There’s no better time to enjoy the refreshing tastes and textures of a freshly made salad than during summer. From fruit salads to mixed green salads, you’ll be hard pressed to find anything that is not nutritious! Here are three of our favorite summer salad ingredients:
1. Berries – Whether you’re craving a refreshing mixed berry salad with blueberries, raspberries and strawberries or you want to serve a simple strawberry and spinach salad topped with toasted walnuts to your garden party guests, berries are a great choice for adding delightful taste, texture and nutrition to your summer salad repertoire. Blueberries...
Make It with Melons
Melons make everything taste better. From a just-whirled melon cooler to prosciutto wrapped melon appetizers to a cantaloupe and avocado salad with honey-lime dressing, melons complement a variety of foods and are a tasty treat any time of day. Looking for new ways to enjoy your favorite melons? Here are some simple suggestions for using melons along with some nutritional benefits:
Treat your taste buds to homemade honeydew-basil popsicles by mixing—until smooth—4 cups honeydew melon cubes, ¼ cup chopped fresh basil, ½ cup frozen lemonade concentrate, and a dash of salt. Pour into popsicle molds, freeze for six hours, then...
Beta Carotene: What It Is
Have you ever wondered why a carrot or sweet potato is orange or why broccoli is green? The answer is carotenoids—compounds that color dark green vegetables and color orange, red, and yellow fruits and vegetables.
One important carotenoid with antioxidant properties is beta carotene. By consuming fruits and vegetables rich in beta carotene you can help keep your body healthy and happy. In the body, beta carotene is stored in the liver, and from there the body converts it into vitamin A. And beta carotene may help increase memory and protect your cells from free radical damage.
Some fruits and...
Blueberries: A North American Favorite
One of the most popular berries ever and native to North America, blueberries are an antioxidant superstar in the fruit arena. They’re chock-full of phytonutrients, including anthocyanins—the antioxidant pigments that give blueberries their brilliant blue color.
Why are antioxidants so important? Antioxidants are essential to optimizing health by helping to fight the free radicals that can damage cellular structures as well as DNA. Research suggests that blueberries can improve memory and may slow down the onset of some problems associated with aging. Blueberry consumption has also been shown to reduce cholesterol and lower triglycerides.
These berries may be tiny but...
Cherries: Good and Good for You
When you notice fresh cherries in the produce department, it’s a sure sign that summer has arrived! These seasonal, nutritional superstars are only available fresh for a short period of time—this explains why fresh cherries are a favorite ingredient for sweet summertime desserts.
While it’s easy to only think about our beloved fruits in terms of treats for our taste buds, it’s important to remember that they also offer so many wonderful health benefits. And cherries are no exception.
Tart cherries have been shown to reduce pain from arthritis and help reduce post-exercise joint and muscle pain. And tart cherries...
Smoothies: Whirl Up a Glass of Goodness
Why make your own smoothie at home? Smoothies are easy and fun to make and you can control what goes into your smoothie. All you need is a blender and a few ingredients and you’re on your way to enjoying a variety of smoothies made with a complementary combination of foods and beverages. You can even kick your smoothie up a nutritional notch by adding wheat germ, leafy greens, or protein powder.
Here are some of the most popular smoothie ingredients with some of their nutritional benefits:
Bananas – Use fresh or frozen bananas. A very good source of vitamin...
Great Grilled Seafood
If you love the flavor of grilled foods but also want to watch your caloric intake, you should consider grilling nutritious fish. Fish generally contains less fat than meat and poultry. Take note, though: Because of high water content, some fish may end up falling apart on the grill. Choose seafood that can stand the heat! Here are three choices that are great for the grill:
Halibut – This mild flavored white fish is easy to grill and makes a great substitute for other varieties of fish and poultry in most recipes. If marinating, use a dry rub as acidic...
Pineapple: A Tropical Treat for the Taste Buds
Whether you’re preparing a Thanksgiving ham studded with pineapple and cherries or you’re tossing Hawaiian chicken pineapple kebabs on the grill for a casual backyard barbecue, one thing’s for certain: fresh pineapple is a year ‘round treat for the taste buds!
Did you know that the pineapple was once a symbol of hospitality? If a pineapple was placed by the entrance to a Carib village, the Spaniards knew they were welcome. In Colonial North America, a fresh pineapple would be placed in the center of the table to welcome visitors for a festive meal.
Health-wise, pineapple is known for its...
Enhance Your Menus with Summer Citrus
Two of summer’s most renowned citrus are lemons and limes. Small in size but big in flavor, lemons and limes complement a wide variety of foods and dishes: from poultry and seafood to guacamole to salad dressings. And they are a key ingredient for a variety of refreshing drinks: from homemade lemonade to the mojito cocktail to a lemon-lime-berry smoothie. If you want to add a bold burst of lemon flavor to a dish, you can zest the peel right into a dish, such as pasta with basil and tomatoes; orzo with parsley; cremini mushroom risotto; and more. Lemon and...
Summertime Fare, Kids, and Healthier Menus
Let’s face it: summertime is fun time, especially from a kid’s perspective. From barbecues to fairs to sleepovers, it’s a given there will be some not-so-good-for-you foods consumed over the course of the summer, including hot dogs, ice cream, chips, soda and more. We don’t want to completely deprive ourselves or our kids from treats that are the true tastes of summer! But there are ways that you can incorporate healthier eating into your homemade meals with just a little bit of planning and effort. Foods with great flavor, too!
Healthier Barbecue Menu:Instead of serving up all-beef hamburgers, make a...
