Category Archives: Produce Info

Get Healthy Co-op Style Day 1: Unleash the Super Powers

January 1st, 2013
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get healthy coop style badge2It’s day 1 of Get Healthy Co-op Style!  Today’s topic is learning how to unleash the super powers in your produce share…

Please follow along, join us, blog, tweet and Facebook about it and be sure to use hashtag  #GetHealthyCoopStyle.

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Unleash These Health-Promoting Super Powers in Your Share

by Kim Wilson, Health Coach

Did you know that your Urban Acres share contains health promoting super powers? That’s right! Organic fruits and veggies have the ability to increase your energy, banish the bloat, make your skin glow, clear your sinuses, regulate your bowels and prevent disease! Take that Superman!

The key to unleashing these health promoting super powers is to increase your consumption of dark leafy greens! You might be surprised to learn that…

  • Kale has more iron than beef, more calcium than milk and more Vitamin C than spinach! As an anti-inflammatory, low calorie, vitamin rich food, kale should definitely become your bestie in 2013.
  • Calorie for calorie, broccoli has almost double the protein than a steak! Broccoli has 11.1 grams of protein per 100 calories while steak has 6.4 grams of protein per 100 calories.
  • Celery juice is the perfect cure for a hangover! Celery is not only rich in sodium and potassium (ideal for rehydrating the body), but is also an excellent source of vitamins B1, B2, B6 and C and dense in folic acid, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, and essential amino acids. Juicing your celery delivers these nutrients directly to your cells.
  • Mustard greens can give you super hero eye health! Packed with high levels of Vitamin A, mustard greens can strengthen your eyes and prevent macular degeneration.
  • Swiss chard is loaded with biotin, which can give you amazing hair! Biotin is known to prevent hair loss and stimulate hair growth.

Dark leafy greens are the #1 food missing on American’s plates. Your UA share gives you an opportunity to incorporate more of these super foods into your daily diet to achieve super hero health & strength!

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Kim WilsonKim Wilson Pollock is a Certified Holistic Health & Wellness Consultant dedicated to helping busy individuals live a healthier lifestyle. She received her certification through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Kim’s life changed in 2006 when her mother was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer. Her mom decided to fight her cancer through nutrition by changing her diet and eating real foods, juicing green vegetables and creating delicious green smoothies and Kim was quick to join her mom in this new lifestyle!

Kim now provides her clients with information on how to lead a life filled with joy and happiness by decreasing stress and adding new and exciting foods to their daily routines. The advice she gives is positive and motivating! Kim’s mom inspired her to change her lifestyle and she hopes to do the same for her clients!

Kim enjoys hot yoga, traveling, juicing, and spending time with family and friends. She is the creator of Healthy You. Visit her at [www.kimwilsonhealthcoach.com]. Follow Kim on Facebook and Twitter.

What On Earth Is A Pluot?

August 10th, 2012
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Pluots, also called “Dinosaur eggs”

This weekend’s co-op style produce shares will include a uniquely wonderful fruit called a Pluot.  What on earth is that?

A Pluot is a plum + apricot hybrid that’s available throughout the summer.   You should leave them on the countertop to ripen, and then once they’re ripe, eat them or store them in the fridge.

Kids love ‘em!  Kids sometimes call them “dinosaur eggs” because they’re egg-shaped with a pinkish red mottled appearance. Try serving pluot chunks as an after-school snack, or with yogurt or ice cream.

You can also try these recipes with your pluots…

Let us know how you like them!

How To Revive Your Lettuce

July 21st, 2012
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The understatement of the year: IT’S HOT!!!!  With it being over 100* outside, we thought you might need some reminders on how to revive your fragile lettuce and other greens if they wilt before you can get them home.

How to revive wilted greens:

If your greens start to wilt, here’s a simple, easy way to revive them…

  1. Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice cubes and immerse the greens in the water for several minutes.
  2. Remove the greens from the bowl and they will be perked up and crisp again.
  3. Drain carefully on towels, or run individual leaves through a salad spinner to remove the moisture.
  4. Eat immediately, or follow the following storage tips.

How to keep greens fresh:

  • Do not, we repeat, DO NOT store greens on the counter top unrefrigerated, or just throw them on a shelf in the fridge!  They will surely wilt and go bad quickly.
  • DO wrap lettuce or greens in a dry paper towel and place in plastic bag in the fridge.  The paper towel will absorb any excess moisture that makes the lettuce rot and will keep it fresher for much longer.
  • Here is another plastic-free way to store greens in the fridge crisper drawer, lined with dish towels.

>> Get more produce storage tips

Are You Saving Your Stems and Skins? Make Homemade Veggie Stock!

May 20th, 2012
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We’re all about frugality here at UA!   You spend your hard-earned money on our co-op style produce, and we want to help you stretch your dollars as far as possible.

So here’s an important tip – SAVE YOUR STEMS, SKINS, AND OTHER PRODUCE SCRAPS!  They are perfect for making easy, homemade veggie stock.

From TheKitchn.com…

We keep a big sealable bag in our freezer where we can throw vegetable odds and ends: vegetables that have wilted beyond saving, the green parts from leeks, trimmings from carrots, and so on. Once this bag gets full, we use the contents to make broth.

If you’ve never made your own stock before, you’re in for a treat.  With a short amount of prep time, you just let it simmer for hours and hours, and your entire house fills with the rich, comforting smell.  Who wouldn’t want that?

Here’s an easy recipe for homemade veggie stock…

Image: thekitchn.com

>> Get the Recipe.

Why Are There Sometimes Holes In Organic Produce?

May 11th, 2012
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You might have noticed some holes in the local organic greens we’ve had lately.  WHY?  Is this okay?

A few holes in your produce (especially greens) are a very telltale sign that it’s organic.  It’s actually a good thing, because it means the produce is not sprayed with any chemicals to repel the pests.

For more info, read What’s With These Holes In My Kale?

So you might be asking, “Why aren’t there holes in organic produce at the grocery store?”

Most big grocery store chains – even those that sell a lot of organic produce – are concerned with a perfect “look” to the produce.  Several of our local organic farmers say they are not able to sell produce that isn’t perfect-looking to many of their big chain accounts.  Guess those cute local peaches with a “nose” won’t make the cut.  :)    The same goes for greens that have some bug holes.  But we’ll take ‘em!  We love the imperfect look of organic produce straight from the local farmer.  And we hope you do, too.

So you see, a few bug holes aren’t necessarily a bad thing. For me, they’re more of a seal of approval. I see bug holes less as blemishes, and more as [Mother Nature's] way of telling me ‘there’s nothing here that would so much as harm a bug, so go ahead and enjoy.’ My apples grew without the tiniest drop of pesticides or chemical fertilizers. The fact that the bugs have happily indulged in more than a few meals is just proof-positive that the apples are safe to eat. Mind you, there is a difference between a few holes here and there, and produce which has been overrun with bugs, which is generally a sign of weakness, either in the soil or the plant. But, in general, a few bug bites can be a good thing. – from hungerandthirstforlife.blogspot.com

Hear more on the topic from our UA staffer, Liz…

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