Amazing almonds

Healthy foodies should have a handful of nuts every day, without exception. They are filling, loaded with "good" mononunsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and taste great, too.

An Australian food blogger posted some useful info this week about why almonds might be the best nut of them all. Here are excerpts from her site, www.foodwatch.com.au.

What's so special about almonds?

• Almonds are rich in monounsaturated fats which are good fats to have in your diet. Almonds boast an impressive 66 per cent of their total fat as monounsaturated fat (pretty high - remember olive oil comes in at 75) along with 23 per cent polyunsaturated and only 7 per cent saturated.
• They load you up with antioxidant vitamin E and an amino acid called arginine, both of which work to keep blood vessels clear of fatty plaques that could otherwise cause blockages. All good news for your heart.
• Almonds are also a surprisingly good source of calcium. A handful has 70mg calcium, as much as in 1/3 cup of ricotta cheese.
• They’re packed with other essential nutrients including B vitamins, minerals (think magnesium, zinc and potassium) and protein.

How to best enjoy almonds: Eat them whole because the skin is an excellent source of antioxidants known as flavonoids (like those found in tea) and fibre. They’re high in fat – about half their weight is fat, like most nuts.So it's best to make your own portion control packages. That ensures you won’t bolt down industrial-strength quantities in one sitting. On the plus side, they have virtually no carbohydrate and are high in fiber. Studies have shown that dieters tend to lose weight – not put it on – by snacking on almonds between meals.

What to eat before a workout

Do you know the best foods to rev up your body before a workout?

If you're armed with the right fuel before you hit the trail, or the gym, or whatever you're doing, you'll be able to do the routine with energy to spare.

Take this quiz to find out how much you know about eating and exercise. And make sure that your body gets the right balance of carbs, proteins, fats and fluids to make your workout as efficient as possible.

5 Foods for a Great Body

One of my favorite healthy-foodie sources, Eating Well magazine, posted this info about a short list of foods that will keep weight off, improve our skin, and make us look and feel great.

Here's a summary of the article; for the whole piece, go here.

1. Green beans

Filling up on green beans, and other high-fiber foods, can help you prevent weight gain or even promote weight loss—without dieting—suggests new research in The Journal of Nutrition. Researchers found that women who increased their fiber intake generally lost weight while women who decreased the fiber in their diets gained.

2. Salmon

The omega-3 fatty acids in oily fish—such as salmon and tuna—can boost your skin’s defenses against UV damage. In a study published earlier this year in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that those who ate a little more than 5 ounces of omega-3-rich fish each week decreased the development of precancerous skin lesions by almost 30 percent. Scientists think the omega-3s act as a shield, protecting cell walls from free-radical damage.

3. Blueberries

Eating just under a cup of mixed berries (such as red raspberries, strawberries, blueberries) daily for 8 weeks was associated with increased levels of “good” HDL cholesterol and lowered blood pressure—two positives when it comes to heart health—according to a recent study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

4. Watermelon

Research shows that eating foods that are full of water, such as watermelon, helps keep you satisfied on fewer calories. (Interestingly enough, drinking water alongside foods doesn’t have the safe effect.) At 92 percent water, watermelon is a good source of vitamin C. When it’s the red variety (some are orange or yellow), it also has lycopene, an antioxidant that may help protect against heart disease and some types of cancer.

5. Tomatoes

Eating more vitamin-C rich foods, such as oranges, tomatoes, strawberries and broccoli, may be a secret to smoother skin. A igher intake of vitamin C from foods is associated with a lower risk of having wrinkled skin and age-related skin dryness in middle-age women. Vitamin C’s youthful effects on skin may be due to its antioxidant properties, which help protect against ultraviolet rays, and its role in keeping skin firm via collagen synthesis, say the researchers.

Bison (buffalo) Steak

We've been fans of bison burgers for years. Bison (buffalo) has significantly less fat and saturated fat than beef, and thus far at least the production of bison has happened outside of the industrial food system. There's a ranch in Richmond OH -- Vista Grand -- that provides much of the bison available in our market.

Whenever we pass through Lexington, KY, we love to stop at Ted's Montana Grill for bison burgers with all the trimmings. They have bison steaks, too, but we've never gone that route.

This past weekend, we tried bison fillets from Vista Grand. It was delish! I grilled them, made a simple mushroom/black pepper sauce and served the steaks with roasted red potatoes and grilled asparagus. All that made for one fine Saturday supper at home. We also cracked open a bottle of Super Tuscan wine called Giorgio Primo, hand carried from Florence, IT, on our trip last summer.

Sardines -- Superfish?

My husband loves these little critters, although I have not been able to develop much of a taste for them. The canned versions seem kind of icky to me, and despite much searching I haven't been able to find fresh sardines in any market.

Nonetheless, they are SO good for us, I'm thinking I ought to try some canned sardines again. I know that Trader Joe's has a few versions, some with mustard sauce and so on.

Here's what the Berkeley Wellness Letter posted this week about the health benefits of sardines.

Sardines: The Can-Do Fish

All seafood has something good to offer. But sardines (a name given to many small fish in the herring family) are a top choice across the board.

Sardines are one of the richest sources of heart-healthy omega-3 fats—richer than canned tuna and many fish oil supplements. And because sardine populations are abundant (after a collapse in the 1950s), environmental groups consider them a good ecological choice. Moreover, contaminants are much less of a concern with sardines than with tuna, swordfish, farmed salmon, and most other fatty fish; you can safely eat sardines at least once a week.

Catching the best

• Sardines typically come canned, but more markets now carry them fresh as well. Restaurants often serve them grilled, which is an easy way to prepare them at home.

• For convenience, keep a few cans of sardines in your cupboard. With their easy-to-open lids, you can take them to work or on the road for a quick, easy meal or snack. They are good paired with hearty breads or crackers, nuts, olives, cheese, and fruit, or mixed with chopped eggs or beets.

• When buying canned sardines, compare nutrition labels. Depending on the type of sardine, where they come from, and what they are packed in (water, oil, or tomato or mustard sauces), they can vary a lot in calories (90 to 350), fat (5 to 30 grams), and sodium (100 to 500 milligrams) per serving.

• Canned whole sardines are a good source of calcium if you eat the bones, which are softened during processing. A 3-ounce serving has about as much calcium as a cup of milk. Sardines are also a natural source of vitamin D—165 IU in 3 ounces.

More canned news: Besides sardines (and, of course, tuna), many other fish come canned, convenient, and healthy. Consider canned herring (with even more omega-3s than sardines), canned salmon (almost always wild, so contaminants are not a problem, and also a good source of calcium if you eat the bones), and canned mackerel (another great choice for omega-3s and calcium), as well as canned shrimp, oysters, clams, and crabmeat. If you are watching your sodium intake, compare labels to find products with lower amounts.

Coming soon: Melt (Northside) Expands

This is great news for uptown Cincinnati foodies -- healthy foodies, too. The wonderful Melt Deli in Northside will soon be opening an adjacent store called Picnic and Pantry. It will take over the space that used to be Hideaway Restaurant. Here's their latest news:>

PICNIC AND PANTRY WELCOMES:

FRANCES KRONER

AS OUR MARKET CHEF EXTRAORDINAIRE!

AKA “Frannie”, many of you may know of her amazing contributions
to the Northside community through her three years at Slim’s restaurant,
two years management of the Northside Farmer’s Market,
and her own brainchild: FEAST-Breaking Bread with the Creatives

Frannie will head menu development of
Picnic and Pantry’s Ready-to-eat and take-home gourmet foods,
and our seasonal catering menu.

PLEASE JOIN US ON FACEBOOK FOR UPDATES ON THE GRAND OPENING!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cincinnati-OH/Picnic-and-Pantry/109150695784618?ref=mf

Rapini (Broccoli Rabe) -- Delicious Italian Greens

I've been looking for rapini all winter, and finally found some this week at bigg's in Hyde Park/Oakley. It's a cool weather crop, so you might also start seeing rapini -- also called broccoli rabe -- at local farmers markets this spring.
I've tried different cooking methods and have settled on coarsely chopping, then blanching the greens and thinner stems very briefly in boiling, salted water before draining well and adding to sauteed aromatic vegetables.
For the veggies, I happened to have a half fennel bulb in the fridge, so I chopped and sauteed it with a half red pepper, minced garlic, and about a cup of sliced mushrooms.
To serve, I sprinkled with some cheese.
This was my dinner, with bread. It's also good over pasta or as a side dish with fish or poultry.