Why clay? It represents the mortar that Israelites used while enslaved as builders by the Egyptians.

A kind of apple chutney of sorts, charoset is eaten during the seder with matzoh and fresh-grated horseradish. It is delightful as an accompaniment to roasted meats at any time; we enjoy it year-round on matzoh or toast.

This recipe, which you can whip up in 15 minutes, is courtesy of Bee Raw Honey, a purveyor of artisan honeys. They recommend their orange blossom honey in this recipe; but you can use what you have on hand.

You can enjoy the charoset immediately, but ideally let it rest in the fridge for an hour or longer to allow the flavors to meld. The yield is approximately 4 cups.

CHAROSET RECIPE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. HEAT oven to 350°F. Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Toss occasionally and watch carefully; remove the walnuts when they are fragrant. Let cool, then roughly chop.

2. COMBINE the lemon juice, wine, honey, lemon zest, cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon salt.

3. MIX the apples and walnuts with the liquid mixture in a large bowl; toss to combine. Chill until ready to serve.

Among many studies, the largest one, conducted by Harvard University, proved that the more red meat you eat, the greater your risk of dying and of developing heart disease, cancer and diabetes.* And the more animals raised to meet the insatiable appetite for red meat, the more environmental pollution.

Red meat is:

Place a smaller piece of red meat on a larger bed of grains or vegetables. Photo courtesy MalaysianKitchenNYC.com.

 
Want to know more? Read this article.

But there is a compromise, reflected in today’s tip:

Just cut down on your portion size. Limit the portion to three ounces—three slices—and fill out the dish with grains or vegetables.

Any beef dish can be turned into a smaller portion—and by using herbs, spices and other seasonings, the meat can be even more flavorful.

Place a couple of slices of broiled red meat or a large chunk of stewed meat atop barley, beans, brown rice, mashed cauliflower or potatoes, quinoa, a rice or pasta salad, vegetable purée (broccoli, carrots, cauliflower or other favorite) or other base. Another easy way to use less meat is in a veggie-laden stir-fry.

Look for recipes that don’t require large hunks of meat; for example, lettuce wraps or the beef rolls in the photo, which are filled with cucumber matchsticks and mushrooms. There are options in many cuisines, such as the popular Japanese dish, beef negimaki: broiled strips of beef marinated in teriyaki sauce and rolled with sautéed scallions (you can substitute spinach).

Whichever recipes you prefer, smaller portions of red meat are better for you and Planet Earth.

They specifically note that “We estimated that substitutions of one serving per day of other foods (including fish, poultry, nuts, legumes, low-fat dairy, and whole grains) for one serving per day of red meat were associated with a 7 percent to 19 percent lower mortality risk.”

You can have your red meat and eat it too—just eat less of it. That’s no beef.

*A number of studies have evaluated the impact of eating red meat on health and lifespan, but one of the largest and longest was conducted by a research team at Harvard School of Public Health and published in March 2012 in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Data was collected on 83,644 women from the Nurses Health Study and 37,698 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, and the investigators were interested in how much meat each of these adults consumed over a 22-year to 28-year period.
  

With the introduction of Dole Banana Dippers, the company wants Americans to enjoy their meal and their sweet snack (not to mention the potassium and other nutrients in bananas).

For only 120 calories or less per serving, you can savor a packet of plain Dole Banana Dippers or Banana Dippers Dark Chocolate with Almonds, both covered in antioxidant-rich dark chocolate.

(Go for the almonds—see the nutritional information below.)

Frozen bananas substitute for ice cream. Photo courtesy Dole.

They have become a most popular snack at THE NIBBLE.

Bananas are a terrific, heart-healthy food when included in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol. Naturally fat-, cholesterol- and sodium-free, bananas are a good source of potassium, dietary fiber, manganese and vitamins B6 and C.

BANANA NUTRITION

With 110 nutrient-dense calories per serving (126 grams, or one medium-sized banana) bananas are delicious and nutritious. Here are the nutrients in a banana†:

ALMOND NUTRITION

Nuts are a good protein food. Yes, they have fats, but those are largely unsaturated, heart-healthy fats which have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol and the risk of heart disease. Here’s the scoop on the health benefits of nuts. A one-ounce serving of almonds (23 almonds) delivers:

 
The small garnish of almonds on the Dole Banana Dippers has just a fraction of your daily almond allotment. So for your second snack, enjoy 22 of those 23 almonds!

*Methodological Notes: The DOLE Banana Dippers survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among 1,000 nationally representative U.S. women ages 18+, between February 4 and February 7, 2013, using an email invitation and online survey.

†Nutrient data provided by USDA’s National Nutrient Database. Almond information from Almond Board Of California.