Nutrition Articles

Eating Healthy Spotlight on: Mangoes

• Mangoes are an excellent source of vitamins A and C, and they are also an excellent way to replenish potassium lost through exercise or for those who are constantly “on the go.”
• An average-sized mango can even contain up to 40 percent of your daily fiber requirement, thereby being a great way to curb constipation and irregularity.
• Mangoes can also help to prevent certain types of cancer and help to lower blood cholesterol levels, too.

Recipe: Jamaican Jerk Chicken Salad

• ½ cup prepared or purchased honey mustard dressing
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
• 4 chicken breast halves without skin, boneless
• 1 tablespoon Jamaican Jerk seasoning
• 2 large fresh mangoes
• 10 to 12 cups mixed greens 

Stir together honey mustard dressing and lime zest.  Cover and chill dressing while preparing chicken.

Rinse chicken and pat dry; sprinkle with Jerk seasoning.  In a large skillet cook the seasoned chicken in hot oil over medium-high heat about 6 minutes on each side until browned and no longer pink.  Thinly slice each chicken breast.

Arrange warm chicken and mango atop greens on four plates; drizzle with the honey mustard dressing.

Healthy Living Ways to Detoxify your Diet This Year

Over the past decade, people are becoming more conscious about detoxifying their diets of harmful, synthetic ingredients.  If you want to avoid these synthetic ingredients, you need to learn how to detoxify the foods you are eating and choose healthier foods.

Here are some suggestions to detoxify and eat healthier this year:

Clean Your Produce:  Before eating or cooking with any fruits or vegetables be sure to wash them very well.  Washing your fruits and veggies eliminates the chemicals and pathogens from your food’s surface and help to eliminate any harmful ingredients.

Avoid Cans:  Cans are lined with a resin that contains bisphenol-A, a hormone-disrupting chemical.  While many companies are working to eliminate these chemicals in their products, in the meantime you can avoid these chemicals by choosing frozen, fresh, or dried foods.

Choose Whole Foods:  Whole foods are not processed; therefore, they have their own natural ingredients.  Choose whole grains and look for food items that say “whole” on them … but check the labels, just to be sure.

Safer Seafood:  We are exposed to several chemicals when we eat seafood, particularly methylmercury.  Do your homework when shopping for seafood and choose seafood that has the lowest chemical and heavy metal amounts.  Try choosing fish that are also caught without causing harm to the oceans.

Watch Your Animal Fat Intake:  Do you know what’s in your animal fats?  They are loaded with synthetic hormones, antibiotics, organochlorine chemicals, and other harmful pesticides. Look for low-fat options when buying your foods and be sure to trim all the fat off poultry and meats when you buy them. 

Eating Healthy Spotlight on: Salmon

Besides being an excellent source of Omega-3 Fatty Acids, salmon is also full of high-quality proteins and low in saturated fat.

• Salmon has nearly a third of the saturated fat of lean ground beef and 50 percent less saturated fat than chicken, making it one of the healthiest items that you could eat.
• Salmon is also low in calories. One serving contains approximately 183 calories, making it one of the lowest in calories among other fish.
• Salmon contains enough of every essential amino acid required by our bodies for growth and the upkeep of muscle tissue.

Recipe: Honey-Soy Broiled Salmon

• 1 scallion, minced
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 pound center-cut salmon fillet, skinned and cut into four portions
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Whisk scallion, soy sauce, vinegar, honey and ginger in a medium bowl until the honey is dissolved. Place salmon in a sealable plastic bag, add 3 tablespoons of the sauce and refrigerate; let marinate for 15 minutes. Reserve the remaining sauce. Preheat broiler. Line a small baking pan with foil and coat with cooking spray. Transfer the salmon to the pan, skinned side down. (Discard the marinade.) Broil the salmon 4 to 6 inches from the heat source until cooked through, 6 to 10 minutes. Drizzle with the reserved sauce and garnish with sesame seeds.

Recipe:  Smoked Salmon Dip

• 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
• 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish, drained
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 oz. smoked salmon, minced

Cream the cheese in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until just smooth. Add the sour cream, lemon juice, dill, horseradish, salt and pepper, and mix. Add the smoked salmon and mix well. Chill and serve with crudités or crackers.

Benefits of Coconut Water

Coconut water not only tastes delicious, but it is extremely good for you in so many ways. Here are just a few:

• Coconut water is much healthier than orange juice because it has much fewer calories.
• Coconut water is more nutritious than whole milk because it has less fat and no cholesterol.
• Coconut water is better than processed baby milk because it contains lauric acid, which is present in mother’s milk.
• Coconut water is a universal donor and is identical to human blood plasma.
• Coconut water is naturally sterile.
• Coconut water is a naturally isotonic beverage; the same level that we have in our blood.
• Coconut water has saved lives in Third World Countries through Coconut IV.

Eating Healthy Spotlight on: Cranberries

• Cranberries contain high amounts of vitamin C, fiber, and antioxidants. They also include only 45 calories per cup.
• Cranberry’s juice can be used for the prevention of urinary tract infections and bacterial adhesion in the stomach.
• The same bacteria preventing ability of the cranberry juice can avert the formation of plaque, which leads to fewer cavities.

Recipe: Easy Cranberry Bread

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup butter

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon finely grated orange rind

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon, rind of

3/4 cup orange juice

1 3/4 cups cranberries, chopped 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda into a large bowl. Cut in butter until the mixture is crumbly. Add egg, finely grated orange peel, lemon peel, and orange juice all at once; carefully stir until the mixture is evenly moist. Fold in cranberries. Spoon and spread evenly into a greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

Recipe: Cranberry Sauce

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

4 cups (1 12-oz package) fresh or frozen cranberries

Optional: Pecans, orange zest, raisins, currants, blueberries, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice.

 Place the cranberries in a colander and rinse them. Pick out and discard any damaged or bruised cranberries. Put the water and sugar in a medium saucepan on high heat and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar.  Add the cranberries to the pot and return to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until most of the cranberries have burst.  Once the cranberries have burst you can leave the cranberry sauce as is or dress it up with other ingredients. We like to mix in a half a cup of chopped pecans with a few strips of orange zest. Some people like adding raisins or currants, or even blueberries for added sweetness. You can also add holiday spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice. Remove the pot from heat. Let cool completely at room temperature, then transfer to a bowl to chill in the refrigerator.