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How to Get More Folic Acid in Your Diet

June 13, 2014 by

Folic acid stimulates cell growth and regeneration, enhances red blood cell creation, and even prevents against depression, which is important for people of all ages. Pregnant women benefit even further from folic acid because it prevents against fetal deformities. If you want to take advantage of the many benefits of folic acid, here are a few of the best food sources.

  1. Dark, leafy greens. Dark green colored vegetables like spinach, kale, and collard greens are some of the very best sources of folic acid, and even just one large salad filled with these leafy foods can provide you with enough folic acid for the entire day. Spinach is especially beneficial, as it contains 65% of your daily value in only one cup.
  2. Citrus fruits. Oranges, grapefruits, and other citruses have more folic acid than all other types of fruits. One papaya alone offers 115 mcg of folic acid, which is about 29% of the average person’s recommended daily intake.
  3. Beans, peas and lentils. While not all of these foods are high in folic acid, there are a few beans, peas, and lentils that contain impressively large quantities of the B-complex vitamin. Lentils are especially high in folic acid, containing over 90% of your daily intake in just one cup. Pinto beans, garbanzo beans, and black beans are also very good sources.

Surprising Sources of Folic Acid [Yahoo! Shine]
Foods High in Folic Acid [Prenatal Vitamin HQ]
15 Foods High in Folic Acid [Global Healing Center]
18 Foods High in Folic Acid to Prevent Cancer & Birth Defects [Bembu]

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Choose Fresh Fruits and Vegetables With a Few Simple Tips

May 27, 2014 by

Don’t you hate it when you buy produce at the grocery store, only to come home and realize that it’s tough and flavorless? Or when you bring home fruits and they become mushy and overripe before you can eat them? If you want to learn how to choose fruits and vegetables right at their peak of ripeness, these simple tips can help.

Check the color.
It’s important to know what color each fruit or vegetable should be before you purchase it. Most fruits should be the most vibrant shade of their expected color, such as bright red apples or sunny yellow bananas. Green vegetables should be a deep, dark green, and other vegetables, like carrots, should not have white aging signs on them.

Feel the texture.
Bruising is one of the main issues when buying fruits and vegetables, so gently hold your produce to feel if it’s bruised or soft. Citrus fruits should feel particularly heavy for their size, as that means they’re full of juice. Vegetables like cucumbers and peppers should feel firm to the touch, while lettuce or spinach should be leafy and full.

Store them properly.
Once you get your produce home, storing it properly helps to conserve its freshness. Most perishable fruits and veggies should be stored in a clean refrigerator at a temperature of 40 degrees or lower.

Choosing Fresh Fruits and Vegetables [Family Circle]
Raw Produce [FDA]

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Avoid Portion Size Pitfalls with These Helpful Tips

January 31, 2014 by

You can eat what you want and still lose weight by simply changing your ideas about what equals a portion. Exercising portion control is easy if you understand how much of each food group you should consume per day, and these tips from the CDC can help you.

The guide first notes that serving sizes at restaurants have gotten significantly larger over the years. It suggests splitting one large meal with a friend, or immediately asking for a to-go box and dividing the meal into healthy portions, leaving some for later.

At home, serving food from individual plates rather than large serving platters helps to limit overeating. Eating a healthy snack before a large dinner also helps you to eat less of fattening foods, and dividing nighttime snacks into smaller bowls is another way to practice portion control. Check out the guide for some other great ideas for limiting food portions!

How to Avoid Portion Size Pitfalls to Help Manage Your Weight [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]

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Start Your Physical Activity Plan With These Motivational Tips

January 10, 2014 by

You want to lose weight and begin a healthy workout routine, but going to the gym seems so intimidating. If you’ve ever felt discouraged or frustrated with working out, this motivational guide from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will help you get up off the couch and onto the treadmill.

Whether you’re just getting involved with a fitness routine or simply trying to get back into the habit of working out, this guide will help you to make exercising fun and approachable. By simply replacing a few nights of watching television after dinner with a walk around the neighborhood, you can greatly improve your health and lose those excess pounds.

Many people are faced with obstacles in either their lives or their bodies that prevent them from getting enough physical activity. This guide will help you overcome obstacles like not having enough time to exercise, feeling tired and worrying about injuries, and it will even show you how you can take your children with you as you work out if you’re a busy parent.

Now that you have the motivation to make time for physical activity, you’ll start to feel better about your health and your appearance. 

Getting Started with Physical Activity for a Healthy Weight  [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]

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Easy Entertaining Idea: Charcuterie Plate

September 27, 2013 by

Don't stress the next time you have unexpected guests for lunch or dinner. You can put together a quick charcuterie plate, using staples you probably already have on hand. Here are some basic ingredients:

  • Keep a couple different types of cured meats in the fridge. Popular meats include prosciutto, salami, soppressata, and mortadella. Just about any thin, salty, dried meat will work.
  • Use a loaf of bread like ciabatta or focaccia bread. Breads that work best have a thicker crust and soft inside so they can complement the meat.
  • No plate would be complete without cheese. Add two different cheeses which can be easily sliced or cubed.
  • A few dips or spreads will finish off the tray. Even simple things like mustard or jam pair well with cheese, meat, and bread.
  • Have some olives? Put them on the tray. Small fruits or nuts work well too!

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Spring Produce: Seasonal Fruit and Veggie Highlights to Add to Your Menu

April 26, 2013 by

As spring begins, gardens are alive with new shoots. The spring fruit and vegetable season adds tons of exciting new options to your cooking. Here are some of the best fresh fruits and vegetables to consider cooking with this season.

Asparagus is one of the most eagerly anticipated new crops every spring. When picked fresh, it’s fragrant and delicious. Cooking it is incredibly simple – steam it, roast it or grill it. All it needs is a little salt, pepper and olive oil for its natural flavor to shine.

Garlic shoots are an unusual but remarkable spring harvest. Before the white garlic bulb that you are familiar with forms, the plant grows a large, green shoot, also called a “scape.” This has a flavor similar to the bulb but milder. It’s great for soups.

Spring is also the best time to harvest new potatoes. Although potatoes can stay in the ground through the summer and into the late fall, harvesting them early keeps the skin from setting, making for sweet, tender spuds that cook quickly and burst with flavor.

In terms of fruit, one of the best bounties every spring is the cherry harvest. Cherry fruit starts growing in the middle of the season, and should be eaten quickly after harvesting for the best flavor.

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Sushi Guide

January 16, 2013 by

Sushi is now a mainstream staple of many American diets. If you're new to sushi, it can still be a little intimidating, since it’s a complicated food with a great deal of cultural tradition behind it. Here’s a simple field guide:

1. Sushi does not mean "raw fish." Sushi is the product of combining a protein or vegetable with a special kind of rice, prepared with vinegar and sugar. Sticky, sushi rice is the real core of the meal, and it needs to be made fresh.

2. Nigiri is the most “pure” form of the food – a cut of the main ingredient – typically fish – on top of a small dollop of sushi rice. Nigiri is designed to communicate the essential flavors of the fish without any other tastes masking them, and is the best way to evaluate the freshness of a sushi bar.

3. Maki, also known as rolls, have become the most popular form of sushi from Americanized restaurants. Ingredients are wrapped in a layer of sushi rice, rolled into a cylinder and sliced. A number of other things can be added – traditionally, a sheet of seaweed is used to hold the roll together, but restaurants use tofu skin as well. Rice on the outside is called an “inside-out” roll. These rolls are often topped with sauces or other fish.

4. You don't have to eat raw fish to enjoy sushi. If eating raw fish isn't appealing to you, there are several cooked options such as crab, shrimp, or lobster. Or, you can always enjoy vegetarian rolls such as avocado and cucumber.

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Make These Easy Pasta Salad Recipes Tonight!

January 3, 2013 by

If the words "pasta salad" conjure up images of mayonnaise and barbecues, you're not alone. But, there are actually a variety of ways to make delicious, savory pasta dishes that won't make you feel like you're picnicking. Below are five pasta salad ideas that break from tradition to provide outstanding flavor!

Caprese Salad — Draw inspiration from the Italian caprese salad, and season your pasta, such as hearty rigatoni, with fresh basil, good olive oil, vine-ripened tomatoes, and chunks of mozzarella. Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste, and you're all set!

Greek Pasta — Taking your cue from Greek Salad, add a mix of cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumber, tangy feta cheese, and robust olives to the pasta. Try using mostaccioli, the small, curved pasta named after the mustache, as the base of the salad so all the elements are comparable in size. Complete it a dressing of olive oil, vinegar, and lemon juice.

Asian Flavor – Prepare a pasta salad an Asian feel by using soba noodles, which are made from earthy buckwheat flour. Season the noodles with soy sauce and sesame oil, and top it with slivers of carrots and diced scallions for a delicious, simple dish that offers take-notice flavors.

Middle Eastern Side — For an alternative to pasta salad, make tabbouleh instead. This side makes use of kernels of bulgur wheat instead of pasta, and seasons them with a combo of finely-diced mint and parsley. It’s a wonderful option if you're tired of noodles!

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Bird Is The Word: Five Quick Chicken Dinners

September 25, 2012 by

Chicken is one of the most versatile proteins available to the home cook, and it can be prepared in so many different, delectable ways. In this article, we’ll share five of our favorite recipes that come out of the kitchen in a hurry without skimping on flavor.

Stuff a chicken breast with onions caramelized in a pan until they are golden brown and soft Fontina cheese. Bake in an pan until the meat is cooked through and deglaze the pan with white wine and rosemary to make a sauce. Serve over rice pilaf or quinoa.

Lemon chicken is a classic dish that never fails to impress. Marinate chunks of chicken in soy sauce for a little bit, then dredge it in a batter made from egg yolk and cornstarch. Quickly fry in a skillet and mix with a simple sauce created from lemon juice, water, sugar and a little more cornstarch. Serve over white rice.

Cut a chicken breast into rectangles and bread them with panko, the Japanese-style bread crumbs. Cover with Romano cheese and quickly fry them until the outside is crispy, then serve with a tangy marinara sauce for an upscale take on chicken fingers.

For a simple, hearty meal that will make you think of campfire days, make tinfoil “hobo bundles” with chicken and sturdy vegetables that roast well – try small tomatoes, green beans, and sliced potatoes. Put a little butter or olive oil inside, some fragrant herbs, seal them up and put them in the oven until everything cooks. Unwrap and serve.

For a light, healthy chicken dish, batter chicken cutlets in flour and quickly fry but do not cook through. Then sautee chunks of onion and ginger in the pan drippings. Add chicken broth and bring it to a simmer, then add the chicken and slices of pear for a unique and tasty meal.

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