Welcome to your ReFresh newsletter! It’s almost spring! We love seeing everything starting to bloom.
In this newsletter, you will find:
– ReFresh online cooking class information
– Learn more about baby kale and its health benefits in “Ask a Health Educator” with Lisa.
– Learn tips to start your spring garden in “Ask a Farmer” with Tiana.
– A few simple recipes that you can make with the fresh ingredients in your ReFresh bag!
– Check out the community resource section for the FREE spring gardening classes offered by ICAN.
We hope you enjoy this newsletter and thank you for your participation as we work together to create a healthy local food system.
Next ReFresh distribution: 2/24/21
Text your questions, photos, and comments to: (505) 226-3707.
Click HERE to register for the online cooking class!
Sign up today for you and your family!
Ask a Registered Dietitian With Lisa Chen
What is baby kale and what are its health benefits?
Baby kale is just regular kale harvested early. The taste of baby kale is milder and more tender than full-grown kale. Kale is high in vitamin k, which is important for bone health and crucial for blood coagulation ( a process that helps control bleeding).
Check out our featured recipe for this month’s online cooking class (don’t forget to register via the link in the previous section!):
Acorn Squash Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette
Serves 2
Ingredients–
1/2 acorn squash, from 1 whole squash that has been rinsed, cut in half vertically (seeds scooped out with a spoon: rinse, dry, toss with a little oil and salt, and roast for a crunchy snack)
– 2 carrots, rinsed and sliced into coins, or chopped into chunks, or shaved into ribbons
– 2 cups fresh salad greens, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
– 1 avocado, rinsed, cut in half, pit removed, flesh scooped out with a spoon and sliced or chopped
– 2 TB orange juice
– 3 TB olive oil- Salt and pepper
– Fresh herbs
– Extras: vinegar, mustard, honey
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F. Slice squash half into 1/4 inch slices and toss with 1 TB oil, salt, and pepper, and roast on a baking sheet until tender, about 15 minutes.
Combine vegetables in the salad bowl and toss with dressing.
Enjoy!
Do you have a question about food and nutrition for us to answer in future newsletters and Q&A videos?
Send your questions to [email protected].Disclaimer: The information shared by Three Sisters Kitchen (TSK) is for general informational purposes only, and is not meant to substitute for the advice provided by a doctor or other health care provider.
Photo by Lisa Chen
Ask a Farmer With Farmer Tiana Baca
Recipes We Love!
This stuffed acorn squash recipe is high in fiber and protein. You can substitute the sausage with firm tofu and chicken broth with low-sodium vegetable stock.
This refried beans recipe is low in saturated fat and high in fiber and protein. You can use any oil you have at home, such as avocado oil, vegetable oil, or olive oil.
If you’re looking for a way to spend more time outside, develop a new hobby or grow your own produce this Spring, look no further. Ideas for Cooking and Nutrition (ICAN) has created a series of free online gardening classes for beginners named Seed to Supper. These classes cover important topics such as soil preparation, planting, harvesting, and storage. There are both live zoom classes (which are limited to 30 participants each) as well as self-paced classes. Click here to learn more and register!
This week your Refresh bag will include many of the following delicious fresh and staple items:
Mixed greens (mizuna, baby kale, mustard greens) from Vida Verde Farm*
Flour tortillas and vegan tamales from Sabroso Foods*
Yogi masala tea from Soma Ayurvedika*
Owner and creator of Soma Ayurvedika, Anthony Fierro (with his feet firmly planted in New Mexican culture), applies the principles of Ayurveda (a how to live science) to create simple yet purposeful edibles/drinkables with all or some of the six tastes; sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent, with the philosophy on how they relate and interact with each individual according to their own unique constitution. You can find their products on somayurvedika.com.
* NM grown / NM made. We raise money to purchase these foods from local farmers and food producers as a concrete way to invest in our local food system and get delicious, fresh, local food to our ReFresh families. Keep an eye out for these local farms and food businesses when you do your food shopping. ReFresh boxes will always include local food items.
Thank You!
Special thanks to all of the farmers and food producers working so hard to feed our communities; our partner organizations who help recruit ReFresh families: Kids Cook!, YES Housing, Together for Brothers, SWOP, Centro Savila, Encuentro, and Mandy’s Farm; to the staff, volunteers, donors, and ReFresh families who make the program work, and to our partners at MoGro Mobile Grocery, who pack these beautiful ReFresh bags each week for us, and who do so much important work connecting communities to healthy food throughout New Mexico. There would be no ReFresh program without all of you – we love our partners!
– All of us at Three Sisters Kitchen
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