This delicious, nutritious smoothie is from Kelly at SuperHealthyKids.com.

“I love using frozen organic fruit,” says Kelly, “because it’s frozen at its peak freshness. It’s available year-round, is generally less expensive than fresh organic fruit, especially when out of season. And it’s great in smoothies!”

The smoothie is made with three separate layers (photo #1), but if you don’t want to create patriotic artistry, just blend all of the ingredients together for a fruit fest.

You can also freeze it for an hour or so and serve as a sorbet.

The layers:

 
The smoothie is as healthy as it is patriotic, packed with vitamin K from the berries, potassium and vitamin B6 from the bananas, and fiber and omega-3s from the flax.
 
 
RECIPE: RED, WHITE & BLUE SMOOTHIE

Ingredients For 4 Smoothies, 8-12 Ounces
 
For The Blue Layer

 
For The White Layer

 
For The Red Layer

 
Optional Garnishes

 
Preparation

1. BLEND the blue layer ingredients together. Pour it into individual glasses, about 1/3 full. Place the glasses in the freezer for 10 minutes.

2. RINSE the blender jar to remove any remaining blue layer mixture. Then create the white layer: Add the ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour the white layer over the frozen red layer, filling the glass to 2/3 full. Place the glasses back in freezer for 15 minutes.

[2] Bananas create the white layer (photo courtesy Recipes.com).

[3] Whatever you drink, make this snazzy garnish. Here’s how from Domestic Fits.

4. PLACE the smoothies in the fridge until ready to serve. Serve with a straw.
 
 
BONUS: SMOOTHIE HISTORY & HOLIDAY

[2] Lemongrass (photo courtesy Park Seed).

[3] Kaffir limes and leaves (photo courtesy Dilly Dally Orchard).

[4] Galangal is an Asian plant in the ginger family, an aromatic rhizome that is widely used in cooking and herbal medicine (photo courtesy Piano Non Troppo | Wikipedia) .

In our high-temperature, high-humidity corner of the world, even the heat-exhausted professional baseball players are being replaced every inning.

That’s why when we received this recipe from our colleague Hannah Kaminsky of Bittersweet Blog, we thought twice: It’s hot and spicy.

Then we remembered: Hot and spicy foods are good in hot climates. The spices engender more sweating, which helps to cool you off (although you may not look so attractive in the process).

Medically speaking, the benefits of eating hot and spicy foods include heart health and longevity. The details are in the second half of this article.

Hannah says, “If you can’t stand the heat of the dish, feel free to take down the spice level a notch by incorporating a splash of creamy, cooling coconut milk [Editor’s note: if you don’t mind dairy, a splash of cream or half and half will do].

In her version of her tom yum soup (photo #1), Hannah replaced the conventional rice noodles with sweet potato noodles from her spiralizer. The result: tom yam soup. 🙂

She observes: “The sweet, sour, and spicy combination gains greater depth from the yams [rice noodles have more texture than flavor], and preparation is coincidentally simplified. Everything goes into one pot, cooks just to a boil, and dinner is served.”

Tom yum soup typically includes shrimp, but Hannah doesn’t eat them. So we’ve included them as an option: Cook them in the soup, or place already-cooked shrimp in the bowls and pour the soup on top.
 
 
RECIPE: TOM YUM’S SISTER: TOM YAM NOODLE SOUP

Ingredients For 2 Servings

 
By the way, we’ve read that kaffir is a word adapted from the Arabic kafir, meaning non-believer or infidel.

It’s thus an offensive term in some parts of the world.

The movement @KaffirNoMore suggests using makrut, the Thai word for the bumpy lime; or simply, lime leaves, instead. The problem is, though, that the distributors and retailers sell “kaffir.”

Check out the different types of limes.
 
Preparation

1. SPIRALIZE the yam and and placing the yam noodles in a large stock pot. Add 3 cups of the stock to generously cover the vegetable noodles, along with shallot.

3. ADD the tofu, mushrooms, sambal oelek, soy sauce and lime juice. Bring to a boil over medium heat; then simmer for about 10 minutes, until the yam noodles are fork-tender but well before they start falling apart.

4. DIVIDE the soup between two big bowls. Garnish with cilantro and dig in while it’s hot—just like today’s weather.

________________

*If you don’t have access to an Asian market, where kaffir is sold fresh or frozen, substitute the zest of 1 lime for every 2 kaffir lime leaves.

†Sriracha vs. sambal oelek: The main flavor differences are that sriracha has a hint of garlic in sriracha and less vinegar tang. It is a sauce, rather than a paste like sambal oelek. In this recipe, the texture of the ingredient makes no difference.
  

July 3rd is National Chocolate Wafer Day.

Most people who have eaten chocolate wafer cookies think they’re the invention of Nabisco, which has sold its Famous Chocolate Wafers cookies (photo #2) since 1924.

But the wafers are much older. While chocolate was a drink for centuries (check out the history of chocolate), by the end of the 17th century some cooks began to put the cocoa powder (ground cacao beans) into soft desserts, like pudding.

While we cannot name the first baker of chocolate cookies, we know that in the 1800s, chocolate was being integrated into cookies and cakes—and that the cookies of the time were simple (like gingersnaps and shortbread). The cookies were baked at home or purchased from a bakery.
 
PACKAGED COOKIES DEBUT

By the time that Nabisco’s Famous Chocolate Wafers appeared on shelves, packaged cookies had been around for at least two decades. Other brands were available from the corner grocer’s by the late 1890s.

Busy middle-class homemakers were grateful for ready-to-eat foods. If you weren’t sufficiently affluent to afford a cook to bake your cookies, you could still afford to buy them from the bakery or the grocer.

Nabisco, then called the National Biscuit Company, was formed by a merger of bakeries in 1898. By 1901, it was selling packaged sugar wafers under the brand name, Nabisco (the company ultimately changed its name to Nabisco).

Among other packaged cookies, the company produced Barnum’s Animal Crackers (1902), Cameos (1910), Lorna Doones (1912), Oreos (1912), prior to the launch of Famous Chocolate Wafers in 1924.
 
A GREAT MARRAIGE WITH WHIPPED CREAM: ICEBOX CAKE

The first chocolate wafer cookies were packaged in a tin along with ginger wafers and sugar wafers. The chocolate wafers were so much in demand that when Nabisco transitioned to cardboard packaging around 1930, the other flavors were dropped and the Famous Chocolate Wafer boxes were printed with the recipe for icebox cake (photo #2—here’s the history of icebox cake).

In those days as now, home economists developed recipes that appeared on packages to encourage more consumption. One of the first published recipe on the Famous Chocolate Wafers box for icebox cake.

Finally, it was simple for a homemaker to present a “chocolate cake” without turning on the oven—a boon in the warmer months. Chocolalte wafers were simply stacked alternating with layers of whipped cream.

[2] The commercial brand of note is Nabisco’s Famous Chocolate Wafers (photo courtesy Nabisco).

[3] Icebox cake (photo courtesy Magnolia Bakery; here’s the recipe).

Although the wafers have been popular for so many years, they have been pushed off the shelves by newer entries. The wafers can be a little hard to find, but are sold on Amazon and at Walmart.
 
 
ICEBOX CAKE RECIPES

 
Plus

[2] Food fun: Drink your coconut water from a coconut (photo courtesy Melissa’s).

[3] Swerve, the new non-caloric sweetener (photo courtesy Keto Diet App).

1. BELLE CHEVRE: CHEVRE (GOAT) CREAM CHEESE

Here’s a bonus for goat cheese lovers: chevre cream cheese. Chevre (pronounced SHEV—the second syllable with the R is usually silent), is the French word for both goat and goat cheese.

Creamy Belle Chèvre goat cheese is a luxurious cream cheese, a spread for bagels, toast or the base of hors d’oeuvres.

Truth to tell, we began to eat it from the container with a spoon. Chevre has three times more protein than regular cream cheese, so think of it as low-guilt cream cheese.

It’s simply delicious, in plain plus four flavors: coffee, cinnamon, fig and honey. (All the products we’ve had from Belle Chevre are delicious: We could eat them three times a day.)

Six ounces are $6.99 at BelleChevre.com.
 
 
2. GENUINE COCONUT: ORGANIC DRINKING COCONUTS

Coconut water can be purchased in almost every supermarket: a slightly-sweet thirst quencher that’s an excellent source of electrolytes, including potassium.

This fun variation packages the juice* in Mother Nature’s container: a memorable touch for parties, party favors or special treats.

These coconuts have an easy-open pop-top and are packaged with straws. Each sits on a recyclable cardboard band, so it sits on a surface without rolling.

When you’ve finished the water, you can scoop out the coconut meat lining the shell.

The empty shells can be cut into sections and added to an outdoor grill. They burn quickly, and make a hot cooking fire. You can also refill them: If you have space to store them in the fridge or freezer for up to a week, first rinse them out.

The U.K. company sells the coconuts in the U.S. through Melissa’s, among other outlets. They are sold in packs of four, for $28. For more information, visit Melissas.com.
 
 
3. SWERVE: NON-CALORIC SWEETENER

Many people seek sweetness without sugar, and food scientists are constantly on the look for the next big thing.

The last big thing, monkfruit, was not to our liking; and the one before that, stevia, tastes O.K. only in a highly processed form. We’ve been sticking to Splenda.

The latest non-caloric sweetener is a new, all natural brand called Swerve, made from erythritol, a sugar alcohol used in sugarless candy, gum and other products.

Bonus: Unlike other sugar substitutes, Swerve caramelizes just like sugar; so cook and bake to your heart’s content.

Swerve is available in both granulated and confectioners, and in individual granulated packets.

The brand states that there is a 1:1 substitution of Swerve for regular sugar. We found it to be less sweet than sugar: We wanted a bit more (e.g., three packets in a cup of coffee).

But: no problemo; it’s still calorie-free.

For more information visit SwerveSweet.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON NON-CALORIC SWEETENERS, check out our glossary of non-caloric sweeteners.

________________

*There is no real difference between coconut water and coconut juice.
  

In New York City, “the best deli,” referring to Jewish-style delicatessen, used to be a topic of debate.

Over the years, though, acclaimed delicatessens have fallen by the wayside. The Carnegie Deli and its rival The Stage Deli, both in the neighborhood of Carnegie Hall, are gone. So is Artie’s Deli on the Upper West Side.

Barney Greengrass is still there, thank goodness, but it specializes in fish.

Katz’s Deli, home to the famous scene in “When Harry Met Sally,” is O.K., but not worth the trip all the way downtown. Ditto for the Second Avenue Deli.

Our nearest deli, Fine & Schapiro, falls into that “O.K.” category, too.

We were feeling sad that our excursions to glorious deli meals were a thing of the past.

So when we received an invitation to try P.J. Bernstein’s on the Upper East Side, we headed cross-town with high hopes.

We were not disappointed.
 
A FEAST OF JEWISH CLASSICS…

All of the standards of the classic Jewish deli are there in abundance; and more important than abundance, the quality is outstanding.

Is P.J. Bernstein’s the best deli in New York? We haven’t eaten at all of them, but to us, it’s now the number-one deli of choice.

The deli all-stars are on the menu: brisket, corned beef, pastrami, tongue and the other deli meats; matzoh ball soup plain, with egg noodles, or with (be still, our beating heart) kreplach!

And the smoked fish: smoked salmon, sturgeon, whitefish, whitefish salad!

While delicatessens typically buy their meats and fish from provisioners, ready to slice and serve, the kitchen dishes we had are standouts: chopped liver, gefilte fish, stuffed cabbage.

As we write this, the little voice in our head is saying: “Only three hours to lunch…at P.J. Bernstein.”
 
…AND MODERN FAVORITES

If one of your party doesn’t want deli, there are plenty of choices, from burgers and salads to smoothies and a juice bar. P.J. Bernstein is steeped in transition, but has menu updates for modern palates.

The restaurant is open 7 days:
1215 Third Avenue between 70th and 71st Streets, New York, NY 10021
212.879.0914

[2] Chopped chicken livers: Jewish ambrosia.

[3] Matzoh ball soup with a bonus: kreplach!