Terrance Food BM

Food Slide
Recipe

 

Ingredients:

·         ½ Ayco Mini Me watermelon

·         1 Ayco cantaloupe

·         1 Peruvian Mango

·         1 cup of rivoira frutta blueberries

·         1 cup of rivoira frutta raspberries

·         1 freshquest honeydew

·         1 pack of “USA Florida’s Best Berries” Gulf Sweet strawberries

·         3 organic Trader Joe’s kiwis

·         1 container of Marzetti cream cheese fruit dip

 

1.       Skin mangoes, remove pits and dice into manageable portions

2.       Remove the husks from the strawberries pits and dice into manageable portions

3.       Skin the honeydew pits and dice into manageable portions

4.       Skin cantaloupe pits and dice into manageable portions

5.       Skin kiwis and slice horizontally into multiple pieces

6.       Distribute blueberries throughout serving container

7.       Mash raspberries (blend for serving sauce)

8.       Cut watermelon in half and remove melon from the hard outer layer then dice into manageable portions

9.       Pour all fruits into a serving container and toss until thoroughly mixed

10.   VOILA!

 



 Analysis

As soon as this project was introduced, I knew a lot of people would bring in pasta or chicken- typical things. So, I brought something that I, and my family, eat a lot- fruit salad. Fruit is a natural sugar that your body can convert into energy easily. I eat these fruits practically every day, but if it were the only thing I ate, I’d probably weigh around 100 pounds. We didn’t use any artificial sweeteners or products, just fruit. Prior to introducing the concept of utilizing organic foods compared to regular, imported foods, I stocked up on lots of fruit in order to make my fruit salad. Then, we learned how environmentally friendly, more natural and healthier organic foods were. After the activity, I took a look at where my fruit came from. My cantaloupe and honeydew came from Guatemala. My mangoes came from Peru. My berries came from Italy. I thought about the environmental impact all that transportation must have by importing fruit halfway across the globe. So, I sought to buy more friendly fruits, which are usually organic. The strawberries and kiwis that I bought were organic, and cost a lot more than the traditional strawberries and kiwis would have cost. I didn’t mind much though, mainly because I wasn’t the one buying the fruit but also because I know the benefit of buying fruit from local business rather than from larger fruit distributors. My strawberries come from Florida and are grown by the workers of “Gulf Sweet Inc.” They acknowledge that growing fruit isn’t just a way to make money; it’s a way to provide people with a food that is essential to how they eat healthily. Their motto, and a great one to live by, is “Friends and partners, not buyers and sellers.”





Reflection


     The one thing I’ve realized, more than learned, is that I am a mere dust particle in the galaxy of the food system. I hate to say it but my role in the entire food system is so insignificant, I could buy all organic food for the rest of my life and not a single perspective of the economy or environment would change. That doesn’t mean I choose to buy McDonalds everyday, but my role as it relates to others and those who produce what I buy isn’t really noticeable. This sole reason led me to realize that the biggest problem with our food system is that not enough people care. There are too many people that feel exactly like I do. My mindset is that I’m just one person, and if 1 million people say I’m just one person, not a single thing changes for our food system for the better. Those corporations who believe it’s ok to maintain unhealthy food conditions will continue to do so, and those who flood artificial growth hormones will also continue to do so. The problem is us, not just one of us, all of us. One thing I could change though is care more about where my food comes from. Again, this won’t make that large of a change, but it has to start somewhere. For example, I love beef jerky, and one kind of jerky that I like is coming from Asia. I could probably choose to eat a different brand and/or flavor of jerky because I realize there’s quite a bit of pollution and money spent to get that much beef jerky from Asia to America. Being that jerky isn’t that large of a part of my diet; I can probably make the change to stop buying foods being imported from so far away.


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