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January 2022 Life.Style.Live!: Celebrating Healthier Meals

By Lori Taylor

Jan 14, 2022, Updated Feb 25, 2022

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This time of year, a lot of us are trying to keep our New Year’s resolutions. “Eating healthier meals” is one resolution that makes it onto many, many lists each year, but a lot of people find that easier said than done! We’re here to help with our January 2022 Life.Style.Live! appearance, in which we’ll introduce you to some produce-filled, plant-forward meals for a healthy new year.

Broccoli Apple Salad

Salads are a great way to eat more nutritious meals, but they often sneak in some unwanted ingredients. If you’re eating vegan and avoiding products like mayonnaise or looking for some gluten-free options without the croutons, then this Broccoli Apple Salad is for you! If you’re getting into meal prep this year, this salad keeps well and is perfect for making ahead of time.

This filling salad is made with lots of fluffy broccoli and delicious EverCrisp® apples from Applewood Fresh. You’ll find other wholesome ingredients in this mix as well, including carrots, cranberries, and pumpkin seeds. We avoided ranch for this salad (it’s made with mayonnaise!) and instead opted for a homemade blood orange vinaigrette. It’s one of our favorite salad dressings, and we think you’ll love it too!

Our Broccoli Apple Salad is simple to make. Start by chopping the broccoli florets to small, bite-sized pieces. Next, add a cup of grated carrot, which is about how much you’ll get from one jumbo carrot. Add minced shallot and the rest of your tasty ingredients: dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and almonds or other nuts if you choose. Now just whip up the vinaigrette and mix it all together!

Broccoli Apple Salad

Ingredients

• 4 cups broccoli chopped
• 1 EverCrisp® apple diced
• 1 cup carrots grated
• 1 shallot finely minced
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup unsalted raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup blood orange vinaigrette

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2. Toss salad with the blood orange vinaigrette until all ingredients are evenly coated.
3. Transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy!

Blood Orange Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 1 cup blood orange juice freshly squeezed (approximately 4 blood oranges)
• 2 tbsp champagne vinegar (can sub white or red wine vinegar)
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 shallot minced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2/3 cup olive oil extra virgin
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl except for the oil & whisk to combine.
2. Slowly drizzle in the oil, whisking constantly.
3. Season with salt & pepper.

Apple, Cranberry, and Kale Salad

We love to make salads with kale for our healthier meals. It’s fluffy, crunchy, and flavorful, all at the same time! This Apple, Cranberry, and Kale Salad takes advantage of kale’s culinary qualities for a delicious blend that’s ideal for meal prepping.

We made this salad with the Kanzi® apple from Applewood Fresh, a sweet and crunchy apple that’s perfect for salads. Fresh cranberries offer a refreshingly tart flavor – and a great way to use any cranberries you have left over from the holidays!

When you make a salad with fresh greens, remember to wash them! Greens like kale or spinach that are sold in bags or cartons in the produce section are already triple-washed, so there’s no need to wash those again. However, if you’re buying whole heads or bunches of greens that are not packaged, you’ll need to wash them.

To wash your greens, start by rinsing it before you cut it. Once chopped, place the greens into a colander and wash them again. We like to wash them twice for extra caution. When you’ve washed your kale this way, try placing the colander in the fridge overnight. You’ll find your kale perfectly crisp the next morning!

Get the recipe for Apple, Cranberry, and Kale Salad here! 

Ready-Made and Delicious Bare Beans

Want to add beans to a meal, but don’t want to go through all the hassle of preparing them yourself? Turn to Bare Beans! These beans are kettle-cooked and perfectly prepared. They’re full of flavor and nutrition and are ready to add to any healthier meals you’re cooking.

Bare Beans is a completely naked bean with just two ingredients: beans and water. They’re fully cooked, ready to eat, and come in a convenient pouch. There isn’t any liquid, either, so when you tear open the pouch, you can pour the beans out and pop them in your mouth as a snack, toss them in a salad, or add them to a delicious recipe!

Black Bean Burger

We may be Midwest carnivores, but we do love some delicious veggie burgers! Whether you’ve resolved to cut meat out of your diet or you just want to try something new, you’ll find this Black Bean Burger full of flavor and ready for your favorite toppings.

To make these burgers, start by blending the ingredients in a food processor. You’ll add mouth-watering ingredients like Monterey Jack cheese, eggs, garlic, jalapeno, and of course, Bare Beans! Once the burger mix is ready, form it into patties and cook them in an air fryer. We think this method is the best way to get hot, crisp veggie burgers, but you can use an oven as well.

Black Bean Burger

Ingredients

• 2 packages Bare Beans Naked Black Beans
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced (ribs and seeds removed)
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp BBQ sauce
• Pinch salt + pepper

Directions

1. Sauté olive oil, chopped pepper, onion, and garlic over medium heat until peppers and onions are soft, about 5-6 minutes. Gently blot some of the moisture out.
2. Add the following ingredients into the food processor: sauteed mix, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, bread crumbs, cheese, eggs, worcestershire, BBQ sauce, salt, and pepper. Pulse everything together. Add the black beans. Pulse the mixture, leaving some larger chunks of beans.
3. Form into patties– about 1/3 cup of mixture in each.
4. In batches, place patties on a greased tray in an air fryer basket. Preheat the Air Fryer to 375 degrees F. Cook until lightly browned, 4-5 minutes. Turn; cook until lightly browned, 4-5 minutes longer.
5. Serve on buns.

Note: If you don’t have an Air Fryer, you can bake them in the oven at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes.

Introducing The Produce Moms Easy-Baker Potatoes from Wada Farms

We were thrilled to show off our Easy-Baker Potatoes from Wada Farms in the Life.Style.Live! kitchen! These pre-wrapped potatoes make baked potatoes a snap. Just pop them in the microwave and you’ll have a delectable baked potato in minutes.

These flavorful spuds are grown in rich Idaho soil. When you pick up The Produce Moms X Wada Farms Easy-Baker Potatoes at your local grocery store, they’ve been triple-washed and are ready to eat. If you’re short on time but not on standards, these quality potatoes are exactly what you’re looking for.

Here’s a baked potato secret from The Produce Moms: to get fluffy baked potatoes, slam them on the plate when they’re done baking! Don’t do it too hard, of course, but by smashing the potato when it’s still hot and fresh, you’ll break it up inside and help make it even fluffier.

Easy-Baker Fajita Potatoes

Fajitas are a family favorite in many parts of the world, and we love to see the creative ways people healthier meals with them. We put our own twist on this classic dish with Fajita Potatoes, made using our tasty, fluffy Easy-Baker Potatoes. Just make your Easy-Bakers in the microwave and pile on the toppings!

This fajita recipe is one you can revisit again and again. We’ve prepared onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms with a delicious blend of spices for a full flavor with just the right amount of heat. The scent of these sizzling fajita fillings is enough to make your family come running to the dinner table.

Get the recipe for Easy-Baker Fajita Potatoes here!

What Healthier Meals Are You Making?

With the new year unfolding, we’re rethinking our kitchens and adding delicious new dishes to our recipe books. What are your nutrition goals as you start 2022? What healthier meals are you excited to start making? Let us know in the comments!

Watch all of The Produce Moms’ January 2022 Life.Style.Live! segments here!