I was listening to an interesting nutrition podcast the other day that talked about eating seasonally and rounding out your diet by trying new fruits and veggies. Since I’ve already been trying new veggies, I promptly patted myself on the back for being well ahead of my time! The podcast brought up the fact that fruits and veggies contain different amounts of the nutrients we need.
If you eat the same fruits and veggies all the time, you’ll get too much of some nutrients and not enough of others. But if you eat seasonally like our ancestors did, your diet will be more balanced and you’ll get more of what you need for year round health. Sounded easy enough, but what the heck is in season and when? I googled (duh!) and found a really cool website.
It has lists of fruits and veggies listed by seasons. There were plenty on there that I’ve never heard of so I was thrilled to see that each item is linked to a picture and also to the nutrition values per serving. Pictures are extremely helpful when you are lost in fancy foodie grocery stores and searching for some strange veggie. Kind of like a veggie mugshot of sorts.
Ever heard of black salsify? Nope, not me. I thought salsify was only something you did to tomatoes, onions and jalapenos when making pico di gallo. Apparently they look like skinny black carrots and taste like oysters. Weird, but I may search for them. Maybe. There are plenty on the list for Fall that I’m going to try for the first time. I’m a little excited.
I decided to get creative in the meantime and eat more salads since they don’t require cooking or microwaving. Last night I threw together a quick and easy salad using cubed pork steaks. It was pretty and colorful too! Here is a little trick that I use with pork. Pork chops can be pretty tough and chewy unless you are an expert pork chop cooker.
If you get cubed pork steaks, they are pretty well tenderized by the butcher. Cubed pork steaks are just like those cheap cubed steaks you can buy except they come from different animals. The process is the same though. This results in a fast cooking and tender pork chop from a really inexpensive cut of meat! Cheap, easy and tender all in one yummy pig piece.
Adobo Pork Steaks
- 1 lb cubed pork steaks
- Juice of one lime
- Adobo seasoning
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
Spray a pan with non-stick spray and heat on the medium setting. Add the pork steaks and brown on one side. Flip the steaks and sprinkle with the spices to taste. Pour the lime juice over top and brown the second side until the steaks are cooked through. Serve the steaks on a bed of lettuce and salad veggies of your choice. Serves about 4 people.
My salad was a mixture of fancy lettuce, chopped tomatoes, sliced peppers, and pico di gallo. I drizzled a little bit of olive oil and red wine vinegar on the top instead of dressing. It was great! You can also do the exact same recipe with beef cubed steaks. Get crazy and put guacamole and sour cream on there. Sounds delish!
What do you think of the Fall list of fruits and veggies? Have you tried any of the weird ones? Are you planning to?
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