If you dread cleaning out your refrigerator, finding those unidentifiable foods forgotten months ago and making a big trip to the supermarket to restock, don’t despair. Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day is November 15th and the perfect opportunity to fill your refrigerator with nutrient-rich foods that give you and your family the best nutritional value for your dollar.
Step One
- As you enter the supermarket, head for the produce section.
- Choose a variety of colors for an array of nutrients including: potassium, fiber, folic acid, vitamins A and C as well as phytonutrients like lycopene in tomatoes and lutein in spinach.
- Top celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins. Serve carrots, bell pepper and cucumber slices with hummus. Use dark leafy greens for salads or stir them in scrambled eggs for breakfast.
Step Two
- Don’t forget your sweet tooth when filling the fridge’s produce drawer.
- Fruits make a yummy topping on cereal, a beautiful salad ingredient and a scrumptious dessert.
- Low-fat frozen yogurt topped with tart cherries is a dessert everyone will love!
- Opt for whole fruit over juice when possible. Whole fruits contain fewer calories and more fiber than juices. Like vegetables, fruit is a good source of fiber, folic acid, vitamins A and C, potassium and phytonutrients.
Step Three
- As you roll your cart by the dairy case, choose low-fat dairy foods and get nine essential nutrients: calcium, potassium, phosphorus, protein, vitamins A, D, B12, riboflavin, and niacin.
- Some dairy foods your family will love are low-fat and fat-free milk, yogurt, cheese and cottage cheese.
Step Four
- When it comes to protein-rich foods, put eggs in your cart to start your morning out on the right foot.
- Eggs provide the highest quality protein along with 13 vitamins and minerals for only 70 calories!
- Additional nutrient-rich protein foods to stock your refrigerator are lean meat, poultry, fish, beans, nuts and soy.
Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day may only come once a year, but you can make cleaning and restocking yours a monthly routine. By going through the refrigerator every month, you’ll make sure you are eating a variety of foods and throwing away old food before it gets lost in the back of the refrigerator. Get your entire family involved by having each person choose a dairy product, fruit and veggie to try that was not in the refrigerator before. Happy cleaning and healthy eating!
