Start the year right with plenty of seasonal fruit and vegetable available through January, making those healthy eating resolutions a little bit easier. Choose between savoury low carb toast/bread in the morning with creamy avocados, or sweet with tangy homemade marmalade using sharp Seville oranges. Earthy Savoy cabbage and purple sprouting broccoli bulk out winter dinners, while lemons and limes brighten up the grey days.
Pink grapefruit
Pink grapefruit
Super-sweet and juicy with a fragrant, tangy flavour, pink grapefruits* from Florida are at their best in January – perfect for brightening up dark winter nights. Named because it grows on trees in grape-like clusters, grapefruit is thought to be a hybrid of the orange and the Asian pomelo fruit.
Prawn, pomegranate and grapefruit salad, see details here
Turkey steaks with citrus/grapefruit and ginger sauce, see details here Avocado
Why not stock up on avocados to help your healthy eating goals in January. Contrary to popular belief, the skin colour is not a true indication of ripeness and differs between varieties. Hass avocados are dark purple and rough-skinned, in contrast to smooth, green-skinned Fuerte. Choose avocados that are firm but give a little when gently squeezed. To prepare, cut into the avocado and slice around the stone, creating 2 halves, then twist to separate.
Some recipes you may like to try:
Avocado and Cucumber Soup, see details here
Sail Away on a delicious Avocado Boat, it's Keto, LCHF, Paleo, see details here
Avocado Breakfast Burger, it's LCHF, see details here
Chicken, Avocado, Bacon and Tarragon Salad, see details here
Smashed avocado on toast with poached eggs and tomatoes, see details here
Smashed avocado on toast with poached eggs and tomatoes, see details here
Lemons
Bright citrus fruits bring a touch of sunshine to your kitchen in the depths of winter. Look for taut, glossy skinned lemons and fruits that feel heavy for their size, as these contain the most juice.
Some recipes you may like to try:
Roast chicken with basil and lemon salsa, see details here
Red Lentil Soup with Lemon Yogurt, it's a vegetarian dish, see details here
Lemon Poppy-Seed Soufflés, see details here
Italian Lemon Cake, it's low carb, see details here
Limes
Limes are the same shape, but smaller than lemons, with a bright green, fairly smooth skin, limes are a highly aromatic fruit. Limes are an important ingredient in Mexican, Indian, Latin American and South-East Asian cookery. To get maximum juice, roll limes under the palm of your hand on a worktop for a few seconds before slicing and squeezing.
Some recipes you may like to try:
Ginger Lime Chicken, an Asian inspired low carb dish, see details here
Pork chops with apple, lime and mint butter, it's LCHF, see details here
Coconut and Lime Low Carb Cake, see details here
Fuzzy brown kiwi fruit have juicy, sweet emerald flesh. Named for its association with New Zealand, where it was first grown on a large scale, the kiwi actually originates from China and is grown as far afield as South America and Greece. The fruit should be firm but yielding when gently squeezed. Remove the inedible skin with a vegetable peeler, or cut in half and scoop out the flesh with a teaspoon.
Some recipes you may like to try:
Low Carb Kiwi Fruit and Blackberry Cake, see details here
Blackberries, blueberries, kiwi fruit and double (heavy) cream, see more here
Kiwi and coconut parfait, see details here
Leafier and more colourful than the standard variety, these long stems of broccoli are at their best right now. Purple sprouting broccoli is prepared just like traditional broccoli – trim any woody stems and remove tough leaves.
Some recipes you may like to try:
Purple sprouting broccoli with cheesy sauce, see details here
Normandy Pork Casserole, served with purple sprouting broccoli, see details here
Spiced squash, butter bean and purple sprouting broccoli stew, see details here
This dark green, crinkly cabbage has a sweet, earthy flavour and is great eaten cooked or raw. Savoy has slightly looser leaves than other cabbage varieties, but its head should still be compact and weighty, with crisp leaves. This dark green brassica has a distinctive, sweet and slightly earthy taste that stands up well against rich, bold or meaty flavours.
Some recipes you may like to try:
Hungarian Style Savoury Minced Beef, with savoy cabbage and carrots, see details here
Braised Savoy cabbage with bacon, see details here
Roasted Savoy cabbage wedges with blue cheese dressing and walnuts, see details here
Savoy, chorizo and Borlotti bean broth, see details hereSeville oranges
These rough-skinned fruits are famous for their sour taste that adds tartness to recipes. They make great marmalade; the bitter taste combines with sugar to create a deliciously intense flavour. They only have a short season, but you can freeze Seville oranges for use throughout the year – simply pop them in the freezer whole!
Some recipes you may like to try:
Seville orange marmalade, see details here
Seville orange meringue pie, see details here
Wild duck with orange juice and savoy cabbage with smoked bacon, see details here
Orange, Mozzarella and Rocket (Arugula) Salad, see details here
I wonder have you three favourites from the above?
Mine would be an avocado boat, the Normandy Pork Casserole, served with purple sprouting broccoli and a nice slice of the Coconut and Lime Low Carb Cake … mind you the Ginger Lime Chicken is nice too!
Dear reader, you will find a variety of articles, studies etc. plus recent news/views and recipe ideas within this blog, we hope something for everyone to read and enjoy ... but please note, not all foods mentioned may be suitable for all.
It is important to bear in mind any food allergies, underlying health issues/conditions etc. For instance with grapefruit*, care should be taken if on certain drugs, if in any doubt check with your Doctor or Pharmacist.
Not all of the suggested recipes above are low carb. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.
All the best Jan
27 comments:
I like pink grapefruit.
...here I have never thought of January as a month for fresh fruits and vegetables.
Fresh is definitely best - for flavour and cost.
Here I am still revelling in mangoes.
What a delicious selection!
Oranges!
You may have noticed I didn’t stop by to visit, or I didn’t host my own Second on the 2nd. The reason is quite simple. Wednesday evening, just as I was saying good-bye to my dear friends SC and ND who dropped by to wish me a happy new year, my electricity went out. When I looked outside and saw the neighbors across the street, whose lights NEVER go out when mine do were also out, I knew it wasn’t a blown transformer. My friends decided to stay to see what the problem was. Not more than three or four minutes later, we heard sirens, not just police, but fire, too. We knew it sounded close, so we walked in the direction of the sirens. It was quite dark, but my friends had their cell phone lights to guide them. Two blocks west and one block south we saw that someone in a big truck had hit a light pole so hard, it knocked it over and stretched the wire so hard, the electricity went off in the area on one side, while the other side was draped over someone’s house and was zapping live sparks on the ground in the road.
At first we thought it was a drunk driver, but after the ambulance arrived, we saw the man either had a heart attack or possibly a seizure. As the electric company was arriving, they told the crowd it would be at least a day before we would get our power back. Instead of staying home in the cold and dark, my friend SC, who lives in another town, invited me to her home. I am just now getting home. Even though she has an I-Pad, I don’t know the password that gets me onto blogger (which is stored on my computer only). I’ll be back soon, just want you to know why I wasn’t around to visit and play host. The electricity is on (I’m not sure how long it’s been on), but it’s freezing here. Thanks for understanding, dear friend.
BTW, you can never go wrong with avocados and lemons. YUM.
It's tough to get good produce here where I am in January. Except citrus. Thank goodness for citrus.
I love avocados! Happy New Year!
I bought lots of veggies yesterday so time to start on preparing them! Valerie
The savoy cabbage made me drool - so sad it smells so made making it! Today we´ll have kale, yum!
You always have such good ideas...My son just brought home several avacados so I will be doing something good with them. I wish we would get Seville oranges here, but I've only seen them twice in my life, alas.
I have been browsing some of the recipes and would find it difficult to choose 3.
I've never heard of purple sprouting broccoli. A lot of these foods are on my daily menu all year long :) I'd gotten out of the habit of eating grapefruit, but I'm keeping them handy these days. I've never tried kiwis.
I love your in season posts. And I was just reminded by you about pink grapefruit, one of my favorites that is only good IN season!
I love kiwi. Those are my favorite fruits.
The Roast Chicken with Basil and Lemon Salsa sounds delicious. Citrus is such a bright note on dull rainy days.
They're all my favourites Jan!xxx
While I miss the snow living near Savannah, I do love my winter garden and all the goodies that come out of it!
www.thepulpitandthepen.com
A very delicious list!
Feliz mes de enero. Besitos.
I love avocados and kiwis. I had never heard of the purple broccoli.
I wish we had fresh fruit in season here! It all comes from out of the country and by the time we get it, it's not very sweet or fresh anymore! We mainly rely on root veggies for fresh during the winters. I didn't can as much as I wanted to this fall though!
I love avocados and wish I could do citrus fruit but it doesn't work with my system. Crazy. I hope you have a wonderful, blessed 2020, Jan! xo Diana
There are many avocado trees on this property here where my little abode is. I noticed only yesterday a tree at the rear of my cabin is loaded with small fruit at the moment. This particular tree is of the Reed variety.
The others grown by my landlords are Hass and Shepard.
Hello, lemons, limes and avocado are some of my favorites. I wish you and yours all the best in 2020, a happy and healthy New Year!
I will have to say that I learn something new every visit :) I had not seen purple sprouted broccoli, I am sure if my hubby had seen it we would have tried it, LOL!
Hope your year is off to a wonderful start!
I've not heard of purple sprouted broccoli, unless I'm mistaken.
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