105: A Year of Fruits and Vegetables with Andrea Mathis, MA, RDN

September is National Fruit and Veggies Month, and if that wasn't enough, the UN General Assembly designated 2021 as the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables. There’s no excuse not to elevate your fruit and veggie game! Who's with me?

On today’s show, we’re talking about fresh new ways to add more fresh, frozen, canned, and dried fruits and veggies to your family’s table every season and all year long. My guest is Andrea Mathis, MS, RDN from Beautiful Eats and Things, and together, we're turning our passion for produce into real-world recipes for you and your family.

Andrea Mathis is an Alabama-based registered dietitian/nutritionist and the owner of two blogs: Beautiful Eats and Things and Little Eats and Things. She’s the mom of two little boys and the author of The Complete Book of Smoothies, which is filled with gorgeous and nutritious recipes that bring fruits and veggies to the center of the plate in easy and delicious ways. We are sharing delicious seasonal recipes and cooking techniques that will inspire you with great ideas. Most people don’t eat enough fruits and veggies, so we plan to change that with today’s show!

 

Show Highlights:

 

• Andrea’s life in Birmingham, Alabama, with two little boys, two blogs, and a lifelong love of cooking
• Andrea’s cookbook, The Complete Book of Smoothies: 115 Healthy Recipes to Nourish, Heal, and Energize
• Andrea’s #1 tip to get picky eaters to try new fruits and veggies: pair the new food with something already familiar
• Why people need to know that all forms of fruits and veggies count, such as canned, dried, and frozen
• How Andrea uses “smoothie packs,” prepped fruits and veggies frozen in serving size freezer bags for smoothies
• Andrea and Liz share seasonal fruit and veggie faves:
• • Winter
  • • Brussels sprouts, roasted or sliced thin in salads or casseroles
    • Winter squash, baked as a bowl to be filled or roasted with cinnamon and brown sugar
  • Spring
  • • Asparagus, roasted or blanched and sliced in salads or dredged in egg and flour to be air-fried as “fries”
    • Radishes, roasted or sauteed with onion and garlic
  • Summer
  • • Corn on the cob, eaten whole or added as kernels to other dishes or buttered and spiced with flavorful seasonings and wrapped in foil to be baked in the oven
    • Peaches, sliced thin on BBQ chicken pizzas or grilled and spiced
  • Fall
  • • Kale, in a salad or added to smoothies
    • Pumpkin, canned pumpkin to be added in muffins, breads, pancakes, smoothies, chili, enchiladas, etc. or roasted and stuffed mini-pumpkins

 

Resources:

 

Andrea's cookbook The Complete Book of Smoothies: 115 Healthy Recipes to Nourish, Heal, and Energize

 

Where to find Andrea: 

Beautiful Eats & Things: https://www.beautifuleatsandthings.com/

FB:  https://www.facebook.com/beautifuleatsandthings/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/beautifuleat