FitSugar

Healthy Eating Tip: Join a CSA

FitSugar — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:00:10 -0700

With local and organic food having such a high price tag, it can be hard to eat in a sustainable way. One way I've gotten around the high costs is by joining a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). The idea of a CSA is pretty simple - consumers pay farmers directly for a portion of their crop. It's a huge benefit to my health, and my money goes directly to a small, family-owned farm.

To give you an idea of how a CSA works, I'll use mine as an example. I pay $23 each week for enough produce to feed two people. My last box contained four Braeburn apples, four oranges, two pounds of heirloom tomatoes, one bunch of broccoli, two pounds of red potatoes, one pound of zucchini, one pound of green beans, one bunch of basil, and one head of red lettuce. All of the produce was grown on an organic farm located 90 miles from my home in San Francisco. For an additional fee I can also request organic dairy products, grass-fed meat, and Fair Trade coffee.

For tips on choosing a CSA, read more.

Although the basic idea of a CSA is the same no matter which you choose, details vary among farms. Here are some things to keep in mind when shopping for a CSA.

Decide how you want your produce box delivered. Many CSAs offer home delivery, while other CSAs leave boxes at convenient pick-up points in your town or city.
Membership is either calculated by the season or on a month-to-month basis. You'll save even more money if you can pay for the entire season at once.
Most CSAs choose what produce they deliver each week. Don't be alarmed -recipes are usually included and you can expect the best the season has to offer, as well as staple items. There are some CSAs that will let you pick and choose specifically what you'd like in your box that week based on their crop.
CSAs are beginning to offer much more than produce. If you are interested in meat, dairy, baked goods, and other eatables, shop around.

Visit the Local Harvest website to find a CSA near you.

Source: Flickr User 427

Produce Cleaners?

FitSugar — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:30:00 -0700

At the grocery store, I noticed a bottle of fruit and veggie wash. If you've seen it too, I bet you've wondered if it's necessary to use in order to clean produce effectively?

While it's very important to wash your produce since you don't know how many hands have touched your tomatoes or manhandled your melons, there's no need for a special cleaner. Soaps or washes can leave a residue, and they aren't any better than plain water, so save your money.

Even if your produce is organic, it still needs to be washed since bacteria such as listeria, salmonella, and E. coli can lurk on all fruits and veggies. Wait to wash your fruits and veggies until right before you're about to eat or prepare them. Wash all produce, even the ones that are pre-packaged and say "pre-washed." Wash all parts including rinds and peels you won't eat and stems you throw away since bacteria can be transferred from those parts to the parts you eat. Wash all fruits and veggies under running water and gentle scrub each one with your fingers for 60 seconds. It may take extra time, but it's better than getting sick.

Store Your Produce so It Lasts

FitSugar — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:00:00 -0700

Money is tight these days, so after spending your hard-earned cash on nutritious produce, don't just toss it in the fridge willy-nilly. Use these tips on storing your produce so your fruits and veggies last until you're ready to enjoy them.

Broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, celery, corn, carrots, and scallions: Store these in separate plastic bags. Poke holes in the bags so the veggies can breathe, and then store them in the crisper, the coldest part of the fridge.

Cucumbers, peppers, and Summer squash: These veggies need to be in the warmest part of the fridge, the top shelf. These should also be in separate perforated plastic bags.

To see how you should store other types of produce, read more.

Leafy greens: Pat them dry to soak up any water, since moisture can cause them to rot. Wrap them in paper towels, place them in plastic bags, and store in the crisper. Keep them away from ethylene-emitting fruits such as apples and tomatoes.

Tomatoes: Store cherry and grape tomatoes in their original plastic container in the fridge. If larger tomatoes need to ripen, let them sit on the counter since cold temps can affect the color, flavor, and nutrient value. After they ripen to a bright red color, store them in the fridge away from other veggies.

Fresh herbs: Also wrap them in paper towels, place them in plastic bags, and store in the crisper. Except for basil - since it's damaged by the cold, stand basil in a vase filled with water near a sunny window.

Berries: After purchasing, remove bruised or moldy berries from the batch since they can cause the other berries to rot quicker. Store them in their original container. Don't wash them until you're ready to eat them since moisture will encourage mold growth.

Grapes: Remove bruised or rotten grapes. Then wrap the rest in a paper towel and store them in their original ventilated plastic bag. As with berries, don't wash grapes until you're ready to eat them.

Watermelon: According to a USDA study, allowing whole watermelon to ripen on your counter for about a week can double the fruit's lycopene and beta-carotene levels. Store it in the fridge away from other fruits and veggies since, like leafy greens, this melon will rot faster when exposed to ethylene gas.

Root veggies: Onions, yams, and potatoes should be stored at room temperature.

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Do You Wash Bananas Before Eating Them?

FitSugar — Tue, 19 May 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Ever since I heard that you should wash bananas and other fruits before peeling them, I can't eat a banana without giving it a rinse first. Considering all of the hands and surfaces that the fruit comes into contact with, I'd hate to transfer any of those germs from my hands to my food. How about you?

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What Organic Produce Is Worth the Price?

FitSugar — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Since it's Earth Day, I thought it would be a fittingly green time to review our produce-buying options. Organic produce can be way more expensive than conventional produce, but some fruits and vegetables you should always try to buy organic, no matter what. Be a smart shopper by knowing when it's worth the higher price and when you can save your money and put the conventional produce in your cart. Need a refresher? Take my quiz!

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Take the quiz

Healthy Recipe: End-of-Season Crispy Brussels Sprouts

FitSugar — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 03:00:00 -0700

I was so excited to find one last batch of Brussels sprouts at my produce market this week, so I whipped up this easy side to celebrate the end of Winter and the coming of Spring produce. If there are still Brussels sprouts to be had in your neck of the woods, I highly recommending trying this method for a crispy, salty, chewy, and totally veg-tastic treat.

This recipe involves peeling away as many leaves as possible and cooking them with the hearts of the sprouts, so that the leaves take on a crunchy, almost chip-like texture. Take out the leaves first, then let the middles keep roasting. In the end, you toss them all together for a texture-filled side dish. Find out how to make it when you read more.

Crispy Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Inspired by Eat Real

Ingredients

1 pound Brussels sprouts, washed and dried
Approximately 2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Trim the firm ends off of the Brussels sprouts so that the leaves begin to peel away. Discard the ends.
Peel away any leaves that naturally separate from the hearts; this will be anywhere from one-half to three-quarters of the leaves.
Place the leaves only in a large bowl, and toss with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil plus salt and pepper to taste, until all leaves are lightly coated.

Coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray, and arrange the leaves on one half of the sheet.
Now, take the hearts of the Brussels sprouts, place them in the bowl, and toss with remaining olive oil, plus salt and pepper. Spread those on the other half of the baking sheet.

Place the baking sheet in the oven. After about 10 minutes, check the leaves. Remove any that have crisped and browned and place them in the bowl. After another 5 minutes or so, remove remaining leaves to bowl, but allow the hearts to roast for about 15 to 20 more minutes, until lightly browned and tender.

When hearts are done cooking, add them to the bowl, toss them with the crispy leaves, and serve.

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A Pesticide Produce Guide For Your Pocket

FitSugar — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:00:00 -0700

To buy organic or not to buy organic? Take a page (literally) from the Environmental Working Group, a health advocacy group consisting of scientists, engineers, policy experts, and lawyers whose mission is to expose threats to our environment. In addition to uncovering big environmental health threats, the EWG works to find small solutions, too. One of those is to help you avoid produce that is heavily sprayed with pesticides.

EWG has created a printable version of its "dirty dozen" list of the 12 most heavily sprayed fruits and veggies, as well as the 15 types of produce with the lowest amounts of pesticides. The list fits easily in your wallet so it can be used as a reference guide when grocery shopping to help you decide when to go organic and when it is OK to opt for less expensive, conventionally grown produce. You do, however, have to sign up for the EWG monthly email newsletter to get access to the printable list. Since the newsletter is chock-full of useful information on pesticides, sustainable agriculture, and other food-related issues, it's a piece of email worth getting.

You can sign up for the newsletter here. Here's to some happy and healthy shopping.

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Can You Identify the Produce?

FitSugar — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:00:00 -0700

Last night on the Biggest Loser a lot of the contestants were not able to identify certain foods in the produce section of the grocery store. Fruits and veggies can be hard to identify but knowing what's what is key to eating a healthy diet, so I'm curious how well you know your produce. Take this little quiz and see if you can identify different types of produce.

Question 1 of 10

These are called what?

When To Buy Organic

FitSugar — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 05:30:00 -0700

Food costs are rising and making decisions about when to go organic a little more complicated. When it comes to produce here are recommendations from the Environmenal Working Group of fruits and veggies to buy organic whenever you can.

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Bananas: Organic vs. Conventional

FitSugar — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:00:00 -0700

Deciding whether to buy organic or conventional bananas is a toughie. Organic ones are more expensive (usually at least 30 cents more per pound), and I've noticed that they seem to bruise more easily – anyone else notice that, too? The major difference between the two are that conventional bananas are grown with synthetic fertilizers, insecticides, and herbicides to protect the crops from mold, bugs, and disease. On the other side, organic farmers use natural fertilizers such as manure and seaweed, insect predators and barriers to prevent pests, and they weed by hand or mulch in order to prevent weeds.

You may be thinking that all those chemicals used to grow conventional bananas are no big deal because you peel the fruit. But the chemicals are not just on the outside of the banana - they leach into the soil that is used to grow the produce. So even if you peel your banana, it doesn't prevent you from ingesting small amounts of those chemicals. Although you may feel better knowing most experts agree that the amount you ingest poses little threat to your health. If you're concerned about the nutritional value of your food, there are ongoing studies exploring the connection between pesticides and nutrients in foods; so far it looks like organic is healthier. Organic produce is also better for the planet since chemical pesticides make their way into the soil and run off into water sources.

With the sky-rocketing prices of food, buying organic may not be feasible all the time. Bananas, along with avocados, mangos, papayas, and pineapples have been found to have the lowest pesticide residue. However, apples, cherries, grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, raspberries, strawberries have very high pesticide residues so you might want to splurge on organic.

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