Category: fresh produce

Buy Local

Buying products from local farms and artisans is a great idea for many reasons!

  • Choosing to buy locally helps to support small business especially now!
  • It also is much better for the environment. Because the food has to travel a lot less to get to you (long delivery routes or flights are eliminated) it reduces carbon dioxide emissions. 
  • Local food is also particularly beneficial for your health. Because seasonal food is only harvested when it is ripe, it has the maximum content of vitamins and other vital substances.
  • Finally, if you choose to buy from organic or non-GMO vendors, you also avoid products made with harmful chemicals or pesticides.

To find local farms in your area visit the links below: https://www.localharvest.org/organic-farms/list?l=N
http://www.eatwild.com/products/

World Environment Day

Metabolic Balance is a nutritional concept which places particular emphasis on a clean, conscious and sustainable lifestyle. Eating clean and consciously, means paying attention to the origin of the ingredients you buy, how the food you eat is cultivated (pesticides, GMO vs non-GMO, etc.), and trying to reduce packaging and plastics. For example, buying produce from a local farmer or buying in bulk are two simple ways to buy good food while also being environmentally conscious. Check out the resources below for more information.

https://www.un.org/en/observances/environment-day
https://www.worldenvironmentday.global/


Photo: https://versionweekly.com/news/world-environment-day-2020-significance-date-and-this-years-theme-quotes-whatsapp-status-images/

World Environment Day 2020: Significance, date and this year's ...

Variety of Food Matters

Did you know that older varieties of apples are better for you than new?  Old varieties contain more valuable dietary fibers such as cellulose or pectin and important vitamins and polyphenols. Varieties that are in the older category include Granny Smith, and Red and Golden Delicious.

More importantly this idea does not just apply to apples but also to other groups of foods such as corn. Check out this article from 2013 in the New York Times below to learn more.

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/opinion/sunday/breeding-the-nutrition-out-of-our-food.html

Roasted Vegetables

Parsnips, Brussels sprouts, and many other vegetables – are delicious when roasted in the oven. Roasting brings out a vegetable’s natural sweetness and adds a wonderful charred flavor. Simply place your vegetables together in an ovenproof dish, drizzle with oil, season with salt and pepper, and cook al dente at 350CF (180°C) – with or without cheese!
Enjoy hot or cold, as an au gratin, added to salad, or simply as a side dish!

Julia Child: “… good food … from fresh ingredients”

Julia Child, a well-known American chef and cookbook author, once said: “You don’t have to cook any fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food made from fresh ingredients”. Metabolic Balance totally agrees. Cook quick, delicious and uncomplicated dishes from the ingredients on your nutrition plan and enjoy them!

MB 03-14 - Gemuese

 

Baked Beets

Now this is a recipe you should definitely try! Sure you had red beets – how about baked red beets? 

Ingredients for one serving:
1 portion red beets
1 portion cheese (e.g. brie, mozzarella, any semi soft or soft cheese on your plan)
1 TBsp. onions
1 clove of garlic
vegetable stock
fresh ginger

Preparation:
Dice the onions finely and sauté in vegetable stock. Coarsely grate or dice the beetroot. Finely chop the garlic and ginger (quantity to taste) and add to the onions together with the beetroot. Steam briefly and mix well with the onions. Slice the cheese. Set stove to lowest setting or turn it off, spread cheese over the vegetables. Allow cheese to melt – enjoy 😊!

MB 01-27 - RoteBeete

What’s your favorite Okra Recipe?

Do you have okra on your food list? Have you tried it yet? Or are you a bit unsure what to do with it!? Let us help! 

Okra is a plant from the mallow family (so it’s related to hibiscus!) and originally comes from Ethiopia. Okra is actually the edible green seed pods of the plant so technically it could be called a fruit! 100g okra contain only 0.2g of fat and only 20 calories. It’s rich in beta-carotene, vitamin B1, B2 & B3 (niacin), vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron and phosphorus. One of Okra’s nutritional highlights is the high-quality gut-friendly mucilages, which are particularly valuable for healing our digestive tracts and supporting a healthy bacterial balance in the small intestine. They taste great in a ratatouille or a stir-fry where okra mixed with tomatoes, zucchini, parsley root, eggplants and carrots. 

Back to you – what do you think about Okra? What’s your favorite Okra recipe?

MB 12-07 - Okra

Savoy Cabbage – what a magnificent vegetable!

We love savoy cabbage – how about you? We just think it has such magnificent green, wavy leaves! Until recently, when haute cuisine started to champion it and it’s popularity increased, it was very much overlooked. One of the wonderful things about savoy cabbage, is that it has an excellent long season. The early season savoy cabbage comes on the produce shelves around Easter Time and has rather tender, loose leaves. The autumn variety though, has thicker and firmer leaves and also has a slightly spicier flavor. 

Savoy cabbage tastes greats as a vegetable side dish. It’s great to be used for savoy cabbage rolls and in lasagne. In terms of its nutritional strengths, it really does enrich our health during the winter season. It is high in vitamin C, contains vitamin B6, vitamin E, folic acid, potassium, calcium and iron. With only 31 kilo-calories per 100g, savoy cabbage could be called a “slim” vegetable, that contains plenty of beneficial sulfur oils and chlorophyll. In southern Germany, its leaves are traditionally used as a “green hot-water bottle”. The ribs of dark green savoy cabbage leaves are cut flat and briefly placed in boiling water. They are then rolled flat and laid as compresses on the body to relieve pain such as abdominal pain, chest pain or leg cramps.

MB 11-30 - savoy cabbage

Fennel – Salad

This off-white colored vegetable is a great source of healthy carbs and fiber. And did you know that fennel has twice as much vitamin C than oranges!!! The amount of carotene (the precursor to Vitamin A) is also remarkable: with only one portion of fennel, we can cover our daily requirements. Fennel also has various B vitamins as well as the minerals potassium, calcium and phosphorus plus a great iron content. The essential oils athenol and fenchone have a beneficial, calming effect on the mucous membranes of the digestive tract and the lungs.

MB 11-20 - Fenchel

This salad is a delicious source of vitamins!

Ingredients & Preparation for for four: wash, clean and cut two large fennel into strips. Arrange on plates. Peel two oranges, and arrange the orange segments on the fennel. Sprinkle with olive oil and wight balsamic vinegar to taste. Garnish with black olives and fennel greenery as desired.

Nutrient-Packed Celery Root

Did you know that celery root is packed with great nutrients? Also known as celeriac, German Celery or knob celery is a fabulous autumn vegetable. It has a high proportion of essential oils, which give celeriac it’s distinct aroma. Celeriac has a high content of potassium, calcium, iron and phosphorus. In addition, B complex vitamins and vitamins C, E and A make it particularly valuable from a nutritional point of view. 

Continue to put celery root on your menu. It can be enjoyed in soups, stews, fried as pancake or raw in salads; it’s great as a side dish, mashed or pureed.

Mb 10-03 - celery root