When I eat healthy I limit the amount of fat, sodium and sugar in my diet. In order to avoid having my food taste bland,  I use vegetables and fruits to add flavor. There are so many fruits and vegetables we can use to make our food taste delicious and healthy.  

One of my favorite things to make is salsa. I've been eating salsa since I was a kid and I'm lucky that my mom makes the best salsa. Check out my salsa recipe and suggestions below:   

What will I need to make salsa?

Ingredients:  Tomatoes, peppers, water and salt.

Kitchen supplies: A blender or a molcajete (mortar and pestle).

Tomatoes are a good source of Vitamin C. 

How can I make my salsa spicy?

Thai peppers are very spicy and packed with flavor, so if you want some spicy salsa add a small handful.

Top row : Serrano Chili Pepper, Jalapenos. Bottom row: Thai Peppers, Dried Abrol Peppers.

How can I make a mild salsa? 

Jalapeños tend to be the least spicy. Experiment by adding a few when you make your salsa. Once you build a tolerance, add more peppers.  

What if my salsa is too spicy?

 Add another tomato or water to reduce spiciness.

How can I make green/red salsa?

If you want to make your salsa red, use tomatoes and dried Chile de Abrol.

If you want to make your salsa green, use tomatillos (they look like small green tomatoes) and green peppers.

You can use tomatoes to make green salsa: just reduce the number of tomatoes and increase the number of green peppers.  

Do you have a recipe I can try?

Yes! Here is a quick and easy recipe that I made in less than 8 minutes:

Ingredients:3 tomatoes, 6 grilled jalapeños, water and garlic salt.  

I typically grill the tomatoes and jalapeños and add warm water when I make salsa. 

Note: If you blend the tomatoes and jalapeños raw it will taste different. If you decide not to grill them, just heat up the finished salsa in a pan.  

Visit our Youtube Channel to view more UC CalFresh videos.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack proclaimed August 2-8, 2015, National Farmers Market Week. Here in the Central Valley local farmers' markets are selling many delicious seasonal fruits and vegetables.  To celebrate the week, we visited The Market on Kern and Manchester Center Farmers' Market to ask shoppers why they shopped at local farmers' markets. What we found were affordable prices, a since of community and some of the best looking produce around.

UC CalFresh Educator Yolanda Lopez explores the variety of vegetables available at local markets. She was impressed with the affordable selection of high quality produce and spent some time talking with local families about why they shop at farmers' markets.

What brings families to the markets?

Yolanda was on a mission to find out. The answer? They came for a variety of reasons, from freshness to cost.

This shopper appreciates that WIC vouchers and Senior Discount coupons are accepted at farmers markets year round to help families eat healthy.

One frequent shopper at Manchester said she shopped at farmers' markets because fruits and vegetables are fresher then at the grocery store.

Ninety year old Hilano E. Rodriguez said he has been selling at farmers' markets for 30 years, including this market at Manchester Mall. Today Mr. Rodriguez had some help from Pedro Mancilla (right) who is cleaning cactus which sells very well at farmers' markets.

First time shoppers Francisco and his wife and two children said they shop at farmers' markets because everything looked very fresh.

An Abundance of Affordable Produce Available

How good do these summer veggies at Kern look? They are all organic and about $0.50 cents cheaper per pound than discount grocers offering similar organic options.

Many markets offer taste testing so you can try it before you buy it! The Market on Kern had many stone fruits to sample. They tasted very flavorful.

If you visit a local market, try something new. These cauliflower are available at the Market on Kern.

What a Great Week!

We weren't able to make it to all of the local markets in the Central Valley this week, but feel lucky to have so many nearby. We often refer our class participants to local markets to encourage them to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into their meals and snacks. To locate a market near you, use this directory. 

For some of our favorite produce recipes, visit the USDA's What's Cooking website.

What do you get when you add 3 colors to a delicious 4^th of July snack?

…a festive 7 layer bean dip!!!

Most traditional 7-layer bean dips call for whole-fat refried beans, sour cream, cheese and store-bought taco seasoning. This delicious classic with a festive 4^th of July twist from Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons can be made healthier with a few simple swaps. Give these alternatives a try to reduce added fat and sodium:

RECIPE:

1 can – Fat-free refried beans

8 tsp. – Taco seasoning

18 oz – Non-fat, plain Greek-style yogurt

2 cups – Reduced-fat cheese, shredded

1 Bag – Shredded lettuce

3.8 oz can – Sliced black olives

1 Jar – Salsa

1 Large – Tomato (chopped)

Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (crushed)

(Optional) 1 Slice – White cheese (provolone, Havarti, cheddar, or other)

DIRECTIONS:

Layer 1 – Combine refried beans with the taco seasoning & spread in a 9x13 glass pan

Layer 2 – Top with Jar of Salsa

Layer 3 – Add sliced olives

Layer 4 – Sprinkle shredded lettuce on top of sliced olives

Layer 5 – Add Shredded cheese

Layer 6 – Make a square using non-fat Greek-style yogurt in the upper left corner then sprinkle crushed blue corn tortilla chips

Layer 7 – (Spoon yogurt into small plastic bag or pastry piping bag and cut off tip) Alternate adding a row of chopped tomatoes with a row of non-fat Greek-style yogurt to finish off your dip...then ENJOY!

***Optional - Cut out small circles from a slice of white cheese and place circles on top of the crushed blue corn tortilla chips. You can use a pastry icing tip or any other kitchen tool you have that makes small circles.

Photo credits and original recipe: Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons

The holidays are here but there's no need to fear, MyPlate Holiday Makeovers are here!

Over the next 8 weeks MyPlate will provide you with tips, tricks and recipe makeovers to make this holiday season your healthiest one yet! 

Don't miss out on "Makeover Mondays!"

On Mondays the MyPlate team will post makeovers of your favorite holiday recipes.

Bonus: want to know the nutrition facts for Aunt Jan's sweet potato pie?! Check out the SuperTracker and enter your favorite holiday recipes to find out now!

A Classic Holiday Favorite: Sarah's Green Bean Casserole

Please visit www.choosemyplate.gov for more information!