What the cows are giving is what you drink,” is how Kyle Depew describes the milk that Bunker Hill Creamery produces.

Bunker Hill Creamery, located in Cossayuna, is among the Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s newest vendors. The creamery began bringing milk to the Wednesday market in the summer and then was added to the market on Saturdays. 

Depew and his lifelong friend Dan Richards started Bunker Hill Creamery in 2008. Richards and his wife Erin own Richview Farms, which provides the milk to Bunker Hill as well as meat that the partnership also brings to the market.

Richview Farm is home to 300 animals and 75 dairy cows provide milk for the creamery. The creamery is located right on the farm, and milk is processed and bottled in small batches and then distributed for sale.

The milk coming from the creamery is minimally processed and is non-homogenized. What does that mean exactly? Kyle Depew explains that the milk undergoes low-temperature pasteurization that results in creamy milk with no separation of the milk and cream. Processed in small batches, the milk also maintains its nutritional value. This process makes Bunker Hill Creamery’s milk notable.

“We want people to be aware of the value in the bottle,” says Depew. Bunker Hill Creamery offers cream top whole milk, chocolate milk, and maple milk in half gallons and single servings. Their chocolate milk uses high-quality cocoa and is free from carrageenan and corn starch and their maple milk is sweetened with local maple syrup. 

In addition to milk, Bunker Hill Creamery brings a variety of cuts of Angus beef, pork, and veal. These products are sourced from their partnership with Richview Farms.

“When we started, we really wanted to do something new and different,” explains Depew. “Our biggest challenge has been finding the right opportunities to get our milk to the community.”

Bunker Hill Creamery is overcoming that challenge. Their milk is currently available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market on Saturdays as well as the Troy and Delmar Farmers’ Market, numerous Price Chopper and Hannaford locations, several local eateries and stores, and at farm stores at 167 Bunker Hill Rd. in Cossayuna and 144 N Rd. in Greenwich.

Customers can look forward to expanded offerings from Bunker Hill Creamery as they hope to offer reduced-fat milk, heavy cream, half & half, and other dairy products in the future.

Saratoga Farmers’ Market runs at Wilton Mall 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our newsletter www.saratogafarmersmarket.org/weekly-newsletter.

Hello my Foodie Friends!

Home cooking is on the rise nationwide, whether people are naturals in the kitchen or not. We’re getting creative, too, adapting recipes, and trying our hand at new skills. From the family that is now spending more time eating together to the novice cook learning to prepare more complicated meals, it’s a time of experimentation in the kitchen that isn’t without its risks. The kitchen might be a more dangerous place than you think. With a variety of sharp items like knives, blades, slicers, or chopper and heating tools that you have to use to prepare a meal, there is a risk of being injured anytime. Based on current statistics, cuts, punctures, slips, abrasions, and burns are among the most common injuries that you may suffer in the kitchen when your hands are not protected. What should you do to prevent these happening?

Making the best cut-resistant gloves always available in your kitchen is the best way to protect yourself and your family from sustaining injuries when doing the cooking.

Cut-resistant gloves protect the wearer from lacerations and some punctures caused by handling sharp items, such as metal and glass. Knit gloves are made of materials that protect against a range of cut risks, from handling light cardboard to appliance assembly. Leather cut-resistant gloves have a liner or cut-resistant stitching to protect workers’ hands. Keep in mind – cut-resistant gloves are not cut proof however will save your hand from lacerations. Wear cut-resistant gloves when you’re using knives—particularly for more intricate knife work or when cutting something awkward like a knobby piece of ginger—or when cleaning food out of the blade of your food processor. I personally wear a cutting glove every time I use my mandoline slicer and my Microplane grater and sometimes when I’m feeling cautious using a knife.

We carry various brands of cut resistant gloves. One of our favorites is the Microplane cut-resistant glove. No more shredded knuckles when you grate or zest. This knit mesh glove is made of a unique synthetic fiber that resists cuts to protect your hands, and it’s made of a seamless, wire-free knit material that resists cuts. The glove fits either hand and one size fits most.

Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store for those cool tools for cooks. Remember to be safe when “making the cut.”  Stay safe and healthy. Remember my Foodie Friends, “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”

 Take Care,
John & Paula

Hello my Foodie Friends!

Many of us are spending more time in the kitchen practicing or creating our favorite recipes. There is a tool that is very essential in the kitchen especially when using the oven – the oven mitt and gloves. Baking activities can prove to be quite strenuous and you will often find that you need to engage in the use of baking mittens or gloves in order to make your favorite cake or your favorite pizza. There are a number of reasons why wearing such gloves is so essential.

The most important is to keep your hands protected from the heat of the oven.

The baking gloves are those that protect you from the heat of the oven. Unless you wear these gloves at the time of taking out and inserting baking trays, you are more than likely to scorch your hands, which can prove to be most unpleasant. Oven mitts and gloves give your hands the grip needed for holding baking trays and other pans that you are using to cook with. The baking gloves give you a firm grip which would not have been the case had you been holding the item with your bare hands. You need to be holding backing trays and various pans in a certain way so as to be able to get these in and out of the oven in a certain manner. Thus, if you keep these points in mind, you will understand the vitality of wearing oven gloves when engaging in activities of any sort for both the oven and the stove top. Keeping our hands safe while cooking is important; no one likes to get burned. 

In conducting a bit of research, we believe the history of the oven mitt may have begun like this:  “The oven mitt was invented in 1884 by a man named Francis Mitts. He owned a small bakery in Jersey City, where every day seamen and dockers would drop in to get their fill of Frank’s freshly made breads and coffee. Frank’s daughters were helping out in the kitchen and were working in direct contact with the ovens. In order to keep his young daughters’ hands from getting singed, he designed heavily insulated mittens, which evolved over time into what we know today as the oven mitts.”

Actually, mittens have been in use for over 1,000 years for a wide range of purposes – including those of protecting your hands from hot ovens. Today, however, technological advancement has allowed an incredible amount of heat resistance to be built into each mitt. We use oven mitts for many different occasions whether it be based around a special occasion, or when you are in the mood for cooking up something amazing like a birthday cake, or for a poolside BBQ, friends gathering or simply an evening with your family(my brothers and sisters and I used to use them for indoor baseball with a beach ball when it rained). For all of these moments, the oven mitt is there to help you get the job done taking care of the heat while you are busy preparing your incredible creation. The traditional oven mitt has outer layers that are typically made of cotton, while the inner layer is filled with an insulator-type material. However, over time it starts to fall apart, lose its shape, become singed and stained from all the wear. So why not get a brand new mitt or two to help your creative juices flow next time you are ready to cook up a storm? 

At Compliments to Chef, we offer a really cool cooking glove by Kitchen Grips Inc. This innovative line of kitchen gloves and hand safety products are made of a unique material called FLXaPrene™. This material is not only heat and stain-resistant but is also very flexible and comfortable to use. This patented product is available in different styles and colors not only for the home but also for commercial use. This is also the material used in scuba diving suits. Kitchen Grips® has created a safer oven mitt with increased insulation and grip that is comfortable on the hands and offers a cook more control with a non-slip grip and greater flexibility. The mitts feature a uniquely designed, raised nub pattern that adds insulation, protecting the hands from hot & cold temperatures (500 degrees F/260 degrees C to -134 degrees F/ -92 degrees C). The FLXaPrene material makes the mitt both water repellent and stain resistant so they will stay looking good and perform well for many years. The oven mitts are machine washable or can be washed with hot water and mild detergent and air-dried or can even be washed on the top shelf of the dishwasher. 

Sure, oven mitts can come in many fun and unique shapes. Long gone are the days when the top priority was matching the kitchen towels; the best mitts available today combine stay-cool comfort, fantastic dexterity, and a no-nonsense grip and made of the high-performance materials The most important thing when selecting the best oven mitt for you is to protect your hands from the heat when moving product from the oven to the table. Be sure to select the oven mitt that fits your hands and protects you.  Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store and put up your mitts and don’t get burned! Remember Foodie Friends; “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”

 Take Care,
John & Paula

We know how busy life can get. Whether packing school lunches or struggling to find time to eat during the workday, the Saratoga Farmers’ Market makes it easy for you to eat healthy, locally produced food even when you’re in a rush. Here are some of our favorite snacks at the farmers’ market this month.

Fruit Smoothies & Sweet Greek Yogurts: Argyle Cheese Farmer has probiotic-packed smoothies and mini sweet Greek yogurts in flavors you will love. Smoothies include vanilla chai, mocha, ginger pear, and others. Mini sweet Greek yogurts include chocolate raspberry, maple, blueberry, and others. 

Apple Chips: Saratoga Apple has some of our favorite fall treats and we think their apple chips make a great healthy and mess-free snack option. 

Crackers with Toppings: Saratoga Cracker Co. has prepackaged crackers in flavors like garlic parmesan, everything, rosemary olive, and many more. Pair with some artisan cheese from Moxie Ridge, R&G Cheesemakers, Nettle Meadow, and Argyle Cheese Farmer.  Freddy’s Rockin Hummus makes a variety of dippable hummus with organic chickpeas. Saratoga Peanut Butter Co. has many flavors to spread on those crispy crackers.

Jerky & Snack Sticks: Muddy Trail Jerky Co. makes hand-crafted beef jerky and meaty snack sticks in 13 flavors like teriyaki beef, jalapeno lime beef, and more. Vital Eats offers their plant-based, probiotic, vegan Zen Jerky in hot ranch buffalo and BBQ.

Honey Sticks & Maple Sugar Candies: Ballston Lake Apiaries offers wildflower honey sticks that satisfy any sweet tooth. Slate Valley Farms has a variety of honey sticks in flavors like tangerine, wildflower, cinnamon, and raspberry. Slate Valley Farms also has maple candies that are a delicious melt-in-your-mouth treat.

Granola & Seed Squares: The Chocolate Spoon offers freshly baked and individually wrapped granola and cookies that make sweet grab-and-go treats. Moon Cycle Seed Company has seed squares that contain your daily dose of seed blends in a tasty on-the-go bar made with natural and organic ingredients. These bars are specifically prepared to help women rebalance their hormones. 

Fresh Fruit & Vegetables: This list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning some of the fresh snackable fruits and vegetables at the farmers’ market. Snap off a stalk of crisp celery or snack on sweet carrots. Cauliflower florets and cherry tomatoes also make healthy and satisfying snacks. Apples, pears, and plums are still in season and can be easily tossed into lunch boxes or briefcases.

Saratoga Farmers’ Market runs at Wilton Mall 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our newsletter www.saratogafarmersmarket.org/weekly-newsletter.

For Jeff Killenberger, growing mushrooms began as a hobby and transitioned to a family farm grounded on natural and sustainable farming methods. Meet 518 Farms, new this year to the Saratoga Farmers’ Market on Wednesdays. Jeff, his wife Megan, and 3-year-old son Finnegan make up the farm team bringing fresh gourmet and medicinal mushrooms, grow kits, and also lavender to the market each week.

“This life is about everything we care about: nature, sustainability, and understanding where our food comes from,” says Killenberger. “We also like a good challenge,” he adds. 

For the past three years, the Killenbergers have been growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms on their farm, 518 Farms, in Hoosick Falls. 518 Farms recently expanded beyond their 500 sq. foot growing space to outdoor cultivation in order to expand the variety of mushrooms that they offer.

Throughout the year, 518 Farms grows and sells a wide variety of mushrooms including Blue Oyster, Golden Oyster, Lions Mane, Nameko, Reishi, Shiitake, Chestnut, King Oyster, Morels, Miatake, and Wine Caps. The mushrooms come in pre-packaged, half-pound portions to maintain freshness and also to minimize handling. 

“All of our products are GMO-free and grown using organic methods. Even the packaging is biodegradable,” explains Killenbeger. 

In addition to fresh mushrooms, 518 Farms offers medicinal Breathe Easy Powder and Forget Me Not Powder made from pure reishi and lions mane, and a variety of grow kits for those that want to try their own hand at mushroom cultivation. Grow kits are available year-round, and Jeff Killenberger is happy to share his growing knowledge with interested cultivators.

Fragrant lavender “Munstead” is a new addition to the family farm. Plants are sold as starters in the spring and summer and then as bunches in the summer and fall. 

With so much growth within 3 years, the Killenbergers are grateful. “We’ve learned that there is never just one way to do something,” says Killenberger. “Keep an open mind and think like a mushroom,” he laughs.

518 Farms can be found at the Wednesday market through the end of October, and the Saturday market beginning in November. They can also be found at Cambridge and Kingston Farmers’ Markets. For additional information and online ordering, visit their website at 518Farms.com and follow them on Instagram at @518_Farms.

Saratoga Farmers’ Market runs at Wilton Mall 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our newsletter www.saratogafarmersmarket.org/weekly-newsletter.

Hello my Foodie Friends!

During this unprecedented time of social distancing, so many foodies are challenging their skills in baking. While cakes, cookies, noodles and pastas are all proving popular, bread has emerged as the baking project of choice. Time is a necessary ingredient for bread, and the extra time at home has prompted bakers to attempt things they may not have before – such as bread. The joy of baking lies in producing something tangible amid a pandemic in which so many things, from socializing to school, have shifted online. So many foodies are finding pleasure in learning a new skill, especially something tangible, as opposed to all the things we do virtually. There is a beauty and satisfaction to transforming flour into a beautiful loaf of bread coming out of the oven.  Bread is playing that role for many people these days. There are people baking for the first time, there are people baking with their families and sharing a common loaf, the same way we share a common culture. There is one food that definitely unites most of the civilizations of the world: bread. Prepared in a thousand different forms for thousands of years, in very different and distant parts of the world, it is a staple of the human diet across many cultures. Bread is integral to the Italian diet, in fact it has become an essential part of Italian life and is eaten with almost every meal, whether it’s a chunk of bread to mop up pasta sauce or served with an antipasto before dinner. When making bread, transform a delicious homemade loaf of bread into a unique work of art by using a bread lame to score your bread. 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “SCORE” A LOAF OF BREAD?

Did you know that bread scoring was born many, many years ago when villages only had access to a community oven? Families would “score” or slash their bread so that they could identify their loaves at the end of the communal bake. Nowadays, we use bread scoring to transform ordinary loaves into a unique work of art by scoring our own creative designs. 

From baguettes to boules, there are common cuts for every type of bread. The bread lame is used to score or slash bread right before it hits the oven. The reason for this is simple: The openings control the direction the dough expands during baking. They’re like little chimneys, allowing steam to escape and the bread to take shape. The goal here is to encourage the loaf to expand upward—a cut down the middle does just that. Score once, lengthwise, and then make evenly-spaced diagonal slashes on one side of the loaf, starting at the end furthest from you, until you reach the bottom. 

At Compliments to the Chef, we carry Mrs. Anderson’s Artisan Bread Lame. This bread lame is specially designed for professional and artisan home bakers to easily score dough to control expansion of each loaf as it bakes. Scoring marks also create a pattern in the dough for homemade loaves of bread with an artisan beauty and professional finish. Made from 18/8 stainless steel and Romanian Beechwood, this specialty bread baking tool is strong and durable to outlast thousands of uses. The bread lame includes the Bread Lame Tool plus 15 double-edge dough scoring blades. Blades can be rotated to different corners to maximize their uses. It’s super easy to use. 

Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Culinary store located at 33 Railroad Place in Saratoga Springs. We carry cool tools to assist you with your culinary creations. Your family may be keeping score as to how many loaves of bread you make!! I love warm bread with butter..mmmm….Remember my Foodie Friends, “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”

 Take Care,
John & Paula

Hello my Foodie Friends!

Autumn is here and the cooler weather often triggers our desire for pasta. There is something about eating carbohydrates, creamy sauces, and earthy autumnal vegetables that makes the autumn season ideal for pasta consumption. No matter what they contain, fall pasta dishes must be warm, they must be hearty, and, above all, they must be deeply satisfying. My love for pasta stems from growing up in an Italian-American household where pasta was always a staple in many of the meals we had. I often times reflect on the joys of growing up with an Italian family such as: when your friends came over they were asked no fewer than six times if they wanted something to eat; Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin played in the background while everything was being cooked; leftovers were stored in Polly O ricotta containers; and, yes, we were all guilty of talking with our hands. One of my favorites is remembering when I was little, mine, and my four other siblings favorite way to help was making home made pasta with Nonni (my grandmother). After we washed our hands we were allowed to help if we were quiet and didn’t fight with each other. Very hard! The luckiest kid got to guide the pasta as Nonni rolled the pasta through the machine. Stirring her secret pasta sauce with the wooden spoon was a close second. I am certain you can visualize what the kitchen smelled and looked like during this process. Once the pasta was made, the dish created and all were seated, it was always a struggle getting Nonni to actually join the table and eat. I’ve tried to carry on these traditions with my own children. 

Making homemade pasta is a fun event to get the entire family involved with. One important tool to have when making homemade pasta is a Pasta machine. A pasta machine is used to create laminated pasta. They typically consist of two stainless-steel rollers with adjustable settings, which knead and stretch the pasta dough. Pasta machines are often sold with an additional removable cutter that creates pasta shapes such as spaghetti and linguini. There are also many different attachments available, from different-shaped cutters to attachable motors. 

Consider pasta as a meal that brings you together as a family from start to finish. We’ve learned from our older generations and teach our younger generations. No matter what you’re looking for, pasta and noodles have become entwined with culture, history, and more importantly in our lives and families. Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery Store located at 33 Railroad Place in Saratoga Springs. We carry all types of tools to assist you with making your pasta: Pasta machines, pasta drying racks, ravioli stamps and forms, pasta rollers, pastry cutters, pasta pots, and so much more.  Remember my Foodie Friends: “Life Happens in the Kitchen.”  Make those magical culinary moments happen.

 Take Care,
John & Paula

HOMEMADE PASTA RECIPE

Yield: approximately one pound

• 2 cups flour 
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 3 large eggs

1. Combine the flour and salt. Make a well in the center and add the eggs. Gently begin to mix the eggs, gradually drawing in flour with each stroke. Eventually a stiff dough will form.
2. Knead the pasta dough for 8-10 minutes. If the dough is too dry and won’t stick together, add a 1/2 teaspoon of water. If it is too sticky, sprinkle in a bit more flour. Keep in mind this dough will be much stiffer than traditional bread dough. However, the longer you work it, the smoother and more pliable it will become. We are looking for a smooth, satiny consistency, which will develop the longer you knead.
3. Cover the well-kneaded dough tightly with plastic wrap, and allow it to rest for around 45 minutes. (This resting phase is super important, as it gives the dough time to relax. Otherwise, you’ll fight it the whole time you are rolling it out.)
4. After the resting period, divide the dough into four portions and roll into a small, flat circle. Now comes the cool part!

HOW TO USE A PASTA MACHINE

• Rolling the dough is a process– you need to make several passes, throughout each thickness setting for the best results. Start with the biggest setting (usually 5 or 6), run it through once or twice there, then gradually adjust the settings to be thinner and thinner until you have the perfect sheet of golden pasta.
• Between each pass, fold the strip into thirds. This helps square up the edges and keeps things even. Then simply roll it through the cutting side of the machine to slice into spaghetti or fettuccine. From here, you can either cook your pasta right away (3-4 minutes in boiling water) or dry it for later.

Before the farmers’ market moves back indoors, we spend one last month with our tents up and our coats on to share fresh, local products with our community. Summer produce makes way for the fall harvest; a time for comforting food and drinks and festive seasonal products. Here are ten fall favorites you can find at our markets in October.

1. Apple Cider and Cider Donuts:
Saratoga Apple and Slyboro Cider House both operate their own orchards. Try their fresh apples, pressed apple cider, hard cider, and cider donuts. A real Upstate NY treat!

2. Pumpkin Pandemonium Peanut Butter:
The name says it all. This Saratoga Peanut Butter Company creation is chock-full of rich pumpkin and peanut flavors. A guilt-free treat at only 2 grams of sugar per serving, it’s great on sandwiches, apples, ice cream, and more.

3. Hand-Painted Hats:
Artist Gretchen Tisch, owner of Feathered Antler gives hats a fall makeover. Pick up a leaf-accented fedora or hand-knit beanie at the market.

4. Hot Chocolate Cheesecake:
Grandma Apple’s Cheesecakes’ flavors vary with the season. Our current favorite is hot chocolate cheesecake. It’s perfect for when you have company, but perfectly acceptable to eat all by yourself! Also available are apple and pumpkin cheesecakes and cheesecake filled apples dipped in chocolate.

5. Apple Cider Fromage Frais:
Nettle Meadow does cheesemaking with a creative touch, and it shows with their seasonal favorites. Back at the market are the soft apple cider fromage frais, pumpkin spice and maple chevre, and the brie-like Early Snow.

6. Local Wool:
Elihu Farm’s sheep produce award-winning wool, sold as washed and unwashed fleeces at the market. Pick up a fleece to do some cozy fall crafting!

7. Spooky Soaps:
At Saratoga Suds ‘n’ Stuff, no shape of soap is too crazy. Their fall mineral soap collection includes ghosts, pumpkins, black cats, acorns, leaves, and owls.

8. Ornamental Corn:
Fresh summer corn is making way for ornamental fall corn. Pick up some calico or broom corn from local farms for fresh seasonal home decor.

9. Hand-Ground Cinnamon:
Saratoga Spicery’s fresh-ground spices and spice mixes include hand-ground cinnamon. Give your baked goods an extra fresh flavor!

10. Pumpkins!
Farmers’ markets in October wouldn’t be complete without fresh gourds and winter squash. Local farms have a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes in stock – you can even find some hand-painted mini pumpkins.

Saratoga Farmers’ Market runs at Wilton Mall 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our newsletter www.saratogafarmersmarket.org/weekly-newsletter

Hello my Foodie Friends!

September still has the warmer days. However, the nights are beginning to get chilly. As we settle into the routine of children back to school and balancing our work and family lives, what to make for dinner can be a daily dilemma. Soup was a meal that my mother made often to serve our household of seven people (five being young children). Coming in from school in the afternoons or a day of play outside with our neighborhood kids, I could taste the soup through the aroma. A soup that is dear to my heart that evokes Italian childhood memories of my mother’s cooking is Pastina Chicken Soup. She would make her own homemade chicken broth and tiny little pasta shaped form of stars known as “pastina.” Chicken broth is a staple in most Italian households. You can rest assured that there will be a few quarts in the freezer at all times. You need a really good homemade broth to make pastina, vegetable soups, risottos, sauces, and chicken dishes pop with flavor. 

There was one essential item that my mother had to have to assist her with the process of making her broth, the soup sock. 

You can fill these cotton mesh bags with your favorite herbs and ingredients for flavoring stocks and soups. The finely woven material holds delicate herbs or expands to accommodate everything from bones to chopped vegetables. When cooking is complete, simply remove the bag – no need for straining! They are made of strong, 100% fine cotton mesh. The soup sock comes in a large size to accommodate all sorts of flavoring ingredients, from bones and whole vegetables to herb leaves. They will not impart odors or flavors into soups or stocks. The best part is that they help with a mess-free cooking – no need for straining. The packets of soups socks come in sets of three and they are made in the USA.

Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your neighborhood kitchen and cutlery store, and pull up your socks at 33 Railroad Place and say Sock it to me! We carry cool tools for cooks. Find the items you need to assist with making your favorite soup. 

Remember my Foodie Friends: “Life Happens in the Kitchen”

 Take Care,
John & Paula

All meals have their challenges whether it’s a pandemic or not; packing the lunchbox is no exception. I have three children and I’d like to tell you I figured it all out after the first, but I did not. Each child came with their own sets of likes and dislikes. My youngest was, and is, my pickiest eater with a fickle palate that’s forever changing. She is NOT the traditional sandwich eater.

Whether you are homeschooling, fully virtual, or schooling in a hybrid fashion, here are few lunchtime prep tips that are tried and true:

• Use the weekend to organize the plan.
• Separate shelf-stable snacks in containers or Ziploc® bags and put them in a basket so that the kids know they are for lunchbox packing only. 
• Prepack refrigerated items into containers for several days at a time, label and keep those items in the fridge ready to grab.
• Include your children in the entire process.

The goal? Keeping you from spending more time than needed in the kitchen during the busy weekdays.  Not only will these steps save you time, but they will also help to promote independence in the kiddos and hopefully feel-good vibes in your kitchen (wink).

Here are some easy prep ideas that include apples:

1.Cinnamon Apples:Simply wash, core, slice your apples.  Place them in a Ziploc® style bag.  Add a few shakes of cinnamon, seal the bag, and shake.  This helps to avoid brown apples, enhances flavor and they keep in the fridge for several days.

2. Dip:Make yogurt dips to serve with the cinnamon apples and keep in mini containers.  Try my Creamsicle Fruit Dip by folding 6 oz. low-fat vanilla yogurt with 6 oz. of Greek yogurt and the juice freshly squeezed from half of a navel orange. 

3. Apple Pie Parfait: Layer vanilla yogurt, granola, and cooked apples that have been cooled.  Simply wash, core, peel, and dice two apples.  Cook them in a saucepan with 3 tablespoons of water, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon.These will keep for several days in the fridge.

*Apples, cinnamon, yogurt, and granola are all available at the farmers’ market.

Cheers to a successful school year.

Jodie Fitz is the creator of the Price Chopper/Market 32 Kids Cooking Club.You can learn more about her, her recipes, and her online classes by visiting JodieFitz.com.  She is also the author of Fidget Grows a Pizza Garden.

Saratoga Farmers’ Market runs at Wilton Mall 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our newsletter: www.saratogafarmersmarket.org/weekly-newsletter.