Category — Fruit

Red wine has been credited with health attributes from slimming down to lowering cholesterol. Imagine my surprise when I read in an article in Mother Earth News that it may also fight cancer. That’s because the most powerful cancer-fighting compound we can get from food is resveratrol, found in the skin and seeds of red grapes. Apparently, resveratrol not only protects the heart but also has been proven to help fight cancer in it’s early reversible stage by preventing cancer cells from developing and growing.

Red wine might be the most fun way to get these amazing benefits, but eating the grapes or drinking plain grape juice is just as good. A tip when buying grapes is to choose the seeded variety for maximum health benefit. If you chew and swallow the seeds as well as the skin and pulp you get the added plus of an antioxident called oligomeric proanthocyanidin which researchers claim slows the aging process and protects the skin and internal organs from the bad effects of stress and toxins.

I love when my evening relaxation habits turn out to have proven health benefits. We can all rest assured that there are some things that are fun and taste good that are also good for you!

As if I haven’t given you enough reasons to get out to your local farmer’s market and take advantage of all the fruits and vegetables that are in season right now, here’s another one.  It’s been scientifically proven that they help prevent and fight cancer.
These are the health-promoting compounds that occur naturally in foods:

• Anthocyanidins - Antioxidants with anti-inflammatory properties.  Think purple: beets, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, red grapes and purple cabbage.

• Carotenoids - protect vital fatty acids and enhance immune response.  Good sources: apricots, carrots, dark leafy greens, yams, squash, and tomatoes.

• Lutein - an antioxidant that helps protect cells and maintains health of eyes, heart, skin, and breasts and cervix in women.  Go green: spinach, collard greens, kale, leeks, peas and romaine lettuce

• Lycopene - reduces risk of prostate cancer in men.  Overall, it’s also a potent antioxidant and prevents damage to DNA.  Tomatoes have the highest percentage of lycopene; other food sources include watermelon, pink grapefruit and guava juice.

• Sulfer compounds - may help remove cancer -causing agents from your body as well as improve estrogen balance.  Mr. Mustard Family: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, mustard greens, radishes, and turnips

The easiest way to make sure you’re selecting a good mix of cancer-fighting fruits and vegetables is by observing the colors: purple, orange, dark green and pink/red.  A mix like this is not only pleasing to your body but also to your eye.

Rotisserie chicken and salad is one of the easiest and most satisfying meals you can make, or not make, since you can buy the chickens at almost any grocery store these days.  This meal will still satisfy and take advantage of all the fresh bounty summer has to offer.

Consider the recipe from Real Simple for chicken with grape and blue cheese salad.  Just looking at the picture is all the inspiration you’ll need to jump off you tail and whip that one up.  Or try roast chicken with The Rosenthal salad.  This gets the “tried and true” stamp from our household.  You could serve the chicken with fresh corn on the cob and sliced heirloom tomatoes.  It dosn’t get easier than that nor is there a better time of year to get the delicious produce!

I’ve always had this idea that I could hook a stationary bike to my home electricity to create some of my own power. I’m no engineer, but it looks like I’m also not the only one who’s had this type of crazy idea.

Want an alternative to a basic blender? Check out the B3 Blenders. They connect to your outdoor peddler to make your favorite ice cold drink. Imagine if you had a smoothies or better yet, a Margarita waiting for you after that summer work out? I’d be cycling all the way to Kansas!

When we get together on the farm one of everybody’s favorite homemade delights is my mom’s strawberry preserves.

The secret according to her is not the recipe. She uses Sure Gel and follows their instructions. The Indiana-know-how tip on it is to freeze it in plastic containers rather than put the wax on top and can it. This is because, for some reason, the consistency and flavor changes with the preserves when waxed. If it’s frozen and thawed it tastes the same as it did when it was freshly made and that’s freakin’ sweet!

Looks like I was on to something even more news worthy with my July 4th post.

Dr. Bhimu Patil reports, “The more we study watermelons, the more we realize just how amazing a fruit it is in providing natural enhancers to the human body. Beneficial ingredients in watermelon and other fruits and vegetables are known as phyto-nutrients, naturally occurring compounds that are bioactive, or able to react with the human body to trigger healthy reactions. In watermelons, these include lycopene, beta carotene and the rising star among its phyto-nutrients - citrulline - whose beneficial functions are now being unraveled. Among them is the ability to relax blood vessels, much like Viagra does.”

My husband eats like a watermelon a day. Too bad I’m already knocked up! Watermelon season seems like prime time to conceive!

The time is ripe! ‘Tis the season to enjoy fruit fresh from the vine. But have you heard any information lately that’s swayed you away from eating your favorite, sweet pick? They’re dirty lies, I tell you. I like to keep myself up to date with all the latest health information. One book I’ve read recently is The PH Miracle, which claims that an alkaline diet is the cure for most every disease. This may be true. What’s certain is that the average American diet consists of too many acidic foods - foods high in animal fat, refined sugars and processed foods. This makes sense to me. But I am forced to question the rationale that fruit, in it’s natural state, is acidic because of it’s high sugar content, thus bad for you. For a new perspective that may dispel your fruit worries check out Frederic Patenuade’s fruit report. He doesn’t quote specific scientific facts but some of his theories may make sense to you. Call me the anti-Christ, but I have trouble believing that these scrumptious gifts from nature are the devil’s work. How about you?

After all that barbeque this 4^th of July, possibly the best thing you can grab for dessert is a healthy slice of watermelon. It’s low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium and also a very good source of Vitamin A and Vitamin C. If you want to try something new and absolutely delightful with this 4^th of July tradition, squeeze some fresh lime juice on it. It takes the flavor to a gourmet level and increases your vitamin C count for added health benefits. If you’ve been asked to bring a dessert to this year’s All-American shindig, this might be the easiest, healthiest and most appealing dish of them all. It will certainly be the most refreshing!

Here’s one of my favorite recipes with tomatoes. Hopefully, this will inspire you to rekindle your relationship with tomatoes. You will need:

• couple of ripe, juicy tomatoes
• your favorite sliced bread
• cheddar cheese, grated or sliced
• fresh basil
• Dijon mustard
• shallots - if you like, it takes the sammy to new heights
• butter, if your waste line can take it. You can substitute olive oil or skip it all together.

Wash and slice the tomatoes. Butter the bread on one side of each slice. On the other side spread some mustard. Make a sandwich, buttered sides of bread out, with the cheese, tomatoes, fresh basil leaves and thinly sliced shallots if you like. You can grill these traditionally in a pan but what really takes the sandwich from good to a-freakin-mazing is popping those puppies in a sandwich griller. Mmmm! I’ve just seen my future… I’m going back to the farm in Indiana next month where homegrown tomatoes and basil abound. I bought my parents a sandwich maker for Christmas last year. We haven’t whipped that bad boy out in a while. I think the time is ripe!

Just because McDonald’s and Walmart pulled tomatoes from their shelves and our mouths, doesn’t mean that we have to live through summer without our favorite juicy fruit. (Yes, a tomato is the ovary with seeds of a flowering plant, which makes it a fruit or a berry to be exact – botanically speaking, of course.) I’ve always felt the urge to speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves and now I have to say on behalf of my delicious friends: Don’t hate tomatoes! It’s not their fault. They’re not scary. Though the water used to irrigate them may be. Although authorities haven’t been able to pinpoint the place where the recent salmonella began, they do know what causes it: run off from livestock pastures and waste lagoons at industrial farming sites . Where can you get a tomato that’s guaranteed salmonella free? Your own back yard… or your front porch since growing tomatoes in pots may be the easiest method - for tips visit Growingtomatoe.com. If you don’t have a green thumb and have no desire develop one even for this red delight, do the sensible thing and buy local. Get the tomatoes from somebody you know. For more ideas about all the benefits of buying local produce, check out Envirovore.com