Make the Most of your Organic Produce Delivery!

Last summer we wrote a blog detailing home delivery services for organic produce.  http://tinyurl.com/73x6kwo The exciting part of these services, at least for me, is receiving items you would not ordinarily purchase.  While I am not a regular subscriber, I occasionally partake to trial different vendors and experiment with the bounty.  This week I had the pleasure of receiving a “small fruit and vegetable box” containing the following items: Braeburn apples, bananas, tangelos, Anjou pears, beets, tomatoes, celery, carrots, collard greens, green leaf lettuce and parsley.  Here are the new recipes that arose out of this week’s tinkering and additional meal/snack ideas to make the most out of the delightfully fresh produce available to me.

First, I played a game of “name that fruit/vegetable” with my kids.  The beets were a big stumper but they did pretty well with most of the other items.  I decided to tackle the greens first since they wilt pretty quickly.  The result was a hearty and satisfying Collard Green and White Bean Chicken Soup.   I baked fresh chicken breasts but it can be quick and easy, especially if you use leftover rotisserie chicken or grilled chicken strips. (Just take note that the sodium content will be significantly higher if using prepared chicken)

To be totally honest, I had never cooked beets before.  I know that beets are great on a salad, and I wanted to use as many basket items as possible (did that sound like the TV show “Chopped”?)  The end product was a delicious Beet, Pear and Orange Salad with a Citrus Vinaigrette.  

So far so good, but there are still many fruits and veggies left to use.  These items make great additions to a lunch menu.  Remember “ants on a log”?  For our modernized version, we spread some almond butter on celery stalks and sprinkled them with Craisins! They add a yummy twist to an old classic.  Tired of boring tuna salad?  Add diced celery, carrots, cucumbers and onions with some Greek yogurt, light mayo and a little honey mustard.  Toss the tuna on top of a salad made with the leafy lettuce, tomatoes and any remaining roasted beets.

Looking to bake?  Try our NutritionBabes Banana Bread or Banana Pancakes.  Apples always make a great snack, but how about incorporating them into your breakfast in our Apple, Cinnamon and Walnut Oatmeal?

Wow, I’ve now used everything in the box, except the parsley.  I use that to garnish many of my dinner meals, and I keep the rest on my counter like a plant.  Simply place the bunch in a short glass with about an inch of water and change it regularly. 

The great thing about produce delivery is you rarely receive the same box twice.  Consider looking into one of these services or joining a produce co-op.  You may just have an inner creative foodie looking to get out!

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