The other food pyramid

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the Simply in Season recipe of the week, Company Muffins, is the book’s only recipe that meets an impressive standard: it contains every single nutritional element in the USDA’s Food Pyramid: whole grains, milk and oil, yes; protein (walnuts or flax seeds and eggs), yes; fruit (apples and raisins), yes; vegetables (grated carrots), yes. So much goodness in a little muffin!

And based on seeing these muffins sampled at a booksigning, I can vouch for their taste. They're moist and just sweet enough. Kids go for them. I think baking them in mini-muffin tins makes these treats especially appealing.

While we’re talking about the nutritional food pyramid, it’s a good time to pass on the word about a new and different sort of food pyramid: one that encourages choices for a healthy environment as well as healthy bodies.

The Wild Farm Alliance Food Pyramid can be downloaded and folded into a paper pyramid to stand on your dining table as a reminder of how our food choices are connected with nature -- and how we can help to support sustainable farming.

The pyramid promotes eating foods that are:
-- Local and in-season
-- Organic and free of genetically modified organisms
-- Pasture-raised
-- Sustainably harvested
-- Predator-friendly
-- Shade-grown and salmon safe

Take a look sometime!

You’ll want a warm drink to go with your muffins (and maybe a good book). Fair trade would be a good topic for another day, but in the meanwhile I wanted to share this great Grist column on “green” coffee.