The Holiday season has arrived, and most of us have already attended a Christmas party or two, or are planning to in the next week. And that means that you have loaded up on all the tasty treats that come with the holidays, ham and the trimmings, cheesy appetizers, and the sweets… oh the sweets! If you are like most of us, after indulging on all those goodies, you want to try something a little healthier. Well here at Gold Coast Packing we completely understand and that is why this month we are sharing a healthier, lighter recipe, enter the Chocolate, Broccoli Leaf and Kale Salad. Yes, that’s right, we said Dark Chocolate and Kale! We will give you all the detail on this amazing salad soon but first we want to tell you all about Broccoli Leaf… what makes this salad unique and healthy.

Broccoli Leaves are a completely unknown and underrated green. Broccoli Leaves are exactly what you are thinking, they are the leaves of the plant that are usually trimmed off when broccoli crowns are harvested. These leaves are nutrient dense and very tasty. Broccoli leaves are high in Fiber, Vitamins A & C, Thiamin, Niacin, Calcium, Iron, Potassium… the list goes on… truly a SuperFood!

Broccoli leaves don’t taste much like Broccoli, they are crunchy with a mild and sweet flavor. The leaves can be cooked up in the same ways that Kale can, Sautéed, Steamed, Stir-fried or simply eaten raw in a salad or as the green in your sandwich or wrap. We are showcasing these green leaves this month in our Broccoli Leaf and Kale Chocolate Salad.

Our salad recipe is easy to put together and is bursting with flavor. The Kale and Broccoli Leaves are tossed together with sliced almonds, dried cranberries, crumbled goat cheese and don’t forget the Dark Chocolate! To add some tart and tang we dress it with a Pomegranate dressing that takes this salad to a whole other level! Trust us on this one, you get a healthy salad that doesn’t skimp on flavor and pairs perfectly with your favorite Red Wine. And, if you still have a holiday party to attend, take this salad with you. Everyone will love it and will be talking about the Chocolate Salad. Thanks for joining us this month, we hope your holidays are filled with joy, family, friends and plenty of treats. Check out the video below for a step by step tutorial, and the printable recipe can be found at the bottom of the page.

Dark Chocolate Broccoli Leaf Salad

Halloween has come and gone and that means the holiday season is upon us. Some believe this is the most wonderful time of the year with the family get-togethers, Friendsgiving, Christmas baking. But then there are those that do not enjoy this time of year, because there is just so much going on! Well whatever category you may fall in, the Produce Navigator is here to help yet again, as we share a simple and tasty dish that you can take to all of your holiday gatherings.

All holidays call for getting together with those you love and sharing a meal. Traditionally Thanksgiving calls for a Turkey with all the trimmings like mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and stuffing just to name a few and get your stomach growling and mouth-watering. Yes, we love those traditional side dishes but this year why not try a healthy alternative. This month, at Gold Coast we have whipped up a Veggie Risotto, made with our Caulifornia™ Garden Rice.

Our Caulifornia™ Garden Rice is a blend of riced Cauliflower, Broccoli and Carrots. Our Garden Rice comes in a one-pound bag, washed, diced and ready to use. It is part of the Caulifornia™ family along with our Snow (100% riced cauliflower) and our Broccoli Bits (100% riced broccoli.) All of our Caulifornia™ items were created with the home cook in mind. The entire line allows you to make quick, easy, healthy meals, whatever you can dream up… the possibilities are endless.

Caulifornia™ Garden Rice is the perfect carb alternative that can be used in a variety of ways. Some of our favorite way to use the riced veggie medley is in tater tots, or mixed up as hash browns, or as the base to your favorite fried rice recipe. And that is the basis of this month’s recipe, we are making a Veggie Risotto that is oh so good… you’ll forget that you are only eating vegetables. This recipe is pretty easy and comes together quickly, which is perfect because with all the craziness that comes with the season, you’ll want to have your dish ready in a hurry so you can bolt out the door.

Thanks for joining us on The Produce Navigator again this month, we know you’re busy planning your Thanksgiving feast and travel plans. Check out the video below for a step by step guide and the handy printable recipe is at the end of this post.

Full Recipe Here: Veggie Risotto

For several years Kale was the most popular vegetable. Everyone was on the kale kick, kale t-shirts, kale chips, kale salads, kale smoothies… you name it and there was a kale version of it! Kale is everywhere, but it is slowly being pushed aside by cauliflower! Cauliflower is now the new it vegetable. Cauliflower is a culinary chameleon, it can easily be added to any dish and it absorbs its flavors.

Cauliflower is considered one of the healthiest foods as it is loaded with essential vitamins and antioxidants. Several studies have shown that cauliflower is useful for preventing several types of cancers, including breast and colon. So yes, it’s a great, healthy and super tasty idea to substitute your protein or carbs with Cauliflower!

We offer cauliflower in several forms here at Gold Coast Packing, including florets and “riced” Caulifornia™ snow. Our florets are available in a two-pound bag, washed and ready to use.  There is so much you can do with those beautiful florets, roasting and pickling is the latest cauliflower craze. Roasting cauliflower is the easiest and most flavorful ways to cook up some cauli, pickling takes a bit longer, but once those florets are pickled you will have found your new favorite pickled veggie!

Cauliflower is trending as a meat replacement, and as the center of the plate superstar… that means no meat for lunch or dinner, everyone is serving up cauliflower! Some of the most popular recipes are Cauliflower “mac” and cheese, Cauliflower tacos, Roasted Cauliflower soup, and Buffalo Cauliflower. These are all great meals featuring our favorite veggie, but the recipe that has us saying more please is Baked Orange Cauliflower. Yes, that’s right, the meatless version of your favorite take-out!

This recipe comes together quite easily and with ingredients that are pantry staples. The cauliflower is baked not fried then glazed with the perfect orange sauce with a slight spicy kick. Serve it with some steamed rice and you have the perfect fall dinner. To simply your cooking process even more you can check out the video below and the easy to follow printable recipe is also linked below. Thank you for following along for this trendy, fall, cauliflower dish. Hopefully you enjoyed this instead of all the pumpkin flavored everything being shared right now! Should we say, Orange you glad this isn’t a pumpkin spice recipe?!?

Recipe Here:Baked Orange Cauliflower

September means the end of summer is approaching and kids are heading back to school, moms and dads everywhere will be busy packing lunches and back to playing taxi, heading to football practice or dance class or swim lessons… oh the joys of parenthood! With so much going on, it can be hard to get dinner on the table between the frequent drop-offs and helping with homework. Have no fear, The Produce Navigator is here to help!

Nothing is better than getting a tasty and veggie packed dinner on the table in a short period of time. One way to make dinner in a snap is to prep, prep, prep! You can set aside a weekend afternoon to chop, and dice the ingredients for your upcoming week’s meals. Or you can spend an entire day making freezer meal, which are complete meals you pre-cook and freeze, then you simply take one out on a busy night and pop it in the oven. Another convenient idea is, simply prep dinner the night before or the morning of, which is exactly how you can put this month’s recipe together quickly. We will tell you all about the marinating in a bit. But first let’s talk Broccoli.

At Gold Coast Packing we are all about making things quick and easy for you. We are known for our Value-added products, meaning our items are washed, cut and ready to use! Our Spinach, Cauliflower Florets, Broccoli Florets, Cilantro and all of our Caulifornia™ items are ready to use right out of the bag! Talk about simplified convenience! For this month’s recipe, we used our Broccoli Florets, which are available in a variety of pack sizes, including 2lb. and 3lb. retail bags. Making it as easy as opening a bag and tossing in a pan.

This month’s recipe is a super tasty, better than take-out Beef and Broccoli. With a little bit of prep the night before or prior to heading out the door in the morning, you will have a delicious dinner, jam packed with broccoli. And even better… this dish will whip up in less than 30 minutes! Yes, it’s that simple!! The only prep, is super easy, you simply cut up your flank steak and make a marinade. The longer your meat marinades the more tender and flavorful it will be, but if you forget to prep, as long as you leave that meat in the marinade for one hour, you will be good to go. The next three steps are as easy as making a sauce, sauteing broccoli and mixing it all together! What? Yes! That simple, and when you taste it you may never want to order take out again.

Thanks for navigating with us through some meal prepping ideas. We hope you have learned some tips that will help with those busy nights. The easy to follow recipe tutorial is below, as well as the handy printable recipe.

Recipe Here: Beef and Broccoli