Going Further with Food - CulinArt Group

Eat Well Blog

Going Further with Food

At CulinArt Group, we’re celebrating National Nutrition Month with Whole Grains all month long, while the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has a focus of “Going Further with Food”, something we are proud to emphasize in our cafes all year long. So how do we take our food to the next level – make it last a little longer, enhance the flavor, and reduce the waste? We’re here with 5 tips and tricks to help you go further with food!

  1. Jazz up your meals with tons of color. Each color comes with its very own nutritional benefits! Rich in different vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, bump up the flavor of your meals with more colors. Top oatmeal with fresh berries, spread avocado on sandwiches, mash cauliflower into mashed potatoes (yes white foods have their benefits too!), or top pizza with tons of veggies. Try to use the entire fruit or vegetable – root to stem cooking! Cook broccoli to add to salads, roast pumpkin seeds for a quick snack, blend carrot tops into pesto, and roast beet greens into chips.
  2. Create a grocery list and only buy what you need. Go to the supermarket with a plan! Grocery shopping should actually start at home…before you leave! Consider what you want to cook, assess what you have in the refrigerator and pantry, and then create a list of items to buy. This will help you stay on track and prevent buying foods you may not need or foods that will spoil before you use them. Only buy food that can be eaten or frozen within a few days.
  3. Use those leftovers! Time to get creative in the kitchen! Transform your leftovers into brand new meals. Leftover veggies? Add to soups and stews. Too much roasted chicken? Make into chicken salad or slice for sandwiches. Stale bread? Grind into breadcrumbs or bake into croutons. Extra rice? Add to homemade veggie burgers or make rice pudding. Try to use foods that will spoil more quickly to get the most out of your delicious dishes.
  4. Store food properly. Fruits and vegetables all ripen at different times and temperatures. Some fruits, like apples, naturally give off ethylene gas, which speeds up the ripening of surrounding produce. Tomatoes and root vegetables should be left on the counter for optimal taste and freshness. Veggies like carrots, cucumbers, and lettuce should be stored in the fridge for crispness. When storing berries, remove any spoiled berries, because like apples, one bad berry can spoil the bunch. For proper storage, consider each fruit and vegetable individually for long lasting results.
  5. Keep up with food safety practices. Remember these four words to keep up with food safety – Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill. Clean your hands, work surfaces, and produce before cooking. Separate raw and cooked food in your grocery cart and refrigerator. Also, use separate cutting boards for produce and meat. Cook and store foods at the appropriate temperature. Chill, freeze, and thaw foods properly. Follow these guidelines for safer cooking and eating.

Tell us: how are you helping to reduce food waste and going further with food?

  • 0
  • March 12, 2018

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What our clients are saying

“What a wonderful dinner we had tonight for our international families. The food was delicious and well presented as well.”

“Thank you for including me today in the food waste demonstration/[chef competition] and flattering me with the role of “judge.” I will proudly don the [Stop Food Waste Day] apron the next time I plan an “event” in our own kitchen. I think this is a very worthwhile cause and the statistics you read off are staggering. They, alone, can intimidate a home chef, let alone be the “driver’ for a professional one.”

“Thank you and your staff for all the care and thought you give CSW adults and students. You approach events with such care and elegance- I don’t know how you do it! Especially day after day. Please thank all your staff for their wonderful work and kind manner with all of us. Here is to a great year!”

“Many, and I do mean many, thanks for a great Parents Weekend.  I heard from so many happy parents and you all work very hard to make it happen.  In gratitude and kindness…”

“We are so thankful and so impressed by your immediate attention to our power outage. It was such a relief to see all the equipment and workers coming in within a few hours of the outage. Thank you for serving dinner to all [the] students in a very difficult circumstance. Please extend our thanks to your workers who braved cold weather to grill hamburgers and hotdogs.”

“With all the prep work from Winterim ramping up and classes continuing as usual, it's a busy time to be a Forman teacher. Imagine my delight, tired as I was, when I delved into the upscale-restaurant-quality chicken parmesan our dining hall served last night. Forman is all about support, and providing our students with a dinner of that quality is just as important a measure of support as anything that happens in a classroom.”

“I can’t thank your entire team enough for the outstanding service, food, displays, everything!  You are a master at detail, and because of that Adam and I were able to focus on the parents.  I know what a sacrifice pulling off a weekend like this means, we are so appreciative and grateful to you all for your talent and generosity.”

“I ALWAYS feel spoiled by the meal offerings at CSW (The Cambridge School of Weston) and am entirely grateful for it. As I eat today's delicious and lavish lunch (and think about yesterday's as well), I can't tell you how much I feel so well cared for here, both with the food and by the dining hall staff. CSW cares for us in so many ways, both big and small.”

“Thank You! Chef Budd [and team], you overcame a new online ordering system (and hundreds of labels daily!), provided creative and healthy menus, continued to connect with local farmers to incorporate locally sourced ingredients, and worked tirelessly to serve the school community on three campuses.  While it feels like you are all a little like the Wizard of Oz right now, working behind a curtain in a kitchen far away, we sense your smiles and your passion to deliver the best possible service during these trying times. We are all so grateful!”

“I will say that CulinArt has always been a very collaborative partner to T. Rowe Price, listening to our current needs and future goals and suggesting realistic and achievable strategies to meet those goals.  2020 was obviously no exception.  CulinArt also altered other areas of our OCS and pantry programs to create safer environments for all our associates. We can only thank you for your continued flexibility and innovative ideas through these difficult times.”

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