More fruits and veggies

One of our goals this year was to increase our fruit and vegetable consumption. We are generally very healthy eaters, but we are adding even more to our diet this year. We really enjoy smoothies for breakfast. I slice bananas and freeze them on a cookie sheet covered with a sheet of plastic wrap. When they are frozen solid, I peel back the plastic sheet and put the slices into a freezer bag. Whenever I want to make smoothies I just pull out what I need. Make sure that you use the plastic wrap though, or else the bananas will stick to the pan.

I make a large shopping trip once a week, and then fill in with smaller trips during the week. I bring home all the produce and carefully wash and prepare it. I put the produce in the sink and use a veggie wash on all of it.

Sophie Uliano's Veggie Wash
1 cup water
1 cup distillled white vinegar
1 T baking soda
20 drops grapefruit seed extract
Combine all the ingredients in a large container, then transfer to a spray bottle. Spray mixture on produce and rinse thoroughly after 5-10 minutes.

Grapefruit extract can be found at Whole Foods and other health food stores. I think that the bottle I bought was $16.00, I expect that it will last about 10 years! 20 drops is not much. I prefer to make just a single batch at a time.

When the produce is cleaned and dried I put it all away. I have the containers from Tupperware and also some green bags.
I cut up cucumbers, carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower and peppers for snacks during the week. Some of the other things that I like to have around are snap peas, apples, bananas, citrus, grapes and other fruits in season. My family goes through about 10-15 lbs of apples a week.