April 17th Recipe Roundup: Produce Planning Edition

This week’s roundup is focused on strategies for stocking up on a variety of produce that will last for 1-2 weeks and beyond! how you can get enough vegetables without having to make frequent trips to the store and without having them go bad! 

The recipes tasty and nutrient-dense feature ingredients that can be frozen or have a long shelf life so they can be made weeks after shopping. You can also substitute quite liberally with them so if you aren’t able to find all of the listed ingredients, feel free to substitute something you have on hand. 

Fortunately, it is possible to still eat according to the rainbow of beautiful yellows, oranges, reds, and greens even without making weekly trips to the store. The recipes below feature natural sources of all of these gorgeous and nutritious colors. 

The foundation of a health-promoting diet is nutrient density, and requires an array of nutrient-dense plant foods, especially vegetables! With a little strategic planning, you’ll find you can get a variety that will last for 1-2 weeks if stored in the refrigerator and some hardy root vegetables will last even longer, and frozen vegetables last for months.

This task also requires some strategic eating as you will want to eat foods that perish more quickly first. For your first week, focus on more perishable produce. Once you run out of that, you can use a combination of hardy and frozen produce to keep your meals balanced and nutritious.

The quantities below will last about 10 days at my house, though we do eat a LOT of vegetables. However, if you find that you aren’t able to keep up with the fresh vegetable consumption, don’t be afraid to pop some of them in the freezer for later use. 

You will want to stock up on some frozen produce as well. Frozen veggies are already prepped and easy to use, so they are a great time-saving option as well. In my opinion, they do really well in soups, stews, and curries. My favorites to keep on hand are broccoli, cauliflower rice, spinach, mixed peppers or stir fry mix, and peas!

First, I wanted to share my produce shopping outline, to help you stock up on enough produce to get the immune-boosting benefits of a nutrient-dense diet, without making excessive trips to the store. 

Produce Shopping

This list is based on my experience and exact dates will vary based on how fresh the produce is, the climate and humidity levels where you live, and how cold your refrigerator is. 

Quickly Perishable Produce 

Last less than a week, eat these first

Choose 1 pound green vegetables and up to 1 pound of fruit per adult

• Salad Mix
• Romaine
• Lettuce
• Fresh Herbs
• Bok Choy
• Fresh Mushrooms
• Berries
• Avocados, buy these when firm and they will last much longer

Moderately Perishable Produce

These last 7-10 days, the fresher the produce, the longer it will last*

Choose about 3 pounds of green vegetables or large bunches of hardy greens per adult

• Asparagus 
• Broccoli
• Brussels Sprouts
• Spinach
• Chard
• Kale
• Beet Greens

Choose 2-3 additional vegetables per adult

• Zucchini
• Tomatoes, depending on ripeness, may be stored at room temperature
• Eggplant
• Bell Peppers and Hot Peppers
• Beets
• Fennel
• Parsnips
• Turnips 
• Radishes

Choose about 2 pounds of fruit per adult

• Pears
• Kiwi
• Lemons and Limes
• Oranges
• Bananas

Hardy Produce

These last 2+ weeks with proper storage, again, the fresher the produce, the longer it will last.*

I keep all of these on hand and continuously cycle through them, but rely on them more heavily as the fridge clears out

• Celery, wrap tightly in aluminum foil to preserve crispness**
• Green onions***
• Carrots
• Apples
• Sweet Potatoes
• Purple Potatoes
• White Potatoes
• Red Onions
• White Onions
• Shallots
• Garlic, fine at room temperature
• Cabbage
• Winter squashes, keep these at room temp but try to use or process and freeze within 2 weeks
  • Butternut Squash
  • Spaghetti Squash
  • Acorn Squash
  • Kabocha Squash

*As a default, store produce in an airtight container in the fridge. Greens should be removed if they are purchased intact.

**As you get towards the 3-week mark, celery becomes more of a cooking ingredient and less of a crunchy snack as it will lose it’s crisp. However, it still brings a nice flavor and nutrient boost to stir-fries, curries, soups, and stews. 

***To keep green onions for long periods of time, store them upright in a jar with the roots underwater in the sun. 

Frozen Produce

Keep an assortment of frozen vegetables, 2-3 per adult, on hand to keep your veggie intake up as you start to clear out the fridge and pantry. 

• Broccoli
• Cauliflower Rice
• Spinach
• Peppers
• Stir Fry Mix
• Peas

And now for the recipes! These roundup recipes are favorites that thrive with hardy produce, frozen produce and substitutions, feel free to get creative and use what you have on hand, maybe adding ingredients, substituting,  or simply taking some away.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

This is a beautiful blend of sweet and savory. To sweeten it up a bit more, you can also try adding an apple – simply chop it up and add it with the carrots and celery. The soup can be served simply on its own or dressed up with a dollop of yogurt, fresh herbs, some sort of protein. I like to add a sliced chicken sausage or  2-3 tablespoons of hemp seeds for a vegetarian option. 

The orange pigments in winter squash and carrots provide the antioxidant beta-carotene and the vegetable blend is rich in vitamin C and complex carbohydrates that fuel our microbiome. Full fat coconut milk provides anti-microbial lauric acid. The jalapeno and hot sauce improve circulation with their active component, capsaicin; whereas the curry spices have potent anti-inflammatory activity from curcuminoids and more. The broth contains valuable minerals and in the case of bone broth, gut-healing proteins that restore tight-junctions and thereby support innate immunity.

I hope you love this soup as much as we do! It’s a simple staple around our house and if you have leftovers, they freeze beautifully in pint jars!

• 1 Butternut Squash (or acorn squash, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, even canned pumpkin will work in a pinch)
• 1 can Full Fat Coconut Milk
• 2 pints Bone Broth or Vegetable Broth
• 1 rib Celery
• 1 Carrot
• 6 cloves Garlic
• 1 large Shallot or ½ Onion
• 2 Jalapenos, or other Hot Pepper
• 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ½ tsp Sea Salt
• 1 tbsp Sweet Curry Blend (turmeric, coriander, cumin)
• 1-3 tsp Hot Sauce, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cut squash in half and remove seeds and peel garlic. 
2. Place on squash on a baking sheet and brush lightly with olive oil. Place peeled garlic in the hollow centers of the squash. 
3. Roast for about 45 minutes, until tender enough to scoop.
4. Meanwhile dice celery, carrots, shallot, and jalapenos.
5. Preheat olive oil over medium-low heat, then add shallots and salt, continue sauteing until translucent. 
6. Next add celery, carrots, and jalapenos. 
7. Once vegetables are tender, add coconut milk and broth, and bring to simmer. Set aside until squash is cooked.
8. Add baked garlic to soup pot and using a potholder to protect your hand, scoop the squash out of the skin and add it to the soup pot.
9. Allow ingredients to simmer until all vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork.
10. Either with an immersion blender or a standing blender, working in batches, puree the soup until the texture is smooth and silky. 

Beet and Apple Slaw

Beets are an excellent source of betaine and choline and are especially beneficial for supporting liver detoxification and promoting elimination. Apples offer pectin and quercetin, both of which are healing to our gut, and the ginger is anti-inflammatory, warming, and stimulates digestion. The dressing is largely made up of heart health and anti-inflammatory olive oil, a good source of vitamin E. The nuts provide additional healthy fats and delectable crunch. Feel free to substitute with whatever nuts or seeds you have on hand!

This slaw can be eaten on its own as a hearty salad and it makes a great addition to a bed of greens to take your salad from basic to gourmet. While beet and apple are the backbone of the recipe, you can also add a jicama or carrot if you have one on hand.

My favorite way to enjoy this is over fresh salad greens or spinach, but if you don’t have any, adding a couple of cups of finely shredded cabbage gives you a boost of greens. If you add cabbage, be sure to increase the dressing accordingly and allow the slaw to marinate for at least a couple of hours to start breaking it down. This will keep in the fridge for several days, and I think it gets better with time!

• 1 Beet
• 1 Granny Smith Apple (or another apple) 
• ⅓ cup chopped Pecans, Walnuts, Pumpkin Seeds, Hemp Seeds
• 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tbsp grated Ginger
• 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• ¼ tsp Himalayan Sea Salt
• optional additions: Jicama, Carrots, 
• optional greens: Salad Mix, Spinach or Cabbage

1. Shred beets and apple and any other vegetables with a cheese grater, mandolin, or food processor.
2. Mix ingredients and allow to chill. If you use additional vegetables, add 1 tbsp oil and 1 tsp vinegar per packed cup of shredded veggies.
3. This can be eaten immediately or refrigerated for hours or a few days prior to eating.
4. Serve over a bed of greens drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, and apple cider vinegar to taste.

Cultured Creamed Spinach

2 servings

Channel your inner popeye on with this recipe that can be made from fresh or frozen greens! I love the  creamy, tart, yet earthy flavor combination in this dish. In my mind, it pairs with nearly everything: eggs, potatoes, fish, dosas, I could go on! My midwestern self could also see this as a good base for a homemade hot dish! Anyone have ideas?

This creamed spinach recipe is rich in vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, and calcium from the spinach. It is also a good source of B vitamins and carotenoids including lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta carotene. The onions and garlic provide immune-boosting activity from the antioxidant allicin. The yogurt provides LIVE cultures that will feast on the polyphenols contained in the other ingredients. As you can see. this dish is a classic for a reason, it packs a nutritional punch! The main difference with this version of the recipe is the use of yogurt rather than cream to boost the nutritional availability with probiotics

Chard would also work well for this recipe as would more fibrous greens such as kale. If using kale, you may need to increase the cooking time and add a bit more lemon or apple cider vinegar to contrast the pungent nature of kale. 

• 16oz Spinach, fresh or frozen. 
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or grass-fed ghee, divided
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• ½ cup unsweetened cows, goat, or almond milk kefir or yogurt
• optional: 1 tsp lemon zest + 1 tsp lemon juice for a sour flavor. 
• ½ tsp Himalayan sea salt
• 1 tsp Black Pepper

1. If using frozen spinach, thaw and drain the liquid by gently squeezing
2. Preheat 1 tbsp. of butter in a large sauté pan with a lid over low heat. Add diced onion
3. and crushed garlic, salt, and pepper to pan and sauté until onion becomes translucent.
4. Add spinach to pan and cover, tossing spinach every 2-3 minutes until completely
5. wilted.
6. Remove from heat, toss in yogurt until evenly coated and warmed, and adjust
7. seasoning to taste.