Fresh Tomato Soup (adapted from The White House Garden Cookbook)

We just got back from our vacation to D.C. (there we all are in front of the Washington Monument below) and we were lucky enough to get a tour of the White House. I was SO hoping we would get to see a glimpse of Michelle Obama’s vegetable garden but no such luck.

The White House Vegetable Garden

As many of you know, Michelle Obama has made healthy eating for children an important part of her message about the White House garden she started in 2009. Although I didn’t actually get to see the garden, I tracked down the official “White House Garden Cookbook” and bought a copy. While some of the recipes include a bit of meat, locally-grown fruits and vegetables take center stage in the book. Michelle is quoted as saying “The whole point of this garden is that I want to make sure that our

family, as well as the staff and all the people who come to the White House and eat our food, get access to really fresh vegetables and fruits.”

5 Servings of Fruits & Vegetables a Day is NOT Enough

I can’t tell you how many fruits and vegetables our family eats— but trust me, it’s a lot. It’s way over the recommended 5 servings a day (which in my opinion is far too little). Unfortunately, the vast majority of people in the United States don’t even come close to getting 5 a day. I think there’s several reasons for this: 1) The decline in home cooking, 2) the dramatic upswing in restaurant dining (for whatever reason, most restaurants serve teeny-tiny vegetable servings and rarely have fruit as a menu option), and 3) fruits and vegetables are not thought of as exciting or fun to eat, which is a huge problem.

The thing is fruits and vegetables can absolutely be amazing to eat if you get them super fresh and prepare them properly (or even eat them raw!) For example, soggy canned green beans don’t even taste like the same food when compared to crisp fresh, organic green beans. However, eating fresh fruits and vegetables takes some thought, and people don’t like to think about their food…they just want to eat. I get it.

Thoughtless Eating Is Making Us Sick & Fat

Sadly though, our lack of thought is making us sick and fat. It’s also harming the planet. In a series of papers about energy and health, an article in 2007 appeared in Lancet, the highly respected British medical journal, that states “Particular policy attention should be paid to the health risks posed by the rapid worldwide growth in meat consumption, both by exacerbating climate change and by directly contributing to certain diseases.”

While I’m not suggesting everyone adopt a vegan diet, I am saying we should strive to eat clean by massively ramping up our fruit and vegetable consumption (in addition to other plant-based foods such as whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds) and dramatically reducing our intake of animal foods (such as meat, chicken, eggs, and dairy.) Animal foods should not take center stage on our plates, plant based foods should instead. Making this shift in your food consumption will dramatically improve your health, help you lose weight (without being hungry) and help save our planet. Books like Food Matters (by Mark Bittman) and In Deffense of Food (by Michael Pollan) are great reads on this subject.

And Yes, Kids Will Eat Fruits & Vegetables

I’m rambling, I know and feel free to skip right to the soup. But I have to say, it’s really so sad so many kids think eating fruits and vegetables is such a chore. I can tell you from experience, kids WILL eat fruits and vegetables if you serve them fresh and prepare them properly. That’s my little guy in the photo below…people are always amazed he eats salads so enthusiastically. Salad is REAL food, why shouldn’t he like it? I’m amazed people serve their kids the processed junk from all those packages and expect their kids to like that!

Too Bad the Government Can’t Get Our Kids To Eat Better

One final thought to leave you with. I got this directly out of Mark Bittman’s Food Matters book below (my notes are in orange italics)

“The government spends nearly $1 billion to buy commodities from farmers each year and gives them to the National School Lunch Program, which is supposed to provide healthy (I’m assuming fruits and vegetables are supposed to be included), affordable meals to kids. Schools get free food, farmers are ensured regular income, the government helps prevent prices from sagging. Doesn’t sound that bad, does it? But according to a recent study by the USDA, school lunches routinely fail the government’s own nutritional standards, even when the food is being provided by the government (WHAT?!? This is clearly very messed up!)

Eat Clean! Fresh Tomato Soup

(Adapted from The White House Garden Cookbook)

Serves: 4-6

Since August is peak tomato season I thought this was a great seasonal summer recipe. By the way, it’s great hot or cold! This isn’t the exact recipe from the White House book because I just couldn’t put 1/4 of a cup of butter in my soup and I didn’t think the soup needed any flour either (this is just adding empty calories.) I made a few other changes too but it was still a total hit with my family. And, even though my 9-year old doesn’t like tomatoes, he enthusiastically gobbled this up!

• 5 large fresh tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 5 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 Spanish onion, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• Sea salt, to taste
• 4 cups organic vegetable broth (such as Pacific Natural Foods)
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 2 teaspoons raw honey
• Juice from 1 whole lime

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the tomatoes to the boiling water and cook 4-5 minutes, or until skins loosen. Carefully remove tomatoes from the water with a slotted spoon. Set aside until tomatoes are cool enough to handle; carefully slip off the skins and discard. Chop the tomatoes and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; add the garlic, onions and celery.  Sauté for 1 -2 minutes. Add the bell pepper and carrots and sauté 3-4 minutes, or until vegetables are soft. Season with salt to taste. Add the chopped tomatoes.
3. Add the broth, curry powder, honey and lime juice. Simmer for 15 minutes. Use a handheld stick blender and process until smooth and creamy. Serve hot or cold.

P.S. In case you are wondering what the little squares on the bowls are, they are little mini grilled cheeses (on sprouted whole grain bread and pastured goat cheese)

Photo Credit: Gail Ingram