Ah Hah! At last my salsa recipe. It was actually hard for me to post a recipe for my salsa because I don’t really have one. Each time I make salsa, it’s a tiny bit different. That is the beauty of making your own with fresh ingredients. You’ll also get spoiled after you start making your own and that jar stuff just won’t cut the mustard.
Enjoy the salty-sweet umami flavor of this recipe as the peaches, scallions and salt work together for your taste buds.
Umami pronounced |o͞oˈmämē| is a category of taste in food (besides sweet, sour, salt, and bitter) Umami is a savory taste which include one of the five basic tastes, together with sweet, sour, bitter or salty. Umami is a loanword from the Japanese umami (うま味?) meaning “pleasant savory taste” or literally meaning deliciousness!
I never thought I would say this, but I am addicted to a vegetable. Lately I can not get enough zucchini. I am attempting to grow my own again this summer, but some bugs in my garden are slowly destroying my plants! So, I frequently pick up zucchini at my local market. As usual I am going to give you some background on zucchini and tell you why is it so good.
Zucchini is a summer squash growing in colors such as dark green, light green, yellow, and orange. The fruit grown on vines not in the ground. Zucchini can be consumed raw or cooked, but is generally served cooked. The flowers are edible. Zucchini is often steamed, grilled, stuffed, baked, barbecued, and fried. A popular bread is zucchini bread.
Here is my homemade blackberry jam recipe and instructions on how to can it, also known as storing it or preserving it in a jar for later.
This was my first time canning anything so I am so excited to share it with you. A friend of mine, Daniella, from KidsFoodAdventure.com gave me a ton of tips on canning one day while waiting for our kids in swim lessons. To be honest, I was a little intimidated of canning my own food until talking to her. So, thank you friend for giving me the confidence to just go for it!
I also used my Vitamix to help puree the blackberry preserves before putting it in the jars. It still has seeds, but the Vitamix really helped make it smooth and yummy.
This recipe made 2 jars. I’ll attempt to make more later this week after I battle with the birds who have been steeling my berries.
First, sterilize your jars ahead of time in boiling water or run through the sanitize cycle on your dishwasher.
Squish your blackberries to equal 3 Cups. Use a fork or spoon to mash and squish.
Add 3 Cups of Sugar
Add lemon juice
Cook at High Heat for 5 minutes in medium pot on stove.
Puree in your blender (I used my Vitamix) until smooth. Be Careful transferring hot ingredients to and from Vitamix
Put back into pot and cook for 15 minutes.
While boiling hot, put jam into canning jars and cover with towels.
The seal top will pop and seal tight after a little while. When you press on the top of the jar, the middle part of the jar should be sealed tight and not move back and forth. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed.
If not, place the jars back into a pot with boiling water to heat up again for about 5 minutes.
Be careful taking the jars out (Use tongs or special canning grabbers) and let them sit on a towel on the counter until the top seals shut.
Wa-la- Blackberry jam that will last in your cupboard for up to 12 months! Yum!
Notes
Be careful when handling hot jam ingredients and make sure your kids are clear of the hot jam pot while transferring to the jars.
Cooking your own food is always the easiest way to eat healthy. However what most people don’t know is that most foods aren’t meant to be cooked at the high temperatures we normally use.
From ovens to frying pans to barbecues, we cook all kinds of foods at such high temperatures that we are, likely without knowing it, cooking food that could be much healthier if prepared at a lower temperature. For foods like meat, some studies show cooking at high temperatures can sometimes create Maillard reaction products (MRPs) that could lead to a variety of health related complications such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20335546
Grilling meat, popular this time of the year, at high temperatures until very well-done creates carcinogens (cancer-causing compounds). The more well-done the meat, the higher the levels of carcinogens, called heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) than less well-done meat. These compounds are formed when the protein and/or fat in the meat gets very hot. That black char-grilled exterior so many love on their hot-dogs, steak and burgers can actually increase your colon cancer risk.
Vegetables also lose a significant amount of nutrients when cooked at high temperatures. In general, most of the temperatures we use to cook things in the oven exist within a range where substantial nutrient loss occurs. Even boiling a vegetable for a significant amount of time can result in nutrient loss, a carrot for example loses up to 80% of its folic acid when boiled.
Ultimately, prolonged high-heat cooking is not an ideal method of food preparation. For more nutritious and delicious food, it’s important to have a good range cooker that will facilitate the slow, steady and healthy low temperature cooking that will result in significantly more nutritious food. Your health is incredibly important and learning how to get the most out of your meals will ensure that you and your family are getting all the best things from all the food you eat.
On the way home from the office the other day my kids and I stopped at the local ACME supermarket. While in the cereal aisle a product caught my eye. Nature Valley Protein Chewy Bars. The box only caught my attention because the word “Protein” is written in large lettering and the word “new” is on the front of the box. Otherwise shopping with two kids is not a great time to be discovering new products! I passed by assuming that the bars were probably just junk, but something told me to go back and give the package a look. The bars looked like they might be tasty so I bought a box.
Each bar contains 190 calories (similar to other protein bars), 12 gm Fat (which is rather high, however most is from unsaturated fat), 3.5 gm Saturated Fat, 0 mg Cholesterol, 14 gm Carbohydrates, 6 gm Sugar, 10 gm Protein. The protein source is from nuts (peanuts and almonds), soy protein isolate, and whey protein concentrate. Sugar is low, however some gastric bypass patients may experience dumping at 6 gm of sugar, so proceed with caution! The types of sugar are as follows: sugar (5th ingredient), High Maltose Corn Syrup (11th ingredient), fructose (12th ingredient), and dextrose (21st ingredient).
As far as taste, I thought the chewy bar was rather good. There was a good balance of salty and sweet. The chocolate bottom is definitely a welcomed addition to the nuts and seeds. I would definitely purchase the Protein Chewy Bar again and recommend to others.
Wow- today is a “hot one.” Summer time is that time of year that we all rush outside to go for a run, do yard work or play a game of soccer or Frisbee. On days like today, we need to be extra careful to avoid heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
This post was inspired by today’s forecast for a high of 99 degrees and a friend of mine who was exercising outside a couple weeks ago. She suffered from a bit of heat exhaustion- felt dizzy, nauseous and weak after her morning workout. Luckily, my friend is a certified fitness trainer so knew the symptoms and what to do. She guzzled lots of water, some with salt, and recovered pretty quickly.
When it’s HOT, it’s important to make sure we take precautions to stay safe. If our bodies become overheated, we can become dehydrated and fast! You can even suffer from heat stroke. And it’s especially important to think about the your kids who may get so caught up in the fun of a game at camp or in your backyard that they’ll forget to stop and drink water. Also, elderly and overweight individuals should take extra precautions on hot days.
Humidity and high temperatures can both increase your core body temperatures. Obviously high temperatures will make you hot, but when it’s humid perspiration (body’s natural cooling element) doesn’t evaporate as quickly from your skin making your heart work extra hard to keep your body cool.
Here are a few things we can all do to take extra precautions when exercising on HOT days:
1) Exercise early or late in the day OR indoors. While we all like to be outside in the summertime, on hot humid days you may want to plan your workouts for early morning before the sun is fully out or late in the evening as the sun starts to set. Better yet, take advantage of your local fitness club where the AC is kicking.
2) Dress Right- wear white or light colored clothes and clothes designed to deflect the sweat. If you are doing an outdoor activity like biking- you may want to shorten your workout. Helmets and other athletic gear can raise your body temperatures. Use sunscreen of 15 SPF or higher and make sure you re-apply it. Wear sunglasses.
3) Hydrate Your Body- Drink lots of water and eat lots of fruits and vegetables i.e. watermelon, oranges, cantaloupe, crisp lettuce and cucumbers. Fruits and veggies naturally have a high water content and can help hydrate your body. They will also replace much needed potassium levels. Drink water before and after your workout and bring lots of water with you.
4) Listen to Your Body- It’s not “no pain, no gain” in the hot weather. Pain can actually mean trouble when it’s hot and humid. Listen to your body and know the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
5) Replenish Your Body-You can actually lose a few pounds of water weight just through sweating. Be sure to continue to drink lots of water throughout the day before & after your workout. If you are training for a sport and are hard core, you may want to consider weighing yourself before and after a workout to make sure to replace each pound of weight loss with up to 3 cups of water. Sports drinks and salt water can also help your body refuel.
Dehydration is a serious medical condition. Exercise in hot, humid weather can rapidly raise your body’s core temperature, putting you at risk of heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Heat exhaustion is a milder form of heat-related illness that can develop after several days of exposure to high temperatures, and inadequate or unbalanced replacement of fluids. Skin may be cool and moist. Your pulse rate will be fast and weak, and breathing will be fast and shallow. If heat exhaustion is untreated, it may progress to heat stroke.
Heat stroke is the most serious heat-related illness. Body temperature may rise to 106°F or higher within 10 to 15 minutes.
With heat stroke victims, look for the following symptoms:
Hot, dry skin (no sweating)
Strong, rapid pulse
Throbbing headache
Confusion
Unconsciousness
Dizziness
Nausea
A body temperature of above 103°F
If you see someone with any warning signs of heat stroke, call 911 immediately, then cool the victim however you can (for example, immerse the victim in cold water, spray the victim with a hose and move him to a shady spot).“
Today is National Ice Cream Day! Who doesn’t love ice cream? My favorite, pictured above, is Keeney Beany from the Penn State Creamery. Ice cream traditionally is high in fat and sugar. Small amounts are packed with lots of calories. An average 1/2 cup of chocolate ice cream contains: 143 calories, 7.5 gm Fat, 4.5 gm Saturated Fat, 18 gm Carbohydrates, 16 gm Sugar, and 3 gm Protein. As you can see most of the fat comes from saturated fat, which is the type of fat that can clog arteries. I love ice cream as much as anyone, so I am not trying to be the food police here. Ice cream can be enjoyed, but should be done so in moderation. Portion control is the key. The video below by Cynthia Sass RD will help you as well to choose lower fat choices without sacrificing taste.
Ensure recently introduced a clear nutritional drink. It is a great alternative to milk based nutritional drinks. There are two flavors, Peach and Blueberry Pomegranante. These products are served best cold. Both varieties taste great although some may find them a bit too sweet. Each shake contains 180 calories, O gm Fat, 35 gm Carbohydrates, 18 gm Sugar, and 9 gm Protein. As compared to Slim fast or Special K Protein shakes the calories and protein content are similar. The carbohydrate content of Ensure Clear is a bit higher than Slim Fast or Special K, however there is no fat. Ensure Clear does contain artificial colors, which I am not too crazy about, so I do not drink them on a regular basis.
For pre-operative bariatric surgery patients Ensure Clear can be added in conjunction with usual Sim Fast or Optifast products. These drinks are great for patients with gluten sensitivities or lactose intolerance. Some patients on the pre-operative liver shrinking diet often complain about stomach discomfort from the milk based proteins, I think Ensure Clear with help improve these symptoms.
