How do you keep variety in your diet during winter?

By Corinne Marti

To maintain a healthy diet, a wide variety of different types foods are ideal to get all the vitamins and minerals needed. This task is easy during the summer time, when produce is plentiful, and easy to get. What happens when the main growing season is over, and now much of the produce is out of season? This can cause problems, as the food becomes more expensive and the produce that is available is coming from places that are further away. You might be asking why it matters if our food has to travel a little further to get to the grocery store in the winter.  When our food has to travel from further away, say another continent instead of a couple hundred miles away, that means more money and fossil fuels were spent to get it here. That also means it had to be picked earlier and sat longer, causing the food to be less nutritious. For this reason (and to support your local economy) it is always good to shop local when possible; but what about during month that produce limited produce? There is an easy way to combat this issue, use frozen produce. You can even freeze your own local produce during the summer to use in the winter. All you have to do is place food how you want it prepared (whole, diced, without peel, etc.) in an airtight container like a Ziploc bag or a vacuum-sealed bag, and store it in the freezer. This is a more economical approach to keeping variety in your diet during the winter months. This way you can support local farmers, keep costs down during the winter, and also keep variety in your diet all year long. Below is a sample recipe on how to use frozen produce to make a meal. 

One Pot Stuffed Pepper Casserole

Image retrieved from: www.familyfreshmeals.com

Ingredients:

1 lbs. ground turkey/chicken

1 cup diced white onion (frozen)

3 cloves garlic, minced

2.5 cups diced bell peppers (frozen)

1/2 teaspoon pepper

14.5 can diced tomatoes, no salt added

2 cups chicken/vegetable broth

8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 cup brown rice, uncooked

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

                                                                                          Directions:

      1.  Over medium-high heat brown meat with frozen onions and garlic, cook for about 5-7 minutes, breaking into small pieces.

      2.  Add frozen diced peppers and pepper, cook for about 5-7 more minutes, until peppers are no longer frozen and have started to soften.

      3. Reduce heat to medium and add in tomatoes with juice, broth, tomato sauce, soy sauce and Italian seasonings. Stir until well combined. Bring mixture to a boil.

      4. Now add in uncooked rice. Return to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 35 minutes, until rice is tender.

     5. Remove from heat and sprinkle with shredded cheese and serve!