GUEST POST: TESSY R. ON THE YUCK PASS!

HOW MANY TIMES A WEEK DO YOU HEAR YUCK ?

The Neighborhood Garden member, Tessy R. shares a creative method she uses to get her children to eat more veggies!

We read many articles on how to get our kids to eat vegetables.  We were frustrated at the table with the words, “please eat your dinner.”  We tried bribery,  "if you eat your vegetables then you can have dessert".  We still had one picky eater who would stay all night, refuse to eat, and really not care if dessert arrived.  Then we made a change to buy and eat only fresh organic produce.  Both of our girls started eating fruit all the time. We could not keep fresh fruit and had a hard time estimating how much to buy each week.  We still had trouble with some vegetables and we wanted them to eat the rainbow of colors so we instituted “The Yuck Pass!”  Each child is allowed to use the yuck pass once a week.  I put out a menu on Sundays so they can decide which night they may need the yuck pass.  They are allowed to eat cereal or peanut butter and jelly with a fruit on the night they feel it is not their night.  Since we have the yuck pass, they feel they have power to decide and there are no more nights at our house with “Yuck!”  They have also discovered they like more vegetables than they originally thought, as it takes 10 to 20 times to get a taste for some vegetables.  We have all won!

Tessy R.

The Doctor's Office

What's the best way to prepare our produce? Raw, baked, boiled, pressure cooked, fried, microwaved or George Forman'd?!

Now that we have all this great produce, many ask what's the healthiest way to prepare it?  Is raw or cooked better? If I decide to cook it, which method is the best?  How much does it really matter?  Taste aside, the answer to these questions may depend on the type of food, and what nutritional quality is important to you.  There are many ways to look at the nutritional value of food including calories (energy), vitamin and mineral content, and phytonutrient content.   Another interesting way to break it down is anti-oxidant capacity of the food.  This is not the content of the food, but the action of the food against harmful oxidation (think rust, but in your body).  This video discusses the findings of researchers who analyzed the anti-oxidant capacity of twenty vegetables raw or prepared 6 different ways: boiled, fried, pressure cooked, griddled (george forman'd) baked or microwaved.  The findings may surprise many of you.  Researchers found that boiling and pressure cooking were the worst because the water leached nutrients from the vegetables, but not as much as you might think, only 14% on average.  Check out this video to see the winners in this study, and to find out which foods were better raw, and which were better cooked!

THIS WEEK'S ORGANIC PRODUCE - MARCH 3

MONDAY, MARCH 3

 

• Pick Up & Delivery Monday, MARCH 3
• We all have different favorites.  See something you don't like?  2 substitutions are allowed with Full and Half Bags. Substitutions not allowed on Upgrades
•  Upgrades and Extras are only available with the purchase of a Full or Half bag of produce
•  We have All Natural Chicken Breast, Ground Turkey and Organic Ribeye this week
• Order Strawberries by the case or half case!!

This Week's Organic Produce!

Monday, March 3rd

Full/Half Bags

Bananas

Pink Lady Apples

Valencia Oranges

D'Anjou Pears

Avocado

Romaine Lettuce

Snow Peas

Red Potatoes

White Mushrooms

Peeled Garlic

 Roma Tomatoes

Jumbo Fruit Bag

(Will include the Full list plus the following. Must purchase full/half bag)

Kent Mangoes

6oz Blueberries

3lb Pink Lady Apples

Jumbo Veggie Bag

(Will include the Full list plus the following. Must purchase full/half bag)

Artichoke

Cucumbers

Cauliflower

*list subject to change due to availability
**approximate counts, depends on total weight

ORDER HERE 

GUEST POST: NICHOLE ON GOING ORGANIC

HOW I CAME TO EAT ORGANIC FOODS AND WAYS IT HAS IMPROVED MY LIFE

The Neighborhood Garden member, Nichole, shares her personal story of going organic.

Exhausted.  That was how I felt, all the time.  I couldn’t keep up with my then five-year-old daughter. I lacked the energy to play outside.  I never, in my wildest dreams, imagined that any of this could be linked to the foods I was consuming.  

I began a new workout and was challenged with trying to eat differently.  I began weeding out all the processed foods.  I saw a dramatic increase in my energy level.  I was having fewer headaches.  I was sleeping better. The combination of eating healthier, working out, and the result of feeling markedly better only spurred my interest into why.  Why was I feeling better than I had in years?   

So, as I often do, I began researching.  I learned from the US Environmental Protection Agency that when consumed, “pesticides can cause health problems, such as birth defects, nerve damage, cancer, and other effects that might occur over a long period of time . . . (and) some pesticides also pose unique health risks to children." Click here to read the EPA piece.

I mean, sure, I had heard that pesticides were bad for us, but I had been consuming non-organic, sometimes unwashed, produce my entire life, and I’m fine...right?  I suppose it really dawned on me that I hadn’t been fine.  That I don’t want my daughter to struggle with any of the “unique health risks” particularly posed to children from consuming pesticides.  I needed to find a way to feed her healthy foods and not break the budget.   

Then, a dear friend mentioned that she buys her organic produce from a co-op.  As is typical, I researched.  The co-op seemed reputable, reliable, and affordable.  We have been purchasing food from jaxorganic.com for almost a year now.  I couldn’t be more pleased with the results of always having healthy, organic foods available!   

I want to eat healthy.  My daughter still struggles some, but she is six.  She does enjoy trying the new fruits we’ve received.  I have had to learn how to cut open a pineapple, pomegranate, and other things I would never have thought to purchase.  She loved those!   

Thanks! 

The Doctor's Office

With cold and flu season in full swing, it's good to see kiwis and lemons in the produce bag this week. While a plant strong diet will help to keep your immune system strong and can be expected to reduce the number and severity of colds, vitamin C is an especially powerful phytonutrient against viruses.  The lemon is known for it's tartness which comes largely from it's rich vitamin C content (1 cup has 187% of the recommended daily allowance), but also is a good source of potassium, zinc, calcium, copper and magnesium.  Perhaps the most exciting phytonutrient in the lemon (all citrus actually) is hesperitan, which has been shown to improve blood flow.  One study proved hesperitan improves blood flow in the hands of women prone to cold fingers and another study showed that it reduced the rates of stroke. It acts by changing gene expression, affecting over 1,800 genes when given alone, but over 3,200 genes when ingested as orange juice!

Kiwi fruit are also known as Chinese gooseberries.  (If you're a diabetic, research the Indian gooseberry, or Amla).  Kiwi's have even more vitamin C per cup than lemons at 273%, and also have 89% of the RDA of vitamin K. The vitamin k will help all the calcium get to the bones (see the blog a few weeks ago on bone health for more info on that).  Kiwi fruits offer high levels of potassium, copper and manganese as well.  We have learned a lot about the benefits of kiwifruit from research funded by the kiwifruit industry.  Kiwis have been shown to prevent DNA damage with their anti-oxidant capacity as well as enhance DNA repair by modulating gene expression.  Kiwis have been shown to improve constipation in patients with irritable bowel syndrome and constipation, and have even been shown to improve insomnia!  That's right, eating 2 kiwi fruit one hour before bedtime improved time to sleep onset and increased the amount of sleep from an average of 6 hours to 7 hours in the study.

Not that we need all this information to enjoy these delicious fruits, but surely these strange facts can cause some really positive thoughts about your health as you enjoy this weeks produce!

QUICKIES: EASY, TASTY IDEAS FOR NEXT WEEK'S BAG

QUICKIES!

Stumped on what to do with all the yummy, healthy organic produce coming in next week's bag? Try these quick and easy recipes.

Bananas: Freeze and use in smoothies 
Valencia Oranges: Treat yourself to some fresh OJ for breakfast
Bosc Pears: Take your favorite baked apple recipe and use pears. When they are finished baking, drizzle them with a little warmed fat free caramel sauce  
Lemons: I drink a glass of room temperature water, 1/2 of a squeezed lemon and apple cider vinegar every morning to hydrate, detoxify and alkalize my body to get my day started off on the right track. I will speak about the benefits in another post. 
Kiwi: Cut in half and eat with a spoon! Serve in egg cups for fun 
Spring Mix: My raw food sister loves spring mix with raisins, sliced apple, walnuts, olive oil and a pinch of salt 
Zucchini: Slice in half lengthwise, hollow them out and stuff with a nice rice and almond mixture with sauteed onion. Put them in a casserole.cover with tomato sauce and bake until done 
Spinach: Make spinach pesto substituting spinach in place of basil and adding lemon zest 
White Mushrooms: Saute with a little olive oil and garlic. Add a splash of wine or cooking sherry. Simmer down and add not-fat Greek Yogurt and stock for a stroganoff-like sauce 
Yellow Onions: See zucchini quickie above 
Roma Tomatoes: Slice, grill and sprinkle with a little olive oil and fresh, chopped oregano

GUEST POST: SAMANTHA H. SHARES A VIDEO

 WHY GO ORGANIC? CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO

 The Neighborhood Garden member (and driver), Samantha H., alerted us to this video. It has received over 1 million views. The Neighborhood Garden cannot verify factual content of the video, but we do feel strongly that organics are a better option, and how can you not want to believe this cutie pie?

My Potato Project: The Importance of "Organic"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exBEFCiWyW0

The Doctor's Office: Avocados are in!

The word avocado comes from the Aztec name ahuacatl. Avocados are a fruit, and have numerous important nutrients. They are especially rich in fiber, vitamin K, C, E, many Bs, folate, and the minerals magnesium, potassium, copper and manganese.  Avocados are mostly fat, but don't let that scare you away.  Avocados contain monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) which are a heart healthy fat, and when eaten in moderation are an important part of a healthy diet.  The high fat content make the avocado a great addition to any salad because it is a great way to boost the absorption of vitamin k (see last weeks article on bone health), vitamins D and E and carotenoids.  Avocados have a great deal of these nutrients themselves, but when added to leafy greens the absorption of carotenoids is increased by 200-400%!  The highest concentration of carotenoids in the avocado is in the darker green flesh just under the skin, so how you prepare the fruit is important.  A great way to prepare the avocado is to cut it in quarters, then peel the skin off with your fingers as you would with a banana.  Enjoy!

THINK INSIDE THE BAG! PEAR SALADS

 PEARS - THE OTHER WHITE FRUIT?!

Pears have been cropping up in our bags recently. Naturally, you can much on them the usual way, but The New York Times' Mark Bittman (aka The Minimalist) has an interesting bunch of easy, tasty pear combinations that can made at varying stages of pear ripeness. He calls pears "the other white fruit", second fiddle to apples in popularity, yet with the same versatility and loads of varieties. These salads might change your thinking about pears. And did you know pears contain more potassium and more fiber than apples? Items in bold will be in this week's bag.

All of these simple salads are dressed with one variation of this vinaigrette, made in a jar. 

Vinaigrette for Pear Salads

1 cup olive oil

1/3 cup sherry vinegar or wine vinegar (or to taste)

1 to 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine in a jar. Cover and shake vigorously, about 10 seconds and the dressing will become creamy. Then taste and adjust the balance to suit your preference. Use as needed; store in the refrigerator. 

Or if you like, drizzle the salads with oil and vinegar or citrus juice. (And salt and pepper, of course.)

A Pear Salad with Spinach and Apples

Pears
Apples
Spinach
Raisins
Vinaigrette

Thinly slice 2 unripe pears and 2 crisp apples
Put on a bed of 4 cups fresh spinach
Sprinkle with 1/4 cup raisins and drizzle with dressing.  
Dressing variation: Add 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary and 1 tablespoon honey.

A Pear Salsa

Pears
Red onion
Serrano chili
Cilantro
Mint
Vinaigrette

Chop 4 unripe pears and 1 red onion
Seed and mince 1 Serrano chili
Combine in bowl with 1/4 cup each chopped cilantro and mint
Add dressing and stir
Dressing variation: Skip vinegar and mustard; reduce oil to 1/2 cup, add 1/4 cup lime juice and a pinch of sugar. 

Click here for all ten pear salad recipes. 

The Doctor's Office

Let's talk about bone health today.  But before we get into the great bone building produce in this week's bag, it's important to mention some key non-nutritional factors that can make or break your bones.  First, strong bones in our later years are greatly forged by our weight bearing activity in our younger years.  Secondly, weight bearing exercise is crucial to building strong bones.  This is because our bodies are continuously making new bone and dissolving bone.  This bone building and remodeling process adapts to the demands of our life.  In other words, it's use them or lose them!  As with most things, it's much easier to prevent problems with our bones than to try to repair them later.  To illustrate this process I'll point out some observations physicians have made over the years. It was noted that astronauts develop thin bones in space because there was no gravity, thus less need for dense, strong bones.  Long distance cyclists develop thin bones because they spend so much time stressing their bodies in a seated position, essentially negating the effects of gravity on the skeleton.  The body is designed to adapt to whatever environment it is exposed to, so when strong bones aren't needed, the bones become thinner.  Thin bones are more easily fractured, and this can be a life-ending event in our later years…thus the importance of bone health!

With that said, nutrition plays an important role in building and maintaining strong bones.  Calcium is the poster child for strong bones and we find large amounts of calcium in leafy greens like spinach and also in asparagus.  Plant sources of calcium seem to be better absorbed by bones, and the reason may be  vitamin K.  Both asparagus and spinach are rich in vitamin K (especially spinach)!  Vitamin K is essential in transporting calcium into the bone.  It is so essential that the Framingham study found a 300% reduction in hip fractures in people who ate 250 mcg daily over those who ate only the recommended daily allowance of 75 mcg.  To put that in perspective, a 1/2 cup of cooked spinach has about 500 mcg of vitamin K and a serving of asparagus has about 60 mcg.  (Remember, though, asparagus is one of the most well rounded nutritional values containing significant amounts of pantothenic acid, magnesium, zinc, selenium, fiber vitamins A, C, E, K, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, B6, folate, iron, phosphorus, copper and manganese along with that calcium!)

Another great benefit to vitamin K is that it enables your body to remove calcium deposits from unwanted areas...like your arteries. Thus it is an important tool in reversing vascular disease.  So eat your greens every day!  One last tip: vitamin k is fat soluble so eat these veggies with a little fat (seeds, nuts, etc).

GUEST POST: SHANNON K. SHARES A SMOOTHIE RECIPE

 BRAZILIAN PROTEIN SMOOTHIE

Since we were surprised with avocado this week, I thought you might like to send this recipe out.  I learned about it in Brazil, and I LOVE IT!!!  It's perfect for breakfast or a snack, it has tons of protein, and is all natural!!!

Ingredients:
6-7 large ice cubes
2-3 cups of milk, depending on how thick you like your smoothie (any kind of milk - even chocolate would be awesome. I use coconut or almond milk most of the time)
1 medium to large banana
1 avocado
1/4 cup all natural peanut butter

Blend ice cubes and milk together until ice is totally grated.  Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.  Makes 2 smoothies.

GUEST POST: PENNY C. ON KALE

KALE - VIDEO AND KALE CHIPS RECIPE

The Neighborhood Garden member,  Penny C. shares with us some super information about the super food kale.

This week's bag includes the super food kale.  

Watch this video from on the immunity benefits from kale. 

 
 My favorite way to eat kale is homemade kale chips!  A dehydrator is the best way to make kale chips at home, but if you don't have one you can bake them in the oven. 

Click here: Hallelujah Acres has a great recipe for kale chips. 

If you don't have a dehydrator, preheat your oven to 300 degrees.   Put the kale chips in the oven and lower the temperature to 220 degrees.  Allow about 30 minutes for baking, but check them regularly and remove the crispy pieces.
I like mine a little spicier, so try them and then tweak it to your taste.