Fed up with eating the same unhealthy food every day? Frustrated because you’ve wanted to change your diet for some time but never found an occasion to start getting away from your wicked old habits? Or maybe you’re simply looking for an unusual experience to tease your taste buds? No matter what your current diet consists of, discovering new ways of cooking and eating can be a great inspiration for your future diet. Why not try out vegan or raw food cuisine, gather your food in nature, or explore alternative food systems?
Check out this list of upcoming events in the Bay Area and have fun eating healthily and consciously. You might also want to have a look at some of our Nourish titles, among which I particularly recommend: The Art of Raw Food, Rawlicious, or Green for Life. Bon appétit!
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October 18 – November 15: Learn To Forage With ForageSF
Education is a large component of what ForageSF is trying to do. Their goal is to teach people about what’s edible in their local landscape, and in doing so, help them look at the area they live in a different way. Through guided walks and forays you learn to identify some of the wild edibles you see every day, with a focus on sustainable harvesting techniques, recipes, as well as the history of foraging in the Bay Area.
Wild Food Walks (Plants):
Each walk lasts about 2 hours, and covers a good deal of the wild edibles that are abundant in our area. They are held in parks in SF and the East Bay. Here are the upcoming walks:
North Bay — Saturday, October 29 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
New Plants 101: Tuesday October 18 7:00 pm – 9:45 pm
New Plants 101:  Tuesday November 15 7:00 pm – 9:45 pm
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October 22Â – December 31: Vegan Cooking Classes by Florence (San Francisco Vegetarian Society)Â
Saturday Cooking Classes, sponsored by Park & Rec & SFVS.
Every other Saturday, 12:00 – 3:00 pm
270-6th Street x Folsom, Downtown San Francisco 94103
RSVP: Florence Mendoza, Instructor at 415-554-9532
Donation $2. Recipes will be e-mailed.
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October 24: Food Day
On October 24, 2011—and on the days and weeks before and after—thousands of Americans will gather in schools, college campuses, farmers markets, City Halls, and state capitals to talk about what’s right and wrong with our diets and whole food system and how to fix them. A Food Day event could be as simple as organizing a cooking class or a vegetable-identification contest in your child’s elementary school—or a healthy pot-luck dinner with friends. College students could organize forums that explore how our dietary choices impact the environment, the health of farm workers, and the treatment of animals. Health departments could kick off weight-loss campaigns. And city councils could hold hearings on how to lure supermarkets and farmers markets to underserved areas.
How can Food Day improve health, solve food problems, or celebrate food success stories—in your community? It is literally up to you. Find an event in your hometown. Get in touch with Food Day organizers in your area. Or download a Food Day organizing guides—and put your own Food Day event on the map.
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November 5: Berkeley Food Policy Council: Working Together for an Alternative Food System
On this tour, you will get a whole systems view of Berkeley’s alternative food system by exploring the connections between institutional purchasing, urban farming, youth empowerment, farmers’ markets, alternative food enterprises and an active Food Policy Council. This tour is coordinated by Bay Area Green Tours, a project of the Sustainable Business Alliance and member of the BFPC.
8:30am – 2:00pm
Tour begins and ends at the Marriott Hotel in Oakland City Center
Contact: Tanya at tkerssen@foodfirst.org or (510) 654-4400, ext. 223
$65 – Includes light breakfast and lunch.
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November 20: Healthy Holiday Survival 2011
Imagine that your holiday experiences could leave you refreshed and healthy, rather than heavy and exhausted. In this short course, you will create a game plan for a fun and delicious holiday season. The Bay Area’s top raw instructors will teach you easy raw vegan foods to nourish you through the winter’s festivities. Plus, you’ll enjoy an elegant raw Thanksgiving dinner with like-minded enthusiasts.
4:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Encuentro
202 Second Street (at Jackson)
Jack London Square, Oakland
$75 per person
