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Publix GreenWise Market Magazine - December 2008
Handle with Care
 Handle with Care
Sending off a care package with your signature pumpkin bread or a tasty but healthful snack mix is the next best thing to sharing the holidays with distant friends and family. Here’s how to make sure your edible gifts arrive at their destination in one piece:
- Choose foods that can handle variations in temperature, a lack of moisture and lots of shake, rattle and roll. Fruit breads, trail mix, bar cookies and soft drop cookies are good choices. A few to avoid: frosted or filled cookies and cutouts with pointed edges.
- Wrap bars individually or in pairs, back-to-back. Stack four plastic-wrapped bundles and wrap them again in foil.
- Double-wrap fruit breads in plastic and foil or place cooled breads in aluminum loaf pans and seal in plastic bags.
- Layer cookies in a box or cookie tin lined in plastic wrap or foil. (Reusing clean, empty coffee cans works well too.) Separate layers with crumpled tissue paper or waxed paper. Place the sturdiest cookies or other items on the bottom.
- Place wrapped food items or containers in a sturdy mailing box that allows plenty of room for cushioning. Fill it with eco-friendly packing material, such as air-popped popcorn (with no salt or oil). The box should be full enough to prevent items from shifting.
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Feathered-Friend Food
Looking to change up the menu you feed your backyard brood? According to Roger Lederer, Ph.D., emeritus professor of biological sciences at California State University, Chico, you can create your own bird food to attract a variety of migratory and nonmigratory wild birds. All you need are some common ingredients from your own pantry. Try this recipe for a start.
Wild Bird Treats
2 cups peanut butter, bacon fat or shortening
2 cups cornmeal
Warm water as needed
1 cup mixed seeds (sunflower, sesame, etc.)
1 cup dried fruit (raisins, dried apples, dried berries, etc.)
1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, peanuts, etc.)
Melt the peanut butter or fat over low heat and pour into a large bowl. Stir in cornmeal. Add enough water to make a stiff dough. Stir in seeds, fruit and nuts. Pack into a large, flat pan and chill overnight. Slice into squares when cold and place in bird feeders or loop twine or heavy string around treats, then tie to tree branches. Note: This recipe is best suited to moderate winter temperatures, not the high heat of summer.
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Holiday A-peel
Whether they’re stuffed into stockings or studded with cloves, clementines and tangerines are traditional holiday favorites worldwide. The fruits reach their peak in midwinter, which makes them a natural for spreading seasonal cheer. Both fruits are variants of mandarin oranges, originating in Asia. Smaller than oranges, they have easy-to-peel skins with an orange to reddish-orange color. Tangerines are rounder with a pebbly peel, while clementines are more squat with smooth skins. Clementines and tangerines are perfectly suited to fruit salads, sauces, mousses, sorbets, soufflés, pies and marmalades. Their sweet yet tart flavor also pairs well with pork or poultry dishes. But be sure to enjoy them at their natural best—peeled and popped into your mouth.
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 Add Anise For Health
News flash! Scientists have discovered four compounds in anise that had never been identified in any plant before. USDA researchers, teaming up with colleagues in Mississippi and Turkey, identified the unique phenylpropanoids in anise. They are thought to have health-protective effects, including antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities.
Previously, anise was treasured primarily for the licorice-like flavor it brings to foods, from holiday springerle cookies (a traditional molded cookie) to curries and hoisin sauce. And that’s still a great reason to enjoy the hint of licorice that anise seed adds to a variety of dishes:
- Stir into cookies, cakes, bars, candies, pies and breads.
- Simmer with soups and stews.
- Roast in meat and poultry dishes.
- Spike into seafood and fish dishes.
- Add to exotic dishes such as curries.
- Sprinkle over cheeses on platters or in sandwiches.
LEARN MORE: Find more information about anise at
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The Scoop on Oatmeal
No matter how you cut or roll it, a bowl of delicious whole grain oatmeal starts your day in a hearty way. Plus its soluble fiber helps to bind cholesterol, making it a healthful addition to your diet. Oatmeal comes in several forms. Rolled oats—oat kernels that have been steamed, then rolled and flaked—are the most familiar. Quick rolled oats are thinner, so they take less time to cook than regular. Instant oatmeal is made from very thin precooked oats, usually with salt and flavorings added. And steel-cut oats are the kernels chopped into small pieces. Keep several of these varieties on hand for breakfast, snacks and baking.
| Oatmeal |
Texture |
Prep Time |
Sodium Content |
Sugar Content |
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| Publix GreenWise Market 100% Organic Original Instant Oatmeal (1 packet, 28 g) |
smooth |
90 seconds
(microwave) |
0 mg |
0 g |
| Publix GreenWise Market Organic Maple & Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal (1 packet, 41 g) |
smooth |
90 seconds
(microwave) |
95 mg |
12 g |
| Publix GreenWise Market 100% Organic Old Fashioned Oats (½ cup dry, 40 g) |
chewier |
5 minutes
(stove top) |
0 mg |
0 g |
| Quaker Steel Cut Oats (¼ cup dry, 40 g) |
chewier |
30 minutes
(stove top) |
0 mg |
1 g |
| McCann’s Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal (¼ cup dry, 40 g) |
chewier |
30 minutes
(stove top) |
0 mg |
0 g |
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