Summer Goodness

We are home from our weekend in Charleston and today I stopped by what has become one of my favorite places to shop in Pasadena, the Lake Avenue Produce. It's only a few blocks from our apartment and sells fresh locally grown produce at incredible prices. Together Chuck and I have made a commitment to eat as healthy as we possibly can for the summer and to exercise several days a week, and Lake Produce is going to be a key piece of this for us! I used to buy produce with the intention of eating it, but it would inevitably go bad. Then I discovered the key to ensuring the delicious vitamins and antioxidants actually make it into our bodies! It's all in the preparation and storing of the food. I'd buy peppers with the intention of dipping them in hummus for a great afternoon snack, yet when I was actually hungry I never wanted to take the time to wash and slice the peppers. I'd want to make salads, but got lazy and wouldn't want to take the time to chop everything. Someone suggested to me that if you take about an hour when you get home from the store to wash, peel, slice, chop and store all the veggies and fruit in accessible containers then when it is time for that snack or that salad to be made everything is ready to go. Plus, storing sliced veggies in tupperware of cold water actually helps keep most of them crisper and hydrated (veggies dehydrate as they sit in your fridge and that is what makes them limp and unappealing, but keeping them in water keeps them crisp for a good week). I've made it my routine the last several weeks to stop by Lake Produce on Monday or Tuesday and load up on fresh fruits and veggies, and then I have spent about an hour prepping everything. I cannot tell you how fast dinner prep is now, we've enjoyed large salads each night of the week, and we're snacking on fruit salad during the day. Plus, the bonus of finding a farmers market or a local produce stand is the prices! Today I got a watermelon, red grapes, 2 red peppers, a green pepper, 2 avocados, 3 tomatoes, 3 apples, a bag of spinach, a head of broccoli, 2 bananas, 2 zucchini, 1 cucumber, 4 nectarines, and a package of strawberries for $15--which you definitely cannot do in a grocery store!

My edible treasures beforeAnd after...ready to enjoy all week!