Wizard Recipes

Vitamin-packed, fiber-rich fruits are important components of a well-balanced diet: The USDA recommends two to four servings per day. There are many delicious ways to meet this goal.

Enjoy a refreshing fruit salad for lunch, or top a green salad with orange or grapefruit sections. Serve juicy grapes or figs with cheese as a snack or dessert, or slip sliced fruit into a meat sandwich (try sliced peaches with baked ham and Dijon mustard).

Toss dried apricots or prunes into braised chicken dishes and beef or lamb stews, or eat ripe fruit out of hand and savor every sweet bite.

BUYING AND STORING FRUIT

Over the years, more and more imported fruit (from Central America, South America, and New Zealand) has appeared in stores, making otherwise out-of-season fruit available. But practically every fruit has a season when it is at its flavorful peak and most reasonable price.

Whenever possible, buy fruits in season from local farmers’ markets; you will be rewarded with the most delicious produce possible.

Some fruits, such as apples, cherries, citrus fruits, pomegranates, and rhubarb, are purchased fully ripe and can be enjoyed immediately. Other fruits, especially those that have been shipped long distances, need further ripening. These include apricots, nectarines, peaches, pears, and plums.

To ripen these fruits, place them in a closed paper (not plastic) bag or fruit-ripening bowl, and leave at room temperature for a few days.

Some fruits, such as bananas, kiwifruit, mangoes, melons, papayas, and persimmons, ripen best at room temperature, away from direct sunlight. Refrigerate all ripened fruits to keep them from becoming overripe.

PREPARING  FRUIT

All fruits with edible skins should be rinsed well before eating to remove any residual pesticides and surface bacteria. Some fruits, such as apples, are often covered with an edible wax coating to give them an attractive shine. Peel waxed fruit before eating, if you wish.

Nothing beats the flavor of fresh seasonal fruit, but canned fruit is a good pantry staple for a quick lunch or dessert. Some canned fruits are better than others; we are especially fond of pears and apricots.

Keep in mind that fruits canned in light syrup have a fresher flavor than those in heavy syrup.

In our website , we offer tempting recipes that are easy and delicious for just about every fruit you will find in your supermarket, local produce market, or farmers’ market. You’ll learn in the next articles  how to choose each fruit, how to store it at home, how long it will keep, and the best way to prepare the fruit for eating out of hand or for cooking.

Our heart functions 24/7, because all cells of the body are in permanent need of oxygen and nourishments, provided by the well functioning of the heart. Some nutritionists appreciate that the main method for preventing heart diseases is adopting a ‘neutral food’ diet.

Summers, we should consume all the berries we can find:  raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, because they have a high level of antioxidants that protect the organism.

Regarding the barbecue, leave the meat to rest for some time, because now, it is vegetables` time! The most healthy type of barbecue is the vegetables one. Start grilling mushrooms, carrots, eggplants, green peppers, tomatoes and so on. Sprinkle some seasoning on top of your grilled vegetables, some salt and pepper, thyme, basil, dill and lemon juice.

This type of snack offers your system the level of fibers rich in a substance known as lignine, which helps with keeping the cholesterol level at normal, which contributes also to reducing high blood pressure.

Also healthy for cardiac problems are goat cheese, tomatoes and quail eggs.

Nutritionists also consider that the fruit salad is the healthiest dessert for the summertime. Try it with apples, pears, melons etc. Peel all fruits and chop them into medium sized chunks, and, as a topping, mix a juice from a lemon with some honey, cinnamon and mint leaves, and enjoy healthy!!!

Fruits are generally high in fibers, water and vitamin C. Regular consumption of fruit is associated with reduced risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, Alzheimer disease, cataracts, and some of the functional declines associated with aging.

Here are some good tips about consuming fruits:

In general:

-To make it more appealing, keep a bowl with fresh fruits on hand..
-In season, fresh fruits are cheaper that you would otherwise find them.
-Also, if you have a craving, canned, dried or frozen fruits can also do it.
-Consider convenience when shopping. Buy pre-cut packages of fruit (such as melon or pineapple chunks) for a healthy snack in seconds. Choose packaged fruits that do not have added sugars.

Fruits and meals:

-With your cereals, at breakfast, you can add pieces of banana, strawberries or peaches, which add extra flavor to your meal
-Also, when making pancakes, add sliced bananas as a filling, or serve them with blueberries
-At lunch, pack a tangerine, banana, or grapes to eat! they make a nutritious lunch which can be perfect for you
-At dinner,you can use fruits also with your vegetable salad! Try a chicken, corn, pineapple salad, or add apples or pears to the your day to day salad.
-Try meat dishes that incorporate fruit, such as chicken with apricots or mango chutney.
-For dessert, have baked apples, pears, or a fruit salad.

Tips for a plus of flavor:
-Try low-fat yogurt or pudding as a dip for fruits like strawberries or melons.
-Make a fruit smoothie with low fat milk and bananas and/or strawberries.
-Try different textures of fruits. For example, apples are crunchy, bananas are smooth and creamy, and oranges are juicy.
-For fresh fruit salads, mix apples, bananas, or pears with acidic fruits like oranges, pineapple, or lemon juice to keep them from turning brown.

But, to keep it all safe and healthy, don`t forget to wash fruits VERY WELL under clean, running water before you eat them! Don`t mix or keep together fruits with any kind of raw meat!

The use for salads today actually goes far beyond the first course. We can break down today’s salads into four general types.

Appetizer salads —this is a light first course designed to stimulate the appetite. The body of this type of salad is greens in combination with other vegetables or fruit. The dressing is also light and tart.

A standard green salad with a light vinaigrette dressing is typical for this use. A fruit salad of tart fruits and a light, barely sweetened dressing is also appetite-stimulating. You may add a little seafood, since it isn’t filling in small doses. Nuts and cheese are heavier and you should use them in small amounts. If you’re disappointed in how your entrée turned out or there
isn’t enough to go around in generous servings, add more calorie-rich food to your appetizer salad to partially gratify, instead of just stimulate, the guests’ appetites.

You may also use a light salad as cleansing the palate, an old French tradition. In this case instead of a first course, offer it between two contrasting courses. The salad dressing literally cleanses the taste buds to prepare them for the next movement in your symphony of the meal. In this role, a salad should be especially light, usually nothing more than greens with a touch of dressing and a hint of pepper, and in minuscule portions to satisfy but a small bird’s meal.

Accompaniment salads—these can be heartier than appetizer salads since they accompany the main dish and complement its flavor as well as satisfy appetites. Marinated vegetables may also accompany the entrée and complement it. They go very well with a heavy, somewhat fatty meal. A sour marinade aids the digestion of oil and butter-rich foods. Remember how your stomach craves for pickle or sauerkraut to go with hamburger or a
Rueben sandwich? A fruit compote is also a good example of an accompaniment salad. It goes well with poultry or pork. Gelatin and aspic salads, although much less popular today than they used to be, are perfect examples of accompaniment salads. With the generous amount of sugar and
marshmallow that were so common in the 1950s and 1960s, they could do double duty on the menu—as salad and as dessert. But it is not fair to serve it as two different courses on the same meal. Some might notice it.
Main dish salads —these hearty salads can, and often do, take the place of the entrée. Main dish salads can include anything edible. Start off with simple tossed greens and just keep adding things. You traditionally serve these salads cold, but for improved flavor, serve them at room temperature. Some you may even serve warm. Many bean salads, for example, are best
when served warm.

Dessert salads —usually of sweet fruits or a mixture of sweet and tart fruits. Some cooks like to add gelatin for a firmer consistency. Sweetened whipped cream or toasted nuts are winning toppings. The expected presentation of dessert salads is chilled, even frozen, but their
flavor is far improved if you allow them to warm up to room temperature.

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