Eat the Rainbow Week 5: New Ways to Prepare Produce

Welcome to Week 5 of the Eat the Rainbow Fruit and Veggie Problem! 

REPORT LAST WEEK’S FRUIT & VEGGIE INTAKE HERE!

This Week’s Matter is Produce Prep!

Over the previous 4 weeks, we have now talked about WHY vegatables and fruits are good on your total well being and why you must embody extra of them in your weight-reduction plan. 

Now that you’ve that background data, we are going to transfer on to HOW to incorporate extra vegatables and fruits in your weight-reduction plan! It’s simple to say that you simply wish to eat extra produce, however it may be laborious to do should you aren’t assured within the kitchen. 

Don’t fear – we have now you coated! This week, we’re going to speak about a couple of simple methods to prepare dinner and put together your favourite vegatables and fruits. 

Let’s begin off with the veggies:

• Eat uncooked
  • That is clearly the quickest and simplest way to organize your veggies. And among the best locations to begin! Nearly each work day, I carry carrots, tomatoes and cucumber with my lunch. I purchase the “able to eat” child carrots, mini cucumbers and cherry tomatoes in order that I don’t must do any chopping or prepping. Simply rinse and put in my lunchbox!
  • Merely wash and chop your favourite greens, and luxuriate in! Uncooked veggies might be scrumptious with a dip like hummus or a homemade ranch dressing. 
  • Some greens which are tasty to eat uncooked are cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, and celery. Make sure you at all times have these in your grocery checklist!
  • Take a look at our recipe beneath for a scrumptious uncooked tomato salad! 
• Roast
  • Roasting is a scrumptious, simple and low-maintenance solution to put together your favourite greens! This course of might be damaged down into a couple of easy steps:

1. Preheat your oven to 425ºF (this temperature works effectively for many greens) 
2. Chop up your veggies into small to medium items
3. Place chopped veggies onto a baking tray and evenly coat with oil (olive oil works effectively right here) and spices/seasonings of your selection
4. Make sure that chopped veggies are spaced evenly aside in your baking tray
5. Bake! Totally different veggies will take totally different quantities of time to prepare dinner, so regulate them. You need them to be comfortable sufficient to eat and evenly browned on the perimeters

• Roasting works greatest for heartier greens like potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, beets, brussels sprouts, and so on. 
• Roasted Kale (i.e. kale chips) are scrumptious!
• In our cooking class final week, one participant commented that they LOVED roasted asparagus. I agree!!

• Sauté
  • Sautéing veggies is a fast solution to put together greens! Right here’s methods to do it:

1. Chop your greens into items, no matter dimension you need
2. Warmth a skillet over medium-high warmth 
3. Add slightly little bit of oil to your skillet as soon as scorching 
4. Add your veggies and no matter spices or seasonings you want to 
5. Cook dinner, stirring continuously, till the greens are tender and attain your required texture 

• Sautéing works effectively for extra delicate greens like tomatoes, peppers, leafy greens, mushrooms, and so on. 

Now let’s speak about fruit:

• Eat uncooked
  • Consuming fruit uncooked is at all times a fantastic possibility! Fruit is considered one of America’s favourite snack meals!
  • Ensure you at all times have your favourite fruits round for snacking on.
  • Attempt chopping your fruit into totally different sizes or shapes to vary it up – for instance, apple slices are nice for dipping in peanut butter, however apple cubes are a great dimension to be added into salads. 

• Bake
  • As fruit bakes within the oven, the pure sugars begin to launch, leading to a scrumptious comfortable and candy deal with! You possibly can bake fruit by itself or add it to a baked dessert like a crisp or cobbler!
  • Take pleasure in your baked fruit on high of yogurt, ice cream, oatmeal, with a splash of milk, or as is!
  • Baking is nice for fruits like peaches, apples, and berries.
  • To bake fruit by itself:

1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF
2. Chop fruit, or go away complete, relying on what you’re utilizing
3. Place fruit onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
4. Sprinkle on some cinnamon and a pinch of sea salt
5. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, till the fruit is heat and juicy 

• Grill
  • This can be a bit unconventional, however I promise you it’s so tasty! Grilling fruit offers related outcomes to baking, however it may be a enjoyable summer time exercise! 
  • Take pleasure in! Grilled fruit is a enjoyable summer time dish. It may be added on high of salads, eaten as a aspect, added on high of burgers (grilled pineapple is superb for this – belief me!), or loved as a dessert with some ice cream or yogurt! 
  • Grilling is greatest for heartier fruits that gained’t crumble on the grill like pineapple, peaches, and watermelon. 

1. Slice your fruit into bigger items (so it gained’t fall by means of the grill)
2. Place on the grill utilizing tongs
3. Grill for a couple of minutes on all sides, till warmed by means of and “grill marks” seem 

Week 5 Problem:

Check out one of many strategies above to organize your favourite fruit or veggie! Take an image and tell us the way it goes in our Fb group. 

Produce Spotlight of the Week: Tomatoes

Whereas technically a fruit, tomatoes are sometimes grouped into the vegetable class. Whether or not you think about them a fruit or a vegetable, they’re a fantastic addition to your weight-reduction plan and have some superb well being advantages!

Tomatoes are wealthy in nutritional vitamins A and C in addition to antioxidants, which have anti-cancer properties. Particularly, tomatoes include the antioxidant lycopene, which provides tomatoes their brilliant pink colour. Lycopene is thought for its advantages to coronary heart well being, most cancers safety, and even safety from sunburns! 

Easy methods to Use

Tomatoes are scrumptious eaten uncooked and added to sandwiches and salads. They’re additionally nice when sautéed and added to pasta dishes or purchased canned and used as a part of soups, stews, and sauces! 

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-Julie & The Interns