Your New Year’s Resolution Goals related to Health and Weight Loss will be EASIER to achieve when you incorporate more fresh fruit and vegetables into your diet. Worried it will be too expensive to eat more fresh produce? Here are some tips to keep you eatin’ fresh and saving money. Check Out Produce Geek’s 10 Ways to EAT MORE Fresh Produce WITHOUT Going Broke.

Best if Used By 01/11/10

Eat This Now for Tuesday January 5, 2010 features: Pink Lady Apples, Gala Apples, Minneola Tangelos, Packaged Salad, and Organic Broccoli.

1. Pink Lady Apples

Ever heard of ‘em?  Ever tried ‘em?  If not, now is an ideal time to buy and taste this refreshing apple as you tackle your diet, weight loss, nutrition and health related New Years Resolutions.  One of the most dense apple varieties I’ve ever eaten, Pink Lady’s consistently deliver crunch when you bite in and a firm texture as you chew.  The bright flavor is exciting, rather tangy with sweetness underneath and a fresh aftertaste.  This apple is definitely worth a try for good ol’ snackin’ or for cooking with savory ingredients.

Pink Lady is actually a brand of the Cripps Pink variety in which participating growers must meet particular standards to call it “Pink Lady.”  The Cripps Pink variety is a cross between Golden Delicious and Lady Williams apples and originated in Australia in the mid-1980s.  If you find Cripps Pink Apples at your store, go ahead and buy them as they are essentially Pink Lady’s.  Both Organic and Conventional Pink Lady Apples are available from Washington State right now and will be promoted more prominently by discriminating retailers for the next three months as they replace regional varieties that are running out for the season.  As other varieties start to get mushy in storage this time of year, Pink Lady/Cripps Pink stay rock solid.  Now, once you’ve tried one – you’ll be a Pink Lady Insider!

2. Gala Apples

Ahhh, the Gala is the Sweetheart of Apple Eaters because it’s not simply a wonderful balance of sweet with a little tartness – it’s crisp too!  Kids love the ‘em for the sweetness, adults prefer them for their combination of flavor and texture.  Sorry Red Delicious, you’re really sweet ‘n all, but you just can’t be relied on for good texture. America is saying “No” to mealy, mushy eating apples.  That’s why Gala is taking a run at King of the apple display.  The fresh crop of Gala’s is already sold out, and what is in stores now is coming out of Controlled Atmosphere storage rooms where the best of the harvest apples were put into virtual hibernation so that apples can still be fresh long after they were picked.  But alas, even the best storage science can’t keep Gala’s perfectly crisp and tasty forever.  To make sure it’s likely to be a good apple, lightly run your thumb across the skin to see if it wrinkles (if it does it’s going to be a disappointment).  So, go buy some Washington, Pennsylvania or New York Gala Apples the next few weeks while they are still at their best, and heck, they might even be on sale too.

3. Minneola Tangelos

You may have seen this variety of tangerine before and thought it was a weird looking orange.  The knob-like growth at the stem end of this dark orange citrus fruit is it’s giveaway characteristic.  I think they look funny, but their taste is serious.  Minneola Tangelos are fairly easy to peel, full of fresh flavor and really juicy.  The flavor is sweeter than a grapefruit but more tart than a clementine or mandarin, honey-sweet with a floral acidity at the end.  Still, those are just a bunch of words.  Go try some for yourself – you might discover that Minneolas are a fantastic snack.  Approaching peak harvest, California Minneola Tangelos will be plentiful and high quality through early spring.

4. Packaged Salad

What better way to start eating better than with salads made with fresh cut lettuces or salad greens!  Stores are advertising packaged salads at deep discounts this week and quality is better.  After a really rough stretch of raw product quality issues and availability in November and December due to weather conditions, fresh cut salad producers are finally hitting on all cylinders just in time for Resolution Season as new planting in the deserts of Yuma, AZ are harvested.  Don’t get stuck in a rut buying the same old blend each shopping trip.  Take a few moments to look at the varieties available at your store and try some new blends.  You may fall in love with a different combination of flavor and texture based on the green and lettuce used.  Variety is the spice of life!

5. Organic Broccoli

Resolving to eat less pesticide and chemical residues this year?  Organically grown bunched Broccoli has been steady in supply the last few weeks and handful of growers are running into small flushes of product this week following the holidays.  Keep an eye out for in-store specials on this healthy and versatile vegetable.

Forward this to a friend if you think they’ll like it – Here’s to fresh produce!

Here’s to a Healthy New Year!

The Produce Geek,
Jonathan K. Steffy

Curious about the fresh ingredients that are on your holiday shopping list?  Based on what I’m hearing from growers and retailers, and seeing on the dock, this is what you can expect at the supermarket Christmas week:

Best if Used By 12/14/09

Eat This Now for Tuesday December 08, 2009 features: Navel Oranges, Blackberries, Jumbo Apples, Organic Green Anjou Pears, and Broccoli Crowns

1. Navel Oranges

NOW it is Navel Orange season.  Sure, California Seedless Navel Oranges have been in stores for over a month, but this week starts a good run of quality, affordability and great taste.  First of the season Navel Oranges are just alright.  December starts peak of the season Navel Oranges which are deliciously sweet, full of juice but not seeds, and fairly easy to peel!  Plus, chances are the store you shop at is promoting loose or bagged Navel Oranges this week at very affordable prices.
Go buy some.

Given as a special fresh gift this time of year in decades gone by, Navel Oranges grown in California are known for their clean, bright orange skin and rich flavor.  Instead of seeds, Navel Oranges have a tiny second orange inside the whole orange near the blossom end.  This “conjoined twin” gives Navel Oranges the look of a… well, a “navel,” thus the name.  These seedless citrus treats are fantastic for eating as a fresh snack or healthy dessert.  They’re so yummy you may be tempted to juice them, but that is not recommended with this variety since the juice of navels does not hold up very long in the fridge – so stick to eating them as hand-fruit.

Medium, Large, XL and Jumbo Navels all taste the same, so choose your fruit based off of serving size preference. (Yea.  I know.  Just like with movie theater sodas nobody calls them “small.”)  Kid-friendly Medium and Large Navel Oranges are often packed in 4lb bags, while XL and Jumbo’s fill the 8lb bags.  Depending on your side of the country, loose fruit is sold by the pound or by the each.  Either way, select fruit that feels heavy for it’s size, that way you’ll get lots of juice.  Packed with Vitamin C, a Navel or two a day is delicious way to keep your immune system bolstered.  Hey, even the rinds are useful – give your garbage disposal a breath freshener.  But don’t worry, only the rinds will make it to that disposal, you’ll house the rest yourself.  Now you’re a Navel Insider.

FUN STUFF: I have a small collection of vintage crate labels I found online from the era of the lithograph when bright hand-drawn labels were nailed to the sides of wooden crates.  I love ‘em – some are really cool, some are just funny.  My collection even includes a Sunkist “Symbol” Navel Orange crate label from the 1940s.

Fast forward to the era of cardboard.  I see a lot of produce box labels in my line of work… a lot.  Most are standard-issue brands with nice labels.  But some are really funky and down right hilarious.
Click here to vote on wackiest.

2. Blackberries

Always plump and juicy, always bold in flavor, Blackberries are NOT always sweet nor always affordable.  Though right now, Blackberry supplies from Mexico are plentiful, making them the easy to find and priced where it won’t cost you an arm and a leg to buy some good ones.  How sweet are they, you ask?  Well, from what I’ve sampled this week in the cooler, I would rate most as kinda sweet – kinda tart, nothing a pinch of sugar won’t take care of, but much better than other imported Blackberries from the past two months.  Look for aggressive ads this week and next on 60z containers.  Make some cobbler, a smoothie, a shake – or add them to cereal, ice cream and yogurt.  Just don’t add them to your shirt, they leave a wicked stain.

3. Jumbo Apples

Jumbo-sized Apples are often featured around the Hanukkah and Christmas holidays when smart retailers stock the biggest of common varieties along with regular sizes.  Jumbo-sized Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Gala, Fuji and Braeburn Apples, referred to as “gift” fruit are perfect for your table-scape, holiday centerpiece, to use in homemade fruit baskets or to slice for sharing.  Part of the reason this is noteworthy is that 2009’s Organic and Conventional apple crop in Washington State came in with extra large sizing – lots of Jumbo apples where hanging on the trees.  If you find ‘em at your store – Go big.  Go fresh.

4. Organic Green Anjou Pears

Freshly sweet and full of juice when ripe, Organic Green Anjou Pears are a good choice this month for quality and price.  Green Anjou Pears stay green as they ripen, so don’t wait for them to turn yellow.  Press your thumb at the neck, your pear is juicy-ripe when it gives to gentle pressure.  Organic pears are grown without the use of pesticides and other synthetic compounds.

5. Broccoli Crowns

The quality of California Broccoli Crowns has looked solid on fresh arrivals lately.  There is not exactly a major flush of product right now, but supplies are steady enough to support pre-Christmas ad promotions.  Florida’s crop is just getting started.  Harvested without the long stem Broccoli Crowns are the preferred cut of broccoli these days for so many because with just a few cuts it is all usable product for a side dish or veg tray.

Forward this to a friend if you think they’ll like it – Here’s to fresh produce!

The Produce Geek,
Jonathan K. Steffy