5 Ways to Eat More Leafy Greens

These kitchen tricks will make preparing leafy greens SO much easier

If you're reading this, there's a strong chance you already know leafy greens are GOOD for you. But in case you or someone in your life (ahem) need a little reminder, kale, collards, turnips, and mustard greens are generally very low in calories. What they lack in calorific content, they make up for in terms of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. It's no wonder then that a diet rich in these nutrient-dense leafy greens helps to reduce the risk of obesity, heart disease, high-blood pressure, and mental decline, among other numerous health benefits. The healthy living journey starts with adding these life-saving ingredients to more of your meals, and attaining that goal is easier than you think with some smart meal prep tips.

Get Some Serious Salads

Salads are the easiest way to incorporate several servings of fruits and veggies into your diet. Be careful, however, as they are not necessarily synonymous with "health food." By avoiding anything fried, cooling it on the cheese, ditching the croutons, and dialing back the dressing, you have a better shot at ensuring that the salads you eat are, in fact, nutritious. Because eating salad once or twice a month isn't going to cut it, we've made it easy for you to get your weekly salad fix with our curated selection of salad recipes you can make from scratch in no time.

Learn more: Everything you need to find delicious salads for any occasion in one place!

Wrap it with Collards

Collards are the new wrap. Period. If you keep the collard stems on, they remain sturdy enough to work pretty much like a tortilla and hold your favorite sandwich or burrito fillings. They can also be stored in the refrigerator to make it easy to put together a quick lunch or dinner meal. Make it a combo by overlapping two to three leaves for a larger wrap, and get ready to crush your green-eating goals.

Try it: Protein Collard Wraps, 140 calories per serving, and only 30 minutes of prep time.

Blanch Like a Pro

Some nutrient-dense greens, including mustard greens, kale, and turnip greens, can have a slightly bitter flavor that doesn't appeal to every taste. We get it. But brace yourself for a true knowledge bomb: Most of that bitterness melts away when you wilt your greens in boiling water for a couple minutes, drain, and run cold tap water over them to cool quickly and fix their bright green color. You can then season or sauté your blanched greens, and enjoy them as a side or mix them straight into your dishes.

Try it: Sesame Ginger Collard Wrap, ready in less than 20 minutes!

Prepare to Be Inspired

A little bit of preparation goes a long way towards eating more wholesome, nutrient-dense foods. When you're prepping for the week ahead, get creative and consider replacing some traditional carbs with leafy greens you already have on-hand. In the unlikely scenario you won't use up all your greens before they expire, freeze them (fresh or blanched) in batches for a longer shelf life and some easy creations later in the week. Think quicker stir-fries, pastas, and soups that taste good. Really good.

Learn more: How to Use a 1 lb. Bag of Kale Before It Expires!

Smoothie Away

Smoothies are another great way to work more leafy greens into your diet, reduce food waste, AND get the little ones on board too. They are versatile enough to be enjoyed for breakfast, as a snack, or even as a dessert option. Plus, they come together super quickly, and we promise they will work some serious magic on both your brain and bod.

Just the tip: You can reduce the amount of liquids in any green smoothie recipe and pour your extra-thick creation into a bowl with sliced fruits, seeds, grains, and any other solid foods you like.

All the Single Households

Home alone? Well, more like alone together! A rising number of Americans are choosing to live it up like Kevin McCallister, and for more than just a night. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that there are 36.2 million one-person homes in the country, which accounts for 28% of all households. This percentage has only grown over the years—by comparison, single-person home units represented only 13% of all households back in the 1960s. And if you think this is a uniquely American phenomenon, historical records show that the trend has become increasingly common all over the world.

From delayed marriage to longer life expectancy to greater wealth, it’s hard to pinpoint a single cause for this global wave, but one thing is certain: those who go solo do not have more time to cook and bake than those who live in bigger households. Not only are single dwellers busy, but they additionally value right-sized foods, and they are willing to spend more to get what they want. In fact, a whole new market specializing in small-serving options has emerged recently to cater to the needs of this demographic of predominantly young, affluent consumers.

When it comes to nutrition, however, the trade-off of outsourcing most of your daily meals is the loss of control over ingredients and the resulting food quality. There simply is no replacement for a healthy, home-cooked dish made with farm-fresh greens and specialty vegetables! The first step towards a healthier life is reclaiming ownership of your kitchen, and this month’s recipe selections have been curated to help you achieve exactly that! With few, but quality ingredients that come together quickly, they yield just the right amount of healthy nourishment for anyone living alone.

Greens Trio Breakfast Toast

This toast is a serious game changer! In no more than 30 minutes, you can make a wholesome breakfast that provides healthy fats, protein, and a delightful combination of collard, mustard and turnip greens to start the day off on the right foot.

Just Beet It Kale Salad

Sweet beets with a perfectly seasoned tahini dressing! Perfect for lunch, you can put this bowl from @figgiethefoodie together in no time by simply: massaging kale in olive oil and lemon juice; adding beets, quinoa, and remaining ingredients; and drizzling lemon tahini sauce on top of your masterpiece.

Pantry Pasta with Collard Greens and Breadcrumbs

An easy, yet uniquely flavored pasta dish for dinner? Check. You can cut down on the amount of cooking time for this recipe by having most ingredients prepped and ready to go before you begin. With collards greens, bucatini or another long noodle, butter, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, breadcrumbs, and seasoning to taste, dinner is already served.

Chocolate Avocado Pudding with Ginger Coconut Kale

Definitely don’t forget about dessert! In a small bowl, combine coconut oil, kale, ginger, and one tablespoon of honey. Stir to coat kale evenly, set aside, and place remaining ingredients in blender or food processor. Then simply layer kale with your fresh pudding mixture, and voilà, your post-dinner sweet cravings are satisfied curtesy of our friend, Cynthia Sass!

Living alone doesn’t have to be synonymous with dine-in or take-out meals at every turn. Explore our website for more healthy recipes that can be easily adapted and tailored to any household configuration!

Cook Your Meals to be MORE Productive

The modern world of work has heightened pressure for increased productivity on unprecedented levels. In order to stay in their jobs and achieve some level of work-life balance, it's common sense and standard time-management advice that busy professionals from all walks of life must come up with strategies to get more done in less time. As a by-product of this, the modern busy person tends to outsource most things domestic, including buying groceries and cooking food.

While the convenience of occasional delivery services and takeouts is undeniable, choosing to supply your own food-related needs can actually work as a productivity hack for a number of reasons. First, no one can be efficient and focused 24/7, which means making time to go to the store and cook your own meals will give you a chance to move your body, get some fresh air, and generally create a buffer of time and space to help you gain perspective on all of the work tasks on your plate. Second, meal prep doesn't have to be synonymous with wasted time: you can listen to an audiobook or podcast, make a phone call and, of course, hone your culinary skills as you cook. What is more, with the gained control over all ingredients that go into your dishes, you'll likely be eating healthier food, saving money, and feeling more energized to optimize the remainder of your day.

To help busy professionals get started on "insourcing" their meals, we have put together a collection of easy recipes with six ingredients or less by a variety of healthy living experts of nationwide recognition, including Once Upon A Pumpkin, Jayme Williams, Cynthia Sass and Every Day Learn and Play. Tag along and get a taste of how to incorporate wholesome ingredients into meals and snacks that you can prepare in no time!

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Good Mo'ning Sunshine Kale Smoothie

This smoothie is the perfect way to start your day! Simply combine kale, water, pineapple, apple, strawberries, and whole flax seed, and blend until well incorporated. The result is a low-calorie, high-fiber drink that is easy to digest, supports vision, promotes blood clotting, lowers cholesterol levels, and boosts immune health. Quick breakfast dreams do come true with the right choice of ingredients!

Kale Veggie Black Bean Tacos

You can get these easy, lunch-friendly tacos prepared with only five essential ingredients, namely Tuscan kale, corn tortillas, canned black beans, bell pepper, and butternut squash. Heat your tortillas on a skillet and top them with fresh kale and the remaining veggies and grains after sauteing them on a pan with a little bit of oil or roasting them in the oven. If you're feeling inspired, top your masterpiece off with avocado slices, pumpkin seeds, and/or crumbled feta cheese.

Sweet Greens Smoothie

Your after-lunch sweet snack cravings are satisfied with this super easy smoothie! Combine lime, mango, fresh orange juice, collard greens, and grapes in a blender, and voilà, enjoy a fresh drink for nutritious hydration during the day. Best served cold! Is your mouth watering yet?

5 Ingredient Sausage, White Bean and Collard Soup

This nutritious soup serves four and only requires 20 minutes of combined prep and cook time. All you need to do is: brown smoked sausage on an Instant Pot;  add collard greens, chicken bone broth, canned white beans, and paleo herb seasoning; and cook covered on high. The result? A rich-tasting family meal with only 290 calories per serving.

Low Cal Key Lime Pie

Keep the momentum and make your own kale key lime pie for dessert. You need kale, honey, yogurt, graham cracker crust and a few more ingredients to bring this recipe to life. The preparation is also quick and simple and can be stored in the freezer to enjoy all week.

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Doing your own shopping/cooking is one of many mindset shifts that can make your day feel more balanced and satisfying instead of stealing your time. Start small with quick recipes like the ones we've curated above, and work your way up to the variety of other wholesome options featured on our website. With a solid foundation of healthy eating habits, you will end up with more time and energy to get things done in your professional life.

New Year, New Eating Habits, New You

Last Friday, you spent about two hours at the gym doing regular cardio, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and weight lifting, so you allowed yourself to have a decent portion of your favorite ice cream on the weekend. On Monday, you felt guilty about it, so you decided to fast for as long as you could during the day before eating anything. Most of the time after work, you try researching the best training programs and exercise variations to achieve your fitness goals, yet it's been hard to achieve results that are visible both on the scale and to the naked eye.

If any of the above sounds familiar, chances are you may be overlooking the role of nutrition in promoting health and fitness. Most of us tend to overestimate how much we exercise, which can lead to self-sabotaging excuses for food items that should not be included in our diets. Albeit counterintuitive, eating regularly has also been shown to promote weight loss: starvation will only slow down vital metabolic processes and thus not help us lose that extra weight permanently and healthily. By the same token, it seems that nutrition is way more than half the battle when it comes to losing weight: while exercising will undoubtedly give you many health benefits, it doesn't really do much for getting into a slimmer shape.

To help you achieve your health and fitness goals in the new year, we put together a sample meal plan for a day with recipes designed by nutrition and health experts. Follow along and draw some inspiration for cleaning up your day-to-day diet.

Breakfast

Our Sweet Potato Collard Greens Egg Bake not only features two superfoods—sweet potatoes and collard greens—that help prevent vitamin A deficiency, but also include just the right amount of healthy fat to provide a high-energy foundation for the rest of the day. That's right: Nutritional science and government guidelines have started to acknowledge that fat is an essential part of our diets and, as our primary source of energy, should be proactively consumed. Especially when eaten at breakfast, it helps to keep you full longer and to boost your morning stamina.

Lunch

The star of this Chickpea Quinoa Salad with Turnip Greens recipe is (you guessed!) turnip greens! Not only do these greens have a strong and spicy kick that add extra flavor to one of our main meals of the day, but also they pack several good-for-you nutrients shown to have heart, anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as calcium, manganese, folate and vitamins A, C and K. With quinoa and chickpeas, this recipe is also abundant with fiber, minerals, antioxidants, and meatless protein for full nutrition.

Snack

Our Kale Mango Pineapple Ginger Smoothie is the perfect solution to your afternoon snack needs. When one of the most nutrient-dense leafy greens on the planet (Kale) is combined with fruits high in disease-fighting antioxidants (mango and pineapple), the result can only be a flavorful smoothie that will keep you full and energized for hours. Or try these Superfood Fudge Balls that will satisfy that sweet tooth and help keep you full during the day!

Dinner

While this Salmon Grain Bowl with Sesame Miso Dressing does take a bit of time to prep, you can speed up the process by marinating the eggs and making the dressing in advance. Its key ingredient, Mustard Greens, is an excellent source of vitamins C and K, fiber, and micronutrients that are beneficial for eye and heart health, not to mention their immune-boosting effects. With additional healthy gems like farro and salmon, you will also be getting a decent intake of fiber, iron, magnesium, protein, and Omega-3.

Dessert

If you have a sweet tooth and always crave dessert after dinner, you don't need to give up the sugary foods you love. Think of ways you can recreate them using nutrient-dense whole foods, including fruits and even... vegetables! Our Fruit and Greens Parfait, for example, does not come to life without an instant pudding mix and whipped heavy cream that you likely already love. It becomes a cleaner dessert creation, however, with the addition of kale, cherries, and other small fruits. Bottom line: use your desserts as an opportunity to begin making smarter food choices!

Take the guesswork out of your meal prep and see health and fitness results faster by dialing in your nutrition with our recipes! By making good eating habits a priority and reaping the benefits of Nature’s Greens dark leafy vegetables at most of your meals and snack times, we have no doubt you will also see the healthy fitness light in the new year!

Be sure to tag us in your meal prep or recipes on Facebook and Instagram!

Celebrating Good Food & Good Times

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

Despite our holiday celebrations looking different this December than in years past, there are still holiday traditions to observe, gifts to give and receive, sweet memories to make with your family, and of course, scrumptious holiday treats and meals to make and enjoy. We might be biased, but all of the delicious holiday food might be our favorite part of the season. Coming together in the kitchen with family to bake traditional favorites or gathering around the table to share a special meal together is what the season is all about for us.

Pro Tip: invite your children and your family into the kitchen with you to cook this holiday season! Not only will you foster a love of cooking homemade meals with family, you’ll also find new traditions to celebrate in a year where many of your family’s beloved favorites might be cancelled or held virtually. Make it a special cooking date and Zoom with grandparents, aunts and uncles, or close family friends and prepare the same recipe together. It won’t be the same as being able to cook together in person, but it’ll help you connect with those you love the most throughout the holiday season.

 Here are a few recipe ideas to get you started in the kitchen!

 Holiday Party

Headed out to a socially-distanced holiday party this year? Don’t go empty handed! Give our Spicy Collard Dip a try this year. You can even make it super safe for everyone by serving the dip in mini individual cups with a side of sliced vegetables for dipping so that everyone has their own dip and they do not need to worry about sharing with others.

Cookies for Santa

Surprise Santa with a healthy, nutritional cookie when he stops by your family’s house on Christmas Eve. Our Chocolate Cherry Kale Cookies are so easy to make and so delicious that you’ll want to make an extra batch (or two!) for your family to enjoy throughout the season. 

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning—especially with little ones running around—can be extremely hectic. Make your Christmas morning easier by preparing breakfast ahead of time and popping it in the oven when you head downstairs to see what Santa left and to open presents. Spend some time on Christmas even making our Superfood Lemon Blueberry Scones and serve them on Christmas morning with your favorite nut butter or jelly!

New Year’s Day

Did you know? Collards are a traditional food prepared on New Year’s Day because it’s said that eating collards will ensure that you have a strong financial future in the coming year. We’re here for any reason to eat collards! Our website is filled with great recipes that feature collards, CLICK HERE to find a recipe. Which recipe are you going to try out for your New Year’s Day meal?

From all of us at WP Rawl, we hope that you and your family have a wonderful, safe, and healthy holiday season!

Unique Ways to Gather with Family & Friends this Holiday Season

The end of the year is rapidly approaching, and with it, the holiday season! If there’s one thing we know heading into the holidays this year… it’s that they’re going to look unlike any other holiday that we’ve ever experienced. As we missing out on traditional favorites like parades, tree lightings, holiday parties, and more, we’re all looking for ways to keep some of our traditions alive (even if they look a little bit different). One thing that’s universal during the holiday season: gathering with family and friends over a savory meal.

Around here, we’re definitely not giving up our holiday dinners! We just know that we’ll be taking extra measures to social distance and looking for ways to keep our family and friends healthy throughout the holiday season as we still manage to gather together.

If it’s warm enough where you live on Thanksgiving Day, host a backyard dinner where you’re able to spread out more and enjoy the fresh air

• Host an intimate dinner with all of the trimmings and your favorite dishes for just your immediate family, but have a FaceTime or Zoom call set up with the rest of your family to be able to enjoy the meal together.

• Drop off your favorite Thanksgiving recipe—prepared and with heating instructions if necessary—at a friend’s house or a grandparent’s house so they can still enjoy one of your traditional dishes at their at-home Thanksgiving

• Get your kids involved with the meal planning and allow them to help you prepare the meal this year—with more intimate dinners, you have more opportunity to focus on just your family and creating new memories together

 After you decide how you’re going to gather to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, it’s time to set the menu for the day! Introduce a new recipe to the mix this year. Our website is full of healthy, nutritious, and delicious recipes that you add flavor to any Thanksgiving menu. We have a few that are particularly Thanksgiving-themed that we think you and your family should try out this year:

 Crispy Collard Greens & Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

Put a fun twist on your traditional mac and cheese this year by adding in some collard greens and some fresh butternut squash to it. Find the recipe here.

Savory Turkey and Turnip Greens Over Yams

Hosting an intimate dinner at your home with just you and your significant other, or just your immediate family? Consider trying our Savory Turkey and Turnip Greens Over Yams as your main course on Thanksgiving! You get your traditional Thanksgiving favorites of turkey and yams, but in an entire new way. It’s perfect for smaller meals and can easily be doubled or tripled if needed for extra guests! Find the recipe here!

Turkey and Collard Cassoulets

Another way to incorporate turkey into your Thanksgiving meal this year in a new way is with our Turkey and Collard Cassoulets. These mini casseroles are perfect single servings and are so tasty! They include fresh veggies, collards, and cooked turkey, and can be prepared in individual ramekins or in a big dish all together, however you prefer. Find the recipe here!

How are you celebrating the holidays with your family this year? Whether you’re gathering around the table together or hosting your family virtually this year, one thing’s for sure: food and the holidays always bring us together regardless of whatever else is going on in the world! 

We would love to see your holiday dishes! Tag us on social media and we will share your posts. (Instagram, Facebook)

Reducing Food Waste: Tips & Tricks with Groceries to Limit What You Throw Out

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According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average US household family of four throws out 219 lbs of food per person annually. That equates to nearly $1,600 per family. In addition, nearly 40% of the US food supply is wasted each year.

The numbers and statistics are shocking, and it makes you wonder just how we as Americans manage to waste so much food each year. Food waste happens every single day from your house to the grocery store, the local restaurants in town, and everywhere in between. It’s a growing problem throughout our country—and the world—and it’s one that we’re hoping to help you take steps towards tackling.

At WP Rawl, we pride ourselves on fast, farm fresh deliveries and doing our part to cut down on food waste that happens on the commercial production side. Our transportation fleet allows us to offer dependable, overnight delivery to major east coast cities. This means our freshly picked produce is delivered in hours rather than days to your local grocery store to get it to you as quickly as possible for consumption.

Meal Plan

The best way that we know how to limit food waste is to carefully plan out each meal and buy just what you need to prepare each one. You can purchase a days worth of groceries or a weeks’ worth of groceries without worrying about anything spoiling or going to waste if you have a well-thought out meal plan that you’re able to easily stick to. Your list will comprise of just what you need and you won’t be wandering the aisles tossing items in your cart that look great, but might not get used before their expiration date.

Grocery Shopping

When you’re shopping at the store, carefully select each item based on when it’ll be ripe or when it expires and compare to when you plan to use it. Is that avocado already fairly squishy and dark brown in color, but you don’t plan to use it in your meal plan for another four days? Skip over it for one that’s greener and firmer, and one that will ripen at home just in time for when you need it. Buying things before they are ripe allows for you to buy further in advance, but if you need something for a meal in the next day or two, go ahead and get the produce that’s ready to eat!

Storing

One trick that we have when it comes to limiting food waste is to ensure that you are storing your food correctly when you arrive from the grocery store. Take note of what fresh fruits and veggies do better in the fridge, which ones do best in cool, dark spots in the kitchen, and which ones are ok to put in a bowl on the kitchen counter. Place things that are already ripe or getting ready to be ripe at the front so you use them first rather than letting them spoil in the back.

If you have incorporated meal prep and planning into your routine, this is a great time to go ahead and prep the food you purchased so that it’s ready to use when you need it. Having food ready to go when you need is a great way to stay on track with your meal plan so that you use all of the ingredients you purchased rather than letting them go to waste. 

Freezing

Did you purchase an ingredient in bulk at the store because it was on sale? Portion out what you plan to use in your upcoming meals and then freeze the remainder! One of our favorite meal prep hacks? If you’re freezing chicken, beef, or pork that you’ll later unfreeze, marinate, and cook, go ahead and freeze your meat with the marinade inside of the bag with it. It’ll save you time later down the road when you unthaw the meat for your meal—it’ll marinate as it thaws!

Carefully label each thing that you freeze with the date it was purchased and what’s in the bag, and store it behind things you already have in your freezer so that you always use the oldest frozen items first.

How do you reduce waste in your kitchen? We’d love to hear some tips and tricks from you!

Tips & Tricks for Improvising Your Meal Plan Midweek

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Let’s be real—life happens. There will be days that are hard, where you’ll just want to come home and relax instead of make dinner. There will be activities or practices that run late, there will be the occasional missing ingredient, and there will be times where you just don’t want to eat what you have on your meal plan.

What do you do when this happens? Stick to your pantry! Avoid making a quick trip through the drive-thru line on the way home and skip the online ordering by ensuring that your pantry is always stocked with items you can use to pull together a quick meal.

Create a list of easy-to-make meals.

Keep a list handy of meals that are not only easy to make, but are family favorites. These should be meals that everyone enjoys and that can be pulled together in under 30 minutes. These do not need to be fancy meals! It can be as simple as pasta topped with marinara sauce and parmesan cheese. Meals like rice bowls are wonderful to have on your list—you can toss whatever meat, veggies, and cheese you have on hand into your rice bowl to make a complete meal.

Looking for some great recipes to add to your list? Take a look at the collection of recipes that we have featured on our website—we know you can find plenty of recipes on here that would be perfect to add to your list alongside your tried and true favorites.

Keep your pantry stocked.

Now that you have the list of meals you know are easy to pull together at the last minute, it’s time to create a grocery list of items to keep stocked in your pantry. These are items that you’ll want to have on hand at all times and as soon as you run out, you add them back into your weekly shopping list so that you can restock as soon as possible. Trust us—you’ll thank yourself later when you’re resorting to one of your quick fix dinners and all of the ingredients are readily available in your pantry.

This goes for your freezer, too! Always keep a pack of your most commonly used meat in your freezer, along with frozen veggies, frozen sauces, and any frozen meals that you can make ahead of time and pop into the over in a hurry.

Sub in similar ingredients.

Ran out of an item you need, and you haven’t made your weekly shopping trip yet? Sub in a similar ingredient! If you were planning to make beef tacos but are out of ground beef, swap it out for ground chicken or turkey, or even sautéed vegetables for a veggie taco. In the mood for spaghetti but no pasta noodles? Spiralize those extra zucchini that you picked in your garden earlier in the week and swap those out for the regular noodles. 

How do you get creative in the kitchen when you improvise your meal plan? We’d love to know your secrets! Share your tips and tricks with us by tagging @naturesgreens and #collardkale2020 in your posts and stories.

How to Meal Plan On-The-Go to Save Time and Money

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If you’re looking to save both time and money when it comes to putting healthy, nutritious, and delicious meals on the table for you and your family, the best way to go about it is through meal planning. Meal planning will make it easy for you to achieve all of the above plus, it takes out the stress of your weekday afternoons and evenings because you won’t be scrambling to figure out what to cook for dinner and making a quick trip to the grocery store for the ingredients.

Browse through our collection of 100s of great recipes that incorporate our greens and veggies by clicking here!

Save Time & Money at the Grocery Store

Two huge benefits of meal planning come at the grocery store—by walking in with a shopping list and a plan, you’re less likely to spend extraneous time wandering up and down the aisle of the store and inevitably adding additional, unnecessary items to your cart. You’ll browse the aisles with ease as you put just what you need in your cart and head to the checkout line quicker than ever before.

Reduce Your Weeknight Stress

Meal planning ensures that you, and everyone in the family, knows what’s on tap for the week when it comes to dinner. You won’t be sidetracked at work as you try to think of something for dinner that everyone will love and you won’t be trying to squeeze in a quick trip to the grocery store—during the busy afterwork hours—on your way home.

Make It a Family Activity

Start your kids out young in regards to educating them about great snack and meal choices by involving them in your weekly meal planning session. You can take a look at the calendar together as you map out your family’s activities for the week and determine which meals you’ll be gathering around the table for as a family. Having everyone’s input can seem daunting but in reality, you’ll be giving everyone a voice in making sure that some of their favorite meals make it into the rotation, too. This will save you sibling squabbles and complaints of “but I didn’t want that for dinner!” during the week since everyone will know ahead of time what to expect. Who wouldn’t want to save that time for extra family bonding time?

But how exactly do you go about meal planning to save time and money in a world that’s already crazy busy and constantly on the go? Here’s a few tips and tricks that we have for making meal planning as quick and easy as possible.

• Create a Recipe File

Sit down and create a file somewhere—it can be a recipe box, a recipe binder, or even on Pinterest—of all of you and your family’s favorite recipes. You can sort them by type of meat included, the type of meal (salad, soup, pasta, etc), or even by time it takes to make. Having this handy will make the process go faster because you’ll have everything you need in one spot. All you have to do then is pick 5-7 recipes, jot down the ingredients, and then your meal plan is ready! 

• Set Aside Time for Your Weekly Grocery Shopping

Whether you choose to use a shopping service or you go to the store yourself, set aside a designated time each week. Preferably, it’s a less popular time to shop so that you or your shopper can get in and out of the store even quicker! 

• Keep Your Pantry & Freezer Stocked

Save money in your overall grocery shopping budget by keeping an eye out for your most commonly used ingredients going on sale at the store. Even though you might not need that ingredient this week, you might next week, and you’ll be glad that you got it on sale ahead of time. It has the added benefit of also saving you a trip to the store in a pinch. If you need to substitute a different meal during the week than what you had scheduled, it’s easier to do with a well-stocked pantry than with one that is depleted. 

Happy meal planning and shopping, friends! Tag us in your photos and your videos as you tackle meal planning together with your family or in the meals that you’re making each week by using @naturesgreens. We’d love to see what you’re up to in your kitchen!

Disrupting Our Old Eating Patterns

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We hear you—2020 has been quite the year and many of us are ready to hit that ‘reset’ button. Let’s take it back to January. Who remembers what their New Year’s Resolutions were this year? Less than halfway into the year and we could all use a refresh on the goals that we had in mind for ourselves, our families, and our careers just six months ago. The good news is that you don’t have to wait for January 1 to roll around again to recommit to the resolutions that you set out for yourself. Today’s a great day to get started.

Many resolutions can center around eating better, losing weight, working out, or finally getting back into shape like you were in your earlier days. One way to help fuel all of the above habits is to break out of your food routine and to introduce better eating habits. But how do you do that?

Be Clear on Your Motivation and What Your Goal Is

There are a variety of reasons for wanting to disrupt old eating patterns and develop new eating habits. It could be that you were eating on the go from fast food restaurants too much. You could want to include more proteins to fuel your workout program. You might need to lose or gain a few pounds. Whatever your motivation for changing up your menu, know what your end goal is so that you are clear in what direction you need to go.

Develop New Habits

The first step to developing a new habit is to have a plan, and the second step is to have a commitment to sticking to your plan for at least 3 weeks. Did you know? It takes at least 21 days to begin forming a habit. After 3 weeks, you have a commitment to forming the new habit and from there, you’ll want to commit to another 90 days. Start small so that you don’t overwhelm yourself. If you want to cut fast-food and eating out out of your life, begin by eating breakfast at home each day. After you have mastered that, have a goal of eating 6 out of 7 dinners a week at home rather than out in a restaurant. Habits take time, dedication, and discipline, so it’s good to begin with small steps that are easily accomplished and that can add up over the weeks and months as you begin to slowly develop your new habit.

What also helps is having a partner on your new habit journey! The support from your spouse, your family, or even a friend is immeasurable. If you’re in it together with someone else, you’re more likely to stick to your commitment.

Find Recipe Inspiration

The quickest way to fall back into your old eating habits is to not have any inspiration for cooking in the kitchen. Try ordering a new cookbook online, finding a foodie blog to follow, or browse through our collection of 100s of great recipes that incorporate our greens and veggies by clicking here! Experiment with new ingredients, too! If there’s a food you haven’t tried before, or one you haven’t tried in a longtime, try to include it in one of your upcoming meals. You might be surprised at how delicious it is! 

Spring Greens Pizza with Kale & Pistachio Pesto

Serves: 2-4

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Find the recipe here

It’s true—you don’t have to start a new habit on January 1, at the beginning of the month, or even the beginning of the week. You can start anytime, any day. All you have to do is decide that you want to make this change for you, and then you’re off and running. We’d love to follow along with your journey! Tag us in your posts with @naturesgreens so that we can virtually cheer you along as you meet each of your goals and develop your new habits.

Healthy Ways to Lose or Gain Weight this Spring

THIS MESSAGE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY MUSTARD TURNIP 2020

#MustardTurnip2020

Let’s face it—this spring hasn’t looked like anything any of us could have possibly imagined. Our lives were turned upside down as our community, state, and national governments looked at the ways that we could work to slow the spread of a global pandemic and keep one another safe. Everything shifted overnight. Schools moved to e-learning as the buildings closed for the year. Many of us set up offices in our homes as we moved from working in our office buildings to working from home. Essential workers continued to provide the necessary services to keep our communities rolling along smoothly, but maybe added in additional hours alongside safety precautions recommended by the CDC.

The environment that you live in plays a big factor in your health and in your eating habits. One positive thing that we have seen come out of the pandemic is that more and more families were gathering together around the table for three meals a day—three meals that were all meal prepped for and cooked at home. We have seen people refine their kitchen and culinary skills, and we have been so impressed!

We have also enjoyed seeing families get outside together for family bike rides and walks, evenings running around the backyard, and picnics in the front yard. It’s been an exercise in creativity for all of us as we’ve worked to not be too terribly bored as we have spent the summer at home. Have you picked up that book you’ve been meaning to read? Did you finally tackle that DIY project for your closet? Or are you taking a look at your diet and exercise scheduled to see how you can improve it to safely lose or gain weight?

Safely Lose Weight

• Meal Prep—the best way to ensure that you’re eating a well balanced diet and that you’re not grabbing the junk food from the cabinet when you’re too busy to cook is by having your breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners ready to go.

• Eat slowly and mindfully—this season of life is at time where you can truly slow down and savor a meal, rather than eating quickly and dashing off to the next activity. Embrace it. Learn how to eat mindfully and recognize when you’re full.

• Avoid snacking throughout the day—working from home and only a few feet away from your pantry can make avoiding excessive snacking difficult. Try relocating some of your favorite snacks to further away in the house or skip buying them at the grocery store.

• Get outside and get moving—without gyms to go to for your work out, get creative and get outside to get your movement in. Play a game of soccer in the backyard with your children, go for a run during your lunch break, or ride your bike around the neighborhood to get your blood pumping. 

Safely Gain Weight

• Add more protein to your diet—protein is the single most important nutrient for gaining weight in a healthy manner. Safely adding weight means adding muscle mass, and our muscles are made up of protein. A quick and easy way to start your day is with a homemade protein smoothie.

• Add in starchy carbs to your diet—let’s hear it for the starchy carbs! These carbs will add calories to your diet to help you gain weight and they will also bump up your muscle glycogen stores which will in turn give you more energy for your day. Try adding in quinoa, potatoes & sweet potatoes, corn, and squash to your diet.

• Add in healthy fats to your diet—did somebody say avocado? Adding in avocado to your day is one of the easiest ways to increase healthy fats in your diet. Our recipe collection online features an abundance of recipes with avocado—check it out for some tips!

• Eat smaller meals more frequently throughout the day—start the day off with your protein smoothie, have a breakfast, lunch, a healthy afternoon snack, and dinner to space out your meals throughout the day rather than having just three big meals.

• Add in Strength Training—add in more free weights to your at home workouts and decrease the amount of time that you spend doing aerobic exercises like running or jumping on the trampoline with your kids.

How are you spending your time at home this spring season? We’d love to see the meals you’ve been cooking at home and enjoying around the table together, the gardens that you’re growing in your backyard, and the ways that you’re implementing our health weight loss and gain tips above. Tag us in your photos and videos on Instagram using @naturesgreens.

Understand Your Cravings

THIS MESSAGE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY MUSTARD TURNIP 2020

#MustardTurnip2020

Have you noticed?

Eating plays a role in nearly every major life event that we participate in. Families gather around the table together for the holidays, you and your friends might dine out for a birthday celebration, wedding receptions serve an abundance of food, and anniversaries are celebrated with delicious meals. Many of your cravings for specific foods are more about your craving for the feelings that come with those foods. For example, if your grandmother baked her famous 11-layer chocolate cake for the family to enjoy every Thanksgiving, you might crave that cake just because you want to bring back the feelings of gathering with your family.

Sometimes though, you’re craving something that’s outside of your regular meal plan just because it tastes great and that’s ok. Cravings aren’t the bad guy and they certainly not the enemy even though we leave in a culture that has portrayed cravings as such. We know you’ve run into an instance where you’ve craved something healthy, too, right? If you’ve been eating out lately or haven’t had the time to meal prep, your body might be craving a salad, fresh produce, or even a healthy smoothie. Cravings aren’t just restricted to sweets or things we should eat only in moderation.

You can navigate the fine lines of cravings by learning the difference between a craving and hunger. A craving is defined as an intense, urge, or abnormal desire or longing for something while hunger is a feeling of discomfort or weakness caused by a lack of food, coupled with the desire to eat. Craving and hunger can walk hand in hand sometimes, but remember that you can also crave things even when you’re not hungry.

Don’t deny yourself when you have a craving, but use common mindfulness when choosing to indulge in a particular food that is outside of your typical day. If you deny yourself, you’re more likely to end up bingeing on it because it becomes even more enticing than it was before. For example, if you’re craving your favorite chocolate bar, consider baking a chocolate treat that has some additional nutrients added in.

You can whip up a batch of our Kale Chia Chocolate Truffles the next time that you want to dive into a chocolate candy bar. These truffles are made with dark chocolate, chia seeds, Nature’s Greens (R) Kale, and will satisfy your craving while providing additional nutrients to your day. It’ll help fuel your body and get you through the day. 

Work on developing a practice of mindfulness so that you’re always present in the moment and mindful of what you’re consuming. All food is ok in moderation! 

How are you maintaining your cravings this spring season? We’d love to see you implementing your tips and tricks for mindfulness, as well as indulging in those healthy cravings we discussed. Tag us in your photos and videos on Instagram using @naturesgreens.

Happy National Nutrition Month!

THIS MESSAGE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY COLLARD KALE 2020

#CollardKale2020

Happy National Nutrition Month! Held annually in March, National Nutrition Month is an annual campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics where they invite everyone to focus on eating right, bite by bite. It’s a month to focus on making informed food choices as you develop both sound eating and physical activity habits.

The campaign has four main pillars to focus on throughout the month:

• Learn to vary your diet by eating a variety of nutrition foods each day

• Incorporate meal planning into your week so you have healthy food choices during your busy days

• Discover new prep and cooking skills to create delicious meals in the kitchen for you and your family

• Visit a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist to learn more about your specific nutrition needs

At WP Rawl, we strongly believe in helping everyone have access to good nutrition. This means that we provide local grocery stores with our fresh produce, packed with an abundance of nutrients, and we work to help provide people with the knowledge that gives them the power to make informed food choices at home, out with friends, and even on vacation. We want nutrition to be easy to understand! The easier it is to understand, the more likely you are to use the information to make an informed food decision.

If you’re diving into nutrition mindfulness for the first time, we’ve broken down a few easy steps for you:

My Plate

Do you remember the Food Pyramid from your school days? Established in 1916, it has evolved over the last century to a new concept called “My Plate”—it gives you new, easier to interpret visual cues as to how you should proportion the amount of fruits, vegetables, protein, grains, and dairy that you should consume on a daily basis. Start your nutrition journey first by focusing on giving yourself a variety of food to consume each day based on these proportion guidelines. Consuming way more protein than you are fruit? Try a smaller protein portion and add a few extra fresh strawberries to your plate instead.

Nutrition Fact Label

Once you’ve figured out how to change up the portions of the five main food groups that you consume, the next step we suggest is diving into learning how to read a Nutrition Fact Label.  Start with the serving size—this will tell you right away a suggested serving size that likely fits in with your MyPlate portions that you’ve already mastered. Next, take a look at the Percent Daily Values and use them as your guide on whether or not this particular food works for your meal plan. Anything than 5% is considered low, and you’ll want your saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, and sodium all to be under 5%. Anything over 20% is considered high, so try and select foods that are over 20% in vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

Meal Planning

Once you’ve mastered the first two steps, you’re ready to tackle meal planning! Use our website as a great reference for finding healthy, nutritious recipes that will guide you to making tasty dishes in your kitchen ahead of time to enjoy throughout the week.

How are you simplifying nutrition in your life this month as you celebrate National Nutrition Month? Tag us in your photos and videos on Instagram using @naturesgreens!

Improve Your Mental Health by Spending Time in the Kitchen

THIS MESSAGE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY COLLARD KALE 2020

#CollardKale2020

It’s the time of year where we’re all focused on our health. The New Year has come and gone and we’ve made our resolutions, created charts to track our fitness goals, and we’re excitedly celebrating each step that we accomplish. With all of the goals that you made this year—was your own mental health a focus of any of them?

According to MentalHealth.gov, mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood adolescence through adulthood. Despite how important we know it is to take care of, we aren’t always the best stewards of our own mental health.

Add one more resolution to your list for 2020—make it a goal to check in with yourself more often. How are you feeling… really? Is your mental health soaring high this year or is it lingering down by the ground, refusing to bloom?

One way to encourage positive mental health and to ensure that you are taking the time to do the things that you enjoy the most. They can be things like:

• Being outside

• Partaking in physical activity

• Gardening

• Cooking in the kitchen

• Gathering around the table with your family

• Hosting dinner parties with friends

• Baking cookies with your grandchildren

• Making family-favorite recipes for your family to enjoy

If being in the kitchen or being surrounded by family and friends at the dinner table is high on your list of things that you enjoy, we know a few recipes that would be great to whip up in your kitchen this week. Spend time with your children as you prepare these recipes together, or even brighten up an elderly neighbors day by dropping it off at their home. Check out some of our favorite recipes:

Breakfast

Take time to set the tone of your day by starting it off right by getting your heart rate up with a early morning run or quick trip to the gym, and then spend some quality time with your partner catching up before you both head out the door for the day. Our Mediterranean Egg White Cups are easy to make ahead to be able to enjoy on busy weekday mornings. Grab one (or two, we won’t tell!) to eat as you catch up with your partner.

Lunch

Give your littles something to smile about when they open up their lunchbox in the cafeteria at school. Maybe they have a big test in the afternoon that they’re worried about, or maybe the morning was tough in a new classroom. Nothing goes better with our Make Head Beans & Greens Quesadilla than a sweet note from mom or dad!

Dinner

Is a friend having a hard month or an exceptionally rough day? Invite them over for dinner! You can catch up, lend a listening ear, and offer your support over a delicious meal homemade in your kitchen. We suggest our Modern Pad Thai. You can’t go wrong with this healthy comfort meal!

#breakthestigma this year by being more in sync with your mental health and being more aware of the mental health of those around you. We’d love to see how you’re taking time to enjoy the things you love the most as you work towards keeping your mental health at the forefront of your mind—tag us in your Instagram stories and in your photos using @naturesgreens!

What to Expect When You Drive with WP Rawl

How much do you pay per mile?

Starting pay is $0.54/mile with sign on bonus of $6,000.

Where do you run?

We deliver to most major metro areas in the eastern half of the United States.

Do you have home time? How long will I be on the road?

On average, you can expect to be on the road an average of 3-5 days. Home every weekend or every other weekend.

What kind of trucks do you have?

Freightliners—fully equipped. Standard and Automatic available, years 2010-2018.

What benefits do you have?

We offer medical, dental, vision, and life. You will also be eligible for the 401k program where we offer a company match up to 4%.

Are your deliveries live unloads, or are they drop-and-hook?

Due to the nature of our product ( produce ) our outbound loads are live unloads.  Delivery dwell times can at times be frustrating, but we ask that you contact us when delayed so we can work with customer service to get you moving.  Inbound loads coming back to Pelion are not live unloads, and you are simply asked to top off the reefer fuel tank and then drop trailer on the yard.  Many of our backhauls delivering to consignees other than WP Rawl are live unloads.  We are consistently working on establishing a greater number of backhauls that are drop and hook.

Do you offer dedicated lanes?

Yes, we do.  Roughly 65% of our outbound loads shipped are based on consistent lanes.  We must always adapt to the needs of the business, but remain committed as possible to the dedicated lane structure.  Running a consistent lane allows a driver to establish a relationship with the customer.  That relationship then creates an environment which tends to lessen the time spent at the DC during the delivery.

Gardening in the Fall: Thoughts From an Organic Farmer in South Carolina

by Mark Spicer, Assistant Organic Farm Manager

Based on our experience at WP Rawl, we believe large farmers and small gardeners alike are presented with an ideal growing environment during the fall here in the Midlands of South Carolina. When most growers in the country are starting to think about winding down and preparing for winter, we Southern growers can start thinking about all the bountiful homegrown meals we can make for our friends and family. Ultimately, that’s why we at WP Rawl do what we do. Knowing that our family, friends, and neighbors are choosing our product when they go to the grocery store makes all our hard work worthwhile.

First steps

So what can you do to turn your plot of land or corner in your backyard into a bountiful harvest? Well, first of all you’ll need to prepare the ground by turning the soil over with either a tiller or a shovel. The goal is to break up the large chunks of sod or dirt so that you’re left with a smooth, weed-free plot of ground.  Turning the soil helps break up large clots of dirt, get rid of weeds, and creates a nice smooth seedbed ready for planting.

Next, you’ll want to take a look at your soil and think about how your vegetables will get the nutrients they need to grow. If you have sandy soil, you’ll need to fertilize and water your plants more often since sandy soils don’t hold nutrients or moisture well. If the soil is harder to break up and sticks together in clumps, then you’ll have to work a little harder to prepare your plot, but it also means that most likely you have better conditions to grow vegetables.

Compost

Compost is the greatest material asset we have to improve our soils here on the organic farm at Rawl. After just three years of mixing compost into our soil before planting, we have seen a massive increase in productivity and plant health. In my opinion, adding as much well-made compost to your garden as possible is the best thing you can do for the crops you plan to grow. There are local companies that sell or give away compost, and it is also sold in 1 to 3.8 cubic foot bags at most large hardware stores. The minimum I would suggest to add is 3” of compost on top of your garden. There are many gardening sites that do calculations for you, but an example would be: 2 cubic feet of compost covers an 8 foot by 8 foot garden plot with 3 inches of compost.

Fall Veggies

Now we get to the fun part: planting! Here in the Midlands, we have few limitations as to what can grow well in the fall. If your plot is ready mid-July to early August, you’ll have the largest selection of vegetables to choose from. We at WP Rawl primarily grow “leafy greens”: kale, collards, and mustard greens, along with cilantro, parsley, green onions, and leeks. They are incredibly popular, especially during the holidays, and this time of year is well suited for their growth. Along with leafy greens, lettuces, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, beets, carrots, turnips, and radishes are perfect candidates for fall gardening; they all thrive in cool weather and even improve in flavor with a little frost. It’s even possible for backyard gardeners in this area to start late-season tomatoes in July and August if they’re ambitious. They require more care and knowledge than most vegetables, but there isn’t anything quite like eating a homegrown tomato fresh off the vine.

Checking recently planted seeds.

Root vegetables, such as beets and carrots, should be started from seed in relatively weed-free soil any time from August 1st to mid-September. Spinach and lettuce can also be grown easily from seed, but planting them as transplants will also work. Vegetable transplants are generally 4 to 6-week-old plants grown in multi-cell trays or small pots started in a climate-controlled greenhouse. Most nurseries and hardware stores will probably be running sales on their transplants in the fall because they don’t want to keep these plants through the winter. Leafy greens (kale, collards, mustard greens, etc.) will grow better if you plant them as transplants.

Making It Grow

After you’ve prepared your soil, spread your compost, and planted your seeds and transplants, the most important thing you’ll want to do is keep the soil moist and weed-free. Hoeing or pulling weeds once or twice a week is ideal, and also a great family activity that gets everyone outside and involved with the bounty to come. Watering twice per day while it’s still hot should be enough to get your seeds to pop up and your transplants to take root. You want to keep the ground moist, but not so wet that you leave puddles.  As your garden matures and fall really sets in, cooler weather and more frequent rain means you won’t have to water as much.

If you see that your plants are slowing down in their growth, a tablespoon of organic garden fertilizer per plant is plenty to get them going again. If you’d like to fertilize your entire garden on a regular basis to ensure consistent growth, you have a couple options. The first: add about an inch of compost to your garden every 2 to 3 weeks; rake it into the soil around the plants gently and be careful not to get it on the leaves of the plant because the concentrated nutrient levels may burn the pllant if it sticks. The second option: every 2 to 3 weeks sprinkle your organic fertilizer of choice at the suggested amount (there are many options at the hardware store or nursery to choose from, but a standard organic vegetable garden fertilizer will work just fine).

Depending on what you grow and the conditions of your soil, you should be able to start harvesting the spinach and leafy greens after about 30 to 40 days. Picking individual leaves, instead of cutting down the whole plant, will allow you to harvest for several months or until a hard freeze sets in. For the root vegetables, radishes will be ready in 20 to 30 days, about 45 days for baby beets and carrots, and 60 to 70 days for them to fully mature.

Summer/Fall Leek.

It is a big responsibility to care for a garden, but it doesn’t need to be seen as a hardship. I've discovered that all work is better and usually more enjoyable when shared with others. Everything from land preparation to planting to watering to pulling weeds offers the whole family an opportunity to get involved in an incredibly rewarding outdoors activity. Some of the best experiences I had as a child came from helping my mom cut lettuce for that night’s dinner. Here in the Midlands, nature has given us the gift of beautiful and often bountiful fall seasons. I would encourage families and individuals alike, to try a fall garden in the South at least once. I sincerely believe you’ll be amazed at what a little hard work and commitment can produce.  I encourage anyone with questions about gardening, or wanting to share their experience, to please reach out to me (mark.spicer@rawl.net). I would love to hear from you!

Happy growing!

-- Mark

PS: Are you growing a fall garden and posting about it on social media? Tag us in your photos so we can cheer you on! @WPRawl and @naturesgreens

4 Simple Steps to Weekly Meal Prep

We know how hectic this time of year can be.

With the weather warming up, the extra hour of daylight each evening, and the flurry of spring-time activities, you want to spend more of your time with your family and friends and less time preparing meals in the kitchen. 

You’re looking for meals that come together quickly at the end of the day, but still provide plenty of fresh, nutritious, and delicious food for your family. The best way to achieve this goal is to take the time to prepare for the week ahead with a couple hours of meal prepping on your Sundays. 

Never meal prepped before? We’ll walk you through the process.

#1: Select your recipes.

What meals are you in the mood for this week? What fresh produce is currently in season? Visit our collection of recipes on our website and find inspiration for what you want to eat during the upcoming week. Take note of the recipes that you know you and your family will enjoy.

#2: Set the menu for the week.

Go ahead and map out your week. Who will be home each night for dinner? Which evenings will you be short on time?What ingredients or meals can you easily prepare ahead of time for the nights you need a quick meal? By setting your game plan, you’re setting yourself up for success. You’ll be able to grocery shop efficiently, cut out the last minute fast food decisions, and eliminate the stress of figuring out what to cook for dinner. Put it in writing and stick it to your fridge for a visual reminder throughout the week of your plan.

#3: Create your grocery list and shop.

Once you know what meals you plan to cook, create your grocery list and shop. You can use an app for your grocery list, such as Our Groceries, to organize your list and to easily have it on hand when you’re shopping. 

Pro Tip: use a delivery service like Shipt to shop at Publix, and save even more time each week without the hassle of going to the grocery store yourself. 

#4: Prepare ingredients and meals on Sunday evenings.

After you’ve completed your grocery shopping, start your prepping. Take a look at each recipe to see what you can prepare ahead of time. Are there dry ingredients that you can measure out? Is there poultry that you can go ahead and cook? What vegetables can you chop and store in your refrigerator? There will be some things that you can’t do in advance, but you’d be surprised at how many items you can go ahead and have ready.

Here’s how we’d meal prep on Sunday for our Mediterranean Collard Greens over Spaghetti Squash meal:

1. Purchase our Versatile Veggies® Diced Yellow Onion and Nature’s Greens® Collard Greens.

2. Measure out all of the dry ingredients, place in small container, and seal. We personally use mason jars for dry goods.

3. Mince the garlic and chop the green bell pepper. Place in small Pyrex container, seal, and store in your refrigerator.

4. Cook the spaghetti squash, remove from the rind, and store in your refrigerator in a sealed container.

When it comes time to prepare dinner, all of your chopping and most of your measuring is complete! Your prep time is eliminated, and you can have dinner on the table in under 15 minutes. How great is that?

What do you plan to do with all of the extra time that you gain during the week thanks to meal prepping?

Share your meal prepping photos with us on social media using the hashtags #backtofresh and #naturesgreens, and be sure to tag us! We’d love to see what you’re cooking in your kitchen, and how you’re incorporating our meal prep tips into your week.

The Reasons Why People Are Choosing A Gluten-Free Lifestyle

If you are like us, you might be a little confused at what you can and can't eat these days. Is there a healthier way to eat and live? Are there tangible benefits to living a certain lifestyle? In 2018 we are going to explore these questions, specifically as it relates to gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegetarian lifestyles, and provide recipes that you can use for each of them. Let's dive into our first topic: gluten-free.

(Exclusive gluten-free recipes at the bottom of the post!)

The basics

Gluten-free is one of the trendiest lifestyles and dietary changes being made currently. You cannot go into a grocery store or a restaurant now that doesn't have a gluten-free section or offering in the aisle or menu, respectively. So why is it so popular? 

First, we need to know the answer to the question: what is gluten? According to the Mayo Clinic, gluten is protein found in grains such as wheat, rye, barley, and a hybrid of wheat and rye called triticale. Essentially, gluten gives dough its elasticity and helps hold it together while it is being made. Now that we know what gluten is we can move onto the next pressing question: why is it bad for some people?

The bad

Our bodies’ immune systems function something like this: recognize the difference between what belongs and what is foreign, then attack the foreign. However, many people suffer from autoimmune diseases. One such autoimmune disease is "celiac disease" (CD), caused by consuming gluten. Advocacy group Beyond Celiac states that about 1% of the US population has celiac disease. 

"Celiac disease is a condition in which gluten triggers immune system activity that damages the lining of the small intestine. Over time this damage prevents the absorption of nutrients from food." -- Mayo Clinic Staff

Clearly, people that suffer from celiac disease need to avoid gluten. However, what about people that do not have celiac disease? Why are they opting for gluten-free?

Gluten Intolerance vs. Gluten Sensitivity vs. Wheat Allergy

The Gluten Intolerance Group explain the three most common diagnoses and what they each mean. Gluten intolerance is diagnosed as celiac disease. The only way to treat celiac disease is to practice a 100% gluten-free diet. Gluten sensitivity, or non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), is hard to diagnose as it shares many of the same characteristics of celiac disease and there is no true test developed yet. The only way to identify it is to rule out an autoimmune reaction and a wheat allergy. Finally, a wheat allergy is specific to a rejection of a protein found in wheat, but other gluten from non-wheat sources is okay to eat.

What foods can I eat if I am gluten intolerant or have a gluten sensitivity?

Several different organizations list the foods that you can and cannot eat. We will assemble the highlights here, but if you have a gluten intolerance or gluten sensitivity, you need to do comprehensive research as well as consult with your doctor on an appropriate diet.

1. Allowed fresh foods

• Fruits and vegetables
• Beans, seeds and nuts in their natural, unprocessed forms
• Eggs
• Lean, nonprocessed meats, fish and poultry
• Most low-fat dairy products

1. Avoid all food and drinks that contain the following

• Wheat
• Barley
• Rye
• Triticale
• Oats (in some cases)

(From the Mayo Clinic Staff)

Gluten-free alternatives

• Amaranth
• Brown, white and wild rice
• Buckwheat
• Almond meal flour
• Coconut flour
• Corn
• Cornstarch
• Guar gum
• Millet
• Pea flour
• Potato flour
• Potatoes
• Quinoa
• Sorghum
• Soy flour
• Teff

(From Beyond Celiac)

---

Another great source for information and recipes is The Gluten-Free Goddess' blog. Karina Allrich writes about what she knows from her own life experience, shares practical ways to live gluten-free, and many tasty recipes.

I am not Gluten Sensitive but I think going gluten-free will improve my health

This is a hot topic right now, as an increasing rate of people who do not have a gluten intolerance are opting to go gluten-free. Among the biggest drivers is a growing suspicion on the potential adverse health affects of consuming gluten. If you do believe that you are suffering from a gluten intolerance, you should consult with a doctor and be tested. Always consult with a medical professional before making significant lifestyle changes. 

Adding fruits and veggies to your meals on a gluten-free diet

As you may know, fruits and veggies are really good for you. They have amazing nutritional properties that our body systems need daily to function. Another great thing about produce: its naturally gluten-free. Regardless of the lifestyle you choose to live, it's probably a good idea to keep fresh fruits and vegetables as a fixture in your diet.

White Bean Kale Cauliflower Casserole

Let's face it. It can be a challenge to get our friends or family to get on the gluten-free train with us. However, serve this delicious recipe from registered dietitian and best-selling author, Cynthia Sass, and your loved ones will be clamoring for more yummy dishes from you! Featuring fresh kale, cauliflower, lemon juice + zest, tahini, and white beans. Estimated prep + bake time is 35 minutes.

Click Here for the Recipe!

Pinto Bean and Collard Omelet

A Tex-Mex omelet recipe from Cynthia Sass, RD and best-selling author, is full of that southwest flavor you crave. The best part? When you make this for breakfast or brinner ( breakfast for dinner), you are giving your body an excellent source of protein. Also, those veggies aren't in their just for their color. The nutrients found between those veggies will add a healthy portion to your daily needs, and give your body the tools it needs to support itself.

Click Here for the Recipe!

Let's Get Together!

For many people fall is the start of an indulgent eating season that begins with Halloween treats, and continues straight through New Year’s Eve. But autumn is also a perfect time to take advantage of the abundance of healthy fare that makes this season special. A few of my favorites are apples, pumpkins, and greens.

Source: WP Rawl

Fresh, seasonal chopped apples can be whipped into a smoothie, or added to cinnamon oatmeal. Stir finely chopped apples into pancake batter, enjoy them sliced, dipped into almond butter, or sauté apples in lemon water, along with ginger, topped with a crumble made from oats, almond butter, maple syrup, and apple pie spice. Fresh sliced apples make a delicious addition to entrée salads, cooked cabbage, and stir frys. Shredded apple can also be folded into burger patties or meatloaf recipes. And for a healthy treat, try my recipe for kale and raisin stuffed slow cooker apples. 

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After carving a fresh pumpkin, the roasted seeds make a healthy snack, or topping for cooked veggies, salads, fish, beans, and lentils. Fresh roasted pumpkin flesh, seasoned with coconut oil, maple syrup, and pumpkin pie spice, also makes a nutritious, satisfying side dish. And unsweetened canned pumpkin makes a perfect addition to smoothies, oatmeal, hummus, or chili.     

Greens, a year round superfood, come to life in all new ways this season. Try my recipe for super green party dip, and a variety of fresh and cooked dishes, from coconut collard crisps, to lentil, yam and kale stew, and salmon mustard greens salad. Give your green smoothie some fall flare by blending kale with ingredients like ripe pear, ginger, and maple syrup.

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Make healthy eating a priority this fall, and you’ll be able to enjoy your favorite can’t-live-without splurges, without compromising your health or packing on any unwanted seasonal pounds.

Oh, Sweet Kale Of Mine!

This July, we are focusing on sweets. Sweets can be healthy and nutritious too, right?  Of course!

Try to incorporate a healthy and delicious leafy green, such as kale, in your favorite sweet treat. Here are 4 ways that will help you keep your favorite desserts “Back to Fresh”.

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1.       Use neutral tasting ingredients to cut out unwanted calories!

Sugars and sweeteners in desserts help mask the taste of other ingredients. Researchers from Idaho State University found that 8 in 10 people enjoyed fudge made with tofu just as much as they did with butter. Replacing butter with a healthier alternative is a great way to cut calories and carbs. Livestrong.com averages that one brownie of 35 grams, can have at least 20 grams of carbohydrates in it.

Kale is a great ingredient to add in desserts. The sweetness of the dessert tends to cut out the bitterness associated with the leafy green. Also, if your kids aren’t a fan of kale, try our recipe for our delicious Brownie Points, they won’t even know it’s in there.  Cutting these ingredients in half or eliminating them can go a long way in helping you cut calories while enjoying sweet treats!

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2.       Use a puree instead of the butter, oil or shortening!

Making a puree and cutting out half of the butter, oil or shortening in your favorite sweets can go a long way and help you stay on track with your weight loss and diet goals. Using kale, beets, and plant proteins like beans and lentils are great options for the “filler puree”.  

Using a puree also allows for you be sneaky with adding greens. These purees help hide the taste and texture of bitter veggies that people sometimes do not enjoy.

 3.       Mix leafy greens directly into the batter!

Make sure you get your daily 5 to 13 servings of fruits and veggies recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans by adding kale or other leafy greens into your batter.

Finely chop kale and incorporate it into your dessert batters. This is a simple way to add some veggies into your baked goods, and make sure you get your daily 5 to 13 servings of fruits and veggies. Doing this makes the texture and flavor of the greens less noticeable in your sweet treats!

 4.       Use dessert recipes that accent kale aesthetically!

 We’ve talked about mixing greens into your dessert so that you cannot see them or taste them, but sometimes embracing the fact that you have added kale is not a bad thing!

Why not impress friends and family with their favorite sweets that have kale, but taste great? A great example of this is our Kale Key Lime Pie. Key Lime Pie has a strong flavor in general, so adding kale to this very tart dessert is easy and as simple as adding to the wiped filling.

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Tips like these do not take a lot of time, baking skill, or effort. Making these simple changes will help you find ways to embrace starting a “Back to Fresh” journey.

Make sure to check out our website for hundreds of more great leafy green recipes. Follow along on our “Back to Fresh” journey on social media, and share your tips on dieting, weight loss, and healthy eating using the #BackToFresh hashtag!