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In Season: Kale

YumSugar — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 09:00:33 -0800

It's a shame that so many varieties of kale wind up as garnish on a plate, because the truth is, this dark, tender green tastes divine. Unlike iceberg lettuce, this sweet relative of cabbage happens to be loaded with nourishing nutrients. While the leaves are often available year-round, the peak of kale's season is in the Fall and Winter, so right now it is abundant at the market. To find out what to look for in kale,

Do You Know Your Fall Produce?

partysugar — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 05:30:50 -0700

Happy Fall! To encourage the consumption of the fabulous fruits and vegetables of Fall, we're making this week all about Fall produce. Our recipes, tips, and ideas will incorporate seasonal crops. To kick things off, I've put together this fun little quiz. I'll name a fruit or vegetable and you have to decide its season. Ready?

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Can You Identify the Produce?

FitSugar — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:00:00 -0700

Last night on the Biggest Loser a lot of the contestants were not able to identify certain foods in the produce section of the grocery store. Fruits and veggies can be hard to identify but knowing what's what is key to eating a healthy diet, so I'm curious how well you know your produce. Take this little quiz and see if you can identify different types of produce.

Question 1

1 of 10

These are called what?

What's Your Favorite Kind of Bell Pepper?

YumSugar — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 11:19:08 -0700

Bell peppers are in season in many parts of the country right now. I picked up some delicious yellow peppers at the farmers market this weekend, though my default is usually red peppers. How about you?Source

What's Your Favorite Kind of Bell Pepper?

Red

Green

Yellow

Orange

It all depends on how I'm eating them.

I don't care for bell peppers in any color.

Other — I'll tell you in a comment below.

When To Buy Organic

FitSugar — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 05:30:00 -0700

Food costs are rising and making decisions about when to go organic a little more complicated. When it comes to produce here are recommendations from the Environmenal Working Group of fruits and veggies to buy organic whenever you can.

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Bananas: Organic vs. Conventional

FitSugar — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:00:00 -0700

Deciding whether to buy organic or conventional bananas is a toughie. Organic ones are more expensive (usually at least 30 cents more per pound), and I've noticed that they seem to bruise more easily – anyone else notice that, too? The major difference between the two are that conventional bananas are grown with synthetic fertilizers, insecticides, and herbicides to protect the crops from mold, bugs, and disease. On the other side, organic farmers use natural fertilizers such as manure and seaweed, insect predators and barriers to prevent pests, and they weed by hand or mulch in order to prevent weeds.

You may be thinking that all those chemicals used to grow conventional bananas are no big deal because you peel the fruit. But the chemicals are not just on the outside of the banana — they leach into the soil that is used to grow the produce. So even if you peel your banana, it doesn't prevent you from ingesting small amounts of those chemicals. Although you may feel better knowing most experts agree that the amount you ingest poses little threat to your health. If you're concerned about the nutritional value of your food, there are ongoing studies exploring the connection between pesticides and nutrients in foods; so far it looks like organic is healthier. Organic produce is also better for the planet since chemical pesticides make their way into the soil and run off into water sources.

With the sky-rocketing prices of food, buying organic may not be feasible all the time. Bananas, along with avocados, mangos, papayas, and pineapples have been found to have the lowest pesticide residue. However, apples, cherries, grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, raspberries, strawberries have very high pesticide residues so you might want to splurge on organic.

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How Do You Feel About Stickers on Produce?

partysugar — Wed, 21 May 2008 10:16:20 -0700

How Do You Feel About Stickers on Produce?

I don't buy produce with stickers on it.

They don't bother me.

As long as they peel off easily, I don't mind them.

Those little stickers are so annoying!

Other — I'll tell you what I think of produce stickers below.

Gordon Wants to Outlaw Out-of-Season Produce

YumSugar — Mon, 12 May 2008 06:45:24 -0700

Should serving non-seasonal food be outlawed? Gordon Ramsay thinks so. He recently spoke to the BBC News and told them his opinion. During the interview he said:

Chefs should be fined if they haven't got ingredients in season on their menu. I don't want to see asparagus on in the middle of December, I don't want to see strawberries from Kenya in the middle of March. I want to see it home grown.

He's so passionate about this, he's actually brought the issue to UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

However something tells me that England won't be seeing a ban anytime soon. There's big business in the food import industry, and shouldn't people have the right to choose what they want to eat? Sorry Gordon, but I disagree with you on this one. Also, do you think everything on his restaurants' menus are grown locally? The Guardian says they're not.

To watch the interview where Gordon speaks his mind, just

Buy Produce Throughout the Week

FitSugar — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 02:30:00 -0700

I used to always go on one big grocery store run on Sunday afternoons. I'd make a list for the week and get all the produce I thought I'd need for all my meals and snacks. Having all those fruits and veggies around did inspire me to eat them, but by the end of the week everything started to wilt and lose its firmness (and its appeal). That's because the vitamins and minerals in produce start to diminish as soon as they are harvested. So if they stay in your fridge too long, the less healthy they are for you. Not to mention they're also less flavorful, which means they'll be less tempting to eat.

Instead of going on one weekly grocery store shopping spree, try to spread out your shopping and go two or three times a week. I know this will take more time out of your busy schedule, but if eating healthy is important to you then you'll reap the benefits.

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Chocolate-Covered Strawberries Are Great, But Why Not Chocolate-Infused Strawberries?

YumSugar — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:18:31 -0800

A lot of you agreed that we didn't really need a grape-apple hybrid. However, what do you think of a strawberry-chocolate hybrid? Tokyo-based Fresh Functional Food Composite (FCOM) is using infusion technology to create white-chocolate strawberries and chocolate currants. They first freeze dry the fruit, thus removing any water, and infuse it with chocolate. The company has also previously tested out the technology by infusing apples with red wine.

It all sounds pretty crazy to me — can't I just have strawberries and chocolate? — yet I know I'd give it a try if I saw them on the shelves.

If you're skeptical about the whole thing I should also mention that the company is considering using the technology to infuse food with various nutrients and vitamins.

Now the real question is, will these ever hit the American market?

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