Ever since we have started to eat vegetarian, the cooking smells in the house are great! Previously, if I had to cook chicken the smell would infect the whole house and it would smell like fried chicken for a few days.
Also I have increased my use of herbs and spices, both fresh and dried. So those smells mix with the cooking smells of the veggies and grains and the whole house smells great! Even the next day the remaining smells are pleasant.
We have been eating vegetarian for almost three weeks now and keep finding things that make this lifestyle change better and easier for us. Not to mention the husband has lost even more weight!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Make Room for Produce
So we have been eating vegetarian for about three weeks now. Because we are eating healthier, I am buying more produce. I have a side-by-side fridge and can not fit all of the produce in the drawers! I have a salad spinner that I keep the greens in and that takes up almost a whole shelf in itself!
So I was thinking, which can first...America eating less fresh fruits and veggies or a smaller produce drawer?? I guess mine is a pretty good size, but forget it if I buy fresh broccoli or something that is circular or big, it takes up the whole drawer! Then the drawer is not even square, it has an angle at the back so it is not even as deep as the fridge itself!
I could overcome this by purchasing my produce on an as needed basis. But that would probably mean I would spend more at the grocery store or I would have to drag my toddler into the grocery store after work, when I am already pressed for time.
Because I have done so much research on our new diet, reading cookbooks and other vegetarian sites, I have learned more about how to store my produce. I have made notes of which fruits and veggies fare better outside of the fridge. I have learned to keep my fresh herbs in a jar of water with a plastic bag over top. As I mentioned above, I have been putting my greens in a salad spinner to keep them crunchier as well as my scallions. So not only have I been buying more produce I have stopped putting a lot of it into the crisper drawer and still do not have enough space!
When things begin to go bad, I have been trying to use them in different ways. Such as cutting up peppers and other veggies and freezing them for later use. I have also used veggies to make soups and put different toppings on salads such as apples and pears. My next goal is to use these going bad veggies to make vegetable stock.
Still does not solve my space issue for my produce!! I guess I will continue to fit the produce into my drawers like a puzzle while trying not to bruise the veggies in the process!
So I was thinking, which can first...America eating less fresh fruits and veggies or a smaller produce drawer?? I guess mine is a pretty good size, but forget it if I buy fresh broccoli or something that is circular or big, it takes up the whole drawer! Then the drawer is not even square, it has an angle at the back so it is not even as deep as the fridge itself!
I could overcome this by purchasing my produce on an as needed basis. But that would probably mean I would spend more at the grocery store or I would have to drag my toddler into the grocery store after work, when I am already pressed for time.
Because I have done so much research on our new diet, reading cookbooks and other vegetarian sites, I have learned more about how to store my produce. I have made notes of which fruits and veggies fare better outside of the fridge. I have learned to keep my fresh herbs in a jar of water with a plastic bag over top. As I mentioned above, I have been putting my greens in a salad spinner to keep them crunchier as well as my scallions. So not only have I been buying more produce I have stopped putting a lot of it into the crisper drawer and still do not have enough space!
When things begin to go bad, I have been trying to use them in different ways. Such as cutting up peppers and other veggies and freezing them for later use. I have also used veggies to make soups and put different toppings on salads such as apples and pears. My next goal is to use these going bad veggies to make vegetable stock.
Still does not solve my space issue for my produce!! I guess I will continue to fit the produce into my drawers like a puzzle while trying not to bruise the veggies in the process!
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