Peaches not quite ripe at your local grocery store yet? Here is a tip for ripening those peaches right up!
How to Ripen Peaches
Strawberry Tips & Tricks
Have you ever wondered how to remove the stem from your strawberry without damaging the beauty of the fruit? This simple and easy trick will keep you from wasting the fruit and leave you with more to enjoy! Most importantly, the only tool you will need is a straw! So save yourself a little time and money and follow these simple steps.
Looking for another quick and easy trick with strawberries? When in season fresh strawberries make the best snack. For a fresh perspective on slicing your strawberries, try using your egg slicer to quickly cut up strawberries. Perfect for adding to breakfast, snacks, or desserts!
Comparing Labels on Canned Goods
Canned goods are convenient because they are typically readily available and they last a long time on your shelves at home! Picking the right canned goods for a healthy diet can be a bit more challenging than just grabbing and going. Here are some common labels on canned goods that can help you 
make smart decisions about what you’re buying!
- Unsalted or No Salt Added: These terms mean that during the processing, there was no additional salt added into the foods – be careful, this doesn’t mean there is no sodium in your food!
- Reduced Sodium: This term means that the amount of sodium has been reduced by a percentage from the regular canned good.
- Canned in Water: This term means that the canned goods preservation fluid is water – usually the healthiest option
- Canned in Oil: This term means that the canned goods preservation fluid is oil – typically olive oil
- Canned in Juice: This term means that the canned goods preservation fluid is juice – typically referring to fruit and is canned in its own juice or similar – watch out for sugar levels.
- Canned in Heavy Syrup: This term means that the canned good preservation fluid is a syrup and is likely high in added sugars.
The average healthy adult should aim to consume no more than 2,300 mg of sodium and less than 25-36 grams of added sugar per day to maintain a reasonably healthy eating pattern. Watching what you’re selecting in canned goods can go a long way to helping keep your sodium and added sugars in check! The best way to make sure you know what you’re getting in your diet is to read your nutrition labels!
Here is an example of Unsalted/Reduced Sodium/Full Sodium nutrition label for canned beans – see the difference!
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Types of Oats
Steel-cut, old-fashioned, quick-cooking, instant…. Do you find yourself wondering what’s the difference between these types of oats? And more importantly, how long it takes to cook each type of oat? Here is a quick guide so you can decide which type of oats to use in your next recipe:
- Steel Cut Oats are chopped with steel blades. The texture is more coarse and chewy compared to other types of oats. They need to be cooked slowly, about 40 minutes over low heat.
- Old Fashioned Oats are toasted, hulled, steamed, and flattened. This helps them cook evenly and quickly. These oats can cook in as little as 5 minutes. These oats are typically used in baking.
- Quick Cooking Oats are rolled and roughly cut. These oats can cook in as little as 1 minute over the stove-top in boiling water.
- Instant Oats are the most processed form of oats available on the market. These oats are rolled, cooked, and dried before being packaged. These oats rehydrate in an instant with boiling water!
Oats are whole grains, meaning they have the bran and germ intact, making them an excellent source of fiber. Fiber is an important part of the diet and has many health benefits such as weight management, reduction in cholesterol, diabetes management, and digestive issue improvement.
Try some of our recipes with oats in them:
- Banana Nut Overnight Oats
- Fruity Oat Muffins
- Oatmeal Almond Butter Bars
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Trail Mix Bites
- Roasted Pears with Nut Oat Crumble Topping
- Types of Oats
Meal Prep Your Way to a Healthy Weight
Meal prep is the perfect way to get creative. Making a healthy meal ahead is a fun way to include different foods and make different combinations every week! We put together a simple infographic to help you save time and create filling, healthy meals that you will be excited to eat. [Read more…] about Meal Prep Your Way to a Healthy Weight
