Juicing
I decided to try juicing again. I’ve had my juicer for almost a year now and think I’ve used it a total of 10 times. I’m not a morning person (that is the understatement of the year!) and really won’t even consider looking at food before 8am. I thought a glass of fresh juice each morning would be a nice compromise!
I started my first batch with:
1/2 head of a small lettuce
1 carrot
1/2 peach
1/2 plums
1 asian pear.
I know I should have more veggies in the juice than fruits. If I don’t like the way it tastes, I won’t keep up with the juicing. As time goes on, I’ll limit the fruits and add more veggies.
I made the mistake of putting the lettuce in last and lost quite a bit of it in the waste bin. The next batch I remember to put the lettuce in first.
This Looks Really Gross. I almost dumped it out and started over.
Then I remember Grandma saying “Just try it”. I have to admit; it actually tasted pretty good.
These pictures were from Monday. I’ve been drinking juice for breakfast and as an afternoon snack every day this week. Yes I know that’s only three days, but I’m the kinda kid that will try something once or twice and quit. At least my juices have been more than half veggies since the first batch. I was surprised to find I am able to palate a ‘mostly’ veggie juice.
Share your juicing tips with the newb.
Pam
Family Farm Fresh Produce Gift Baskets
We have a new online store! Family Farm Fresh has provided gift baskets for several years offering only local delivery. After many requests from our Members, we set up the new store. With this online store we are now able to send fresh produce gift baskets all over the USA.
We offer three baskets that are available in two sizes (large or small).
- Farmer Bob’s Bountiful Fruit and Vegetable Basket
- Farmer Bob’s “Best of the Valley” Vegetable Basket
- Farmer Bob’s Signature Fruit Basket
To ensure freshness, we only offer FedEx overnight for shipping. The online store allows you to see what the shipping charges are prior to committing to the purchase.
We tested a few gift baskets from different companies. Ordered them online and had them shipped to us here in Ivanhoe. We found their gift baskets to be mostly filler and the produce literally sitting on top. Not us, our baskets are full of produce. No filler here.
Included in the package is a description of the produce items and storage tips. We also send a score-card. A score-card is an opportunity for the recipient to express satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their gift. How many times have you received a gift basket and been unhappy with the quality? You certainly don’t want to tell the person who sent you the gift. We give them the chance to tell us. Have you ever sent flowers and called the recipient to make sure they look OK? With our produce gift baskets, that call is not necessary. We guarantee the quality of the produce in our baskets and by sending a score-card it proves we stand by our word.
Click here to visit our new store.
We offer a Member only discount – enter coupon FFF20 to receive 20% off.
We still offer LOCAL delivery. Please call or email us for information about local gift basket deliveries.
How to incorporate more fruit and veggies in your meals
It’s pretty safe to say we all need to eat more fruits and veggies. Just how much should we eat?
While researching the answer I found a pretty nifty interactive tool on the Fruits and Veggies More Matters website: FruitsAndVeggiesMatter.org You enter your age, gender and level of physical activity. They break down how much you need into “cups” – that is much easier that trying to figure out what a ‘serving’ is.
According to their site a 30 year old male with 30-60 minutes of physical activity a day should eat 2 cups of fruit and 3.5 cups of vegetable a day. (Men often need more calories than women, most also need more fruits and vegetables than women.)
It is suggested a 30 year old female of the same age and amount of activity eat 2 cups of fruit a day and 2.5 cups of veggies a day
Yes, you read that correctly. A total of 4.5 to 5 cups of fruits and veggies a day.
Like you, my jaw dropped open. Is that possible? I don’t really track my produce consumption but after reading this I think I need to. Here are a few tips to incorporate more fruits and veggies into your meals.
- Add vegetables like zucchini, asparagus, bell peppers, mushrooms, spinach or tomatoes to your eggs in the morning.
- Don’t want to cook in the morning? Make fruit smoothies (there are TONS of recipes on the internet).
- If you prefer yogurt in the morning, stir in some fresh fruit.
- Make salad part of your everyday lunch.
- Add vegetables to your sandwich (preferably ones that won’t roll out).
- Use salsa on everything: baked potatoes, rice, chicken breasts, sandwiches, eggs or steak. It’s not just for chips. If you don’t make your own salsa, add chopped veggies to store bought salsa.
- Put vegetables in your spaghetti sauce. Not many of us have time to make sauce from scratch. Take a jar of low-sodium prepared sauce and add in string beans, peas, corn, bell peppers, mushrooms, grated carrots or tomatoes. Would your kids notice this type of thing and refuse to eat it? I boil eggplant, squash and any other veggie that comes in my CSA basket until soft. With an emersion blender I puree them until smooth and pour the concoction in the sauce. I figure the small amount of vitamins lost in boiling is minimal compared to the fact my kids are eating veggies.
- Grill your vegetables. Peppers, zucchini, asparagus, onions, eggplant and even tomatoes all taste amazing when grilled. Just coat them with olive oil and throw them on. Turn every few minutes and remove when they start to soften.
- According to their site, 100% fruit juice does count towards your intake while fruit induce vodka does not. (They don’t really mention anything about vodka.)
Share your tips on how you add more produce to your own menu.
Happy Cooking!
Pam
How to Store Tomatoes
There is always controversy about whether or not to refrigerate tomatoes.
Most people say NOT to put them in the fridge as it robs the tomatoes of their flavor and texture. My personal opinion is: go through your CSA basket and find the ones that are ready ‘right now’’. They either get used tonight or put them in the fridge to use in the next day or two. Take them out one-hour before using to allow them to warm up to room temperature.
Fresh Beefsteak Tomatoes
How to store Summer Squash
Store summer squash in the refrigerator. If it is long and green (or yellow), then It’s Zucchini. Small round ones with scalloped edges are called Patty Pan (flying saucer shaped). The dark green round squash is another type of Zucchini. Half yellow & half green squash is called Zepher (literally half and half).
Summer Squash
Do you eat ugly fruit?
I have been taking pictures. It’s been on my list of things-to-do since we’ve activated the customer interface in our software program (this is where current Members can log in and make changes to their orders). I think that was about a year ago? I kept putting it off because it’s a bit of a time consumer. Take 10 pictures of one thing and if I’m lucky ONE will turn out good. Not my forte. Luckily my “subjects” don’t complain. Or move.
As usual, once I begin a dreaded project I find out it wasn’t as bad as I expected. Isn’t that the norm?
While photographing nectarines, I found this guy.
Would you be happy if this was in your basket?
See the scarring?
This is one of the things our packers struggle with.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with this nectarine in my eyes.
Yet MANY people would not pick this up and put it in their shopping cart or grocery bag.
The scar is probably from the wind or gentle breezes. (Try not to sway as you’re imagining the gentle breeze.) It pushes the fruit against another nectarine. Or a branch was brushing back and forth across the skin.
Either way, tastes fine. Looks ugly.
What would you think if you saw this in your FFF basket?
Fresh Pasta with Green Garlic
I posted this recipe in our newsletter back in March and have had several requests to reprint it. It’s one of those easy, go to recipes you can use each week.
The recipe is from TheFoodSection.com
Fresh Pasta With Green Garlic
- 1 pound fresh pasta
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4-5 stalks green garlic, finely sliced
- salt (to taste)
- black pepper, freshly ground (to taste)
- Parmigiano reggiano, grated (to taste)
- Boil water for the pasta.
- Melt butter in a sauté pan, being careful not to let it brown, and add the green garlic.
- Saute on medium to medium-low heat until the green garlic has softened (but don’t let it brown). Remove from heat.
- Cook the pasta. I used cavatelli, which were frozen and required a longer amount of cooking, so I started them before sauteing the green garlic.
- When the pasta is cooked, drain it (reserve cooking liquid), and set pasta aside.
- Return the saute pan to the range, set to medium to medium-high. When the butter starts to bubble, add about 1/4 cup of the water the pasta cooked in and whisk until the butter and water forms an emulsion. Keep whisking while the butter/water reduces slightly (around a minute).
- Add pasta to the pan and toss, adding more water if too dry, and seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
- Plate and serve the pasta with grated parmigiano reggiano on top.
Happy Cooking!
Pam
Poached Egg over Spinach
I frequently visit WhFoods.com (World’s Healthiest Foods) to find nutritional information about produce items. This recipe caught my attention. I remember watching my dad make poached eggs on the weekend. We had that nifty little pan that made three perfectly round eggs.
From WHFoods.com
Poached Egg over Spinach
Start the day with an extra boost of greens in this easy-to-prepare meal that you can also serve for lunch or dinner.
Prep and Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
2 eggs
1 tsp light vinegar
1 lb fresh spinach (or kale or collard greens)
Mediterranean Dressing Ingredients
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 medium clove garlic
sea salt and pepper to taste
Directions: Spinach
Use a large pot (3 quart) with lots of water. Bring water to rapid boil.
While water is coming to a boil, press or chop garlic and let it sit for at least 5 minutes to enhance its health-promoting properties.
Wash spinach.
When water is at full boil, place spinach into the pot. Do not cover. Cooking uncovered helps the acids to escape into the air. Cook spinach for 1 minute; begin timing a soon as you drop the spinach into the boiling water.
After the spinach has cooked for 1 minute (do not wait for water to return to a boil), use a mesh strainer with a handle to remove spinach from the pot. Press out excess liquid.
Toss spinach with dressing ingredients while it is still hot. Mediterranean dressing does not have to be made separately.
Directions: Poached Eggs
Bring 1 quart water to a high simmer in a 10-inch skillet with 1 tsp of vinegar.
When water comes to a high simmer poach eggs for about 5 minutes, or until whites are firm. Remove from water with a slotted spoon and place over spinach mixture.
Happy Cooking!
Pam
The Colors of the Rainbow on Your Dinner Plate
I received a really cool email Friday. One of our Members is a registered dietitian, Krista Feagans Owner of Fit Foods, and sent me some useful information to share with all of our other Members:
March is National Nutrition Month and this year’s NNM theme is to Eat Right with Color. Adding color to your plate is more than just visually appealing. Different colors indicate different nutrients in each food. Darker colors are usually a sign of a food that is more nutrients than celery, mushrooms, and iceberg lettuce. Eating a range of colorful foods ensures that you are eating a variety of healthy nutrients. It is fun and easy to add color to your plate. Try to include as many colors as possible (make a rainbow) or decide to let each family member pick a colorful fruit and/or vegetable to add to each meal. Try something news, or prepare an old favorite in a new way. Color isn’t only good for you, it keeps things from getting boring.
The color-guide list is included in her letter is available on our website here.
For question and more information on nutrition counseling or group classes/presentations, please contact Krista Feagans, registered dietition and owner of Fit Foods Nutrition.
858-336-7493 Phone
Take a look at the “colors” on your plate. Mostly brown and beige means you are not getting enough veggies!
Happy Cooking
Pam
Pictures stir up Memories
Remember putting olives on all ten fingers then eating them one at a time?
Family Farm Fresh carries California Sunshine olives - they taste like homemade!
I asked Fulgere Photography to help out with some Product Pictures for our website. Our driver left a basket full of olives, olive oil, honey, etc. and she sent back some awesome pictures!
Honey from Tulare County
Or spreading honey on some warm toast in the morning? And licking the spoon because it was dripping honey everywhere?
