Why Gypsies?

Seeing ourselves as gypsies makes sense. To begin, we make ourselves at home anywhere. We carry our laptops, notebooks and portable kitchen around the city. We grab lunch and two lattes and a seat in a café. We settle there for hours to hash out ideas, plan curricula and send emails. Sometimes, when ideas are scarce, we make friends with the locals around us hoping for inspiration.

Like gypsies, we travel to find work. We go anywhere to plant the seeds of our fertile message. To date the farthest distance we trekked is 5 hours to Boston. Most days we commute 90 minutes. Not to worry though, we use public transportation so our journey is earth friendly.

Gypsies are open to different cultures. When they arrive at a new place, they embrace the local culture adding a twist of their own ideas to create something new. The Green Gypsy philosophy of meeting people where they’re at while leading them to a new place mirrors this. We support peoples’ actions or beliefs even when they differ from our message. To do this we share examples anyone can relate to while we encourage people to consider a new point of view. We might for instance use a familiar recipe to introduce new ingredients, thoughts and skills. Finding comfort in a recipe they recognize, people can more easily change their eating habits and perceptions about food.

Gypsies are marginalized and often misunderstood much like the “fruit and nut” educators of the 60’s and 70’s. They preached healthy food, for a healthy planet. A strange message when paralleled with the food industry’s move toward processed meals. Today, even as science proves food affects health, we wellness workers, local farmers and sustainable eaters are sometimes met with opposition. But we Green Gypsies don’t mind. Though our message of good food, for good health and greener planet may seem unfamiliar to some, we continue to travel far and wide sharing our passion with anyone who is willing to listen.

Does that answer your question?

Summer Peach and Blackberry Crumble

This crumble shows off the summer’s bounty. It is easy to make and beautiful when it comes out of the oven. This recipe comes from honorary Green Gypsy, Phyllis Palmer.

For the Filling:
½ cup unbleached, white, organic sugar
3 tablespoons unbleached ,white organic flour
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch sea salt
3 cups peeled, sliced fresh peaches
3 cups fresh blackberries
2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

For the Topping:
1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold organic butter, cut into small pieces
½ cup maple sugar, packed tight
1 cup unbleached, white organic flour

Procedure:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2) In a medium bowl, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt.
3) In another medium bowl combine peaches, blackberries and lemon juice. Using clean hands, mix to combine.
4) In an 8-inch baking dish spread half of the peach and blackberry mixture. Sprinkle half of the sugar mixture on top. Repeat with the remaining fruit and sugar mixture.
5) With a fork and knife, in the same bowl used for the sugar mixture, quickly combine all topping ingredients. Mix so that the butter is well distributed. Mixture should look crumbly.
6) Evenly sprinkle topping ingredients onto fruit. Place in the oven and cook for about 45 minutes or until the crumble is browned and juices are bubbling.
7) Serve warm in bowls topped with vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream. Enjoy!

Is eating well too expensive?

The other day we spoke to some friends who are convinced eating healthy, organic food is too expensive. As gypsies on a tour of life, we’ve had to talk about this idea many times. Because, no matter where they are from, whether they are rich or poor, teenager or elder, everyone wonders “Does eating well cost too much money?” We believe eating for a sound body and sound mind is affordable for everyone.

We told our friends the first order of business when thinking about our meals and our money is getting folks to see the value of good-for-you food. It’s hard for people to see that what they eat affects how they feel, how they look and their level of energy. To get people to understand this connection we talk about cars. Most of us know that filling up our cars with cheap gas results in more trips to the mechanic and a lesser resale value and that using high quality fuel means our cars perform better. So we remind people gasoline is to our cars what food is to our bodies. If we fill our bodies with cheap food we can not work well, feel good or live long. But if we feed ourselves fresh, seasonal and organic food we make less trips to the doctor, we have more vitality and we can live into our golden years.

The second order of business is changing people’s priorities. Many of us need a reality check. A few years ago, a teenage boy told us healthy food costs too much then bragged about buying a $100 pair of sneakers. Another day, a woman in her mid to late thirties claimed eating well is too expensive then answered a cell phone that sells for close to $200. And, on many days, people take sips of a $5 cup of specialty coffee then tell us they don’t see the point of spending so much money on food. If we are willing to use our hard earned dollars to buy our clothes, electronics and daily caffeine fix, can we not use the same funds to feed our mind, body and soul?

When we finished making these points our friends told us we made a good argument. Then they said, “True, but isn’t it still cheaper to eat fast food?”

And so the work continues….

Do people really want to eat well?

We call ourselves The Green Gypsies because we provide environmentally friendly food and wellness classes to anyone and we go anywhere people will listen to us. Our names are Elizabeth J.E. Johnson and Ludie R Minaya. Together we teach teens and adults how to eat for physical, mental and spiritual well-Being. In the last five years we created learning-kitchens in all kinds of places including churches, community centers, schools, corporate offices, libraries and parks. We figure as long as we get the message out who cares where we do it!

As we make our way around New York City people are really curious about our work. Most often people ask if our students, especially the teens, are really into the idea of good food, for good health and a greener planet. The answer is yes.

People, including teenagers, do buy into the idea of good food, for good health and a greener planet. In fact, the biggest challenge in getting young people to eat well is the adults. Adults tend to underestimate young people’s desire to learn and care about what they eat and how they treat their bodies. Ludie and I find that teenagers who are given a chance to explore new tastes, learn knife skills and try new recipes are sincerely and actively interested in finding out more. They also implement what they learn in our classes at home and share ideas with their friends and family.

The challenge with adults is getting them to believe eating well is delicious and easy. The secret is knowing how to present the message to them. Typically, adults (and teens too) associate nutrition messages with a monotone voice explaining the intricacies of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Many people fear a nutritionist will dole out a lengthy list of foods not to eat, and they assume this list will include all of the foods they really want to eat! Plus many of us perceive healthy food as tasteless and boring.

Ludie and I have a different approach. First, we use skits, role play, journaling and eating to make our workshops fun, interactive and engaging. Second, it’s rare that we tell someone not to eat a particular food. We say listen to your body and when you decide to eat something choose the highest Quality ingredients (local and fresh), choose a Quantity of food that is an appropriate serving size (fits in your hand) and eat in Moderation (not too much or too little of anything). These are our keys to healthy eating. For short we call them the Q.Q.M (Quality, Quantity, Moderation). With an eating lifestyle as easy as the Q.Q.M. who would not buy in? And to address the idea of healthy food as boring we simply say “Look at us, do we look like people who eat tasteless food?” Then we get cooking because we all know the proof is in the pudding!