Welcome our Nutrition Intern Chris!

Post by UNH Nutrition and Dietetics Intern Chris G.

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to participate in my first Public Nutrition Education internship with Seacoast Eat Local. Not only did all of my food samples go within the first two hours of market, but we had an excellent turnout-over 2,500 people showing up to the Wentworth Greenhouses!

The reason I took on this internship is due to the fact that as an undergrad Nutrition major, I believe it is of utmost importance to know where your food is coming from. Whereas most products in the supermarket are processed in a factory before placement on the shelf, buying and eating locally are both excellent ways of knowing our fruits, vegetables, meat, spices, and other products are fresh and minimally processed. 

Starting off this past weekend, I picked up some red potatoes from Emery Farm on Piscataqua Road in Durham, NH. These are not only easy to make, but additionally are delicious, can be paired with just about any protein source, and through minimal processing are beneficial to our health. The skin of the potato is rich in Potassium and Vitamin C, and provides ~2 grams of fiber per potato, depending on the size. Additionally, these potatoes you may have tasted were made with olive oil, which is high in unsaturated fat-the kind that is shown to lower LDL (bad cholesterol) while raising HDL (good cholesterol). 

Here is the quick, easy process I use to make potato wedges from scratch!

1. First off, I soften the potatoes through boiling for roughly 20 minutes (vary by size).

2. Once potatoes are soft enough to poke through with a fork, strain potatoes and allow to cool, and split each into fourths. On a baking sheet, drizzle olive oil (enough to lightly cover the pan), and season to your taste! For this recipe, I used a Rosemary/Parsley/Salt blend, however you can use your favorite seasoning.

3. Finally, bake wedges in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for roughly 15-20 minutes. The result should be a delicious potato wedge that melts in your mouth!

That is about all it takes. Again, using simple ingredients on cooking such as olive oil and herbs are a great measure to take in preventing intake of harmful additives which larger-scale manufacturers may use in their processed products. Enjoy!