Pineapple--Better than Candy

Fresh pineapple is better than candy.  I love it, and it is healthful, too. It is sweet and juicy, and it will make take the edge off the afternoon so you can control your hunger till suppertime.


Buy fresh pineapple.  If it is already cleaned, you can put sections in a plastic bag or container to take with you. If you buy a whole pineapple do not panic.  It is easier to clean and prepare than you might think.  


Remove the top and bottom so that both are flat.  Stand the pineapple up on the end and remove the outside by slicing straight down from top to bottom.  Turn the pineapple around and continue to remove the peel until you have completely cleaned it.  There may be brown spot where the outside was dimpled.  You will notice that these dimples run in a straight diagonal lines.  If you want to remove them, lay the pineapple down and make a shallow cut on each side of each line and take it out.


Stand the pineapple on the end and cut it in half from top to bottom.  Then cut the halves again so that you have four quarters.  If you remove the narrow part of the triangular wedge, you have removed most of the core.  Slice the spears in bite size pieces.  Enjoy!!!
If you want to see a demonstration, click here. 

GARLIC!!!

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There was a time when I thought garlic was over the top, but I have changed my mind. The chefs on TV can't seem to get enough of it and I have come to understand why. It's really good!

Buy the garlic powder, not garlic salt, to prevent increased sodium in your diet. You can use the garlic blubs, but it is more trouble than the powder. You can enrich a frozen dinner by a sprinkle and freshen up leftovers with a little.

Traditionally, garlic has been highly associated with Italian food, but I find it in many recipes from the Far East, Middle East, Mexico, France and Jamaica, etc.  If you really want the fresh garlic, buy the bulbs and separate the cloves.  To separate them easily, strike the bulb with a spatula or the flat edge of a knife.  Place them on a pan and roast them in a slow oven 300 degrees until they become a rich brown.  Store them in the fridge in a glass jar covered with olive oil , and use the bulbs and the oil in any recipe you want.  The bulbs will be soft and buttery to spread on toast or pizza crust.


One really neat thing about garlic is that it is fairly easy to grow.  I planted a whole bulb in my flower bed early in the spring.  Now it has several stems growing tall and straight.  When the heads form, the stems will bend gracefully and enhance the flower bed even more.  I am looking forward to this and then eating my produce.

The health food addicts claim it as valuable for your heart and blood pressure. I just like it because it makes things taste good.

Dieting Is so Misleading!!!

Don't believe everything you read or hear about dieting.  Nobody can guarantee that you will lose a specified amount in a week or a month.  Many diets are publicized as fabulous and better than sliced bread, but they may be lying.  I read a list of 10 or 11 of the worst diets  the other day, and I couldn't believe people would actually eat them.  


If you want to plan a diet for yourself, first make a list of the things you like, things you would eat on a regular basis, like every week or month.  


Next evaluate whether they are healthful.  Do they have vitamins, minerals, protein?  And whether you can afford them.  Are they available in you area, or this season?


Do you need to restrict them to occasional treats?  


Now your planning gets really tough.  You may have to estimate calorie counts and nutrient requirements.  One way to try to balance your diet is to make sure you eat various colors of vegetables--yellow, green, red, white, orange.  


Another rule about colors lets you know which cheese is the lower calorie--white cheeses are usually lower in fat than yellow.


If you plan for a week at a time, try to eat several different kinds of meat because fish has nutrients that beef doesn't even though both provide good source of protein.  Chicken and turkey are less fat than beef and pork.  Game like venison is usually very lean.


Active people--people who run, engage in regular training, or play sports--can eat a higher calorie diet than people who are less active, but high levels of fat and sugar may still be causing cholesterol buildup in arteries.  


The general rule is control carbs, restrict fat and sugar, eat abundant fruits and vegetables.  Get a good chart of nutrients to plan a more detailed diet.

Bottom line--think in terms of "Is this good, do I need it, will it provide what I need" instead of "That looks good, I like it, I'll diet later.

Fresh Vegetables for Spring

Nutritionists say that the most nutritious way to eat food is with the least stuff done to it.  This is especially true with things like vegetables and fruit.  Combining raw vegetables to make a stunning, crisp, colorful salad is both easy and healthful.  Dressing is not a bad thing, especially in small portions.  


Dressings get a bad rap because they sometimes contain ingredients that are not kind to the low fat diet.  Some vegetables, raw carrots, for instance, need the oil from the dressing to make the Vitamin A easier to digest and store.  I don't like for dressing to drown the salad.  The rule I use for salad dressing is:  Glisten not drown.

If you cook your vegetables, you will retain more of the vitamins and minerals if you cook them less rather than more.  Tender crisp is the technique recommended instead of boiled till limp.  I had a hard time with this because my husband was from the "boiled till limp" school of vegetable cookery.  He wanted the cabbage cooked till it turned pink.  


Make your spring lively with fresh fruit and vegetables and keep it easy with little or no cooking.

Springtime Means It's Time to Plant

Is there some innate drive in human beings to plant crops, to grow  food?  I no longer live where I have the room or the need to plant a garden, but still there is this drive to grow something to eat.  


Tomato plants or strawberries wouldn't be too difficult.  I just need a corner in a flower bed or a pot on the porch and I can have something to eat that I grew myself.  But I must be cautious because too many plants might require a hoe or fertilizer or Seven dust for bugs.  And I certainly don't want to have to can or freeze anything.  


Tomatoes for a salad would be nice, but I can't think about peas or corn or watermelons--I don't have enough room for things like that.  Maybe spring flowers would satisfy my planting desires.  No it's a sustenance thing:  the need to provide food.  Maybe I can just stop at a produce stand and buy the veggies if I have just a plant or two to remind me of garden experience.  I think I can handle it now. 

How Are Your Greens This Year?

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Fresh greens are marvelous!  They are good in salads and on sandwiches, and they are also great cooked as an accompaniment for beef, chicken, or fish.  

·         1 cup of fresh spinach contains 7 calories and it is high niacin and zinc, and very high in fiber, calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, riboflavin, thiamine, vitamin A, vitamin B6, and vitamin C.  If you choose to cook it, don’t load it up with fat and salt.

·         1 cup of fresh raw turnip greens contains 18 calories.  This amount of greens will not add calories merely by cooking, but the tendency is to add bacon grease or butter and eat it with cornbread.  Beware—you have added many calories.  Turnip greens are high in iron, riboflavin, thiamine, pantothenic acid, phosphorus, riboflavin, thiamine, and very high in calcium, dietary fiber, manganese, magnesium, potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin B6.  Remember that cooking doesn’t add calories, but the greens wilt and become less filling.  A cup of cooked greens has 29 calories.  And the tendency to add salt and seasonings may change the health benefits.

·         1 cup of mustard greens contains 15 calories.  They have a spicier flavor than turnip greens and they give a new experience when mixed with other greens.  They are high in niacin and phosphorus, and very high in calcium, dietary fiber, iron, manganese, magnesium, potassium, riboflavin, thiamin, vitamin A, vitamin B6, and vitamin C.

There are many other types of greens, but they have similar nutrients and benefits.  You may add them to noodles, casseroles, or soup or eat them fresh.  The nutrient value alone is reason enough to add them to your diet.

Remember that they are fresh and will not stay that way for extended periods in the crisper.  When you have eaten all you want of them raw, do a quick steam or microwave them for 90 seconds, and you have reduced the amount significantly without losing the nutrition.  And they are plentiful in the grocery store!

Eating Better from the Deli

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I have become a fan of the deli!  As I get older and lazier, the deli has improved and the food is grand.  I do believe in eating a sample of something to see if I like it.  If your deli offers this option, take it.  Know what you are committing yourself to.


Also remember that you don't have to take it the way it is.  Some things are better with your own touch on them.  A plain cake might be much better with a glaze or whipped topping.  If you find the BBQ chicken dry, add some of your own sauce.  Strawberry preserves or jam can be turned into strawberry syrup with a tablespoon or two of water in the microwave.  Your ice cream will never know you didn't buy it.


There are some excellent products in the freezer nowadays too.  Heat frozen rolls in the oven for ten minutes--Voila!!!  They'll think you made them yourself.  The deli even has casseroles almost like Mama used to make.  Again, add a little seasoning or butter and they do just fine.


Remember too, that buying a prepared food that seems expensive can be more economical because you don't waste as much, and you don't have to buy ingredients that may go unused.  I really hate to feel I have to eat something I don't particularly like because it is junking up the refrigerator.


Remember--frugality.