Cleaning Produce, Effectively and on the Cheap

I hear it all the time, "organic is too expensive" and people often use it as an excuse to avoid eating tons of fruits and veggies. Eating everything all organic all the time is expensive. I don't always do it. I prioritize the things we eat most often, things that are non negotiable a for my family, and the rest I do the best I can. 

I always tell my clients and friends you have to do the best you can with the resources you have available. There aren't a ton of local organic farmers markets in Janurary here in Western PA. Soon I will be joining a CSA, but when there is a shortage I have to hit the grocery store and buy regular produce like the rest of the world. I'm here to tell you that it's okay if that's all you ever do. It's okay to feed your family non organic produce vs. Processed foods. It's just better to eat real food than the stuff in the prepackaged aisles. 

But I know, we all hear it, the pesticides in the ground and soil, sprayed on crops. It's scary. And a little rinse in water isn't going to get that residue off. There are brands out there that market cleaning solution for your produce, but it's expensive! 

A few years ago, I was doing some research and discovered you can use vinegar, water, and baking soda to clean just about anything. I read on a blog, that you can use it to clean produce. So I tried it, and it worked! 

I clean even my organic produce this way as well, because I found that the solution kills mold spores and actually helps the produce last longer. I have no scientific evidence to support this claim, merely an observation from washing vs non washing my fruits and vegg in the solution. 

Here is the simple 5 step process:

1) in a large bowl combine 2TBS baking soda, 1/2 C vinegar to every 1/2 gallon of clean cold water. 

2)Add produce to solution, it will start to bubble and fizz, I like to give it a gentle mix with my hands to make sure everything gets in the water.

3) Allow it to soak for 20-30mins. I can usually do this in the am while I cook breakfast.

4) Transfer to a strainer and put in another large bowl of clean cold water. This is your rinsing bowl. Let it sit for 5-10mins. 

5) towel dry or air dry your produce. I like to use those drying mats for dishes. They're washable, absorb the water, and super easy.

This is my delicious, clean, ready to eat fruit. Nom nom!

Now I separate it in containers, and it's ready to go. The family can grab it as a snack, throw it in a lunch box, and it's already clean. The one thing I can not stress enough is that when food is all ready to eat and they can see it, they and you are more likely to dig into that than something unhealthy for a snack. We call it sports candy in my house (thanks Sprout)! 

I also recommend doing a search of the clean 15 and the dirty dozen if you're really curious about what fruits and veggies are safest in non organic consumption.

So try out this cheap soak to clean your fruits and vegg.  You will be amazed at how much better, and fresher your produce tastes. 

Easy for Anyone Prep

Grilling season was launched today. It's still a little cool, but it makes meal prepping so fast and easy; plus food on the grill just tastes so much better.

I take my favorite proteins 4 steaks, 4 chicken breasts, 2 pieces of Cod,  4 pork loin, and one rotisserie chicken. Everything but the rotisserie went on the grill. 

I also put two delicious but simple veggie mixes in the oven to cook; kale and sweet potatoes, and fajita vegg. I like to also separate cut veggies and bag omlet fillings. I always have pre-portioned salads, and a container of boiled eggs.  I keep everything in snapware (or Mason jars) so I can write what's in it, when I made it, and when to toss it, right on the lid. 

I also keep a small dry erase board on the fridge and write what I have prepped and then cross it off when it's been used up. We've all had a fridge full of produce with good intentions that never came to fruition. This makes sure you don't have forgotten food and saves you money on spoilage. 

When I put it in my fridge I keep everything prepared from snack bags of veggies, to containers with protein on the shelves. I use the produce drawers for backstock.  Protein and meals on the bottom, snack bags of veggies, and pre-portioned produce on the middle shelf. This also helps prevent spoilage because the stuff I made is right in front of me for a quick grab and go meal or snack. 

You will see very quickly that a good portion of your food savings from meal planning and prepping will be on all the food you're not throwing away anymore. 

In my pantry things can get a bit chaotic. My favorite and easiest snack is fruit and nut mix or just nuts. I write on a snack size ziplock bag what's going to be in it, and then I go to town. This week it was 

Costco's organic dried tropical fruit blend. They recently took out all the added sugar and it's delicious. I add raw walnuts, salt roasted unshelled pistachios, and raw almonds. The second snack bags were an all nut mix. I'll have the fruit and nut one with a protein shake when I'm on the go. It fits easily in my purse and if I forget about it for a while it won't spoil.  

I used to have little ziplock bags of snacksall over my pantry. Then I got smarter and grabbed a solution from the dollar store. Now they're out in front in my pantry on the snack shelf. Grab and go! 

You can use these little containers to store things for your kids. Make little baskets of pre-approved snacks and have them labeled to choose 1 from each and they can pack their own lunch! I'm not there yet, but that's my next big food prepping job I'll tackle when my son starts Kindergarten in the fall *sniff sniff.*

These are just a couple of easy for anyone, very inexpensive meal planning and prepping things I always do. Play around with it and find out what works best for your busy family. 

Visit us on the web: http://plumportionsllc.com

Take and Shake: Meals in Mason Jars

I know we have all seen the many uses for Mason jars all over Pinterest and Facebook. I bet you have even pinned a few yourself. I bet you have boards full of wonderful and novel ideas, on how to utilize those mason jars that take up space in your cupboards. So these ideas,are not at all new, and I am sure you have seen them before. So I am going to tell you why you absolutely need to make these easy shakers a part of your meal plan.

In our house we love salads. It's a great way to get a ton of good veggies in one easy meal. I also have some sort of rotisserie or grilled chicken cooked and ready for easy salads and wraps in my refrigerator at all times. Unfortunately, they aren't the easiest pack and go lunch, or pre prepped food item. I used to just pre chop all my veggies, and have it ready to go so I could throw a salad together for a lunch. Then I always found myself searching for a container to put my dressing in so my veggies stayed crispy and fresh.  When I saw this idea two years ago on Pinterest, I couldn't pass it up. We all know the best idea Mcdonalds ever had was the salad shaker, and while theirs weren't healthy and didn't catch on, I grantee you these will.

Yogurt is another go to around here. I have found that even some of the organic options out there have a lot of stabilizers and some preservatives. It's just the nature of buying anything prepackaged or pre-made. I love greek yogurt because it has about 23g of protein per a cup. Add in some fruit, raw honey, and some crushed almonds, and you have a winner with kids and adults.  It's always important to balance out your meals, you want the good carbs, fats, and proteins. This one has it all, and if you love granola, go ahead and throw some of that on there too.

Why they're perfect:?
When you add an already cooked rotisserie chicken, and a bag of pre- cut broccoli from Costco it make this a breeze. Zero cooking, minimal chopping, and tons of nutrition. It  literally takes me 15minutes to throw together  6 fruit and greek yogurt parfaits, and 6 salad shakers. Who doesn't want 12 meals done without cooking in the time it takes to brew a pot of coffee? Did I mention there are no sugars, no processed dressings, no starches, or gluten of any kind? Both recipes keep nicely for about 4-5days.

Chicken Salad Shaker

The trick to keeping these fresh for days is in the layering. In the salad shaker you want your leafy greens and your watery veggies on the top. I put my protein in the middle because I don't like it to absorb all the balsamic vinegar. Also don't be afraid to try other types of salads with this. Tuna is another great inexpensive protein to put in these as well.

 These instructions make one salad. But I set it up like an assembly line and get to business.

On the bottom
1tbsp of EVOO or Avacado Oil
1/2tbsp of balsamic vinegar
sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.

Next I add some red onion (as much as you like)
1/4c Cut Broccoli- I love broccoli raw, and it doesn't get water logged making it perfect for this.
 4-6oz Shredded chicken breast
4 basil leaves torn in large pieces
 4 grape tomatoes cut in half
4 Cucumber slices
 1 sliced portobella mushroom
leafy greens of your choice.

Top with the lid, store refrigerated until ready to eat. Shake well before serving.

Fruit and Yogurt Parfait
recipe is for each jar

1c plain greek yogurt
1/2tsp of vanilla extract
1tbsp of raw honey
2-3 strawberries sliced
2tbsp crushed raw almonds (any nut or granola of your choice is fine.
put the lid on it, store refrigerated until used. 

How else do I use Mason Jars in my food prep?
1. Leftover soups to refrigerate and take for lunches, or a quick meal.
If you know how to can, this is also a great way to replenish your stock of healthy canned goods. All homemade from your kitchen for about a fraction of the cost.
2. Water. There is a whole lot of fuss these days about BPA's, and I don't know if you noticed but those glass water bottles are about $28 a pop. I personally have a weird aversion to metal drinking things. I can taste the aluminum. I know its weird but thats just me. So glass mason jars are a great way to store water. You will save money on bottled water also! Go the extra mile for full flavor and slice up some lemons and or limes, or other fruits for fused water.
3. Pastas, rice, sauce quinoa. Have leftover of these? You can put your yummy sauce on the bottom, then layer your protein, and put the pasta or rice on top. It won't absorb any of the sauce making it mushy. Add a little bit of water and microwave with a damp paper towel on top and you have delicious left overs.

There are so many uses for Mason jars. They're an inexpensive alternative to Tupperware, and they provide the perfect single serving grab and go meal. If you are not using them in your food prep yet, I hope you will start.

visit us on the web: Plum Portions LLC Business Page