Summer fruits and veggies are rolling in!  We’re betting that most of you have been enjoying fresh tomatoes, corn, squash, cucumbers and peppers from your garden or your local farmers’ market for a few weeks now, but have you noticed any vegetables at the market that make you ask, “What is that?” and/or “What do I do with that?”  We’re guessing yes.  So, we’ve picked a few of our favorites, and gathered some recipes to get you started enjoying these fab summer jewels!

1.  Eggplant:  Eggplant isn’t just delicious and nutritious, it’s also really pretty.  We’re pretty sure you’ve heard the phrase, “Eat a rainbow” (and we’re not referring to Skittles!), meaning that you should strive to have a variety of colors in your diet.  Green and dark green, yellow, red, orange, blue, and yes, purple.  Eggplants are part of the nightshade family of vegetables, as are tomatoes, potatoes and sweet peppers, and they are rich in antioxidants, phytonutrients and fiber.  Eggplants are well known in dishes like mousaka (Greek), eggplant parmesan (Italian) and ratatouille (French),  but check out this great article for tips on the best ways to cook eggplants, as well some great recipes!

2.  Okra:  If you’re from the South, chances are you’ve been eating fried okra just like popcorn since you were a kid, but if you’re less familiar with this undervalued gem, hang on! We’ve got some info for you!  Okra is full to the brim with healthy goodness!  It’s high in fiber, vitamin C, folate, antioxidants, and it’s a good source of calcium and potassium–all of that in small seed pod!  While tossing it in flour or other breading and frying it up in oil may not be the healthiest way to get some okra in, it is tasty.  If you’re looking for healthier alternatives, though, try baking, roasting or grilling it.  Check out this article, complete with recipes, for some new takes on an old Southern favorite.

3.  Mustard Greens:  We all know that we should be eating more leafy greens, but kale and spinach are not the end-all and be-all of leafy green vegetables.  Meet mustard greens!  Again, if you grew up in the South, you may be familiar with the goodness of greens, but if not, sit up and listen.  Mustard greens lower cholesterol and have qualities that protect us from cancer.  In taste, they are slightly bitter and peppery but pair well with dried fruits that tend to even out the taste.  Try this simple recipe for sautéed mustard greens and let us know if you’re ready to commit to a new cruciferous favorite.

4.  Cabbage:  Another member of the cruciferous family of vegetables, cabbage, is versatile, delicious and chock full of nutrients.  Like mustard greens, cabbage is rich in antioxidants and can help lower cholesterol, while it also promotes digestive health.  Sounds good, right?  Well, what’s even better are the variety of ways you can prepare it: You can eat it raw, braise it, grill it, broil it, boil it, sauté it, or roast it, and it’s great in soups and stews, casseroles and stuffings.  Check out these recipes and tell us you aren’t totally devoted to cabbage.

5.  Kohlrabi:  Related to cabbage and kale, kohlrabi is nutrient- rich with antioxidants and phytonutrients.  You can cook kohlrabi greens just like cabbage or kale, but when it comes to the actual fruit, here’s a tip: peel it.  It’s important to peel kohlrabi because the fibers in the outer layers don’t soften when cooked and can get caught in your throat.  So, after you peel off the initial layer, keep going through the next layer to the light, crisp layer beneath.  Check out these great kohlrabi recipes!

We hope you’re visiting your local farmers’ markets this summer and taking advantage of the close proximity of fresh fruits and veggies–this is certainly the season for it!   But don’t worry–we’re here every morning and afternoon to serve you the freshest and healthiest soups, salads and sandwiches that DC has to offer, and we’ve got plenty of fresh fruits and veggies to keep you going.

Last week, we talked about the beauty of ugly produce and what some people around the world are doing to make sure less food (perfectly good food, by the way) goes to waste.  They’re giving discounts and creating co-ops to make sure that ugly produce doesn’t end up in landfills.  In 2012, it was reported by the Natural Resources Defense Council that about 40 % of all food in the U.S. is wasted (worth an estimated $165 million).  The U.N. estimates that about a third of all the food produced in the world goes to waste, creating about 1.3 billion tons of waste per year.  According to Jose Graziano da Silva, director general of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, all of this waste would feed the world’s 870 million hungry people, if only it reached them.

But it doesn’t; it never has that impact.  But it does impact the world economically and environmentally.  What do you think happens to all of that wasted food?  It ends up in landfills, deprived of oxygen in its breakdown, so it creates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.  Every year, that waste creates about 3.3 billion tons of greenhouse gases.  According to the Food and Agricultural Organization, “If food waste were a country it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, after China and the United States.”

Think of the water wasted to grow uneaten crops, the fertilizers and pesticides applied that pollute our air, soil and water, fuel used to transport all of that food to be sold to people who then throw it away.  In Britain (which has some great data on food waste), each family wastes about 700 pounds of food a year or $1,170 worth of food.  Are you beginning to see the economic and environmental effects of all of this waste?  It’s kind of hard not to.

So, what’s being done?  Countries all over the world, along with prominent businesses, are trying to make some headway.

1.  British supermarkets are improving labels and packaging so that consumers throw out less of the food they buy.  For example, Tesco, a large supermarket chain in the UK, has changed the way it packages lettuce.  It now sells lettuce in bags with two compartments, so that consumers can use one and keep the other fresh.  They are also changing some supply processes so that some produce, grapes, for example, arrive 5 to ten days sooner to give customers a longer period to eat them.  These are just a few of the ways that Britain has cut its food waste by 21 percent since 2007.

2.  In South Korea, garbage disposal is charged by weight.  Save more, waste less.

3.  In China, the government is asking caterers, restaurants and their own cafeterias to serve smaller portions.  They are also working on a law directed at food waste.

4.  In Massachusetts, an institution that throws out more than a ton of food waste a week now has to compost that waste.  When food is composted, rather than left to decay in a landfill, it doesn’t produce methane because oxygen is present.  New York City will have a similar rule in place next year.

Here are a few things you can do:

1.  Make a plan or menu for the week before you head to the grocery store.  You’ll be less inclined to buy things you don’t need or won’t eat if you have a plan in place.

2.  If you have leftovers or enough ingredients to make more of a meal, take it to the freezer!  It’s not going to waste when you can eat it later.

3.  Start your own compost.  It’s not hard, and you can even buy containers that keep everything neat and tidy for you but compost your leftovers safely and without producing methane.

4.  Buy some ugly produce!  If chances are no one’s going to eat it because it’s got a funny shape–grab it!  It tastes just as good and packs as many nutrients as its pretty friends.

5.  Put your nose to the test.  Just because an item is past its “use by” or “sell by” date, doesn’t mean it isn’t still perfectly fine.

What else can you do to help solve the problem of food waste?  Got any ideas?  Tweet us or post a message to our Facebook  page!

It’s human nature to gravitate towards pretty, towards the aesthetically pleasing.  Research shows that even infants are drawn to beautiful faces; so is it any wonder that when we’re faced with fruits and veggies at the grocery store, we naturally pick up the ones that are perfectly round, unblemished, evenly colored, unbruised–pretty?  Not really.

But just as in life, the old adage, “You can’t judge a book by its cover,” applies here as well.  Just because an apple has spots, a tomato is oddly shaped, or a potato has more eyes than the rest of the bunch, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t taste just as good or hold as much nutrition as its pretty compadres.  Any farmer, from commercial to backyard enthusiast, can tell you that tomatoes right off the vine aren’t always pretty, but they’re the best tasting tomatoes around.  How do hot houses even produce so many perfectly-shaped, evenly red orbs?  It seems impossible!  And it is.  So, step beyond all industry-mandated standards of beauty with us, folks!  There’s so much more there!

See, with the perfect come the imperfect–that’s just life.  According to the U.N., a third of food worldwide is wasted through being binned or left to rot.  A THIRD!  And the National Resources Defense Council says that 40% of food in the US goes uneaten.  Why?  Very often because it’s not pretty enough for consumers.

Some people are trying to cut this waste of perfectly good food by offering it at reduced prices rather than just throwing it out or refusing to buy it for their stores.  In France, a grocery store called Intermarche, is offering ugly produce at rates reduced by 30 percent.  Here’s one of their clever marketing slogan:” An ugly carrot makes a beautiful soup.”  And isn’t that true?  Apparently, the European Union has regulated aesthetic food standards to the point that ugly produce doesn’t stand a chance, and a study by Swedish and Dutch governments estimates that 89 million tons of food a year are wasted across Europe.  A small farmer in Portugal stated that of the 2,000 pounds of tomatoes he produces every year, a quarter are dumped because of quality standards.

There’s a cooperative in Portugal called Fruta Feia (Ugly Fruit, started in November 2013 by Isabel Soares) that is trying to change the perception of imperfect produce by specifically selling fruits and vegetables that do not meet government standards of appearance (she can get around European legislation because Europe’s marketing rules only apply to foods that are packaged or labeled).  They now have 420 regular customers and a waiting list of 1,000.  They have sold 21 tons of food at 2 two distribution centers in Lisbon.  Clearly, people are ready and willing to take another look at their food with a more forgiving eye.

But this is all happening in Europe?  Where’s the ugly fruit going in your neck of the woods?  Maybe you should ask.  The next time you hit your local farmer’s marker, strike up a conversation with vendors about what happens to their produce that isn’t pretty.  Do they sell it, throw it away, use it to feed livestock, give it to food banks?  Just where does it go?  Maybe you could even ask if they’d be willing to sell it.  Ms. Soares says that it wasn’t always easy to get farmers to sell her their ugly produce.  They were suspicious; “I think some suspected that I was an undercover sanitary inspector,” she said.  But what do you have to lose by asking?  It worked for Ms. Soares and her customers.

We know we’ll be taking a second look at the produce around us and putting aside our preconceived notions of beauty to see what lies at the heart of an ugly apple or squash or tomato, and we hope you will too.  Next week, we’ll talk a bit about the environmental consequences of all that wasted food.  How do you feel about less-than-perfect produce?  Are you willing to look beyond the surface?

Our last two blogs have been all about foods that we think of as healthy, but are really designed to pull the wool over our health-conscious eyes.  From yogurt and granola to packaged turkey, we’ve hit every meal and food category–with the exception of fresh foods, of course.  Take a close look and you’ll notice that all of these foods are pre-packaged; and with a little attention to the details of ingredients lists and nutritional labels, you’ll learn a lot.  Namely, stick to whole, fresh foods.  Without further ado, we conclude our list of junk foods masquerading as health foods.

1.  Chewable Vitamin C:  How many of you pop these into your mouth regularly during cold and flu season or give them to your kids who can’t yet swallow pills?  Lots of you, we’re sure.  The problem with most of these chewable vitamin C supplements is that they can lead to severe dental erosion.  Apparently, vitamin C contains a compound called ascorbic acid that’s more acidic than sugar. To be safe, look for “buffered” vitamin C which is pH-neutral.  They may not send your taste buds into orbit, but at least you’ll still be able to chew, right?

2.  Veggie Burgers:  Know your brand, read your labels; all veggie burgers are not created equal.  When you’re eating your veggie burgers out, ask what they’re made of, if the menu doesn’t tell you.  You may be getting some great legumes, veggies and whole grains, but make sure.  Pre-packaged veggie burgers, while having only between 70 and 130 calories per burger, are a smart choice calorie-wise, but read the fine print.  They’re often high in sodium and contain preservatives.  Also, a recent study found that the soy used in many veggie burgers and other products is made with hexane, a by-product of gasoline.  Not good for you, not good for the planet.  Your best bet in avoiding hexane in pre-packaged veggie burgers–look for a label saying, “made with organic soy.”  Otherwise, mix those veggie burgers up at home and load them with nutrition!

3.  Packaged foods labeled “organic,” “low fat,” “gluten free,” etc.:  But it’s organic, you say; what could be bad about it?  A toaster pastry is a toaster pastry, folks, even if it’s made from organic ingredients.  Most of them are fairly equivalent to their Kellogg counterparts in terms of calories and fat, but the Kellogg brand often has less carbs and less sugar.  So, how much better are the organic toaster pastries than a regular Pop Tart?  Not so much.  The same is true for organic cake mixes, canned pastas and other packaged foods.  Let’s call a spade a spade.  These foods may contain organic ingredients, but they also contain just as much sugar, sodium, etc. as other packaged foods.  They just have the privilege of using the word “organic” to make you feel better about it.

The same can be said about gluten-free and fat free foods.  What manufactures sacrifice in gluten and fat, they make up for in the lab.  Food scientists spend lots of time making sure these products look, feel and taste like their traditional counterparts, but they do it with all sorts of additives that you’d probably rather not know about.

So, what’s a health-conscious consumer to do?  Frequent restaurants that use whole, fresh ingredients (like Brown Bag) when you go out and avoid processed and packaged foods as much as possible.  It’s not as hard as you think, once you get used to it.  Prepare larger amounts than you might usually, and package them for the week.  Do meal prep on weekends to make week-night meals more convenient; and when you must eat processed foods, read the labels carefully for ingredients and nutrition information.  Health doesn’t usually come neatly packaged in plastic, but beautifully colorful from the garden or farmer’s market, where you can purchase locally-raised organic meats and cheeses, and artisan breads made from whole, fresh ingredients (like our friends at make Lyon Bakery, our favorite supplier of fresh breads).

Won’t you join us on the health side?  Put down that protein bar and sidle up to the counter with your brown bag all filled out to make your favorite sandwich or salad!  You know you want to–and you know you’ll be eating what you intended to eat.:)