Big Y News - Big Y® World Class Market™

SPRINGFIELD, MA (May 13, 2009) - Tough economic times have renewed an interest in home-cooked meals. But some folks with limited cooking knowledge and experience can find it difficult to get a home cooked meal on the table night after night. Big Y Foods and Fruits & Veggies - More Matters ® want to help. Home cooks will find easy to understand, healthy recipes that are quick and easy to prepare, online at www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org, which can be accessed from Big Y's own website, www.bigy.com in the Living Well Eating Smart section.

"A common misconception is healthy eating costs a lot of money," said Carrie Taylor, Big Y's registered dietitian and head of the Living Well Eating Smart program. "This doesn't have to be the case with affordable nutrient-rich options like fresh, frozen, dried and canned fruits and vegetables." She adds, "Although the current economic situation may have families feeling the pinch, socially, eating out less can be the hidden ingredient to keeping family budgets and waistlines in check. Preparing more meals at home helps individuals regain control over what they eat and how foods are prepared."

"Spending less money doesn't mean that you have to eat less healthy foods, said Taylor. "Choose nutrient-dense foods that offer higher vitamin, mineral and fiber content per calorie like healthy fruits and vegetables and 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice to get as much nutritional bang for your buck as possible."

"As a working mother of two, I understand that dinnertime can be a challenge," said Elizabeth Pivonka, Ph.D., R.D., president and CEO of Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) the nonprofit entity behind the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters national public health initiative. "That's why we've added so many healthy, easy-to-prepare, recipes to our website. You will find lots of recipes that your family will love, many of which can be made in 30 minutes or less even if you're not an experienced cook. There's also a Video Center that shows how to check different fruits and vegetables for ripeness, outlines proper storage methods, and demonstrates recipe preparation step-by-step in a way that's easy to understand."

"Big Y customers will find many ideas for easy-to-fix, inexpensive, meal solutions in the Living Well Eating Smart section of our website at www.bigy.com in addition to linking to the quick and easy recipes available at the Fruits and Veggies-More Matters website," said Carrie Taylor.

With the right ingredients in the pantry, anyone can prepare quick, nutritious meals at home, and iit's easy to add more fruits and vegetables to your diet when you remember that all forms count; fresh, frozen, canned, dried and 100 percent fruit and vegetable juice. Pre-cleaned and chopped fresh fruits and vegetables are available in the produce section, including convenient microwave-in-bag varieties. Veggie-packed main dishes can be found in the frozen food aisle right beside an abundant variety of frozen fruits and vegetables that are easy to keep on hand for adding an extra serving to meals. Canned and dried fruits and veggies are effortless to store and also cook quickly.

Keeping specific pantry items on hand makes meal assembly easier when time is tight. Here are some meals in minutes that are simple to prepare, even for a novice cook.

Some fast weeknight dinner ideas include:

Quick Pasta Dinner: Cook any type of whole-wheat pasta (spaghetti, fettuccine, etc.) according to package directions. Heat olive oil in frying pan and toss in bite-size pieces of fresh or frozen vegetables (broccoli, bell peppers, onions, carrots, etc.). Serve veggies over drained pasta with a side salad (bagged salad mixes make this quick and easy too).

Tortellini soup: Cook a package of refrigerated or dried tortellini (any kind will do). Drain. Mix one can of chicken broth with one can diced tomatoes. Add a couple of handfuls of your family's favorite frozen mixed vegetables, some chopped garlic and dried basil or oregano. Mix in tortellini. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and serve with a side of applesauce or your favorite fresh fruit.

Quick Hearty Soup: Take a couple of cans of your family's favorite soup and add a can of mixed vegetables and a can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas) both drained. Serve with some delicious pickled veggies, just open the jar and enjoy.

Tuna toast: Drain a can or two of tuna and add finely chopped celery, onions, olives and raisins and mix with reduced-fat mayonnaise. Spread this mixture over thick slices of whole-wheat bread. Place under broiler to heat through. Serve with baby carrots and apple wedges alongside peanut butter for dipping.

The good news is that cooking at home can save money and brings the family together for dinner. It can also contribute to healthy eating.

"With Living Well Eating Smart, we're not just able to educate shoppers on how to live a healthier lifestyle in regards to the items we sell in our stores," said Carrie Taylor, "but we're also able to bring the picture of healthy eating on a budget to life with topics such as "Dining on a Dime" in our upcoming newsletter."

Visit www.bigy.com for user-friendly cooking advice, nutrition information and more information about Fruits & Veggies—More Matters.

Headquartered in Springfield, MA, Big Y is one of the largest independently owned supermarket chains in New England. Proud to be family owned and operated, they currently operate 57 stores throughout Connecticut and Massachusetts with over 9,100 employees. Founded in 1936 by brothers Paul and Gerald D'Amour, the store was named after an intersection in Chicopee, Massachusetts where two roads converge to form a "Y".

About Produce for Better Health Foundation Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) consumer education foundation whose purpose is to motivate more people to eat more fruits and vegetables to improve public health. PBH is a member and co-chair of the National Fruit & Vegetable Alliance (NFVA), consisting of government agencies, non-profit organizations, and industry working to collaboratively and synergistically achieve increased nationwide access and demand for all forms off fruits and vegetables for improved public health. This vision of the NFVA is a nation in which half of the foods Americans eat are fruits and vegetables. Fruits & Veggies—More Matters is the nation's largest public-private, fruit and vegetable nutrition education initiative with Fruit and Vegetable Nutrition Coordinators in each state, territory and the military.

PBH's mission is to lead people to eat more fruits and vegetables because it matters for their better health. The foundation achieves success though industry and government collaboration, and a variety of marketing and nutrition education programs. To learn more, visit www.pbhfoundation.org and www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org.