December Produce

Thanksgiving as just ended but that does not mean the end of delicious food! December has lots of family gatherings, festive parties, and lots of reasons to make yummy food. Yummy food can still be healthy especially when you include fresh produce in it! At our stores we want to provide you with lots of fresh options of fruits and vegetables! We compiled a list of our favorite winter produce along with some tips of how to choose the best one and few ideas on how to incorporate them into your everyday!

Celery -

When picking your celery at the store, you want to choose stalks that are firm, straight and have fresh leaves. For easy holiday finger foods stuff celery with cream cheese, add some seasoning and top with bacon bits or crushed walnuts. Looking for more of a dinner dish? Cook celery, butter, chicken broth and thyme on low in the oven. Or chop up some celery and make a flavorful soup. Chopped celery can be the perfect crunch to any type of salad, green or potato!

Oranges -

Oranges are a must for the holiday season! One of the biggest tips when choosing your orange is to pick one that is heavy for its size! You also want your orange to be smooth and firm. Now that you have the perfect orange, we have lots of ideas of how to use it. A freshly peeled orange is always a good snack or breakfast item. Slice some oranges and add them to a pan with fennel and salmon for a quick fresh dinner! Orange rolls are a fresh fun recipe to make for breakfast or brunch. Or throw some oranges in a blender with milk, ice, honey and vanilla extract for a fresh Orange Julius smoothie!

Lemon -

Lemons add a fresh flavor. Similar to when choosing oranges, you want a lemon that is heavy for size, with taut thin skin that gives slightly when pressed. Surprise your family with lemon chicken for dinner one night and it will become a new favorite. Simply brown chicken on the stove and then transfer it to the oven and drizzle with lemon juice, chicken broth and salt and pepper. Adding some lemon zest and juice to your green beans is a fun variation. Use fresh squeezed lemon juice and zest in your lemon bars and lemon sugar cookies. If you’re looking for something different to try, lemon poppy seed pancakes would be a fun addition to any meal!

Pomegranates -

Pomegranates are among one of our most favorite fruits. Conveniently, you can now purchase pre-shelled pomegranates. However, the storage of the whole fruit is longer than that of pre-shelled seeds.  If buying a whole pomegranate, you want to choose one that is between the size of an orange to grapefruit. The shape should be slightly square, and the skin should be a dark or bright red color. For a quick de-seeding process cut the fruit in half just deep enough to break the fruit in half.  Hold a half over a bowl and hit the back of the pomegranate with a heavy spoon while squeezing the fruit slightly to release the seeds. For a delicious salad throw some spinach, walnuts, red onions and feta cheese together and sprinkle with vinaigrette and pomegranate seeds. Add some color to your morning oatmeal or yogurt. Pomegranates are also a yummy addition to your rice or quinoa!

Grapefruit –

Grapefruit is a classic winter fruit. When picking your grapefruit from the store, you want to pick one that is heavy and not perfectly round. If you love your morning grapefruit cut in half and sprinkled with some sugar, try sprinkling it with brown sugar and broiling it for 3 to 5 minutes. A grapefruit pound cake is an easy way to bake using the fresh grapefruit flavors. Grapefruit also adds a fun flavor to grilled chicken.