Photo Courtesy of Blisstree.com

If your New Year’s resolutions are to get healthy, exercise, or eat better, lettuce support you by bringing nourishing local fruits and veggies to your door! Whether you’re a seasoned cook or a kitchen newbie, incorporating local fruits and veggies into your diet is a surefire way to improve your food mojo. We hear every day from customers who have transformed their diets one bite at a time using our Local Box. Here are 13 ways the local bounty can improve your eating, and improve your life in 2013!

1. Taste the rainbow. Having lots of different colors in your meals means you’re getting lots of different nutrients that your body needs! The Local Box offers an ever-changing rainbow of produce, so you can eat more colors without a lot of effort.
2. Pump up your hydration. Drinking water through out the day will not only keep your body functioning normally but can also help control your appetite. An easy way to make your water more interesting is to add a few slices of local citrus or cucumber to your glass.
3. Fuel your morning. Whole grains, protein and healthy fats can all give you the energy you need to start your day! Challenge yourself to include a few bites of green in your morning meals– adding minced broccoli to your scrambled eggs is a tasty way to start!
4. Get crunchy! Skip the chips and nibble on sliced raw beets, turnips, carrots, and radishes with your favorite dips. These crunchy vegetables are abundant in the Local Box, especially in the winter.
5. Opt for organic. No one wants to eat food covered in poison, which is exactly the risk with conventional food. Everything that Greenling sells–including the Local Box– is grown using sustainable or organic methods, so you don’t have to worry about feeding toxins to your family.
6. Forget fast food. We live in a fast world, and sometimes we need food fast – but that doesn’t mean fast food. The recipes that are included with the Local Box mean you spend less time meal-planning, more time enjoying food with your family.
7. Meet your farmer. Our farmer heroes pour their hearts into their work, and that love comes right through the Local Box. When you’re tempted to cheat on your resolution to eat healthy, read their stories to renew your commitment to local food.
8. Get juicy in the sky. If you’ve got a juicer, you are one of the luckiest people in the world. That thing is your ticket to health, and it makes it so easy to squeeze in the veggies! The Local Box is full of organic produce perfect for juicing– those leafy greens are begging to become a green juice for breakfast.
9. Smoothify your greens. No juicer? No problem! Toss some greens into a big fruit smoothie instead. This is a tasty way to use up all the greens that are in season now.
10. Double your recipes. The portions of vegetables in the Local Box are often quite large– enough to make a double batch of your favorite recipes. Save the extras from your next meal and portion them out for easy, healthy lunches the next day.
11. Stock the freezer. Who needs store-bought canned vegetables when you can have the real thing? Flash freezing is a quick, easy way to preserve the fresh veg in your Local Box so that none of it goes to waste. Plus it tastes WAY better than the commercially packaged stuff. From beans to zucchini, here’s a guide to freezing fresh foods to enjoy later.
12. Try something new. Did you know that trying new things actually improves your brain function? The Local Box offers a much wider variety of produce than the typical grocery store, making it a cinch to try new foods frequently.
13. It takes a village. Stumped by a new veggie? Looking for a perfect turnip recipe? Connect with the thousands of other Greenling customers who are part of the local food movement in North Texas, through our blog, Facebook page, or on Twitter. There’s a whole community of great people who are eating local and healthy– just like you!