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Nine (more) reasons to EAT YOUR VEGETABLES!

Summer, means swimming, being lazy, road trips, eating outside… but one of the BEST things about the season of abundance is the array of vegetables that are coming at us!

If you have always turned your nose up at the “side dishes” that often relegate some of the most nutritious foods to lumps of overcooked, unrecognizable mush, review the latest information on just how great all those crazy plants actually are!

Mercola.com published nine clear benefits to eating vegetables. In addition to reducing inflammation and eliminating cancer-causing pathogens, other benefits to upping your vegetable consumption is the regulation of cell reproduction. Sloughing off old cells and supporting your DNA can significantly improve all kinds of functions and outcomes.

Ingesting the awesome plant chemicals known as phytochemicals has shown in study after study that people who eat more vegetables:

·      Have lower risks of high blood pressure and strokes

·      Show lower risk of several types of cancer

·      Exhibit lower risk of kidney stones and bone loss

·      Test higher on cognition test

·      Maintain higher antioxidant levels

·      Show less destructive oxidative stress throughout the body

·      Are at lower risk for Alzheimer’s disease

·      Reduce risk factors of eye diseases

·      Have fewer digestive problems (thank you fiber!)

The Stalk’s mission is to teach you to eat better and enjoy good health. It is not rocket science… it’s plant science. But you needn’t be a scientist to find the vegetables that will make all the difference in your diet, improve your well being and actually save you money when you shop.

Be adventuresome this summer. Try something new every week. Check Stalk Stars and Stalk Staples, and begin planning your summer of better eating. Find what you like, eat it now, or freeze or ferment it for later. Nothing to lose, so much to gain!

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Ahold grocery stores in the DC metro are offering a Mom-friendly distraction for children in all their markets. Exposing children to healthy snacks enlivens inquisitive little minds about just how diverse and delicious eating fresh can be. Fresh and whole, the ultimate choice for everyone. Interesting how many supermarkets have moved produce departments to the front door! Consumers' preferences winning. Stay tuned...

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Bumpy, Bold and Juicy... Who are you?

   When I came upon these wacky orbs in the supermarket, I thought great, more ugly fruit is making it through. Little did I realize I was feasting my eyes on a tangerine/mandarin hybrid called Golden Nugget. Reminiscent of the nuggets of the precious metal that sent people to California in the 1850’s, this aptly named fruit stretches citrus enjoyment from early spring to late summer.

Vibrant orange color and the most outrageously rumpled appearance, was this the “Columbo” of citrus fruit? Offspring of the Wilking and Kincy mandarin organges bred with tangerines, the shear entertainment value of these fun fruits will delight any devoted Cutie consumer. 

After the early success of William Wolfskill, considered the father of the early California citrus industry, it was the Tibbet family of Riverside who received two experimental citrus trees from the National Arboretum in 1873. The Arboretum had originally received the trees from missionaries in Bahia, Brazil. 

High in Stalk Stars Vitamin C and folic acid, they are sweeter, more aromatic and easier to peel, they also have less of the pesky pulp many people dislike. The Stalk reminds you that that pulp contains powerful citrus bioflavonoids and calcium… just saying!

 Stalk Smarts

You can almost not go wrong when choosing your Golden Nuggets. They are uniformly firm to the touch, and SO orange they almost glow! The thickness of their skin is the perfect insulation for shipping and stocking. They can be kept on the counter in a bowl for up to two weeks, if you can keep from eating them straight away or adding them to a bowl of berries, tossing them with shallots and olives, or avocados, use the juice for surprising drinks, or even peel and freeze the sections for a cool treat in the summer months ahead!

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More Food, More Waste, More Hunger

How can it be that our consumption of food is virtually unchanged in the last 50 years, but global food surplus comes in at a staggering 65%. Climate change and environmental expert Jürgen Kropp co-authored an eye opening report recently published in the journal of Environmental Science & Technology, that lays the fault of some portion of climate disruption at the feet of greenhouse gas emissions.

Chew on this:

Humans waste more than 1.4 billion tons of food annually

800 million people are undernourished worldwide

Half of global food production never reaches the plate… that translates to $1 trillion dollars

By 2050 1/10 of agriculture sector emissions could be tracked back to wasted food

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the US forwarded more disturbing data: 14% of all landfill content is food. Food that could potentially feed 2 billion people. A crushing thought when you consider 800 million people are chronically undernourished worldwide.

We must find global solutions and the societal determination to manage how and what we eat more effectively. Responsible management and redistribution is happening in small scale programs around the globe. What’s happening in your community? Learn more. Do more. Be part of the solution to food insecurity and climate change remediation… we are in this together, like it or not!

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Looks like a flame, tastes like a bell pepper... Enjoy!

 It is probably not surprising that the center of the horticultural universe is The Netherlands. This gorgeous hybrid bell pepper was introduced to the world last year by Wilfred Van de Berg and his nursery in partnership with 4Evergreen. He found this charmer by accident in his greenhouse in Est in 2013 and now it has come to a market near you. 

I took a double take when I first saw this tantalizing, vivid pepper. And WOW, it delivers all the flavor and nutrition of traditional capsicum annum, but in a festive albeit hefty (3/4 pound average weight) vegetable.

Appropriately named Enjoya, it lends itself to slicing and dicing that will delight and entice.

 Stalk Smarts

As always, choose taught, bright skinned flesh. No blemishes or wrinkling! Best kept in a loose produce bag in the crisper area of your refrigerator, these delightful vegetables will add pizzazz to salads, serve as perfect slivers for dipping and just plain nibbling for a week.

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Ugly and Proud of it!

The kiwano, or horn melon, is a gnarly little beast of a fruit making the produce scene in a market near you from spring through summer. Native to South Africa, the kiwano is packed with benefits and a great way to expand your consumption of the new and the different. Other aliases include African Horned Melon and hedged gourd.

During the last century the kiwano began to be cultivated in Australia and New Zealand, hence their increasing appearance in local markets in the US. They contribute mightily to food challenges in their native sub-Saharan Africa because of their ability to retain large quantities of water through the dry season, prosper in the harshest of conditions and deliver a wide variety of essential nutrition.

Kiwano is an example of a fruit with many uses. It is off the charts for Stalk Stars, Vitamins A and C, and the powerful alphatocopherol antioxidant Vitamin E. The Kiwano is the long lost cousin of the cucumber and the zucchini, and the taste does in fact resemble a sweet blend of kiwi, cucumber and banana. This fruit’s high water content also leads to greater satiety. Incredibly high in fiber, you can consume the seeds suspended in the gooey interior straight away, or strain them out and use the fluid as a sublime sweetener. 

Though not widely available, they are worth a try if you come across them. Use as a dressing atop a fruit salad or in a smoothie. Save the seeds you’ve strained to use as a flavorful garnish on fish, steaks or chicken. Also a great base for drinks, syrups and sauces. 

The key is to be careful with the little, horny projections. Their appearance is definitely part of their wacky charm, but they can hurt! Having said that, hollowed out halves make for fun serving containers (Halloween, perhaps?).  

 Stalk Smarts

About the size of a large pear, choose the deepest orange color. Carefully give them a squeeze looking for some give. If they seem hard or a bit on the yellow side, wait for a few days until they turn the luscious orange of full ripeness. Either on the counter or in the refrigerator, they should last from a week to ten days easily.

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Kumquats: Small, but Mighty.

One of the ironic things about spring is that it was traditionally the end of citrus fruit. The yin and yang of Mother Nature’s cycles used to take us from winter citrus to summer tree fruits in a seamless annual display. Not anymore.

The small, but mighty kumquat is an object lesson of this theory. Native to southeastern parts of China, modern day access to fruits and vegetables defies the traditional, the seasonal and the regional convention. The conversation around this global availability is valid. Creating carbon dioxide to satisfy cravings is one side of the equation. Providing farmers around the world the opportunity to cultivate and sell goods for sustainable income is the other.

I recently spied kumquat trees lining the flower district blocks in New York City. Who knew?! A true marvel as temperatures warm, the idea of growing viable citrus throughout the coming season is awesome. Looking like a miniature tangerine, packed with Stalk Stars, Vitamin C and calcium, and a prime example of The Stalk’s mantra of “eat the whole thing,” I am crazy at the prospect of growing this delicious little gem. In addition to the overall health benefits of kumquats, consuming the skin always amps up the vitamins, fiber and oh those bioflavonoids. No waste, no want!

On a porch or in an open window, a living plant gives back, absorbing carbon dioxide while delivering the peaceful ambience of growing something you actually eat. What a positive impression this can make on children (and grown ups too).

The big picture is a commitment to locally raised food. Moving through the twenty-first century, this will be the only answer. But let’s just consider ways to grow and appreciate a vast variety of nature’s bounty. Shrinking resources and undesirable methods of cultivation and transportation should be balanced by developing responsive innovations to keep our food supply diverse and healthful.

 Stalk Smarts

When it comes to kumquats, as always, feel for the firm, avoid visible dark spots and go for the ones with the brightest orange color. Keeping them in the refrigerator is advisable for lengthening their life. Not that you can resist eating them straightaway or adding them sliced to salads or seasonal recipes right before you pop them in the oven. Ten to twelve kumquats should last nearly two weeks. Well worth the $$!

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Three Great Ways to Enjoy Asparagus

Go Raw

Add to salad or build a feast of raw vegetables around the star power of asparagus. Although often added for their elegant appearance, asparagus is a hard working vegetable to eat in as many ways as you can imagine.

Slightly steam, toss or grill

The beauty of asparagus is that even lightly “cooked” doesn’t mean giving up the crunch. Adding to egg dishes is barely cooking them at all. Love them in an omelet. Children enjoy adding their own ingredients to make it their own.

Steamed standing up in a small, metal coffee pot (perfect on a campfire!) keeps the tops barely affected by the steam. In less than a minute asparagus gains the smoky goodness of the grill and the appetizing grill marks while maintaining that structural tenacity.

Ferment

The nutritional buzz around fermented food can’t be ignored. Improved gut flora, brain function and longevity are touted as extraordinary benefits of this age-old method of preserving fresh food longer.  Asparagus is an ideal vegetable to ferment. Enjoying those fabulous stalks long after the season ends will be the payoff for your creativity now.

So much easier then you may think, containers, recipes and direction abound on websites like goferment.com. Stretches your food dollar by making precious vegetables last even longer.

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Asparagus, First Delicious Sign of Spring

The crisp, clean snap of asparagus stalks signals one of the best things about spring. The arrival of this versatile vegetable means abundance and reasonable cost.

There’s no denying the abundance of Stalk Stars, Vitamin K, folate, Vitamins B1, B2, C, A and E, as well as potassium and fiber. 

Cultivated for more than 2,000 years, this stalwart of the lily family, liliaceae, asparagus grows in a mind-boggling 300 varieties only 20 of which are edible. Thought to have been part of Egyptian culinary culture as far back as 3000 BC, Europeans credit the Greeks and Romans with brining it to the continent. It may have gained its fancy reputation after having been wildly popular in 18th century France and the court of Louis XIV. He was the Sun King after all! 

With all the talk of gut health and probiotics, asparagus has the distinction of high inulin content. Like chicory root and Jerusalem artichoke, the digestive support of inulin extends to the important function of the lower intestine.

And what about the often hilarious conversation surrounding the question, “Why does asparagus make my pee smell?” Research is all over the place. Scientists have studied urine content to see what might actually make pee smell funny, or whether some people just possess the ability to smell the acrid odor after consuming asparagus. Some studies reveal that 50% of people say they smell nothing. Science will get back to us…  

 Stalk Smarts

I tend to choose the thinnest stalks. I find them the most tender and delicious, and since I generally eat them raw, they are my #1. Thicker stalks do well on the grill or packed in someone’s lunch. Children tend to gravitate to the thicker ones, all the better to dip in hummus or tzatziki made at home with plain yogurt and cucumbers. Either way, choose stiff, uniformly green and dry. Smooshy tops are a bad sign. The purplish coloring of thee little sprouts is very entertaining and an optimum freshness indicator. With low sugar content, asparagus will last up to a week, far longer than other vegetables in your refrigerator crisper drawer. Using a light plastic produce bag will do just fine, loose and not tied. 

Like all beautiful (and yummy) things, prime time is fleeting. Asparagus is a harbinger of the bountiful season to come. Eat it up, or put it up, while you can.

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Picky Eaters, Food Wasters

The topic of children’s eating habits is one fraught with controversy and consternation. A recent op-ed in the New York Times brought the conversation roaring back. 

The focus was on the difficulty lower income parents have in trying to introduce more fresh fruits and vegetables to their children who resist all but the tried and true. Children in neighborhoods without grocery stores tend to be reliant on processed foods purchased from convenience stores and fast food. Heavily laden as they are with fat, salt and sugar, young palates are less than receptive to Mom’s entreaties to “eat your vegetables.���   Mothers with limited monthly budget for food argue they cannot afford to “experiment” with finicky kids whose refusals cause food to be thrown away.

Responses ran the gamut. Dr. Will Wilkoff, a retired pediatrician and author of “Coping With The Picky Eater,” hit the nail on the head. Hunger can be a great motivator. Parents of all economic stripes need to take the picky eater on without equivocating. Toddlers become teens. Giving in is giving up!

One of the tenets of The Stalk’s philosophy is “waste not, want not.” We are constantly reminded we waste 40% of the food produced in the US. A new mantra could be “one meal, one nation!” All kidding aside, parents need to prepare meals with nutrition and cost top-of-mind. Multiple selections wastes resources, creates frustration and panders to little people’s sense of entitlement (read: manipulation).

Plan Ahead

I see parents making poor choices every day. Sugary snacks after school, consumed walking around the supermarket while purchasing processed foods for the dinner breakfast and lunch that is to follow. Planning and shopping ahead keeps you on budget and way ahead of the resistant toddler, well on your way to teaching children to appreciate foods of all types. Engaging them in cooking and even making their own lunches has a huge impact.

An illuminating study found that consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables is pretty much the same across all economic levels. A large percentage of the food-shopping dollar is spent on “miscellaneous.” Saying you can’t afford to feed fresh is just as sad as saying you don’t have the time. No matter your economic or geographic situation, take the time to make feeding yourself and your family with the best nutrition you can get THE priority. 

Grow It, Know It

An antidote to this “if you can’t beat ‘em, give in” attitude is the growing (pun intended) trend of nutrition education, school and community gardens. This movement is growing in every part of the country. Just as with meal prep, children are excited about food they have grown. Spring is upon us. Grow with your kids (or grandkids). Volunteer at school, weed on weekends, whatever it takes. Beyond the shared time, you are literally planting the seeds of the future.    

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March is National Nutrition Month - Eat It Up!

National Nutrition Month begins today! Time to review what you eat, what you know and open yourself up to new experiences with fresh fruits and vegetables. While not the only sources of nutrition per se, eating fresh, real food is the surest way to ensure health and stretch your food shopping dollar.

Vow to prepare as much of what you eat as is realistic. You are the only one who puts it in your mouth. Hurried eating, processed foods high in sugar and salt, and mindless snacking are making us depressed, obese and overly susceptible to heart disease and diabetes (to name but two results of ignoring how and what we eat).

PLAN AHEAD

Print out a grid calendar for the month and strategize shopping, meal prep and consumption. We micro-manage unsustainable schedules, but give short shrift to the most elemental aspect of our lives… what we eat! Time also to inventory your containers and refrigeration bags. There’s a reason our mothers always cleaned the refrigerator at the beginning of each season. To make space for fresh AND leftovers! Waste not, want not begins with you!

The month of March is the perfect time to review and renew your commitment to yourself (and your family). Spring is fast on March’s heels with all the early fruits and vegetables that means. Summer and its bounty follow. Be ready for the abundance and the reminder of the cycle of the fresh fruits and vegetables available in your locale.

Eat like your life depended on it!

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Peppers, How Sweet You Are!

I don’t know when it happened, but there was a time when a bell pepper was just green. Perhaps it was that green was all there was in the generic grocery produce department. Good old reliable green. Harvested once they reached a respectable size, they did dominate. Because they are the least ripe, they remain the cheapest. But as producers saw an avenue for increasing profits, they let their peppers mature and watched the public literally eat up the yellows, the oranges and the reds.

With color came increased price. That’s reasonable. Nonetheless, I do cringe at three-color packages for $5. Leaving them to mature, holding parts of your harvest, I get it, but anything close to $2 for a vibrant bell pepper puts it out of reach for many. Investing in your health, and using your fresh food wisely is always the right choice.

Members of the night shade family (eggplant, potatoes and tomatoes), peppers are not just a garnish but deliver serious nutrition. Referred to as sweet peppers, they lack capsaicin which make the hot, HOT! Sweet peppers’ nutritional content varies quite a bit. Take Vitamin A: 12% in green, 36% on yellow and 105% in red. Bell peppers are abundant in Vitamin C: 137% in green, 282% in yellow and 292% in red.

Sweet peppers have been cultivated for more than 9,000 years. Prolific across Central and South America, European colonists of the 1500-1600’s gave them the moniker “pepper” when they sent them back to the continent. Their original name, “pimiento,” was Spanish. (Red peppers are the source of pimentos and paprika!)

Eat one like an apple and always think what a pepper can do for a salad. The tempting array in the market demands you think outside the box and add peppers whenever you can. Tuna and chicken salad benefit from the crunch. Pepper slices brighten a vegetable tray and can hold some serious hummus or creamy cheese.

  Stalk Smarts

Peppers are actually easy to choose wisely. Pick peppers that are uniformly firm, smooth, blemish-free and vibrant in color. As discussed but worth reiterating, nutrition increases as peppers go from green, to yellow, to orange, to red. Unwashed peppers will keep well in the refrigerator veg drawer for 7-10 days. Lovers of hydration, gently wrap them in moist cloth or paper towel in a loose plastic produce bag. Never remove the stem before ready to use. Peppers can fare well when frozen whole in a sealed plastic bag, stretching your fresh dollar even further.

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Pulses Can Feed a Hungry World AND Fight Climate Change Effects

The United Nations has declared 2016 The International Year of the Pulses. Pulses, you ask? Humble lentils, beans and peas that we all know are taking center stage as the world population grows and climate change outpaces humanity’s ability to counter its most devastating effects.

Teodore Calles, the Legume Agricultural Officer in the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), is attempting to bring these nutritional mainstays center stage after another record-setting, high temperature year around the globe.

In announcing the 2016 designation Calles explained the need to focus attention on these valuable and versatile legumes. “Pulses play a major role in addressing future global food security and environmental challenges as well as contribute to balanced and healthy diets.”

Inexpensive, sustainable sources of delicious protein and fiber, dried beans, lentils, peas and chickpeas are climate change fighting supercrops. Millions of people the world over rely on Pulses as a pivotal food source. Farmers can eat and sell Pulses. Easily stored, they not only enrich soil for future harvests, but provide a well-rounded feed for farm animals.

Consumed for at least 10,000 years, it really isn’t news that they deliver medical benefits humans look for today: reduced risk of cancer and cardiovascular factors like blood pressure, platelet activity and inflammation. Just a ½ cup per day boosts consumption of Stalk Stars, iron, zinc, folate and magnesium.

Beyond the enormous health benefits of Pulses, the UN’s dual purpose in bringing international focus is to heighten awareness for the critical role in sustainable agricultural systems. Intercropping and crop rotation enriches the soil, increases the biodiversity of organisms, reduces weeds and discourages insect and pest infestations. Better soil doesn’t need the energy intense greenhouse gas emitting use of fertilizers.

Their remarkable impact on climate change mitigation strategies as temperatures continue to rise, lies in their unique ability to adapt through the efficient breeding of ever-more resilient varieties.

And you thought they were just beans!

  Stalk Smarts: Pulses

Dried is the key word here. Canned varieties will not yield the health benefits abundant in Pulses. American supermarkets carry a wide variety, easily brought to salads, soups, and casseroles. Although soaking and preparation methods may vary, lentils, beans and peas are easily “eyeballed” in plastic bags for consistent size, color and lack of moisture caused by a broken bag.

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Valentine Beetlove!

A marvelous evolution is taking place. Valentine’s Day, the paean to candy, sugary treats and red #2, is taking a turn for the better thanks to the clever and the nutrition-conscious. Imaginative uses for beets, their juice and their tops are all over foodie sites as the sassy little holiday approaches.

My vote for #1 use of the beet for a Valentine treat is a cake cooked up by @heartbeetkitchen. Beets add sweetness and moisture to chocolate cake and their juice puts the pink in your frosting. Healthier yes, but a real enhancement to taste. I have written before about teaching your children to cook. Hiding vegetables in familiar looking dishes is no way to teach children the value of eating healthfully. When children are engaged they look forward to consuming their handiwork and cultivate a healthy relationship with food.

High in Stalk Stars, fiber, folate, potassium and iron, plus vitamins C and B6; beets eaten whole or just juiced are an incredible addition to your diet. And if beets do make you live longer, count me in!

Reject the naysayers who poo-poo the genuine message of Valentine’s Day. Love... Notes on the bathroom mirror, homemade hearts and healthy concoctions. Valentines, like food itself, start with loving yourself.

Health is happiness, spread it around!

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Pear Update: 2016 A Bountiful Year

Yesterday the winter reality hit me. A head of lettuce is $3.49 a pound and puny, tomatoes are colorless and hard, it is a rough season for many of the fresh produce stars we all love. But a beacon shone as I rounded aisle one in the supermarket... PEARS! From the crunch of a Bosc to the familiar sweet of the Bartlett, pears infuse the winter with a delicious and reliable fresh fruit option.

Pears seem more varied than ever. Last year’s pear Stalk Smarts still apply (see below), but with so much juicing going on these days, I wanted to reemphasize the value of consuming the pulp. Removing it reduces the phytonutrients by 40%. That’s key fiber down the drain.

The U.S. imports 75 metric tons of pears annually. That means you literally have tons of opportunity to eat pears! Add pears to salads, baked dishes, juicing recipes or simply eat a pear. They are a bright spot in a gloomy season with serious benefits for your body.

Brush up on the below and get in on this fabulous fruit!

Let’s Review: Pears, Mighty Giants of the Rose Family

Another standout from the rose family (apples, apricots, strawberries, peaches, plums, even almonds!), pears are entering seasonal availability in glorious variety: Bartlett, Bosc, Cornice, Green and Red Anjou just for starters. Vibrant shades of green, red, yellow/gold and brown draw you to this incredible fruit, small in size, but outsized in benefits to your health.

In the U.S. we see mostly European pears, but worldwide there are more than 3,000 varieties. Known for extremely high fiber content plus Stalk Stars, Vitamins C and K, pears’ anti-cancer properties are astounding. Stomach, colorectal and esophageal cancers are no match for the phenol phytonutrients found in the mighty pear.

The pear is another fruit that touts the amazing content of its skin. With 3-4 times as much benefit in the skin of the average pear as there is in the flesh, the skin provides half the fiber of this fiber-rich fruit.

The low acidity of pears explains why they are often one of the first solid food babies eat. Easily digested, they are ideal for juicing. Toss in a blender (not in a pulp-reducing juicer) to retain as much of the fiber as possible.

Stalk Smarts: Pears

For the best ripeness indicator go for vibrant color and a gentle pinch around the stem! Press the fruit at the base of the stem, rather than feeling the whole fruit. Just like Goldilocks, if it gives too easily to your hand it’s overripe, too hard means a couple of days in a brown paper bag at room temperature. Perfect ripeness if fleeting. Two to three days in the fridge is all you’ve got. Sealed plastic bags and small space is the enemy. And keep away from strong smelling foods. Pears are highly absorbent. If they should be come overripe, best to cook them in a tart or poach them in apple juice or wine. 

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Off the Stalk: Beware the Cellophane Bagged Produce

An overwhelming wall of bags has begun to dominate the produce department in supermarkets across the country.  The small pile of actual heads of lettuce dwindles as shoppers seem to inhale the bagged greens with abandon. Rarely do I see these absent-minded consumers eyeballing the contents or checking the “sell by” date. What?

The notion of regenerated cellulose with its low permeability (it “breathes”) as an ideal delivery medium for your healthful consumption of greens and other vegetables is barely a better than average idea. It may be great for cigars, but not fresh greens and vegetables. Although 100% biodegradable, the manufacturing bioproducts created in manufacturing cellophane have outsized environmental impact. They add to the unrelenting cycle of pollutants we have yet to remediate in any meaningful way.  

I hear people saying that time after time they end up throwing the bags away (unopened!) because they just didn’t get around to eating them until it was too late. Watery, flat and fetid bagged produce adds to the staggering 40% of food wasted in the U.S. alone.

Stalk Smarts: If you MUST buy bagged produce

When you first get home, remove the contents of the bag, pat it out on a couple of squares of paper towel, roll it all up and return to the light, highly recyclable, produce bag found at the market. Staving off the ravages of moisture will generally lengthen the usable life of your greens for the two to three days you need to consume them.

Healthy for you should be healthy for the planet too!

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Kohlrabi: Space Alien?

A relatively obscure vegetable native to Europe’s central region, kohlrabi is popping up in farmers markets looking like a multi-tentacled space alien. The variety of colors speaks to the enthusiasm for breeding this nutritious member of the Brassica oleracea family. Their more familiar cousins include cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, kale and collard greens. The word “kohl” actually means cabbage in German. Often, as in the picture above taken at the Union Square Greenmarket, the stems have been removed leaving the impression of a vegetable with a thousand eyes!

Nutritious? No question. With Stalk Stars, Vitamin C, potassium and folate leading the list, kohlrabi is an abundant source of serious nutrition.  Among its many attributes, kohlrabi aids digestion, helps regulate metabolism, strengthens bones, improves vision health and protects muscle and nerve function. As The Stalk loves to remind you, high fiber content (in abundance in kohlrabi) leads to satiety contributing mightily to weight loss.

Eaten raw they taste a bit like broccoli stems, but sweeter. Naturally neutral they can work well with all kinds of condiments, herbs and complimentary vegetables. And don’t forget the leaves can also be eaten raw (salad), or cooked (think collard greens).

Stalk Smarts: Kohlbari

Look for this part bulb, part bundle of greens to be the size of a softball. Larger bulbs will taste woody. After removing the stems and a rough second exterior layer, the useable portion now may be a bit smaller yield, something to consider when purchasing. Selection is easy. They are hard, and rarely have any soft spots or bruises. Since most of us don’t have root cellars, put them in light plastic bags (not zip lock) in the refrigerator drawer where they can last for at least a month... plenty of time to decide what to do with this ridiculously versatile vegetable.