Why Nutrition At Its Roots?
I am often asked about my instagram handle @nutrition.at.its.roots. This name was picked for a purpose and to tell you about it, I need to tell you a story. A few years ago, I went to the beach with my family and we spotted an ocean front plot of sand that would be the perfect spot to set up camp for the day. We plopped down next to this wonderful couple from San Diego who were just as chatty as we were. Us ladies chit chatted as the kids ran amuck in the ocean and soon we were talking about what everyone does for work. Well, as you may know, my family works in a wide variety of agricultural sectors including nut farming. When the wife heard that we farmed almonds and walnuts she was very excited because she was an avid consumer of an almond milk alternative instead of milk. She wanted to learn about how the almonds were grown and asked us, and I quote, “So how do the almonds grow? They grow along the ground on vines, right?” Y’all. My jaw hit the floor! Did she not know that nuts grew on trees?!
However, once I had a second to recover from the shock that she was so adamant on drinking an almond alternative yet did not know how almonds were grown I stopped and thought to myself, “why would she know?” She had told us that they lived in San Diego and had little farming background… yet she wanted to learn more! She was truly surprised when she discovered the amount of work that goes into growing almond trees and producing that tasty little snack. That was our chance as farmers to educate. So now I have a question for you. Have you ever purchased an apple from the grocery store and wondered where it came from? Who grew the almonds that are now making the perfect garnish for your salad? What were the steps that were taken to get the milk all the way from the cow to the gallon of milk you have in your shopping cart? No? Maybe it’s time to.
Growing up in the agricultural industry has given me a unique perspective on our food. Though my personal company focuses mainly on nutrition education, I cast my information net much wider here on my blog. Here you will find a wide variety of topics covering everything from farming to food labels. Some days you may get a new recipe, other days you may get snacking ideas, while still other days you may learn about agriculture and get a peek into where our food comes from. I truly believe that to understand nutrition you should have some insight into how our food is grown and how it came to be in our refrigerator. I hope to give you some of that information here on my blog and am looking forward to giving you a glimpse into what it was like to grow up on a farm! We as a society are so far removed from food production now and it’s time to bring nutrition back down to its roots!
Hey! I’m Lauren
I’m a registered dietitian and my goal is to give you tips and tricks to make healthy eating fun, easy, and even delicious!