I have a lot of produce!!! What Now?

Okay, so now you have a lot of produce.... What do you do with it?
The biggest comment we get is that the produce doesn't get eaten before it goes bad...

Here's some suggestions:

1. If you don't like it or are allergic to it, trade it.... either with another person in the co-op or with extra produce left over. Or be generous and give it to the Food Coalition or a neighbor.

2. Learn some new recipes. Ask around...we post recipes on the blog & there are some great cooks among us who would be willing to share. Allrecipes.com is a good place. We've tossed around the idea of having a recipe exchange adult dinner... anyone willing to tackle organizing that?

3. Eat the produce in front of your husband or children.
The more they see you eat it (especially dads!), the more likely they will eat it.

4. When storing your produce, wrap it in a paper towel, put it in a storage bag (or ziplock bag, but they're not my favorite), squish all the air out, & seal with a twist-tie or zip. The biggest enemies of produce are AIR & WATER. Get rid of those and your produce will last longer. This method of storage is great with leafy greens, broccoli,... anything that doesn't have a natural exterior like oranges or apples. Grapes are a little hard to do, because they touch each other, but it still works. Tomatoes don't last long. Pineapple lasts a little longer if you store it in the fridge...if it lasts at all! Dump out the baby carrots into a strainer to drain the water and then use the paper towel/plastic bag method of storage.

5. Put out a fruit & vegetable try with dips.

6. Have a salad before every meal.... or place a veggie/fruit tray out with every meal.

7. If anyone asks for a snack, show them where the fruits and vegetables are. Sometimes having everything cut up and placed where all can see it encourages tasting & snacking!

8. Find recipes where you can mask other vegetables.... you can put a yellow squash in your homemade salsa and no one will ever know! I've got a marinara sauce with lots of veggies that I will post. Make a vegetable soup, and then puree it to make a cream soup. What they don't SEE will help them!!!

9. Onions & Bell peppers can be cut up & frozen to be used in soups later. Grapes are also fantastic when frozen. Bananas can be frozen in their skins when they start to brown & used for banana bread, muffins, bars, etc.

10. Make fruit smoothies with all kinds of fruits. Be adventurous and add a handful of spinach!!
I'll post some recipes for smoothies and green drinks.

Any other ideas? Send them to me & I'll post them!