The Produce Mom on Indy Style

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Despite the wintery mix Indianapolis received last night, nothing could keep me away from my appearance on Indy Style (an Indianapolis Lifestyle/News Show) this morning! As usual, I had a blast making some of my favorite recipes and discussing important produce information!

On today’s show I shared two recipe variations for baked apples and a champagne pears recipe! It was also a great opportunity to discuss criteria your produce has to meet in order to be certified organic by the USDA!

Indy Style was extra exciting today because my good friend, WISH-TV Daybreak Anchor Lauren Lowery, was able to join me to share her apple recipes! We created a savory and a sweet baked apple.

Lauren Lowrey

Baked Apples

For the sweet apple, the raisins and cranberries in the granola mix makes it seem so light, yet hearty and the flavor is very familiar & reminiscent of a traditional apple pie or cobbler.

For the savory apple, the goat cheese provides a rich texture, while the rosemary, pine nuts and cranberry provide layers of flavor that are so perfectly balanced. The apple, of course, brings a bit of sweetness to this warm and flavorful dish.

Click Here for Lauren Lowrey’s Sweet Baked Apple Recipe

Click Here for Lauren Lowrey’s Savory Baked Apple Recipe

Today on the show we used Viva Tierra Organic Pink Lady Apples! Pink Lady apples are a great variety for baking & Viva Tierra is credited as one of the first organic suppliers to provide the United States with organic produce year-round. As the domestic apple season comes to a close, consumers will start to see their produce being sourced from the southern hemisphere. Regardless of where your organic produce is grown, it still has to meet the same criteria to be USDA certified organic!

What is the USDA criteria for organics?  I like to summarize it into 3 basic points:

  1. No synthetic pesticides or fertilizers
  2. No genetic engineering during the farming process (no GMOs)
  3. No exposure to radiation (also known as irradiation)

How do you know if it’s organic? The way you can identify organic produce is by its coding system & the USDA seal. The PLU number (shown below) will start with a 9 if it’s organic & of course always look for the USDA certified organic seal!

Organic LogoUSDA Organic Logo

Produce Moms, remember this… ALL produce is good for you! When you are choosing fruits & veggies for your family, you are making an excellent choice! The ag industry is dedicated to providing fresh produce consumers with an abundant amount of choices & we are constantly improving our farming methods so you can always select the produce that is best for you and your family!  Everyone in this industry wants YOU to eat MORE fruits & veggies!

For the second segment of Indy Style I again used Viva Tierra Organic Produce & demonstrated my favorite USA Pears recipe… Champagne Poached Pears! Pears are such an elegant produce item. They really are “the suit & tie” of the produce department and this recipe only makes them more classy – who wouldn’t be impressed with a menu boasting Champagne Poached Pears???  And they are the easiest fancy thing I’ve ever made; you must try this recipe!  Poach the pears in a sparking fruit juice if you want to keep it kid-friendly.

Poached Pears

Click here for the recipe!

Here is the entire Indy Style segment if you would like to watch! I’m on again next month! What would you like to see?!

xoxo

Produce Mom

 

About Lori

Lori Taylor is the Founder & CEO of The Produce Moms. For ten years she sold fresh produce to over 300 grocery stores throughout the United States, and today she is fully focused on working with the produce supply chain, media, and government to increase fresh produce access & consumption in the US and around the globe. Connect with Lori on LinkedIn.

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