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Nutrition
Fruits and Vegetables matter!
Healthy ND
Home Food Safety
MyPlate / Food Pyramid
Partnership for Food Safety Education
US FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
Health
Apples
Apples contain phytonutrients called flavonoids. These substances may protect the cells in your body from damage and lower the risk for several diseases.
Halibut Fillets
The flesh of uncooked halibut is almost translucent in appearance. When cooked the snow white meat loses its glossy appearance and remains firm. Halibut can be baked, broiled, grilled, poached, sauteed or steamed.
Meat -- Tilapia
Tilapia has a light sweet flavor, with firm moist white fillets. Tilapia can be baked, broiled, grilled, poached, sauteed or steamed.
Rainbow Trout
Rainbow trout flesh is light pink to orange. The meat has a mild delicate flavor. It is tender flaky and soft. Trout can be baked, broiled, grilled, poached, sauteed or smoked.
Home Food Safety
Entertaining Safely at Outdoor Parties
Picnics and tailgate parties can be fun. Be sure to plan for food safety.
Refrigerate Promptly
Refrigerate foods quickly and at a proper temperature to slow the growth of bacteria and prevent foodborne illness. Leftover foods from a meal should not stay out of refrigeration longer than 2 hours.
Produce
Anjou Pears
The Anjou pear is the second most popular pear in America after the Bartlett. Egg-shaped and relatively hardy, red Anjous are russet-colored. Anjous are avialable from October throug hMay.
Apricots
A relative of the almond and the peach, the apricot is a buttery sweet, intensly flavored fruit. Four thousand years ago, apricots grew wild in the mountains of China. To be at their best, apricots must be picked when ripe and plump. Unfortunately, that is when they are at their most fragile for shipping. Sixty percent of the domestic crop is canned and another twenty-fice percent dried. They are availalbe May through August.
Arugula
Arugula goes by many names: rocket, roquette and rugula. Arugular has a distinct peppery bite. It is available year-round.
Bananas - When the time's ripe
Bananas ripen best when hanging, instead of simply resting on the kitchen counter. Instead of buying a special hanger, make your own by threading a piece of yarn or thring through a banana bunch, and then looping it over a cabinet knob.
Bartlett Pears
Seventy-five percent of all pears grown in the United States are Bartlett pears. Bartlett is the standard against which all other pears are measured. Much of the Bartlett harvest goes to canning. Red Bartletts taste similiar to the yellow Bartletts, but cost more. They are harvest in July and August.
Basil
Most people know basil as the key ingredient in pesto sauce, but it is so much more. Basil is available in a wide variety of flavors, from lemon basil to the purplish opal basil. Basil has a pungent flavor that has been described as a cross between licorice and cloves. Basil is usually available year round.
Bell Peppers
Bell peppers are sweet peppers . Chunky in shape, but nearly hollow inside, bell peppers wear many colors: deep green, blond, bright yellow, orange, fire-truck red and purple-black. Green bell peppers are availalbe year-round.
Black Grapes
Grapes are divided into two color categories: Black and white. Black grapes are sometimes called red because their color varies from deep rose-pink to purple to black.
Blackberries
Swewet and juicy, blackberries grown on bramble bushed with needle-sharp prickers. Bumpy and purplish-black in color, blackberries are the largest of the wild berries. They are available may through September.
Braeburn Apples
The Braeburn apple, developed in New Zealand is red-flushed and striped over greenish-gold skin. The Braeburn is a good eating eapple with firm, juicy flesh and sweet-tart flavor. They are also good for dicing and tossing into salads. U.S. Braeburns are available year-round.
Broccoli
Cup for cup, broccoli has as much vitamin C as and orange and almost as much calcium as milk. Broccoli is a member of the cruciferous family - recognized as a cancer fighter. The best news is that broccoli tastes great and is available year-round
Burpless Cucumbers
English cucumbers can grown as longs as 2 feet. They are nearly seedless. Seeds can cause indigestion, so English cucumbers are also known as Burpless. Their skin is deep green and their flesh creamy to crisp white. they are available year-round.
Cabbage
Cabbage comes in many forms: round, conical or flat. The heads can be loose or compact, the leaves curly or plain. the comst common cabbage in markets is the head cabbage, a tight ball of waxy leaves. The green head is slightly less sweet than red cabbage. When shredded, cabbage can be eaten raw (coleslaw), simmered in soups and stews, pickled (sauerkraut) or sauteed. l;arge shunks can be br aised, boiled or steamed. Cabbage is available year-round.
Cantaloupe
Cantaloupes are of European orgin and named for a papal villa, Cantaloupo, near rome. the European melon has a warty rind and scented yellow flesh. It is not exported. North American cantaloupe is actually a muskmelon and features raised, netted skin and sweet, orange flesh. they are avaalable June to November.
Carrots
Most carrots are eaten raw, but they respond well to innovation. Carrots take on a meltingly sweet flavor when cooked. And yes, they are low in calories. Carrots are available year-round.
Cauliflower
Cauliflower is considered an anti-cancer vegetable. Most cauliflower is white, but there are green and purple varieties. Cauliflower can be substitutied for broccoli in most recipes. It is available year-round.
Celery
Celery is a wonderful vegetable, capable of subtle nuances and a variety of textures. Most shoppers are familiar with Pascal celery, the tall, pale-green stalks with leaves.
Cell-o (Iceberg) Lettuce
Pale-green iceberg lettuce has less vitamin than its darker-leafed cousins.
Cilantro
Cilantro is very much an acquired taste. Those who find cilantro palatable will soon find it is nearly addictive. Cilantro is a key ingredient in spicy Thai, Caribbean and Latin American dishes. It is available year-round.
Corn
Purists clain the only way to cook corn-on-the-cob is to have the water boiling before the corn is picked; that's when the corn is at its sweetest - the sugar starts turning to starch the instant it is picked. Corn is best from May through September.
Cucumbers
The cucumber is a long, cylindrical, green-skinned member of the gourd family. Inside, srisp white flesh surrounds the seeded core. Cucumbers are ususally eaten raw. Cucumbers are available year-round.
Eating Apples
Eating apples are those best for eating out of hand, using in salads and making caramel apples.
Exclusively at Dan's -- Yellow Watermelon
Yellow meat watermelon has the same great flavor as the traditional red watermelon, however without the acid. Less acid means more sweeteness to the taste buds. Alsway choose a watermelon with good luster and equally proportioned ends. Watermelons are a good source of vitamin C.
Fresh Applesauce
Applesauce apples do not need the same firmness as other cooking apples. If you want to reduce or omit the sugar when making applesauce, choose apples that are naturally sweetest.
Gala Apples
Like the Braeburn apples, Gala apples come from New Zealand. Galas are a hybrid apple created by crossing a British apple, Cox's Orange Pippen, with a Red Delicious apple. One strain of Gala is named Royal Gala, after Queen elizabeth II declared her preference for it. The round Gala has creamy yellow skin striped with pink, and a honey perfume flavor. The Gala is availalbe most of the year.
Garlic
Garlic is the most remarkable bulb. It can be roasted to a nutty sweetness or minced to a pungent wake-up call. American garlic has white skin. Mexican and Italian garlic have mauve-colored skins and are milder. Garlic is available year round.
Green Leaf Lettuce
There are four categories of lettuce: crisphead, butterhead, leaf and romaine. Leaf lettuce is distinguised from other varieties of lettuce in that is doesnt had a "head" Oak leaf, red leaf and green leaf and all leaf lettuces. They are crisp and flavorful, and available year-round.
Green Onions
Green onions have a white base that has not fully developed into a bulb and long, straight, green leaves. True scallions have a flat base. Green onions have a rounded base, indicating the beginning of a bulb. Scallions and green onions can be used interchangeably, but scallions are milder than green onions.
Green Seedless Grapes
Green grapes are actually white grapes. the colore of white grapes varies from pale green to amer-yellow.
Hass Avocadoes
Rich and buttery, the avocado boasts a sweet, nutty flavor. the Hass avocado has dark, pebbly skin and is smaller and creamier that the Florida avocado. Many people think of the avocado as a vegetable, but it is a fruit. In Hawaii and South Africa, the avocado is served with sugar and lime juice for breakfast. The peak season is from February to October.
HEALTHY LIFESTYLE -- ASIAN PEARS
Most Asian pears are grown in Japan. Although technically a memeber of the pear family, the Asian pear ressembles and apple in shape and texture.
HEALTHY LIFESTYLE -- ASPARAGUS
Asparagus is the heald of spring. Its tender stalks poke up from the ground during the first warm and wet days of the season. The best saparagus comes to market from early March to June.
HEALTHY LIFESTYLE -- BRUSSELS SPROUTS
If purchased very fresh and cooked with care. Brussels sprouts have a delicate, nutty flavor. As a member of the cruciferous family. Bro=ussels sprouts are thorught to be canver-fighting vegetables. They are available August through March.
HEALTHY LIFESTYLE -- CARA CARA NAVEL ORANGES
Cara Cara Navel Oranges are becoming a very popular citrus item.
HEALTHY LIFESTYLE -- KIWI FRUIT
Covered with a fuzzy brown skin, the egg-shaped kiwifruit has a dramatic interior.
HEALTHY LIFESTYLE -- RED CARIBBEAN PAPAYA
Red Caribbean Papaya are high in vitamin C. They also contain beta-cryptoxanthin, a phytochemical that promotes good health.
HEALTHY LIFESTYLE: NAKED JUICE
Naked Juice offers an assortment of flavors to choose from. 100% all natural juice, no sugar added and no preservatives added. High in antioxidants and packed with vitamin and minerals.
Honeydew
Swwet and succulent, the honeydew has pale, greenish-white skin and pale-green flesh. Of the muskmelon family, honeydews with from 4 to 8 pounds and are available year-round.
Jalapeno Pepper
Jalapeno peppers are the most common hot chili pepper in the American marketplace. Tapered, deep graeen and about 2 inches long, jalapeno pepperpack a punch. Occassionally, mature red jalapeno peppers are avialable. (They are often mistakes for Fresno chile peppers.) They are available year-round.
Jumbo Avocado
The avocados grown in Florida are very different for those grown in California. The floriday avocado, with its smooth green skin is nicknamed, "alligator pear".
Lemons
The tart szing of a lemon rousts the laziest palate. Lemons are the spark of many a dish: stwe. cakes, tarts, soups, fish, vinaigrettes and drinks. Packed with vitamin C, the lemon is practically calorie-free. Lemons are available year-round
Mushrooms
Button mushrooms are small, cultivated white mushrooms. When eaten raw, button mushrooms havea very mild, earthy taste. The flavor intensifies with cooking.. They are availalbe year-round.
NAVEL ORANGES
Oranges are high in vitamin C and a good source of folate. Navel oranges are excellent eating oranges - sweet, juicy and seedless. EAting oranges boost body absorption of iron from plant foods by as much as 400 percent.
Onions
Onions are divided into tow categories; Green onions (scallions, leeks) and dry onions. Dry onions have been cured, which causes them to form dry, brittle skins. The most commonly used dry onion is the yellow onion. Onions are available year- round.
Papaya
Papayas range form 1 to 20 pounds. The variety most often found in the United Stated is the Solo. Six inches long and about a pounds-and-a-half in weight, the Solo is pear-shaped with a vivid golden skin.
Pie Apples
Pie Apples as well as those for crisps, turnovers and dumplings, need to be firm enough to hold their shape when cooked.
Pineapple
The ex quisite flavor and arome of pineapple make it a welcome addition to any cook's table.
Purple Egg Plant
The most commonly available eggplant is large, cylindrical or pear-shaped, with a glossy, deep-purple skin. Eggplant is a vegetarian's delight, as its meaty firm texture is an excellent substititute for meat in many dishes. Eggplant is available year-round.
Raspberries
Raspberries come in three colors: red, black and gold. They are formed of many connecting drupelets, whick are individual sections of fruit. The seeds in each drupelet provide high fiber content. Raspberries are availalbe year-round, with peaks in June and earlu September.
Red Delicious Apples
The character Johnny Appleseed is based on the life of John Chapman who wore a saucepan hat and propagated apple seedlings all over eastern America.
Red Grapefruit
GRapefruit grows in clusters like grapes. The first grapefruit tree in Florida was planted by a French nobleman in 1823. It wasn't until after World War I that grapefruit was eaten as a breakfast food. Two varieted of the sweet-tart fruit are grown in the United States: white and pink or red. Fresh grapefruit is available year-round.
Red Leaf Lettuce
Time have changed since sald meant only one thing - iceberg lettuce with thick salad dressing. Today's cooks delight is mixing a wild assortment of lettuces are green. Leaf lettuce is distinguised from other varieties in that is doesn't have a "head". Oak leaf, red leaf and green leaf are all leaf lettuces. They are crisp and flavorful, but generally more perishable than head lettuces. Red leaf lettuce has a burgandy/bronze tint and a mild taste. Red leaf lettuce is available year-round.
Red Potatoes
Red potatoes are boiling potatoes. Red potatoes have arosy red, thin skin and white flesh.
Red Radishes
Red radishes are round, oval or elongated. INside their red skin, their flesh is a crisp white. Their size ranges from that of a cherry tomato to that of a small orange. The flavor varies from mildly peppery to pungently fiery. Red radishes are available year-round.
Red Seedless Grapes
There are two categories of grapes: black and white. Red grapes are actually black grapes. Their color varies from deep rose-pink to purplish red. Most of the flavor resides in the skin.
Romaine Lettuce
Romaine lettuce is the preferred green for the popular Caesar salad. Tall and cylindrical in shape, its taste is sweetly bitter with a good crunch. Romaine lettuce is available year-round.
Russet Potatoes
Russet, brown potatoes have a low moisture, but high starch content, which results in a lovely, floury texture when baked. Typical varieties include Burbank and Norkotah; only potatoes grown in Idaho can be called "Idaho potatoes.: Russet, brown potatoes are available year-round.
Spinach
Popeye was right: spinach is good for you. It's loaded with vitamins A, B and C, as well as calcium, potassium and iron. Spinach leaves are dark green and may be flat or curled, depending on the variety. Spinach is available year-round.
Strawberries
The strawberry is sometime call the "inside-out" fruit because it seeds are on the surface rather that inside. As Samuel Butler said of the strawberry. "doubtless Good could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did." Strawberries are available year-round. Their peack season is April to June.
Sweet Yellow Onions
Vidalia is the best known of the fairly recent, sweet hybrids. Sweet onions are mild and creamy. the name "Vidalia" onions is protected under Georgia law; only onions grown in 19 specific Georgia counties can be called Vidalia onions. Some of the sweet domestic onions names are Vidalia, Texas 1015, Super Sweets, Walla Walla, Imperial, Grand Canyon and MAui. Sweet onions are availalbe March through September, and in lilmited supply in December.
Tomatoes
Slicing tomatoes, also known as globe tomatoes, the most commonly available tomato. They are good cooked, but are best when sliced or quartered for salads. Slicing tomatoes are ripened off the vine in a special warming room. (Ripe tomatoes are too soft to handle packing and shipping.) They are availalbe year-round
Watermelon
Watermelons are oblong and large, up to 30 pounds. the rind is hard, and dark or light green, depending on the variety. Smaller, round watermelons are sometimes called "icebox" melons. Yellow or golden watermelons taste the same as red, but has bright-yellow flesh. Watermelnons are availalbe may through September.
Zucchini
The name zucchini comes zucchino, the Italian word for "small squash." Some of these small squashes grow to 18 inches!! With its mild tast, zucchini is enormously versatile. Oversized, mature zucchinis are best when stuffed and baked. They are available year-round.