Frozen Fun

Freezing is a great way to preserve food because it changes food the least. According to the Purdue Extension, you should freeze only the highest quality produce and preserve berries, beets, asparagus, green beans, broccoli, corn, and leafy greens the same day you pick them. Pick tomatoes, apples, and peaches when they are ripe but still firm, and allow them to ripen a bit more for a few days before preserving them. For better veggies, blanch them in boiling water or steam before preserving them to stop the action of natural enzymes that cause produce to spoil and lose nutrients. To blanch: use at least one gallon of water per pound of vegetables. Bring water to a vigorous boil, then place veggies in a wire basket and lower them into the water, making sure they are covered. Put a lid on the pot and set your timer according to info below based on what veggie you are blanching. Keep the heat on high while blanching.

*asparagus - cut or leave whole - blanch 3 minutes
*lima beans - shell and sort - blanch 3 minutes
*snap, green or wax beans - cut in 1 or 2 inch pieces - blanch 3 minutes
*broccoli - soak in salt water for 30 minutes to drive off insects. Cut stalks lengthwise, leaving one inch florets for even blanching - steam for 5 minutes
*carrots - leave small carrots whole, slice or dice large carrots - blanch 3 minutes
*corn - freeze clean cobs or cut corn from cob after blanching - blanch 4 minutes
*peas - shell only what you'll blanch and freeze immediately - blanch 1.5 minutes
*sweet peppers - trim, cut out stems and seeds - blanch 3 minutes
*summer squash - cut in 1/2 inch slices - blanch 3 minutes
*apples - place slices in solution of 2 tbsp salt to 1 gal water for 15-20 minutes, drain, blanch 2 minutes and cool in cold water
*berries - steam blueberries for 1 minute to tenderize skin and make for better flavor, or just wash and freeze
*rhubarb - cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces - blanch 1 minute, cool promptly
*herbs - wash, drain, chop, and freeze. Herbs will be limp when thawed so use in cooked dishes.

What NOT to freeze: foods with very high water content, such as lettuce, cucumbers, and watermelon; celery; potatoes; raw vegetables (must be blanched first).

Ummm...wow

Ingredients in McDonald's Frappe՛

Mocha Coffee Frappe Base
Water, cream, sugar, milk, high fructose corn syrup, coffee extract, natural (botanical source) and artificial flavors, cocoa (processed with alkali), mono- and diglycerides, guar gum, potassium phosphate, disodium phosphate, carrageenan, carob bean gum, colored with (red 40, yellow 5, blue 1).

Ice
Ice

Whipped Cream
Cream, nonfat milk, water, corn syrup, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, mono-and diglycerides, carrageenan, polysorbate 80, beta carotene (color), natural (dairy and vegetable source) and artificial flavor, mixed tocopherols (vitamin E) to protect flavor. Whipping Propellant (nitrous oxide).

Chocolate Drizzle
Corn syrup, water, hydrogenated coconut oil, high fructose corn syrup, glycerin, nonfat milk, cocoa powder, cocoa (processed with alkali), food starch-modified, disodium phosphate, potassium sorbate (preservative), xanthan gum, artificial flavor (vanillin), salt, soy lecithin.

A Stolen Snack Girl post

So it's back to school time and we all know you should send your kiddos out the door with a healthy, non sugar filled breakfast. Cereal is popular, but its hard to find good cereal. My favorite website, managed by Snack Girl, recently posted the following that I thought I would share. Everyone should check out her website at www.snack-girl.com. She's full of great info!


"Back in March, I wrote Candy or Breakfast? Evaluate Your Cereal and since then I have been on a search for cereals that pass my, "Healthy or Crappy Cereal Test" (patent pending :)

The sad thing isn't that I couldn't find hardly any that I both liked and passed the test! The biggest problem with my test was the second ingredient measure. If the second ingredient was sugar, high fructose corn syrup, molasses, etc., I had decided the cereal failed.

Well, that turned out to be quite a high bar and I think it ruled out some healthy choices. I asked my new pal Cheryl Forberg what she thought. She thinks that if it has 5 grams or less of sugar per serving it is a good choice.

So here is a new version of the test using Kashi's Heart to Heart Cereal:


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Healthy or Crappy Cereal Test
1. Is the first ingredient whole grain? Yes! The first ingredient is whole oat flour.

2. Is there 5 grams or less of sugar per serving? Yes! There is 5 grams of sugar per serving.

3. One serving must provides at least 4 grams of fiber. You can remember this one with Four Fiber. Yes! It has 5 grams of fiber!


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Great! Kashi's Heart to Heart passes!

Previously on Snack Girl, I slammed Kashi for Kashi GoLean, which has 10 grams of sugar per serving. That stuff really tasted like Captain Crunch.

But, Kashi's Heart to Heart cereal is pretty tasty and has less sodium than Cheerios, but more sugar (aah, trade-offs). My kids don't love it, but I can serve it with some other cereal mixed in (like Rice Krispies) and it becomes more palatable.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!"