Monday, January 10, 2011

2011 ... New Year ... New Ideas


In an effort to try to eat "closer to the source" I am trying to find ways to eliminate processed foods as much as possible. I'll continue to use processed foods in a "Semi-Homemade" manner ... I am just trying to use less. This will reduce my sodium intake as well as ensure I am getting nutrition w/o extra preservatives.

You may be in the same difficult situation that I have been in recently, the vegetables in the grocery store do not look good and are high priced. What do you do? Purchase high priced food that does not look good? Go without vegetables?

A few things to consider when trying to find your way out of a dilemma like this is to not only look at the grocery store ads each week to see what produce is on sale but also consider looking at what is available in the frozen food section. Fruits and vegetables are frozen at the peak of their freshness so they are a good alternative to poor looking, high priced produce. Canned vegetables are high in sodium so they are not as good of an option.

Frozen vegetables can be added to soups, stews and stir frys as well as eaten as a side dish.

Another option would be to visit your local farmer's market.

To find out what produce will be available in your area, check out http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/seasonalcooking/farmtotable/seasonalingredientmap. This site will let you know what is in season each month in your area AND give you recipes as well!

Another website to check out is Sustainable Table. You can find local farmer's market information at this site.

Food to Plate gives additional information about eating seasonally.

Food Network
is a great resource to check out recipes using what is in season.

Start 2011 out on a healthy note...eat fresh foods as much as you can.