- Author: Pam Devine
Spring’s here and summer’s coming. We have such an abundance of fruit! If it looks good (I have to cross my fingers that it will taste just as good!), I have to buy it, and then sometimes can’t eat it all. What to do with your overripe fruit? Freeze it!
If you’re like me and can’t pass up the bananas at your warehouse store, then hit the banana wall, freeze the extras in chunks on a plate, and use them in smoothies. When the last of the strawberries are looking a little sad to eat fresh, freeze them individually on a plate and use them in smoothies. Ditto for peaches, kiwis, mango, melon, pineapple … just about any ripe fruit, frozen, is an excellent addition to your smoothie. And speaking of that warehouse store, they also...
- Author: Ann King Filmer
The low cost of food in the United States is one of the factors contributing to food gluttony and weight problems. On average, Americans spend less than 10 percent of their disposable income on food — 5.5 percent on food “at home” (grocery stores, retail outlets), and 3.9 percent on food “away from home” (USDA data, 2009).
Compare what Americans spend with other countries (household final consumption expenditures; USDA data, 2007)
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- Author: Pam Devine
When my daughter was a young swimmer, she wanted to collect a ribbon of every color. Picking up on this, my husband and I encouraged her to eat many colored fruits and vegetables as a game. Red strawberries, green kiwis, and hmmm, what kind of fruit is white? Bananas! Then we have green cucumbers, red peppers, purple eggplant. You get the picture.
We all know we need to eat more fruits and vegetables, so why not make it a game? If you had an orange with your cereal for breakfast, have a spinach salad with red onions, mushrooms and sprinkle of bacon for lunch and blueberries on yogurt for your afternoon snack. Let’s see, that covers orange, green, red, white and blue. I guess we’re having a spaghetti dinner! It’s interesting...
- Author: Shelby MacNab
Summer time in the Central Valley means scorching temperatures in excess of 100 degrees, and sunshine that just won’t quit. When the thermometer heads north, we head to the freezer in search of a refreshing treat.
Can you remember devouring an ice cream cone in all its melting glory? Gobbling it up in search of refreshment as the sun’s rays seem to pierce right through you? Savoring each bite as the excess fat and sugar runs down the arm to the elbow, before dripping onto the asphalt with a sizzle.
Wait a minute. What was that about excess fat and sugar?
Unfortunately, not all refreshing treats are created equal. Frozen summer time staples like ice cream, though OK in moderation, can...
- Author: John Stumbos
Healthy eating has gotten complicated. Fresh fruits and vegetables pack the produce aisle as never before. And new food products with added health benefits are being introduced all the time. Yet the food supply, and the agricultural system that supports it, has become increasingly criticized for its impact on the waistlines of millions of people in the United States.
“Agriculture and conventional food systems have provided the basis for long and healthy lives, and much of that improvement can be traced to healthier diets,” says UC Davis plant sciences professor Alan Bennett. “At the same time, we are faced with a growing critique that conventional food...