Simple Snacks

Simple snacks with local veggies

If you’re trying to incorporate more healthy food into your routine, here are some easy ways to eat healthier snacks.

The quickest and easiest is to simply eat raw veggies with your favorite dip, like Ranch, honey-mustard, or homemade beet hummus like in the photo below. (For more delicious dip ideas, check out this collection.)

To make healthy snacking easier, have your veggies washed and sliced, and in an easy-to-grab container so you’ll be more likely to choose them over the bag of potato chips.

Veggies in the photo above include:

• carrots

• cucumbers

• multi-colored green beans

• kohlrabi

• multi-colored bell peppers

Other great veggies for raw snacking include:

• cauliflower

• broccoli

• radishes

• salad turnips

• cabbage

• snap peas

• cherry tomatoes

And fruits and berries are great for snacking! You can find local:

• strawberries

• raspberries

• blackberries

• cantaloupe

• watermelon

• apples

• peaches

• pears

You can freeze or dehydrate fruits and berries to make them last longer.

To step up your snacking game a bit (or for fancy appetizers), try incorporating vegetables into dips, spreads, or the beautiful tomato-basil bruschetta pictured below, crafted by one of our CSA members.

photo by Jen Amor

I can’t eat that many veggies!

With CSA season right around the corner, I want to address one of the common concerns I hear about the CSA: “There are 5-6 items in a small box?! How am I supposed to eat THAT many vegetables in a week?!”

If you’ve been in school in the past 3 decades, or have paid attention to nutrition advice from the USDA during that time, you probably remember the old food pyramid. This is what recommended 3-5 servings of vegetables and 2-4 servings of fruit per day.

All images from wikipedia

Then the food pyramid was replaced with MyPyramid, which recommended 2 1/2 cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit per day.

And now, the current USDA graphic is MyPlate, which recommends that 40% of your daily plate is vegetables and 10% is fruits.

And, the popular phrase “Five a day” is an interpretation of WHO recommendations that helps us remember to consume 5 portions of fruit and veggies per day.

So why does all this matter?

Many people are concerned that they won’t be able to eat everything in their CSA box each week. But remember "5 A Day"? How you're supposed to eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies per day? (Yeah, I don't always manage that either.)

This means if we're actually trying to follow that advice and eat healthy, one person needs 35 servings of fruits and veggies every week.

The amount of produce in the weekly CSA boxes varies seasonally, but on average, there are about 20 servings per small box. So if there are two people in your household, a small box should definitely be manageable. (And don’t forget to pick up some extra veggies and fruits to get all your servings!)

If it still seems like too much, or if you'll be traveling a lot this summer, consider splitting your box with a neighbor or friend. There are several CSA members who do this and it’s a win-win: you automatically have someone to pick up the box for you if you’re on vacation, AND that person can pass the tomatoes back to you if they don’t like them!

Now, I recognize that KNOWING how many servings we’re supposed to be eating is different than actually EATING that many servings. Stay tuned for some upcoming blog posts with ideas for how to actually incorporate more vegetables into your meals.

And, if you think this is the year you should finally get serious about eating your vegetables, check out our CSA page for more details.

National Ag Day 2020

Happy National Ag Day!

The world, the news, and most of our lives have been wildly different in recent weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The important thing to know, though, is that it takes far more than a global pandemic to disrupt the farms that grow your food.

Farms all across the country, and especially locally, are busy right now starting seeds, prepping plots, and taking CSA signups to ensure that you have plenty of access to local food. At West End Farm, we currently have exactly 1,002 transplants growing under grow lights, with another 175 seeds due to be started in the next couple of days.

Ag Day is a great day to celebrate the farmers (and others in the ag industry) in your community. This year, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's especially important to support local farms. When you buy local food, you directly support a farmer in your community, and you know exactly where you food comes from--it's food that has not been touched by many, many different hands in many places before it got to you.

To get local, healthy food, visit our online farm store or sign up for a CSA share. To find other Nebraska farms, check out the Buy Fresh Buy Local guide or the Nebraska Dept. of Ag. vendor search.

COVID-19 and baby broccoli

Unless you've been living under a rock, you’ve been bombarded lately with news and emails about COVID-19. At this time when there’s a lot of uncertainty out there, I want to take a minute to explain what the farm is doing and how this relates to you.

First, it’s important to understand the severity of this pandemic. My friends in the health care profession have been stressing the importance of preventive measures like hand washing, social distancing, and staying home if you’re sick. To make a serious matter slightly more lighthearted, here's a drawing of cats that explains why this is important.

Lots of science-y folks are posting this graph. But if there is one thing I have learned from being on the internet, it is this:

Data/graphs: Not compelling to many.

Kitties: Compelling to many.

So I present: #Catteningthecurve.#scicomm #epitwitter pic.twitter.com/Cr1xQXMppr

— Anne Marie Darling (@amdar1ing) March 11, 2020

(The actual article that explains this chart is here, and another good graphical representation of slowing the spread is here.)

Many of the recommendations like hand washing (basic food safety protocol) and social distancing (there are no big crowds out in the field) are just the way farms work naturally. So we're on top of it already! But seriously, food safety is a big deal on farms. Produce growers undergo many workshops, trainings, and certifications to make sure we're providing safe food to our customers. In addition to food safety, we continue to care a lot about providing nutritious food to our community, and this evolving medical situation highlights the importance of that.

It's especially important now and in the near future to be eating well and building a healthy immune system. Fresh produces contains lots of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other nutrients important for immune health. Our vegetables, fruits, berries, eggs, herbs, and honey are raised to be as nutritious as possible, and eating a healthy diet is one of the best ways to boost your immune system.

There's never been a more important time to know where your food comes from. Think about the food that's produced on local farms--not only do you know what country it's coming from, you've probably even been to the farm! As people are considering supply chains (and how many different people touch their food in the process of getting it halfway around the world), local food is suddenly looking a lot safer (not to mention fresher, healthier, and tastier as always).

We want you to know that we're committed to providing you with good food locally. You can see what's available for purchase right now in our online store, with options for pick up on the farm (a very non-crowded place), or in Beatrice. More products will be added to the online store as spring progresses and crops grow.

If you're serious about having a local supply of healthy food, check out our CSA program. This is a win-win for you and for the farm--it's a way for you to support a local farm and to reserve your spot for weekly boxes of fresh produce all season long. The CSA even has a home delivery option in Beatrice (social distancing at its finest).

As with all scary and uncertain times, life does go on, and this is easy to see on the farm. The rhubarb is coming up, the garlic looks great, the baby broccoli transplants are exceptionally cute, and the raspberries are in the process of being trellised. We are busy growing food for you!

Garlic out in the field, unperturbed by snow.

Broccoli growing inside, cozy under grow lights.

A big shout out goes to our long-time customers who continue to support the farm no matter what's going on in the world.

And we'd love to answer any questions you have about how we can become your farmers. Please contact us!

Tacos de Lengua

This one is for the adventurous folks out there. “Lengua” means “tongue” in Spanish, and this is a traditional recipe for beef tongue tacos.

Tongue, especially when slow cooked, is extremely tender and delicious. If you buy a whole or half beef locally, ask to have the tongue (and liver and heart!) when it’s processed. You can also find tongue at some local lockers. I got mine from Dageforde Farms (they come to the Beatrice Farmers Market!)

If you grew up eating tongue and hating it, give it one more try with this recipe…you’ll probably change your mind! The secret is using only the tender inner part of the tongue, and cutting it into small cubes.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 beef tongue

• 1 onion, chopped

• 6 garlic cloves, mashed

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 T. pepper

• 1 T. salt

• 1 large sprig fresh thyme

• broth to cover (or water with beef bouillon)

Topping options:

• Diced white onion

• Chopped green onions

• Chopped cilantro

• Green tomatillo salsa (or red tomato salsa)

• Cheese

• Thinly sliced radishes

• Lime juice

DIRECTIONS

Place all ingredients in crock pot with enough broth or water to cover them, and cook on low 6-8 hours. Remove tongue to cool, peel/cut off outer layer, and cut off any rough spots. Slice into small cubes, and sauté in frying pan until browned. Add meat to corn tortillas and top with diced onion, cilantro, green salsa, and thinly sliced radishes.