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A mystery public vegetable garden has just appeared in our local park, Edinburgh Gardens.

The timber planter boxes seem to be made from recycled pallets. What a great idea!

Inside the veggie box are a mixture of tomatoes, spinach, beetroot, corn, lettuce and even strawberries. They’re all looking mighty healthy. It’s a great example of how a vegetable patch can still flourish in an asphalt and dirt environment.

Sadly, it’s only a matter of time before the City of Yarra removes the guerilla planter boxes. The council requires that such projects go through the usual administrative channels to determine a suitable location in the public space.

Well, as a City of Yarra ratepayer, I’m more than happy to have this left for the community to enjoy.   North Fitzroy is littered with Victorian worker’s cottages, and most have very limited space to create a working veggie garden.

Perhaps this might inspire council to create a community space for projects just like these – and then they could be enjoyed by all the local residents.

Such public gardens have already been successful at CERES environmental park and  the Collingwood Children’s farm – but we could always do with more.

And, by the way, if you’re looking to create your own veggie garden at home, Sustainable Gardening Australia have a great handbook.

Written by Andrew Talati

Hungry Jacks has just announced it will offer salad cups as part of its menu.

It’s definitely a move in the right direction.  However, one should maintain a healthy level of skepticism, given that all other products on offer at Hungry Jacks are full of sugar, saturated fat and salt.

What’s interesting is the pricing structure.  A salad cup will set you back $4.95 if purchased on its own, or $2.50 when ordered as a value meal. This fact highlights that processed food is a lot cheaper to sell and has higher margins.

You have to ask yourself whether the heavy 50% discount of the salad cup in the value meal is really being subsidised by your burger purchase or if the pricing structure is more about getting the consumer to buy  burgers by offering a price penalty for purchasing the salad cup on its own.

Perhaps you can only sell vegetables cheaply if  you first process them, extrude them into vegetable shapes, then add back colours and flavours?  That would explain the inflated $4.95 price.

Maybe by serving raw vegetables Hungry Jacks is merely upping the ante against McDonalds’ salad options?

Look, its a great initiative, but it’s kind of like a Yoga studio that offers kick boxing classes. It begs the question – what’s their brand offer really about?

Is Hungry Jacks’ new healthy food option in alignment with their brand? Are their communication channels really speaking to the market about healthy food?

Written by Andrew Talati

While the secret to a long, healthy life may be theorised, a Greek study highlights the relationship between longevity, eating a healthy diet and getting sufficient sleep.

The study of Ikariathat island residents in the Aegean was conducted between June to October 2009.

Amazingly 1.1% of the population were over 90 years old, compared to 0.1% for the rest of Europe.

On Ikariathat, the main diet consists of fresh fruit and vegetables, legumes and fish mixed in with the regular consumption of olive oil. Unlike many westerners,  sleeping habits included an afternoon siesta which gave the residents’ bodies time to rebuild and replenish from the day’s activities.

Like most things in life, taking a common sense approach to living a healthier lifestyle is challenging, particularly given the rigors of everyday life. When you add up too many commitments, too little time and all too consuming activities, it’s clear we’re neglecting the basic principles of optimum living.

With so many processed food manufacturers and restaurants happy to fill this void, we need to find the time to get back to the basics of eating less processed foods and more fresh fruit and vegetables.

Set a target of cooking one additional meal using fresh ingredients and forget the processed additives that can make the procedure a lot faster or more convenient. Try making your lunch for 2 -3 days per week. Not only will it save you thousands of dollars every year, your heart will thank you for it.

Written by Andrew Talati

With so many fantastic benefits of olive oil, we often get confused by the different terminologies on the packaging such as extra virgin olive oil.
The attractiveness of extra virgin olive oil is it’s fresh, crisp, clean, fruity taste which leads the consumer needing to be familiar with this level of quality as the labeling may be misleading.

While in Australia the regulation of the terminology isn’t as stringent as Europe, there are certain voluntary guidelines that stipulate what constitutes extra-virgin olive oil. However it is up to the integrity of the producer as to whether their product meets the guidelines as it’s caveat emptor or buyer beware. This was highlighted by choice Magazine in June 2010 that found that half the olive oil’s on tests didn’t meet the International Olive Oil Council standard.

What constitutes Virgin Olive Oil
The main standard is based on the acidity level being less than 0.8 – 1% and other chemical and sensory/taste based criteria. This becomes extremely technical with minimum defect tolerances based on certain criteria from the International Olive Council (IOC).

The Attributes by the Internal Olive Council:
1.Fruity – Based on the freshness of the olives and is tested by scent
2.Bitter – Usual from unripe olives and is tested by taste by the furry feeling on the back of the tongue.
3.Pungent – Again from tasting and is felt in the back of the throat
4.Fusty – This is through taste and occurs when the olives are left unprocessed for a length of time and produce oleic acid and isoamyl alcohol formed from the commencement of the fermentation process.
5.Musty – This is the result of fungi that has developed from the fruit being stored in humid conditions for several days.
6.Muddy sediment – Again the flavor of oil that has been left in contact with the sediment in tanks and vats.
7.Winey-Vinegary – Like the taste of vinegar that forms due to the commencement of the fermentation process that produces acetic acid, ethyl acetate, and ethanol.
8.Rancid – This is from exposure to oxygen or UV light and produces, acids, alcohols and Fermenting tank sediments that can cause the muddy sediment effect
9.Heated or Burnt – caused by excessive and/or prolonged heating during processing.

The California Standards for Olive oil even go further and take a more scientific approach by breaking down even the Pomace levels and sterol composition.

The Australian Olive Oil Association which is similar to the Organic Certification bodies also has laboratory testing based and an Organoleptic Assessment by 3 people.

The chemical composition must meet the following:
• free fatty acid contents, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 0.8 grams per 100 grams
• a peroxide value less than 20 (mEq. peroxide oxygen per kg of oil)
• not exceed the following extinction coefficients for ultra-violet absorbency tests:
270 nm no greater than 0.22
ΔK no greater than 0.01
232 nm no greater than 2.5
• similar organoleptically testing to the International Olive Council (IOC) based on being fusty, muddy, musty, rancid or winey

There is a move for Food Standards Australia to adopt a standard for the labeling of olive oil which will cover definitions regarding the various terminologies used and information regarding use by dates and production dates to be inform the consumer.

Like wine or even coffee there are many variables that ultimately go to produce a high-quality product that leads to bitterness or sweetness and the different aromas which is no different to the production and processing of olive oil. While the green olives tend to the more bitter and peppery the black varieties are sweeter and moire fruity in flavour.

Ideally the olive should be pressed within 24 hours from being picked to stop deterioration and the fermentation process taking place. During the pressing process the olives should undergo a cold pressing process whereby the olives are not heated excessively.

Many oils on the market that are labeled light are usually highly refined and are heated which changes the chemical structure of the oil. These oils are usually bland with not much flavour, colour or taste and can lead to the consumer thinking they are light in fat.

At the worse end of the olive oil market is Pomice olive oil that users chemicals to extra the dredges of oil from the waste product from the initial pressing process.

Unfortunately until Food Standards Australia and New Zealand introduce labeling standards, it’s best to purchase your extra virgin olive oil from a reputable brand and avoid the cheap and nasty varieties on the market.

It’s great to see parents encouraging their children to develop healthy eating habits by growing their own fruit and vegetables.

While at a friends dinner party, we started talking about nutrition and the current crisis confronting our youngest generation with increased rates of childhood obesity and diabetes. At their local primary school, one of the parents created a blog that documented the transformation of their inner suburban backyard into a thriving vegetable patch.

The great thing about creating this awareness for children from a young age is not the quality time spent with their children but the association and connection between freshly grown produce through to the preparation and consumption of this yummy food.

Oscars Little garden

Oscar’s little garden shows no matter how small your backyard there is ample opportunities to help educate your kids in growing their own fruit and vegetables. With Oscars little garden, he could see the development of the vegetables; carrots, spinach, garlic and beetroot from a tiny seed to sprouting life.

Like any habit in life, the more senses that are touched and stimulated during a particular process leads to greater engagement and the creation of neurological pathways that are set for life. Just as we can develop poor eating habits from an early age we can also create lifelong healthy eating patterns that shape the way we think and appreciate food.

With Oscar, he was able to experience the many senses involved in the growing and harvesting of his fruit and vegetables from the feeling of the dirt in his hands, planting the seeds, the smell of the garden, the emotion felt of seeing the living plant growing, through to the taste and sight of the harvest.

A big advocate and pioneer in moving this concept to the school yard is Stephanie Alexander who has helped 180 schools with educating children about growing their own vegetables which has had wonderful results.

While modern life may be running at a crazy pace, this is great opportunity to take an active role in helping the children develop healthy eating habits for life.