Month: January 2018

Get Ready For Game Day with These Football Themed Appetizers

It’s time for the big game! And you know what that means? Hot wings, nachos, buffalo chicken dip and there’s more where that came from. Now the struggle most people face is whether or not to stick with that “new year, new you” healthy eating resolution, or have one giant cheat day that (let’s be honest) will lead to more. But, here at Bishop’s Orchards we have the solution that will keep you on track with your New Year’s resolution. We’ve broken down this year’s game day appetizers into three trends so that way, whether you’re cooking for the kids, trying to eat clean, or just want to enjoy classic football foods, there’s sure to be one that fits your eating habits.

Trend #1 – Make Your Favorite Football Appetizers, Healthy Ones

sweet potato nacho recipeHalf the fun of watching football is that you get to eat and make all kinds of tasty appetizers. The down side being, it’s not exactly healthy for you. However, there is a way to put a healthy twist on your favorite football foods, without having to give them up altogether. Instead of loaded nachos, try sweet potato nachos with all your favorite toppings. Still the same great taste, but better for you. Or, how about that oh so delicious buffalo chicken dip – just get light cream cheese and low fat cheese and you have yourself a healthy version of this game day crowd pleaser. Whether you add some vegetables to your platters, make lighter versions of your favorite dips, or use fruit for desserts, there’s a way to substitute the high fat, sugary football foods for healthier ones.

Trend #2 – Shape Your Snacks into Footballs

Want to get the kids involved? I can’t think of a better way than by making football shaped snack foods! From football cupcakes, to chocolate covered strawberry footballs, even dark rye grilled cheese footballs. Turning these simple kid-friendly foods into fun-shaped treats is super easy, and the kids will love it. You can even do something as simple as cheese and cracker footballs. All you have to do is get your favorite cheese, some pepperoni, and draw the laces on with some ranch. The ideas on Pinterest are endless, so make sure to check them out – bring any of these to your party the kids and adults will consider you and your food a hit!

Trend #3 – Add Apple Cider to Your Tailgate Recipes

apple cider bbq chicken wings recipe

Drinking apple cider is only half the fun of football in the fall, so why not wrap up the season by adding it into your food, too! By switching up recipes like pulled pork, chicken wings, and BBQ sauce, and adding apple cider to them, it will give a sweet and tangy twist on some of your tailgating favorites. Serve these up and they’re sure to not only be a hit with the adults, but the kids will enjoy them as well.

Now that football and food are on the brain, start to think about what you’ll be putting on your table this upcoming weekend and stop into Bishop’s Orchards to get the items you need to make your all time favorite football appetizers, today! AND make sure to check out our recipe page for more game day appetizers, recipes, and ideas.

Healthy Kids Lunches

Clean eating as an adult is an everyday struggle for most. We’re constantly trying to adjust our eating habits to prevent consumption of excess sugar, and processed foods that are high in fat. At Bishop’s Orchards, we believe that it’s important to reaffirm healthy eating not just for adults, but for kids as well. By promoting a healthy lifestyle for kids and showing them how healthy food can taste good, it will help them to establish their own mindful eating habits. Sarah, Marketing Director at Bishop’s, and mother of two is the driving force behind this initiative. She shares, “A lot of parents, myself included, think ‘what’s the quickest thing I can make for lunch while also being healthy for the kids?’” So, the Bishop’s team has set out to make nutritional choices for children as easy as 1-2-3, by providing healthy snack and lunch options that are affordable, easy to prepare, and that your kids will crave!

FEATURED PERSONALITY: Sarah Bishop DellaVentura

Sarah Bishop is the sixth generation of the Bishop clan to step into the day-to-day operation of Bishop’s Orchard, family owned and operated since 1871. While Bishop’s has always been in the family, ending up there was not always Sarah’s plan. A business and marketing major while at college in Boston, she initially had no intention of returning to the family business until she considered the alternative. “I didn’t want to see what they had built sold off or end with the 5th generation. I started to embrace it and realized I had an interest in continuing the legacy. Now I’ve been back for 11 years.” Sarah stepped into the business and curated Bishop’s own in-house marketing program. What began as a one-woman department has now grown into 4 employees and Sarah is continuing to expand; she will be overseeing general operations come 2018

A Farmer’s Tan…

As I look at my drone photo of our new ground solar array, the shape like an arm, it reminds me of my wife lovingly teasing me about my farmer’s tan, my arms darkened by hard work under the sun, yet my shirt blocking the rays completely, like the panels shading the grass. Our new solar array is engineered to maximize (hence the shape) the harvest of the sun’s rays on our New England hillside that was formed by glaciers, only letting reflected light get to the grass below. With shallow soils and exposed ledge, it was a wonderful sledding hill for me and generations of Bishop children, even when Christmas trees grew there! But now we’re growing kWh – kilowatt hours- that will displace fossil fuels to power about 80% of our farm’s annual electric usage, and power our Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers that are free for public use via our installation agreement with CT DEEP.

Start Off the New Year With Healthy Kids Lunches

Why wait for the kids to go back to school in the fall to start healthy eating habits. Now that it’s a brand new year, start now with something as simple as tweaking their school lunches! We’re all a little guilty of walking into the supermarket and going down the aisles with the prepackaged, sugary foods and putting them in our shopping cart, simply because it’s easier. But, eating healthier and shopping healthier doesn’t have to be a chore. By stopping into Bishop’s Orchards Farm Market and picking fresh, farm market foods for kids lunches, they will not only benefit by having more energy during the school day and teach them healthy eating habits, but you’ll save money as well. So, let’s take a look at a few ways you can make your kids lunches a little bit healthier and meal prep a little bit easier this New Year:

Make Your Own Lunchableskids healthy school lunches
Plastic meal prep containers work great when it comes to making kids lunches. The divided compartments make it easy to provide items from each food group, and they’re reusable! These containers also store really well so you can pack lunches in advance and be prepared for the week. Get smaller ones with only a couple compartments and create a snack pack – something as simple as grapes and trail mix. And make a larger one with PB&J, some blueberries and pretzels for a lunch pack. If your kid is an ambitious eater, go for something a little fancier. Something like whole grain pasta, cucumbers, red bell peppers, and some cubed salami will go a long way and can easily be tossed together or eaten separately.

Get Creative with Sandwiches
Pinwheel or rollup sandwiches are a healthy and easy alternative to a regular sandwich. Grab a wheat tortilla, some turkey and cheese, roll it up, cut it into slices, and use a toothpick to hold it together. You can even do the same with some cucumber and hummus, easily making a few lunches for the week. Or, if your kids prefer regular sandwiches, substitute with the healthy ingredients, and make use of your cookie cutters by cutting them into a fun shape for a great surprise when they open their lunchbox.

Give Them Healthy Snacks
Fruit is a great go-to healthy snack, but sometimes it’s hard to preserve it. So stick with something like strawberries or blueberries that can be cut up and put in a container for the week without going brown. Fruigees squeezable fruit snacks are also perfect for kids if you’re looking to get them to eat more fruit, and the Green Mountain Creamery squeezable yogurts are perfect for the yogurt lover in your family. Carrots and peanut butter, cheese sticks, hummus and pretzel cups, and the 88 Acres or That’s It fruit bars are a healthy snacking option and provide a good alternative to chips if they prefer munching on something crunchy. Fruit leather makes for a great snack as well, AND it’s easy to make yourself – you don’t even have to add any sugar to it!

Replace the Sugary Juice Box with a Fruity Natural One
Not only can you trust that you’re giving your kid’s a healthy fruity drink when you buy Kuji or Honest Kids juice boxes, but if you freeze them the night before, they can double as an ice pack inside their lunchbox! And for an extra special treat, we have 6-pack ciders that are the perfect size for a school lunch. Lunch box smoothies are also a fun and healthy option. Grab some of your favorite fruits and vegetables, blend them up, and freeze them. By lunchtime, they’ll be slushy enough to eat!

While those prepackaged supermarket foods seem easier, they’re not always healthier. So, the next time you walk into the grocery store and go to reach for those sugary snacks, don’t give in. Instead stop in to Bishop’s Orchards and pick up the fresh produce and farm market items that will make your kids lunch, a healthier one.