Myths about Healthy Eating, the Fruits and Veggies Edition:
I hear all the time, it costs too much to eat fruits and vegetables.That excuse can no longer be used... Here are some ways to cut costs on fruits and veggies, ideas to incorporate more into your diet, and ways to preserve that produce before it goes completely bad...
How to save on fruits and veggies, and EAT MORE of them:
1) Buy in-season produce
Look at the weekly ads, see what is on sale that week and plan your meals accordingly. This week my local Ralph's has plums on sale for $0.99 a pound, and red or green leaf lettuce heads are $0.99 each. For a couple bucks you can make a salad with the lettuce and a cut up plum (still a little crunchy is just fine). Sprinkle with some nuts of your choice, splash on some vinaigrette dressing and SCORE! You have an amazing salad to compliment your dinner tomorrow night.
2) Pick frozen
No one ever said you had to buy just the frozen stuff to be healthy (well, at least this dietitian didn't). Eating frozen fruits and veggies are perfectly fine, and in some cases are packed with more nutrition than the stuff you buy fresh in the produce section. To get the most bang for your buck, make sure you purchase fruits and veggies withOUT added junk in them. Read the ingredients and make sure only the fruit or veggie is listed.
You do NOT want to see this: ingredients: corn, salt, butter.... etc.
You want to see: ingredients: corn.
I know most people say that frozen doesn't taste as good as the fresh, well.... pick your battles. My husband will not let frozen broccoli in the house. He only wants fresh, so I buy other frozen products to make sure we compromise. One of my favorites: frozen bell pepper to add to skillet meals or pasta sauce to give my spaghetti a little extra color and flavor.
3) Get creative
Buy the canned stuff and find fun ways to prepare it! As long as you are buying fruit packaged in it's own juice or light syrup you should be good (none of that heavy syrup stuff). For the veggies, make sure you buy no-added salt products. Used the canned stuff to add some extra canned tomatoes to your pasta dish, or put some canned mandarin oranges in your fruit salad. You can even put some grilled pineapple on chicken chicken with a little bit of teriyaki sauce.
One of the best reasons to adapt to canned fruits and veggies is because they do not go bad like the fresh stuff. If you didn't have time to get to the grocery store this week, no problem you can whip something up with the canned goods you have at home AND not sacrifice by not eating your fruits and veggies this week. The best of both worlds.
4) Buy from your local farmers!
I love taking my kids to the local farmer's market to get some produce. I have never seen my oldest eat so many pieces of fruit in her whole life. Last time we went, she spent her OWN MONEY to buy fresh peaches, nectarines, grapes, and plums. It was too cute watching her talk with the farmer's about the foods and which ones she wanted to eat. Side note, the samples they had got her even more excited about buying everything. Because of her excitement, one of the farmer's was happy to give her a few bunches of grapes on the house.
At your local farmer's market, not only will you get some wonderful experiences for your family, but you will also get some of the freshest fruits and veggies around. The farmer's can help you pick the best produce and to know when it will be perfectly ripe. This will help eliminate waste! Not to mention, the farmer's are often more than happy to throw in an extra piece of fruit on top of what you already bought at no cost (the grocery store NEVER does that).
5) Freeze it yourself OR make something different
If you have produce that is getting overly ripe and you have not eaten it yet... again, get creative. You can quickly cut up that bell pepper and put it in a freezer ziploc bag, push out all of the air and put it in the freezer for the next time you make spaghetti. Just don't forget to label it (put what it is and the date you packaged it).
Another good idea is to make something different than you normally would. Think banana bread. You won't finish your bananas before they go brown, then mash them and make a quick banana bread! You can take this same principle and apply it to other produce. Recently, I had some slightly overly ripe grape tomatoes. Instead of throwing them away because they looked a little shriveled up, I cooked them up! I diced them, put them in a pan with a little olive oil, fresh garlic, basil and sautéed them. Once the room smelled wonderful, I pulled them off the stove and used as the pizza sauce for a pizza I made that night. It tasted amazing!! It was so good, I made them again the following night to put on top of bread.
6) Repurpose your produce
If you didn't get to the produce in time to eat it, freeze it or cook it up in a different way... at least you can compost it. Start a composting bin and put all of your slightly decomposing fruits and veggies in there after you clean out your fridge. Bad image, I know but you've done it at least once in your life! You can also add trimmings from other produce that you actually ate on time.
Composting can not only help with supplying fertilizer for your own personal garden, but it can also help take away a little bit of the sting from letting your produce get too ripe.
Final thoughts
To avoid your produce from spoiling before you eat it keep these things in mind:
- Write a list of all the produce you have in your fridge and put it on your fridge with a magnet.
- If it's out of site, it's out of mind. The list will remind you every time you walk by the fridge that there is some amazing produce in there waiting to be eaten!
- Or the list can serve as a reminder that it may be getting close to being overly ripe, and remind you to get it ready to put it in the fridge. Again, keep a list of what you have stocked up on in your freezer for later use.
- After purchasing fruits and veggies from the store or farmer's market, take them home and prepare them... right away, before putting them away! [Caution, this can only be done for certain types of produce and is definitely not a good idea to do with highly perishable produce like berries, but this can help you to eat more fruits and veggies by making them quick and easy to grab later in the week.]
- You bought celery to use for "frog on a log" later this week (you know, the snack with celery topped with peanut butter and raisins)? Make sure you cut the celery sticks up before putting them in the fridge. When you are done, put them in a little bit of water in a container and place them front and center in the fridge so they are there staring at you when you open the doors looking for a quick snack to whip up.
- Plan your meals! Don't just go to the store and buy what ever produce you think you will need for the week.
- Plan you meals out for the week (or two) and buy your produce accordingly while at the grocery store or farmer's market. This will help to make sure you do not over buy.
- Be sure to plan ahead for any nights you won't be able to make dinner... back to school night, soccer, or the monthly get together you have with your friends this Saturday night.
- Being creative is key!!
- Make fruits and veggies differently than you have in the past. Don't be scared to try new recipes. And certainly, don't be afraid to TRY NEW fruits and veggies!!
Remember, make small changes NOW in anticipation for bigger changes in the future.
Starting today by doing something small is the key to your success when it comes to eating healthy!
Enjoy! KC
