At the peak of summer, its easy to eat what’s fresh and available – the markets abound with tomatoes, melons, berries, salad greens and stone fruit. Sometimes, this abundance gives us a false sense of what’s truly in season the rest of the year. By eating local and in-season, we eat produce at the peak of their flavor and the high point of their nutritional value. In all likelihood, it supplies much needed nutrients that are key for that time of year – think of the hydrating quality of watermelon on a hot summers day. So break out your gazpacho recipes and make a fruit salad and get excited that we will see beautiful new produce as we move into the fall.
Monthly Archives: July 2012
Berries part two
Perusing Diabetes Forecast magazine and they discussed a new study that shows that berries help slow cognitive decline in aging. This is due to the anti-inflammatory properties of the flavonoids (specifically anthocyanidins). So just in case you needed one more reason to pour yourself a bowl.
Superfoods: Berries
Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, cranberries – tis the season. Not only do they taste great and add some fun to your everyday cooking, but they are nutritional powerhouses, full of anti-oxidants rich Vitamin C and phytochemicals like anthocyanins – this is what makes berries red and is known to inhibit the growth of certain cancer…
What’s in a label?
Ideally, you are shopping for mostly foods without a label, but sometimes you are in a pinch or need something that you can’t make from scratch. During those times, make sure that your label has no words that you don’t recognize and ideally, no more than 5 ingredients.
Superfoods: Kale
One of my favorites is kale. It’s a versatile ingredient that works raw or cooked – it makes a regular appearance in salads, quick sautés, pasta, soups and even my smoothies. It holds for a week or longer in the crisper drawer – so it’s always on the ready to get added to your favorite…
Utilizing your leftovers
Here’s a quick rule of mine; food that you didn’t like the first time will not improve by heading to the freezer. However, if you make too much (and liked it), put some in the freezer on day one and give yourself something to look forward to when you have a busy day.