A while ago, in an effort to eat locally, my husband and I joined Farm Fresh To You, and we have since looked forward to each delivery with excited anticipation. Not only does it cut down on what we have to buy at the Co-Op, but also it supports local farmers and environmentally-friendly farming practices, both of which I am happy to help.

Eating local is a trend that is slowly sweeping the nation, and it’s a good one to jump in and join, if you haven’t already. Things like the recent tomato/jalapeno contamination could have been avoided (or at least contained more quickly) by eating locally.

Whether local to you means within your state, within 100 miles, or within your city, by reducing the distance between where produce grows and your plate, you’ll be helping support sustainable food systems.

If you don’t shop at a Co-Op, try it. We joined our local Co-Op after I was diagnosed with cancer so we could find pesticide-free produce. Sure, sometimes it’s a bummer not to find apples in the aisles year round, but there are plenty of in-season goodies I’ve discovered, too. Plus, there are stickers on bin stating where the produce “grew up”, so I know which farms I’m supporting and where my foods got their start.

Even if you only shop for produce at your local Co-Op every once in a while, every little bit helps. Plus, the produce is tasty and vibrant, which makes it all the better to eat!

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Whenever my husband and I go on vacation (or really, any time we know we’ll be away from home for a few hours), we pack some Odwalla bars just in case we get hungry.

Odwalla (pronounced Oh-dwa-la) is a juice company founded in Santa Cruz, Calif., in 1980 and is now headquartered in Half Moon Bay, Calif.

The Odwalla brand includes juices, smoothies and similar health beverages, as well as protein bars.

The protein bars are available in a variety of flavors, including Banana Nut, Berries GoMega, Choco-Walla, Chocolate Chip Peanut, Odwalla Superfood, Peanut Crunch, Strawberry Pomegranate, Super Protein, Sweet & Salty Almond, Sweet & Salty Peanut, and Trail Mix.

We’ve taste tested them all over the years, and the two we keep coming back to the most are the Superfood and Super Protein. They’ve stood in for breakfast, lunch and even dinner in a pinch, and we buy them at our local Co-Op, although they are carried in a lot of grocery stores, too.

Not only are Odwalla bars wonderful, but I use their Carrot Juice in my daily smoothies for ad added vegetable serving that tastes great. 

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As if I haven’t harped on Stevia enough already, there’s one more way I get a lot of mileage from my little Stevia bottle.

Rather than buy a bunch of lemons when I’m in the mood for fresh lemonade, I turn to ReaLemon, which is 100 percent lemon juice from concentrate. I get it at my local Co-Op (although I know they also carry it in just about every grocery store). It’s packaged to look like a real lemon in a cute yellow plastic bottle.

To make my version of what I like to call Lazy Lemonade, I add ice to a glass, squeeze the lemon in, add a few drops of Stevia, add water, and then adjust to taste.

I’ve also tried it with ReaLime, and that’s also quite tasty. 

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If, when you think of sweeteners, immediately you start humming “Pour Some Sugar On Me”, you’re not alone.

Generally speaking, there are two types of sweeteners, nutritive and non-nutritive. Among the nutritive are sugar alcohols, honey, fruits, and syrups (including maple, sugar beet, corn, cane, golden, barley malt, Molasses, brown rice, and agave).

Non-nutritive sweeteners include Acesulfame potassium (also known as Sunett), Alitame (also known as Aclame), Aspartame (also known as Equal or Nutrasweet), Saccharin (also known as Sweet ‘n’ Low), and Sucralose (also known as SucraPlus and Splenda).

The rule of thumb is that natural is always better than synthetic sugar, however, white refined sugar has been linked to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay.

Over the years, I’ve gone from using the blue packet, to the yellow, and, finally, I’ve landed on Stevia, or “sweetleaf,” an herb that has no calories and provides a natural sweetener that’s concentrated (It’s about 30 times sweeter than sugar!).

I get mine at my local Co-Op, where it’s sold in a tincture bottle. It’s convenient enough that I bring it with me when I’m dining out to sweeten tea and coffee. I’ve even used a drop or two in recipes in the past, but I don’t recommend baking with it, as baking recipes need the bulk granulated sugar provides.  

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To me, cherries are the best fruit ever. They’re fun to eat, good for you, and sweet enough to be considered a dessert. In fact, one cup of cherries is only 87 calories, and is a good source of choline, a nutrient in the B vitamin family.

Other stone fruits are equally tasty and offer their own unique benefits.

According to the USDA National Nutrient Database, one cup of sliced apricots is 79 calories and had both vitamin A and beta-carotene. One medium nectarine is only 62 calories and a good source of potassium. One medium peach is a mere 58 calories and also contains potassium and vitamin A. And one cup of sliced plums is 76 calories and contains vitamin A.

Stone fruits are everywhere right now–at the grocery store, at the Co-Op, and even highlighted on some restaurant menus.

Now that you know my stone fruit obsession (cherries)…what’s yours?

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Every week, I have to buy a jar of Frontera’s Salpica Mango Peach Salsa. Have to.

One taste, and immediately I was addicted to this salsa’s sweet yet spicy flavor. I’ve used it on burritos, quesadillas and eggs.

I could have it at every meal, but typically I exhibit a little more restraint than that…and limit myself to once a day.

The salsa perfectly combines sweet Georgia peaches and exotic mangos with smoky chipotle chiles and fire-roasted tomatoes.

I get my fix here, but if your local grocery store doesn’t carry it, you can buy it online here.

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I was sorely disappointed, especially when I realized the best cheesecake I’ve ever had was purchased at…the grocery store.

Although the cheesecake here comes close, my favorite is made by Studebaker Cheesecake in Boyes Hot Springs, Calif., and sold in local Nugget Markets and at the Co-Op (where I shop).

Studebaker’s cheesecake is dense, sour and perfectly ensconced in a graham cracker crust. (I bought one here once, and it was made in a pie crust! Can you imagine?).

Studebaker’s Cheesecakes are available in a variety of flavors, but when it comes to cheesecake, I’m a bit of a traditionalist–I like it plain and simple.

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One of the many things I regularly have on hand is Soyrizo (meatless soy chorizo).

Any time a recipe calls for sausage, I use Soyrizo instead. I’ve used it in lasagna (both traditional and polenta), as taco filling, for burritos, etc.

Soyrizo has no cholesterol and no preservatives. And not only is it meatless, but it’s also vegan, so there’s no “ick factor” when handling it. (Heck, it’s even Kosher!)

It’s made by El Burrito Mexican Food Products, Inc., in Calif., and I buy it at the Sacramento Co-Op.

It’s on the spicy side, which I like, and it never fails to enhance anything I use it in.

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For over two decades, I’ve been perfecting the art of grocery shopping to make it as quick and painless as possible.

This inclination probably stems from my youth, when my Dad would spend the majority of every Wednesday (the day the food ads came out in the local paper) driving all over town to “get the best deals” (a luxury I think no one can afford these days, what with the cost of gasoline!).

When I lived by myself, I made it a habit to check the ads every week and clip coupons, but I stuck to one store, because I was young , and I did not have the time to spend a whole day shopping for food. 

When I got married, the list making stuck with me, but with an added wrinkle–I planned a week’s worth of meals and wrote the grocery list accordingly, with the goal of only going to the grocery store once a week (unless I forgot something, which did/does happen on occasion).

I started these grocery lists on old envelopes, but the list making has now evolved to a template on my computer that, other than dinner planning, stays pretty much the same week to week.

I also write the list according to the layout of the store where I shop, which saves time and makes the whole grocery shopping routine easier.

Whether I’m shopping here or here, I can get in and out in about 20 minutes.

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(One of my biggest food struggles after cancer was that I no longer wanted to live a life of deprivation. I went the opposite way. I wanted it all, now! I have since found a balance.)

During cancer treatment, I started buying organic foods and we joined our local Co-Op, where today we shop for 90 percent of our food (the other 10 percent is bought here).

In the past few years, I’ve explored vegetarianism, then veganism, and I’m now back to eating meat (occasionally) and fish.

Yes, we drink soy milk, eat soy ice cream and use soy butter, but there’s nothing like real cheese. And although I do love tofu, sometimes I just really want a pork chop.

Here at DailyEatsOnline.com, I’ll be sharing food tips and tricks (please note: I’m not a chef, but I have been told by a few people that I’m a pretty darn good cook!), recipes, grocery store secrets, general food knowledge and news, and having fun at the same time.

So bookmark this site and check in daily, and if you want me to blog about something in particular, drop me a comment.  

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