Hello my Foodie Friends!

As we progress into the month of January, the challenge becomes holding onto and maintaining those New Years Resolutions. For Paula and me it is about making better and healthier food choices. There is more than one way to eat healthfully and everyone has their own eating style. Making healthier choices can reflect your preferences, culture, traditions, and budget. Healthy eating is not about strict dietary limitations, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. 

Rather, it’s about feeling great, having more energy, improving your health, and boosting your mood. Create an eating style that can improve your health now and in the future by making small changes over time. Consider changes that reflect your personal preferences, culture and traditions. Think of each change as a “win” as you build positive habits and find solutions that reflect your healthy eating style. 

At Compliments to the Chef, we have many cooking vessels and tools that can assist with your quest to eat healthier. One very popular item we have is the vegetable spiralizer. The spiralizer is a unique kitchen gadget that can turn all your favorite vegetables into delicious zoodle recipes you can add to any meal. Probably everyone’s favorite reason for spiralizing is that spiralized vegetables are mostly light in calories, carbs, fat and sugar. By spiralizing, you’re naturally eating more vegetables – without even noticing (especially when they’re covered in a delicious tomato basil sauce!) This small shift in the way you eat helps lead to weight loss, because you’re consuming more vegetables and less processed foods while still remaining satisfied. Vegetables are high in water (such as zucchinis) and help detox your body, ridding it of unwanted toxins and leaving you refreshed and hydrated. Vegetables have an abundance of dietary fiber, which helps keep you fuller longer and help with your everyday digestion. Certain vegetables even help spike the metabolism, such as zucchinis. Most importantly, after eating a bowl of vegetable noodles, you’re left feeling light and energized – ready to have a productive and healthy day, which means you’ll be more motivated to exercise and eat well.

What are the Best Veggies for Spiraling? You can transform all sorts of vegetables into noodles, but the best candidates are those that are firm (not floppy) and long or that can be cut long (if you want long spaghetti that you can easily spiral). One of the best aspects of veggie noodles is their spectacular names. Here are some of the best vegetables for spiraling:

• Zoodles (zucchini noodles)
• Coodles (carrot noodles)
• Swoodles (sweet potato noodles)
• Squoodles (squash noodles)
• Boodles (broccoli stem noodles)
• Poodles (parsnip noodles)
• Toodles (turnip noodles)

We carry several types of spiralizers. However, one of our favorites is the OXO Good Grips Easy Twist Spiralizer. This is a great tool to spiralize foods such as zucchini, squash, carrots, potatoes and more. There are three cutting options: thick and thin julienne and ribbon, and includes easy adjustable rotating blade settings with no loose blades. The Easy Twist Spiralizer has silicone capped feet for stable slicing – no suction base required. It is faster and safer than a knife, with a fun and unique end result. 

Stop by Compliments to the Chef located at 33 Railroad Place, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store to pick up cool tools to help you with healthy eatings. Make healthy eating a family kitchen event. Remember my Foodie Friends; “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”

 Take Care,
John & Paula

Farmers lived sustainable lives long before climate change became a pressing issue. Members of multi-generation farm families tell stories of how nothing went to waste. Bones from a roast chicken became broth; food scraps from meals were turned into compost; old storage bins were repurposed to create walking paths or signposts.

Sustainability is gaining a new meaning in 2020 for farmers, the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, and all of us. Beginning March 1, a statewide ban on the distribution of single-use plastic bags at retail outlets takes effect. Farmers and other vendors at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market will no longer be able to offer such bags as a convenience to market shoppers, though certain items such as bags for storing meats and produce are exempt. 

The market has been preparing for several months with information tables and market tote bags available for a nominal fee. Vendors have been reducing their supplies of plastic bags, replacing them with those made of paper or other materials. 

We invite you to help us make the market more sustainable. Here are a few ideas:

• Bring your own bags. Washable mesh or net bags made of recycled plastic offer an easy-to-carry means of storing such items as leeks and greens. 

• Forgo bags altogether, if you can. This might not be possible for fragile items such as pea shoots or salad greens. But it’s do-able for carrots, turnips, cabbage, apples, and other items that are featured in the market’s winter months. Foods such as fish and fresh pasta also can be placed upon purchase in storage containers you bring from home.

• Return such items as egg cartons or glass jars to vendors for reuse. Vendors who sell eggs, cheeses, pickles, jams, corn, milk, yogurt, and other foods appreciate such returns as it helps reduce the costs incurred in obtaining these items.

• If you eat at the market, consider bringing your own plate, bowl and silverware.

• Finally, shop the market for crafts items that can further make your lives more sustainable. Many crafts vendors offer coffee mugs, reusable egg crates, bowls, and boxes.

The Saratoga Farmers Market is 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturdays at the Wilton Mall. Find us between the DMV and Bath & Bodyworks tomorrow, and in our new location in the food court starting Jan. 11. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates.