off an annual subscription to the newly launched Happy Pear app which gives you full access to recipes, content, courses and live events.

Simply scan the QR code or visit the link below and select 'Get Started' then add 1 year membership to the cart (discount applied via the website, not the app)

CODE: WHOLEFOODLIVING learn.thehappypear.ie/healthyliving

Homemade Ketchup

Making your own ketchup allows you to control the sodium and sugar content, while you create something even more delicious! Follow the proper canning procedure to keep this ketchup on hand at all times. by Vitamix.com.au | 24 Servings

Ingredients

30 ml (2 Tbsp)

115 g (1)

1.3 kg (3 lb)

100 g (¾ cup)

60 ml (¼ cup)

1 tsp

1 tsp

1/2 tsp

1/2 tsp

1/4 tsp

1/4 tsp extra virgin olive oil, optional medium brown onion, chopped tomatoes, halved dates apple cider vinegar salt, optional dry mustard celery salt garlic powder ground cloves ground allspice

Method

1. Place tomatoes into the Vitamix container and secure the lid. Select Variable 7. Pulse 5 to 6 times, or until tomatoes are roughly chopped, using the tamper to press the tomatoes toward the blades.

2. In a large saucepan with a heavy bottom, add the olive oil and heat over medium low heat. Add the chopped onions and cook, stirring, until the onions are soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes (including all juice and seeds), dates, vinegar, salt, dry mustard, celery salt, garlic powder, ground cloves, and ground allspice to the onions. Stir well to combine.

3. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool for 20 minutes, then place into the Vitamix container and secure the lid.

4. Start the blender on its lowest speed, then quickly increase to its highest speed, using the tamper to press ingredients toward the blades.

5. Blend for 30 seconds.

6. Pour the mixture into an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

7. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Janice Carter Lifestyle Medicine Coach