Happy New Year
Join Our New Year Resolution!

  Happy New Year to all of you from all of us!  The Holiday parties may be over, the gloom of winter may be descending and the conversation is all about losing extra Holiday pounds.  BUT, we are going to start the New year being creative and having FUN with food, We are going to talk about what to do rather than what not to do. Our basic resolution is a veggie and fruit a day!
 
What to buy? Fresh veggies looking a bit limp or pricey? Limp and expensive means that those veggies traveled a long way and ripened (or over ripened) on a truck not in the field.
  • Buy frozen veggies instead.  Those veggies are ripened in the field and flash frozen a day or two after they were picked.  Flash freezing locks in more nutrition and taste. 
  • Look for veggies that naturally stay fresh longer. Root veggies, like carrots, beets, parsnips are good choices.  
  • Watch for fruits that appear in the winter like mangoes, papaya, grapefruits and oranges, apples and sometimes pears
  • Check the leafy greens. Kale and cabbage can be good buys during the winter
 
Getting "one a day": It's easier than you think.
  • Snack on an apple instead of chips. Love salsa or hummus? Use carrots, cauliflower, even mango slices instead of chips.
  • Slip a handful or two of a frozen veggies like peas or broccoli into rice, soup, stew or a casserole.
 
Make Soup into a Meal: High nutrition and low in calories soup is one of the best ways to get the most out of veggies because all the nutrition goes into the broth.
Easy to make Start with the 7 ingredients of basic soup: Onion, carrot, celery, leek, garlic and broth cooked together for about 15 minutes.  (Basic Soup recipe below)
Make it your own: Add whatever veggies you like, meat or leftovers and finish cooking.  See recipe below turning basic soup into Vegetable Bean Soup. Adding beans or lentils makes soup heartier and adds digestion.
 
Soup! It's a perfect winter meal. Warms you up on a cold damp NYC day AND those A, C and E vitamins from veggies help boost your immune system fight off bugs and infections during dreary winter. 


Basic Soup
Recipe:
  •   1 Tablespoon olive oil
  •   1 medium onion, diced
  •   2 medium carrots, diced
  •   2 celery ribs, diced
  •   1 large leek,sliced into ½ rings,washed well to remove any sand and drained in a colander
  •   2 cloves garlic, chopped
  •   6-8 cups vegetable or chicken broth, or water
Vegetable Bean Soup: Add ingredients to basic soup
  •   1½ cups cooked white beans, rinsed (one 15 ounce can or homemade from dry beans)
  •   1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
  •   2 cups diced butternut squash
  •   4-5 kale leaves, ribs removed, roughly chopped
  •   salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

  • In a large sauce pan heat the olive oil and cook onion until soft
  • Add carrots, celery, leeks and garlic.  Cook for 5 minutes
  • Add broth, beans, veggie, leftovers.  Cook for 15-20 minutes
  • Add chopped greens like kale.  Cook for 5 to 10 minutes more
  • Taste and add salt and pepper
Note: Now that our markets are closed, we will bring you our Freshen-Up blog every two weeks. That gives you more time to post comments, send us emails, share your recipes and ask questions.  We really want to hear from you.  Together we can all get healthier and enjoy our food more. 

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Soups & Stews
Tips:

 

  • Frozen veggies are already little cooked.  Just heat them up or throw them frozen into soup or stew.
  • Make apple chips for dipping
  • Making soup? Add veggies you like.  The more the color the more the nutrition
  • Make two days of meals at a time.  Double the basic soup recipe, save half for later in the week.  Add different veggies or herbs for a change. 

 

 
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