Preliminary research indicates that dark leafy greens support the immune system and may ward off certain types of cancer.
These greens are also rich in folic acid, a nutrient critical to fight anemia, prevent some birth defects, help eyes and bone health.
Featured kitchen item: Fine Mesh Strainer
Find strainers in a variety of shapes, sizes and materials. They have different sizes of holes. By comparison, a colander (type of strainer) has relatively large holes.
The drawback with colanders is that they only strain foods that are larger than the holes, Choose a fine mesh strainer that have smaller holes to separate finer ingredients
Use them to separate fat from meat juices and gravies, seeds from purees, and to remove clumps from sauces. Strainers also do double-duty to sift flour or powdered sugar.
Featured One Dish Meal: Pasta Ham Salad Dinner
8 Servings; leftovers freeze well for another meal
1 lb bow tie pasta, cooked and cooled
1 cup diced cooked ham (best with real ham rather than lunch meat ham or other processed ham products)
1/2 lb diced mozzarella cheese
1/2 lb diced swiss cheese or 1/2 lb diced provolone cheese
1/4 cup minced sweet onion
1 jalapeño, stem and seeds removed and sliced
1 tomato, cut into small bite-size pieces
4 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
1/2 cucumber, sliced and quartered
Avocado, cut in bite-size pieces
2 radishes, sliced
Dressing:
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil or canola oil
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
3/4 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
Mix all salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk dressing ingredients together until smooth and well-blended. Toss salad ingredients with dressing until well-blended.
Let sit, refrigerated, at least 4-6 hours, preferably overnight. Serve cold over dark leafy greens with frosty glass of Italian orange cream.
Featured Beverage: Italian Orange Cream
2 servings
2 cups ice cubes
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup Italian Sweet Crème flavor Nestle coffee-mate liquid coffee creamer
Place ice, orange juice and Coffee-mate in blender; cover. Blend at high speed until smooth. Serve immediately in stemware with a ribbon tied in a bow on the stem.
One-Dish Nutrition: 490 Calories; 54g Carbs; 126mg Cholesterol; 20g Fat; 7g Fiber; 23g Protein.
* Source: AllRecipes.com
The right nutrient-rich food and drink make for healthy bodies, and the right kitchen utensils make cooking easier. Most kitchen cooks have the basics: Mixing bowls, measuring cups and spoons, pastry brush, peeler, kitchen shears, pans and skillets, thermometer, graters, tongs, can openers.
You want to add at least one fine mesh strainer
to your kitchen. Beverages are important, too. The human body is made up of about 60 percent water. It's vital to drink plenty of water to nourish the body, joints, temperature, spinal cord and brain. It has no calories and is generally refreshing. It's difficult for many to drink an 8 ounce glass of water every hour, so try to drink a big drink in the morning, at lunch, before or after dinner and before bedtime.
Don't forget. You want to create meals with memories.