Archive For The “Health” Category
If it were not for the South American country of Chile, we would not have a lot of 
produce items during the winter (which is Chile’s summer), or at least if so it would be a lot more expensive. I’ve lamented over the California grape season ending, because their grapes were fabulous this year. Chile will be stretched to equal the quality and taste of California this winter, and if they do it will probably be later in the season. Best buys on Chilean grapes at your store should occur during February and March…..There also are peaches, nectarines and plums now available from Chile, as well blueberries and raspberries.
The Chileans do a good job of growing fresh produce, wine grapes and salmon — and they just keep getting better. I’ve been to Chile and have witnessed it first hand. A great country — and lovely people!!
Do I ever love asparagus! Absolutely, it’s in my top five
favorites with it come to veggies! Not only does it taste great
but it is one of the most nutritious vegetables around.
Asparagus is the leading supplier of folic acid. It’s also a good
source of potassium, fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B6
and thiamin. Asparagus is low in sodium and contains no fat
or cholesterol. Cooking asparagus takes only minutes. It can be boiled, steamed, microwaved or stir-fried. You absolutely do not want to overcook asparagus. Overcooking will cause the asparagus to lose many of the nutrients.
Trim the stem ends slightly. Boil asparagus in ½ cup of water or steam in the steamer in 1 ½ -2 inches of water. Either method takes about 6-8 minutes. Cook until crisp and tender.
To microwave asparagus, use a microwavable baking dish or
bowl. If cooking whole spears, arrange with the tips in the
center. Add ¼ cup of water, cover and cook for 4-7 minutes
for spears, 3-5 for cuts and tips. To stir-fry, cut spears
diagonally in ½ inch pieces, leaving the tips whole. In a
skillet, add pieces of butter or hot oil and cook at
medium-high heat for only 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly
until tender.
When everything we seem to buy anymore is going up in price, two items that should be bucking the trend are pears and kiwifruit. Both are now in abundance.
Wholesale pear prices have actually dropped a little from last season coming of Washington state. The question is whether you’ll see any lower prices at retail. Retailers love to pay less for product, yet pocket the savings for themselves. Much of it depends on how much competition the retailer is facing. I’ve tried 3 varieties of pears so far this season. The Bartlett pears were tasty and juicy; yum, yum. However, the Bosc variety and Red pear was not nearly as good.
I recently wrote about kiwifruit from New Zealand and Italy with NZ winning the taste competition. Now kiwi from California is in abundance and it’s really good in quality and taste. While retail prices on many produce items are climbing, kiwi continues to be one of the best buys in the produce department.
Strawberries are one of the coolest items on God’s green earth. They also are 
one the tastiest. Love ’em straight up, on cereal, ice cream, dipped in chocolate, or just about any other imaginable way. The berries in your local supermarket are probably a little pricey right now, but expect better deals as volume increases from California, which has the largest volume and the best quality on just about any given year.
Strawberries also are very healthy. These berries are supposed to reduce constipation and help prevent colon cancer as they enter the intestines and wash away harmful toxins. There are many other healthful pluses to strawberries ranging to improving memory to aiding better eye sight….You can get whiter teeth brushing with strawberries and baking soda by mashing the berries and mixing it with the baking soda!
This probably won’t make big news, but head lettuce grown in Arizona fields south of Phoenix and shipped to a few areas in the west have been pulled from the market. The grower and shipper of the lettuce is Growers Express of Salinas, CA. The vegetable company is already receiving high praise as it pulled its product from the market even though there is nothing known to be wrong with it. Apparently a separate lettuce field not too far away was found to have Somenella. As a precauation Growers Express decided to remove it’s lettuce from retail stores, even though none of its lettuce had tested positive for food containmation. In the wake of the Colorado cantaulope debacle last year resulting in several deaths, extra precautions are apparently being taken by some produce companies.
Texas grapefruit each winter is typically one of my favorites for eating. First, I can usually count on the taste and quality to be good. Second, since I live in the 
Midwest, freight rates from the Lower Rio Grande Valley are lower than to much farther destinations, thus retail prices are more reasonable. So far, my store has been carrying grapefruit that is relatively small in size, but the quality and taste has been there. One caution. I’ve been buying it in the three-pound bags which normally contain about 7 pieces of the citrus. However, upon close examination of the grapefruit in the bags, some bags contain one piece of fruit with a dark discoration indicating it is breaking down….Grapefruit will store longer if you refrigerate it, but I prefer keeping and eating it at room temperature for the full flavor.
These furry looking little “critters” are one of my favorites! Great for breakfast or snacks. My local supermarket has been carrying Kiwis from both Italy and New Zealand. Nobody loves Italian pasta more than I, but I’m sorry the kiwi from Italy I’ve bought is hard a rock. I take it home and two weeks later it’s still that way. Out of desperation, I finally cut it open. It lacks juice, sweetness and taste. On the other hand the New Zealand kiwi has been excellent…..When purchasing kiwi look for firmness when feeling the fruit that “gives” slightly when pressing it. Kiwi with wrinkels is showing shrink, and will be — if not already, over ripe and past its prime….Pricewise, it’s been one of the best buys in the produce department.
With a huge Washington state apple crop in full swing now, choices are good for 
different varieties of apples in you supermarket. Soaring popularity is the Honeycrisp variety. The Pink Lady also is becoming more popular, while in recent years the Fuji and Gala varieties have become favorites. Washington state hand picks 10 to 12 billion, that’s billion with a “B” apples a year. No machine harvesting is done. The state provides as many apples each season as all the other states combined. Washington also has older varieties such as the Red Delicious and Golden Delicious, Braeburn, Jonagold and Cameo. Many supermarkets will carry recipes and suggestions for what varieties are best for certain uses, or you can look this info up on line.
Sadly, the California table grape season is all but over. The red grapes,
particularly the last half of the season have been fantastic — so firm and sweet! We’re fortunate, because some seasons the fruit has been history before the end of the year….We’ll now starting getting imported grapes. As it typical with early season grapes from just about anywhere, you’ll be disappointed in the first arrivals in your stores. They normally lack the sugar content. Perhaps Chile will prove me wrong this season. Let’s hope. But get prepared for sour grapes at the get go.
Although haulproduce.com is primarily for long haul truckers and their profession, Shopping Tips is to help you during visits to the produce department in your local supermarket. Unfortunately, most employees working the produce racks don’t know straight up about the product they are putting on display. This is because so many retail chains don’t take the time to properly train their employees in the care and handling of produce, much less provide them with the information to assist shoppers in making good buying descisions regarding such things as quality and taste. Like just about everything else in American the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables has gone up, so hopefully Shopping Tips will help give you a better bang for your buck at your favorite retail store, roadside stand, or farmer’s market. Eat healthy, feel better, live longer.