Fruit and Vegetable Make Over
One of the keys to adopting healthier eating habits is re-training your palate to appreciate healthier foods. Let's start with something basic: a fruit and vegetable makeover.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are one of the basic building blocks of any healthy diet. An acceptable alternative to fresh produce is flash frozen produce. Flash frozen is usually harvested at peak season and then frozen very quickly at a low temperature to preserve the quality of the produce. This enables us to enjoy some produce (corn, strawberries, cherries, etc.) year-round with minimal loss of flavor. One common concern expressed about fresh produce is that it's expensive. It's usually economical to buy produce that's in season. This is because a product harvested during its natural season does not require the same work as a product forced to grow outside of its natural season. So there's no extra cost passed along to the consumer for an item that naturally appears at certain times of the year. When shopping at your local grocery store or farmers market, look for items that are grown locally. The shorter distance the item has to travel from farm to consumer the fresher and more flavorful the item will be.
Every state has different factors that determine what types of produce will be available each month. You may be able to buy delicious blueberries in Michigan in August, but they may not be so great in Georgia at the same time of the year. The best place to buy fresh produce is your local farm or farmers' markets or a roadside stand of a local farm. Every state has a farmers' market. So how can you know what is in season for where you live? At the Epicurious.com Web site, you'll find a link that provides you with information about what is in season for each month in the state where you live: (http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/seasonalcooking/farmtotable/seasonalingredientmap). Also, www.localharvest.org/organic-farms provides a state-by-state listing of organic farms across the country, including hours of operation and what services they provide.
Buying fresh, in-season produce may seem challenging at first for many reasons. You may feel hesitant because you have never heard of a particular item, have no idea how to cook it, or what it might taste like. Or, you may have had an unpleasant experience with an item, or you just may be bored with it. Let's address these challenges.
If you've never heard of a particular item, ask about it in the produce section or look it up when you get home. Search for recipes and see if you can find one that you'd like to try. Try to prepare it a few different ways and then do a taste test. You never know - you might just find your new favorite side dish! One great addition to a cooking repertoire is parsnips. Parsnips are usually at their best from the beginning of fall until late winter. Parsnips are very flavorful, especially when seasoned correctly, and can be cooked as a main ingredient in many ways. Try roasting peeled parsnips with fresh rosemary, thyme, pepper, olive oil, a drip of honey, and a pinch of salt. You can also grill them using the same seasonings for a slightly smokier flavor. They can be steamed and stir-fried with excellent results.
Growing up, I had an aversion to most vegetables and many fruits. Have you always blamed the spinach or peas for tasting so bad? It usually isn't the vegetable, but how it's prepared - over cooked (nothing worse than mushy peas) or poorly seasoned.
Are you tired of eating the same old thing the same old way? Then cook something you are sick of eating in a new way. Try an open-faced roasted vegetarian sandwich. I think you understand where I am going with this. With this one vegetable, you can use it in various ways, which should alleviate some anxiety and get you thinking about produce differently.