Eating fresh does not have to be hard!

Do you ever stare at your CSA share or recent grocery trip results and wonder how you will get through it all?  If we as farmers working 60 hours a week can find time to cook, so can you.  Here are some handy tips to manage:

• Shred, dice, or peel everything when you get it, so it's ready to go for a quick meal.
• Buy a spiralizer.  I know this sounds like a gimmick, but really, you can go through a lot of summer squash this way.
• Which leads me to: replace pasta with veggies.  Lettuce, spinach, kale, summer squash, broccoli, cauliflower and other veggies work great as a base for sauces, a protein, and CHEEEEEEEZE.  You can grill sliced beets, kohlrabi, or patty pans to make burger buns.  You will be getting closer to your daily requirement of veggies, and really, we could all do with fewer carbs and more fiber.
• Eat salads based on the last point for lunch.  You won't have as much of that after-lunch snooze urge and you will eat a lot of vitamins and minerals throughout the week.  Make sure to add a protein (cheese, meat, nuts) and some good fats (olive or avocado oils) and a little salt and/or herbs (oregano, basil, thyme) you will feel totally full.
• Almost everything can go in stir-fry.  Including all the greens. 
• Most green things make a great pesto!  Chard, parsley, lettuce, carrot tops, all go well with olive oil, garlic, salt, walnuts, sunflower seeds, or pine nuts and cheese or nutritional yeast.  Stick it in a blender and put it on zucchini pasta!
• Wilted salads are easy and tasty for the heavier greens like kale, collards, kohlrabi leaves, or chard.  The rule is 3-2-1.... 3 parts oil (I usually use sesame), 2 parts vinegar or lemon juice, and 1 part maple syrup, plus a pinch of salt.  Shred the leaves into a bowl, add all the stuff, and knead it like you would bread.  The greens will wilt to tenderness and you will eat the whole bowl.
• Eat all parts of your veggies.  Carrot tops, beet greens, broccoli and chard stems.... it's all good for you. Chop it all into soup with chicken or veggie broth, plus some sliced, hard-boiled eggs or sausage and you will have a hearty meal.  Add a dash of hot sauce to kick it up a notch.