Tips on Packing Healthy Lunches
By Kathleen Parenta, Director of Communications of the American Heart Association
When packing a healthy lunch, try choosing from the rainbow of foods in your supermarket’s produce department. Include foods that are red (red peppers, apples, tomatoes), orange (carrots, peaches), green (salad, celery sticks) and choose foods from the different food groups.
The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, founded in 2005 with the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation, suggests including one serving of vegetables or salad and one serving of fruit (fresh, canned or dried all count); one serving of a low-fat or fat-free milk or dairy item such as a low-fat cheese stick, a yogurt cup or some cottage cheese; plus one serving of meat, chicken, fish, eggs, peanut butter, beans or another protein source.
Pack healthy drinks such as water, low-fat milk or 100 percent juice with no added sugar. Beverage boxes frozen the night before can keep a lunchbox cool until lunchtime. Cut out the soda and energy drinks. These are filled with sugar, empty calories and provide little or no nutrition.
Sandwiches can be made on whole wheat bread, pita, wraps or flatbreads. Traditional luncheon meats are high in fat and sodium. When choosing luncheon meats, pick lean meats such as turkey, ham or leftover chicken breast. Use reduced fat mayo or salad dressing or mustard to dress a sandwich and top with mixed greens or spinach for extra nutrients.
Not the same old sandwich
Pack hummus with fresh veggies and whole wheat pita triangles or flatbreads for dipping. Hummus is a good low-fat protein source and is high in iron and vitamin C. Or try low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese with carrots, cherry tomatoes, fresh berries, or melon for a calcium-rich, high-protein lunch.
What can you find at the farmers market to fill a healthy lunchbox this week?
We suggest:
- Fresh fruit from Kapnick Orchards
- Hummus from Mama Mofoods
- Whole grain breads by Stone Hearth Breads & Bakery and Kapp Bakery
- Peppers, carrots, tomatoes and squash from all our produce vendors
- Flavored nuts from Janet’s LLC and more!
New Vendor Offerings this Week:
Seasonal Vendors
New product highlights:
The new items from Tantre are Easter egg radishes, Napa cabbage, tatsoi, and an onion called “Red Long of Tropea”, and the new items from Kapnick’s are flaming fury peaches, nectarines, white peaches, prune plums, Gala, McIntosh, Ginger Gold and Paula Red apples.maybe bartlett pears
* Ingredient for In-Season Recipe
Back Forty Acres: Meats / Poultry / Eggs, all raised naturally
Beverly’s Crafts and More: Pillows, baked goods, body cream, soap, granola, tarts and pies – newest addition is strawberry cheesecake in a jar!
Chandra June: Raw gemstone jewelry
Frog Hollar Farms: Produce, home-baked breads and cakes, crafts, cut flowers, and more
fresh: Locally roasted coffee beans. We appreciate the patience over the last few weeks as we have been tweaking our product with our new roaster! Our roasts are more consistent than ever, which allows us to target each beans flavor profile! With two new organic and fair trade coffees, Guatemalan and Timor, we have a bean for every coffee lover! Come check us out and save money by signing up for our customer loyalty program!
Greystone Farm & Creamery: Cream cheeses, camembert style cheeses, *feta, and gouda, and manchego style cheeses from the sheep’s milk.
H & H Sugarbush: Maple syrup, maple cream, maple candy, maple nuts, popcorn (not here this week)
Heim Gardens: Perennials, annuals, hanging baskets, planters, produce (carrots, summer squash, onions, snap peas)
Kapnick Farms: Flaming fury peaches, nectarines, white peaches, prune plums, Gala, McIntosh, Ginger Gold and Paula Red apples.maybe bartlett pears
Greystone Creamery: feta, possibly ricotta, Man-chel cheese, possibly cow Gouda, Chelsea-cam, Rosy-cam, blue Man-chel, sheep Gouda, butternut, garlic pepper and plain cream cheese.
La Baguette: French breads and baked goods
Janet’s LLC: grilling rubs, jam, flavored nuts, suckers, cajun butter, spices to make flavored butter, U-M and MSU dolls, and greeting cards.
Mama Mo: hummus and seitan. Hummus flavors include ginger squash, tan/cran orange, sesame chive satay, kalamata rosemary, black pepper walnut, roasted pepper, horseradish, roasted garlic, traditional, lemon zest, curry lime, tomato basil, onion dill, roasted beet, wasabi, jalapeno, chipotle. Seitan flavors include: nuggets, traditional, fajita strips, Italian fennel sausage, breakfast sage sausage, vegan BBQ, BBQ, roast.
Merkel Gardens & Greenhouses: Hanging baskets, flats and produce (tomatoes, greens, onions)
Myer’s Blackberry Farm: Blackberries (their in!), raspberries, jams and vegetables
Ruhlig’s Produce: Wide variety of vegetables and cut flower
Stone Hearth Breads and Bakery: pumpernickel, German rye and German rye seeded, Italian Milano, honey whole wheat, San Francisco sourdough, assorted cookies and buns, four-cheese pepperoni rolls, spinach feta cheese bread, multi-grain bread, country loaf, cheese bread, rosemary herb and tomato basil bread, four-cheese bread sticks, jalapeno cheese bread and assorted sweet breads — including cinnamon, cinnamon raisin, strawberry white chocolate, peach pecan, wild blueberry cream cheese, Reuben rolls, and bacon cheddar beer bread.
Tantre Farm: Organic Produce:Arugula, Beets (Chioggia – bulls eye, red), Blackberries, Broccoli, Cabbage (Green, Napa, Red) , Carrots, Swiss Chard, Collard Greens, Corn (Sweet), Cucumbers, Eggplant, *Garlic bulbs, Kale (Green Curly, Lacinato, Red Russian), Kohlrabi, Leeks, Lettuce, Melons, Mushrooms (Shiitake), *Onions (Green, Red, Yellow, White, Red Long of Tropea), Pears, *Peppers (sweet green bell, hot -mixed, jalapeno, padrom, poblano/ancho, sweet romanian, sweet red bell, sweet red carman, shishito hot), Potatoes (blue, red, Yukon gold), Radishes (Easter egg), Raspberries, Spicy Greens, Summer Squash, Tatsoi, *Tomatoes (cherry/grape, heirloom, sauce/plum, slicing), Watermelon, *Zucchini (green & yellow).
Tasty Bakery: Gluten-free baked goods
Zatkovich Pastures: Grass fed beef, eggs, poultry
Daily Vendors
Debbie Diedrich – Beaded jewelry
Dancy’s Fancy Butter – Sweet and savory flavored butters. Dancy’s Fancy Butter would also like to announce they can be found at: Prime Cuts on Horton Road in Jackson, Jerome’s Country Market in Jerome, Frank’s Shop-Rite in Grass Lake, Chelsea New Market in Chelsea, Sweet Seasons Orchard in Concord. There are several more stores and restaurants in the works as well as their weekly attendance at four local Farmers Markets.
Fairview Studios – Will have new rattles, dusters, wreaths, and Tarot owls, as well as freshly bundled smudge.
For all the best in-season, summertime foods and recipes, stay tuned for the weekly installments of the
Chelsea Farmers Market Newsletter
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