From the name, blood oranges should be in season at Halloween. But these wonders are in stores right now. Even our local supermarket has them!
They look exactly like regular oranges on the outside, but their inside flesh is a deep rosy red color; and the flavor is a cross between orange and raspberry—some people call them “raspberry oranges.”
Whatever you call them, be sure you buy some before the season is over. Eat them for breakfast instead of grapefruit (or squeeze them for heavenly juice); add them to fruit salads, green salads, and seafood and chicken salads for beautiful color and flavor; use sections to garnish grilled fish or create a concasse; enjoy them for dessert and snacks; and make a memorable blood orange sorbet (Ciao Bella has one available year-round).
Blood Orange Sorbetto from Ciao Bella is available year-round. It can be purchased online at IceCreamSource.com. For your nearest retailer, call 1.800.GELATO.3.
Raspberry-colored flesh and raspberry flavor nuances make blood oranges a very special fruit. Photo by Josiah Gordon.
Thick water buffalo yogurt from The Woodstock
Water Buffalo Company is richer and sweeter than
yogurt from cow, sheep or goat milk. Photo by Katrina Brown | IST.
If you’re lactose-intolerant, or have guests who are, it’s generally due to the larger protein molecules in cow’s milk.
Goat’s milk and sheep’s milk have smaller, more easily digestible molecules. Offer those cheeses along with mozzarella di bufala, from water buffalo’s milk.
The same principle applies to yogurt. Redwood Farms (goat), Old Chatham Sheepherding Company (sheep) and FAGE Total (sheep) make delicious yogurts, as does Spoondance Creamery (formerly Woodstock Water Buffalo Yogurt).
See all of our favorite cheeses, including a cheese glossary, the history of cheese and cheese recipes.
If you have an unopened bottle of spirits, it can last for years.
But except for collector wines that need bottle age, most wines are meant to be drunk within a year: otherwise, they deteriorate. If you’re not sure about a wine you own, ask at your local wine store.
You don’t need a special occasion to open a nice bottle of wine. If you don’t have enough participation to finish the bottle in an evening, use a wine preservative and enjoy it over a week.
If you have no one to share that fine wine with,
enjoy it yourself. Use a preservative spray to
keep the remainder fresh for a few days or a week until you can finish the bottle.
We’re Fig-Sated on this healthy dried fruit
and nut snack: apricots, dates, figs, almond
and pistachios. Photo by Naheed Choudhry.
It’s easy to keep healthy, tasty foods at work to snack on. The temptation to grab for fat- and sugar-loaded foods can be offset with a little planning.
Pack a drawer with palate-pleasers like delicious teas, fine low-sugar or sugar-free spreads and peanut butters, and 35-calorie crispbreads like Wasa.
Peeled Snacks dried fruit and nut mixes are a nutritious snack that hits the spot any time of the day.
Americans eat way too much salt. Our processed foods and recipes are packed with much more than is good for you (the same for sugar). Only 11% of the sodium in our diets comes from our own saltshakers; nearly 80% is added to foods before they are sold.
The National Salt Reduction Initiative will be seeking to have us reduce salt intake by 20%. Too much sodium in your diet can increase blood pressure, which can lead to stroke and heart disease. Even if you’re 20 years old and not thinking about stoke and heart disease, the bad eating habits you develop now are the ones you’ll have to struggle to give up in another 20 years. g. As I’m sure you know,. This can also be of interest for February’s Heart Health Month.
Mrs. Dash Seasoning Blend, an all-natural blend of 14 natural herbs and spices that has been a lifesaver to people who need to cut down on salt but still want flavor (also available as sodium-free grilling spices and marinades), offers these tips for reducing sodium intake:
To Cut Down On Salt
Sea salts have lovely flavor, but they have
just as much sodium as regular table salt.
Photo by Dhanraj Emanuel | THE NIBBLE.
1. Choose fresh, unprocessed or fresh, frozen foods. Prepared foods are loaded with salt.
2. Read food labels for sodium content.
3. Choose foods with less than 200mg of sodium per serving. That’s not going to be easy!
4. Consume pre-prepared foods that are “low in sodium” or “no added sodium.”
5. Limit processed foods such as canned or dried soups, canned vegetables, frozen dinners, “instant” foods and flavored rice/pasta packages.
6. Use less sodium at the table and in cooking.
7. Use no-sodium or low-sodium seasonings.
8. Flavor food with lemon juice, fresh garlic, spices, herbs and flavored vinegar.
9. Use only small amounts of condiments, like pickles, sauces, olives, etc.
10. Ask for less salt or sodium to be added to your food when eating in restaurants. Chefs tend to throw salt on proteins before plating them.
How much salt should you consume a day? According to the Mayo Clinic, healthy younger adults should keep sodium consumption between 1,500 and 2,300 mg of sodium a day (only a few hundred mg/day are actually needed to maintain healthy body function). People with high blood pressure and anyone middle-aged or older should aim for the low end of the range.
Is sea salt better than table salt? It has the same amount of sodium as table salt, but is pure (no chemicals are used in the refining) and has better flavor and texture.
Find lots of salt-free, flavorful recipes at Mrs.Dash.com.
