Produce Pick: Kohlrabi

roni — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 19:06:05 +0000

As I mention in the video we joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture.) For those of you that don’t know, basically that means I pay a yearly feel to pick up my weekly "share" of produce that’s grown on the farm. Every week is a little different based on what’s in season and what they harvested. It ends up to be $30 a week and I’m sure I spend that already at the grocery store. Actually I’m interested in how much, if any, my grocery bill will decrease because of this. I’ll let you know.

What this does mean is LOTS of new stuff to experiment with here on GreenLiteBites! In my very first share last week I received at least 5 things I never heard of and Kohlrabi won for this weeks produce pick. I have a feeling we’ll be doing more and more produce pick videos this year. ;)

Click here to search LocalHarvest to find a CSA farm near you!

Produce Pick: Fennel aka Anise

roni — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 01:21:00 +0000

We’re Baaaaack! So sorry for lack of updates. If you follow my weight loss blog you may have known I was on vacation. We took little guy to Disney for his 5th birthday. It’s was loads of fun but I’m happy to be back in my kitchen.

To help celebrate our return Ryan and I hit the grocery store and stocked up on loads of produce for the week. One of our selections was some fresh fennel. Watch this short(er) video to see his reaction. It’s pretty funny.

Oh! and I got a hair cut. ;)

Update: Click here to see the fennel and spinach soup I made with that bulb!

Produce Pick: Kale

roni — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:42:36 +0000

Confession time. I have NEVER bought a bunch of Kale ever. Never!

I have no memories of mom buying it. I never ate it growing up. I rarely see it on a restaurant menu. Yet I read about it all the time. The health benefits are countless. According to NutritionData.com Kale is a good source of Dietary Fiber, Protein, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Folate, Iron, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Potassium, Copper and Manganese. 1 cup chopped (67g) has only 33 calories, 1 g of fiber and 2 g of protein.

That’s a power packed food if I ever saw one! Low calories and high in nutrition. It would make a great recipe "bulker". Only one problem… how in the WORLD will I get my family on the Kale bandwagon?!?

Well, I have some ideas and I’ve been experimenting all weekend. I’ll be reporting back over the next few weeks with some of these ideas and how they reacted but first I thought I’d ask you about you experience with kale.

Am I the only kale newbie? Where’s all our kale veterans? Any ideas on how to prepare this wonderful leafy green without turning off the picky husband or 4 year old? That’s the key. :)

Can’t wait for my ideas? Check out some these Kale recipes from around the blog-o-sphere…

Update: My first attempt was a success. Click here to see The “OMG I got them to eat Kale and Bulgur without one single complaint” Stuffed Peppers!

Thanks to quinn.anya for the photo!

Produce Pick: Pummelo (aka Pumelo, Pomelo)

roni — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 02:45:53 +0000

It’s been too long since we’ve done a video and even longer since we’ve done a produce pick. This week we try the pummelo.. with some friends. :)

As I say in the video, we researched a bit and watched this video about how to peel one. We may not have done it perfectly but it was all we needed to get started!

Any pummelo fans out there? How do you peel it? Do you eat it straight up or use it in recipes? Any uses for all that rind??

Crazy Fruit Day

roni — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:47:33 +0000

This weeks video is a bit all over the place. During our crazy fruit adventure we end up trying an Asian Pear and Kiwi Berries. Both VERY good!

We really are a fruit family. Nothing beats exposing toddlers to a variety of fresh fruit. Start young! Click here to see our fruit picnic video.

Oh! and I’d like to thank Carrie for the edible arrangement. It really was AWESOME!

I almost forgot! If you want more information on the Fruit Guys click here!

Produce Pick: Sweet Tamarind

roni — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 01:04:01 +0000

Don’t know what Sweet Tamarind is, yeah.. either did we! Watch us as we share some with Batman and Ben10 and most importantly figure our how to open the box. :) For more info on Sweet Tamarind check out these sites….

I didn’t find much so if you know of other resources please feel free to ad link to the comments!

So…. who’s a Tamarind fan? Anyone else willing to try it? :)

Produce Picks: Ulgi Fruit and Santa Claus (the Melon)

roni — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:09:14 +0000

As I say in the video, we actually recorded this one twice. Of course! Why wouldn’t my computer act up while trying to squish a video session in the morning in my mess of a house while packing and trying to get the toddler a healthy breakfast before his first day of full time "camp." *sigh* but we salvaged it. :)

This week we tried an Ugli Fruit AND a Santa Claus Melon. Both were super yummy although the kid didn’t agree. It’s a short one and worth a watch for pure 4 year old goofiness alone. :)

Thanks terwilliger911 for the Ugli Fruit photo!

Produce Pick: Star Fruit (Carambola)

roni — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:46:59 +0000

Do you know what a star fruit is? Maybe you heard of a Carambola? I haven’t but I have seen these funning looking fruit in the stores. Normally near the mango, pineapple and weird Asian pears. :) Here’s what one looks like cut…

…but I’m getting ahead of myself.

This week the toddler and I decided to pick one of these strange looking fruits for a produce pick. It’s been a long time since doing an on camera taste test. The last one we did was the prickly pear waaay back in September!

You’ll see in the video, both the toddler and I liked it! We finished the fruit for part of our breakfast and I will be buying them again! Unfortunately I’m a little late, I believe they are just coming out of season and are more popular throughout the winter months.

Nutritionally these babies are powerhouses. One large fruit is under 40 calories, no fat and 3 grams of fiber. It’s not an overly sweet fruit (which I liked) so I wasn’t surprised to see only 5g of sugar per fruit. According to NutritionData.com, This food is very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Pantothenic Acid and Potassium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C and Copper.

Next time you see one at your local grocery store, give it a try you may be pleasantly surprised like we were!

Ok onto the video! The toddler is quite a hoot in this one, you even get funny faces. Not too mention he launches a few space ships! ;~)

Are there any Carambola fans out there? Do you call it a star fruit? or starfruit? How do eat them?

More info on the star fruit…

Thanks to AZAdam for the photo!

Eating Pomegranate – Video Post

roni — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:19:50 +0000

As I say the video, I had the idea of showing you how the toddler and I eat pomegranate last year but my plans were foiled. Apparently you can’t get pomegranates out of season, at least where I live. So I had to wait until they were in stores again. When I saw them this weekend I HAD to pick some up.

If you are new to the pomegranate? Check out lasts year pomegranate produce pick post!

The other "one" Ryan is talking about is the Prickly Pear video we do a few weeks back. He was right, this wasn’t the same. I should learn to listen to him more! LOL

OH! and just wait to see what I did with that pomegranate for my lunch later today! I can’t wait to post it!

The Prickly Pear – Video Post

roni — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:01:52 +0000

Yesterday I discovered prickly pears (aka Tuna Fruit) at the grocery store! I’m so glad we picked a couple up. The toddler and I had fun exploring this new healthy food together this morning. According to NutrionData.com prickly pears are a good source of Calcium and Potassium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C and Magnesium.

So in honor of the produce pick, I present our Prickly Pear adventure. Stick around to the end, we salvage it and make an AWESOME smoothie!

If you have any prickly pear advice please, feel free to share! If you are looking for more prickly pear info these sites do a much better job of explaining how to use the fruit. :~)

We’ll be picking more up soon! I REALLY want to make another smoothie without the seeds! It was YUMMY!

Produce Pick: Okra!

roni — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 02:38:09 +0000

Doesn’t that word just just ask for an exclamation point? ;~)

Also known as Lady’s Fingers, these interesting little vegetables are totally new to me. We never had them growing up, I don’t EVER remember seeing them in the grocery store and honestly, I’m not sure I even knew they existed until I started watching the food network.

So when I saw them at focal Farm’s stand I hand to grab them for a produce pick. Boy am I glad i did! It’s a great “bulk-er” weighing in at only 31 calories a cup (100g), no fat and 3g of fiber. According to Nutrition Data, it’s also a very good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Manganese. Plus it thickens! How cool is that, a low cal, non-starchy vegetable that thickens?!

I know I can’t be the only that waited this long to try this fascinating vegetable but I also know there are a lot of people who grew up eating it. So I’m asking those that know to inform those of us that don’t. I’d love to hear how you prepare this produce pick!

Me? Well I experimented and came up with, Mexican Inspired Okra Orzo Stew. I LOVED it and will definitely be buying this interesting vegetable again. It was so easy to use yet added a whole new dimension to my dish. At least it was new for me. The only weird thing was the stickyness while cutting but it wasn’t that big of a deal.

Note: I don’t know what I was thinking, but I didn’t pull out the camera, so I would like to thank House of Sims for the FABULOUS photo!

Produce Pick: Canary Melon – Video Post

roni — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 13:46:45 +0000

I’m brining back the produce picks! It’s been forever and to be honest nothings has caught my eye recently until this bright yellow melon called my name last week.

I couldn’t find much online about the canary melon, this write up from wisegeek was the most informative. Please let me know if you’ve tried it or see them in your grocery store!

Click here to check out some of my older Produce Picks!

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