J is for Joost Elffers

And who or what is Joost Elffers you may ask. Joost Elffers is co-author with Saxton Freymann of series of picture books that are illustrated entirely with photographs of fruits and vegetables. They are very clever and imaginative with great pictures.

Joost was born and raised in the Netherlands and later moved to the US. He was a book packager who put together books getting them ready to publish. He worked on several notable books including Tangrams, Secrect Language of Birthdays, and The Power of 48 as well as the food books.

If you haven't seen one of these books before, I recommend you check your local library to find one. They are definitely worth a look.

One of the pages from Fast Food.

One of the pages from How Are You Peeling?

I is for Iceberg Lettuce

Oh, iceberg lettuce-the much maligned and much loved leafy green.

Iceberg lettuce, a variety of crisphead lettuce, has been an American favorite for almost 100 years. It was developed by the Burpee Seed company in 1894 and was grown commercially in California starting in the 1920's. In the early shipping days, the lettuce heads were packed in ice and looked like icebergs, thus the name. With its firm head, it was the only lettuce that could be shipped easily and was widely distributed over the US by the 1940's.  Usually it was the only kind of lettuce that could be found at most grocery stores. 

However, in the last few years, more lettuce varieties have become available and iceberg is being disparaged as nutritional wasteland compared to its darker green cousins. And there is truth to that with iceberg lettuce containing about 1/20 the amount of vitamins of other varieties. Probably because of this knowledge, romaine has outpaced iceberg lettuce in sales to become number one. However, iceberg is still a strong second. Iceberg lettuce may be the guilty pleasure of the lettuce world with its crisp, mild tasting leaves. Nothing holds its crispness better on a sandwich or works better with a big dollop of Bleu cheese dressing.

If truth be told, I prefer iceberg lettuce to the healthier (but more bitter tasting to me) varieties, and it is my guilty pleasure. I was happy that I had an excuse to buy it for this post. :)

Did you grow up eating iceberg lettuce? Do you eat it now?

Sources:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/tip-of-the-iceberg-our-love-hate-relationship-with-the-nations-blandest-vegetable-9074175/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lettuce

https://www.verywellfit.com/does-iceberg-lettuce-have-any-nutritional-value-2506266

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2007-07-04-0706290893-story.html

H is for Healthy

 Vegetables and fruits are healthy. Or is it healthful? Somewhere, back in the deep, dark recesses of my mind, I think I remember learning the distinction between healthy and healthful. However, I've been confused by their usage for years now, so I think it's finally time for me to figure it out. 

After consulting Grammar Girl,  American Heritage Dictionary, and the Merriam-Webster dictionary, here's the bottom line - healthy is okay to use in all circumstances. Healthful is used only to mean conducive to good health. Healthy can be used as a synonym for healthful as well as a healthy person.

"But wait," you say. That's not right. Healthy can only refer to a person (living), and healthful must be used for things (nonliving).  That was the preferred usage for a while. In the 1800's there was a big push to differentiate between the words healthy and healthful and that lasted into the 1940's but has been on the decline since then.  However, the American Heritage Dictionary says that both have meant conducive to good health for over 400 years, and today, healthy is used almost exclusively for both meanings. That explains why using healthy sounds right to my ears. And that simplifies things, too. If I use only healthy, I'll be okay.

Do you learn to make a distinction between healthy and healthful?

G is for Grape

Grape rhymes with ape which makes me think of giant apes, which makes me think of King Kong, which makes me think of the new movie Godzilla vs. Kong, which makes me think of the the article below, which makes me think of my nephew, Elliott, who makes me think of his father, Uncle Billy, who makes think of grapes because Uncle Billy not only grows blueberries, he grows grapes. 

If Godzilla Fought King Kong In Real Life, Who Would Win? We Asked Experts From The Smithsonian National Zoo

F is for Fruit Salad