Fresh Choice Nelson welcomes back our Guest Blogger, Maddy Bellcroft; This week Maddy is talking organic produce in Nelson – Find Maddy on Facebook.
If you have visited Fresh Choice, Nelson recently you may have noticed the ever growing organic produce section. The wonderful produce team have been sourcing fresh organic fruit and veg from four local growers and all over New Zealand. Here’s what they have to say about the packaging they are using, “As part of our new organic programme we have done away with the stock standard plastic bag and opted instead for “NatureFlex” packaging film. These sleeves are derived from renewable cellulose, a product extracted from wood pulp that has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. The result of this is a fully biodegradable and compostable packaging sleeve with a bio-based carbon content.” They also try to eliminate the use of tags and customers can bring back punnets to be reused. The prices of organic produce are often comparable with the other produce and fresh stock comes in six days a week.
Here’s a recipe that utilises much of the organic produce selection in store.
Quinoa and Veggie Hot Pot with organic produce – (all found at Fresh Choice Nelson)
- 2 medium parsnip
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 1⁄2 cups broccoli
- 2 cups pumpkin
- 1 onion
- 1⁄2 cup parsley, diced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 diced red chilli
- 1 tbsp molasses
- 2 cans chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce 1 1⁄2 cups veggie stock
- 1 cup quinoa
- Salt and pepper to season
Preheat Oven to 180 C
Slice onions and garlic, put in large casserole dish. Cut all the vegetables into small chunks and add to dish. Add all other ingredients except the quinoa and pour over veggie stock, stir to combine.
Cover and bake for 50 minutes stirring once. Stir in quinoa, and if mix is looking dry add 1 cup of water, cover and return to oven for a further 30mins. Serve with fresh bread.
