Brooklyn Foodies Focus on Organics

If you're like most Brooklyn families you make an effort to feed your family nutritious meals. Maybe you even do your best to eat organic.

In April several prominent players in the local organic food movement convened at DUMBO's Bosch showroom for an event titled, "Urban Organic Kitchen Cooking."

At the event, Bryant Terry (author, ex-Brooklynite and food activist), Latham Thomas and Phebe Palin (co-owners of Panela Productions), and Helen Bernstein (Director of Marketing at Happy Baby, a Brooklyn-based organic baby food company) contributed ideas and recipes aimed to make life easier for conscientious Brooklyn parents.

Bryant Terry stopped into Brooklyn while on a 50-city tour promoting his book Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen. His role in the interactive cooking demonstration was to talk about local and global developments in the sustainable farming movement.

The eco-chef encouraged those in attendance to support local farmers and make conscious decisions. "Every dollar we spend is a vote for the food system we want to see," said Terry. He playfully challenged the audience to ask themselves, "How can we be a part of creating solutions in our family?"

When asked about the future of organics, Terry said the market was ripe--up 400%. But rather than being singularly obsesses with finding FDA-labeled organic products, Terry energized the audience to get to know their local farmers. As Terry told it, small farming families don't have the financial means to submit to the lengthy and expensive organic certification process. Yet these farms are an excellent and inexpensive source of non-genetically modified vegetables and fruit.

Chefs quickly prepared The Watercress and Grilled Pineapple Salsa with Avocado and Sour Orange Dressing (p.246 in the Grub cookbook) while Terry spoke. Proving another one of Terry's points: healthy meals don't require tons of prep or slaving in the kitchen for hours.

While Terry wanted to get into the audience's hearts and minds, the next speakers wanted to get into their kitchens. Panela Productions (co-owned by two certified Holistic Health Counselors: Latham Thomas and Prospect Heights resident, Phebe Palin) targets families trying to improve their eating habits. From private cooking parties to individual pantry makeovers, they can offer most families a bit help.

Both Palin and Thomas are busy moms who are committed to making nourishing organic meals more appealing. As they whipped up summer smoothies with fresh cherries and dark chocolate, Panela's owners talked up Brooklyn's local CSA's (community supported agriculture program).

This summer, Panela will be working with the Lefferts Garden CSA to help families plan meals around their produce. They explained that each week CSA subscribers receive 7-8 different types of vegetables, including heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, baby corn, summer squash, cucumbers, lettuces, beets, carrots, etc., that are trucked in from nearby farms. Membership is very affordable, for example a 22-week share from the Upper Meadows Farm costs $345.

At they wrapped up their presentation, Panela offered three tips for getting kids to increase their vegetable consumption:

1. Timing: Set out the healthy stuff when the kids are hungry.
2. Dips: A simple white bean spread makes carrots and celery much more appealing.
3. Something Old with Something New: If you want your child to try snow peas and you know they already love peanut butter, make a peanut dipping sauce for the peas.

Happy Baby organic baby food was the final presentation of the afternoon. Attendees sampled several flavors of Happy Baby's popular products. I tasted the Sweeter Potato flavor and pronounced it delicious. Bright and appealing, the vegetables had a pleasant consistency-it was neither watery nor chewy-instead just right.

Prior to the event, I sat down with Shazi Visram, Founder & CEO of Happy Baby, to learn about the business. Visram and partner Jessica Rolph founded the Brooklyn-based company in 2006. Their goal was to bring nourishing and delicious meals to time-strapped new parents.

Many working parents resort to stocking up on jarred baby food for their children's first meals. Visram recognized that the process of making a multi-course meal-with the washing, peeling, pureeing, and steaming--for a baby was far too time consuming.

Visram said, "I wanted to get parent thinking outside the jar." Working closely with a food scientist, the Happy Baby team came up with a flash freezing process that locks in nutrients, color and flavor.

There's nothing to fret over on the Happy Baby label. For example the Sweeter Potatoes are made of 100% organic sweet potato. And a serving (3 cubes 2.55 oz) provides 500% of a baby's daily vitamin A.

Happy Baby frequently teams with local stores and shops to sample their wares and promote organic foods. Their niche marketing program is working, last October Happy Baby went national and by Visram's accounts is, "growing like wildfire." Currently they offer 10 flavors: Easy-Being-Green Beans, Grrreat Greens, Smarter Squash, Wiser Apple, Sweeter Potatoes, Purer Pear, Yes Peas, Thank You Carrots, Baby Dhal, and Mama Grain. Visram envisions Happy Baby expanding into toddler's fare and adding meat dishes.

For many of us busy parents, trying to clean up our diets and set a positive example for our kids takes constant effort. Thanks to the efforts of these organic food pioneers, Brooklyn's families can look forward to many great summer meals.