Prolonging Your Produce

How many times have we set something on a shelf in the fridge or placed it inside the crisper, only to come back not even two days later to find it has gone bad? Thankfully, prolonging the life of your organic produce is not as hard as you’d think. It all starts from the moment it enters your home.

The cleaner your produce is before it enters your fridge, the longer it will last. As a side note, the cleaner your fridge is, the longer your food will last as well. Gently wash and dry all produce before storing it, even those with protective skins on them like oranges and bananas.

 I recommend using a solution of 3 parts water to 1 part vinegar, the vinegar works as an anti-bacterial and keeps the produce from breaking down as quickly. For an even more complete clean, try adding a tablespoon of baking soda and a squeeze or two of lemon juice.

The baking soda and vinegar will react together, helping to actively clean the produce by forming bubbles of hydrogen dioxide. The lemon acts as an astringent, helping to close the pores of the exposed plant tissue and prevent access to invading bacteria.

Once washed, spread your produce on a flat surface and separate all your leafy greens from everything else. Interesting fact, if you put spinach or kale in the same bin as apples or peaches, the greens will become yellow and limp within a day or two.

The reason for this is differences in production and reactions to Ethylene gas. By keeping your leafy vegetables separate, you are actually prolonging their life in your fridge.

On to storage! Keep the locations that you store you produce dry. Some people prefer to wrap each leafy vegetable in paper towels until they are ready to be used. This is a good method and helps to absorb the water, keep the leaves cooler, while still letting them breathe.

Another greener alternative is to invest in some new produce dedicated dishtowels. Wash the dishtowels in the same vinegar/baking soda/lemon solution as I mentioned earlier, rinse well and let them air dry.

Line the bottom of each bin with a dish towel and then, once the greens have been placed in the bin, place another dry dishtowel on top. You can layer additional towels as needed. By using dishtowels, you can easily switch out a damp towel for a dry one and lower your paper usage footprint.

If you are interested in finding out the optimum temperatures and storage for a specific type of produce or knowing more about which types of produce are sensitive to Ethylene (like Avocados and Carrots), please check out this produce storage table.

Natural and Eco-Friendly Air Filters!

Bring the “outdoors” inside and also improve the air quality in your home at the same time. Winter seems to trap most people inside, which makes it easier for us to get sick and gives rooms that “constantly lived in feeling” that you don’t get when you can leave the windows wide open for those warm summer breezes. Luckily, we don’t have to put up with that same old indoor air all winter.

NASA found that “houseplants can purify and revitalize air in our homes and offices, protecting us from the negative effects of such common toxins as ammonia, formaldehyde, and benzene."

Having plants in the home in high dust areas also helps reduce incidences of asthma and allergies. They do this by acting as natural filters; their leaves absorb the toxins in the air and produce a healthier quality of air for us in exchange.

It is recommended to have your plants located in rooms where there is the highest amount of potential contaminants in the air. Rooms with a high number of electronics, such as TV rooms, and rooms where lots of chemicals are used, such as kitchens, bathrooms, and art workshops grant the highest benefit from having plants.

The best plants for air filtering have large leaves. Here’s a quick “Top 10” list.

1. The Feston Rose Plant
2. Devil's Ivy
3. Phalaenopsis
4. English ivy
5. Parlor Ivy
6. African Violets
7. Christmas Cactus
8. Yellow Goddess
9. Garlic Vine
10. Peace Lily

For a more complete list, as well as information on whether the plants are edible or poisonous for ourselves or our pets, please check out this List of Air Filtering Plants

Offices are also great locations for plants, especially those with little or no natural light. Remember to store any plants in an out of the way location to prevent water and dirt spills on sensitive electronics or paperwork.


For offices, bathrooms, or places with no natural lighting, Snake plants are a hearty and durable choice. They adapt quickly, with a wide range of temperature, and are happy to grow in the dark where most plants might wither.


The aforementioned NASA study also recommends a 6 inch plant for every 100 sq feet of interior. The better maintained the plant; the more effectively it will work. So make sure to research your plant’s requirements before purchasing.

One method I’ve found useful is to type out a care schedule for each plant, like how often to water, as well as when to re-pot or add extra nutrients, and use clear tape to fix this to the pot. Make sure to cover the entire note with tape so that any water spillage won’t ruin the writing. That way, you never need to look up the information again and everything you need is right with the plant itself.

Nicolas Fried Apples

Adapted from VegWeb



Ingredients

1 large apple
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons white flour
oil for frying

DIRECTIONS

Place oil in a small pan on about medium heat.

While that's heating place the brown sugar, sugar, and flour in a small plastic bag and shake it to mix it up.

Slice your apple into small wedges.

Place one slice of apple at a time in the plastic bag and shake until the apple is coated.

Turn the stove to low heat and place the coated apple in the pan and evenly fry both sides for about 20 seconds per side. Easy as that!

Preparation Time: 7 minutes
Servings: 2

Bring Some "Pep" to Your Step

Peppermint is a great herb for anxiety, stress, upset stomach, and headaches. 

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, or have a stomachache or headache, take a moment to steep some peppermint tea. Breathe the vapor as it steeps to help sooth tired and stressed muscles. The tea itself also aids digestion, so try drinking it after or during meals.

We're Famous!

Or at least, we’ve had the honour of being mentioned in a book that was recently published. That is close enough to famous, right? The author, Jennifer Browne, was kind enough to send us a copy for us to read, so I thought I would do my best at writing an amateur book review for her.

“Healthy, Happy, Gut” has been an interesting and thought provoking read on the impact of our dietary choices on the human body. The number of people in my life, myself included, who suffer from various digestive problems, is quite large and I imagine that number will only grow as time passes. Browne herself was inspired to share her own journey towards healthier eating as a way of managing her own digestive difficulties.

The book begins by informing us of the problems with food production and consumption. Most you may be familiar with: pesticides, growth hormones, factory farming, etc…

The most surprising, at least for me, was concerning the consumption of dairy. It honestly never occurred to me that drinking the milk of a cow, which is meant to fatten up and grow a calf into a 1200lb to 1500lb behemoth, may not be what nature intended for our much smaller sized bodies.

Food irradiation to kill bacteria was also something I had never heard of before, which greatly concerns me. How many people do you know that can recognize an irradiated product by its tiny symbol on a label in our grocery stores?

Browne continues her book by giving her solution to getting rid of the side effects of eating poorly and improving your life and health with just a change to one’s diet. I loved her “Dirty Dozen” list of those produce items that should always be purchased organic. She has also added quite a few examples of preparation for various food items to allow you the most benefit from them.

All in all, the book brings up a great number of concepts the average consumer wouldn’t have even begun to consider about what and why they eat. I definitely recommend the book to anyone who is currently suffering from or in remission from a digestive condition. Even if you prefer not to follow her “plant based” diet recommendations completely, there are quite a few tips and tricks throughout that can be applied regardless.

As always, everyone is different and requires different nutrients in their diet based on their normal activities and past eating habits. So to make sure you know what your body needs please see a professional nutritionist before making any major dietary lifestyle changes.

Jennifer Browne's Blog

P.S. For anyone interested, we’re on pages 154-155, chapter 10.

Mandarin Orange Vinaigrette

Adapted from Homecooking

Serve warm or cold
Total Time: 5 minutes
Yield: about 3 cups


Ingredients:

- 3/4 cup cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup Mandarin orange juice (6 to 8 Mandarin oranges)
- 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar or good quality balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar

Directions:

Place cider vinegar, Mandarin orange juice, red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, shallots, and kosher salt in a blender.

Pulse to combine.

While blender is running, very slowly add olive oil in a steady stream through the top opening of the blender.

This vinaigrette may be served cold or warm over salad greens. It is especially good with spinach salads. Refrigerate any leftovers up to 1 week.

Step by Little Step

Kids love to be involved in everything. So get them involved in organics too! When cooking, give them age-appropriate “helper” tasks to encourage interest in the food they eat.

It can be incredibly fun for kids to see their hard work (from peeling potatoes to removing the stems of green beans) on everyone’s plate for dinner