EatingWell March - April 2017

A few months ago I ate a sandwich I can’t stop thinking about. A man on the street in Marrakech split a soft round bun along one side, then chopped cooked potato and hard-boiled egg straight into it. He slapped in chunks of soft cheese and finished it with olive oil, salt, diced onion and harissa. He handed it over wrapped in a scrap of paper. This was my first trip to Morocco. I arrived with ideas of tagines, kebabs and spices. I hadn’t considered potato sandwiches, never even imagined one. The warm, creamy, oniony, spicy taste of that sandwich will stick with me for years. For anyone who loves food, that excitement of tasting the unexpected and delicious is a moment to savor. It’s part of why I love traveling.…

FEEDBACK I’m an environmental lawyer and professor at Vermont Law School. I like to cook and clip recipes from EatingWell, but rarely read the articles. To my surprise, I really enjoyed “Flying the Coop” [Jan/Feb 2017]—thoughtful, balanced, informative, easy to read. One of the very best treatments of the issues I’ve read. MARC MIHALY, EAST CALAIS, VT Thank you for explaining everything I wanted to know about the animalwelfare impact of my eggbuying dollars. I would love to see a similar article telling me the differences in animal welfare between the many types of ground red meat at the super market (cheapest, grassfed, bison, etc.). DOUG ANDERSON, LITTLETON, CO EatingWell magazine always blows my mind with the most lovely, beautiful and delicious salad ideas. @danacostantinoyoga 837 The number of farm destinations in the U.S. Farm Stay…

SPRUCE TIPS (Picea species) ID: This evergreen has stiff, four-sided needles. If you can roll the needle between your fingers, it’s a spruce. (If it’s flat, it’s fir.) Pick the lighter green soft tips as they emerge from their brown, papery sheaths in midspring. TASTE: Lemon. (Mature needles are tough and taste like tree resin.) EAT: Grind with salt for seasoning vegetables. BISHOP’S WEED (Aegopodium podagraria) ID: This perennial ground cover has compound leaves, either variegated (shown) or solid green. TASTE: The variegated variety has a mild, vegetal flavor; solid-green leaves have notes of celery. EAT: Discard the stems and sauté the leaves with stronger greens (like dandelion leaves), then bake in a quiche or phyllo pastry. WILD GARLIC (Allium vineale) ID: Similar to chives, wild garlic has hollow, round, dark green stems (up to…

FOR WANNA-BE COWGIRLS Saddle up! Eric and Jean Schwennesen promise authentic (plus sustainable and humane) cattleranching on their 11,000-acre Cold Creek Ranch, in Clifton, AZ. Join the family as they rope and move cattle, and feed, ride and shoe horses. Log cabin accommodations are off-grid and solar-powered, so after a hard day’s work you can eat your fill of their grass-fed beef in unplugged peace. coldcreekranch.org FOR FARMERS-IN-TRAINING See the operation behind the farmers’-market stand. Laura Olsen and Mari Omland grow organic vegetables and raise pastured poultry, pigs and goats on their 40- acre Green Mountain Girls Farm in Northfield, VT. Collect eggs, feed sows Ramona Quimby and Amelia Bedelia and harvest fresh veggies. At day’s end, retreat to the rustic barn guesthouse or farmhouse inn. eatstayfarm.com FOR WINE CONNOISSEURS Oenophiles, immerse yourself in all…

Cultivated cropland: Land used to grow crops that we eat, plus annual feed crops (such as soy, corn and grain) for livestock Perennial forage: Land used for hay or alfalfa to feed livestock, plus grassland that could alternatively be used to grow crops Grazing land: Grasslands and woodlands that are unsuitable to grow crops, but can support livestock grazing Typical American Diet The majority of Americans eat a diet heavy in grains and protein and lower in dairy, fruits and veggies. Part-Time Vegetarian Followers of this diet eat a healthy omnivorous diet 60 percent of the time and go vegetarian for the other 40 percent of their meals. Lacto-Vegetarian This diet excludes all meat and eggs, but includes dairy. It maximizes the available land to potentially feed the most people. Vegan A vegan diet is purely plant-based—no animal products at…

The Dietary Guidelines say that Americans should cap their sodium intake at 2,300 mg (about 1 teaspoon of salt) per day. But this may be too low, suggests a new study. Drawing on data from 130,000 people in 49 countries, researchers found that sodium intake below 3,000 mg per day (or 1 teaspoons of salt) was associated with increased risk of stroke, heart attack or cardiovascular disease—regardless of whether a person had high or healthy blood pressure. “Your body needs sodium or you’d die,” says Andrew Mente, Ph.D., of McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, and lead study author. Because the mineral is key for many biological processes (it controls blood pressure and keeps nerves working properly), your body has built-in countermeasures to prevent your sodium level from dipping too low. When…