Film screenings aim to better acquainted consumers with food supply
Want to learn more about the food on your plate?
Three films playing later this month at the Tivoli Theater in Downers Grove will provide quite an education.
"What's on Your Plate," "No Impact Man" and "Food, Inc." will play at 4, 6 and 8:15 p.m., respectively, April 15 as part of Whole Foods Markets's "Let's Retake Our Plates" initiative.
The films address, in one form or another, factors affecting our food supply like additives, antibiotics and byproducts fed to animals to make them grow bigger and food safety concerns related to factory farming.
After the viewings, Kay McKeen of SCARCE, a DuPage County-based group dedicated to educating the public about conserving natural resources and other environmental issues, will hold a question-and-answer session.
Tickets cost $5 (proceeds benefit SCARCE) and are available at Whole Foods Markets in Wheaton, Naperville, Hinsdale and Willowbrook. The theater is at 5201 Highland Ave.
Leaders of the pack: Look in your grocery cart and consider for a moment the amount of packaging holding your strawberries, potato chips, apple sauce, cookies, yogurt and all the resources that went into making the plastic container, box or bag. It's almost too much to grasp.
So kudos are in order for SunChips and Snyders of Hanover, two companies that have recently changed their packaging for the greener.
You can now find 10.5-ounce packs of SunChips in a 100-percent biodegradable bag. Pick up a pack in the store and you can tell the difference. The material is lighter, but also crinkles loudly when you grab it, loud enough to alert parents when the kids are sneaking chips from the pantry.
Even though the company claims the bag will break down in 14 weeks, don't think you can just leave it at the baseball field or beach when it's empty. Add it to your compost heap or put it in the garbage feeling good that it won't be taking up any permanent landfill space.
On the pretzel front, Snyders of Hanover's line of organic pretzels now boasts a bag made from renewable raw materials that are 90-percent plant-based. The bag, which also is produced with as little as half the energy of traditional bags and generates few greenhouse gas emissions, is made by Clear Lam Packaging in Elk Grove Village.
Vegetable stalking: Celery is one of the magic trio of ingredients, called mirepoix in French, from which many dishes get their flavor start. Besides using celery in stews or dipping an occasional rib into a jar of peanut butter, I rarely gave it a second thought.
Then the Produce for Better Health Foundation reminded me that celery shouldn't be ignored.
First off, when you're shopping, look for celery with straight, rigid stalks with fresh leaves, the foundation advises. Avoid pithy, woody or limp stalks. Once home, refrigerate it in a plastic bag for a week or more.
Nutritionally, celery is fat- and cholesterol-free, low in sodium and calories and a good source of both vitamins A and C.
Try this recipe for Braised Celery with Herbs (it serves six) with your next dinner.
Cut 1 small bunch of celery into diagonal slices about 1/4-inch wide (you need at least 41/2 cups). In a large sauce pan bring 21/2 cups reduced-sodium canned chicken broth to a full boil over high heat with 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, 2 teaspoons dried leaf thyme (crushed), 1 teaspoon dried rosemary (crushed), 1/4 teaspoon each black pepper and salt. Add sliced celery and reduce heat to simmer for 4 to 5 minutes or until barely tender. You don't want it to lose all its crispness. Drain and put in a serving bowl. Add 3/4 teaspoon butter and a sprinkling of additional herbs if desired.
- Deborah Pankey
• Contact Food Editor Deborah Pankey at food@dailyherald.com. Listen to her discuss food and restaurant trends on Restaurant Radio Chicago, 5 to 6 p.m. Saturdays on 560 AM WIND.