Food Lion Fresh Fruits and Veggies – 30 Days, 30 Ways

June 7, 2019 By Liz 21 Comments

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Food Lion. All opinions are 100% mine.

It’s National Fresh Fruit and Veggies Month and with a bounty of seasonal fresh fruit and veggie options available, it’s the perfect time to grab your favorites at Food Lion and maybe even try something new.

We hope this list of recipes and ideas for fresh fruits and veggies inspires you to enjoy nature’s bounty every day this summer!

I do love shopping at my local farmer’s market, but it’s only open on Saturdays which isn’t always convenient.

Fortunately, Food Lion often has locally sourced fresh fruits and veggies at affordable prices, so I know I can find what I want any day of the week, and there’s a lot to choose from!

Food Lion makes it so easy for me to nourish my family the way I want to without spending a fortune. Whew!

Also, my Food Lion redid their produce section a few years ago so it has a fresh marketplace vibe to it. I love it!

And with their food freshness guarantee, I never worry about quality. On the rare occasion when something hasn’t tasted right, they’ve refunded my money (double the price paid) with zero hassles.

Fresh Fruits and Veggies – 30 Days, 30 Ways

1. Cool off from the summer heat with a refreshing fruit slushie.

2. Make zoodles instead of noodles. You may never go back to pasta!

3. Try stuffed peppers for breakfast instead of dinner.

4. Pick a few extra berries this summer and try your hand at making homemade jam or jelly.

5. Select a fruit you’ve never tried before. Have you tried persimmons, tamarind or jicama yet? I love using jicama in watermelon salad.

6. It’s homemade ice cream season. Churn a new flavor or two!

7. Whip up a cool dessert like this strawberry no-bake refrigerator pie.

8. Serve salad in a jar instead of a bowl. Try this chicken taco salad.

9. Wrap your favorite veggies in foil for a delicious campfire grilled foil packet meal.

10. Make a fruit pizza or get crazy and make a fruit pizza pancake!

11. Make your own homemade fruit rolls.

12. Freeze grapes for a refreshing, crunchy snack. (Try them candied too.)

13. Have you ever made your own vegetable pho? Try it!

14. For a kid-friendly treat that also pleases adults, put fresh fruit on a skewer. Also tasty when grilled!

15. Asparagus is a satisfying side dish, but it’s also delicious in a savory breakfast frittata.

16. Mix up a fruit sangria.

17. Make a banana split or a frozen banana split.

18. Create interesting fruit and yogurt parfait combos.

19. Take radishes out of the salad and into a zippy appetizer.

20. Grill or oven roast your favorite veggies and serve with homemade herb butter.

21. Experiment with different colors and varieties of beets.

22. Add a spritz of flavor to your water by infusing it with fruit. Here are 10 creative ways to do it.

23. Try a new cucumber appetizer.

24. Make homemade cauliflower tots.

25. Prepare new-to-you salsa flavors for tacos, salads or chips.

26. Try a new regional favorite like this Georgia peach cornbread coffee cake or this potato and okra summer salad.

27. Serve fruit inside fruit for show-stopping appeal. Everyone will love these avocado pesto stuffed tomatoes or this pineapple berry treat.

28. Grill a pound cake and top it with fresh berries and whipped cream.

29. Use fresh jalapenos to make margaritas with a kick.

30. Jump on the floral trend and try adding lavender, hibiscus or even dandelion to a smoothie or tea.

Be sure to check out the Weekly deals at Food Lion and for the ultimate in convenience, try Online Shopping with pick up or delivery. For even more fresh fruit and veggie ideas, browse through the entire collection of Food Lion Recipes.

Quick and Easy Grape Salad

August 7, 2016 By Liz 140 Comments

If you’ve never tried a grape salad recipe before, you’ve been missing out. Magic happens when cream cheese and grapes get snuggly! In fact, my boyfriend doesn’t even like cream cheese (absurd, I know) but he absolutely loves this grape salad.

I like to use both red and green grapes, but you could use all the same kind if you wanted to. You’ll toss them with a sweetened cream cheese mixture.

Then sprinkle on some brown sugar and chopped pecans.

It’s so easy. Look!

Grape Salad Recipe

Grape Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 10 -12 servings

Author Liz Mays

Ingredients

8 oz cream cheese softened
8 oz sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla
8-9 cups about 4 lbs red and green seedless grapes, washed and dried
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

In mixer, beat cream cheese, sour cream, white sugar and vanilla together.
Fold in grapes with a spatula until mixture is fully incorporated.
Sprinkle brown sugar and pecans over the top. Store in refrigerator until serving.

Store in the fridge to keep it well chilled until serving. Enjoy!

How To Keep Produce Fresh Longer – We’ve Got the Answer!

July 19, 2016 By Liz 167 Comments

How to keep produce fresh longer… I’ve been trying to solve that puzzle for as long as I’ve been buying fresh produce, I think.

And I might just have it all figured out based on the “long live produce” challenge I just completed and won! And when I say I won it, I mean my produce stayed fresh-ity fresh during my whole SIXTEEN DAY experiment.

What’s the key to keeping produce fresh longer? Rubbermaid FreshWorks Produce Savers. I kid you not people; they work! They extend the life of your fresh fruits and veggies so they’ll keep looking and tasting their very best for longer.

I partnered with Rubbermaid and received a set of three containers to complete the challenge.

Don’t you get ticked when you bring home containers of fresh fruits or veggies and by the time you go to use them, they’re moldy and disgusting? I can’t even tell you how many times that’s happened to me. It’s not always convenient to buy fresh fruits and veggies the day I need to use them, and for the record, I shouldn’t have to!

Sad fact: Americans waste 23 billion pounds (translating to $24 billion) worth of produce each year because it spoils before it gets eaten. That’s 187 pounds per household.

So here’s what I did for my challenge: I bought fresh strawberries, blueberries and kale from the grocery store. To use the FreshWorks Produce Savers, you simply move the produce from store packaging before refrigerating. I did this with half of the purchased produce and left the other half in the store packaging. All of it went into the refrigerator.

And then I waited sixteen days. Why sixteen? No reason, except I happened to be home and between trips. It was the perfect time to check results.

Produce Freshness Experiment Results

~The most obvious difference was with the strawberries. I have never in my life had strawberries stay fresh this long! The berries in the FreshWorks containers were fresh, tasty and still pretty to look at. The berries in the store container were just gross.

~There wasn’t as much of a difference with the blueberries, but the FreshWorks berries were still perfectly plump and hydrated. The store container blues were just starting to dry out and shrivel.

~The kale was still edible in both instances, but it was crisp and perky in the FreshWorks container. The other half was starting to wilt and go limp.

How do FreshWorks Produce Savers work?

The FreshWorks containers use the revolutionary FreshVent™ technology to regulate the flow of oxygen and carbon dioxide, while the CrispTray™ helps reduce moisture and spoilage to keep produce fresher for up to 80% longer.

Available in three different sizes to fit all produce needs:
Small (2.5 Cups): Ideal for small berries
Medium (6.3 Cups): Perfect for strawberries
Large (17.3 Cups): Optimal for leafy greens

The proof is in the produce!

Get more information on the FreshWorks Produce Savers on the Rubbermaid website here.

Now I’m challenging YOU to switch up how you currently do things. Join me for the ‘Long Live Produce Challenge’ to see how much longer you can make your produce last!

GIVEAWAY

One lucky reader will win a set of three Rubbermaid FreshWorks Produce Savers.

Entry -Form

Post and prizing sponsored by Rubbermaid. All opinions are my own.

RULES: Giveaway ends 11:59 pm ET, August 2, 2016. No purchase necessary. Open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States. Void where prohibited by law. One lucky winner will be chosen using random.org. One entry per household and IP address. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Cheating will not be tolerated, and entries will be verified for accuracy. I will email the winner and they will have 48 hours to respond to the notification email, or a new winner will be chosen. Entering this giveaway means you are in agreement with this blog’s Privacy/Rules/Terms of Use policy.

Fruit Pizza Pancake

February 4, 2016 By Liz 142 Comments

We’ve all heard of fruit pizza, right? Good stuff. But, let’s level that up a notch, and make a fruit pizza pancake.

Yep, you heard me right… I said fruit pizza pancake.

It sounds wackadoo, but look at it.

I mean…

It’s so dang easy to make too.

I swear.

Basically, you’re going to take some Krusteaz Blueberry Pancake Mix and a few extra ingredients and bake a giant fluffy pancake pizza.

Like so.

Then the real fun begins.

Decorating!

Spread a mixture of cream cheese and marshmallow fluff over the top of the pancake, and then layer on your favorite fresh fruit any which way you wanna.

Slice the fruit pizza pancake into eight equal slices of puffy, fluffy, fruity goodness.

It’s a simple recipe, but you do need the right ingredients, so click here where I’ve shared it on the Krusteaz website, and click here to get a 50-cent coupon off any one pancake or waffle mix.

Yummy!

Blueberry Graham Cracker Ice Cream

September 3, 2015 By Liz 157 Comments

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about blueberries since returning from Blueberry Boot Camp last month, so look what I made:

Blueberry Graham Cracker Ice Cream!

I spent a couple of days immersed in the world of blueberries at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley along with several other bloggers, food service professionals and chefs.

And it was two of the most delicious days ever in my life. I kid you not.

You probably know how nutritious blueberries are. They’re packed with Vitamin C, manganese and fiber, and with only 80 calories per cup, the little blue dynamos make the perfect addition to school lunches.

But their versatility might surprise you. I know it surprised me! Not only are they fantastic in sweet treats, but they’re amazing in savory recipes.

My moment of epiphany was when Chef Lars Kronmark made blueberry breakfast sausage for us.

Mind blown. So good.

And once I tasted that sausage, there was no going back. I wanted a taste of everything, and believe me, everything was on the menu.

And my favorite recipe of all was for blueberry meatloaf. Yes, blueberry meatloaf. It looked a little wackadoo at first glance, but man, it was good.

In fact, we had a mini cook-off with some local kid judges and the blueberry meatloaf was one of their faves as well.

So don’t underestimate the blueberry! Both kids and adults love the pop-in-the-mouth convenience, and they add a nutritious boost to all kinds of delicious dishes.

Blueberries are the best, so get creative when packing lunch boxes and serving up meals for the family.

Try my blueberry graham cracker ice cream too! It’s a dessert you’ll want to make over and over again.

Blueberry Ice Cream

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Author Liz Mays

Ingredients

2 cups fresh blueberries divided
1 tablespoon water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup half and half
1 cup graham crackers broken into pieces

Instructions

Freeze ice cream maker freezer bowl at least 24 hours. It's important that it's very, very cold for the best ice cream consistency.
Put half the blueberries ( 1 cup) and water in small saucepan over low heat. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Place in blender along with remaining blueberries. Puree. Add sugar, lemon zest and salt. Blend a minute or so. Scrape mixture into a bowl. Cover; place in freezer to chill at least 30 minutes. You want it nice and cold when it goes into the ice cream maker.
Whisk in cream and half and half. Add to ice cream maker. Follow manufacturer's directions to churn ice cream. In about 20-30 minutes, the ice cream will reach a creamy soft-serve consistency. Just before finishing churning, add the graham cracker pieces and let them mix in.
For a firmer consistency, remove from freezer bowl and place in freezer for several hours. Store in sealed container.

Visit the US. Highbush Blueberry Council website for all sorts of blueberry recipes, info and fun facts about the 100th year of the blueberry!

Good Cook #ProFreshKeepers + Giveaway (4 winners)

June 12, 2013 By Liz 209 Comments

When Good Cook sent these #ProFreshKeepers produce keepers to me, I never expected anything all that spectacular to come of it, certainly not what I’m about to show and tell.

Here’s the lowdown:

I made homemade pizza on June 2nd (recipe to come) and that’s when I cut open this green pepper and Roma tomato. I put the little bit of leftover green pepper into the pepper keeper, and half of one of my Roma tomatoes into the tomato keeper.

I tossed them into the fridge, left for BlogHerFood and forgot all about it until I got home. I was expecting to see mold, veggie shrivels or something equally nasty.

You know what I saw???

June 2, 2013

This.

I swear to you they look as fresh as the day I locked them into those keepers. A-mazing!

June 11, 2013

They most definitely kept my veggies fresher than any other storage method I’ve tried. Also, they’re super easy to spot in the fridge because of their colorful design, so it’s a nice reminder to me to use up leftovers. 😉

I feel badly because I haven’t had the chance to try most of the other keepers because I’ve been traveling so much, but the banana keeper was a late arrival and I opened it and tried that two days ago.

As far as how it kept the banana? The cut end was definitely browned to an extent, but the texture remained firm. Once I cut off the brown part, it was as good as new.

The only thing I don’t like is that I couldn’t put more than half of the banana in the keeper because bananas are very curvy but the container is completely straight. (A little impractical.)

But the other keepers? Win, win, win! I absolutely love them!

PROMO! Get 25% off your entire order plus get a FREE Banana Keeper w/ online purchase. Use promo code KEEPERS when you order at www.goodcook.com

Buy It: Visit Good Cook.com to buy the fresh produce keepers. Choose from: Asparagus, Banana, Pepper, Tomato, Grapefruit, Melon and Citrus.

GIVEAWAY!

Four (4) lucky readers will each win a set of Good Cook Produce Keepers from Good Cook (ARV $42)

Entry -Form

A gift pack was provided for review and giveaway. All opinions are my own.

RULES: Giveaway ends 11:59 pm ET, June 26, 2013. No purchase necessary. Open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia, Eighteen (18) years of age or older. Void where prohibited by law. One lucky winner will be chosen using random.org. One entry per household and IP address. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Cheating will not be tolerated, and entries will be verified for accuracy. I will email the winner and they will have 48 hours to respond to the notification email, or a new winner will be chosen. Entering this giveaway means you are in agreement with this blog’s Terms of Use policy.

Pineapple & Cream Cheese JELL-O Fruit Dessert

May 13, 2013 By Liz 146 Comments

Yesterday I must have seen seven signs for U-pick strawberries in the span of three miles. So ya know what? I pulled my buggy over and went to pick a quart.

It’s fresh fruit dessert season!

But yeah, it’s also sopping wet and rainy season, and the fields were a might bit too mucky for the flip flops I was wearing. (They warned me before I sank into the earth’s crust and disappeared.)

Soooooo, it’s officially not quite fresh fruit dessert season!

Bah humbug.

Being the stubborn person that I am, I decided to make a fruit dessert anyhow, so there!

You know the old favorite with lime JELL-O and PHILADELPHIA cream cheese all whipped up together with some crushed pineapple?

My mom always called it a salad, so I call it a salad, but is it really a salad?

Pineapple & Cream Cheese JELL-O Salad

Ingredients

1 large box Lime JELL-O (or 2 small boxes)
2 c. boiling water
8 oz. PHILADELPHIA cream cheese, softened
1 15 oz can crushed pineapple + 1 cup juice
1/2 c. cold water
1 8oz container COOL WHIP Extra Creamy

Directions

1. Dissolve JELL-O with 2 cups boiling water. Whisk in softened cream cheese until thoroughly blended. Then add crushed pineapple with juice and 1/2 cup cold water. Pour into mold and refrigerate until set.

2. Turn out mold onto serving plate. Spoon COOL WHIP into center of mold.

3. Arrange your choice of fresh or frozen fruit on top as desired. (I’m not entirely happy about the color of the kiwi in combination with the color of the JELL-O, but since it tastes great, I live with it. Ha!)

Serve immediately, and be sure to add a big spoonful of the fruit and Cool Whip to your JELL-O for a cool, creamy and refreshing fruit dessert!

What is your favorite way to make a JELL-O fruit dessert?

I wanted to share a classic JELL-O recipe I love. I’m a Kraft Tastemaker, but all opinions and thoughts are my own.