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Juice

8/25/2015

Juice is the liquid extracted from a food. There are many types of juices; from cooked meats, from fruits and from vegetables. This blog is about some of the benefits of drinking juice. Although it’s always best to eat fruits and vegetables either raw or cooked, for most people there are still nutritional benefits derived from drinking a moderate amount of juice. Because of the high water content of juice and its delicious taste, it is one of the most popular hydration beverages. If someone needs more calories, vitamin and minerals give juice instead of water. Juices can be made by either squeezing or crushing. Either way the result is a nutritious liquid that still has the flavor and quality of the original minus the fiber.

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Lentils

8/19/2015

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Lentils are a legume said to have been around for at least 8000 years and to be originally from Asia. They can be large or small and are usually sold in their dry form, like most other legumes. Although the most common lentils are green or brown, you can also find them in black, red, yellow and orange. Each has a similar flavor, however, the colored varieties cook mushier than the green or brown do. Their popularity is well founded, as they’re not only quick and easy to cook, but compatible with many flavors and types of cuisine. Their nutritional profile is excellent and one of the reasons I like them and recommend them so often. In addition to being an excellent source of molybdenum and folate, they are high in iron, protein, vitamin B1, pantothenic acid, zinc, potassium and vitamin B6. 1 cup of lentils provides 17.86 gm protein, 37.86 gm carbohydrate, 15.6 grams fiber and only 0.75 grams of fat and 229 calories. So the next time you crave fast food, whip up a batch of lentils. It will only take you a half hour, less time than it would to find your shoes and purse, get in the car and fight traffic to the nearest takeout fast food chain. And you’ll be so much healthier too!

What’s the best way to cook lentils? Use 3 cups of your favorite liquid to 1 cup lentils. For faster cooking, a softer easier to digest product boil the liquid first, then turn down.

What’s my favorite way of eating lentils? In soup of course! The Lentil Soup on page 57, Flavorful Fortified Food – Recipes to Enrich Life is my favorite and I make it very often at home. 1 cup made with this recipe provides 215 kcal, 13 gram protein, 28 grams carbohydrate & 6 grams of fat.

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Instant Breakfast

8/9/2015

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Are you looking for a great way to increase the calories and protein in beverages and avoid flavor fatigue? If so, instant breakfast is your answer. No, I am not recommending using just vanilla or chocolate instant breakfast. This will soon lead to flavor fatigue. Instead, use instant breakfast as in ingredient in beverages. Flavorful Fortified Food – Recipes to Enrich Life has nine recipes and many varieties to these recipes to encourage increased intake since the flavor can differ for a long time. With some creativity, it could be possible to come up with a different flavor for each day of the month!

To get you started in the month long list of options, consider these seven drinks options from just the Banana Nut Milkshake recipe:

                Chocolate banana milkshake

                Chocolate banana nut milkshake

                Chocolate coffee nut milkshake

                Chocolate coffee banana milkshake

                Double banana milkshake

                Double chocolate banana milkshake

                Double chocolate double banana milkshake

Don’t have a copy of Flavorful Fortified Food – Recipes to Enrich Life? Order your copy today and get rid of flavor fatigue today!

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Instant Breakfast

8/2/2015

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Who loves honey? I do!!
Honey is a very versatile ingredient that can be used by itself as a sweetener, spread on food, or mixed with other ingredients for cooking and baking. It adds moisture and flavor to foods. Although nutritionally honey is not a major contributor it’s flavor can’t be topped by sugar or any processed syrups or sweeteners. So when I need a sweetener I use honey. I do not buy processed commercial honey, only local honey from local bees. I often eat a teaspoon of honey in the morning as it also helps my allergies in the High Desert. I like local honey best since it is not pasteurized or otherwise processed, and no extenders are added to lower the cost. Although the honey we eat is harvested from honey bee hives many other bees also produce honey in much smaller quantities and it is not commonly harvested because it does not have same taste quality.

Fresh honey has a clear amber color, the exact shade depending on the pollen source and time the honey has been kept in storage. Do not use cloudy honey, but if honey turns a very dark color it just means it’s over a year old. Honey is quite stable and will last a long time. I store mine in Mason jars and keep it in my cupboard. If it crystalizes add a teaspoon or two of tap water right in the jar, and heat uncovered in the microwave for a minute or two at a low power, stirring ocassionally to dissolve the sugar crystals. (As with any microwave cooking use precaution and follow microwaving instructions). You will get the same results with a double boiler method.

There have been many health benefits attributed to honey, not all of them believable or based on scientific evidence. But there are evidence based facts to keep in mind:

Do not give young children, from baby through at least a year or two honey or foods with honey as an ingredient as it may cause an allergy to develop
If you're allergic to bees you may also be allergic to honey
Honey is a sugar, and as such should be used in moderation and avoided by diabetics like any other sugar.
Honey does not have any other nutritional value except carbohydrate, calories and a percentage of sugar - just like sugar and just like syrup
If you decide to use honey for baking first experiment and be aware that its high moisture content will change the texture of your baked product, so you have to change some of the proportions.
Honey's strong taste may not lend itself to delicate deserts unless you intend to enhance the honey flavor; unlike sugar it does not go undetected as it imparts its flavor to the food

There are 4 delicious recipes in Flavorful Fortified Food - Recipes to Enrich Life. Do you know which one sounds good right about now? I think I'll have the Breakfast Shake on page 5 for my morning snack. It's refreshing and so easy to make.

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