Monica Galetti collaborates with Organic UK

By contributor Claire Zakiewicz – a healthy eating enthusiast and keen marathon runner.

I was recently invited to an event organised by Organic UK, an association that combines advertising, PR and digital marketing to promote a better understanding of the benefits of organic, what it means and why organic is worth buying.

Their campaign explains how organic food is more nutritious, free of chemical additives, kinder to the environment and offers higher animal welfare. Also, how freshly cooked produce is safer than processed food. This has been particularly highlighted by the recent news that undeclared and unregulated horse meat has been found in food advertised as other meat such as beef. It has been reported that in some cases as much as 100% of meat in processed food comes from unregulated horse meat, probably sports horses that are likely to have been injected with veterinary drugs that are banned in food animals.

There are so many potential implications of not knowing what we are eating and of our food not being regulated. Although tests are still being carried out to discover what the specific health risks are, (and we may not discover all the implications for a long time – if ever) as a long distance runner, it’s obvious to me how important food is for well being and as fuel. I find that processed food hampers my digestion and performance – I even prefer to make my own sports drinks from scratch. Also, fresh food tastes better! Suffice to say I was more than happy to go and find out more information about Organic’s campaign.

MasterChef’s Monica Galetti is brand ambassador for Organic UK’s, Naturally Different campaign and is passionate about fresh organic food. She gave an eloquent presentation about her commitment to fresh organic produce and demonstrated a few delicious and simple dishes.

Her aim is to address some of the price perceptions of organic produce by creating recipes for each season using just five simple fresh organic ingredients.

Sweetcorn Fritters

She made vegetarian and meat dishes at the event. As a vegetarian I sampled the delicious sweetcorn fritters, which we didn’t see her make but that tasted great. I’m not a massive fan of fried food but they would work well for me as an occasional party snack.

Gnocchi with Fennel

The other was fresh gnocchi with fennel and horseradish cream sauce, which she made in front of us and was interesting to watch. It is surprisingly simple to make, works out cheaper than ready made, is more nutritious and cooking from scratch means you are in control of what you’re eating. Above all though, it’s definitely more delicious than the ready made kind!

I found the event educational and I’m happy to be endorsing the campaign. After the event I wondered about a shift in our eating habits towards organic and fresh foods? Perhaps we’d feel better and our land would be less polluted. I’m inspired!

Many thanks to Organic UK for the invite.