Enter an interesting idea from Chickinfeed.  What is Chickinfeed?  The idea behind Chickenfeed began when Leslie Smith Grant wanted to find a way to teach her children about nutrition and what they need to eat each day to be healthy.  The Chickenfeed Nutrition Board is a simple way to track what should be eaten each day versus what has already been consumed. 

The board is made of galvanized metal and is about the size of a piece of legal sized paper.  It has a magnet on the back so it can attach to the refrigerator or it can be hung on a wall using the holes at the top.  There are cute little chicken magnets that can be moved from the side of the board where it says “what they need” to the side where it says “what they had.”  It’s simple enough for a child to keep track with the help of an adult.  The magnets are rather small, and they do come with a warning not to allow the younger kids (think toddlers and smaller) handle them as they are a choking hazard.

We tried a tracking board out for about 1 week.  I found it helpful to track the things that I know we can often fall short of on a daily basis.  It served as a great reminder of what we might need to include in dinner if we didn’t have enough during the earlier part of the day.  As with any type of tracking, it all depends on your commitment to it.  I liked the idea of it, but found that I was not consistent with checking it or moving over the magnets.  My boys thought it was cool and it complimented what they have been learning in school about healthy eating. 

The tracking boards are available in multiple colors and cost $30 each. 

Photo courtesy Chickinfeed.

The most common varieties that are found at the grocery store are Bosc, Anjou and Bartlett pears.  Bartlett and Anjou pears are sweet and juicy, which makes them perfect for eating without additional preparation.  Bosc pears have a dense texture, which is perfect for baking or other cooking methods. 

Pears are packed full of vitamins and fiber so they are a great snack to eat out of hand.  You can toss one in your bag to snack on while you are out and about during the day, or include them in your child’s snack or lunchbox.   

When choosing pears to purchase for eating or cooking with immediately, a good rule of thumb is to gently press on the neck of the pear to see if it gives slightly to pressure.  If it does, get started cooking or munching!  Otherwise, allow the pears to sit on your counter for a few days and they will continue to ripen.

Need some inspiration on what to make with those crispy, sweet pears?  Perhaps a nice Gingered Pear Crisp as a dessert to a fall dinner will do the trick.  If you are having a get together and want to serve an appetizer that has a bit more pizzaz, try Pear & Blue Cheese Flatbread cut into pieces and placed on an attractive serving platter.  Or maybe Vanilla Poached Pears will please your family for dessert.  No matter what you choose to do with them, this is the time of year to begin enjoying pears.

Sources:  www.USApears.com, Cooking Light

Photo courtesy Wikipedia.

Nike has been recycling old sneakers since 1990, through their Let Me Play program.  The worn-out sneakers are used to re-surface playgrounds, outdoor basketball courts, athletic fields and running tracks.  Not only are they re-purposing these shoes that would have ended up in a dump, they are also encouraging children, and adults, to get out and get active through this initiative.  In the last 18 years, this program has resurfaced 265 play surfacees with over 21 million pairs of shoes.

The joy that is brought to the children who have these areas to play is priceless and the donation of your worn out sneakers is so simple.  Any brand of worn out shoes can be taken to a drop-off location which can be found at many Nike retail stores.  If you don’t have a retail location near you, simply collect your shoes and mail them directly to Nike’s Recycling Center program.  

Don’t toss those worn out sneakers, help create more areas for kids to play instead!

There are hundreds of varieties of apples, as can be seen on the All About Apples website.  You may find that there are many local orchards in your own town that will allow you to spend a fun day with the family filling up bushel baskets of apples to take home and enjoy.   Just think of the fun your children (and you) will have while spending time outside in an orchard picking the perfect apples to take home and make an apple pie or perhaps fresh applesauce.

Here are some interesting facts about apples to get you started:

• Apples ripen six to ten times faster at room temperature than if they were refrigerated. For optimal storage, apples should be kept at 35-40 degrees with relative humidity of 80-90%.
• A bushel of apples weighs approximately 42 pounds.
• Apple varieties range in size from a little larger than a cherry to as large as a grapefruit. There are apples that have an aftertaste of pears, citrus, cinnamon, cloves, coconut, strawberries, grapes and even pineapple!

Now that you are daydreaming about a nice warm apple crisp or even biting into a fresh, crisp apple, it’s time to share some places to find great ways of using the bushel of apples you will be sure to pick this fall.

Why not make some Fresh Applesauce from Epicurious rather than buying the pre-made product?  It’s sure to be healthier and you’ll feel good serving it to your family.

Food Network has a whole slew of Apple Crisp recipes to share with your family.

Bring a thin French Apple Tart from Cooking Light to your next get-together and you’ll be sure to impress everyone.

Sources:  Pick Your Own and All About Apples

Photo courtesy of All About Apples.

Peaches are in their glory during the month of August and are available in various states such as New Jersey, Georgia, California, Texas and Missouri, just to name a few that produce this delicious fruit.  If you have pick your own farms nearby, take advantage and spend a morning choosing your own peaches with your family. 

When selecting fresh peaches, it is often best to choose a slightly under-ripe peach and allow it to finish ripening at home.  They will ripen within a day or so and be perfect for eating.  If you are planning to cook with them the same day that you purchase them, then you’ll want to choose riper fruit. 

Many recipes require the fruit to be peeled.  To do this easily and limit the frustration of trying to get the peach skin off, here’s a way to do it: score the bottom of the peach with an “X” using a knife.  Then, bring a pot of water to a boil.  Allow each peach to be in the water for about 1 minute, then remove.  The skin will come off without any additional effort.

There are so many options for cooking with peaches, if you can keep from simply biting into them.  A favorite by many people is some variation of Peach Pie or a Peach Cobbler.  Both are perfect additions to any summer potluck or barbeque get-together.  If you have an ice cream maker, perhaps some fresh Peach Ice Cream would help cool down the kids after a full day of playing in the sun. 

Another way to enjoy those fresh peaches would be to make a Peach Salsa, combining the sweetness of the peaches with the spiciness of jalapenos, perfect with some salty tortilla chips.  Chutneys are another way to enjoy this fruit; simply use them as a condiment with cooked pork or chicken and you’ve really taken dinner to a whole new level.  Don’t forget about freezer jam!  You can enjoy the fresh taste of peaches all winter long when you have jam in the freezer.  Just pull out a jar and you’ve got the flavor of summer on your toast or bagel on a cold winter morning.

Check out the links below for recipes using fresh peaches:

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Fresh Peach and Ginger Sauce at Epicurious

Peach Melba Parfaits at Cooking Light

Peach Cobbler by Paula Deen at Food Network

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Newman’s Own Organics has added three new varieties to their existing line of 95% Organic Pretzels: Thin Stick Pretzels, Honey Wheat Mini Pretzels and Mighty Mini Pretzels.  Beyond the fun pictures on the packaging, these pretzels are quite tasty.  They are not overly salty, as I’ve noticed with some other brands. 

Our favorite was the Honey Wheat Mini Pretzels, mainly because they have a very slight sweetness to them.  All three of the new pretzels are nice and crunchy and will help you cure that craving for something slightly salty and crunchy.  With a suggested retail price of $3.49 for each 7 ounce package, you’ll want to pick up some for those quick afterschool or late night snacks.  Other varieties available include:  Salted Rounds, Unsalted Rounds, Salt & Pepper Rounds, Salt & Pepper Thins, Salted Sticks, Salted Thins, Sour Dough Bavarian, Salted Nuggets, Salted Rods, Spelt Pretzels, Spelt Mini Pretzels, and Hi-Protein. You can find Newman’s Own Organics at natural food stores. 

Newman’s Own and Newman’s Own Organics have raised well over $250 million that has been donated to thousands of charities since 1982.  Newman’s Own Organics was established in 1993 as a new division focused on creating products that were not only healthy, but produced from ingredients that are grown without the use of pesticides or artificial fertilizers.  Since the profits are donated to educational and charitable purposes, you know you are doing more than just buying another snack, you are also contibuting to an organization that wants to help others. 

If the spring is cooler than usual, as it was here in NJ, the peak season may be delayed but worth the wait.  Our farmer’s market had all of the most common varieties available.  The tomatoes I purchased for using in Gazpacho were definitely the best I’ve tasted so far this summer.  Very juicy and just enough sweetness and acidity to marry to the vinegar, lemon juice, sugar and hot sauce. 

Tomatoes are in season right now and there are so many varieties available.  You’ll want to seek out the variety that suits your needs, rather than just grabbing the first pretty tomato you find. While there are over 7500 varieties available throughout the world, below you’ll find the most common varieties found in the United States.

Beefsteak tomatoes are commonly found at farmer’s markets.  They are excellent slicing tomatoes and are delicious eaten raw.  They have a sweetness that doesn’t need much to dress it up.  They can be sliced and added to sandwiches or combined with fresh mozzarella and basil for a simple appetizer.  They are also an excellent candidate for stuffing, such as in Stuffed Tomatoes with Grilled Corn Salad.

Globe tomatoes are similar to Beefsteak tomatoes in that they are great for slicing and serving raw.  They are most often found at grocery store produce departments and are a nice addition to a fresh garden salad.  You could make Broiled Tomato-Pesto Sandwiches to really showcase this tasty tomato.

Plum tomatoes are a plum shaped tomato that has a lower water content and fewer seeds than other varieties.  These tomatoes tend to be available all year long, and are excellent for cooking since they hold their shape.  Plum tomatoes are the perfect variety for canning, which will allow you to preserve that summer flavor for use during the cold winter months.  Try Mario Batali’s recipe for Fresh Plum Tomato Sauce in order to take advantage of what these tomatoes have to offer.

Cherry or Grape tomatoes are another popular variety that are used for salads and additions to various pasta dishes.  You can find cherry tomatoes all year long and their flavor is still as sweet as in the summer months.  Grape tomatoes tend to be better when they are harvested in the summer months, but make sure to select smaller ones as the flavor can be diluted as they grow larger.  Martha Stewart’s recipe for Herbed Goat Cheese in Cherry Tomato Cups is an attractive way to showcase cherry tomatoes and add a savory flavor to balance the sweetness in these tomatoes.

Heirloom tomatoes have grown in popularity with farmers, as well as with home gardeners.  Many years ago there were additional varieities grown by farmers that fell out of favor, and these varieties have been brought back since they have not been altered for commercial use.  They are closer to what many people remember from years ago, often better tasting than what we might find in the newer varieties.   Pick up a variety of heirloom tomatoes in red, yellow and orange so that you can make a beautiful Heirloom Tomato Salad for your next barbeque.   

Sources: Cooking Light and Wikipedia

If you are in New Jersey, you may feel especially lucky because the Jersey Corn is simply the sweetest I’ve ever tasted.  It doesn’t require a lot of additional ingredients, rather it stands on its own with juicy sweetness. 

Preparing fresh corn on the cob is really a very simple process and depends on your preference.  We like to use our steamer, which cooks them to perfection.  Others will swear by boiling them, but that can be a bit trickier as there are many thoughts as to how long to boil the corn.  If you like a crispier bite, boil it for only 2-3 minutes.  If you like to sink your teeth right in, others will suggest boiling for as long as 10 minutes.  Finally, many people love grilling their corn, still in the husk, since this method adds a smokey flavor to the corn.

Since fresh corn is so much more flavorful than what you can purchase in the winter months, a great way to preserve that flavor is to buy extra and cook it up (according to your preference).  Once it’s cooked, simply cut off the kernels and freeze for up to 6 months.  This will allow you to enjoy that farm fresh flavor during those cold winter months.  You can add frozen corn to many different recipes all year long.

Here are some recipe ideas to get you started:

Fresh Corn Salad @ Cooking Light

Fresh Corn, Chedder and Scallion Bread @ Epicurious

Vegetarian Enchiladas @ Eating Well

Go out and visit your local farmer’s markets and enjoy the best of what’s in season.

When I first tasted the freeze-dried fruit snacks from Ariel Natural Foods, I was pleasantly surprised. To begin with, ingredient list for each one is simply the fruit that is freeze-dried and nothing more. Now that’s a snack I am interested in giving a full taste test.  

There is a significant difference in the flavor and texture between the packages you’ll find in your local grocery store and what Ariel Foods has produced. The Fruitwell products are produced through a process that takes all the moisture out of the fruit. This leaves you with a crispy snack that is full of the natural flavor of each fruit.  I was given three different fruits to try: Apple, Banana and Pineapple. They each had different characteristics that would make them appealing depending on your mood. 

The apple slices still had the skin on them, which gives the fiber content a boost to over 4 grams. They were not as overpoweringly sweet as the dried apples I’ve eaten before.  They retained a fresh crunch in each bite.  One thing I noticed while eating them is that they tend to slightly melt on your tongue and you are rewarded with natural sweetness that makes you want go back for more. 

The banana pieces were very different from the flat banana discs that you get at the grocery store.  They are as crunchy, but they are thicker and have retained much of their banana texture and flavor, but in a freeze-dried form.  They were not terribly sweet, but the crunch was so much better than other dried bananas I’ve tried.  The crispiness reminds me of a rice cake - in a tasty way.  The freeze-dried bananas are definitely not tasteless. 

My favorite was the pineapple.  I tend to have quite a bit of a sweet tooth, and the pineapple was exactly what I was looking for in a snack.  Just the right bit of crunch and sweetness without tasting like it would stick to my teeth due to all the added sulfides, phosphates  and whatever else is added to the other brands.  Pineapple is so naturally sweet that it really doesn’t need anything added to it in order to make a delicious snack. 

Each of these snacks would be delicious and healthy enough to toss into a bag to keep in your car or backpack for those times when you just need a little something.  We’ll be taking small bags of them to the beach with us throughout the rest of this summer.  They are not sticky like the other brands, so no worries of having to clean your hands before running off to play in the sand. 

These freeze-dried fruits are pure and natural with no additives, preservatives and no added sugar.  They are naturally fat free and with only 133 calories, you can feel good enjoying these snacks and sharing them with your family.  They will be introducing a new freeze-dried fruit soon, Mango. 

You can order these delicious snacks directly from Ariel Natural Foods. 

Photo courtesy of Ariel Natural Foods.

Tips on how to be an Everyday Environmentalist include:

Care for your body – only put things on your body that you would eat.  Most body care products are filled with chemicals that you wouldn’t want to eat, so why would you want to apply them to your body?

Ask Where Your Food Comes From – if the option of buying something made locally is there, choose that option, as the carbon footprint will be less and you’ll be supporting your local farmers.

Go Paperless at Home – switch to paperless bill statements and pay bills via electronic means.

Carry Non-Plastic Reusable Bottles – plastic does not break down naturally and those bottles that do not get recycled end up filling up the landfills.

For more tips on how to go green and become an Everyday Environmentalist, visit The Nature Conservancy.

Photo courtesy of The Nature Conservancy.