I joined a produce co-op!! Now some advice?

[Leiloshka]

YEAH! I am so thrilled! After reading here about people buying from produce co-ops, one has finally come close to my town. So, we will pick up the produce 30 minutes away, but that is okay. I'm excited!

A question....does anyone eat raw potatoes or raw sweet potatoes? What about beets?

These are some things to be included in the produce and I don't eat these now. Come to think about it, I haven't read about people eating them on the board. Even Alissa's potato salad recipe uses jicama, not potatoes.

Any co-op hints? Advice? :)

THANKS!

[CAdreamer]

We eat raw sweet potatoes...or actually, they're yams. I grate them on the smallest size holes, mix with grated carrot, raisin, apple, mint, garam masala, and agave for a cold salad. Raw sweet potatoes are much different than the yams.

You can make really thin chips out of either, but the starchy taste remains in the regular potatoes.

The beets can be juiced or grated if you like the taste of fresh beets. I don't like the dark red beets because the taste is too strong, so I buy orange beets.

[Kris]

As has been mentioned here before, what we normally call "yams" in North America are just an orange variety of sweet potato. Yams are typically not available in our markets, and are REALLY different from the orange sweet potatoes (they're actually more like the starchy, white sweet potatoes). The only reason I mention this is that, if you're getting your produce from the people who grow it, they are probably are aware that the orange "yams" are in fact sweet potatoes, and may label them as such. So just because your produce list says "sweet potatoes," you shouldn't automatically assume that you're getting the white variety. The orange ones are good raw and you can find some recipes here if you search with the banana (sweet potato chips, sweet potato pie, etc.), but I haven't seen any recipes for raw white sweet potatoes.

Regarding beets, I think they're even better raw than cooked. They are sweet and very juicy. I love heaps of beets and carrots grated on top of a green salad. There's also a FANTASTIC recipe for raw ravioli in the book Raw Food, Real World that uses thinly sliced beets as the "noodles." I made these raviolis at a raw dinner party I threw for my non-raw friends, and they all begged for the recipe. I've had pizza crust with grated beet in it, and it's also tasty. You could probably put grated beets in crackers too.

I'm not sure that root veggies are ideal foods, but I currently include them in my diet and I think they're certainly better than anything cooked. If you like them, I think you will be able to find ways to use them both in recipes and in everyday quick meals.

[sachis2112]

Just a comment on the starchy taste.... I've read somewhere on this board that soaking in water before doing anything else (after cutting up is better) will help get rid of most of the starch taste.

[Ireland]

I made dill pickle potato chips last week.

Sliced white potatoes as thinly as humanly possible, then soaked them in water, celtic sea salt and vinegar for a 2 hours or so, (4 hours would have been better) stirring as often as possible.

I then laid them out in the dehydrator and sprinkled with crushed dill, then dehydrated overnight. They were yummy and crunchy and salty and vinegary and dilly and...and....

[mindelicious]

I have read before that everyday you should include beets and a form of cabbage in your diet. I have juiced both together and it is not very good but after you finish you have energy all day--cleanin' the whole house.
Beets cleanse the blood and contian calcium, sulfur, iron, potasium, choline, beta-carotene, and vitamin C, beets strengthen the liver and gall bladder and build blood cells. And dont forget the beet greens they are high in manganese--juice em or put em in a salad.
Cabage is also a great cleanser and muscle builder, high in sulfur, chlorine and iodine. Cabbage removes mucus from the stomach and intensinal tract. It helps everything from unreggularity, obesity, ulcers, premature aging, and skin disorders.
So eat them beets up!!!! And don't forget the caggabe.

Beets are great whole, in a salad, sliced up with carrots, if you are looking for a crunchy sweet salad mix beets with cabbage.

[tracyinfo]

I have not found a raw potato recipe that I like yet.

However the good news, is that all the other root vegetables, I have used in my raw food prep quite successfully.

I use my saladacco for the beets, and throw on top any kind of sauce. Also carrots are wonderful too when I use the saladacco (use thick carrots).

Sweet potatoes/yams can be grated and pureed with sweetener of choice and possibly cinnamon/nutmeg/raisins/dates/pineapple for sweet dishes and herbs/salt/pepper/nutritional yeast for savory.


Go for it!

Blessings.

[Lady Green Jeans]

I'm jealous. It is wonderful to get a nice selection of fresh, organic produce every week. What a help to know in advance what some of the crop consists of. I have always liked beets, even when SAD. I now shred them on a mandoline and toss in salads or place a nice mound on my collard green rollup (any of Alissa's pates are excellent fillers). My next recipe using beets will be to combine with jicama or a seaweed salad.

The sweet potato/yam question always seems to bring up varied answers. Sweet potatoes are a drier consistency (cooked) than yams. Yams are also sweeter than sweet potatoes. This is fact. I do not know if they are botanically in the same family, but that is the main difference. In So Cal, we get a wider variety of yams than I used to get back East. I have enjoyed eating recipes made with shredded or pulverized yams as a pate-like meat substitute, but I have not yet made any recipes using them raw.

Sorry I don't have any input on regular potatoes. I used to eat them raw since chilldhood, but really cannot think of a recipe to incorporate them. Please let me know if you do. About the only thing I would probably crave would be SAD mashed potatoes. Feeling so much better raw so veerrry doubtful I will need to go there again.

[EatAllNatural.com]

In response to your question, we eat raw beets all the time and we love them! They are wonderful all by themselves and very crunchy, too! They do tend to stain your hands though when you peel them, so be careful not to get the beet juice on anything! Enjoy!
Beth

[GlimR]

I belong to an organic buyers group and usually there is someone there who is willing to make a trade.........last week I didn't want the potatoes so someone traded for several bananas, cilantro and a mango.....it all works out~

[Leiloshka]

Thanks for all the tips. I've never liked beets but as I've gotten older my tastes have changed so we'll see. Plus, I've never tried them raw, so if they are as sweet as you all say, I'm sure I'll like them. :)

I'm really looking forward to the produce and the new things I'll try in order to use the produce I'm given.