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How to Keep Fruit Fresher Longer

July 5, 2016 by

Are you guilty of buying fresh produce only to have it spoil a few days later? You're not alone: Studies have found that Americans throw away a fourth of all the produce they buy! Here are some tips to help keep your fruits fresh as long as possible.

  • Fruits such as avocados, tomatoes, mangoes, melons, apples, and pears will ripen quicker if they’re left sitting out on your countertop.
  • Keep your other fruits away from bananas. They emit gases that will speed the ripening of any fruits that are nearby.
  • Fruits such as grapes, citrus, and berries should always be refrigerated.
  • Refrain from washing berries until you are ready to eat them. You want to store them in a dry and covered container.
  • To extend the freshness of lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruit, store them in your crisper drawer or in a mesh bag in your refrigerator.
  • Once fruits are fully ripe, you can refrigerate them to help them last a little longer. However, for the best flavor, you want to return them to room temperature.
  • One of the worst things you could do for a fruit is to store it in an airtight bag. The lack of air flow speeds up decay.

The Kitchn's Guide to Storing Fruits and Vegetables [The Kitchn]
Keep Fruits & Vegetables Fresher Longer [American Heart Association]
Spoiled Rotten – How to Store Fruits and Vegetables [Vegetarian Times]

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Healthy Ways to Indulge a Chocolate Craving

January 5, 2016 by

Many people have a sweet tooth that creates a craving for chocolate, but while the occasional indulgence is okay, eating too much chocolate could be the end to your healthy diet. Here are a few healthy ways to eat chocolate that will keep you right on track when a craving strikes.

Chocolate Tart with Hazelnut Shortbread Crust [Eating Well]
Make this seemingly decadent dessert the next time you have friends over for dinner, and no one will even know that it’s actually healthy. With just over 250 calories per serving and six grams of protein, you’ll get the taste of chocolate without feeling weighed down.

Black Bean Brownies [Chocolate Covered Katie]
While the addition of black beans to brownies may seem strange at first, you won’t even be able to taste the protein-packed beans when they’re masked by the rich, dense chocolate flavor. These brownies are also flourless, which is great for low-carb diets.

Healthy Homemade Chocolate [Wellness Mama]
Instead of grabbing a fat- and sugar-packed candy bar from the checkout counter at the grocery store, make your own healthier version at home. This recipe includes only four ingredients, and because they’re all natural, you won’t have to worry about ingesting any chemicals and unnatural ingredients.

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4 Health Benefits of Cranberries

October 6, 2015 by

You love to add tart cranberries to all of your holiday breads, sauces, and even cocktails, but did you know that there are actually hidden health benefits in all of those seasonal treats? Cranberries are packed full of vitamins and antioxidants, and they just might make you feel a bit less guilty about eating that extra dessert. Here are a few of the most common health benefits of cranberries.

  1. Cranberries contain a great deal of phytonutrients, or plant chemicals filled with disease-preventing compounds that turn into antioxidants in the body. These tiny phytonutrients are involved with inhibiting cancer cells from spreading throughout the body.
  2. Cranberries decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease by decreasing the body’s levels of “bad” cholesterol, or LDL cholesterol. This lowers blood pressures, inhibits blood clots, and can even prevents coronary artery disease.
  3. Cranberries are a good source of vitamin C, vitamin E, and fiber, all of which are essential daily nutrients.

What's New and Beneficial About Cranberries [The World’s Healthiest Foods]
Health Benefits of Cranberries [Dairy Council of California]
What are the health benefits of cranberries? [MNT]

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How to Eat More Fruit and Veggies Every Day

September 9, 2015 by

If we’re being honest, most people would say that they would much rather have a bowl of ice cream than a bowl of vegetables. If you still struggle with eating your recommended daily amount of fresh fruit and veggies, these simple tips will help make it a bit easier.

  1. Make a smoothie. To jump-start your fruit and veggie intake first thing in the morning, blend them into a smoothie to start your day. Add any fruit that you have around the house, and even toss in some spinach or cucumber for a boost of veggies that you likely won’t even notice.
  2. Keep frozen veggies on hand. If you’re unsure of how to prepare vegetables with your meal, keep a few bags of frozen vegetables in the freezer. That way, you can simply pop them into the microwave come mealtime.
  3. Think more veggies than protein. If you don’t like to weigh and measure everything that you eat, keep in mind that your vegetables should always be the largest portion on your plate.
  4. Have fruit for dessert. If you have an insatiable sweet tooth, switch out your usual chocolate for a plate of fresh fruit. It packs the same sweet punch, and by making this healthy switch, you won’t have to skip dessert entirely when you’re on a diet.

6 Easy Ways to Eat More Fruits and Vegetables [Live Science]
22 Easy Ways to Eat Fruits and Veggies Every Single Day [Organic Life]
Eat More Fruits and Vegetables [American Heart Association]

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What’s Your Favorite Breakfast Casserole Recipe?

August 4, 2015 by

If you’re having friends or family over for brunch this weekend, it helps to prepare large, family-style dishes in advance. You can pop them into the oven just before guests arrive, and they’ll leave you with one less thing to do the morning of. These three breakfast casseroles are perfect ideas:

One-Dish Blackberry French Toast
Instead of making French toast one by one for every person at the table, create an entire pan of French toast-inspired casserole. This one is made with French bread cut into cubes and a blueberry cream cheese mixture that adds a sweet, creamy flavor.

Paula Deen’s Breakfast Casserole
The beloved cook shows you how to make a breakfast casserole that’s hearty, filling and large enough for the whole family. It takes just 20 minutes to prepare, and it’s made with classic breakfast ingredients that everyone is sure to love.

Brunch Egg Bake
This quick and easy egg casserole features layers of eggs, cheese and flavorful ham. There are even a few hidden veggies to keep things healthy without the little ones noticing. It takes 40 minutes to bake in advance, but a few minutes in the oven before guests arrive will bring it back to life.

What's your favorite breakfast casserole recipe? Please share!

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Learn How to Use Fruits and Vegetables to Manage Your Weight

March 3, 2015 by

It’s common knowledge that fruits and vegetables are some of the healthiest foods in any diet, but learning how to use fruits and vegetables to manage your weight is another story. This informative guide from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will help you plan each meal of the day to ensure that you get the proper vitamins and nutrients to reach your goal weight.

Replacing unhealthy foods with fruits and vegetables helps you to lose weight, but it also prevents cancer and other chronic diseases as well. These health benefits make it apparent how important natural foods are in your diet, and lucky for you, fruits and vegetables make delicious, filling substitutes for other foods in many of your favorite dishes.

This guide explains just some of the many ways to incorporate fruits and vegetables into every meal. For breakfast, adding things like spinach, onions and mushrooms to your morning omelet instead of fattening cheese is an easy and delicious way to get one full serving of vegetables. At lunchtime, cutting back the meat and cheese on a sandwich or wrap and replacing them with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, or onions will fill you up in the very same way. Dinner allows you to be more creative, with a number of different combinations of vegetables to add to any pasta, rice or stir fry dish.

Once you become aware of the different ways you can incorporate fruits and vegetables into your diet, you’ll start to make changes and, in turn, lose weight.

How to Use Fruits and Vegetables to Help Manage Your Weight [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]

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Imponderable of the Day: Why Do Doughnuts Have Holes?

September 3, 2014 by

If you’re like most people, your thought process surrounding doughnuts likely only focuses on where the best place is to get them and which flavors to choose once you get there! If you take a break from enjoying your sugary sweet pastry for a moment and actually think about the mechanics of a doughnut, you may begin to wonder how it got its unusual shape. Where did the signature hole in the doughnut come from?

Doughnuts are very dense, chewy pastries, so the main reason for their middle hole is to ensure that they cook all the way through. No one knows for sure which smart baker first came up with this ingenious idea, but fried doughnuts have been around in some form—with or without the hole—for hundreds of years. There is a longstanding myth that a 1930s sea captain named Hanson Gregory first invented the holed doughnut, but because the only proof is Gregory’s story itself, there’s really no way of knowing if this tale is true!

Holy Grail: Why Do Doughnuts Have Holes? [Cakespy]
Why Do Doughnuts Have Holes? [Today I Found Out]
Why Do Donuts Have Holes In The Middle? [Knows Why]

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Any Novice Baker Can Master These Easy Shortbread Cookie Recipes

June 3, 2014 by

Whether you dip it into a steaming cup of tea or serve it as a treat for dessert, rich, buttery shortcake is a classic cookie that just about everyone enjoys. There are a wide variety of ways to make shortbread, and there are even more delicious toppings to bring out that creamy flavor. Here are two of the best shortbread recipes.

Ina Garten’s Shortbread Cookies [The Food Network]
Ina Garten of The Barefoot Contessa offers a traditional shortbread cookie recipe that’s anything but boring. Unsalted butter, vanilla, and sugar combine to create the signature sweet, buttery taste, while a pinch of salt helps to enrich the already delicious flavor. After the cookies are done, Garten recommends drizzling them with semisweet chocolate as a topping.

Scottish Shortbread [Allrecipes]
Prepared just like they used to make it in Scotland, this recipe uses only real, full flavor ingredients to create the beloved cookie. Real butter and brown sugar spare no expense when it comes to taste, and the recipe itself is so simple that just about anyone can make it.

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4 of the Web’s Best Recipes for Banana Pudding

April 8, 2014 by

Banana pudding is sweet and rich, with a creamy taste that people of all ages simply adore. It’s also a very simple dish to make at home, and it serves a large number of guests at one time. Here are a few of the best banana pudding recipes from around the web.

Banana Pudding IV [All Recipes]
When you’ve only got a few minutes to spare, this banana pudding recipe comes together quickly and easily.

Easy Southern Banana Pudding [Kraft]
Use simple vanilla wafers to create this banana pudding in just 20 minutes or less.

Not Yo’ Mama’s Banana Pudding [Paula Deen]
True to Paula’s signature style, this recipe is rich, creamy, and truly decadent.

Banana Pudding Recipe & Video [Joy of Baking]
Visual learners will love this tasty recipe because it includes a simple video to help you along.

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Three Recipes for a Healthier You

March 4, 2014 by

Whether you have just a few minutes or a whole hour to spend, cooking at home can be just as delicious as eating out. Health.gov offers a list of more than 100 different recipes for heart-healthy dishes for every meal of the day, all with less sodium, saturated fat and calories than many foods.

Here are a few favorite recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner:

Applesauce Pancakes
Just because you’re trying to eat well doesn’t mean you have to give up pancakes. Including a whole serving of fruit and using low-fat ingredients, this healthy recipe for applesauce pancakes may just delight the whole family.

Tuna Salad
Traditional tuna salads are high in saturated fat, but this one uses only tuna and a few flavorful ingredients to create an equally delicious, stripped down version. Full of celery, onions and low-fat mayonnaise, this may just become your new favorite sandwich spread.

Chicken Marsala
The Italian food dish gets a healthy makeover in this delicious and nutritious dinner recipe. Using the savory flavors of chicken stock, Marsala wine and fresh lemons, this dish offers flavor without empty calories!

Find more healthy recipes by visiting Health.gov.

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