Tips For A Healthy New Year Fresh & Easy Eating in 2023

If January is the month when you’ll be looking to make better choices, Stew Leonard’s has got you covered! Here are ten of Stew’s favorite items that are on-trend for some of 2023’s healthy lifestyle choices:

SHOP ALL

Stew’s Line of
Naked Products

Your first step to clean eating is reading labels and learning where your food comes from. Stew’s line of Naked products – including chicken, shrimp, meat, and more – are antibiotic free and contain no added hormones. Organic chicken and grass-fed beef are both lower in saturated fat but higher in other nutrients than their conventional counterparts. 

Organic Produce

Stew’s produce department is one-stop shopping for grab-and-go freshly made salads and, this time of year, is bursting with juicy citrus fruits that are at the peak of the season. Stock up on organic produce – including apples, leafy greens, and carrots – for immunity boosting, nutritious, and flavorful at-home smoothies.

---NOTE: THIS COULD BE CHANGED TO A GENERAL SECTION ON ALL OF OUR ORGANIC ITEMS.

Plant-Based

Planted-based is still all the rage. For those times when you’re craving meat but don’t want the calories or cholesterol, Stew Leonard’s has a great selection of Beyond Meat patties and sausage. Our fish department also stocks Plant Based Crab Cakes, offering a crabmeat-like texture and real seafood flavor.

Stew’s Naked Salmon and Wild Salmon

Stew’s Naked salmon and wild salmon are nutritional powerhouses, rich in essential omega-3 fats and high-quality protein.

Avocado Toast

For the ultimate avocado toast, swap your standard whole wheat for Bethy’s Killer Bread. It’s loaded with 21 grains, has only 50 calories and 2g of sugar per slice, and is cholesterol free.

Cheese

Stew’s cheese department offers a variety of international and locally made award-winning cheeses! Low in carbs and high in fat, Stew’s cheeses are a great fit for Keto dieters. If you’re not on Keto, there are still many cheeses to consider that will fit into a healthy lifestyle – they’re a great source of protein and probiotics, and they may even aid weight loss plus help prevent heart disease and osteoporosis. Consider adding mozzarella, Parmesan, Swiss, goat, blue, feta, ricotta, or even a scoop of classic cottage cheese to your snacking routine or add them to a green salad for extra flavor and texture.

Stew's
Cauliflower Pizza

If you’re gluten-free but still crave an ooey gooey slice of pizza, look no further than Stew’s cauliflower pizza. Sold either topped with cheese and sauce, or just in crust form, cauliflower pizza has a thinner, crispier base thanks to the cauliflower and rice flour.

Stew's
Flavored Seltzers

Craving bubbles? Replace a sugary soda with one of Stew’s new flavored seltzers, including tangerine and lemon-lime.

Deli Fresh Meats
& Cheeses

Stew’s Gold Reserve Premium Deli Meats are made by a local company that’s been in business for 50 years – family owned and operated – and their product is antibiotic free. They’re a fresh and easy lunch shortcut! Our favorite combinations include roast beef and provolone, ham and swiss, and turkey and American. Serve with one of our leafy green side salads.

Stew Leonard's Soups

Stew Leonard’s soups don’t have any high fructose corn syrup, making them a warm, filling, and healthy lunch or dinner. If you’re counting calories, choose from our Chicken Tortilla Soup, Black Bean Soup, or Vegetable Minestrone Soup. Stew’s Chicken, Kale, & Sweet Potato Soup is also gluten free. All of our soups are available in a customer-friendly 24 oz. container for $8.99. 

  • Black Bean: Black beans, onions, jalapeno peppers, and crushed tomatoes are seasoned with garlic, cilantro, olive oil, and spices to create a protein-packed and hearty dish.
  • Broccoli Cheddar Soup: Our Broccoli Cheddar Soup is made with generous chunks of broccoli and blended with a creamy sharp cheddar cheese, light cream, butter, wheat flour, carrots, and a touch of spice. A cold weather classic! 
  • Butternut Apple Soup: Butternut squash, apples, light cream, butter, ginger, fresh rosemary, fresh sage, and a dash cinnamon create a warming, robust soup that’s a harvest season staple.   
  • Chicken Chili: A best-seller! An award-winning and flavorful recipe that’s been a Stew Leonard’s staple for years. Chicken, black beans, pinto beans, and navy beans come together in a base of onions, corn, green and red peppers, carrots, celery, tomato paste and spices.
  • Chicken & Corn: A comforting and delicious soup featuring tender corn, potatoes, chicken, onion, potatoes, red peppers, and cream. You’ll love the kick of poblano pepper and spices, too!
  • Chicken & Kale with Sweet Potato: This unique soup combines kale and sweet potatoes, simmered in a hearty stock, with savory diced chicken meat that’s been raised without antibiotics, kidney beans, and select vegetables. Gluten free.
  • Chicken Noodle: A best-seller! Just like mom used to make with hearty chunks of chicken, pasta, celery, carrots, onions, and spices.
  • Chicken Tortilla: A south of the border celebration that’s packed with black beans, chicken, roasted corn, yellow corn tortillas, chipotle peppers and spices. Serve with sliced avocado or a dollop of Stew’s dairy-fresh sour cream.
  • Chili Con Carne: The standout star of your next gameday entertaining menu! Beef, tomatoes, beans, onion, tomatoes, celery, green peppers, olive oil, chipotle ground pepper, and spices. Serve with a sprinkle of Stew’s shredded cheddar cheese.
  • Italian Wedding: An Old World-style soup featuring tender beef meatballs, pasta, carrots, onions, spinach, celery, and spices.
  • Lobster Bisque:  A best-seller! A silky-smooth puree of cooked lobster meat, half and half, clam broth, butter, sherry wine, onion, and spices. Enjoy it as a soup or delectable sauce for fish dishes, including stuffed sole and seared mahi mahi. 
  • Manhattan Clam Chowder: Naturally low in fat, Stew Leonard’s Manhattan Clam Chowder credits its zippy and garden-fresh taste to clams, clam broth, tomatoes, onions, celery, select spices and a splash of Worcestershire Sauce. Gluten Free.
  • New England Clam Chowder: A best-seller! This award-winning “chowda” is chock full of clams and potatoes and is made with onion, rich butter, heavy cream, and spices. A decadent addition to a holiday meal or as a hardy dinner on its own! Gluten free.
  • Split Pea with Ham: Smoky, uncured ham in a pureed blend of green split peas, onions, celery, carrots, and handcrafted chicken stock with a pinch of marjoram. A hearty and rich soup that’s the ultimate comfort food. Gluten free.
  • Vegetable Minestrone: Chunks of fresh veggies plus kidney beans make this a warm and filling meal to chase away the winter blues.

Food Labeling 101

If 2023 is your year to start healthy eating, then you’ll have to start with learning how to read labels! Food labels don’t just give you information about calories and fat; they can also give you great insight into how food was raised and grown. Here are just some of the catchphrases you’ll want to keep on your radar:

• Cage-Free: Eggs that come from chickens that were raised without cages.

• Free Range: A chicken that’s had access to the outdoors every day.

• GMO:  A genetically modified organism – or a "GMO” - has become a common term to describe foods that have been created through genetic engineering. A non-GMO food is one that’s been produced without genetic engineering.  

• Grass Fed: The animal’s primary nutrition comes from grass and not from grains such as corn.

• Natural: Meat and poultry that does not contain artificial colors, artificial flavors, preservatives, or other artificial ingredients, and is minimally processed.

• No antibiotics: The animal received no antibiotics over its lifetime.

• No added hormones: The animal received no synthetic hormones over its lifetime.

• Organic: Food that’s produced without chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or other artificial agents.

• Pasture Raised: The animal spent at least some of its life grazing in pastures.

Diet & Lifestyle
Choices

Low-carb, no-carb, vegan, WW…the list goes on! If you don’t know your keto from your paleo, here’s a quick primer on some of the buzzwords surrounding what and why people are eating what they’re eating these days.

  • Atkins: A low-carb diet where you gradually increase carbohydrates when you reach your goal weight.
  • Clean Eating: Eating whole foods and avoiding processed foods.
  • Keto: Eating no carbs, but lots of fat.
  • Mediterranean Diet: Eating plant-based foods like fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, plenty of extra-virgin olive oil, and fresh fish.
  • Paleo: The caveman diet! Includes eating only plants and animals that people ate during the Stone Age. 
  • Pescatarian: Eating fish, but not meat.
  • Plant-based: Foods that are derived from plants.
  • Vegan: Eating no food or other products derived from animals.
  • Vegetarian: Not eating meat.
  • Whole 30: Eating foods with a simple or recognizable list of ingredients, or no ingredients at all because they’re whole and unprocessed.
  • WW: A calorie-counting system that uses points to track what you eat.

Please check with your doctor or health care provider before starting any weight-loss diet, especially if you have any health conditions.