Food And Health Weekly

Number one favourite newsletter of food & health information

Whatever the weather, autumn has arrived, prompting cooks to think about heartier fare. Thoughts turn from summer salad bowls to simmering pots. Farmers markets and supermarkets are full of the autumn harvest - sweet potatoes, squash, cabbage, carrots, parsnips, turnips, turnip greens, beets, apples and pears. This bounty is not only full of flavor, but also the antioxidants, phytochemicals and fiber that help lower your risk for chronic health problems. Scientists believe that diets rich in plant-based foods are the most protective of diseases like cancer.

With the huge variety of beautiful produce this time of year, shoppers face two dangers: buying too much and not storing it safely. Time damages both taste and nutritional content. To maximize nutrition and minimize perishability, keep salad items in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator. Refrigerate apples and pears if not used within a few days. They’ll keep well up to two weeks in the refrigerator. Store root vegetables like potatoes and turnips in a cool, dry place away from sunlight, and buy only what you can use in a week or two, as they toughen with age.

Some nutrients can be lost if produce is chopped and left to sit for a day or two, even more so if left to soak in water. Cut up fruits and vegetables close to the time you’ll be using them.

Cook vegetables until just tender. Overcooking destroys nutrients, as does cooking in a lot of water. Healthful cooking methods that preserve nutrients include microwave or stove-top steaming in a little water, and stir-frying or sautéing in a small amount of oil until vegetables just reach tenderness. Vegetables lose nutrients by boiling or cooking a long time in a lot of water.

It’s Harvest Time In The Kitchen.Be healthy with the new tips of autum cooking.

First Special Issue

HealthWithFood

Learning To Love Cauliflower.You and your family may think you don’t like cauliflower, but that may be based on bad experiences. Many people’s first encounter with

cauliflower was as a soggy, overcooked, bland dish. But with careful and light-handed preparation, this elegant member of the

cabbage family could easily become a popular addition to your table.

Cauliflower has a naturally mild, sweet flavor. Versatile in the kitchen, it can be steamed, baked, sautéed, or even grilled. In southern Asia, cauliflower is often used as the foundation on which to build a flavorful dish to accompany grilled chicken or fish. In other regions, cauliflower is added to curries, stir-fries and tomato-based dishes served with pasta.

Cauliflower is usually white but can be green or purple. When shopping for cauliflower, look for a firm head with

compact florets. The leaves should be crisp and green and not yellowing. The size of the head doesn’t affect the quality. To use cauliflower, separate the florets. To prevent discoloration,

add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the cooking water. Cooked cauliflower can be refrigerated for up to three days. Wrapped tightly in

plastic wrap, raw cauliflower can be refrigerated for up to five days. Cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable like cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts,

chard, kale, mustard greens, rutabagas and turnips. A study in the Journal of Nutrition says that we’re still not eating enough cruciferous veggies. That’s unfortunate, because research showed that compounds in these vegetables help fight off cancer of the colon, stomach, lung and possibly breast.

Mark Twain said, “Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.” It’s worth giving this educated vegetable another try.

by Pat Melgares

National statistics indicate that approximately 70 percent of all kids and adults do not eat the recommended five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day for good health. Kathy Walsten, a nutrition educator with Kansas State University Research and Extension, offers the following ideas to help parents provide nutritious snacks for kids: Freeze fruits. Bananas are a popular choice. Parents can cut bananas in half, dip them in yogurt and roll in granola cereal before freezing. Frozen grapes are also becoming popular: “They are cool like popsicles and sweet like candy, but they’ve got plenty of vitamins and fiber, too,” Walsten said.

To freeze grapes, wash and place individually on a cookie sheet before freezing. Later, transfer the grapes to a plastic bag - ready for a cool summer snack anytime. Walsten cautioned that whole frozen grapes should only be served to children age 3 or older; cut frozen grapes into smaller pieces for younger children as a precaution against choking. Make a fruit pop cup. Mix fruit and 100 percent juice in disposable small cups and freeze. Serve with a spoon.

Use cold corn in salads and salsa. “The next time you cook corn on the cob, make extra and refrigerate for another day,” Walsten said. “Then, cut the corn off the cob and serve over a salad.”

Other popular fruit snacks include blender shakes (sometimes also called ‘smoothies’ or ‘frosties’) which include fresh fruit and yogurt; or a banana split with yogurt, granola and cherries or blueberries.

Help Kids Make Fun, Healthy Snacks.

Some New tricks that will make you want more.

Make your kides want healthy snacks!

Walsten recommends three Websites for more information on healthy fruit snacks for children,

including:

www.dole5aday.com (from the Dole Company)

www.5aday.com (from the Produce for Better Health Foundation)

www.kidsacookin.ksu.edu (from K-State Research and Extension)

It’s not really summer if you don’t have more tomatoes and zucchini than you know what to do with. But you can never get too much of a good thing.

Both zucchini and tomatoes are high in versatility and nutrition, whether raw or cooked. Zucchini can be simply steamed or broiled with a bit of olive oil, grated Parmesan cheese and an herb like oregano or basil. It’s also one of the best vegetables to throw on the grill. Small zucchini and garden-grown summer tomatoes make nice additions to a green salad, and a slice of tomato is a welcomed addition to any sandwich. Grated zucchini is often added to baked goods like muffins and breads for added moisture.

The color of zucchini can vary from dark to light green, and the off-white flesh has a light, delicate flavor. Baby zucchini can be as small as a finger, while the mature vegetable commonly sold at the market is four to eight inches long and two to three inches thick. The smaller the zucchini, the more tender. Choose vegetables with a bright color and unblemished skin.

Some gardens produce giant zucchini that are astonishing to look at but really too big to use as is. If your zucchini is enormous, using a stuffing is the best technique. Parboil it until tender, scoop out and discard the seeds and pithy interior, and fill the shell with diced vegetables, Spanish rice, or other favorite stuffing.

Zucchini is a source of lutein, a cousin to beta-carotene that may protect against certain cancers, vision loss in the elderly, heart attack and stroke. The most concentrated sources of the easily-absorbed lutein are dark green, leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, collard

New Beginnings For End-of-Summer.Summer is never the end of great food.

greens and chard. Zucchini is a less concentrated but still excellent source, and studies show that this level is protective.

Tomatoes are a major source of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant. Some studies suggest that people who eat foods high in lycopene may have a lower risk of prostate and other cancers as well as a lower risk of other chronic diseases. The American Institute for Cancer Research emphasizes that eating vegetables in abundance plays an important part in lowering cancer risk.

If your vegetable garden is overwhelmed with zucchini and tomatoes and you’ve run out of friends, relatives and neighbors with whom to share the bounty, you may welcome new ideas. The following recipe creates a tasty, light summer dish.

by Linda Sleichter

Nutrition research has determined that eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day translates to good health for adults and children.

“There are so many studies that show, with a variety of fruits and vegetables, we can meet many of the basic nutrition requirements needed for good health,” said Sandy Procter, K State Research and Extension nutritionist. “Instead of supplementing a diet with vitamins, a person can get that same nutritional value by eating a variety of fruits and vegetables in optimal quantities.”

Procter offered these tips to achieve five servings every day: * Check your serving size. “We are not real accurate in our estimates of serving sizes, whether it is french fries or salad,” Procter

said. “We have a tendency to underestimate how much we eat of high fat foods and entrees. For example, a plate of spaghetti at a restaurant may be offered as one serving, but it’s probably more like three or four.”

“In contrast, however, we tend to overestimate `how many servings of fruits and vegetables we eat. A large banana counts as two fruit servings, and an entree salad may contain three or four servings of fruits or vegetables.”

Prepare fruits and vegetable snacks.

“By offering fresh or canned fruit or crunchy vegetable pieces, parents can help their family’s nutrition by helping them achieve the five-a-day goal,” Procter said.

Add fruits or vegetables to foods. “Instead of syrup on pancakes, offer applesauce or strawberries. Add a few frozen peas in pasta

dishes,” Procter said. “Not only will the colors, flavors and textures of these foods make family meals inviting and tasty, but we are just starting to understand the health benefits from adding more fruits and vegetables to our diets.”

Procter said that eating healthy and getting at least two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables each day can improve not only health, but also quality of life.

“Everyone that gives thought to their health, well-being and weight knows the importance of balancing what we eat with the amount of activity we do,” she said. “It’s not so much a question of survival, but rather of quality of life. By eating healthy and staying active, we should be able to stay healthy and do the things we want to do for a longer time.”

K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by: Linda Sleichter, Communication Specialist lsleicht@oznet.ksu.edu K-State Research and Extension

Five Fruits And Veggies A Day: It’s Easier Than You Think!