Martha A. Cheves's Blog, page 56

Storing Fruits and Vegetables Part 1

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, Americans throw away about 31.6 million tons of food every year!  A University of Arizona study found that the average family throws away 1.28 pounds of food every day.  That is a total of 470 pounds a year!  And that comes to about $600 each year.  I don't know about you but that is a lot of wasted food and a lot of wasted money. 
After reading these numbers I decided to go in search of ways to conserve my foods and money and quit throwing so much away.  I've looked at many articles and finally found a way to compile them in a way that will help us all.  Since the information is so lengthy I'm breaking it down into parts.
If your produce rots after just a few days, you might be storing incompatible fruits and veggies together. Those that give off high levels of ethylene gas—�a ripening agent�—will speed the decay of ethylene-sensitive foods. Keep the two separate. Use trapped ethylene to your advantage: To speed-ripen a peach, put it in a closed paper bag with a ripe banana. One bad apple really can spoil the whole bunch. Mold proliferates rapidly and contaminates everything nearby, so toss any spoiled produce immediately. For longer life, keep your produce whole�—don’t even rip the stem out of an apple until you eat it. “As soon as you start pulling fruits and vegetables apart,” says Barry Swanson, a food scientist at Washington State University, “you’ve broken cells, and microorganisms start to grow.”

 These are some of the produce items called 'Gas Releasers' and should be stored on the counter:

� Avocados
� Bananas, unripe
� Nectarines
� Peaches
� Pears
� Plums
� Tomatoes

Cold-sensitive fruits and veggies lose flavor and moisture at low temperatures. Store them on the counter, not in the fridge.Once they’re fully ripe, you can refrigerate them to help them last, but for best flavor, return them to room temp. Never refrigerate potatoes, onions, winter squash or garlic. Keep them in a cool, dark, dry cabinet, and they can last up to a month or more. But separate them so their flavors and smells don’t migrate.

Pretty Delicious - Candice Kumai

Originally priced at $30.00 U.S. dollars Pretty Delicious is like new and it's up for adoption for $2.25 plus shipping.  You can't beat this buy.

Tomatoes

  Extremely popular and nutritious, tomatoes are in moderate to liberal supply throughout the year.  Florida, California, Texas, and a number of other states are major producers, but imports supplement domestic supplies from late winter to early spring. Best flavor usually comes from ‘home grown’ tomatoes produced on nearby farms.  This type of tomato is allowed to ripen completely before being picked.  Many areas, however, now ship tomatoes which are picked after the color has begun to change from green to pink.  These tomatoes have flavor almost as satisfying as the home-grown ones. If your tomatoes need further ripening, keep them in a warm place.  Unless they are fully ripened, do not store tomatoes in the refrigerator – the cold temperatures might keep them from ripening later on.  Once tomatoes are ripe, however, you may keep them in the refrigerator for some time. When buying look for tomatoes which are well formed, smooth, well ripened, and reasonably free of blemishes.  For fully ripe fruit, look for an overall rich red color and a slight softness.  Softness is easily detected by gentle handling.  For tomatoes slightly less than fully ripe, look for firm texture and color ranging from pink to light red. Avoid overripe and bruised tomatoes (they’re both soft and watery) and tomatoes with sunburn (green or yellow areas near the stem scar) and growth cracks (deep cracks around the stem scar).  Also avoid decayed tomatoes with will have soft, water-soaked spots, depressed areas or surface mold.

Working Wives Cook Book 1963

This is a book that is still useful.  The Working Wives (Salaried or Otherwise) Cook Book is copyright 1963.  It's hardcover with dust jacket and needs to be adopted.  Check out it and others by going to Books, Books & More - Adopt a Book

Peanut Butter, Banana & Marshmallow Cream

Some of you may remember my post where I mixed marshmallow cream with peanut butter and served it on crackers.  Well, a few days ago I wanted something sweet so I made myself a delicious sandwich.  I used 2 tortillas for my bread.  I spread a thin coat of peanut butter on one, added slices of banana and sprinkled them with a little cinnamon.  On the other tortilla I spread a THIN (not thick, it will be too sweet) coating of marshmallow cream.  Put the 2 together and sliced.  This is delicious!  I think kids would like it better than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  I know I did.

Food Labels

This is an article I found on Eating Well that I had to share. 


1. Be Wary of Nutrient Callouts
That tabbed banner of nutrition information emblazoned on the front of various products (cereals, granola bars, pasta) is called Facts Up Front and is food-industry-created. You’ll see numbers for saturated fat, sodium, sugar and calories, as well as two "nutrients to encourage." For example: Lucky Charms cereal can tout its calcium and vitamin D levels, even though a 3/4-cup serving has 10 grams of sugar and marshmallows is the second ingredient. In addition, nutrient-content callouts, such as "low fat" or "cholesterol free," sometimes appear on unhealthy foods. Sure, Jujubes are a fat-free food, but they also have 18 grams of sugar per serving.
2. Read the Fine Print
In a 2010 report, "Food Labeling Chaos," the Center for Science in the Public Interest said that many ingredient lists are intentionally unclear. "They are often printed in small, condensed type, and many manufacturers use all capital letters that studies show are more difficult to read than [a combination of] upper and lower case letters… some companies print the list in various colors of ink against poorly-contrasting backgrounds or insert the ingredient list in a fold or other area where it will not be visible unless the consumer makes an extra effort to reveal the list."

3. Misleading Healthy Claims
Phrases such as "Helps Support Immunity!", "Helps protect healthy joints!" that describe how a food component may affect the structure or function of the body can be vague or misleading. A 2010 study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior found that nutrition marketing, such as health claims on the front of a box, is commonly used on products high in saturated fat, sodium and/or sugar, and more often in kids’ products. Stick to the Nutrition Facts Panel to determine how healthy a food is.

4. Don’t Believe High-Fiber Fibs
Sixty-six percent of consumers look for the phrase "high fiber," according to Technomic, a food-industry consulting firm. Yet the product might be "high fiber" because it contains isolated fibers in the form of purified powders, such as maltodextrin. These fibers don’t have the same beneficial health effects as intact fibers from whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Other faux names: oat fiber, wheat fiber and oat hull fiber.

7. Look for Whole Grains
The phrase "Made with Whole Grains" doesn’t guarantee the product is made predominantly of whole grains. In fact, only a miniscule amount may be there. Look for the word "whole" (whole wheat whole grain, whole + name of grain) listed first in the ingredient list. Similarly, the Whole Grain Stamp—which appears on products that contain at least 8 g whole grains per serving—doesn’t guarantee the healthiest choice. A recent study in Public Health Nutrition found some grain products marked with the stamp higher in sugar and calories than grain products without the stamp. The best way to identify the healthiest grain product? Look for at least 1 g fiber for every 10 g total carbohydrates.

6. Don’t Judge a Product by Its Name
To get around FDA labeling regulations (which don’t cover product names), companies create wholesome monikers for their unhealthy foods and beverages. Vitamin Water, for example, is basically sugar water (31-32 g sugar per bottle) with some vitamins thrown in. Other health-evoking product names include think Thin nutrition bars, SmartFood popcorn and Snackwell’s snacks.

7. Wee Serving Sizes
Tiny serving sizes make unhealthy substances (fat, sugar) look less bad. Example: a 15-ounce can of organic soup labeled "healthy" contains "about two" servings; each serving has 480 mg of sodium. The FDA says that a food can’t be called "healthy" if it contains more than 480 mg per serving. But most people eat the whole can (960 mg). A better way: a February 2013 study found that for products containing two servings that are customarily consumed at a single eating occasion, displaying two columns (one for the entire package and one for a split of the package) on the label helps consumers make healthier choices.

Holiday Food Fun

Just in time for the holidays.  Holiday Food Fun gives great ideas for decorating your food for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas & More.

Great Meals in Minutes - Salads - Time Life

If you like salads, this is a great buy at $2.00.

Cleaning your Blender

A few years ago I cleaned my blender and ended up cutting the tip of my finger rather badly on the blades.  After that I found myself looking for other ways to blend foods which was a pain in the rear.  Now I know how to clean the blender without touching the blades.

Simply fill the blender about half-way with very hot water and a generous amount of dishwashing liquid.  Before turning it on, throw in a couple medium-size ice cubes.  These will dislodge any insistent pieces of food that may be attached to the blades.  Rinse well and you're ready for the next use.

Herb Garden Part 2

No, what herbs do I really want to grow.  Here is a list.

Basil is simple to grown from seeds but it needs bright light and warm temperatures. 

Chives are a member of the onion family is best used fresh.  It likes bright light and cool temperatures. 

Dill can get really tall, up to 4 feet! So the dwarf variety is best for indoors.  This is also one that has to be planted frequently.  It is one that doesn't grow back after harvesting.

Lemon balm is easy to grow from seeds and has a fresh fragrance that is used in salads and drinks.

Oregano, one of my favorite has a sharp pungent flavor and can also be grown from seeds if you want.

Rosemary doesn't grow well from seeds.  It's better to grow from cuttings or buy the full plant.  This soil also needs to be well drained but not allowed to dry out completely.  It is also one that can get very large if not harvested.

Thyme, another of my favorites comes in many varieties.  They can be grown from seeds or plants but the plants need to be kept moist until they are flourishing.

There are many other herbs that you can grow inside so if you don't find your favorite along with my favorites, look them up or talk to someone at your garden center to make sure you choose the correct one for your location. 

Also, you can find places on line such as the one I found called PH Windowsill Herb Garden Kits which supply you everything.