Even though I can stop into Asian or Latino markets on any corner in Los Angeles and find fresh bitter melon or soursop, I know that most people across the country aren’t so lucky. For them, I recommend visiting melissas.com, an exotic produce company which will ship fresh and sometimes dried produce anywhere in the U.S. Melissa’s is also the largest distributor of specialty produce in the country. Bitter melon, which resembles a wrinkly, light-green cucumber, is something of an acquired taste. Soaking it in salted water to remove the bitterness is the first step in getting people to fall […]
Even living in sunny California during the winter when the days are shorter and a little bit chilly, I like to prepare hearty winter produce that also happens to fall into the “superfoods” category. Their many disease fighting and anti-aging properties make them some of my top produce. These fruits and vegetables lend themselves to recipes that serve as comfort foods during the cold, dark winter months, but they have the added benefit of doing great things for your body. Pumpkin You may only associate pumpkins with Halloween, but fresh pumpkins are available from October through February. They contain large […]
An exotic fruit that I love to eat is rambutan (available at Melissas.com). These Malaysian fruits, which mean “hair” (rambut), look like small, red, hairy monsters. The somewhat rubbery brownish-red outer shell is peeled away to reveal a white, moist oval that is very similar to a lychee. It’s sweet, juicy, and subtle in flavor, not unlike the mangosteen. Rambutans are botanically related to lychees. They contain the vitamin C, iron, and phosphorous. Vitamin C helps the body resist infection, helps prevent cataracts, and aids in tissue regeneration to keep your skin young and fresh looking. Vitamin C also reduces […]
Acne is the bane of adolescence. It can make a self-conscious teenager feel even more insecure. For decades, dermatologists insisted that diet didn’t matter. Sometimes they cautioned against high-fat foods like milkshakes, but more often the dermatology dogma was that there was no relationship between what you ate and how your face looked (Clinical Dermatology, September-October 2004; Seminars in Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery, June 2005). It turns out that they were wrong on both counts. Research now shows that diet does matter and also that low-fat dairy products are worse than full fat when it comes to complexion. Starting around […]
Check out these top 5 anti-aging foods that can make you look and feel more vibrant today as FoodTrients discusses why you should incorporate them into your diet. PINK GRAPEFRUIT – A Superfood and Anti-Aging Hero Grapefruit is a go-to fruit for me, and I love to put pink grapefruit in my Spinach and Grapefruit Salad (featured in The Age GRACEfully Cookbook). All citrus contains antioxidants, fiber and anti-aging compounds like vitamin C but pink grapefruit has some special benefits to offer. Antioxidant (Ao) spermidine has shown positive results in some animal studies for longevity and in support of healthy […]
The holidays always call for plenty of desserts. Whether I’m throwing a party, giving gifts of food, or reliving holidays past through sweet treats, desserts are integral to my life this month. I’ll share a few of my favorite recipes with you. Brazil Nut Tarts Every year I host a Christmas caroling party at my home. Choirs from churches all over the area stop by to sing in my living room. Sometimes a Filipino celebrity or two will perform. My guests just love it. I like to put out a dinner buffet so that the choirs have something to eat […]
Beyond the nutritional value of meals, scientists are working to uncover how certain foods should be eaten, what they should be combined with and how they are best absorbed. Discover these eight amazing tweaks to make good-for-you foods even better. 1. Making curry? Add black pepper Turmeric, the spice that gives curry powder its distinctive yellow color, is being studied for its ability to halt the production of cancer cells. Turmeric contains the potent antioxidant curcumin, the active ingredient with anti-cancer potential. Curcumin is not well absorbed by the body, but a sprinkle of black pepper can enhance curcumin […]
The holiday season has begun and nothing puts me in a festive mood more than the aroma of something sweet baking in the oven. For many of my friends, cinnamon is what puts them in a holiday state of mind. Made from the ground bark of a genus of trees called Cinnamomum, the top cinnamon producing countries are Indonesia, China, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Madagascar. There are two main types: Ceylon cinnamon, produced in Sri Lanka, India, Madagascar, Brazil, and the Caribbean, and cassia cinnamon, which comes mainly from Indonesia, China and Vietnam. Cinnamon is one of those delicious spices that also […]
Put down the fork. Step away from the buffet table. UC Davis nutrition expert Liz Applegate wants us to think about exactly what we’re shoveling down our throats. Not just to lose weight but to protect our brains. “Brain food is real and it really does matter,” said Applegate, an author, professor and director of sports nutrition at UC Davis. She’s an advocate of the MIND diet, a combination of two long-studied diets that have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. We talked with her recently about so-called “brain foods,” their impact on […]
In our quest to uncover the newest, most nutrient-dense superfoods from the far reaches of Mother Earth, we
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